However, I do get the impression that they feel a bit like King Midas at times. When a product exceeds their sales expectations, they are very public about that too.

I think its marketing. By setting low expectations and blowing that away consistently makes me feel like they are an overnight success. This is just my perception though.

Apple was it’s own strongest competitor. It took 4 generations of iPod’s before it finally reached it’s Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell). It wasn’t the overnight success that it Apple wants us to think it was.

Interesting. I’d like to know more about why you think Apple wants us to believe they were an overnight success. My read on them has been that they thumb their nose at overnight successes. They are willing to forge ahead and achieve quite modest goals. Remember, they only wanted 1% of the cell phone market. And they met their 10 million iphone sales goal, too (unusual for the cell industry these days). They are regularly scoffed as being too conservative and uninterested in market share.

But that’s my take.