Yes, Apple is a closed eco-system but there is a very obvious and glaring market for people that WANT that very thing. The saying at Apple, in relation to their products, is that they just work. Well, to be fair, this is true. They intentionally keep the system closed so they can ensure that everything works as designed. All of their products are designed, tested, and supported in this very fashion and it makes for an enjoyable end-user experience for those folks that want their technology to work simply and reliably without the need for them to have to learn about how to do anything technical at all. We all have sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, et al that are not technically inclined in the least. Hand them an Apple product and they happily wander off doing what it is they want. These people have no need for their tech toys to do anything other than the typical tasks like web surfing, watching movies/videos, email, and playing around with family photos.

There are other systems for the more tech savvy. Folks like many of us here that are not adverse at all to diving into things like Registries and Config files. Many of us NEED to have control over our systems as we do those more atypical things (or want greater control over the typical things) so we tend to flock to the Open systems.

I have never understood why people can't understand this and resort to hating one company over the other for not catering to their whims when they have always had the option to simply use the platform best suited to their needs. Most of us appreciate options as they give us flexibility, that some hate this is mind-boggling

 

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^

TLDR: Apple is for people who want shiny appliances.

I would never buy Apple for the simple reason that they overcharge for their products. I own exactly zero Apple products.

 

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I think Apple has improved there. The iPad for only $500 and that Macbook Air for only $1,000 are both pretty nice values compared to competing products in those classes.

 

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I have all kinds of tech gadgets, some Apple, some not. They are all cool and useful, each in their own ways.

 

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i read it, and it boils down to

"Apple: for old people, and non-techies"

 

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I disagree, I don't find those prices reasonable at all.

 

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Is that because you think tablets and ultrabooks are too expensive in general or just Apple? Because the tablets cheaper than the iPad are pretty crappy and are being discounted for a reason. Those at the same price often have some extra features, but still poor build quality compared to the Apple.

These are hard discussions to have as Apple hatred tends to cloud things. If that isn't the case here, then you really have to consider the quality of Apple products. They actually design and manufacture their products to a higher quality than just about every one of their rivals. My Macbook Pro is absolutely gorgeous. Aluminum uni-body with a beautiful glass screen. The quality is just another magnitude above the typical cheap plastic used by so many others. Consider also the resale value they retain, there is actually a very healthy Apple used market out there. Try that with a plastic Dell and see how far you get.

Some also appreciate the value of being able to run multiple OS's. There are things I prefer doing in OS X so that also adds to the value of the computer. It runs Windows every bit as well as non-Apple machines so having choices is a good thing that some will pay extra for.

Are Apple products sold at a premium? Yes, of course.
Are they worth the price? If you value quality design and construction and would like to be able to recoup some small portion when you upgrade, yes.

Some will not place any value on this and fortunately they have other options. In the end, the consumer wins.


And just for you Marzuk, the TLDR version. Apple sucks, only morons buy from them!

 

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