Why Are Americans Obsessed With Apple?
Posted on April 04, 2009 by admin
Its not now that I noticed it, but its been ages since Americans have show blind folded obsession for Apple products. Yes Apple does make some good products, but wait, do we have to see form over function? Apple describes itself on their site (which happens to be Alexa 64) as follows : -
Apple designs and creates iPod and iTunes, Mac laptop and desktop computers, the OS X operating system, and the revolutionary iPhone.
Lets start with each of the products made by Apple to justify why being obsessed with Apple is not such a good thing!
Apple iPod - This happens to be a music player which indeed looks the part, but wait. Whats with releasing thousands of versions in different names, shapes and generations, leading to ultimate confusion. The Apple website shows the new shuffle with 4GB but there is no signs of the 2nd generations shuffle with 2GB. And whats with having a bracket next to memory specification stating the amount of songs the player can take. The Apple website says Shuffle 1GB takes in 240 songs, but my shuffle never took more then 140 songs, oh wait, I am not American, maybe thats why.
Apple iTunes - Perhaps the most complicated way of transferring songs from your computer to your iPod. I don’t understand why can’t you simply, cut, copy and paste songs like you can do with most other players? No you must download the latest version of iTunes, no you must register your device, no you must………. thanks but I just want to have songs on my iPod, nothing more, please!
Apple iPhone - Certainly the most overhyped mobile phone to have ever graced planet earth. The iPhone is not only low on specifications when compared to competition, it is highly overpriced and you can’t even own one, without doing something illegal. All the iPhone 3Gs seemed to come locked and you need to break your head running a jailware (or is it?) software. Damn, I would take the N96 each and everyday and still save some $$$ leftover. Buttttttttttttttttttt the iPhone fanatics think otherwise. The iPhone is overhyped to such a extent that Google has released GTalk for iPhone but not for symbian yet!!!!!!!!!
Apple MacBook - Sure this notebook is light, sleek and sexy too but its not the ultimate notebook. Highly overpriced like all Apple products, the MacBook is no match for Acer Ferrari notebook when it comes to weight and asthetics. But still most Americans LOVE it.
Apple iMac - With claims by Apple of it having the biggest (or maybe baddest) screen for a desktop computer, I can easily plug in a 67″ LCD TV to my HP desktop PC and go 7Up on that. But then that would be missing the point, the iMac doesn’t really offer much more then what you can achieve using other desktop machines which are available at similar prices. When I first heard iMac, I thought it was a new burger at McDonalds which is healthy, yet tasty.
Mac OS X – It may have less viruses then windows, but half the software’s don’t support Macintosh, otherwise Macintosh is something where Apple has indeed done a good job.
The iFunda - Whats with everything having an “i” in its name? Does everything that Apple produce be as intelligent as the name projects? So that means their notebooks are nothing to talk about, because they don’t have an i in its name. I wonder why the CEO of Apple is not called iSteve iJob?
So if you happen to be an American and mostly yes, you would be obsessed with Apple, please leave a comment below and share with us your thoughts and opinions on this matter.
If you are not a big fan of Apple, like me, then please consider digging and stumbling this post. Even if your a Apple fan, you stil can still spread the word using the options below.
Discussion: 27 Comments
27 Responses to “Why Are Americans Obsessed With Apple?”
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jbelkin
- 5th Apr, 09 02:04am
Well, when you actually get to use a Mac or Apple, you’ll understand. And when you graduate college and get a job, you’ll understand why a BMW is better than a Tata and that it’s the VALUE f something and not just what you spend today but you have plenty of time to grow smarter and wiser …
faisal (author comment)
- 5th Apr, 09 03:04am
jbelkin, I would pick up a BMW anyday over a Tata. So you essentially mean to say buying a Apple is growing smarter and wiser, hmmmmm………!
Terry
- 5th Apr, 09 04:04am
Acer Ferrari?? What a dumbass.
Mathue
- 5th Apr, 09 05:04am
I don’t know why you think ‘object obsession’ is a uniquely American malady. Or for that matter that’s linked somehow to Apple. You need to hang out with some Linux heads like I do, Apple fans have nothing on ‘died in the wool’ linuxlifestylers. -lol-
Karl Hadwen
- 5th Apr, 09 06:04am
I agree, it’s not like people from the UK go out and buy a Mac that often.
Dan
- 5th Apr, 09 07:04am
Well, assuming you’re serious and not just trying to stir up controversy, I’ll tell you why I opt for many (but not all) Apple products over competitors’ offerings. I suspect I’m pretty typical for a long-time Apple fan.
Long ago (mid-to-late 80s) I used to be a computer tech for my Army Reserve unit, using PCs running DOS and Windows 3.1. I didn’t know about Macs until a summer training session when a Captain I knew showed me a Mac SE running System 7, with MacPaint and the original version of Excel (before it was even ported over to PCs). I was bowled over. It was just so much easier and intuitive than what I’d been used to. I couldn’t afford one for years but saved up and bought a Mac as soon as I could. PCs caught up with and surpassed Macs for a time in hardware, but its always been the combination of hardware design and fantastic OS that kept me buying Apple products.
I didn’t buy an iPhone, since I’m a pay-as-you-go phone guy and won’t pay monthly for a contract. But I did buy an iPod Touch, and love it; again, partly for it being easier and more intuitive than what I’d been used to but a lot of it truly is because of its looks. It’s really apparent, once you hold one and play around with it, that it is designed with care and attention to detail, and that everything in it is there for the reason of improving the enjoyment or ease of using it, not just to add a checkbox for marketing purposes. I really respect that kind of discipline in the design of a product. I’m just as happy when I find a non-Apple product that exemplifies these same things. Apple doesn’t have a monopoly on my wallet, but so far, in my experience, Apple has been living up to my expectations. As long as that continues to be the case, I’ll be a fan and look to them first when I’m in the market to replace my computing and mobile devices.
If people are happy with the features on a PC for the price they paid, that’s fine. But when they complain about Apple’s products being overpriced, I see it as really being that they recognize the value of Apple’s design choices and ease of use, but just aren’t willing to pay more for it. Why should it matter to you guys, if you’re getting such a better deal with non-Apple stuff? Be happy with having more bang-for-your-buck, and let those who make different decisions do so without castigating them as being “obsessed with Apple”.
Show me any high-tech gadget, and I’ll be interested. But if it’s bulky, ugly or awkward to use, I don’t care how many features it has or how cheap it can be had–I’m not going to buy it. Any company can potentially have me as a customer if they provide the form factor, aesthetics, and ease-of-use that makes it a compelling and desirable product for me. If it costs more, then it just takes a little longer before I can afford to buy it;-)
I hope this helps you understand my perspective better. I have bought a lot of Apple products over the years, and have remained happy with them, not due to some obsession on my part with Apple, but because I find value in the particular design choices, fit and finish, and underlying OS that fit so well with the way I want to use these products. I suspect most Apple customers have similar views. Maybe more of them can chime in on this!
Take care,
CoolGreenApple
- 5th Apr, 09 07:04am
I really prefer PCs for computers, and random brands for music players.
benoir
- 5th Apr, 09 09:04am
you are a wally…
do you even know what aesthetics means…
admin (author comment)
- 5th Apr, 09 01:04pm
Dan, you have given a fantastic explanation there. Now Apple is making a little sense to me, thanks for the detailed post which has explained to a great extent the reason why Apple is preferred by so many.
Sebhelyesfarku
- 5th Apr, 09 04:04pm
Americans are f***ing dumbasses, that’s why most brainwashed Mactards are there.
Jake
- 5th Apr, 09 05:04pm
Nice post! American here (not a dumbass though)
I’ve been around computers, worked on them etc etc for 20+ years and during that time i have NEVER once sat in front of a Mac.. I’ve never had anyone ask me to work on a Mac haha (food for thought?) I really know nothing about them but would never shy away from them… Just always been a PC guy i guess and the cost never seemed to be justifiable to me, but to each his own!
Now I do own an iPod and love it! I’m not to thrilled about all the copy protection crap but hey, it does what IT is suppose to do and does it well!
Gone to listen to my iPod and get some things done on my PC
Sean
- 5th Apr, 09 07:04pm
All I can say is that I was a Windows user for years, and then converted to Mac 2 years ago and have not been happier.
I might add that I have XP on my Macbook Pro which makes it capable of running more software than your PC.
Agent 001
- 5th Apr, 09 11:04pm
Some bold statements. I am also not a fan of Apple but I want to try their Mac once (I will install windows in it first). Well I love assembled PC.
ardaz
- 5th Apr, 09 11:04pm
You sir are an iNincompoop… [translation]… you’re an idiot.
Drag ‘n drop …lol – oh sorry, I forgot, Windoze has discovered it… when it works.
Acer ?? Ferrari?? – that’s lamer than my old dog.
Al
- 6th Apr, 09 12:04am
The first time you use a Dyson Vacuum cleaner you just know that a Dyson is the way all vacuum cleaners should look and the way they all should work. You wouldn’t buy any other brand. Price and technical feature check lists would not change your mind.
Same goes for Macs and iPods. They are that much better than the available alternatives. I’ve never used an iPhone but the iPod touch is incredible. I even make VoIP phone calls on the touch at WiFi hotspots.
The reason you don’t like the way the iPod interfaces with iTunes is because you’re not used to getting help doing simple tasks like filling an iPod with music. If you want to do it yourself, make a myipod playlist. Right click each song that you want in your library playlist and send it to your myipod playlist. Then sync your iPod to your myipod playlist only. If you want more than one playlist on your iPod, make more than one. It’s easier than drag and drop and you are in complete control. If you must drag and drop, double click on your myipod playlist to make it a separate window, resize your library window and drag and drop.
Doug Petrosky
- 6th Apr, 09 02:04pm
You may disagree with much of what I say here but you asked!
First iTunes/iPod and transferring music. Ok sure if you own a couple hundred songs, drag and drop might be a reasonable way to move them around, but most people have huge libraries and they want to load music in all sorts of ways. This means that having software to organize it is inherently a good thing to most people. Furthre more, if that software allows you to acquire additional music (both ripping and purchasing) all the better. And in the end your options for filling your music device in a fast and useful way are far better than copy and paste. (oh ya, so they give you an estimate on the number of songs that will fit and your songs are larger than the “norm” do some math!)
As for the iPhone vs the N96 or even the N800 the iPhone is just more useful. Apple’s implementation of a touch interface just works better. The double tap zoom and momentum scroll just feel right. And statistics bare this out. Normal, average people actually use the iPhone for web browsing at a much higher rate than ANY OTHER phone/mobile browser. Throw out what ever stats, figures, features you want, but the web is the killer feature on all computers and the iPhone does it best for now. Add to that the App Store and all other devices have a lot of catching up to do.
I don’t know much about the Acer notebook, but a quick google search, and an overview of the core features, size and weight leave me wondering what sets this so far apart from the macbook (white or al). Maybe you can site exactly what makes it so much better.
The same is true with the iMac. While the iMac is not the end all of computers, the 24″ version uses a very high quality display (and can connect to that same 67″ TV to drive both displays) and has a reasonable feature set for the price in a nice all in one package (If you like that sort of thing!).
So to sum up, I’m an american who owns both a Macbook Pro and an iPhone because they were the best tools available to me at the time I purchased them. Now, maybe when I go to upgrade my iPhone 3G someone else will figure out how to duplicate the browsing experience on the iPhone, and replace the Applications I enjoy using from the App Store and I’ll purchase that product, but right now I doubt it!
Salwa
- 7th Apr, 09 04:04am
I am not American (British here :=) ) However you are actually right as most of my blogging online friends or those who I have worked with one way or another from America they almost get confused when you tell them you prefer like say a pc over mac.
Daniel - WPThemeKid
- 10th Apr, 09 07:04am
Apple stuff is so much easier and reliable to operate than competitors in my opinion!
S
- 10th Apr, 09 03:04pm
use a mac for 10 days and then talk about it. now that i use one , i find windows ancient
saman
- 21st May, 09 06:05pm
Hi – You probably don’t get Apple because you haven’t actually used a Mac or an iPhone. Macs are superb hardware, in a great design with a stable, virus free OS. It isn’t perfect, but compared to the PC, the default settings are so good, it just works out of the box. No annoying pop ups, no endless customisation, spell check in all applications, text to voice so you can get the computer to read to you (handy while making tea and having the Mac read the paper to me in the morning), beautiful display and rich media controls and creation. Apple takes time to design their applications and hardware. They are not simply trying to tick off that they added this feature or that feature. They may even have less features on their iPhone compared to other phones but their implementation of it is better and hence more useful. I have to say though that OSX has more features than Windows and beats it completely.
Wall-e
- 9th Dec, 09 03:12pm
aesthetics means… Slavery to Steve and your job at his store if saying your a genius makes you one and your content with that then lube up and enjoy the eww too late, Wall-e
Benny
- 5th Apr, 10 04:04pm
Listen to all the iWhores getting offended. I can’t stand Apple. It is way over-priced and over-hyped. I have a few Apple products and I just don’t see what the fuss is all about but I suppose if you spend a few hundred dollars on an MP3 player, you will want to act excited just to comfort yourself.
Chris
- 21st Apr, 10 02:04pm
Well, I’d like to add: There’s not such thing as “American Obssession” other than weight of course. I’ve got so many friends and colleagues from different areas and foreigners that actually prefer Mac over PCs, not because of the “status” people think to get when carrying an Apple device, but for the looks and user friendly interface. Yes, Apple computers (Ibook, Macbook, Macbook Pro, etc.) Media players (Apple TV, Ipod) and handsets (Iphone, all generations) They all look good, they have ergonomic designs and when opening an Apple purchase box whatever it is, you are sure it’s a nice, advanced and high quality product, they are all wrapped with plastic covers and protectors for almost every single inch of it and yes, you were charged for all those useless plastic protectors that will end up thrown away (And I know it when I had my Ibook G3 delivered a few years ago. I opened up the box, there was another box, a smaller box and opened the smaller box and found the box that contained the actual laptop, and I was like “what’s the deal with the whole overprotection it’s just a laptop”.) But it was all worthy because I still use that computer once in a while, when traveling and when you don’t want your brand new laptop gets stolen or lost or damaged. It’s never given me any trouble at all. I can tell you, Apple may seem to be a little overpriced compared to other same kind devices but when it comes to quality and durability Mac is the option and it’s worth every single penny you pay for it. I’m sorry
Chris
- 21st Apr, 10 03:04pm
The only point, I’m having trouble to understand with is when you go to the nearest apple store, in my case the one in Soho, to get the lastest Ipod, the one with the biggest hard drive and last generation blah blah blah you know, you’re so excited to get it that you can’t hardly wait until you get back home to open up the box and set it up. So you’re finally home, you start your computer to register your brand new device (and that is soooo stupid) and you happen to see somewhere on the web that there’s another brand new ipod or whatever even more advanced and supercharged with crap we don’t use or need. So why in hell they keep selling products when a new launch is coming! So sorry this took this long, see ya’ll
none
- 24th Apr, 10 08:04pm
I bought the iphone 3gs 32 GB and had bought two ipod nanos before that. Yes, everything Apple does manufacture has been given attention to detail but the cons outweigh the pros. First you have to buy apps to be able to do the simplest thing like sending a photo to another smartphone because. And that not only costs 15 euros but is also ONLY available on JAILBROKEN iphones because Jobbs believes that my iphone to freaking important to connect to other smartphones.
I loved the iphone when I bought it yes it is very pretty and has nice games and graphics but every single day I feel like Apple owns my jailbroken phone because most of the simplest things like watching flash are a hassle to do or are not even available. Other phones are being just as good if not even better and don’t need you to spend a fortune to perform the simplest things. Everyone at work though are obsessed about Apple products and spend their lives working to pay the overly priced Jobbs’ products… such a nice life…