What would happen if Apple’s market share were to increase dramatically? What if their dominance grew to the levels that Microsoft enjoyed in the past? Could Apple become the next Microsoft?

While Apple has a relatively low market share and there’s plenty of choice of platform, the control that Apple has over the third party application market really doesn’t matter. If a really cool application appears that Apple refuses to sanction, its developers can just up-sticks and move to S60, or Java, or (if they’re nuts) Windows Mobile and reach an equally large audience. But what happens if Apple’s market share grows to the point where it has a monopoly - 70-, 80- or even 90% market share? That might take ten years, but it’s certainly not beyond the realms of possibility, and it’s certainly something that Apple would like to have. At that point, does Apple’s control over third-party applications become an abuse of a monopoly - something that is, of course, illegal in both Europe and the US?

I begin to appreciate the adage “small is beautiful”.