"Such a string of mishaps and missteps might throw another electronics company into crisis. But of course, Apple Inc. isn't just another electronics company. Even as iPhone griping rages online, it looks like Apple's sterling reputation will emerge untarnished. Baba Shiv, a professor of marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, compares Apple's fan base to Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders who pass over arguably higher-quality Japanese bikes.Shiv said Apple's fans play down negative information to explain their relationship to the brand - and justify spending more for products that may not be better than the competition's. Once that loyalty is formed, "the transgression has to be so egregious for someone to completely change the narrative," Shiv said. 'If something like this had happened to Microsoft, the long-term impact would be much more for Microsoft than for Apple.'"
I'm just curious what you all think of this article. Apple and it's beloved iPhone have certainly had their share of mishaps lately. They've had some real problems with MobileMe, 3G, the App store, syncing, freezing, security and so on and yet it seems that no matter what they do, there's a strong loyal crowd that will defend them to the hilt. Yet when Microsoft has issues or flaws with just about anything, forums around the web seem to rip them apart. So after reading the article, do you agree that "Apple's sterling reputation will emerge untarnished?" Do you think there's a bias towards Apple sometimes? Are Apple and MS really on playing fields that are that different or is it just easier to pick on one more than the other?