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Most people don't realize that Apple market share in desktop or laptops has been steadily declining over the last 30 years (although they have always done well in niche commercial graphics markets where margins are very high) and product revisions in those products you mentioned is not what has propelled them to what they are today. It has been the iPod, iPhone, and iPad that has revived Apple.
I seem to remember that somewhere in the region of 10% of their profit and 50% of their costs come from PC's and laptops, whilst 30% of their profits and 10% of their costs come from iTunes, and 60% of their profits and 60% of their costs and 40% of their profits come from their toys.
Well done Apple you have turned a PC company into a toy and music company.
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The question of whether their products are priced correctly is a different matter from whether Apple is a cult. To say that Apple products are priced correctly because people are willing to pay for them does not refute the cult status. Obviously, if a cult status exists, then Apple can charge higher prices, so there is no disagreement about that.
Which is why I mentioned Sony. Sony used to have a cult status like Apples is today, but nowhere as strong, Sony always used to produce good quality kit and sell lots of it at a price mich higher than anyone else could. Even though their TV's were made by Sanyo people spent an extra 20% on the TV with a Sony badge rather than the internally identical one with a Sanyo badge. Apple have just gone one step further and are trying to sue other companyine for making toys that look similar (although they are not "saint white").
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Where did the new ones come from and why?
Another question to ask, why does the "Catholic Church" claim to have 2 billion followers. If you get into their heads, they will spread the "good word" for you, half of your marketting gets done by your followers - the best advertising in the word is word of mouth.
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We can disagree on what consitutes "close", but in Dec 1997 their stock price hit a 12 year low never reached again.
I knew they were doing badly, and also that their upward trend will eventually hit a peak.
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The G4 Cube was priced too high. That's why it didn't sell. Apple has quite a few products in their portfolio that didn't sell well. Weird for a cult, huh.
The answer is simple, their PC's didnt and dont sell well (compared to others and even their older models), their Laptops (like all laptops) sell well, just like "Apple stickers" that kids put on their own much cheaper Laptops........ If you ever want to find out how cool a brand is, just ask someone between the ages of 10 and 15...... It is obviously very cool to stick an "Apple" sticker of the "Dell" badge on your laptop.
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Oh? I thought the iPod, iPad and iPhone make Apple. How is Steve Jobs leaving gonna affect anything? You seem to have a more cultish view of him than the people you accuse.
Watch the video I watched last night.
Andy