Why is iPhone still a bestseller

SEATTLE: It's been three years, an eternity for gadgets, since Apple Inc unveiled the iPhone, and by now other phones do some things better. Yet Apple is selling more iPhones than ever.

What is it about the iPhone? Its success shows how Apple has triumphed at two crucial qualities: status and simplicity. And it's a reminder that while intense Apple fans will obsess over the upgrades the iPhone is expected to get this summer, such details won't matter as much to everyday buyers.

Other phones have higher-resolution cameras and can shoot high-definition video. The processor seems faster in new phones such as the Droid Incredible. A more energy-efficient touchscreen technology is eclipsing the one used in the iPhone screen. And competitors are matching features that once set the iPhone apart, including its slim shape and its store with thousands of applications and games.

“This thing is not state of the art,” says ABI Research analyst Michael Morgan. But whether the iPhone has the best technology doesn't seem to be the question most people ask. Instead, many people crave the aura of cool that iPhones seem to convey.

“When you see people with them, I'm like, ‘Oh, OK, they get it,''' says Jason Sfetko, a designer at Complex magazine in New York. When he sees someone with a BlackBerry, “I might think, maybe they're an accountant or something. They're answering too many e-mails.” AP