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There has been an interesting book from Barry Schwartz a while ago (the paradox of choice). He describes types of users, like the optimizer and the ones that go

There has been an interesting book from Barry Schwartz a while ago (the paradox of choice). He describes types of users, like the optimizer and the ones that go for good enough. Schwartz concludes that optimizers are usually never satisfied. They spend tons of time to find the best and then, after a short while, go on reassuring themselves, that what they have is still the best and start the hunt for the better. These are Apples best clients. On the other hand, the good enough types make a quick decision and don't look back - or, spend sufficient time to find what they need and then don't look back. I think it depends on your personal preferences (or on the amount of time you have available). Who wants to spend time on the choice of a dumb phone? I certainly don't and I have better things to do. I am a user of the first 5GB iPod. It was a gorgeous tool but today I am glad that I don't have to carry this brick with me anymore. That's why I never considered an iPhone or an Android thing so far. But, if you like, go ahead.

ugh 16y ago
These are Apples best clients. I don’t see the connection to Apple. Apple offers limited choice and little room to optimize. You get what everyone else gets, I can’t imagine “Optimizers” buying Apple products. Edit: Wouldn’t you buy an Apple product exactly if you are tired of having to compare all the time? All of Apple’s products fit on a decent sized kitchen table (five computers, four music players, two phones, two tablets, one set-top box). Wouldn’t many people who like Apple say that the nice thing about Apple is that you can trust them, that you can blindly buy their products and still be reasonably certain that you are getting a good package? The best Android phones might well be better than the iPhone but you actually have to find them in a sea of many phones of wildly differing quality.
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- mironathetin 16y ago
  I think its is just the question of the size of your universe. Apple users don't compare with Lenovo and Sony but with Apple. I know a couple of Apple users who owned every generation of iPhone (and don't even consider Android).
  - ugh 16y ago
    Do they? Do you have data on that and also on other, comparable phones?
    - bane 16y ago
      Something like 77% of iphone 4 owners were upgrades from previous iphones. http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/25/77-of-iphone-4-sales-were-upgrades/ http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/25/77-of-iphone-4-sales-... Since there's not much of an upgrade path for Android devices in quite the same way I suspect finding numbers to compare against will be hard. Besides, the platform didn't start to really become popular until 2009-ish, so most people are still on their first Android phone.
      - ugh 16y ago
        Well, that doesn’t really tell you anything since you have nothing to compare it against.
      - ZeroGravitas 16y ago
        That stat refers to the first month of sales. I would imagine "normal" people neither time their purchases to coincide with Apple product announcements, nor like to pay early termination fees to be the first on the block with a new gadget.
        bane 16y ago
        Theres two other things I've noticed about the phenomena. When an iProduct is launched, my local Apple store has a line around the block on launch day. But then a week later, no line and plenty of inventory. You can just walk into the store and buy one. When a new major Android phone is launched, there's no line, but it takes weeks on a waiting list to get one and months for the inventory to catch back up so you can just go buy one. I have a feeling one of the two (or both) is either a manifestation of what we're talking about, or its Nintendo style artificial scarcity at play.
- njharman 16y ago
  Apple provides reassuring reinforcement that you have indeed bought the "best" (at least until they come out with new model in year or so. Apple products are widely hyped as the "best" while actually being rather poor in everything other than style, hipness, simplicity. These "Optimizers" don't make rational choices, they are fueled by emotion, desires to feel good about themselves and better than others. These are qualities Apple markets to.
- cicero 16y ago
  In the last 8 years I've been buying primarily Apple products: an iBook 8 years ago, an iPod mini 6 years ago, a MacBook 3 years ago, and an iPhone 2 years ago. I used to fiddle with Linux and know about the latest CPUs, but then I found that I was spending a lot of time on something of little benefit to me. My MacBook does everything I need, and it has the Unix underpinnings I prefer. My iPhone is very useful, although it is getting a little slow as apps get bigger. I will probably upgrade to the iPhone 5 when it comes out, if it turns out to be good enough. I'm the same way with cars. I bought a Honda Civic recently without a lot of comparison shopping because I have had good luck with them before, and I know it's a quality car. A friend of mine bought another kind of car that had some cool features that mine doesn't have, and I was a little envious for a moment, but it soon passed. I'm very happy with my solid little car.

ugh 16y ago

These are Apples best clients. I don’t see the connection to Apple. Apple offers limited choice and little room to optimize. You get what everyone else gets, I can’t imagine “Optimizers” buying Apple products. Edit: Wouldn’t you buy an Apple product exactly if you are tired of having to compare all the time? All of Apple’s products fit on a decent sized kitchen table (five computers, four music players, two phones, two tablets, one set-top box). Wouldn’t many people who like Apple say that the nice thing about Apple is that you can trust them, that you can blindly buy their products and still be reasonably certain that you are getting a good package? The best Android phones might well be better than the iPhone but you actually have to find them in a sea of many phones of wildly differing quality.

deleted 16y ago
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mironathetin 16y ago
I think its is just the question of the size of your universe. Apple users don't compare with Lenovo and Sony but with Apple. I know a couple of Apple users who owned every generation of iPhone (and don't even consider Android).
- ugh 16y ago
  Do they? Do you have data on that and also on other, comparable phones?
  - bane 16y ago
    Something like 77% of iphone 4 owners were upgrades from previous iphones. http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/25/77-of-iphone-4-sales-were-upgrades/ http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/06/25/77-of-iphone-4-sales-... Since there's not much of an upgrade path for Android devices in quite the same way I suspect finding numbers to compare against will be hard. Besides, the platform didn't start to really become popular until 2009-ish, so most people are still on their first Android phone.
    - ugh 16y ago
      Well, that doesn’t really tell you anything since you have nothing to compare it against.
    - ZeroGravitas 16y ago
      That stat refers to the first month of sales. I would imagine "normal" people neither time their purchases to coincide with Apple product announcements, nor like to pay early termination fees to be the first on the block with a new gadget.
      - bane 16y ago
        Theres two other things I've noticed about the phenomena. When an iProduct is launched, my local Apple store has a line around the block on launch day. But then a week later, no line and plenty of inventory. You can just walk into the store and buy one. When a new major Android phone is launched, there's no line, but it takes weeks on a waiting list to get one and months for the inventory to catch back up so you can just go buy one. I have a feeling one of the two (or both) is either a manifestation of what we're talking about, or its Nintendo style artificial scarcity at play.
njharman 16y ago
Apple provides reassuring reinforcement that you have indeed bought the "best" (at least until they come out with new model in year or so. Apple products are widely hyped as the "best" while actually being rather poor in everything other than style, hipness, simplicity. These "Optimizers" don't make rational choices, they are fueled by emotion, desires to feel good about themselves and better than others. These are qualities Apple markets to.
cicero 16y ago
In the last 8 years I've been buying primarily Apple products: an iBook 8 years ago, an iPod mini 6 years ago, a MacBook 3 years ago, and an iPhone 2 years ago. I used to fiddle with Linux and know about the latest CPUs, but then I found that I was spending a lot of time on something of little benefit to me. My MacBook does everything I need, and it has the Unix underpinnings I prefer. My iPhone is very useful, although it is getting a little slow as apps get bigger. I will probably upgrade to the iPhone 5 when it comes out, if it turns out to be good enough. I'm the same way with cars. I bought a Honda Civic recently without a lot of comparison shopping because I have had good luck with them before, and I know it's a quality car. A friend of mine bought another kind of car that had some cool features that mine doesn't have, and I was a little envious for a moment, but it soon passed. I'm very happy with my solid little car.