Apple Thoughts: PC Magazine Thinks Apple Gets Upgrades Right

"Apple's upgrade strategy helps their users and the company in a bunch of different ways. It lets users buy iPhones with some confidence, knowing that they're not going to get left behind next year. It lets developers aim at the latest platform, without having to worry about supporting the older versions of the iPhone OS. And it keeps users with Apple because they don't enter a new buying cycle, thinking of new choices and potentially churning off to the latest new thing."

Sagan brings up an excellent point. RIM and Microsoft, two of the biggest direct competitors in the Smartphone arena, just can't get more than a point-release out to customers. If you throw in Nokia, you rarely see any groundbreaking upgrades to a phone OS that doesn't require the purchase of new hardware.

He also hits the nail on the head when he says that it makes customers more confident in the product knowing they won't be left behind if an upgrade comes down the pipeline. That's one of the reasons I so love my iPhone; unlike they myriad other smartphones I've owned, it's still just as useful as the day I got it because of an upgrade to the OS.

A free upgrade to the OS.