Is Apple Good or Just Popular?

I just got my new iPhone 4S. I like it, don't love it. Siri's got some interesting features, but it usually makes one or two mistakes when I try to tell it send a text message.

My question for today: is Apple good, or just popular?

Here's what I mean. Every high school has that one popular guy (or girl) who makes just about everything he does cool. At my school, his name was Brad. Brad was captain of the football team, and he could do no wrong. If he came into school one day wearing a bowtie, you better believe that the rest of the school would be wearing one tomorrow.

Is that Apple? I think Apple is a great company. This is not one of those columns that tries to find a back-handed way of criticizing the company. I have nothing but praise for Steve Jobs, the iPhone, the iPad, and the Apple IIGS (I loved Oregon Trail).

But what really makes Apple so great?

Could it be its own popularity is part of the secret sauce? What's the main attraction of the iPhone? The apps, of course, which are also a function of its popularity.

Is it possible that Apple succeeds because everything it does is by definition cool?

Is Apple a great, innovative company? Or is it Brad?

You decide.