SEATTLE — It’s been three years, an eternity for gadgets, since Apple unveiled the iPhone, and by now other phones do some things better. Yet Apple is selling more iPhones than ever.
What is it about the iPhone? Other phones have higher-resolution cameras and can shoot high-definition video. The processor seems faster in the Droid Incredible. A more energy-efficient touch-screen technology is eclipsing the iPhone’s. And competitors are matching features that once set the iPhone apart.
But many people crave the aura of cool iPhones seem to convey.
“When you see people with them, I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, they get it,’ ” says Jason Sfetko, a designer at Complex magazine in New York. When he sees someone with a BlackBerry, “I might think maybe they’re an accountant or something. They’re answering too many e-mails.”
Apple has sold more than 51 million iPhones since 2007, including 8.75 million in the most recent quarter. It ranks third in the global smartphone market, with a 14 percent share. Nokia has 47 percent, and BlackBerry has 20.
The Associated Press
