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Is Apple Uncool?

Teens are abandoning the brand, some pundits say, and the crowd at one Apple store may support that theory.

Visiting an Apple store in the Bay Area recently, there were a lot more "mom jeans" and gray hairs than tweens.

Perhaps it was time of day—kids should be in school at 1 p.m. on a Tuesday—or the price tag on the products, but some tech bloggers have been talking about youth moving away from the Apple brand because they view it as tired, repetitive and, frankly, what their parents use.

Marketing experts say Millennial kids want newer products, such as the Microsoft Surface or Samsung Galaxy, according to a report released by Buzz Marketing Group.

Teens—who are at an age when individuality can be paramount—also don't want the same gadget everyone else has, this Forbes columnist says.

And part of the problem might be that parents hand off their old Apple products to their kids while getting the latest greatest iPad or iPhone for themselves. Missing out on Siri and Retina Display apparently sends teens clamoring for other devices.

So while teens are uploading the newest social media apps to their Samsung phones (Snapchat is in, Facebook is out), their parents are at the Apple store with me doing really un-hip things, like asking why computers no longer have disk drives.

By the way, I'm one stoked Gen-Xer (or absolute oldest Millennial) to own a new iPad mini.

What do you think? Has Apple peaked? Or do teens have it wrong and these other devices will just be flashes in the pan?

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
A Chinese-American couple will dress just like their mainstream American counterparts at the wedding.
Crystal Tai May 1, 2011 at 06:28 pm
Thank you very much for you kind words, Priyanka! The answer to your question is in another articleRead More I wrote for Cupertino Patch, "Five Wedding Reception Venues in Cupertino." Thanks again!
Priyanka Sharma-Sindhar April 27, 2011 at 08:21 pm
This is definitely very useful for the those of us who aren't Chinese, but do have Chinese friends..Read More Thank you, Crystal. What are the popular spots in Cupertino for Chinese weddings?
Anne Ernst (Editor) April 3, 2013 at 12:59 pm
It's difficult to know what's going on in a kid's mind unless they feel confident enough to open upRead More and talk. And this program helps us adults to learn to listen differently.
Debbie Reiley April 3, 2013 at 03:50 am
I too was at this Challenge Day. It was my 6th. I first volunteered because I watched the programRead More on MTV "If You Really Knew Me" when my son was being severely bullied in middle school and saw the program was offered when he was a freshman in high school. My company strongly supports me volunteering for this and allows me to take the day off work to attend. I am continually humbled by what these teens share and saddened at what some of them have experienced in their short lives. This program is so valuable. I think every school should offer it and every parent should attend. It helps us to realize that we need to think twice before we judge or assume things about others when we know nothing about them. It is the volunteering opportunity that I look forward to participating in every year.
Anne Ernst (Editor) March 30, 2013 at 06:30 am
Carrie, Thanks for allowing me to be a part of it again.
Janice Chua March 28, 2013 at 06:45 pm
It was fun hosting you all at Bitter+Sweet, Anne!
Loy Oppus-Moe March 28, 2013 at 02:40 pm
A big "Thank You" to Anne, Pete, and 53 other professionals who opened up their companiesRead More and organizations to give our students hands-on experience of what life might look like for them post-high school. Job Shadowing brings relevance to education!