Not sure why you're getting down voted, as we seem to be of the same mind re: Apple's value. When it comes to my day-to-day utility of the device, I still find my iPhone 3GS unsurpassed (although I carry around an EVO for tethering & a Nexus S since launch to give Gingerbread a fair side-by-side with iOS4).

That said, while no one doubts Apple's mastery of getting free press is quite impressive (Jobs sitting on Disney's board might help; having been CEO of Pixar, as well), I imagine Apple still spends a lot of money on their product announcement events compared to Google, and much (much!) more for branding (e.g. product placement: Google it for examples, they're impressive).