Why Apple is in worse shape then it thinks
July 24, 2010
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Over the past few years, there seems to be an AAPL craze going on. People camping outside stores to be first in line for the new Iphone, and continuous rave reviews about every product they release. With about 5 million different Ipods that are available when you walk in the store and a new iphone every year it is amazing that apple doesn't have a license to print money. However, despite the success of Apple and the rapid PPS rise every quarter there are several problems that most don't take into account.
Lets start with the Macs
A majority of the apple uses love their Mac for its sleek and stylish design. Yet it maintains a simplistic functionality. When we take a deeper look into the mac we find even their basic model, the Mac Book, which is priced at $999, only costs about 400 dollars to buy if you purchased the parts online. Although, most Mac users in general aren't as tech Savy as PC users and blame a majority of problems on the computer itself even when they are mostly caused by the user of said device. Which brings me to my next point. Apple makes outrageous claims about macs being one of the safest computers in the world, and how unlikely it is for your computer to become infected. Yet if you take a look at mac's market share in the world, it is a measly 3.6%. Taking this statistic into account, which most Mac users wont, a simple conclusion arises. Who in their right mind would code virus's, malware, anything for a mac? No one. So for Steve Jobs to claim the apple is safe because it is more advanced is puffery. When you really get down to what a mac can do it is clear that the list is short and bitter. Unless you are using photo-shop on what most likely is a 4 thousand dollar IMac for your job there really is not much of a reason to own one. Of course, you can always load up Imovie to edit a film you put together and create "special effects" that appear as if they were created by a first grader 30 years ago. Don't even get me started on video games. Over 1.52 billion dollars raked in every month by the industry and all Apple can come up with is Lego Island adventure and Hello Kitty. However, a recent update allows Mac users to play the sleeping giant of video games, Counter-Strike Source, a first person shooter that actually requires skill, unlike a certain game made by Activision, Modern Warfare 2. A huge victory for mac users worldwide. 5 games total on the Mac list now (worth buying). Although Counterstrike was a step in the right direction, Apple is decades behind on coding for the sector. So what is the bright side about Macs? They are simple and easy to understand, even for the most basic user. Don't expect them to enter the work world anytime soon. So when your writing up your quarterly earnings on your new "fancy" Mac and then email it to your colleagues who click on open attachment and it doesn't work; remember that your the only person in the world who uses it. Oh yea, when you get home and open the box to a beautifully designed exterior body protecting internal pieces that are worth about 50% of the price you paid for; you might want to remember to download a new internet browser, Safari was recently ranked the most unsafe browser to use.
Onto the Iphone(s)
No one can deny that the apple has set the benchmark for smart phones with the release of the first Iphone. But when it comes down to the nuts and bolts, is it really that better then its competitor? No. I own an Iphone 4 and I must say the display is clear, crisp, and simply gorgeous. So when I realized my Iphone was dropping calls left and right, I decided to make a call to support, yet you can't use the Iphone to call for when the line starts ringing and a human picks up on the other side, a big CALL FAILED sign appears on the screen! When the Bumper was released the difference was quite clear and those 5 bars that always seemed to diminish when the phone was being held faded away. Of course, apple now offers the Bumper for free, via app download. Only problem is, it takes about 3-10 weeks just to get one. What are they doing, performing clinical tests to make sure they actually work, ITS RUBBER, not magic! Despite the fact the phone works now, it is rather ugly, and you'd have to be absolutely bonkers to make the case in such a design. Even though less then 1% of all Iphone 4 owners have returned the phone, Steve Jobs decided to show his true colors, which is basically just arrogance with arrogance in the middle. "Don't hold it that way" When I found out that I didn't know how to hold a cell phone correctly I was shocked! I tried holding it upside down but even that didnt work! So as I went to the streets and tried to unlock the mystery of how to hold a cellular mobile device correctly, I stumbled upon the ultimate truth. Steve Jobs is an arrogant moron and despite popular belief, he isn't made of great ideas, only stupid comments. The world realized how dumb his claim was, probably not mac users though, and Jobs changed his statement stating it was a software issues, and of course it was soon proved to not be the case. So when Steve jobs admitted to the Iphone having a problem it was 28 weeks later all over again. During his press conference he took multiple phones and demonstrated how they all lose reception if you hold them as a normal person would. What he didn't state was the smart phones used were about 3 years old. Now that is management you can trust! And with HTC smart phones on the rise, Apple can't keep making big mistakes like this.
Look I bought an Ipod!
Congratulations, My Zune has an HD display a 64gb HDD, goes on the radio, connects to the internet and can visit Facebook, twitter, or myspace with one tap of a finger. Apple makes about a bajillion different Ipods which are all quite lovely yet are behind the curve. Remember when all songs on itunes were 99 cents and not 1.29. My Zune sure doesn't. I can download an unlimited amount of songs for just 14.99 per month. Not only does Zune have an advanced marketplace that could give Itunes a run for its money, you can download the whole frigg'n Zune marketplace and only pay 15 bucks, cancel your subscription and keep the songs! Don't worry about itunes purchases not being synced to your Zune, because they do. Not only is the Zune cheaper to have, it is better designed and you don't have to buy a more expensive model like an ipod touch to have a beautiful display for each model has the same software.
The Ipad
First of all, what "genius" came up with that name? If you own an Ipod touch you might not want ton get an ipad, why? Because you basically have one, its called an ipod touch. For the Ipad it doesn't do anything that your Ipod touch can't easily do. Besides the fact that the mini Ipad already exists (ipod touch) it just can't replace the laptop, as Apple would like it to. Want a small Laptop? Buy a Netbook, the thing is so small it could probably fit in your pocket! Who the hell would even want to work on with the ipad? Besides watching the newest movies to steal meaningful yet abstract quotes for your next big meeting it can't really do anything. To even consider turning your ipad into a laptop you need to buy a stand, and then a keyboard. Sure seems like a terrible deal for something that is a joke. When Steve jobs went on stage to talk about the newly released Ipad and its "amazing features" it made me laugh. He explained over, and over, and over, and over, and yes over again how amazing the internet browsing experience was. Claiming you can zoom in and zoom out stretch the page and scroll up and down. Yea Steve, its called a computer, you make some remember? It can do the exact same thing, just a lot faster. Oh yea did Mr.Jobs mention he doesn't believe in Adobe flash? Nice one Jobs, you are about the only person in the world that doesn't use it. So when you buy the newest apple product and try to view something that requires flash, turn back! RUN! You won't make it out alive for the all apple products have a self destruct feature that makes the product explode if you disobey Mr.jobs and his wishes.
As much as I hate how over hyped ever apple product is, I cant deny the fact that they have brainwashed the public and make gazillions in doing so.