Nobodies forcing people to buy things from these companies yet they still have huge customer bases, the majority of people are buying into the brand/lifestyle rather for the actual hardware. The only Apple product i have is a ipod nano, which tbh is great, there are probably better options out there but combined with a watch strap i find it does everything i need. Would i buy a mac? probably not, but i can see why people do. I suppose what im trying to say is that a good product is still a good product regardless of the company that produced it.
I bought an iMac for the hardware primarily and to save a bit of hassle too. The monitor is stunning and to spec a similar price PC with monitor (27" IPS) delivered, built and with warranty the difference in cost wasn't worth it. And I've been a lifelong PC user/builder too!* *I'm still going to install Win7 using bootcamp to play BF3 mind you! I'm still an Android phone user though as HTC Sense is my preferred UI by a mile. Back on topic anyone linking to a Daily Mail article to form the basis of an argument is a tool!
Haha, great comment, thank you for giving me a chuckle whilst in a hangover state this morning. I saw the daily mail and cba to read more than the first paragraph, they should stick to what they're good at, making up Dianna and cancer stories. Seriously people should stop reading this ****. I've never liked apple, but I've had every iPhone, I've tried to use galaxies but still think android is bunk in comparison, I don't get how people prefer it, it's clunky, slow, fairly bollocks when it's working well. And the adverts in apps? You got to be kidding me. Gtfo. I've always jailbroken my phones so I'm not locked into doing what apple want me to and I love them. As an ex nix fanboy I thought I'd give osx a go and bought an old g4 12" powerbook the other day and tbh I love it, pc hasn't been switched on in over a week. Fairly tempted to get a MacBook pro now, never thought I'd see the day! So a sweeping generalisation, never having tried anything different is bollocks.
@Puk have you tried HTC Sense? I don't like vanilla android that much or Samsung Touchwiz UI for that matter but HTC Sense is the dogs bollox IMO. 7 homescreens and active widgets is far better than launching apps from shortcuts for me. I'm running it on a Desire HD.
So what do you buy then ? Clearly not HTC (locked bootloaders for many versions of their Android phones), not Motorola (locked, signed bootloader, late updates). So you are left with Samsung (late updates), LG (even more delayed updates) and Sony Ericsson (they ask "what is this thing called update?"). I don't defend stupidity of iOS, i personally cannot understand anyone using it (i have one iPod Touch 4th gen 8GB for development), but unfortunately if you base your buying on "control freaks" argument, then you are left with very limited choice.
Apple sells. Period. Despite the price, despite the locked garden. Because ordinary people cannot be asked to tinker, cajole and hack to make their gadgets work. They don't want "freedom" and "flexibility"; they just want their stuff to work. And Apple products, by and large, just work. Simply. Apple is expensive? Sony is expensive. Asus is expensive. Motorola and HTC are expensive. In fact, almost every company maintains the same 25% profit margin that Apple does. Unless you've seen a Tablet of equivalent soec and build quality lately that really undercuts the iPad in price... I thought not. But you know Kovoet, Astral, go ahead and feed your righteous indignation its daily helping of Daily Mail ********. Because it makes you an informed customer and all.
I love these threads. I don't buy apple because I don't like thier closed garden approach and I like (to quote Nex) to tinker, cajole and hack because I feel I actually learn something by using, tinkering, cajoling and hacking. I do like to rage when an Apple fan touts their hardware as the only answer, but I'm human and allowed my opinion just like others are allowed theirs! I liken it to cake. Lots of people go out and buy cakes premade. I like to make my own. I sometimes mess it up but I learn from it. If you buy a cake you don't have to mess about making it and waiting, you just sometimes get a **** cake.
Well it's not just from the Dailymail my friend its my opinion of the product. I do feel a lot better getting it off my chest. I could carry on but I am sure I will then dig my grave even deeper by feeding the fire with more fuel.
Is everyone counting out Nokia already? Actually I don't own a smartphone at all - main reasons being that I insist on a half-decent keyboard (suitable for touch-typing - nothing has been released that can outdo my long-serving Psion 5mx) and a web browser that provides privacy settings (specifically cookie control) and ad filtering (Opera Mobile seems to be the only one doing these but it routes all traffic through Opera's servers creating another privacy problem). If I *had* to update my mobile (an old Motorola Timeport) then I would be looking at a Nokia model (though probably an old one running Symbian through eBay). I would not even consider an Android handset since I distrust Google - a view that has been recently justified. For mobile Internet access, I currently use a Dialogue Flybook (not a great keyboard, but a fully-functional PC that's more compact than any netbook) which can handle all the paraphernalia (web/ad filtering, Tor client, software firewall) that I consider necessary for secure and private online access. If that had to be replaced, I'd be looking for a UMPC capable of running a Linux distro. That may be so, but I would rather a "limited choice" than have my online activities (and physical location) subject to tracking and casual scrutiny. Others may disagree, but it's up to each person to decide how highly they value their privacy.
I think such a statement is rather rash, because (a) The Daily Mail is not a paragon of accuracy IMHO and (b), you cannot possibly know the details or pricing of every single Apple product from now until the end of time.
Indeed, some have been very reasonable. Most of the devout apple fans I've encountered lose a lot of money to the company not because the company prices everything far too highly but because those people have no sense of value or timing and just buy into the very first generation, no questions asked, trusting the brand and the hype to deliver every time. I mean, if you bought a first generation iPhone, I hate you for your eagerness to waste money. But the fourth generation is so goddamn good I'd eat my own foot for one, and it's not that hideously priced for what it is. Apple's quality varies massively from product to product (hey, whose doesn't) but Apple fans are unique in their laziness as customers, their lack of dependence on silly things like 'reviews' and 'recommendations'. It's their own fault Apple keep making money out of them so easily, really.
first generation iphone is much better than competition at its time. point me to any phone, even in 2008, that came anywhere close to original iphone? even now, HTC are still selling Wildfire which is no different to iphone 3G (which is identical to original iphone with 3G antenna) although i think the timing element is completely true, boiled_elephoant. the reason they never lower product price according to market is so that they can feed off wrong timed purchases as their own supply line gets refined.
Must agree, the first iPhone was groundbreaking for the time. Sure, looking back it had a slow-ass Edge internet connection, lacked a host of features (copy & paste anybody?) and was a bit slow...but in 2008 it was amazing. I'm glad I got mine. However, the 3GS was a cheat. Speed bump for a whole new phone cycle? I only ended up with one as an insurance claim.
Ok let's look at this logically. The prices are going to change because Apple is an American company. I'll take a typical app at $1 which used to be 59p over here. Considering the exchange rate now it should be; 1.00 USD = 0.622006 GBP But they are actually pricing it at 69p. So they are inface taking the piss, 65p would have been more accurate. Exchange rates explain there should be a 5% increase in cost where as they have actually used a 15% increase.
You're forgetting to add VAT. 0.622006 *1.2 = 0.7464072GBP The prices are actually lower than they should be Long story short: Edit: Yes, VAT applies to digital sales. It amazes me how much people whine about apple prices and conveniently forget about VAT. Apple's dollar prices are exclusive of any state specific tax. All UK prices are quoted inclusive of VAT.
