[greedo]

Monopolist. Let's look at Apple's product lines and see:

1. MP3 players. Yep, they own the largest portion of this shrinking market. But their monopoly share doesn't seem to have hurt the customer; and in fact, I still can find numerous non-Apple MP3 players without much trouble.

2. Smartphones. Nope, not even 50% of the US, much less the worldwide market for smartphones. The fact that they are much better than their competition at extracting profits is immaterial.

3. Tablet Computers. Clearly a yes, but in any market segment that explodes like this one, you'll have market shares that swing wildly. Currently Apple dominates this segment; but it's not clear that they will retain a monopoly position. And again, I still can find numerous non-Apple tablets without much trouble. And I don't see any damage to the consumer.

4. Personal Computers (i.e notebooks and desktops). Clearly not a monopolist in this segment.

5. Software. LOL

I do agree that Apple is going through a "striking and highly unlikely reversal" in terms of how it's portrayed in the media. Perhaps that's due to competitors not liking the fact that Apple is eating their lunch?