In my opinion B&O and Apple are not comparable as Apple invents industy changing electronical devices (iPhone / iPod etc), groundbreaking new ways of distribution (iTunes) all compared with a total ease of use (OSX) whereas B&O not really invents nowadays.
You may ask what they could invent/develop?
There is a list of things / examples coming to my mind:
- Car hifi system for the rest of us (not everyone buys an Aston Martin or top range Audi)
- Wireless Video streamin device
- More normal-day things in a true B&O style (like BeoTime) for a reasonable price plus some extra for the B&O looks like PC speakers / free programmable remote controls etc.
- A phone thats useable with not so much functions noone needs but in true B&O quality (both in manufacturing & usability quality)
If a product from Apple is leaked upfront, everybody would pay attention as they are in extreme focus from the rest of the industry and get copied over and over again.
If new B&O stuff (example Beocom 5 / Beovision 10) is leaked somewhere, not that much companies pay attention because B&O doesn't invent, they "only" wrap existing technology into B&O clothes and sell it at a much too high pricepoint to be compared to the rest of the respective industy (Beovision, Phones, younameit)
Apple leads, others follow!
B&O follows, but in a very sexy way!
Regards
Stephan
P.S. Don't get me wrong, I love B&O :-)