I was more talking about the Mac side of things, but it still mostly applies to phones too. I still find Android devices tend to have hiccups and you'll get the occasional lag and unresponsiveness that you don't find on an iPhone.
Granted it may have the odd stutter however the trade off is overall a more powerful and functional device that does everything so well, including word processing and spreadsheets i.e. Office integration, movie playback directly into a HD TV, importing of my photos from my camera and a crisp and complete browsing experience and total integration with social networking.
That's all well and good. But what about the App ecosystem? You cannot seriously say that Android tablets have the upper hand when it comes to applications, which is after all, the main point of a tablet.
But it's not about having the upper hand, it's about having the equivalent - it's not 'anything you can do, I can do better' it's 'anything you can do, I can too'. The apps that you get on your iPad have the same or a parallel in the Android world.
Adobe have now dropped flash support with most places now going HTML 5, and as for widgets and live wallpapers, I simply do not want them. Sure you may like it but it's really not the selling point of a device. I've used multiple Android tablets recently and they still lack polish.
Adobe has but Flash has broadly populated the internet and it's use is going to be around for a while yet - I would argue that in the period that I have had my Android tablet I have enjoyed a fuller internet experience than you have (regardless of industry posturing) than you have over the same.
How much battery life do you get in actual usage? And I'm not talking about running a text editor with your screen brightness on lowest with everything switched off on a custom ROM. I'm talking about out of the box, real world usage.
Real life useage - I don't actively do anything to save batteries save not leaving WIFI on when it's not needed (i.e. on the plane) but at home it's on 24/7. As an example I not long ago did 30hrs worth of flying, watched about 4 movies, played a few games and still had around 1/3 of the battery left. real world I need to recharge every couple of days and it's generally on whilst I'm playing games, or sitting in the living room watching TV whilst browsing or using Pulse or reading graphic novels. I get a great deal of real world usage.
I was talking about laptops. By the time you find a laptop that has a similar quality display and decent battery life you're already spending as much as a MacBook anyway. Plus I've yet to find a single Windows laptop that has a touchpad that's anywhere as good as a standard one you'd find on a MacBook. Agreeably Mac Pro's are expensive for what they are but people buy them more for the OS anyway due to what they're used for. iMacs I can understand better as Windows integrated machines look horrid in comparison.
This is true right up until you start adding memory, or buying a bigger HDD or god forbid an SSD which you have to take out a second mortgage for.
I was more referring to Apple proprietary integration; AirPlay, AirPrint, AirDrop iTunes sharing and the like. As mentioned before the way they do things works so I don't contest it. It's just less hassle than all of these different technologies from various companies that don't always work very well together.
I've actually never experienced any hassles with technologies mainly because 3rd parties generate the best drivers etc for the highest common OS. Whether Windows is 'better' or not is greatly subjective and relative to the use of the device. I've also found that it relates to familiarity. Familiarity does not equal a better way. There is a related argument with Windows 8 and the moronic changes that Windows have made in an effort to emulate Apples money making eco system. It's better to line their pockets but it sure as hell isn't better for us as consumers.
And that's the thing. I'm sold on it. It works. That's what I want it to do. I'll happily pay a premium over other products for that service. That being said they haven't ramped up prices so I'm not sure what you mean by that. I don't mind being tied in when I'm getting a premium service.
Whether it is a premium service is debatable - that it is exclusive is inarguable, but if it is better for you as a user in the long term is both subjective and relative to your demands as a user. Both in the enterprise world and in my everyday use IOS, OSX and Apple products are more of a hindrance than a pleasure and not even close to being what I'd consider a premium experience. Add to the the insufferable anal nature of the Apple payments system, it makes for an extremely frustrating and condescending experience.
You don't get it do you? The beauty of Apple products is the ecosystem they've built for them. The fact that iOS is closed means that I get a consistent experience. That's what I want at the end of the day.
As I said before I don't care that it has a glowing Apple on the back. If anyone else can do it better I'll buy their product. It really is that simple.
No I get it, you like Apple products. You enjoy the feel, the look and the experience you get relative to the demands you have as a user. 3-4 years ago I would've been envious of you as a Mac owner, I was one of the many that rigged my machine to dual boot into OSX86 and I too loved the experience, the look and the feel of the Apple world. However what I saw was an egomaniac rapidly constricting the freedoms of his customers, removing functionality to 'retain user experience' and selling products that lacked basic key functionality (like cut and paste, push email and enterprise integration)all the while keeping the world convinced that they were getting a great deal by appealing the the magpie nature of people (i.e. "woo look a shiney thing"). The end product is the greatest example of marketing the world has ever seen short of selling an eskimo ice.
This case is Apple using everything but technology innovation to beat their competitors. There is better stuff out there at similar prices, there are nicer and more complete user experiences that don't tie you into a constrictive eco system and in typical Apple fashion, rather than beating them at the technology game, they have lawyered up and punished us as consumers. If the choice is removed then people have only one place to go, and I can't abide by that. It's ugly business.
you really are deluded,not that you ca see this post.