Are you a fanboy? Take a moment and think about that. Don’t take it as a derogatory question, either. I don’t mean it as such. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a fanboy. There’s nothing wrong with being a fan of something. Yes, it has turned into a slang term, to describe someone who’s close-minded and argumentative (and that’s putting it nicely). But, again, there’s nothing wrong with being a fan of something.

So, are you a fanboy?

I’ve asked in the past if you are rooted into an ecosystem, so let’s branch out a bit and look at it from a hardware perspective. After all, there’s no doubt that the creators of those ecosystems we’ve talked about in the past aren’t exclusive to software. There are fans of HTC, Samsung, Apple, and Research In Motion. Each of those companies have very vocal fans. On the flip-side, they also have very vocal combatants. Interestingly enough, it seems that fanboys are always at war with the people who don’t like that particular brand, and vice versa.

I know several people who prefer Apple in my personal life (and even more online), but I also know people who actually buy only Samsung, or only HTC. And, in some cases, it doesn’t have anything to do with the software, but entirely to do with the hardware. It doesn’t take a lot of thought to understand why this would be the case. Both HTC and Samsung are known for hardware, whether it’s good or bad (depends on the perspective, I imagine), and so it would be easy to pick up fans along the way.

Or lose them.

Samsung, for example. This is a company, much like every other company out there that makes money by selling things, that creates a lot of devices. They also sell a lot of devices, so it works out. But, I’ve heard observations from some people that Samsung’s devices also feel like they’re mass produced. Plastic shells, and now even the displays aren’t as great as some people would hope (based on opinion, of course).

And then there’s HTC. While I’ve heard people complain about the construction of their smartphones in the past, I haven’t heard anything of the sort since the widespread release of the One Series devices. Even the HTC EVO 4G LTE reportedly feels good in the hand. But, before that, some people thought HTC handsets were overly bulky and heavy, maybe even creaked a little bit here and there.

Nothing is perfect, though. I believe Samsung has their fan base collected, but obviously the numbers are always being supported, growing. The same goes for HTC, but I think it’s pretty obvious that the One Series is compelling more people to jump on the One train, and fall for the hardware.

I’ve heard people tell me that they’ll never stop using a BlackBerry physical keyboard. People have told me that ever since they picked up a Nokia-branded Windows Phone, that they’ll never use another smartphone again. On the other hand, up until the Pre 3’s larger design, there wasn’t much positive going around regarding the hardware running webOS.

Hardware plays a huge role when it comes to buying a phone. For me, personally, if I can’t stand the way a phone feels in my hand for just ten seconds, then that isn’t the phone for me. I have to be able to use it comfortably, and I have to feel like some love and care went into creating the device I might buy. It’s made me shy away from some, and immediately purchase others.

As I’ve said in the past, there has to be a happy marriage between the hardware and software to make a device compelling enough to earn my purchase. So where do you stand? Which manufacturer have you pledged your allegiance to, and why? Or are you straight down the middle of the road, unable to cling to one particular brand? Let me know!

image via UberReview