[cicero2k]

What Apple is experiencing is their products becoming a commodity. Just like desktops, laptops and flat screen TVs have become.

Google/Amazon is a little more complicated. Perhaps more of a reflection on the economy. Plus UPS missed also? They should be a good indicator since it reflects an amount of commerce.

[RegulatorCountry]

Apple is the antithesis of commoditization. They’ve never joined in the race to the bottom. Their products are a cut above. That has been the case for quite a few years. People continue to buy Apple products because they’re well designed, well constructed, thoroughly thought out and they do what they’re supposed to do very well, so much so that whenever Apple comes out with a new product the rest of the industry just throws in the towel and starts copying them, whether it's a cell phone or a computer, not that the difference between the two is as clear as it once was just a few years ago. That change was brought about by Apple.