Apple, The Living Legend

Amidst a global sky of technology lies somewhere in North America the lair of a corporation that has grown to what is now a financially frightening army with millions of devoutly loyal followers. Apple, strongly shrouded around a web of secrecy and built from a single man’s vision is now a tech giant that has built itself up from humble beginnings.

This is not the first time that we have seen technology erupt from things that have been created to improve our lives in some way or another into what can be seen as cults with faithful devotees. Canon and Nikon, two camera manufacturers have fought for dominance in the world of professional photography for ages.

So what makes Apple so different in that sense? It is an organisation that has managed to redefine the way that many use some form of electronic devices. It has brought up tech that has seen failure in the past and recreated them into what is now thriving commercial success.

The first humble Tablet PCs introduced more than a decade ago turned from a great concept idea into a flop. For many reasons, the tech never took off and for a long time almost faded into total obscurity. Until Apple’s stunning iPad, released just a few months ago took the world by storm.

The iPad, a touch-screen tablet device is now rampaging across the globe, so much so that Apple has been having trouble meeting demand for this trendy toy. Apple fans queue for hours and days just to get their hands on it as soon as they could. Major tech media outlets scramble to get first dibs on dissecting the device for information hungry readers to devour.

Yet this is not the first time that an Apple product has created such sensation. How about the iPhone, which has only been introduced in the last few years? Despite the furore over controversies regarding alleged faults in Apple’s iPhone 4, Apple today commands an impressive share in the global Smartphone arena that major handset manufacturers such as Nokia and Research In Motion have been battling over for a long time.

So what is it that draws so many people to Apple products?

Simply speaking, people who are buying an Apple product are not simply buying ‘some form of technology’. They are buying into a whole new lifestyle, a lifestyle that was once the exclusive domain of a few and is now available to practically anybody.

Think of it as an elitist club that has opened its doors to a mass audience.

Apple has managed to avoid competing with established tech giants on an equal footing. Instead of touting its products as the most technologically advanced based on specifications that are in all honesty equal to or even in some cases inferior to competitors, it has allowed users to buy into a desired image.

It’s just like how a Gucci user would never be caught dead carrying anything but.

Yet to say that Apple users are blinded by blind faith would not be fair. In all honesty, Apple has created the ideal blend of solid technology with perfect marketing pizzazz. Then again, some people may see Apple as the saviour that has arisen to save the world from the dark forces of Microsoft, another tech giant that has nearly monopolized the tech world for decades. It provides consumers with solid, appealing alternatives.

The launch of the iPad and the iPhone 4 has become the latest episodes in a blockbuster series that Apple has been producing for the world.