Elitism can work VERY well as a sales tactic if the product backs it up (it's also why "antennagate" blew up like it did). An elite price phone, and elite price contract, and a sexy looking piece of kit with amazing software. They are snobby. They know it. you know it. Chances are many owners look down their nose at alternatives. We've all seen it, or perhaps done it ourselves.
As crappy as it is - and even though it is
everything people hate about apple fanboys -
it works.
It is dismissive of the competition. It doesn't even acknowledge their existence. There's iPhones, and then there's.... not having iPhones.
Anything this hoity-toity will be the target of much well deserved parody. I can't wait to see what turns up on funnyordie.com next week.
That's an open marketplace. Not "open" in the sense that there aren't any rules, but a true open marketplace with equal opportunity.
It's not the land of Oz - they don't magically give everyone equal opportunity to make it big. It takes talent, luck, and often a marketing budget. While you or I may have all of those, it would be quite a challenge to take on a big name in the app department.
Try making a garageband alternative for ipad 2. Apple's already got the price low at $4.99, and they can put their apps front and center on iTunes whenever they want, and they cover them in media events. With their low price point, they don't have to worry about competition. Apple makes money from the hardware, regardless if you buy an app. They make money from other sources. Many developers do not.
Or try taking on EA with their licensed properties. I've played better music games than Rock Band on there, but Rock Band is high on the charts. Try competing with Madden Football or any other licensed properties with cross platform marketing budgets, magazine and internet ads, and television commercials. It's really difficult to do that without a ton of money.
This is not necessarily a bad thing that one can blame apple for, it's just that the App store already has behemoth publishers that take the lion's share of app sales in most categories. There will be exceptions, like always. But the exception to the rule is not common.
![[DL]](/data/avatars/m/410/410081.jpg?1266785706){kind=avatar}