Nothing, there are plenty of good smart phones out there now. When it first came out it was pretty ahead of the curve as many competitors didn't offer anything quite like that, sure there were smart phones but they were nowhere near as user friendly and developed as the current offerings are. Apple saw a market and pushed to market, the iphone these days is just one of many affordable and functional phones that all do about the same thing, the iPhone gets points for having a longer customer history and a stronger brand image.
Dude haven't you ever noticed people go bat$#!& crazy about any new product offering "Dude check out the new wrangler!" Dude check out the new PS3, dude check out the new xbox 360! All the same thing, any good company will market and advertise a product to build a release. Apple is considerably tight lipped about new products, which they do because they know its great PR, everyone knows what the next xbox is going to be like before it comes out, everyone knows what the next grand cherokee is going to look like before it comes out.
(imagine the same marketing strategy applied to the new grand cherokee, while not technically feasible to keep it under wraps like a new apple phone untill unveiling, it can be used as a good analogy to understand why apple does what they do.
Just think, you know its about time for a new Jeep to come out, it happens about this time every year, sometime in the next few weeks you will get to see what it is, sure it will be vehicle, they are all about the same, they do the same things, they have the same features, radios, seats, doors, engines. you have no idea what the next one will be like, but it will have those things because hey, they always have those things. So announcement day comes, a new Jeep bursts onto stage through a curtain of glass, it shatters like water droplets and bounces off in a crystalline shower of flickering light before the jeep comes to rest center stage, wheels turned slightly to the side rocking slightly as the suspension comes to rest in front of a crowd of enamored would be buyers. Tweets immediately go out from eager onlookers "New jeep just burst out onto stage in totally badass display" and "Just saw the new grand cherokee, phucking sweet! I want one now!" followed with some more conservative tweets such as "Jeep unveiled in spectacular PR stunt, waiting for real techincal information" then shortly later followed with "New GC specs in, impressive performance and towing, attractive price, aesthetically pleasing" Then the CEO goes on to talk about it and say, "You can order it starting new week and you can pick it up at the end of the month"
Freaking brilliant.
(now there are a number of reasons this breaks down for a vehicle purchase, but to a certain extent every company pushes for an unveil like that)
I tell ya one thing, I'm amazed at how much hate apple products get. I don't think theres any other product out there that manages to get people to hate them quite like apple does.
Heaven forbid a company makes a product, markets it, grows a consumer base, pushes new products consistently to market, MAKES A PROFIT, and continues to make a profit.
Apple has nearly 75% of the mp3 player market. Why you hatin on a company for being successful?
I also see a very common theme also repeated in this thread, that people hate apple because they have a perception that people are buying them to be trendy, or because its a craze, or yada yada yada. Frankly though the only people I ever see talking about apple products are the ones bitching about them. I don't come across apple users who go around shouting and rubbing in it your face like they are superior, in fact I see the opposite, people who go around shouting and rubbing it in your face that they aren't the one who subscribes to the "sheepdom" of owning an apple product.
You may call it a craze, you may call it a fad, but the iPod has been on the market for nearly 10 years, has a solid market share, continually grows and updates the product.
I can sum up this thread, much like others I've seen, with just about any hipster kitty:
For the record I am an apple user, I'm using my 4 year old macbook, which replaced my 5 year old powerbook, which replaced my 6 year old powerbook, with a tethered iphone in a hotel room.
Craze? Nope just an apple user who owns and uses apple products and has never felt the need to come onto an MJ forum and rub it in someones face that I use apple products, and how they are so much better than a competitors product and yada yada yada.
Like it or not you have to admit that apple has grown market share, sells plenty of product, has strong brand recognition, has not been hurt like other companies by the recession and their stock continues to go up.
Apple is an American company and an American success story, Detroit ought to take a lesson or two from Apple.