That's according to mobile industry analyst Ian Fogg, who thinks too many of Apple's competitors try to take a 'me-too' approach, mimicking Apple's new products, without ever focusing on what they could do to get ahead of Cupertino.

"Apple's metrics should focus rivals' attention on the importance of multi-year strategies. Competitors are forever seeking to emulate Apple. But too many deploy me-too tactics, rather than following a consistent and sustained long term strategy," he said.

Fogg, writing on his blog, points to the example of the Samsung Galaxy S, which "resembles the Apple's old iPhone 3GS of 2009, not the designed-from-scratch iPhone 4 that the S actually competed against at the time the S arrived in the market".

He also criticised HP for ousting less than a year after appointing him, while Nokia "dithered" over whether it should be concentrating on the MeeGo or Windows Phone 7 operating system.

Meanwhile, Apple has been making hay - though the iPod's days seem to be numbered, it has successfully introduced the iPhone as its replacement, Fogg argues. Even more significantly, Apple created a new market with the iPad, but wasn't afraid that this could canibalise Mac sales. "If the iPad cannibalizes computer purchases, Apple has more to gain from iPad sales than lost Mac sales. Not many companies would be this shrewd and this prepared to compete against themselves."