The biggest news from Apple.

I’m not an Apple fan-boy exactly, but I do respect the company and am constantly impressed by them. I’ve learned never to bet against them, especially in my stock portfolio.
So I’ve been keeping an eye on the latest news from their developer’s conference, and I think one story has been under-told.

This one.

Auto week reported this. For the most part, the mainstream media (and even the tech community) has been ignoring it.

Let me summarize, to save you the time of reading: Apple has agreements to put Siri in the cars made by these auto makers: BMW, GM, Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler and Honda.

Ford already has a tight relationship for voice control software with Microsoft. Besides Ford, Apple gets…um… everyone else? OK, Hyundai and Ferrari aren’t in the list, but come on, everyone else is.

This is a big fat hairy deal for Apple. And a big, fat, hairy coup. Microsoft was really the first one to do this. They pioneered the trail and owned the market with Ford. And then Apple just stole it from them – not one or two other potential clients – but *all* the rest. I mean, what were the MS sales guys doing while Apple was pitching this? Were they off trying to flirt with Siri?

I think it’s a big, fat, hairy hit for Microsoft. OK, it’s a small hit for Google, too, but Google is only loosing what it never really had – not being a real player in this market anyway. But Microsoft… man… talk about shutting down an entire part of the business! Sure, they’ll hang onto Ford for a while, but how long before Apple gets that? How long before someone wants the same voice system in their Lincoln that their friends have in the Beemers? And even if they keep Ford, the growth potential of the market is gone .

And think about what this means for Apple. While all the world has been cursing or praising Windows 8 and MS is paddling hard to catch up in the ARM space (or is it ARMs race?), Apple flanked them big. Think about it. Think about what happens if you get used to Siri in your car giving you directions to a new Sushi place. That means extra revenue for Apple. It means add dollars from the Sushi place. It means integration with Apple’s new maps (take *that* Google). It means integration with Facebook and Open Table (they announced that too, by the way) so you can see if your friends liked the Sushi place and make a Siri-based reservation on the way. And it means a new reliance on Siri. So, if you are on a trip and you rent with Hertz, you’ll want Siri. If you are at home and you’re wondering where to grab dinner, you‘ll want Siri. It means getting people so used to the service that they’ll look for it everywhere.

And what amazes me, again, is that Microsoft invented the market, but just didn’t have the ability to capitalize on it. Microsoft is the true innovator here (something they claim to do more than they really do). But – most likely—Apple is the true winner.

Now, I wish I wouldn’t have sold that Apple stock…..
--kevin