Apple, BMW in courtship with an eye on car collaboration

An i3 with iOS (running Google maps). What's not to like?

seriously if you went out to buy a vehicle just beacause it was made by Apple, then your brainwashing is compelete

seriously if you went out to buy a vehicle just beacause it was made by Apple, then your brainwashing is compelete

It's just a different paradigm. Who would have thought 20 years ago that Nokia would be ancient history today, or that Jaguar and Land Rover would be improving their quality under Indian ownership?

Apple have already rubbished vertical integration (doing everything yourself). With advances in materials, 3D printing and battery technology coupled with vehicles that don't require the scale economies of the past, expect a dramatically lower cost of entry, and a cluttered and very different marketplace mid-century.

@wtfjapan

seriously if you went out to buy a vehicle just beacause it was made by Apple, then your brainwashing is compelete

Only if they were handling the Ui side of things, because we all know how painful in-car entertainment systems are to use (regardless of make).

seriously if you went out to buy a vehicle just beacause it was made by Apple, then your brainwashing is compelete

Apple makes high-quality products that work well. You may call it brainwashing, but some of us are willing to spend more money to get a higher quality product, in order to not have to deal with the hassles of something that doesn't work as well.

I don't see that pricing as getting what you pay for, but of Apple making sure that you pay for what you get.

That's a matter of opinion isn't it. For me, I'm willing to pay that much, and I feel like I do get what I pay for. Although I use the external touchpad, not a mouse. But I've had my touchpad and keyboard for 4 years almost without incident. I did have one problem with the touchpad, and Apple took care of it for free, with little hassles. That is what I'm paying for, not just the hardware, but the expectation of trouble free service. Apple is excellent for that. Considering my hourly rate, if I have to spend an additional 15 or 20 minutes on the phone for something, it becomes cheaper to go out and buy something new. Except that I also have to consider the time it takes to buy something new.

I'd rather pay more up front for something that is probably going to work well, and probably not going to break, and if it does, will come with quality support.

It costs $130 to buy an Apple keyboard and an Apple mouse, which is certainly towards the top end of the price range for such devices

Some people say the same about parts for BMWs. If you want to pay Ford prices, get a Ford.

What?! A business article on Japan Today without a dozen Liberals being jealous of the "1%"?

I love my apple keyboard. And I went through a lot of keyboards before it. Its got a great feel to it.

I'm not a big fan of the mouse though. I had one and gave it to my wife. I much prefer the touchpad.

Anyways, if you don't see the value in Apple stuff, you don't need to buy it. Problem solved.

Generally, I don't actually buy Apple stuff. That's based on my assessment of what they offer and whether the price is a reasonable reflection of the product. I usually consider it too expensive for what it is, and the styling is frequently a turnoff.

Then you have no problems.

The fact that I so rarely do buy Apple products doesn't preclude me from having an opinion on them.

I didn't say you shouldn't. But why would you waste time caring about their products enough to even bother commenting on them if you aren't buying them, and have no intention to?

you ought to be able to do better than the usual fanboi putdown.

I'm not a fanboi - I have no loyalty to Apple whatsoever. If they drop the ball on their quality and service, and someone has a better option, I'd move over as quickly as I could. I couldn't care less about Apple as a company. But as long as they keep making quality products (as they do), and putting out quality service (as they do), I'll be more than happy to give them money for their products.

What I won't be doing is denigrating other companies and products when I don't own their stuff, and have zero interest in buying it. I can't think of a bigger waste of time.

Fair enough.