Apple experience 1: The second generation iPod, my first Apple, changed the way I relate to music on a fundamental level. Back then, the iPod was a brick and the user interface wasn't color. But it gave me an experience with music that, up to that point, I didn't think possible. Since then, the iPod and iTunes haven't improved much beyond more storage software whistles and bells. Either way, I still can't imagine another device playing a larger role in the way I relate to music.
Apple experience 2: After several generations of iPods, yep, the second generation iPhone. This mobile device changed the way I relate to mobile communication from the ground up and, honestly, the telephonic abilities of this device is the least interesting thing about it.
Yet, I, like legions of other computer users, am faced with the need of a new computer from time to time, a desktop or a laptop. The problem for Apple: I'm good at keeping a PC in good shape, I'm fine with point and shoot images that are 90% there and I'm not in the recording business. Here, an Apple computer will not change my life anymore than switching to a Zoon would.
A little bit "first in time" or a little unparalleled innovation can last a lifetime.
