Victor P: Remember with the Nielsen rankings it makes sense to add up the Blackberrys to find they still have the largest market share across the range, though it is a great result for the iPhone I agree.

Re Tim Berners-Lee etc using Apple, I think that's a slippery slope that doesn't tell us an awful lot. Bono and Bill Gates (!) use Windows apparently; Obama and Paris Hilton have Blackberrys. Scientific?

Like the Holga simulation; I can't afford a Hasselblad either (a GR1S suits me fine). Simulation though? You wouldn't want to play CDs on a Brinkmann turntable ;-)

Thanks again for all the (sensible) comments, and Happy Christmas to you too Tacitus!

Dennis K: you got one? Damned right I am jealous!

I don't expect I will make Steve Jobs' Christmas card list this year.

You may want to look at how he strangled free speech by pressuring an Apple-watching site into closing shop a couple years back:
http://bit.ly/7FSV80 < the comments, even from Apple fans, say a lot.

@Jason - "Re Tim Berners-Lee etc using Apple, I think that's a slippery slope that doesn't tell us an awful lot"

On p. 28 of Weaving the Web, TBL says he invented it on NeXTSTEP, which he called "beautiful, smooth, and consistent" - a dream to develop on. NeXTSTEP is the predecessor of OS X, so it makes sense that TBL uses a Mac now. We can slag Mr Jobs all we want, this does not change the simple fact that Mr Jobs founded and ran companies instrumental in giving pioneers tools to make world-changing inventions such as...iFart. :P

I'm not an Apple fan, but the iPhone is a work of excellent craftsmanship. Apple makes products that many people, including technophobes, want to use and own.

On the other hand, Steve Jobs can be something of a monster, at least at work. To anyone interested in computer history, I recommend this website by one of the designers of the original Mac, Andy Herzfeld:
http://www.folklore.org/index.py

By the way, Mr. Stamper, the 'S' in 3GS stands for 'speed' - not because of cut-and-paste, but because the processor is about 50% faster.

VictorP: had a look at your blog, very cool. But when you say:
"I've had my iPhone 3G for only 8 months, and I've just updated it to OS 3.0, so I won't be upgrading to a 3Gs but will wait until my current contract ends in 2011. By then, I expect the iPhone 4Gs or whatever it'll be called will have evolved into a badass pocket computer with multi-core CPU, 3D GPU acceleration, universal real-time voice recognition, 2+ megapixel front-facing camera for full video chat, 5+ megapixel rear camera with at least 3X optical zoom that can shoot noise-free RAW images up to ISO6400, full HD (1080p) video recording and playback, 512GB of flash RAM, a micro SDXC expansion slot, outdoor GPS accuracy to under 1 meter, wireless broadband in the 20-50Mbps range, a built-in pico projector with 1+ megapixel resolution, biometric security, and an all-day battery." -- I can only assume that the current iPhone is not yet 'badass' enough ;-)

I'm sure I've read this article before ... Ah yes, I read it here in June: http://www2.businessreviewonline.com/blog/2009/06/is-apple-becomi.html

The truth of the matter is that Apple make products that are overpriced, well-designed and that work very well indeed: people buy them and then tell their friends how much they enjoy using them, causing a word of mouth buzz. Simple really.

@Jason - "I can only assume that the current iPhone is not yet 'badass' enough"

I don't want to have to carry a Flip UltraHD or a Kodak Zi8 to record HD video. And my DSLRs are big/heavy.

I've added Dragon Search and Dragon Dictation to my iPhone apps, so I can now dispense with typing in many use cases - speech to text is remarkably accurate in a quiet environment.

http://www.dragonmobileapps.com

My new Dell Precision T3500 has 6GB of physical RAM installed, but 32-bit XP (our corporate standard) can only see 3GB. This SUCKS. Reminds me of when I couldn't use RAM over 640K! x86 BIOS legacy issues and all that...arrghh.

I guess the sarcasm didn't work for me.
I mean, the 3GS _is_ faster than the 3G.

And the addition of cut-and-paste, though unexotic, did significantly increase the functionality of the phone, for both note-taking and email.

Roger, you're absolutely right this is an update to an opinion I have held for some time. In my new dual role I wanted to bring it to a mainstream audience.

Thanks for your comments. I still say Jobs should not be treated unlike any other CEO: with the scrutiny that the CEO of a public company deserves. Too many of today's consumers and media fail spectacularly to do that. I haven't even mentioned the stock options affair yet, or the controversy over his public statements about his health...

@VictorP: "So, would you rather live in a very popular but also highly dangerous neighbourhood (Windows) where your chances of being attacked are much higher even if you put multiple locks on your doors, or would you prefer to live in a safer community (Mac) where even if doors are often left unlocked there are no robbers around?"
I DO live in a popular area where I am more likely to get attacked than some other possible locations. It's called Hackney. And risk assessment. People know there is some risk involved in running Windows because it's a popular platform. They look at the cost differential versus Apple and decide the risk is worth it. Sure, you need antivirus, but you'd be wise to use that even on a Mac. Mac viruses are less common, but not unheard of. And the threat vectors from other types of malware are absolutely a risk in Mac environs.

Tacitus, thanks for the comment. But you say, "If Apple products were really as bad as you say, people wouldn't buy them."
Did you read the article or just the headline? I didn't say Apple products were bad. I said Apple's iPhone, "ushered in major advances in usability over its smartphone predecessors" and "still attracts admiring glances".
Did you also not see the line, "That strategy has worked for the company in recent years, with only a few bumps in the road to give it pause for thought."
My article is not a straight argument between which is better: Mac or Windows, iPhone or Blackberry. But I do believe Apple and Jobs get a suspiciously easy ride in most media channels. I just think there needs to be a little more interrogation and a little more constructive criticism. I'm certainly not the only one doing it, but much of the mainstream media has fallen into an Apple love affair that has robbed it of any meaningful independence.
You may also be interested to read the recent research by analyst firm comScore - 51% of consumers saying they will buy smartphones next year plan to pick a Blackberry device, while 20% will go for an iPhone and 17% choose an Android device.
But I wouldn't expect an Apple fan to take kindly to such news.

@VictorP "My new Dell Precision T3500 has 6GB of physical RAM installed, but 32-bit XP (our corporate standard) can only see 3GB. This SUCKS" < Seems you need a lot of RAM, but I agree it's disappointing. Still, you also highlight the very open, 'upgradeable' nature of the Windows platform. You can easily add (at least some) more memory or swap out any one of a long list of ubiquitous components.
Compare that to Apple's approach, where you can't even use industry standard headphones on an iPhone because Apple recessed the jack to try make you buy Apple ones.
You can't change the iPhone battery yourself, either, which is pretty rare in the smartphone world. And pretty mean-spirited for a company already making billions in profits.

(sigh) Here we go again.....

All this Apple stuff is really very, very simple. This company is just a company. Nothing more. Its CEO is a humanoid, like all others. But it makes things people want, at a price they are willing to pay. It's not brainwashing. It's not mind control. Last time I looked, I believe it was called 'market capitalism'. Am I to understand that the New Statesman is now opposed to this radical idea? ;-)

Apple are frequently accused of arrogance. Of elitism. So it is always a rich irony to me that this kind of article proliferates. Written from a point of 'superior insight', and condemning those lowly fools who are 'duped' into free consumer choices that don't accord with the prejudices of the author. How arrogant and elitist can one be?

I appreciate Apple's sense of aesthetics and the reliability of its products. Yes, I am one of those people who will buy nearly anything if its from Apple. My only complaint is that product release can never keep up with the rumor mills. I am happy the sooner they can make today's products obsolete. There is an elegant simplicity to Apple's products, and small developers quickly fill in the small niches Apple leaves vacant. I hope Jobs lives to be 100, but if not the culture he created at Apple will long survive him. As a designer, I often approach interface design by asking myself how Apple would view it.

Very ordinary patronising article here. Full of boring cliches.

"Roger, you're absolutely right this is an update to an opinion I have held for some time. In my new dual role I wanted to bring it to a mainstream audience."

Why should anyone care what opinion you've held for a long time? Some people like asparagus, some prefer broccoli. Why would anyone care enough to write an article about why broccoli farmers are brainwashing the public, selling overpriced product, and all the rest of the garbage you wrote?

It's very, very simple. I'll try to use words that even a 'journalist' can understand:
Apple makes products. Some people like those products and are willing to buy them. Some people do not like Apple products. Some people like Apple products, but think they're too expensive so they don't buy them. Some people even like them enough that they're willing to tell their friends about them. Others dislike them enough that they tell their friends not to buy them.

As long as the number of people who like and are willing to buy Apple's products is sufficient to pay the bills and generate a profit, Apple will stay in business and continue to sell its products. If Apple prices its products at a level high enough that sales drop below the break-even point, or if Apple starts to release junk, Apple goes out of business.

It's really simple capitalism 101. Did you fall asleep that day in class?

@Jason:
"Why the constant hysteria? Why the incessant hyperbole when it comes to Apple?"

That is, of course, absolute drivel.

Every time a new phone comes out, it's labeled an iPhone killer. Every time Microsoft releases a new OS (going back to Windows 3.1, at least), it's labeled 'as good as a Mac - and will put Apple out of business'. For that matter, a lot of journalists publish junk just like this article full of falsehoods about Apple and its products. How about Michael Dell's comments that Apple should be closed and liquidated - which many journalists agreed with? Or the countless journalists who insist that they know how to run a company better than Jobs does?

The media is full of Apple-bashing articles. Sure, there are some that are fairly consistently positive (Walter Mossberg, for example), but none with the kind of mindless pro-Apple stuff you're alleging against zillions with mindless anti-Apple stuff

Hey atleast Apple doesn't recycle old blog posts like you just did... and display it as a new revelation that you just though up, as if we haven't heard your jealous rants time in and time out, as a matter of fact you could have written this 5 years ago, and we would have done the same yawn that we did when others tried the same rant... but hey it was impressive that you didn't use the old stand by, "fanbois" that we have heard for the last 20 years that the other jealous ranters all like to use, what held you back this time?

This is the opposite of fanboy articles that act as though Apple is a person when it's a company. A company in the business to make MONEY and it does so VERY well. I remember the Apple that bent over backward to give users things like free support and even combination of hardware anyone could want. 6100,6150, 6180, 7200, 7500, 8100, 8500, remember those days? Yes, the same era when we had the BusinessWeek cover "Fall of an American Icon" or the Wired infamous "Pray" cover and when you almost never heard "Apple" without the word "beleaguered" before it. Today Apple does a few things VERY well and rather than promises it delivers great products and great financial results. Like any other company it's not "perfect" and it has bumps in the road but the totality of things are great products well made and well executed.

When the ignorant speak they offer up garbage like this article because they've got nothing to say and are obviously too stupid to know it.
Mindless drivel for the Apple haters to regurgitate but such thin gruel as to reveal their stupidity to all.
If this is the best you can do I have to conclude Apple is a fabulous company with fabulous products and will without any doubt continue to lead all things technological and exciting, as always!

Try to recognize a few things. Apple is innovative in making technology usable. They might not invent every market but are undeniably adept at making each market usable and enjoyable. All the way back to the Apple the Apple I/Apple II when others had toggle switches and hex pads. The iPhone 3GS is not a great advance over the 3G, however, it is the newest in a line that *advanced* the genre with improvements that seem obvious now: right-sized, high-res touch screen, attractive, UI innovations that are cool *and* useful, apps you *want* to use, a choice to drop the current call to answer the next call, the main button not immediately taking you to a shopping page...

Apple is not perfect but it is an error to downplay their innovation particularly in usability. Apple is the reason there is Aero, Adamo, and Android this decade.

.If you look at the quality of a name brand product like Oreos vs the housebrand "Trader Joe's Jo-Jo's" cookies, you find that Oreos cost twice as much and most people consider them to fail the taste test. Apple at least provides a decent product along with its marketing muscle. Marketing trumps all but at least Jobs has his pride.

What an astonishingly bitter, sour grapes article this is. The author's contempt for Apple and its customers is palpable. But it's right in character for the typical British tabloid rag that it is.

I could argue Microsoft is ten times worse, yet 95% of the sheeple in this world use their products. So what's the point?

I use Macs because I feel I get a superior user experience. I've used PC's for years and simply got tired of the typical problems that seemed to go away when I switched to Macs. It's really just that simple for me.

And buy the way, when you say "over priced" you really are saying "too expensive for my income level". Therefore, you justify that lack of income and ability to buy-up by degrading what you can't have. (I'm a Psychiatrist by trade) So watch what you say, it's simply a reflection of yourself in the end.