The irony here? I took this picture with my iPhone.
Look anywhere on the Internet for an article or blog post that mentions Android phones or the iPhone. Then, scroll down to the comments and duck as venom will begin to spew through your computer screen.
The vitriol, name-calling and idiocy that once were the hallmark of Mac vs. PC debates has been overtaken by fanboys of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android devices.
It is one thing to enjoy your favorite mobile platform. It is quite another to ridicule and throw insults at users of the competition. It seems that many people (mostly men) get a ridiculous, Alpha Male attachment to their phone and must defend its honor when any perceived criticism arises.
The reality is each device has its distinct advantages and weaknesses. The iPhone benefits from Apple’s maniacal focus on design and control to create a smooth and minimalistic user interface. Its control of the App Store prevents some buggy and unnecessary apps from making it onto the device. Of course in exchange you surrender some freedom: your choice is only one device on one network (and for now just one color).
Android offers more flexibility and choices of devices and carriers. There is a good Android phone now on all four of the major carriers. Some have keyboards, some don’t, and two even have enormous screens. Heavy users of Google products like Gmail get tight integration with those services and are not locked into iTunes. Yet more and more Android phones are getting loaded up with bloatware and have ugly skins like Motorola’s BLUR or HTC Sense running on top of them. This forces users to wait for the latest version of Android while the carriers and device makers figure out when it won’t break their software. Continue reading →
One of the iPhone 4′s highly-touted features has become its biggest PR nightmare.
The irony is that the now infamous external antenna was supposed to be a breakthrough design that would end the misery of AT&T’s sometimes pitiful network coverage.
I have only been able to duplicate the signal loss issue in a few rare circumstances, and this Engadget post shares the experiences of various editors. While it is clear this issue is not experienced to the same degree by everyone, the Consumer Reports feature determined it is a problem with every Phone 4.
The real danger for Apple is the company is acting like a political team fighting off a scandal: deflect and deny. First it was Steve Jobs telling Ars Technica “avoid holding it that way.” A few days later the edict came down that it was a software issue. Continue reading →
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Continue reading →
If you have read this site before then you probably have picked up that I occasionally review iPhone apps. Over the past two years I have become pretty familiar with the strengths and quirks of Apple’s App Store.
That is why I’m excited to announce my forthcoming eBook: The App Store Survival Guide. The book will be an indispensable guide for iPhone/iPad newbies and veterans alike about navigating the jungle of the App Store.
The book will be available for download soon. I am holding off on putting a date on it yet because you never know when a white iPhone incident may happen. As I get closer to a release date I will announce it here. My expectation is the book will be easily accessible for your favorite eReader (including the iPad).
I am excited about this milestone and hope you will find The App Store Survival Guide a vital resource for making your favorite iDevice even more useful.
Monday night’s D8 interview with Steve Jobs was a fascinating piece of dialog. While Jobs has lost none of his hubris, for most of the night he was reflective and nuanced about Apple’s achievements and competitors. It was a welcome change to the current political-style mudslinging that has been dominating most of the technology industry lately.
Sure, he took a couple of digs at Google (they made it easy with the recent Wi-Fi snafu) but largely resisted when Walt Mossberg continued to press him about the fact they now compete with their former ally. And Jobs even described how Apple lost the platform war to Microsoft – a pretty spin-free admission.
Most of the coverage overstated Jobs’ suggestion that we were beginning to see the end of the PC era. This wasn’t a proclamation that this would happen overnight. His argument, which is largely correct, is that over time many people will begin to rely more on lighter, touch-based devices and less on keyboard-and-mouse PCs. This is a challenge to both Apple and Microsoft who both have incredible resources invested in PC hardware and software. Continue reading →
I have a guest post today on the excellent writing blog The Urban Muse. My post argues that while niche blogging has its place there is merits to not pigeonholing your content.
Gizmodo’s now infamous expose of the next-gen iPhone is one of the hottest and most controversial tech stories to hit in a while. Some even cheered Gizmodo for landing the ultimate scoop – getting their hands on an iPhone prototype from the ultra-secret Apple.
But then reality hit. We learn that Gizmodo paid $5,000 for the phone from someone who found it at a Silicon Valley bar. Its unfortunate owner apparently left it behind. Instead of giving it to the police or making a more concerted effort to give it back to Apple, it was sold to the highest bidder. This was after the Apple employee was identified through a Facebook app and the phone was remotely wiped by Apple. All clear evidence that the phone was property that should have been returned.
So this is what we have come to. If something comes into your hands that isn’t yours, resort to the playground ethics of “finder’s keepers.”
This is why when someone returns money that is not theirs or engages in some other act of unforeseen honesty people are shocked. Too many share the view that if the world is ruthless and cutthroat, then we should be too.
There is an old saying about how each of us needs to have a moral compass to serve as a guide when we face such situations. Unfortunately we have another case where it just didn’t work. Maybe there’s an app for that.
Given my previous posts about the iPad (here and here) one might assume that I would wait a few months before getting one.
Wrong. I caved and pre-ordered a 3G model. Despite its limitations, I feel the iPad has tremendous potential and is a glimpse into how computing may evolve.It also doesn’t hurt that the no-contract 3G plan is a fantastic option for frequent travelers like myself.
Is it a bit overpriced? Yes. Does it come with the usual Apple limitations? Of course. But like most Apple products, the things it CAN do are amazing and enough to sell you on it. When it finally does arrive I expect to be giving plenty of apps a trial run and publish the reviews on AppCraver. This week I will have a series of Q&As that should help iPad owners, fence-sitters, or those impatiently awaiting theirs to arrive.
Now comes the usual wait for an Apple product’s arrival. Rumors, news leaks, more rumors, then out of nowhere a shipping notification. Next comes incessantly hitting refresh on the UPS page, as if somehow that will makes its journey from China to California go faster.
As always, it will be a geeky adventure. Let it begin.
