I often joke that Apple is the Combine, the Universal Union from Half-Life 2 instead of the Borg. Why?
Well, they look cooler. Better design. There's the weird belonging thing. And there's whole transhuman aspect of owning an iPhone; You Become More Than You Were. Plus the people on the tech support phone line carry the title of "Advisor".
Full disclosure: I am an iPhoner. There are many like it, but this one is mine. I nicknamed it Stormbringer, for its power and soul-snatching capabilities (my own and many friends who covet the damn thing.