[citation][nom]freggo[/nom]Microsoft can not compete with Apple when it comes to style, perception or 'coolness'.That's like Honda trying to compete with Rolls Royce.Microsoft builds for the masses, Apple for 'ego' oriented minorities.[/citation]
I think you are dead wrong there.
Apple products tend to be pretty to look at, but tend to have issues (sometimes critical ones) on the inside. As an example, the iPod took off even though it had vastly inferior audio output to the 'competition' (though recent models have fixed this). Apple laptops have been plagued with bad batches of motherboards on several iterations (most notably the old 'clam-shell' laptops and first gen intel laptops), and I have yet to see an apple laptop or all-in-one with a decent audio output. Apple desktops, while extremely powerful and quiet, often have issues of overheating and using sub-standard thermal paste which gets hard and useless over time, and have even resorted to water cooling systems on duel G5 towers that have been plagued with leakage issues. And how can we forget the most notorious 'grip of death' issue with the iPhone. Apple products are beautiful without question, but to say that they do not cut major corners that affect the usefulness or longevity of their products would be wrong.
And the designs of all Apple products, while quite beautiful, are not the only aesthetic to go after. While I like plain steel casings as much as the next person, I would much rather see a sleek black or elegant white housing on a product I purchase. Anything that is generally plain with a nice/interesting texture to it can be quite beautiful. Lets not forget also that some people (though not me) LIKE a more cluttered or industrial design, or even the oddly shaped look of 'gamer' products with all of their strange and useless protrusions and windows. There are a lot of really really cool things that companies could do with case design on mobile products that have not been explored, but they have not because they are too afraid to move far from the template 'black/grey box', or the new simple 'wedge' design. The simple fact is that innovative and interesting design takes money (lots of money), and manufacturers are not willing to take a gamble on making products as unique to look at as an Apple product (without looking like an Apple product), for fear of alienating some segment of audience.
Apple is more like the BMW equivalent of computer hardware. It is very nice, and you know what you are looking at when you see it, but it does not mean that another company cannot make an 'equal' that caters to a different audience (or even the same audience). I do not think any computer manufacturer has gone into the realm of the ultra nice car equivalent of products yet (with the exception of some extremely expensive modders, but they do not make products, they simply mod existing ones).
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