"I detest their marketing techniiques resulting in overnight queues of sheep around the block, and wouldn't touch any of their products with a barge pole"

In so doing you are denying yourself the pleasure of using some of the best computing products available. I have never and will never understand such a bigoted attitude.

There's a reason that the 'sheep'as you call them queue around the block - they want to get their hands on superb devices as soon as possible. No doubt some of them are simply there because they want to be among the first to own whatever it is, but Apple hasn't surpassed Coca Cola as the world's top brand in terms of value because of that. Apple was worth a little over $98 billion when someone last counted, and it got there by making great products.

You'll never know how great they are, because you 'detest their marketing techniques', whatever that means. It seems to me that their marketing strategy is sophisticated and effective.