Dyson's biggest contribution to the vacuum market was figuring out how to vacuum without a bag. That was a pretty big deal since vacuum bags were the 'ink cartridges' of the home appliance industry as far as I can tell.
That said, the fake geek speak marketing also rubs me the wrong way.
I'm fine with Dysons as vacuums, they look interesting and do good work. I think you're spot on with the Apple comparison though since Dyson products seem to generate a similar amount of smug.
Just a quick correction, I've definitely had bagless vacuums long before the Dyson company was around.
pretty sure you're mistaken. From memory Dyson was unable to get the money together to manufacture vacuums under his own brand, and Hoover et al didn't want him around at all (vacuum cleaner bags are like razor blades), but he was able to licence his design to a Japanese company and also an American one.
There's quite a bit on the internet about the Japanese licenced Dyson - the G-Force - but I can't find anything yet on the American one. It was, I think, sold initially as a carpet shampoo machine, came with a powder you sprinkled on, and then as an industrial upright. I think these were sold in the US for many years before the Dyson brand made it there due to some sort of legal problem
I'll update if I can find the info I'm looking for
[edit: the keyword Google needed was Amway. Read this http://www.amquix.info/amway_dyson.html
In short, Amway entered into negotiations to licence Dyson's design in '84, withdrew after some time then launched their own copy. Lawyers got rich all the way to 1990 when things were resolved and Amway agreed to pay royalties to Dyson. Not mentioned in this article, but I think part of the agreement was Dyson say out of the market for a certain time]
While most of those quite heavy duty and powerful, they almost all suffered from indoor air quality issues, although I believe the newer ones do feature HEPA filters.
According to the internet the Dyson company was founded in 1993 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_(company)
but he came up with the idea in the early 80s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dyson
More importantly, it turns out I was definitely thinking of cleaners that don't use a disposable bag, and weren't a Dyson cyclone design...but it turns out that they just use a permanent filter that simply replaces the bag in the design. Those are what I remember growing up with since my mother hated having to spend all that money on bags. Are they pre-dyson "bagless"? I don't know, I think that's how they were marketed but I honestly can't remember.