Every year there is a new version of an apple product. That may not be a fact I am citing, but it might as well be. Currently, look at the iPhone, iPad, iTouch, iBook… even the operating systems are new every year for their computers.
This is Apples business plan. It is pretty obvious. The iPad 2 was announced early this week. In comparison to the iPad 1 it sounds epic, mainly because of just one feature: The front and rear cameras. This is perfect for Face Time. Video Conferencing will take off even more. I am planning on purchasing one just for that convience. That and being able to demo sites well to my customers at out of office meetings (which the iPad 1 accomplished).
That being said, do you know what is going to be better than the iPad 2? The iPad 3. Do you know what will be better than the iPhone 4 (that seems like it just came out)? The iPhone 5. Apple succeeds in using this business strategy because they are so far ahead of the competition when it comes to developing these devices. The Kindle and Android based readers all sound lame now that we know about the iPad 2 and its one of a kind features.
Basic economic principles tell Apple stockholders to beware since in the long run competition tends to catch up to the leader of the pack. Also, beware since their marketing strategy revolves around a person (Steve Jobs), who will eventually be dead since everyone dies. Well I guess by that logic Disney should be doing terrible.
Anyways, this should indicate to never buy a first generation Apple product. It is always lightyears behind the second generation product. I have an iPhone 3G in my pocket. It is terrible. This is because I have friends with iPhone 4s to play with. I notice how the battery actually works, the speed is quick, and it has a beautiful resolution, always making me feel terrible about my phone. My advice: Wait a year before purchasing anything from Apple, it will always get better.
