Just checked my 16GB iPhone 5 running iOS 6.0.1, 13.47 gigs of available space.

It could also be that ones dislike of Apple can make them just as deluded. I'm not saying one way or the other here, but you see a lot of posts on /. of people blindly bashing apple.. Blindly, I'm sure they don't think that's the case, but none the less, when you can't look at both sides objectively (and honestly, we never get _all_ the details), then of course it's going to seem outrageous.

*sees someone with an iphone*
"hey man, you're not cool!"

Good luck with that. The Internet brings out the hyperbole in people, and what an age we live in where we can find outrage in the smallest things.

Or, you have studies like this.
http://gigaom.com/apple/android-tablets-ipads-still-see-wide-gap-in-mobile-web-use/
Which say the complete opposite thing. Now granted, this study does exclude nook and fire, but apple sold 55 million ipads through 2011, and around 13 million the first quarter, so nearly 70 million total.. I think we'd know if the nook and fire had sold enough to really balance that lead shown in _this_ study out.

Last weekend I was going to have lunch with a friend of mine, she happens to be very indecisive. We're driving downtown, trying to figure out where to eat, she's typing into yelp, its trying to find our coordinates etc, when I have the eureka moment, grab her phone and say "where's good for lunch?", Siri spits back a list of four places and we're sitting down 10 minutes later..

That was awesome and a _huge_ time saver.

You seem to think design is only The Shiney. The overlap of design geek and computer geek can be substantial. Well designed code is efficient without being more than it need be. I certainly understand people whom disagree with Apples design choices (GUI, Hardware, not just locked down etc.), however; the way things work for me is such simple perfection that I can focus on the task at hand. That's something I never had with Windows or Linux (admittedly, it's been a while since I really used much of either, too old for that shit now).

Well designed is not at odds with being geeky.

My understanding is that people are judging things by "how many bars are on my phone?".. not "can i still make a phone call?"

Anandtech has a very thorough review of the iPhone 4.. but in particular page which talks in depth the changes happening when one uses the grip o' death, etc etc.

Such as:

From my day of testing, I've determined that the iPhone 4 performs much better than the 3GS in situations where signal is very low, at -113 dBm (1 bar). Previously, dropping this low all but guaranteed that calls would drop, fail to be placed, and data would no longer be transacted at all. I can honestly say that I've never held onto so many calls and data simultaneously on 1 bar at -113 dBm as I have with the iPhone 4, so it's readily apparent that the new baseband hardware is much more sensitive compared to what was in the 3GS. The difference is that reception is massively better on the iPhone 4 in actual use.

Not to be a total skeptic, but are we sure Gizmodos attitude with Apple may have changed due to the whole 4g prototype deal?

I know a citation is needed and a quick googling of apple mobile revenue percentage didn't provide what I was looking for, but, whilst only having a 3& global market share, apple makes something like 90% of the global.

That may not be the exact percentage, but it is something truly ridiculous like that.

I bought one as I just needed something simple for browsing the web, email at home, don't need a laptop, like the form factor and can see the potential neat software people will be able to write for it..
Granted, it's not for everyone, not really a workhorse by any stretch of the imagination, and 500+ dollars isn't disposable income for a decent amount of the population.
But, it works for me.

Quite right, my 16GB non 3g after taxes was $550 here in California.

Having watched the updates I too was left wondering "What's the killer app?".. The book reader portion does look nice to me, and it'd be nice to browse the web casually on this rather than my iphone.. but I don't know that I need it _that_ badly.

However, I do have the feeling that the version 2 of the iPad (blech, what a name) will be much more appealing.

Finally, seeing the iWork demo kind of gives you an idea of what app developers are going to be able to do with this and _that_ is what I think will make or break this. Someone out there is going to have a brilliant idea for an app for this and that's when I'll be shelling out the money. Cos right now paying 500 to 900 to not be able to multitask seems like a deal breaker to me.

It's not going to just be cheaper to produce (eventually) it'll be healthier for you and the environment.. there is an interesting article over at h+ magazine about ways it'll change things forever (one can hope)
my own take

I started smoking when I was 16, and have been trying to quit ever since.. Once going over a year, only to return, though smoking less. At 24 I tried the patch and gum to no great effect. At 30 I vowed never to buy another pack, and I haven't in 3 years, however I still bum them from friends..
I just can't seem to ever quit entirely, and the idea of a vaccine that would finally let me kick the habit is one I happily welcome.