CEO Says Apple Is Less Arrogant Now That It's Under Pressure
Stephane Richard, the outspoken CEO of French telecom Orange, says Apple has become a much easier company to work with lately.
In an interview with journalists he said, "Apple has [become] more flexible, paying more attention to everyone else, probably a little less arrogant than they used to be … I think they are probably a little more under pressure, and it is quite nice."
Ina Fried of All Things D was at the interview and reported the above quote.
Richard, like many telecom execs isn't thrilled that Apple has so much power. It has been able to charge more its phones, cut out carriers from collecting App Store revenue, and dictated when its send out OS updates.
Now that Apple has run through the carriers willing to deal with its terms, it's probably having to soften to get its next group. As Tim Cook recently pointed out, Apple is only available to 50% of the people in the world because it's not available on half of the world's carriers.
In Richard's interview with journalists, he also suggested he's not too happy that Android and iOS are taking over. He's hoping for a third ecosystem. With a third ecosystem, carriers could play the various groups against each other to get the best deal for themselves.
But he doesn't sound optimistic about Windows Phone or BlackBerry.
On Windows Phone he says there's no "wow" factor with Nokia phones, and the operating system just isn't better than iOS or Android. On BlackBerry, he didn't have many specific reasons it wouldn't work, just saying they have a tough road ahead.
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