Considering an iphone4 and Gs2 are the same price… I think most of what you say is right on. Only an idiot would pay $2000 for a pc laptop thats worth $800 the next year… But a $2000 Macbook is worth $1600 the next year. A Ford thats $50k is 25k in 6 months… A Mercedes $42k. In 5 years 10k vs 24k.

apple has over 1000 CPU engineers working on the a series alone.

Also, look at a well cared for launch day Gs2 and compare to a IPhone bought the same day. Glass and metal doesn’t wear.. paint covered composites do. Take the two devices by the corners and twist and tweak them… The Gs2 will creak and flex. (Careful, you’ll break the digitizer.. not crack it, just make it stop working.)

Amazing device, the Gs2, but still not built like an iphone as far as quality of materials and construction.

But.. I’m honest with myself and have much experience with devices.. Others…not so much.

Brand name.  You can charge that much, because you have the name.  People are willing to spend $$$ so they can have that brand of product.

Are Apple products good?  Yes.  They aren’t bad, but there are plenty that are as good, if not better, out there.

If you pay $650 for a non-iPhone, you’re an idiot.  You pay $650 for an iPhone, you’re cool.
If you pay $2000 for a PC, you’re an idiot.  You pay $2000 for a Mac, you’re cool.

You’re an idiot if you spend $50,000 for a ford, but completely cool if you are spending $50,000 for a Mercedes.

(Most) people won’t spend $650 for a Phone made by Nokia, LG, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Sony, etc… (Most) people won’t spend $1500 for an HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo, etc..  Those are the common and everyday brands.  But Apple comes around and suddenly it’s a “luxurious” brand and suddenly people are willing to pay whatever for the device(s).

People are sheep.  That’s why Apple can make a killing while others are struggling to make a profit.  Because people are blindly buying or spending what people tell them to, and NOT buying the best devices for them.  Your NOT looking for or buying the best if you walk into Best Buy and take a direct beeline to the Apple section of the store.  That was exactly what a lot of people my friends know and I know who use apple devices.  It was a direct beeline to the Apple section without even bothering to look at what else is there.  Interestingly enough, the people who did LOOK and compared devices ended up, most of the time, getting a non Apple device. “why get an iPhone when there are simply better phones out there?”  ”why spend $3000 for a MB when I can spend $2000 for a PC that is equal to the mac?”  etc.

Marketing and Hype.  That is what Apple is successful.  Because they can just show of a flashy rock and have MILLIONS of people buy it without even having an idea how good or bad it is and totally not even compare it to what is out there.

Apple products are good.  That is true.  But there are tons of other products just as good, if not better. The thing is, they are looked as “inferior” because they simply are not an Apple product.  Since it’s a non-Apple product, it is automatically rated as “inferior.”

Apple will get a rude awakening once people wake up.  But the question is, will people wake up? 

We all know that Apple makes the biggest profits but also does one of the lowest investments in Research and development.
Samsung on the other side is a company who does one of the biggest investments into research. Without companies who like Samsung or some other companies who spend so much of their money into research all those apple products wouldn’t be available.