This was bound to be Apple. They have stuck doggedly to the hardware+software model. Although difficult to begin with, it's this model that has ultimately turned them into Microsoft's butt-kickers. They're continuing to innovate and they now have a mass audience of consumers invested in their ecosystem... enough to drive continued sales of their integrated personal computing environments (iMacs, Mac minis, Macbooks) simply because it all works well together and fits logically (and it's actually good stuff).<p>Microsoft and Google (and others) aren't failing at this by any means, they simply aren't succeeding as well as Apple are. Perhaps this is because Apple have focused on user/developer experience rather than hardware/software features?