Missed It
You said: "Apple has always been about consumer led tech. ie What works for the average Joe - not what the geeks like."
Reality says: "Apple has always been about consumer led tech. ie What bling appeals to the wealthy - not what the geeks like."
Fixed it for ya. You said it ("consumer led"), but you missed the target market completely.
Apple makes toys for rich people. Period. Of course, in an article about tablet computers, anyone who would purchase such a thing clearly has too much money, so any discussion of tablet computers and anything else made by Apple must, by definition, be applicable only to the wealthiest among us.
Let's hear no more about "average Joe" in these comments, shall we? They are at work right now trying to put food on their family's table, not figuring out how to throw away that "extra" $700 on a new gadget.