[swiftman]

I'm laughing. But really at this point, I'm convinced people will shell out whatever amount of money they have for an Apple product. I'm in awe of their marketing and ability to sell computers with hardware that is priced 3 times more than anywhere else, get people to pay for software updates that should be free, and sell phones which ... (well obviously right lolz) require you to update almost all of your other peripheral oriented accessories. They have created an experience above an beyond all. It's almost like Barbies ... you have to pay for the high heels after you buy the doll but at least her shoe size stays the same.

I do however think that time is running out. Nothing lasts forever my friends. But I guess we'll see.

[tdm911]

I'm not sure your points are valid.

The iPhone is not priced three times more than equivalent phones. Outright prices are not available in the US, but in England an iPhone 4 starts at £499 and a HTC Desire is £449.

Software updates for the iPhone have always been free from Apple (iPod Touch was different).

Finally, with regard to accessories, I don't think that's a fair comment either. If I purchased a HTC phone 12 months ago and then replaced it with a Desire/Hero etc, then there is every chance the accessories would be different.

I wish Apple would keep the dock the same over all iPhones, but I understand why they change it too. They have universal docks available and offer the slip in connectors allowing you to use the dock for multiple devices. This is more than I can say of most companies.

[swiftman]

I was referring to computers having hardware that is 3 times overpriced. Not the iPhone being 3 times more expensive (All phones are subsidized by the carrier so I don't think pricing will ever be an issue for the consumer). Now, I would imagine that ATT does lose a tremendous amount of money on every iPhone it sells opposed to say an equivalent smart phone. But anyway, my point is basically ... the marketing team at Apple has done a fantastic job of selling products at a premium and at selling the Apple experience.

I'm not sure about the Droid/Hero thought. On numerous occasions I have seen other brands of phones being charged by the chargers of older models and even different models. My old Samsung could be charged by the charger of virtually any other Samsung phone. Even if it were a different model. I'm not sure about this, but I wouldn't be surprised if my Evo could be charged by another charger meant for another HTC device.

But no knock on Apple ... tremendous company ... tremendous story. It's just that some of their practices don't seem to be as consumer minded as some would like.

[jsz0]

People buy cases for all sorts of non-Apple phones. They buy accessories like the car dock for the Motorola Droid for example which is incompatible with other devices. They are basically luxury items and people pay accordingly. Their only purpose is to enhance your enjoyment of using the device. My guess is the more enjoyable a device is to use is directly related to the amount of money people are willing to spend on accessories for it.