With others it’s hardware usually offers a decent spec sheet but the physical design is just enough to get by and the materials are mundane plastic. Apple spends more on engineering the physical design and includes nicer quality materials. Other vendors offer the same one year term of warranty as Apple, but what do you get with that? With Apple they have renowned support and service. Staffing and training costs per Apple customer must be much higher with Apple. Apple stands behind their products like no other, often times exchanging a device in store on the spot. Others don’t offer this level of service even if you could get face to face with their support staff. More likely you’re navigating a phone tree with an over seas call center. The ability to visit an Apple store and interact with a device with the help of we’ll trained staff; prior to purchase and receive very thorough support after purchase also must come at some cost. Apple did their homework and created the best OS, iOS is the most flushed out system that most reviewers still give the nod to, as the one that just works. With an iOS device purchase comes OS Updates several times a year and for many years to come. Offering quickly delivered and often times impressive improvements to your device over its lifetime.

Including services like iCloud and the best Appstore; all of these extras come at a cost that is reflected in the higher price. If you buy a mini tablet from others for $199 you’re agreeing to forgo all the above; just as the vendor of that narrowly marked up $199 mini tablet offers that product with limitations that aren’t shown on the hardware spec sheet.

As far as compatibility, the Airport Extreme worked easily with the old PC until its power supply failed. A coworker’s daughter had problems connecting her MBP with another brands router, but his work laptop was Dell/Windows. He switched to the Apple AE and all devices connecting fine. Smh at those who suffer through compatibility issues and rant about pricing.

-Happy Apple Customer

Whoever posted this is completely ignorant about the product market. So Ignorant that that person does not know Apple holds a 90% retention rate and Android holds a 50% retention rate.

News for the ignorant masses..Your friends/co-worker, blah, blah, blah is called anecdotal evidence and its the worst data anyone can use to formulate opinion!!

Know real facts then post online!!

That would be redundant. Android devices are already a counterfeit iOS devices.

The extreme hatred of Apple is kind of strange, and it has always ended with one thing: hating the “sheeple” who buy the brand. Accusations of “monopolist” are not uncommon, and it’s often immediately followed by the ‘they’re only 12% of the (US) market.’ Indeed, the particular business model used by Apple seems to make two things very likely: Apple will make products appreciated by everyone except those who must know the speeds ‘n’ feeds; and two, the monopolist model on the board here is the company that gives out its generic software for free, so that it can profit on the back end. This was Microsoft’s model.

Regardless of whether or not Apple products are a ‘pleasure’ to use, a company can only write their own destiny for so long. Apple is currently coasting off of their two smash hit products– the iPod and the iPhone. Both products were revolutionary at the time of their release, but the people will only remain impressed for so long. Just as Microsoft thought the Windows train would keep chugging forever, Apple too will discover that it’s innovate or die.

Just like the market has shown the need for two iPad sizes, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see a second, bigger iPhone in a year or two.

With so much incredible diversity in this world, no company can ever hope to fill every possible situation. But Apple, and any other company, can certainly try to offer as many options as make financial sense within their unique footprint.

Are there countless articles this week talking about how many cheaper options there are than the new 13-inch MacBook Pro? I doubt it.

People tend to buy what most fills their current situation (to various levels of rationality). And that “situation” certainly includes the superficiality of wearing tech tools/gadgets like fashion.

The bellyaching is not so much weird (analysts and tech journalists always seem to go through the same sort of hand-wringing with each Apple product release) as as premature and completely devoid of historical perspective. These industry “experts” certainly understand Apple’s release cycle but they still don’t seem to get how Apples does things. It’s like they develop amnesia with each new Apple announcement.

You are correct, Apple doesn’t play around in the bottom end… that is until they want to. Right now it probably doesn’t not matter that the iPad Mini is 130 dollars more expensive than the Fire or Nexus 7. But it will likely matter at some point.

The original iPod Mini was not much less expensive than a full size iPod (and was just as criticized as the ipad mini for being too expensive). But it sold in much higher numbers than the iPod proving all the naysayers tragically wrong. And then came the Nano and Shuffle to plug the holes in the lower price points.

So Apple does sometimes play in the lower levels (and with the iPhone they do it by selling older models for free and 100 bucks through carriers). The real question is when will Apple fill them with the iPad line and how will they do it?

If Apple didn’t care about its competition, it wouldn’t have even launched the iPad mini. iPad sales show no sign of weakness. There’s no reason to muddy the waters with other products. Except, of course, if Apple cared about their competition.

That may be so, but the Apple Airport Extreme wireless router is one of the top rated routers at Amazon and PCMag.com readers vote Apple AirPort routers the most reliable and best overall in this 2011. Even Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer offered a glowing endorsement of Apple’s AirPort wireless router products on her Google+ social network page at the beginning of the year when she was still with Google.

Sometimes there are good reasons why some products are more expensive than would-be rivals.

The bellyaching is not so much weird (analysts and tech journalists always seem to go through the same sort of hand-wringing with each Apple product release) as as premature and completely devoid of historical perspective. These industry “experts” certainly understand Apple’s release cycle but they still don’t seem to get how Apples does things. It’s like they develop amnesia with each new Apple announcement.

You are correct, Apple doesn’t play around in the bottom end… that is until they want to. Right now it probably doesn’t not matter that the iPad Mini is 130 dollars more expensive than the Fire or Nexus 7. But it will likely matter at some point.

The original iPod Mini was not much less expensive than a full size iPod (and was just as criticized as the ipad mini for being too expensive). But it sold in much higher numbers than the iPod proving all the naysayers tragically wrong. And then came the Nano and Shuffle to plug the holes in the lower price points.

So Apple does sometimes play in the lower levels (and with the iPhone they do it by selling older models for free and 100 bucks through carriers). The real question is when will Apple fill them with the iPad line and how will they do it?

“It was obvious they were angry with the company about not being invited to some press conference or some big Apple event. We expected to see a certain amount of professionalism-this is like 15-year-old children talking.”

This is the person who describes profit-free devices from Google as being “Apple’s fiercest competitor” and that Amazons “we can’t talk sales figures” Kindle is “selling really well.”

He’s not really credible. He’s a cheerleader for products that aren’t selling and aren’t even designed to turn a profit. They are desperate measures from companies that can’t sell the kinds of products Apple is. So they’re selling plastic junk that isn’t going to get support in a few months.

It’s breathtaking how even significant publications like the NYT are hiring “angry children” to write derisively about Apple’s products. It’s as transparently biased as Fox News.