The New Iphone 5

[adriantc 0]

Even

This is completely true. When it really comes down to it, the only real thing Apple has that others don't, at least as far as I know, is the "retina display." Other than this, it's purely marketing.
You could also throw in the fact that all Apple devices work together, creating a system of unity, and therefore making it an all-in-one setup, but in terms of its usefulness, I find it as going a bit overboard.

Even Retina display is becoming outdated... As far as I know Google is getting very close to Apple on display with the new Nexus 10 tablet. Almost the same amount of pixels per inch... over 300, just as the Retina display of iPhone 4S. Apple it losing all the innovation factor it used to have.

Surprisingly at the release of the new iPad Mini there weren't any huge queues. People started queuing only 15 minutes before the official release so no more people sleeping 3 day in front of Apple stores. Welcome back sweet normality! Granted it was only the iPad Mini not a new iPhone, but it does show a clear trend on Apples popularity. In the last few years they have forgot to do the very thing that brought them on top... they have forgot to innovate. They are more interested in suing everybody for real or imaginary patents then inventing something new. Maybe that explains why it's popularity is going down the drain.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

Even Retina display is becoming outdated... As far as I know Google is getting very close to Apple on display with the new Nexus 10 tablet. Almost the same amount of pixels per inch... over 300, just as the Retina display of iPhone 4S. Apple it losing all the innovation factor it used to have.

I actually wasn't aware of that, but it makes sense. The sad thing, though, is that it (probably) won't make that much of an impact. I hear people that don't even know much about technology using the term "retina display," and things like that will stick with them. I think even if Google were to surpass them on the quality side, people would still be siding with apple just because they feel more familiar with them.

I'm personally all for open-source development and such, and I don't like proprietary hardware that forces you to use their own stuff or nothing at all. So for me, Google is my friend.

[adriantc 0]

I actually wasn't aware of that, but it makes sense. The sad thing, though, is that it (probably) won't make that much of an impact. I hear people that don't even know much about technology using the term "retina display," and things like that will stick with them. I think even if Google were to surpass them on the quality side, people would still be siding with apple just because they feel more familiar with them.
I'm personally all for open-source development and such, and I don't like proprietary hardware that forces you to use their own stuff or nothing at all. So for me, Google is my friend.

Just a few days ago Apple's stocks went below 500$ which is quite big news.

Regarding the hardware and software environment... I've had the opportunity to buy the latest iPad last week for a more then decent price, but because of their environment I said no. It is a pretty big step for me... just like with my Kindle and the Amazon environment - you must really be sure you want to be a part of that environment before starting to buy all kinds of devices running that environment. Once you put in all your data, buy all that software and make all kinds of customizations (not to mention getting used to the OS) it's costly and complicated to make a switch. So when I'll take that big step I need to be sure of it.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

Just a few days ago Apple's stocks went below 500$ which is quite big news.
Regarding the hardware and software environment... I've had the opportunity to buy the latest iPad last week for a more then decent price, but because of their environment I said no. It is a pretty big step for me... just like with my Kindle and the Amazon environment - you must really be sure you want to be a part of that environment before starting to buy all kinds of devices running that environment. Once you put in all your data, buy all that software and make all kinds of customizations (not to mention getting used to the OS) it's costly and complicated to make a switch. So when I'll take that big step I need to be sure of it.

I completely see where you're coming from. I catch on to technology quick so I'm able to adapt easily between different OS's and such. My biggest choice is whether or not I want to follow open source. While iOS definitely has some nice things, I sway a bit more towards Android just because it's able to be developed on by *anyone*. Not being able to write an iOS app without an Apple PC/laptop, for example, is a big turn-off for me.

[k_nitin_r 8]

You could also throw in the fact that all Apple devices work together, creating a system of unity, and therefore making it an all-in-one setup, but in terms of its usefulness, I find it as going a bit overboard.

The ability to have all Apple device working together with accessories was a great reason to buy Apple's devices but the new connector had me stick to the iPhone 4S, which shares its connector with the previous generations of phones. Many cars have the ability to connect an iPhone or iPod too, and mine does it with the provided cable to connect to a standard USB port. However, most music players included a dock and they will be getting obsolete.

The lightning interface would likely have some kind of USB connector to hook up to a computer, right? Yes, that would be true but Apple charges $20 for one of those and it comes with a security chip for Apple to decide who gets to manufacture cables and accessories. That seems like one way to deal with counterfeit accessories. What will they think of next? A way to prevent the use of unauthorized iPhone cases? They might be on to something if they figured that one out considering how much people spend on cases these days. The rugged iphone cases are particularly expensive considering that they cost up to a fifth of the value of the phone, and the iphone insurance does not apply to accessories or cases.

PS: Pardon any typos as Im posting this from my iPhone (4S - remember I mentioned earlier in the post that Im not switching to iPhone 5?). I disabled autocorrect to avoid more embarassing errors that we find posted all across the net.