Equally interesting is if you click on the word phone or mobile in these posts it takes you to an Apple advert - perhaps to paraphrase the FE's words "many of those who play the 'Apple products' do it for a financial reason.", or surely not ?

I paid £19.95 for my last mobile phone, so if they can match that, I may give it a try. I've no interest in a smart phone other than it giving me the ability to check how my websites look in a mobile format. At the moment, I rely on another family member to do that for me.

I know I'm perhaps a bit weird, but I use a mobile to, er, phone!

That said, I had to give a client some training on his website recently and he uses a MAC. Really strange and not at all intuitive - he had trouble with some keyboard characters as well, and he's used to it. Looking up character combinations to type a #, is a non-starter in my book.

I was really looking forward to seeing this "it just works" machine in action, but was really disappointed. I suppose some of it's just use and it's what you're used to (or not) that will form ones opinion.

I certainly don't know why people pay a premium for them.

As an aside, I was in a very big and busy Mobile phone shop in a major London shopping centre this morning, and I asked the person who dealt with me what he thought would happen if Apple produced a budget iPhone. He said it depended on the price, but if it was around £150 they would, in his words, "fly off the shelf".

Not remotely a scientific survey, but interesting, nevertheless.

The aversion that many people have with regard to Apple products is largely the result of prejudice - my feeling is that most of them have never used anything Apple.

Apple aficionados tend to feel the same way about Microsoft, it's a tribal thing, and like all tribal things it isn't rooted in logic. In the course of my work I use some Apple products, and they're fine. The company has a reputation for making objects of desire, and my own experience is that it's a well-earned one. Apple machines are generally beautifully designed and well put together.

A budget iPhone would, in my opinion, be a great success.

£19.99 ... but only if it was a 'special' at Aldi or Lidl.

Although I'm not necessarily one of them, you need more experience, FE.

Quickbeam

If Apple releases a budget iPhone there will be plenty of new 'acolytes' flocking to buy it, despite what people say in web polls.

My experience is that many of those who play the 'wouldn't touch Apple products with a bargepole' card do precisely the opposite if they get the opportunity to acquire one.

they would have to pay me

My next phone (due December) will be free

As I always get my daughters hand-downs, she was talking about getting an iphone last time but opted for a samsung instead.