Seeing this short post from Shawn Blanc this afternoon got me thinking about my Apple loyalty personally.

If Steve Jobs got on stage this fall and all he said was, “We’ve designed a new iPhone and we think it’s pretty great. It goes on sale next week.” Then I would still be in line to buy one. So would a third of those in this survey by eWeek.

I would be in line because: (a) I know I can sell my iPhone 4 on Craigslist to cover the cost of my iPhone upgrade; (b) using and being familiar with the latest tech (within reason) is a big part of my job; and (c) I’m a huge nerd (Big surprise, right?).

Good marketing may get people in the door the first time, but good product design gets them in the door the second (and third, and fourth, and fifth) time.

I don't love Apple products because I think they make me look like the cool kid when I'm at the coffee shop. I love them because they are the best devices you can buy. They are designed and built with such care and detail in mind that their overall quality is completely unmatched. I think that is barely even debatable. 

The loyalty that comes from building products like this is just as Shawn describes. He would stand in line for an iPhone 5 right now and buy one without even thinking twice because he trusts what Apple produces. It will be fantastic and a step forward. To me, it feels like they've reached this critical mass were this is a common sentiment among Apple users. It's a little scary to think of how much we've (Apple buyers) grown to trust Apple, but until something knocks them off the the track they've been on for years now, I see no reason to do anything but.