[pieceofthepuzzle]

IMHO the market is ripe for an upstart effort to ‘out-hip’ Apple. I've been using Apple computers exclusively for a long time, so this isn't an anti-Apple comment. I think Android devices are looked at as ‘copycat’ at this point (real or not) and not particularly innovative. Apple's Achilles heal is that their success has been in part predicated on their ‘being different’ and ‘fresh’. Inevitably, they are now ‘mainstream’.

[Pearls Before Swine]

IMHO the market is ripe for an upstart effort to ‘out-hip’ Apple.

Samsung tried for a bit. Remember the commercial a year or so ago, when the parents were waiting on line for the next new iPhone, and the kids held their place. Then the kids shared some playlists using near-field facilities in their Samsung phones, while the Apple users looked on jealously.

I think that out-hip is possible, but that a more likely path is that Apple continues to offer a premium-priced product which allows people to self-segregate on price. It's a bit like the situation in cars, where the premium cars do have some nice extra features, but they are far more profitable than the more modest models and brands.

[Star Traveler]

A company can STAY MAINSTREAM by staying good in their products. Apple has not quit, “staying good” with the consumer.