The thing people often overlook is the value of iMessage. I switched to Android for a few months and using plain SMS with my friends was a definite downgrade. T

The thing people often overlook is the value of iMessage. I switched to Android for a few months and using plain SMS with my friends was a definite downgrade. True, we could use a 3rd party chat network, but everyone seems to prefer a different one. Also, hard to quantify, but there was an element of social cost in that every knew I no longer using an iphone because the texts weren't blue. HN tends to dismiss such things but branding/advertising are important to perception of value, like it or not.