Some nice points

Some nice points

Originally shared by Gideon Rosenblatt

Apple just seems to be a little less shiny these days. A few quick observations from three unconnected experiences: 

* Google's I/O extravaganza really seems to have changed the perception of what's cool, stealing some of Apple's former polish, I think. 

* The other day we were waiting for a table for dinner and popped over to the nearby Apple Store. It was pretty much empty, and it for the first time I thought to myself: "wow, this stuff feels kind of dated." I mentioned it to my 12 and 14-year-old sons and they completely agreed. 

* A few days later we were eating out again, and our waitress, whom I'm guessing was probably around 22 years old saw my wife's Android phone and said "awh....my mom just got one. I so wish I could get one of those. I'm still just stuck with my iPhone." Then she waxed on about how cool Android was - and she knew what she was talking about. Now before you dismiss this as her being some geeky young girl, let me just say that no, she was cool and pretty hip. 

These are anecdotal impressions. But sometimes even anecdotes get at an underlying shift that's underway. It really feels as though Apple hit some weird cliff this last year. I'm just sayin'...