The cult like follow Apple has enjoyed has never really bothered me. From a business sense it makes sense that they would cultivate it if the culture was beneficial to them. You see the same sort of fanaticism with cars, guns, televisions, cameras, watches, sunglasses, and a myriad of other products.

I think that understanding of marketing and brand, in addition to the value of engineering, is what made Jobs such a great leader. He understood enough of both sides of the business to make them work together cohesively where other companies tend to favor one or the other.