Apple surpasses Microsoft as richest stock-market value ever in the US

[James]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 ... ever-in-us

[or 1=1]

Since they said that the iPhone5 will make the S3 look like a joke, the stock value went sky high

[Psychotic]

I still don't understand why people buy into the tripe that is the i[insert product here].

I suppose I can't say much since I've never really tried them and I do believe they have their uses, but the sheer cost of the products themselves leads me to believe that what you're paying for is mostly the brand and all the bragging rights that might entail because of that.

You don't need a iPhone or an iPad, you can get similar products for far less than half the price of the Apple variants.

[Dae]

Allow me to copy some quotes about Apple.

* * *

1984

John C. Dvorak

The nature of the personal computer is simply not fully understood by companies like Apple (or anyone else for that matter). Apple makes the arrogant assumption of thinking that it knows what you want and need. It, unfortunately, leaves the “why” out of the equation — as in “why would I want this?” The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a “mouse”. There is no evidence that people want to use these things. I don’t want one of these new fangled devices.

http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn ... d-the-mac/

1997

Stewart Alsop (Fortune Magazine)

Let’s get this straight right away: Apple Computer did the wrong thing. On December 20, Apple announced that it would spend $400 million to purchase Steve Jobs’s company, Next Software. The company said it would adopt Next’s NextStep operating system for future versions of the Macintosh computer. Most of the commentary I’ve seen about this decision is off the mark, especially the talk about Jobs coming back to save Apple. That is sheer nonsense. He won’t be anywhere near the company.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/ ... /index.htm

Michael Dell (Dell, CEO)

Michael Dell, among others, was asked about what he would do if he were CEO of Apple:
"What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-203937.html

Bill Gates (Microsoft, CEO)

“What I can’t figure out is why he [Steve Jobs] is even trying? He knows he can’t win.”

http://www.cringely.com/2010/04/09/masters-tournament/

2001

The Street
Don't buy Apple's (AAPL) stock. [...]

To survive, Apple has to convince Windows users to migrate to the Mac platform. But since Apple is not competitive on either price or applications, there is no compelling reason for users to switch. The game is effectively over. Dell, IBM and Hewlett Packard have a stranglehold on the PC industry that is secure, with Dell’s build-to-order model the clear winner over the long term. […]

Apple’s story now is fodder for business historians — don’t make it fodder for your portfolio.

http://www.thestreet.com/comment/thetur ... 02957.html

2006

Rod Bare (Morningstar analyst)

“The economics of something like [an Apple iPhone] aren’t that compelling.”

http://macdailynews.com/2006/12/08/anal ... ompelling/

The Register
iPhone will fail [...] As customers start to realise that the competition offers better functionality at a lower price, by negotiating a better subsidy, sales will stagnate. After a year a new version will be launched, but it will lack the innovation of the first and quickly vanish.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/23 ... page2.html

2007

Steve Ballmer (Microsoft, CEO)

“[Apple's iPhone] is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard which makes it not a very good email machine… So, I, I kinda look at that and I say, well, I like our strategy. I like it a lot.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywi0h_Y5_U

Matthew Lynn (Bloomberg)

Don’t let that fool you into thinking that it matters. The big competitors in the mobile-phone industry such as Nokia Oyj and Motorola Inc. won’t be whispering nervously into their clamshells over a new threat to their business.

[...]

The iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks. In terms of its impact on the industry, the iPhone is less relevant… Apple is unlikely to make much of an impact on this market… Apple will sell a few to its fans, but the iPhone won’t make a long-term mark on the industry.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home

Richard Sprague, a senior marketing director at Microsoft:
"I can’t believe the hype being given to iPhone. Even some of my blindly-loyal pro-Microsoft friends and colleagues talk like it’s a real innovation and will “redefine the market” or “usher in a new age”.

What!?!? [...] I just have to wonder who will want one of these things (other than the religious faithful). People need this to be a phone, first and foremost. But with 5 hours of battery life? No keypad? (you try typing a phone number on that screen, no matter how wonderful it is — you will want a keypad). And for all that whiz-bang Internet access, you absolutely need the phone to work, immediately, every single time. Will it do that?

So please mark this post and come back in two years to see the results of my prediction: I predict they will not sell anywhere near the 10M Jobs predicts for 2008.

http://blogs.msdn.com/sprague/archive/2 ... /java.aspx

Jan Libbenga (The Register)
The iPhone? Undoubtedly a very nice product, but there is no virtual substitute for a real keyboard, reckons RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis: “Try typing a web key on a touch screen on an iPhone, that’s a real challenge. You cannot see what you type.”

Lazaridis told European reporters in Waterloo, Canada last week, that he isn’t too impressed with Apple’s iPhone and it won’t be a threat to the success of BlackBerry’s smart phone (with over 10.5 million users).

“The iPhone has severe limitations when it comes to effortless typing. Of course you have more screen space, with more artistic interactions, but that’s not enough. We’ve seen this before when Palm tried virtual keyboards. When they launched the Treo they licensed our keyboard.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/08 ... lackberry/

2008

Al Sacco (CrackBerry)

Sure the iPhone SDK has been released, and there might be some great apps in the works, but in my opinion, that’s too little, too late, as they say.

http://crackberry.com/top-10-reasons-wh ... blackberry

Mitchell Ashley (Network World)

Apple iPhone Doomed To Failure -- Windows Mobile 7 Plans For 2009 Leaked

2010

Karl Denninger (Seeking Alpha. Read. Decide. Invest.)
Seriously considering either an outright short on Apple or a pair trade — short AAPL, long RIMM.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/227432- ... e-problems

2011

Leonid Kanopka (Seeking Alpha. Read. Decide. Invest.)
Apple is a great company with wonderful products, but its run is up. It seems to me that innovation is beginning to run dry, and the stock price is overinflated. The stock has begun to fall already dropping from its $426 high. If the economy does not pick up and the company does not cushion its freefall, we could see new lows into 2012 — maybe $85. Whatever the case, I see a rocky future and a new bubble about to burst. My recommendation: Sell.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/310800- ... y-to-burst

etc etc etc

[clyzm]

I have to hand it to Apple for their phones, which even that are surpassed by the refinement and simplicity of the Android phones, and pretty much nothing else. Their computers are always overpriced and most of everything they sell is expensive for the brand name only.

It's a brand that likes to associate itself with vain, artistic free-spirit types that takes refuge in believing they bought the better brand. I still to this day cannot find a single productive use for an iPad.

[Aidan]

I have to hand it to Apple for their phones, which even that are surpassed by the refinement and simplicity of the Android phones, and pretty much nothing else. Their computers are always overpriced and most of everything they sell is expensive for the brand name only.

It's a brand that likes to associate itself with vain, artistic free-spirit types that takes refuge in believing they bought the better brand. I still to this day cannot find a single productive use for an iPad.

Yes, I'm selling my iPhone 4 as soon as the Note2 is released. I see no fun in majority of Apple products. Only Laptop I may buy in the near future is a Macbook air; In which I Will only store documents on, and some music (for professional use).

Believe it or not; but Apple products are still less defective than any other generic company. Only thing is... I can say that about Samsung too; In which case I might end up purchasing a Samsung Ultrabook.

[Psychotic]

It's a brand that likes to associate itself with vain, artistic free-spirit types that takes refuge in believing they bought the better brand.

Brand loyalty is an ironic thing.

I actually hate everyone who says "Mac is better to this." or "Windows is better for that." but that's another useless debate for another time.

Brand loyalty is usually an illogical and irrational concept.

There are numerous brands of milk that are sold in New Zealand, brands with names like "Anchor" and "Meadow Fresh". There's also the cheap brands like "Homebrand" or "Dairy Dale" which people run from because they're "cheap" and "not as good for you".

The truth of the matter is that all the milk is exactly the same. All the milk from pretty much every mainstream brand in New Zealand gets their milk from Fonterra, who have already stated that every brands milk comes from the same pot.

Everyone who gets suckered into these campaigns about how Anchor or Meadow Fresh's milk is "better for you" remind me of the exact same people who get suckered into buying the next iPhone because they apparently need all them fancy gadgets.

The milk is the fucking same, the only thing that's difference is the shape of the bottle, the sticker on the front and how much they want to bleed you for, which tends to be 2-3x the price of the cheap bottles.

I also hear people boast about how the quality of companies like Apple are but frankly, I don't see it and I've never seen it. I've had horrible support from all these companies, every IT-related company I've ever rung has been an absolute pain in the ass to deal with. Apparently that's worth hundreds of dollars though?

[Tantalus]

I have to hand it to Apple for their phones, which even that are surpassed by the refinement and simplicity of the Android phones, and pretty much nothing else.

I see nothing 'refined' about the Android phones I have used, then again I haven't tried the latest operating system.

[clyzm]

I have to hand it to Apple for their phones, which even that are surpassed by the refinement and simplicity of the Android phones, and pretty much nothing else.

I see nothing 'refined' about the Android phones I have used, then again I haven't tried the latest operating system.

Me neither, but my original Galaxy S has never crashed once, the layout is simplistic and not too showy. Granted, the Android systems are based off Apple, but they definitely seem like the step up refined version of them

[ynnaD]

I have to hand it to Apple for their phones, which even that are surpassed by the refinement and simplicity of the Android phones, and pretty much nothing else.

I see nothing 'refined' about the Android phones I have used, then again I haven't tried the latest operating system.

Me neither, but my original Galaxy S has never crashed once, the layout is simplistic and not too showy. Granted, the Android systems are based off Apple, but they definitely seem like the step up refined version of them

My workplace is majority iPhone, and minority Android.

At my Helpdesk, all i'm ever getting asked about is problems with iPhones, not taking charge, buttons not working, touch screen not working etc, i'm honestly struggling to remember ever seeing an Android here.

I personally love my own Android

[Aidan]

I have to hand it to Apple for their phones, which even that are surpassed by the refinement and simplicity of the Android phones, and pretty much nothing else.

I see nothing 'refined' about the Android phones I have used, then again I haven't tried the latest operating system.

Me neither, but my original Galaxy S has never crashed once, the layout is simplistic and not too showy. Granted, the Android systems are based off Apple, but they definitely seem like the step up refined version of them

My workplace is majority iPhone, and minority Android.

At my Helpdesk, all i'm ever getting asked about is problems with iPhones, not taking charge, buttons not working, touch screen not working etc, i'm honestly struggling to remember ever seeing an Android here.

I personally love my own Android

Yeah, my iphone's home button is starting to go. I have to press it unusually harder to make it function. I'm finding it ever more sluggish everyday, while the iOS software is complete shit.

Can't wait for my Android next month.

[Tantalus]

Your company obviously hasn't seen an HTC Desire, Dan.

Mine is just a hog, an absolute hog. Even Google-owned applications (Youtube) don't work right. If it buffers for more than five seconds, it forces me to restart. The system refuses to update, always saying it's low on space before it can start. (and I physically can't delete ANYTHING). Battery sucks, crashes quite a few times.

Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb!

[Psychotic]

It never ceases to amaze how many of Google's products don't run well, though. I've had some pretty bad experiences myself.

[ynnaD]

Your company obviously hasn't seen an HTC Desire, Dan.

Mine is just a hog, an absolute hog. Even Google-owned applications (Youtube) don't work right. If it buffers for more than five seconds, it forces me to restart. The system refuses to update, always saying it's low on space before it can start. (and I physically can't delete ANYTHING). Battery sucks, crashes quite a few times.

Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb!

Strange, mine is a Desire S , almost reached the 1 year mark with it and never had those kind of problems.