You'd be forgiven for not really taking this research about Apple and Google seriously, considering how many smartphones and other devices each company has sold in the last year, but apparently it is the case. According to YouGov BrandIndex, Americans really aren't as fond of both firms as they were just one year ago.

Both companies were at one point, part of the coveted list of top ten best-perceived brands, but not in 2013. Apple still does well in the smartphone market and Google is forging ahead with its own efforts in social networking and Android handsets, but it's not kept either as relevant as they once were.

Seeing this on the YouGov homepage made me realise what a first world story this is…

Some of the Telegraph cited reasons for the fall from grace for both firms include the fact that it's been linked with the US government's PRISM program, which has people worried about privacy. There's also the fact that Apple has been said to use child labour or have its employees work in poor conditions in fabrication plants. Then of course there was the ebook fixing scandal.

While often these firms seem impervious to bad publicity, sometimes it seems to catch up to them a little bit more.

The YouGov research measures consumer perception of brands by quizzing 5,000 individuals each week. While this isn't a fullproof method, the changing attitudes of time could suggest a more national or global swing in the perception of these companies.

Kitguru Says: So what about you guys? Have your opinions of companies like Apple and Google changed over the past six months? Any reformed fanboys out there?

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