Why so many iphone articles

[taltamir]

the iphone commands 0.9% of the phone marketshare. 1.1% according to apple's own figures. if you exclude "regular" cell phones its still only in the single digits.
While the Macintosh has a mere 3.33% marketshare.

Why do we need article after article about it? recent apple product reviews on anandtech went as far calling the apple products "perfection"... PERFECTION!? it is more than a bit uncalled for since obviously most people think it is inferior to some other product (namely, non apple products where you can actually replace the battery, avoid catching on fire, and doesn't cost several times the competition for the exact same hardware).

Figures taken from:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/o...Unpopular_Gadgets.html

EDIT: Maybe me and the original authors don't know the meaning of marketshare.; maybe others don't, but those percent figures refer to UNITS SOLD IN 2008. Not "every unit ever sold - every unit that broke down or was thrown away"

 

[aphex]

My primary issue with the article is that it takes the stance that marketshare should be the only factor that determines a level of media coverage, and frankly that seems fairly narrow-minded. Many other factors come into play when it comes to media coverage, such as innovation, aesthetics, user satisfaction, marketing, hype, etc... Apple has made a name for itself by doing things differently, and that makes them stand out against the other manufacturers out there.

If the article really wants to give a fair argument, it should also consider the following;

The most recent results of the American Customer Satisfaction Index puts Apple ahead of all other computer manufacturers with a rating of 85 percent, a new high for the industry. The Cupertino company saw an improvement of 8 percent since the last measurement, putting it 10 full percentage points ahead of its nearest competitor

iPhone Makes Up 50 Percent of Smartphone Web Traffic In U.S., Android Already 5 Percent

JD Power and Associates - Apple Ranks Highest among Smartphone Consumers

Numbers are great when you only show the ones that support your premise, aren't they? Its fairly clear the article started out to prove a point that Apple shouldn't garner the attention it does simply due to marketshare, rather than give a fair and full assessment of all the factors at play.

I don't think most people claim that Apple has the biggest marketshare, nor that Apple products are flawless (yes, some do, but it happens on both sides). Nothing is flawless, nothing is perfection. Each individual has different needs and different purposes, what could be crap to one for lacking a feature, could be perfection to another who doesn't care about that that same attribute.

IMO, Apple products are the bees knees to some because they take away the confusion, the tons of variations and configurations, use quality hardware, have good build quality, and are generally easy to use. They aim to be tech for the non-tech crowd. They are definitely not the best for everyone, nor are they the fastest, nor the cheapest, far from it, but for those looking for what Apple offers, they are the best.

Apple products garner attention because that's what they were designed to do, to stand out.

 

[shortylickens]

Marketing. Hype. Press Coverage.

If it werent for those 3 things, Apple would have been out of business a long time ago. But I am grateful they exist. They help to keep competition healthy and thats something we all need.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Marketing. Hype. Press Coverage.

If it werent for those 3 things, a lot of businesses would have been out of business a long time ago. But I am grateful they exist. They help to keep competition healthy and thats something we all need.

Fixed.

MotionMan

 

[Pliablemoose]

Who writes tech related articles?

Techno nerds that own iPhones.

That being said, I think iPhones are pretty doggone good, not good enough for me to leave TMobile (I used iPhones on Edge & TMobile for a long time, before caving in and using my G1 & 3G service).

The Android platform will eventually give the iPhone a run for market share, i think we'll start to see an explosion of platforms this fall if all the announced Android based phones make it to market. One manufacturer showed off 18 Android based products this month.

For now though, the iPhone is the smartphone, and rightly so.

 

[TheWart]

Originally posted by: taltamir
the iphone commands 0.9% of the phone marketshare. 1.1% according to apple's own figures. if you exclude "regular" cell phones its still only in the single digits.
While the Macintosh has a mere 3.33% marketshare.

Why do we need article after article about it? recent apple product reviews on anandtech went as far calling the apple products "perfection"... PERFECTION!? it is more than a bit uncalled for since obviously most people think it is inferior to some other product (namely, non apple products where you can actually replace the battery, avoid catching on fire, and doesn't cost several times the competition for the exact same hardware).

Figures taken from:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/o...Unpopular_Gadgets.html

Given that Apple has only been in the smartphone market for a couple of years, I don't see how almost 9% of marketshare - globally - is anything scoff at, especially since the number is higher for the US market. In addition, its sales as a percentage of total in the US is much higher than 9%, indicating that its marketshare is only set to grow.

Another reason they receive disproportionate marketshare is that their devices are seen as very high quality and 'cool.' This makes other manufacturers specifically target apple (how many times have you seen a purported 'ipod killer' article?), and this in turn feeds the notoriety of Apple.

I dont see how you can say it doesn't deserve coverage or is not popular...just because a very nice restaurant in some city only serves 1% of the population, it doesn't mean it is any less deserving of critical praise or popular support.

 

[MotionMan]

Wherever I go in California, if people have a smartphone (or whatever you want to call it), they either have an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

It sure SEEMS like the iPhone is popular enough to warrant all the attention.

MotionMan

 

[SunnyD]

I think it's partly because the iPhone - at it's debut - was probably the most unique smart phone out there. And more so, Apple designed it with extensibility in mind - the App Store. It was sort of unique in that Apple isn't really relying on a prepackaged product to compete, but rather they're relying on third party developers to help them compete with the general cell phone population. Relatively speaking, they make it "easy" to be a dev, which is the exact reason why Microsoft is in it's position of dominance over the OS market. The fact that they keep their platform uniform across generations only serves to bolster their position further.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: MotionMan
Wherever I go in California, if people have a smartphone (or whatever you want to call it), they either have an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

It sure SEEMS like the iPhone is popular enough to warrant all the attention.

MotionMan

Yep, I hear the chirp of BB/iPhones emails/IM's in the background all over.

 

[corkyg]

Same reason we are over saturated with MJ articles and coverage. It sells and = $$$

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: MotionMan
Wherever I go in California, if people have a smartphone (or whatever you want to call it), they either have an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

It sure SEEMS like the iPhone is popular enough to warrant all the attention.

MotionMan

I hate the iPhone but I understand the press coverage it gets.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: aphex
My primary issue with the article is that it takes the stance that marketshare should be the only factor that determines a level of media coverage, and frankly that seems fairly narrow-minded. Many other factors come into play when it comes to media coverage, such as innovation, aesthetics, user satisfaction, marketing, hype, etc... Apple has made a name for itself by doing things differently, and that makes them stand out against the other manufacturers out there.

If the article really wants to give a fair argument, it should also consider the following;

The most recent results of the American Customer Satisfaction Index puts Apple ahead of all other computer manufacturers with a rating of 85 percent, a new high for the industry. The Cupertino company saw an improvement of 8 percent since the last measurement, putting it 10 full percentage points ahead of its nearest competitor

iPhone Makes Up 50 Percent of Smartphone Web Traffic In U.S., Android Already 5 Percent

JD Power and Associates - Apple Ranks Highest among Smartphone Consumers

Numbers are great when you only show the ones that support your premise, aren't they? Its fairly clear the article started out to prove a point that Apple shouldn't garner the attention it does simply due to marketshare, rather than give a fair and full assessment of all the factors at play.

I don't think most people claim that Apple has the biggest marketshare, nor that Apple products are flawless (yes, some do, but it happens on both sides). Nothing is flawless, nothing is perfection. Each individual has different needs and different purposes, what could be crap to one for lacking a feature, could be perfection to another who doesn't care about that that same attribute.

IMO, Apple products are the bees knees to some because they take away the confusion, the tons of variations and configurations, use quality hardware, have good build quality, and are generally easy to use. They aim to be tech for the non-tech crowd. They are definitely not the best for everyone, nor are they the fastest, nor the cheapest, far from it, but for those looking for what Apple offers, they are the best.

Apple products garner attention because that's what they were designed to do, to stand out.

Without trying to create a flame war I think this sort of evangelism is part of the problem. I do see that you put that in you post, hence why I state I'm not inciting a post fight.

Part of the problem is people constantly banging on about this particular phone like it is the second coming of Christ, and that gets up peoples noses, no matter what type of fruit flavoured smartphone you prefer.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: MotionMan
Wherever I go in California, if people have a smartphone (or whatever you want to call it), they either have an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

It sure SEEMS like the iPhone is popular enough to warrant all the attention.

MotionMan

I hate the iPhone but I understand the press coverage it gets.

What has the iPhone ever done to you?!?

MotionMan

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: MotionMan
Wherever I go in California, if people have a smartphone (or whatever you want to call it), they either have an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

It sure SEEMS like the iPhone is popular enough to warrant all the attention.

MotionMan

I hate the iPhone but I understand the press coverage it gets.

What has the iPhone ever done to you?!?

MotionMan

It raped my babies.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: MotionMan
Wherever I go in California, if people have a smartphone (or whatever you want to call it), they either have an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

It sure SEEMS like the iPhone is popular enough to warrant all the attention.

MotionMan

I hate the iPhone but I understand the press coverage it gets.

What has the iPhone ever done to you?!?

MotionMan

It raped my babies.

Well, then, your feelings are understandable.

MotionMan

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: aphex
My primary issue with the article is that it takes the stance that marketshare should be the only factor that determines a level of media coverage, and frankly that seems fairly narrow-minded. Many other factors come into play when it comes to media coverage, such as innovation, aesthetics, user satisfaction, marketing, hype, etc... Apple has made a name for itself by doing things differently, and that makes them stand out against the other manufacturers out there.

If the article really wants to give a fair argument, it should also consider the following;

The most recent results of the American Customer Satisfaction Index puts Apple ahead of all other computer manufacturers with a rating of 85 percent, a new high for the industry. The Cupertino company saw an improvement of 8 percent since the last measurement, putting it 10 full percentage points ahead of its nearest competitor

iPhone Makes Up 50 Percent of Smartphone Web Traffic In U.S., Android Already 5 Percent

JD Power and Associates - Apple Ranks Highest among Smartphone Consumers

Numbers are great when you only show the ones that support your premise, aren't they? Its fairly clear the article started out to prove a point that Apple shouldn't garner the attention it does simply due to marketshare, rather than give a fair and full assessment of all the factors at play.

I don't think most people claim that Apple has the biggest marketshare, nor that Apple products are flawless (yes, some do, but it happens on both sides). Nothing is flawless, nothing is perfection. Each individual has different needs and different purposes, what could be crap to one for lacking a feature, could be perfection to another who doesn't care about that that same attribute.

IMO, Apple products are the bees knees to some because they take away the confusion, the tons of variations and configurations, use quality hardware, have good build quality, and are generally easy to use. They aim to be tech for the non-tech crowd. They are definitely not the best for everyone, nor are they the fastest, nor the cheapest, far from it, but for those looking for what Apple offers, they are the best.

Apple products garner attention because that's what they were designed to do, to stand out.

Without trying to create a flame war I think this sort of evangelism is part of the problem. I do see that you put that in you post, hence why I state I'm not inciting a post fight.

Part of the problem is people constantly banging on about this particular phone like it is the second coming of Christ, and that gets up peoples noses, no matter what type of fruit flavoured smartphone you prefer.

And thats where we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see my post as evangelical in the slightest, it was simply a retort to the slanted article in the OP, that marketshare should be the primary determining factor of media coverage. I never said Apple products are superior nor did I say that Apple was the only way, in fact quite the opposite. What appears to you as evangelism, appears as realism to me. Its all a matter of perception.

Say what you want about people calling it the second coming of christ, some do, but there are plenty of people out there who bash it simply because its from Apple. Its a two way street. Personally I think the iPhone (and Apple products in general) get the coverage they deserve. If Apple wasn't such a hot button topic for many, they wouldn't write the articles.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: TheWart

Originally posted by: taltamir
the iphone commands 0.9% of the phone marketshare. 1.1% according to apple's own figures. if you exclude "regular" cell phones its still only in the single digits.
While the Macintosh has a mere 3.33% marketshare.

Why do we need article after article about it? recent apple product reviews on anandtech went as far calling the apple products "perfection"... PERFECTION!? it is more than a bit uncalled for since obviously most people think it is inferior to some other product (namely, non apple products where you can actually replace the battery, avoid catching on fire, and doesn't cost several times the competition for the exact same hardware).

Figures taken from:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/o...Unpopular_Gadgets.html

Given that Apple has only been in the smartphone market for a couple of years, I don't see how almost 9% of marketshare - globally - is anything scoff at, especially since the number is higher for the US market. In addition, its sales as a percentage of total in the US is much higher than 9%, indicating that its marketshare is only set to grow.

Another reason they receive disproportionate marketshare is that their devices are seen as very high quality and 'cool.' This makes other manufacturers specifically target apple (how many times have you seen a purported 'ipod killer' article?), and this in turn feeds the notoriety of Apple.

I dont see how you can say it doesn't deserve coverage or is not popular...just because a very nice restaurant in some city only serves 1% of the population, it doesn't mean it is any less deserving of critical praise or popular support.

zero POINT nine percent. as in, LESS than ONE percent. 9 out of 1000. not 9 out of 100.
Also, it is not the number of iphones in use, it is the number of iphones sold in 2008 compared to other phones sold in 2008.
The actual percentage of total phones is much lower than 1%, because, as you said, they have only been out for a short while, as older phones are discarded it will approach the sales figures.

Part of the problem is people constantly banging on about this particular phone like it is the second coming of Christ, and that gets up peoples noses, no matter what type of fruit flavoured smartphone you prefer.

While I agree in principle that this is what irks me (in general). I do not think apex's post was evangelical in nature.
But reading reviews calling apple products PERFECTION. not even "the best product we ever rated" but pure perfection... well that just sounds fanatical to me, especially considering sales figures.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: aphex
My primary issue with the article is that it takes the stance that marketshare should be the only factor that determines a level of media coverage, and frankly that seems fairly narrow-minded. Many other factors come into play when it comes to media coverage, such as innovation, aesthetics, user satisfaction, marketing, hype, etc... Apple has made a name for itself by doing things differently, and that makes them stand out against the other manufacturers out there.

If the article really wants to give a fair argument, it should also consider the following;

The most recent results of the American Customer Satisfaction Index puts Apple ahead of all other computer manufacturers with a rating of 85 percent, a new high for the industry. The Cupertino company saw an improvement of 8 percent since the last measurement, putting it 10 full percentage points ahead of its nearest competitor

iPhone Makes Up 50 Percent of Smartphone Web Traffic In U.S., Android Already 5 Percent

JD Power and Associates - Apple Ranks Highest among Smartphone Consumers

Numbers are great when you only show the ones that support your premise, aren't they? Its fairly clear the article started out to prove a point that Apple shouldn't garner the attention it does simply due to marketshare, rather than give a fair and full assessment of all the factors at play.

I don't think most people claim that Apple has the biggest marketshare, nor that Apple products are flawless (yes, some do, but it happens on both sides). Nothing is flawless, nothing is perfection. Each individual has different needs and different purposes, what could be crap to one for lacking a feature, could be perfection to another who doesn't care about that that same attribute.

IMO, Apple products are the bees knees to some because they take away the confusion, the tons of variations and configurations, use quality hardware, have good build quality, and are generally easy to use. They aim to be tech for the non-tech crowd. They are definitely not the best for everyone, nor are they the fastest, nor the cheapest, far from it, but for those looking for what Apple offers, they are the best.

Apple products garner attention because that's what they were designed to do, to stand out.

Without trying to create a flame war I think this sort of evangelism is part of the problem. I do see that you put that in you post, hence why I state I'm not inciting a post fight.

Part of the problem is people constantly banging on about this particular phone like it is the second coming of Christ, and that gets up peoples noses, no matter what type of fruit flavoured smartphone you prefer.

And thats where we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see my post as evangelical in the slightest, it was simply a retort to the slanted article in the OP, that marketshare should be the primary determining factor of media coverage. I never said Apple products are superior nor did I say that Apple was the only way, in fact quite the opposite. What appears to you as evangelism, appears as realism to me. Its all a matter of perception.

Say what you want about people calling it the second coming of christ, some do, but there are plenty of people out there who bash it simply because its from Apple. Its a two way street. Personally I think the iPhone (and Apple products in general) get the coverage they deserve. If Apple wasn't such a hot button topic for many, they wouldn't write the articles.

But at the same time few wrote about the 45 security holes fixed in 3.0. It's not all a bed of roses and sometimes blind faith just leaves you blind.

 

[TheWart]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: aphex
My primary issue with the article is that it takes the stance that marketshare should be the only factor that determines a level of media coverage, and frankly that seems fairly narrow-minded. Many other factors come into play when it comes to media coverage, such as innovation, aesthetics, user satisfaction, marketing, hype, etc... Apple has made a name for itself by doing things differently, and that makes them stand out against the other manufacturers out there.

If the article really wants to give a fair argument, it should also consider the following;

The most recent results of the American Customer Satisfaction Index puts Apple ahead of all other computer manufacturers with a rating of 85 percent, a new high for the industry. The Cupertino company saw an improvement of 8 percent since the last measurement, putting it 10 full percentage points ahead of its nearest competitor

iPhone Makes Up 50 Percent of Smartphone Web Traffic In U.S., Android Already 5 Percent

JD Power and Associates - Apple Ranks Highest among Smartphone Consumers

Numbers are great when you only show the ones that support your premise, aren't they? Its fairly clear the article started out to prove a point that Apple shouldn't garner the attention it does simply due to marketshare, rather than give a fair and full assessment of all the factors at play.

I don't think most people claim that Apple has the biggest marketshare, nor that Apple products are flawless (yes, some do, but it happens on both sides). Nothing is flawless, nothing is perfection. Each individual has different needs and different purposes, what could be crap to one for lacking a feature, could be perfection to another who doesn't care about that that same attribute.

IMO, Apple products are the bees knees to some because they take away the confusion, the tons of variations and configurations, use quality hardware, have good build quality, and are generally easy to use. They aim to be tech for the non-tech crowd. They are definitely not the best for everyone, nor are they the fastest, nor the cheapest, far from it, but for those looking for what Apple offers, they are the best.

Apple products garner attention because that's what they were designed to do, to stand out.

Without trying to create a flame war I think this sort of evangelism is part of the problem. I do see that you put that in you post, hence why I state I'm not inciting a post fight.

Part of the problem is people constantly banging on about this particular phone like it is the second coming of Christ, and that gets up peoples noses, no matter what type of fruit flavoured smartphone you prefer.

And thats where we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see my post as evangelical in the slightest, it was simply a retort to the slanted article in the OP, that marketshare should be the primary determining factor of media coverage. I never said Apple products are superior nor did I say that Apple was the only way, in fact quite the opposite. What appears to you as evangelism, appears as realism to me. Its all a matter of perception.

Say what you want about people calling it the second coming of christ, some do, but there are plenty of people out there who bash it simply because its from Apple. Its a two way street. Personally I think the iPhone (and Apple products in general) get the coverage they deserve. If Apple wasn't such a hot button topic for many, they wouldn't write the articles.

But at the same time few wrote about the 45 security holes fixed in 3.0. It's not all a bed of roses and sometimes blind faith just leaves you blind.

Wait, so it is a bad thing that they fixed 45 security holes? Or are you saying that people who like the phone are blind because they dont realize that they are using a phone with 45 secuirty flaws?

either way lol

 

[akugami]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: MotionMan
Wherever I go in California, if people have a smartphone (or whatever you want to call it), they either have an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

It sure SEEMS like the iPhone is popular enough to warrant all the attention.

MotionMan

I hate the iPhone but I understand the press coverage it gets.

What has the iPhone ever done to you?!?

MotionMan

It raped my babies.

Well, then, your feelings are understandable.

MotionMan

Wouldn't the iPhone then be the father of your grandbabies?

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: akugami

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: MotionMan
Wherever I go in California, if people have a smartphone (or whatever you want to call it), they either have an iPhone or a BlackBerry.

It sure SEEMS like the iPhone is popular enough to warrant all the attention.

MotionMan

I hate the iPhone but I understand the press coverage it gets.

What has the iPhone ever done to you?!?

MotionMan

It raped my babies.

Well, then, your feelings are understandable.

MotionMan

Wouldn't the iPhone then be the father of your grandbabies?

:laugh:

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: TheWart

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: aphex
My primary issue with the article is that it takes the stance that marketshare should be the only factor that determines a level of media coverage, and frankly that seems fairly narrow-minded. Many other factors come into play when it comes to media coverage, such as innovation, aesthetics, user satisfaction, marketing, hype, etc... Apple has made a name for itself by doing things differently, and that makes them stand out against the other manufacturers out there.

If the article really wants to give a fair argument, it should also consider the following;

The most recent results of the American Customer Satisfaction Index puts Apple ahead of all other computer manufacturers with a rating of 85 percent, a new high for the industry. The Cupertino company saw an improvement of 8 percent since the last measurement, putting it 10 full percentage points ahead of its nearest competitor

iPhone Makes Up 50 Percent of Smartphone Web Traffic In U.S., Android Already 5 Percent

JD Power and Associates - Apple Ranks Highest among Smartphone Consumers

Numbers are great when you only show the ones that support your premise, aren't they? Its fairly clear the article started out to prove a point that Apple shouldn't garner the attention it does simply due to marketshare, rather than give a fair and full assessment of all the factors at play.

I don't think most people claim that Apple has the biggest marketshare, nor that Apple products are flawless (yes, some do, but it happens on both sides). Nothing is flawless, nothing is perfection. Each individual has different needs and different purposes, what could be crap to one for lacking a feature, could be perfection to another who doesn't care about that that same attribute.

IMO, Apple products are the bees knees to some because they take away the confusion, the tons of variations and configurations, use quality hardware, have good build quality, and are generally easy to use. They aim to be tech for the non-tech crowd. They are definitely not the best for everyone, nor are they the fastest, nor the cheapest, far from it, but for those looking for what Apple offers, they are the best.

Apple products garner attention because that's what they were designed to do, to stand out.

Without trying to create a flame war I think this sort of evangelism is part of the problem. I do see that you put that in you post, hence why I state I'm not inciting a post fight.

Part of the problem is people constantly banging on about this particular phone like it is the second coming of Christ, and that gets up peoples noses, no matter what type of fruit flavoured smartphone you prefer.

And thats where we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see my post as evangelical in the slightest, it was simply a retort to the slanted article in the OP, that marketshare should be the primary determining factor of media coverage. I never said Apple products are superior nor did I say that Apple was the only way, in fact quite the opposite. What appears to you as evangelism, appears as realism to me. Its all a matter of perception.

Say what you want about people calling it the second coming of christ, some do, but there are plenty of people out there who bash it simply because its from Apple. Its a two way street. Personally I think the iPhone (and Apple products in general) get the coverage they deserve. If Apple wasn't such a hot button topic for many, they wouldn't write the articles.

But at the same time few wrote about the 45 security holes fixed in 3.0. It's not all a bed of roses and sometimes blind faith just leaves you blind.

Wait, so it is a bad thing that they fixed 45 security holes? Or are you saying that people who like the phone are blind because they dont realize that they are using a phone with 45 secuirty flaws?

either way lol

Can you not read or are you using rule 4 of Scott Adams How to debate on the Internet?

It was OK to leave them a year? Think it might be a good idea to update a little more often for such a large number.

 

[TheWart]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: TheWart

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: aphex
My primary issue with the article is that it takes the stance that marketshare should be the only factor that determines a level of media coverage, and frankly that seems fairly narrow-minded. Many other factors come into play when it comes to media coverage, such as innovation, aesthetics, user satisfaction, marketing, hype, etc... Apple has made a name for itself by doing things differently, and that makes them stand out against the other manufacturers out there.

If the article really wants to give a fair argument, it should also consider the following;

The most recent results of the American Customer Satisfaction Index puts Apple ahead of all other computer manufacturers with a rating of 85 percent, a new high for the industry. The Cupertino company saw an improvement of 8 percent since the last measurement, putting it 10 full percentage points ahead of its nearest competitor

iPhone Makes Up 50 Percent of Smartphone Web Traffic In U.S., Android Already 5 Percent

JD Power and Associates - Apple Ranks Highest among Smartphone Consumers

Numbers are great when you only show the ones that support your premise, aren't they? Its fairly clear the article started out to prove a point that Apple shouldn't garner the attention it does simply due to marketshare, rather than give a fair and full assessment of all the factors at play.

I don't think most people claim that Apple has the biggest marketshare, nor that Apple products are flawless (yes, some do, but it happens on both sides). Nothing is flawless, nothing is perfection. Each individual has different needs and different purposes, what could be crap to one for lacking a feature, could be perfection to another who doesn't care about that that same attribute.

IMO, Apple products are the bees knees to some because they take away the confusion, the tons of variations and configurations, use quality hardware, have good build quality, and are generally easy to use. They aim to be tech for the non-tech crowd. They are definitely not the best for everyone, nor are they the fastest, nor the cheapest, far from it, but for those looking for what Apple offers, they are the best.

Apple products garner attention because that's what they were designed to do, to stand out.

Without trying to create a flame war I think this sort of evangelism is part of the problem. I do see that you put that in you post, hence why I state I'm not inciting a post fight.

Part of the problem is people constantly banging on about this particular phone like it is the second coming of Christ, and that gets up peoples noses, no matter what type of fruit flavoured smartphone you prefer.

And thats where we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see my post as evangelical in the slightest, it was simply a retort to the slanted article in the OP, that marketshare should be the primary determining factor of media coverage. I never said Apple products are superior nor did I say that Apple was the only way, in fact quite the opposite. What appears to you as evangelism, appears as realism to me. Its all a matter of perception.

Say what you want about people calling it the second coming of christ, some do, but there are plenty of people out there who bash it simply because its from Apple. Its a two way street. Personally I think the iPhone (and Apple products in general) get the coverage they deserve. If Apple wasn't such a hot button topic for many, they wouldn't write the articles.

But at the same time few wrote about the 45 security holes fixed in 3.0. It's not all a bed of roses and sometimes blind faith just leaves you blind.

Wait, so it is a bad thing that they fixed 45 security holes? Or are you saying that people who like the phone are blind because they dont realize that they are using a phone with 45 secuirty flaws?

either way lol

Can you not read or are you using rule 4 of Scott Adams How to debate on the Internet?

It was OK to leave them a year? Think it might be a good idea to update a little more often for such a large number.

If they are critical, then yes, delaying them for one big patch is foolish and a bad idea. If however, they are minor fixes then I don't see the harm, especially if the risk is that they rush them out and screw up more things in the process...

 

[pm]

The cell phone with the highest marketshare in 2008 - at least that I could find on Google - is the Nokia 1100. It has a black and white screen, simple controls, monophonic ringstones, and no advanced features like bluetooth, or WiFi. It hardly seems fair to say that the iPhone is not worthy of discussion because worldwide cell phone marketshare is dominated by very low-cost cell phones sold in poorer countries. I doubt we would want to spend a lot of time talking about phones like the Nokia 1100 - except maybe to marvel at how many they've sold.

Apple's worldwide smartphone marketshare is still low, but it doubled from Q1 2008 at 5% to 10% in Q1 2009(according to Gartner http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=827912 ), and 3GS sales remain strong despite the price and the economy. According to the WSJ, over 1 million iPhones were sold in the first weekend... by pretty much anyones reckoning that is pretty impressive for a $200+ cell phone. Given current sales, I would not at all be surprised to see Apple up to 15-20% worldwide smartphone marketshare by Q1 2010. But, having just returned from an extended trip through Europe, I have to say that I agree - worldwide marketshare for the iPhone is not particularly impressive, and most Europeans do not seem particularly impressed with the iPhone. Unlike Michael Jackson coverage - which was just as crazy there as here - the iPhone was pretty much a non-event in Poland, Germany and Austria. Although it did seem to be a moderately big deal in England. In the US, Apple's smartphone marketshare is a more respectable 30% - second only to RIM.

But, the iPhone 3GS is far from perfection.

• It's too expensive
  It's tied to a few exclusive carriers worldwide - most of whom do not unlock it unless required by local regulations
  It's not available on CDMA (ie. Verizon/Sprint) and can't use these networks when travelling
  No multitasking capability
  No backgrounding capability - so really neat apps like a pedometer don't work.
  No really good GPS application - although TomTom will likely fix this soon.
  It doesn't take any kind of memory card
  It only reliably synchronizes with iTunes software
  It doesn't have a removeable battery
  It's battery life is only decent - barely managing a full day with 3G and GPS enabled - and thus has plenty of room for improvement
  It's camera is tolerable but is far behind cameras in other advanced smartphones in terms of the lack of flash, or zoom, and lens quality and megapixels.
  It's screen is decent but since it hasn't changed in 3 years and it risks falling behind other smartphones in terms of resolution. Samsungs OLED screens are a huge improvement.
  Apple controls what software can be run on it thus leaving some software that Apple doesn't like out of luck
  There is very little customizability in the software - all iPhone screens that aren't hacked pretty much looks the same.

This is just what I came up with right now - I can certainly think of more given more time. And these are all versus other phones on the market currently - if we are comparing against "perfection" then, wow, the iPhone has a long way to go.

But I just bought an Apple iPhone 3GS and generally like it. They fixed most of my gripes from my original iPhone that I bought back in 2007, and made quite a few improvements in things like processing speed that lead to a better used experience.

Before I bought my 3GS, I looked at every phone that I could find. I honestly, truly didn't want to get another iPhone if I could help it. But I made a list of things that I wanted - including access to a lot of games and fun apps to amuse myself with when I'm stuck in an airport and a requirement for full GSM/UMTS support - and the list of phones that made the cut were pretty small. And when I'd finished evaluating them, I decided on the 3GS. I really liked the look of the Samsung i7500 (Android), but I couldn't find a way to synchronize my calendar with it in a way that my employer would vaguely approve of. The Palm Pre was out because it's not GSM (yet), and I didn't think that the Apps for the Blackberry - especially games - were as appealing as the iPhone ones. I didn't like the high-end Nokia's as much to use - although maybe I'm just too used to iPhones now - and I've never been a fan of Windows Mobile. So I went back to Apple.

I agree with the original assertion by Taltamir - the iPhone 3GS is not at all "perfection". But I do think that it warrants plenty of discussion because I believe that it is the most influential phone in the cell phone industry today. I believe it is the phone that most cell phone companies are trying to emulate - observe all the new "app stores" that have sprung up, and the substantial swing in the market towards touchscreen phones since the original iPhone launch. Before the iPhone, I can recall only a couple of touchscreen phones, and now a trip to any cell phone store shows numerous models of touchscreen phones. I don't think this is coincidence - Apple is in the crosshairs of every major industry player.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: pm
I agree with the original assertion by Taltamir - the iPhone 3GS is not at all "perfection".

No phone is perfect, but I find it impossible to beat the iPhone in terms of price/performance ($2/300)