Why do people buy Apple products?

[L]

There used to be a time when lots of people equated Apple specifically with being expensive. In the 1990s I was an IT manager. My department of 6 others (so, total of 7) were responsible for around 500 Macs and 500 Windows devices. Yes, the Macs cost more to purchase - and they lasted longer, required less support and had less training requirements. We found that the total life-cycle cost for Macs was about 1/2 the total life cycle cost of a *name brand* Windows based machine. We were not allowed to make generic Windows computers.

Three people on my staff were dedicated to Windows connectivity and application support. One was a Network Administrator (file servers, interoffice connectivity, etc). Two started out being dedicated to Mac support and had available time to back up the Windows folks - ultimately about half their time was spent on Windows support. At about this time, our family decided we'd get a computer for the home that my spouse would use. We decided on a Mac with an Apple (postscript-equipped laser printer). For a few years, those machines just ran. After unboxing and plugging in, they just ran. And ran. And ran. My work issued Windows based (brand name manufacturer) laptop had Operating System (registry) and hardware issues.

Over time, Apple has built up an ecosystem with the iPhones, iPods, iPads, iTunes, Macintosh computers, etc. The integration of the hardware and operating system - along with very strict application development "rules" for applications provides an environment that has a similar "look and feel" across all the products. Coupled with a strong (some would claim "rabid") high quality, high touch/high tech demand from the Apple product designers, an easy to use, consistent interface makes things "predictable".

Apple was nowhere near the first to make/sell an MP3 player. But the iPod was the best designed. Add in iTunes and now I've made an investment that becomes challenging to transfer to another manufacturer's media player or media management application. Time passes, the iPod owner is ready for a cell phone and the iPhone is the natural progression.

I agree, there are competitive products from other manufacturers that can be easy to use. Some are built as well - others not as well. Very few belong to an "ecosystem" that is as well developed. This ecosystem of products creates a "halo effect" where the user tries one product and finds that the ecosystem extremely easy to navigate and use. Defined: Apple put a lot of work into the design of the hardware, operating system and applications so the end user does not need to think about the nuances of different hardware, operating system and applications. Up until recently, this has been the antithesis of Windows and Android OS... and the various flavors of *nix, too. Some folks think it is fun to learn what makes computers work, how to make them work better, have a *HUGE* choice of various applications (useful, not so useful, well written, not so well written, etc...) and there are others who just want stuff to work and are perfectly happy with that - and not caring about *how* it works. Their friend gets a product, they use it and poof - a Marketing person's dream - or nightmare...

Consider non-Apple computer hardware manufacturers: Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, DIY and all the others... None has an "ecosystem", today. For operating systems, there's Windows, *nix, Chrome and... ? I think there are many more reasons than the two you cite for increased Apple product sales - and we should also keep in mind that while you may be seeing more Apple product out there, Macintosh computers and iPhones are still in the minority:

Macintosh:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Apple+Mac...47&bih=929

iPhone:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Apple+iph...47&bih=929

While some others of their products dominate
http://www.google.com/search?q=Apple+ipo...47&bih=929

But that's the funny thing about consumer electronics... Remember the Sony Walkman, Motorola Razor, Motorola StarTac, RIMM Blackberry, and dozens of others which brought their respective companies to fame... "Cheaper" does not translate into "value".

My $0.05 worth...