Apple posts a rare earnings miss

I think that the Apple trend is slowly dying. They have not done anything truly innovative in quite a while and their products have become stale in my opinion. I will admit that I am not much of a fan of Apple but I will admit they did some shaking up in the industry but not anymore. Now it is the same old stuff with minor improvements.

Apple has had the edge in elegant design for quite some time, however as laptops get ultrathin the competition has had to use more cutting-edge design as well as metal chassis. Apple is still the best and coolest industrial design...But, the gap is actually closing for the first time in the mainstream market. As for hardward implementation Apple has been far ahead of the PC crowd, unless you're a hard-core gamer. No PC maker has made a palmpad easier to use or better behaved for instance, to a lesser degree than construction the PC is slowly catching up. And, the OS for Mac is infinitely more simple than the PC, but it isn't nearly as flexible by design. In order to keep simplicity as well as making sure everything works together as intended Apple has taken control to an extreme...It also has spun off tremendous revenue as iTunes is the prime example. Perhaps Windows 8 will provide the magic of being simple for an average user and supremely flexible for the so-called "power-users"?

As I get off of my soapbox I must say your bobiroc's insights are pertinent. Since 2009 Apple's core computer business has been mostly the same desgins save Intel's latest MBs. Sure I'd rather have a 2012 MBP over a 2009 even with the same innards, but the differences are subtle not game-changing. Everyone was let down by the iPhone 4S as they should be. A better processor and same size screen (even w/ higher rez) just didn't cut it when the competition was throwing caution to the wind. So, presently we have a new version of Mac OS that everyone can afford, but no one wants to buy particularly since it's largely "window" dressing and a truly fantastic MBP that everyone would want and hardly anyone I know can afford. Things just aren't looking good...That it until late September. Apple can, and most expect will, pull out of the semi-slump wholly due to the so-called iPhone 5. It has to be a game changer in size and function as absolutely everyone who has bought the overpriced 4S has already done so. We'll all stayed turned for these further developments. I admit to having 4 pc laptops and 2 Macs. I believe I'm not biased, but Apple is at one of their famous crossroads with their exhorbitant pricing in a down economy...Something brilliant is overdue and needed.

Oh no! They missed some totally BS estimates by random d-bag analysts. They must be just about to go out of business. ;-)

Originally posted by xnonsuchx:

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Oh no! They missed some totally BS estimates by random d-bag analysts. They must be just about to go out of business. ;-)

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Exactly. Like Ali Belshi, that douche never hit a financial projection like the proverbial bazooka in the elephants ass from 5 yards away...

In echoing bobiroc & jwerner, but with a bit more venom, CrApple has done nothing from research & development in most of their products (I would venture) for the last 5-6 years. I'm sure the argument for tablet PCs is going to rear its ugly head, but let's remember, laptops were trying their damnedest to get started with those around 2005. Apple had "0" to offer.

Other than a really neat MP3 player, their products painted white & rounded off (so their less than stellar clientele could both find & keep from impaling themselves with the devices - yet they all seem to clearly walk into walls anyway) software solidarity & performing legal terrorism on anyone they deem justifiable seems to be their only clear contribution to advancement of technology.

They ain't even doing shit for patent law for crying out loud!

"Speculations of newer models coming out" is a BS excuse & they know it. If that were a viable excuse then nothing would ever get sold.

Face it... You've screwed your favorite whores until they can't bleed any more. Their tired of trying to "get their's while you sweat - grind for 20 seconds & get yours". They want something more from this relationship & you (Apple) ain't delivering. For your sake, I hope you don't believe the BS you're slinging. This may be an indication of some things to come.

think apples problem is they are remaking products with a few tweaks and not actually bringing anything new to the market.

btw i have a quick question to all the appple fanboys on here.if i was to use an ipad 1 and an ipad 3 to do the same thing what improvements would i notice on the ipad 3????.

I always admire Apple's UI but hate their proprietary, lock-down technology. Once I had a Apple IIC, a Mac. Once I had an iphone. My wife still uses an iphone and ipad. I couldn't stand they lock down my music and video and I had to use freaking iTune to put music and videos on the iphone. Are you kidding me? I can't be held hostage to their music service! It's so cumbersome anyway, totally deviating from Apple's ease of use methodology. Apple loves having their own standards e.g. wirelessly printing from iphone or ipad. They just have to have their own. My wireless printer on the simple WIFI/WPS spec won't work unless you use some cloogy workaround. I just won't fall victim to Apple's monopolistic practice. I'm so happy with my Samsung Galaxy S3. I'm just hoping openness prevails again. Apple is an impediment to innovations. They sue everyone for "patents" they shouldn't even be granted. For example, Universal Search is just an idea that shouldn't be allowed to be patented. Android didn't steal the code to do Universal Search. What's wrong with copying ideas? Implementing it is the hard work. Improvements often comes with copying too. Let customers choose whoever's implementation instead of banning copying! It's like not allowing anyone to make tablet because every tablet is gonna be a rectangular slate with a touch screen. Just because Apple had the idea and made it first they should be the only company allowed to make tablets? That's absurd. How is that helping the consumers? With all these lawsuits Apple launched vs competitors, Apple looks just massively ugly as hell to me

Originally posted by bmok:

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What's wrong with copying ideas? Implementing it is the hard work. Improvements often comes with copying too. Let customers choose whoever's implementation instead of banning copying!

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I agree with your assessment for the most part, but if I could be rude for just a bit... If I'm 'reading' you correctly, wouldn't you mean/substitute copying for say the phrase "standing on the shoulders of"?

Let's be honest. Somebody has to figure 'something' out first. No body in their right mind knows where fire came from, but it sure as hell didn't take long for 100 guys to figure out different ways of harnessing it or storing it to be used in another 100 different ways. Most of them you can never patent. The first being "fire" itself.

Apple is simply trying to pull the same switch-a-roo by saying something as simple as, "seeing as no one has claimed fame to inventing 'square, we shall say we invented it. Therefore you owe us $14 Bajillion for having violated the sanctity of virginity we never had."

Just another one of the several dozen other reason why I pretty much loath Thomas Edison & Apple.