Posted on 07/10/2009 11:33:42 AM PDT by Wooly
In the last few weeks numerous technology and mass media web-sites published hundreds of stories about Apple, its products, their availability or their issues. But does that enthusiasm towards the company have any correlation with Apple’s actual market share? It seems that not really.
Apple is a company that has been extensively covered by media, especially in the USA, for many years now without an obvious reason: apart from the iPod, all the products from Apple are hardly used by a lot of people around the globe. But the latest load of rush coverage about Apple on the Internet more resembles hysteria rather than a normal exposure of a popular topic.
The most recent wave of wide-ranging coverage of Apple began with the pending release of the iPhone 3GS: almost all the tech web-sites published rumoured specifications of the device, some were correct, some were wrong. Then, after the 3GS was finally launched and the press released a load of ecstatic articles on the matter despite of the fact that nobody has tried to use the device, the media rejoiced over the return of Steve Jobs, chief exec of Apple, to his position at the company. Virtually all tech and mass media web-sites decided to inform their readers that Mr. Jobs had liver transplant in April and was back in the office on time.
(Excerpt) Read more at xbitlabs.com ...
Mac: Hello PC
PC: Hello Mac
Mac: Caught any bugs lately?
PC: Before I answer you what is your market share again?
Mac: Uh 8.2%
PC: So while you think that you are smart and the 90.5% of the people that use Windows are morons to be made fun of, maybe you ought to climb back into your Yugo, go home and look in the mirror.
Got an iPhone 3G for Fathers Day. It sucks. Battery life is about 10 minutes and it costs a fortune each month. Unless you get one given to you and you don’t want to hurt any feelings, don’t touch this POS with a ten foot pole. The network is crappy, the upgrade was only marginally better...it is junk.
Macbots arriving in 3...2...1...
Your iPhone experience is sure a hell of a lot different from mine and my sons’. For me, it’s an indispendible tool. Best phone I’ve ever used, in fact, even just considering its phone functions. Battery life is not a problem for me, and I use the thing intensively. Typically I charge it every second or third day, same as my old Motorola flip-phone. You can do things like turn off WiFi when you’re not using it, that might help. And some applications use more juice than others. Streaming-radio apps, for example (like my beloved Pandora) use a lot of power and will drain the battery in less than a day. But they would on a laptop, too.
My wife has an iPhone (FANTASTIC !) and the life is much better than 10 minutes. I don’t know which apps would drain that much power so quickly?
And, I have a very old AT&T/Cellular One/Cingular contract that gives me monthly rates lower than anything an AT&T employee can get. Not everybody can get such a great rate, but you get what you pay for - if you use it.
It’s an incredible device.
I was showing off Google Earth and the associated map features, as well as the cool apps you can get for a buck.
iPods and iPhones are the ONLY Apple products that intrigue me.
On those, they have no equals.
Sturgeon’s Law: 90% of everything is crap.
Works for computers, apparently.
It's not perfect, but it's better than any phone I've had before. Battery life is fine, and network is adequate in most places.
Had one for a year. I disagree. Best phone I’ve ever had.
And if it is, don't accept anything less than a replacement of the entire unit.
Ditto.
I only wish it would default to WiFi when it finds it.
You have to specifically request WiFi each time, or it defaults to 3G.
I love that thing.
I wish I could ditch my corporate Blackberry and go back to AT&T.
Yeah: ONE SINGLE COMPANY, providing not only the hardware but most of the software running on it, has 8.2% (>10% according to some) of a market which has _thousands_ of competitors. Nothin' to sneeze at there.
Dell has the biggest share of personal-computer hardware at 13.2% - but they don't make operating systems or applications.
Microsoft has 88% of the OS market - but they make virtually no hardware. Observe too that Apple's OS X's share grew by 31.7% within one year.
So Apple is basically second only to the Microsoft/Dell symbiosis. That's pretty darned good for "unpopular".
As a person with a distaste for just about everything Apple, I was so frustrated with Windows Mobile smartphones that I broke down and bought an iPhone earlier this year. I just wanted something that worked reliably and I had heard from friends that it would fit the bill for what I need. I’m glad I did it. It’s an amazing device and hands down the best smartphone available on the market. And you name it, I’ve used it.
There is literally an app for everything in the app store. If you’re still not satisfied, jailbreaking is easy enough. I had mine jailbroken the first day. Took about 5 minutes.
If you don’t like your iPhone, it’s cuz you ain’t usin’ it right. :p
I am on my iPhone for one thing or another pretty much all day long. I recharge it every night and it never runs out on me.
Can’t disagree with you about AT&T and the cost of ownership, but I was already with AT&T anyway.
By the way, 3G uses a lot of battery on any smartphone and ou should turn it off when you are not needing it. In most cases you do not really need it. Same with WiFi and Bluetooth, if you are not using it, shut it down.
“I think your phone warrants a check-up. I have a feeling that its battery is defective. And if it is, don’t accept anything less than a replacement of the entire unit.”
Thanks...I’ll try and exchange it...maybe this one is an anomaly, but I have read an awful lot of posts from people who had the same problem from web searches;
Google this and you will see what I mean;
iphone battery problem
there’s gotta be something wrong to get a zillion complaints...or we must be one lucky bunch of users on FR...except me, of course...
It not the Windows Mobile that is the problem, it is the restrictions and apps the carrier puts on them. If you had ever used an HTC Pocket PC that had been reloaded with a cooked ROM from XDA Developers you would have seen what I am telling you.
I put all my digitized music library on it (16GB), and use Safari extensively (FReeping) via WiFi or 3g networks. I get about a day's use out of it with that heavy usage. I suppose if I were to turn off WiFi and Bluetooth, battery time would increase. But so far, I'm quite pleased with it. I've also heard that it might be possible that the 3.0 version of the OS is not managing battery life as efficiently as it should, and the 3.1 is going to address that.
If you don’t like your iPhone, it’s cuz you ain’t usin’ it right. :p
SOMEHOW I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT ME...
Yet, Google this and you will see what I mean;
iphone battery problem
there’s gotta be something wrong to get a zillion complaints...or we must be one lucky bunch of users on FR...except me, of course...
You’re welcome!
I’m reading about those iPhone battery issues right now, but I remember coming across an article that mentioned 3GS iPhones which supposedly overheated and changed color. That too could be a battery issue. A brownish oval ring at the back of the phone, if it is a white iPhone, is the clearest hint of this problem.
But as I mentioned before, if they find any fault with your phone, don’t let them repair it. Demand a full replacement.
“Observe too that Apple’s OS X’s share grew by 31.7% within one year.”
So in simple terms, If I start a business today in competition with other companies selling thing-a-ma-jigs and over the next year from now I sell 1, that means that my market share has grown 100%.
What is the point of this article?
Comparing the amount of Mac solds to PC sold versus their respective media coverage makes no sense.
Of course trendy, upscale, stuff gets more media coverage than the average mass market consumer stuff.
How many people actually buys the top line designer clothes versus people who buy off the rack Walmart. Probably a lot more extreme that 9% versus 91%. Yet when media discussions clothing they covers the lasted fashion shows but rarely run stories about clothes at Walmart.
There's a setting for that; one that I would not turn off "Ask to join networks." I don't want my phone connecting with just any WiFi network, especially w/out my knowledge.
Now as far as the Networks I've authorized it to connect to; it has automatically connected with them whenever I'm in range. And that includes the encrypted, non-broadcast ESSID ones.
What’s amusing is that the ad is Microsoft spending money on pushing a product they don’t sell.
MS is losing market share. It’s still huge, yes, but shrinking.
They aren't bothering you.
They just want to use their 4 or 5 applications, and watch their BetaMax and HD-DVD movies in peace.
Boy, you called that one...
Well, publicly insult people and they tend to not stay quiet.
LOL...I don’t care what the XDA guys do to the ROMs, it’s like polishing a turd. I used them on my Kaiser and I used them on my Touch Pro. Perfume on a pig. WinMo is crap. Certainly when compared to the iPhone.
OS X share grew from the iTouch,iPhone. Something like 35 million apple pc’s to 45 million iTouch,iPhones in existence.
Yeah, because you weren’t itching for a fight over it or anything.
If you don’t like your iphone, you would be better served by either seeking repair or selling it on ebay than complaining about it on internet forums.
The article claims their worldwide market share is about 3.3%.
There is also magical math involved.
Let’s say I move appx 10,000 items a year and my nearest competitor moves on average 1,000 items in already saturated market place. If I next move 10,050 items and my competitor moves 1025 items the next go around he percentage had a higher growth rate.
Which is true. Apples are not that popular outside of the US and Canada.
Well, publicly insult people and they tend to not stay quiet.
Huh? You think THAT was an insult?
IMHO, Macbots are the computer world’s equivalent of the gay lobby...they can’t wait to tell you what a GREAT way they have and what a doofus you are for not entering their cult.
And God forbid that you present any argument against theirs.
Yeah, because you weren’t itching for a fight over it or anything.
What? Show me a post where I was “itching for a fight?”
Are you demented?
It’s all about the Blackberry Storm. First Blackberry I owned. I could never go back to another phone.
The only thing I envy about the iPhone is the WiFi. I mean? They didn’t think to put a camera on the thing? My Blackberry storm has a 3.2 Megapixel Camera that takes bitchin pictures and fantastic video. I guess you don’t need to take pictures since you can’t email them uh or video. I mean my friggin Motorola Razor from like 5 years ago had a camera, picture, and video messaging?
(And yes I know the “new” 3GS has a camera and picture messaging)
Apps? The iPhone can’t multitask so how can you run apps? geez.. Ok I am off my high horse now ;-)
Demented? Last I checked, I’m not the one crying about my phone on internet forums instead of getting it fixed and I’m not the one who took a good natured remark and flipped out yelling at me like I’m some husband who ‘always makes it about you’.
All iphones have cameras.
When I used the Blackberry Storm, it was really laggy.
You can multitask if you jailbreak, but that’s a legitimate gripe for sure.
Demented? Last I checked, I’m not the one crying about my phone on internet forums instead of getting it fixed and I’m not the one who took a good natured remark and flipped out yelling at me like I’m some husband who ‘always makes it about you’.
Oh. you are demented. Sorry. It wasn’t an insult to the person, it was an insult to the STUPID POS PHONE...or are the two indistuinguishable to you? Are the ads real? Does the guy called Apple really think he is one? This is freaky. I made a post expressing an opinion, got ZERO help, a bunch of ads were run for Apple and ONE PERSON suggested that I take it back, which I will...this will be the last time I mention A P P L E anywhere...cripes, I could have a better time and feel more welcomed at a DUmmie convention...
My wife loves to use 3G for browsing, etc, so she keeps it on all the time.
Doesn’t kill the battery life, but she docks it whenever she’s home.
I do hate all her alarms (work, pick up the kids, etc.) because they never stop. They’ll keep going until the unit dies or until you manually stop them.
HATE THEM.
So you're one of those people.
Wow, you’re off your meds again.
Listen, if I want to have an argument with someone irrational, I don’t need you for that.
Psst!! I don’t even believe you actually HAVE an iPhone. It’s okay, it’s an official disease. It’s called Machausen By Proxy disease, where people read about problems with devices and go around posting on forums pretending that they have those same problems.
I hear they’re working on a cure. In the meantime, you’ll need to take your thorazine or it’s the quiet room for you.
“Listen, if I want to have an argument with someone irrational, I don’t need you for that.”
No, you don’t. You can keep talking to yourself. Bye.
Like most subjects discussed on FR, the satire is indistinguishable from the serious.
Yep...posting from it now. :)
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