Earlier today I tweeted that the market chatter about firing Tim Cook this week was a warning shot to him. The market was telling him that he'd better get it right on the next release or the heat will grow. For that, I was the one who got the heat as readers/Appellonians misinterpreted my point.
I am long apple mid to long term.
I even had someone using a silly "quality" analogy. They used apple = Ferrari (quality) and others = Accord (not quality). Huh? clearly they haven't owned a Ferrari. Accord will go 100k miles with no problems; Ferrari will need a fortune (more than the price of a full accord) in maintenance over the same 100k. Oil change runs over two grand. I will borrow this analogy in closing.
Having said that, let me RE-start by saying I am NOT an AAPL hater! Apple produces AWESOME, TRENDY, GROUND-BRAKING products. No doubt that Jobs was a brilliant man. All I ask is that you read this with an open mind.
(brace yourselves) I DO PREFER NON-APPLE PLATFORMS (phones, tablets and pcs).
Background: I have a degree in electrical engineering and am very comfortable with tech. Now I manage money for a living.
My beef is not with people who like apple products. My beef is with the ATTITUDE that AAPL products don't break AND that everything else does. It's not true; everything eventually breaks and maybe one day you will find that out too.
I am not trying to convince you to buy non-apple; I am merely explaining the non-apple point of view.
I choose non-apple products for the following reasons:
1) Most (if not all) alternatives are cheaper. I bought my quad-core loaded Lenovo (previously ibm) for $265. Done. What will that get me in aapl terms? not even half of an ipad.
2) Microsoft products don't break down every five minutes. When they do break, I know that I can fix them. The hardware is easy and modular and the software is always recoverable. Every person that I know that had an issue with their apple machine (YES, problems do occur in mac too) had to drive to the genius bar and put up with condescending teeny boppers who made them feel like idiots for just being there. Often enough, the users end up upgrading instead of fixing the hiccup.
3) Software: I prefer (personal taste) the feel of the microsoft software. Although I noticed that MS is starting to feel applesque (big buttons etc).
4) Security: as Macs become more ubiquitous, there will be more hacking of their products. Hackers go where the masses are because it makes them money (cost/reward for them). As the mac numbers grow so will the hack attacks.
Bottom line: I say it again Apple produces AWESOME, TRENDY, GROUND-BRAKING products. But that doesn't mean that all the alternatives are shit! As more people are using apple products there will be more breakages and more feeling of frustrations then the aura of invincibility will fade.
To use my new stocktwits friend with the Ferrari analogy... For practical and financial reasons, I would rather buy an Accord over a Ferrari and that should be ok with everyone!
