Money Quote: Want the best build quality device that Apple makes? Get the iPhone 4. How do we know this? While the iPod Touch has recently received iPhone 4 pixie dust, in the form of a camera, HD video recording and a retina screen, the build quality is a step below the iPhone 4, which feels like a jewel box forged by a craftsman.
To be sure, the iPod Touch is beautiful and solid, but its screen is slightly diminished in effect, and the camera is intentionally hobbled. In other words, while Steve Jobs himself may refer to the iPod Touch as the "iPhone without the phone," in truth, the functional segmentation keeps it a step below the iPhone.
Now, this is completely logical when you consider how much more expensive the iPhone is. Pricing (and margins) that are hidden from the customer via carrier subsidies.
That is also why recent analyst data that suggests that the iPad is "cannibalizing" low-end MacBook sales -- versus simply swallowing the low-end Windows PC and netbook segments for lunch -- is dubious at best. If you own an iPad and a Mac, you know two things:
The iPad targets a set of "jobs" that are not dependent upon keyboards and mice, but there are plenty of jobs for which a tablet is an unsatisfying replacement for a traditional computer;
Apple doesn't make low-end MacBooks, or similarly hobbled devices, for which an iPad would represent a practical alternative.
But then again, as I've stated before, Apple is a rare bird, pursuing non-linear, high-orchestration, high-leverage strategies. Exactly the type of complex storyline that is easily dismissed by simple-minded analysts, investors, competitors, media and the like.
Keep that in mind the next time you come across a story citing "Apple" and "inevitable" in the same context.
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