>Apple is more a fashion company than a tech company.
Not even remotely accurate for possible definitions of either of those terms.
>Those who buy and use its products are primarily concerned with advertising the fact that they use Apple products - conspicuous consumption.
Oh really? You don't think it has anything to do with their excellent track record of hardware design, software design, reliability and usability?
>It's no different from how Gucci or Prada owners make sure to prominently display the brand of their handbag when they are in public.
Yes, because Dell and HP laptops are completely devoid of physical branding...
>It's a simple form of signaling your identity, that you belong to a particular group.
Or it's because Apple products let productive people be productive.
Of course. It has to do with Apple's branding of "hardware design, software design, reliability and usability".
Just like G-Star advertises their clothing as "raw", while their jeans are actually quite flimsy and rip or tear easily.
Sure, they look pretty and well-fitted. Just like I would recommend my grandmother an iPad because I know it's well-designed and she'd have less trouble using it.
> >It's no different from how Gucci or Prada owners make sure to prominently display the brand of their handbag when they are in public.
> Yes, because Dell and HP laptops are completely devoid of physical branding...
You're proving his point here: It's not like other brands of handbags (or shoes) are completely devoid of physical branding either. Yet it's not like their owners are even aware of its brand, half the time.
In this context I'd sooner compare Apple products to Nike shoes, rather than the fashion "I have money to spend" signalling Gucci/Prada handbags.
Come on, the evolution of "brands as lifestyle + identity" has been around for at least 30 years now. You should know a thing or two about how it works. It's not really a disputed theory.
And you can't seriously deny that Apple isn't fighting along in the Big Brand mindshare arena just as much as Coca-Cola, Nike, Red Bull and Calvin Klein, in a sense that Dell, Asus or Lenovo are very much not. A quick litmus-test is whether they have a significant brand-identity that can be separated from their products (sometimes even more prominent than their actual core product, especially in the case of Coca-Cola or Red Bull).
> >It's a simple form of signaling your identity, that you belong to a particular group.
> Or it's because Apple products let productive people be productive.
See what you just did? Put Apple product users in the group of "productive people being productive"? :) Would you ever say something as generic about a Lenovo laptop? (which has excellent hardware and lets productive people be very productive) That's because Apple is a brand identity, over just being a brand of laptops. As if they're charged with a kind of "soul".
You don't have to consider it a bad thing, but I think it's important to at least be aware of these very real differences, because they do influence the way people act, behave and feel about their stuff. And it's nothing new, and it's nothing you can or should prevent, everyone is affected by these ideas to some extent, which is again why it's so important to be aware of it. Just don't deny it.
Yeah, you're going to need at least some form of evidence for that claim.
Needless to say, I disagree that that's the reason I use a Mac.
It feels weird to know that it cost more than many people's cars, but if you work in the privileged person startup bubble it's a weak shibboleth, not a luxury item that draws attention.
sorry, what? I thought macboook cost $2-3k? Is that how much a car costs in your country?
I am wearing a pair of very cheap no-brand jeans, they are extremely durable and comfortable (the label also ironically reads "Unsigned", which I admit made me smile a bit, but it's not a brand, in a few years that store chain (Scapino) will have different labels, and nobody will notice one bit). I'm not going around saying "Unsigned has great durable comfy jeans"--also because they're not, extremely varying quality, you just have to try on at least 5 different ones that are ostensibly the same size (which they are also not). They're cheap though and this makes me very happy with them :)
On the plus side, it has a Ubuntu logo on it instead of that crappy Windows logo.
I'll address them in order. 1. there was a marked discoloration when i saw pictures on the forums, and i almost returned it due to bing scared. When i got it, nothing. Absolutely nothing, though it looked a bit over saturated, which i kinda like on a non-workstation device.
2. The flimsy hinge is not a problem, end of story. Its stiffer than a MBA or MBP,m and only wobbles significantly if you tap it real hard.
3. Battery life is a problem, but if you're like me, i use it in multiple short spurts, coupled with a few long ones. It lasts all day, and while i do wish for a bit more, as for waht it is, it's good. Not great, but good.
4. No backlight bleed, nuff' said.
Furthermore i have found myself using the touchscreen far more than i anticipated. It's hands down, IMHO, the best laptop availible today thats an ultraportable. Go get one.
I don't parade around with the laptop: it's a desk job, with as few dashes over to the datacentre as possible. I work in a highly diverse Windows/Mac/Linux environment.
I've been very satisfied with it, except for the slight lack of ports. The speed, solid/useful construction, 16:10 screen, battery life, reasonable OS, et cetera, all suit me well. A Macbook Pro, which has lots more ports and a better screen besides, would likely satisfy me 100%.
The extremely similar Lenovo X1 Carbon that I also use in the office is not unfortunately quite as enjoyable, though it's equally utilitarian. The price-point is virtually identical, at least with how we specced them. I had had high hopes for it, because I was considering one to replace my X220.
At what point is fashion involved in this equation? Where is the bragging? Where is the fanboyism?
This is also why Apple's profit margins are sky high. Consumer electronics is an industry with razor thin margins, but with fashion, the sky is the limit (given that you can effectively manipulate the minds of consumers, which Apple is excellent at). An iDevice cannot be commoditized, no matter how hard Apple's competitors try.