:lol
You're funny.
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90% of apples success is based on marketing. Its the same with any of their products. Thats not to say the hardware is crap, but Apple is not making most of their sales based on hardware. Or software.
I could agree with that if you didn't say 90%.
I'm sure there are people that buy based on hype, but I'm not one of them. Saying that 90% of people buy their products based on hype is overlooking the fact that they consistently make smartphones that are as good or better than anyone elses.
Sure the EVO for example does have 4G, and if I had to choose between a gyroscope and 4G I'd go with 4G, but the iPhone was at least at the time the thinnest smartphone on the planet, with the highest resolution screen, and had many other specs that essentially matched or bettered those of the EVO.
You have to wonder what's stopping Apple from dominating every market if their marketing machine is so good... :rolleyes
Here's one for CH, since he likes to talk about marketing hype and I believe owns an EVO:
The iPhone 4 and the EVO 4G came out within about three weeks of each other, however some time later an EVO 4G commercial came out that touted a review that said: "A phone that can go toe-to-toe with the iPhone and beat it".
The only problem is, they didn't bother to mention that the quote was about an iPhone 3GS, not an iPhone 4.
That's hype for you.
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And I disagree completely with Manny that software isn't what's selling phones, and the iPhone in particular. Android has done a lot of catchup and is still doing it, but the availability of software on a platform has always been a major driver for the platform success. Apple certainly changed completely the phone market with the App store and third party development, and it's obvious they've been and still are, up to an extent, reaping the benefits of that. Will Android catch up? Probably. Does it mean Google's marketing is better/different than Apple's? Hardly.
Apple has been a pretty damn interesting story to follow. Other companies can only play defense (research in motion) or catchup in a game that apple has set the rules for (most others).
Either way, flawed strategy. You're right, others are catching up, realizing they need to change the game themselves instead of playing the rigged board that apple has created.
As cliche as this is, i still think apple is in for a rude awakening when Jobs passes away. Enjoy the run now.
Funnily enough, I don't disagree. They went in a downward spiral before, even having shitloads of cash, until Jobs came back.
His ruthlessness changed both the music and cell industry, and he had to do it by being a complete dick to the established powers that be (music labels, carriers).
Every company has a hard time reinventing itself. It's happening with Microsoft too, and will probably happen with Google at some point. Apple is certainly not exempt.
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I'm not quite sure I get your point, symple.
I actually give them very little credit, and that's the point. They spend very little time stressing over megahertz, ram size, super AMOLED, etc. The thinking process is closer to: Is it snappy? Does it feels good in my hands and when I use it? Can I check my email on it? Can I print stuff out? Can I run app X, Y or Z? Is it easy to use? How long does the battery last?
And so on...
Which is a lot closer to the PC market for the general population these days... Can it run Office? Can I check my email on it? Can I access my job's VPN with it?
I don't even think they put that much thought into it, EN. Take the iPod headphones for example. At least 50% of the headphones I see people using are those little white iBuds that come included with the iPod/iPhone. Do you really think people even give a moment's pause to whether or not they sound good? Nope. They've got the iconic white iBuds, and it plays music. That's all that matters. I.e., they bought what they're told, they're told to be happy with that, and they never think to look past it to anything better. The number of people using those incredibly horrific pieces of contorted plastic shouldn't surprise me, but it does.
Boom. Roasted.
Speaking of PCs, the look on half of my GIS class this semester was epic when the instructor told them they couldn't run ARCGis on their overpriced macbooks. Pay twice as much for a machine that can't even run the software you need. But hey, your apple lights up!
Yeah? What are those? You're positive they work with ARCGIS 10 or are you just talking about generic ways to run windows programs on an Apple machine?
In my case, I'm not going to throw down $100 or more on earbuds because I don't listen to my iPod or iPhone nearly enough to do so. At home, I use my computer. On the road I use my car stereo. Not to mention that I listen to tons of podcasts at work or when doing chores, and really, headphone quality isn't that big of a deal.
In fact, I'd prefer not to use expensive buds as there's a big chance of them getting damaged at work. My earbuds are actually more for making hands free phone calls than listening to things. I bought a Sony pair for fairly cheap and the worked great until I accidentally washed them. I went to buy another and noticed the Apple buds were cheaper so I bought them. The sound quality and fit with the Apple was much better, which was funny to me as I owned the Sony pair longer than the original Apple pair after I fucked up the chord at work.
They may not be the best sound quality, but considering what I need them for, they do the job I asked them too with no problems at all.
I have a pair of bluetooth headphones that are over the ear type because I can't have noise cancellation ones at work that work good too. But they press on my glasses and give me a headache after a while which sucks ass.
you're a schmuck man, plain & simple.
consider this, not everyone gives a damn about sound quality or throwing down $100+ on a pair of headphones. priorities are different for each and every person.
I don't even think they put that much thought into it, CB. Take WinOS for example. At least 50% of the desktops/laptops I see people using are those little white-box pos's that come included with WinOS. Do you really think people even give a moment's pause to whether or not WinOS is a quality product? Nope. They've got the iconic "Hey I can play video games at least" attitude, and it plays games but still comes up short in every other facet of computing and has ever since its inception. That's all that matters. I.e., they bought what they're told, they're told to be happy with that, and they never think to look past it to anything better like OSX or LinuxOS. The number of people using that shitty WinOS, anything MS, shouldn't surprise me, but it does.