About Apple
In my memory, iPhone OS 1.0 doesn't support Apple App Market. The Market was launched on summer of 2008.
After that, iPhone starts to become popular and more popular.
People like their iPhones, because they can not only own a mobile phone, but also a daily life platform. They can do almost everything. Whenever and whatever you want to do anything, you could find a appropriate app on the Market to match your need. That's the key power of iPhone.
The greatness of Jobs is that he found the blue sea. People need apps and don't care to pay a bit of more money to get them easily. He found this from iTune Music Store. Yes, in the start of this century, there were so many free MP3 floating on the web. However, iPod user still like download chargeable songs from iTunes.
In iTunes, there are music, podcasts, movie, video and apps. Which will be next? Newspaper? Magazine? Textbooks? or Books? Yes, they are all in the short-list. I think iTunes will be the largest publishing platform. Maybe it is, at the moment.
O.K, let's take a look on China. In China, there are hundreds of pirate factories which manufacture iPhone-like mobile phones and iPad-like tablets. They dream to be the next Apple. However, I don't think anyone of them could dream become true.
It has been 21st century. If you think you can become industry giant by manufacturing hardware, then you must just weak up from grave. The latest zombie is Palm. Their Palm Pre and WebOS are definitely outstanding. However, how about their app market? POOR! And I do believe Nokia will be the next. Their OVI store looks like a joke. I can't believe anyone would pay for apps in the store. Ugly is the only word you can find to describe OVI Store.
Forget polishing your device. Just remember, end-uses care not only hardware, but also software. Usability experience is the KEY of the key points.