It’s not the return of the OSAlert comic, but it was too good to let pass. Our coverage of the Apple event was minimal this week, so I decided to round the key points up in an illustration…
Image ^A(c) Copyright Kroc Camen 2011, licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial licence.
Never heard of wireless?
Try charging an iProduct via wireless.
Or sync it
I know about WiFi Sync but it has been very buggy in my experience.
Edited 2011-03-06 15:58 UTC
Maybe it is already too heavy
I know it’s a humorous piece but nevertheless most people still I think it’s important to note a few points that lots of people still get wrong.
On the topic of iDevices syncing wirelessly; you really think Apple doesn’t have such a feature in development for some time now?
Of course it does but as always for them, providing a full user experience to the average user is much more important.
I’ll give you an example to contrast their thinking from the rest, taken from one of their rivals.
Motorola made a big fuss about how the Xoom runs flash while the iPad doesn’t; it was a strong marketing point. However it decided to release it with that major feature missing, something that won’t be available for a few months. This is something that Apple would never do.
Also on the topic of the iPad requiring a computer to function.
These devices will become the main computing device for most people in the near future, considering how powerful they’re becoming and they’ll lose their dependency on the PC thank’s to backups in the cloud etc.
However I suspect that most households in the future will still have a PC for heavy duty work (although I see it more as a fusion of the TV and PCs to be honest).
Oh and one thing I find funny is how 1 year ago many people on this site were predicting the failure of the iPad due to its 10inch form factor particularly when the Galaxy was announced. Fast forward a few months and most the competitors are running with larger form factors yet no one comes out admitting they were wrong.
Hey Thom maybe you could learn a few things from Gruber (other than the fact that he’s a bit more successful and influential than you’ll ever be as a tech writer).
Uh ? I don’t quite see the point you’re trying to make. Gruber changes his mind every month or so depending on where the Apple wind blows. Remember his post about how old-fashioned UI consistency is ?
Didnt Apple make a big fuss about their revolutionary outside antenna? What happened then? The phone ended up with the now famous “the touch of death”, only from apple.
You have to have a very selective memory to make such statement you just made.
And I wonder how that white iPhone 4 is coming along…
Therefore it means that they haven’t yet entered the post pc age then. Right?
Why say it now if idevices are still hopelessly tethered to a pc. Even worse is that they are tethered to that piece of s*** itunes.
Edited 2011-03-06 15:43 UTC
@tuzor
But you still keep on coming back for more do you.
That last paragraph says much more about you as a person then anything else.
My funny moment is that the people who hate on the iPad(or most iOS implementations), well I can easily write a web-app for them that “fixes” whatever ailes them and it is trivial at best and BS MOST of the time. And that web app is better than imho than the base of what the ‘droid platform offers. If you dont believe me than google up Sal Saghoian and Automator and see what I mean. Both options are there. And while I sometimes desire that Apple was a little moe OSS friendly, how much more can they be? I can write a closed iOS App and an OPEN Automator, Cocoa or Applescript on Cocoa (ASOC) app and who in userspace cann tell the difference?
I chose Apple because it works (or at least gets out of my way) When FOSS goes there then we ALL have won, but until then I am going with the best closed OS that I can GTD on.
I have no idea what you’re trying to say.
None of this makes any sense whatsoever. If this isn’t your native language, please re-post it in that language and allow someone else to translate it.
I looked back at an older post you made, and I think this goes beyond language-barrier.
I’m fairly sure that’s part of it, but you seem to have a very poor grasp of many technical issues on which you comment.
It’s moderately annoying, but there’s a simple solution: read and ask questions rather than write and make assertions.
Most people? Really? You seem to be the only one who feel a need to come out and “protect” Apple from a humorous picture.
No-one outside the sphere of Mac users gives a shit about Gruber.
If I ever need a professional critique of my ass-kissing abilities, I’ll give him a mail.
No, instead iPhone users had to wait several years before they had copy and paste, MMS and multi-tasking. All of which were standard features on rival handsets and had been for years prior.
Edited 2011-03-07 00:36 UTC
Not to mention voice dial.
I can’t fathom why the iPad/iPhone don’t do wireless sync to iTunes (or ‘the cloud’) at this point either, but you may want to stick to criticizing that rather than making really bizarre cases up.
Apple wasn’t claiming any of the features you’re talking about in their ads until they delivered them, so what’s your point? How does that relate to Motorola claiming features like 4G and Flash when they don’t have it?
When the iPad was only a rumour, I was hoping for something I can take on my travels and use it without the need of any computers. This was before the specs came out. I do quite a bit of traveling, and I’m into photography. I usually travel with my ASUS 1201n, small enough, but I would have certainly bought a tablet replacement. What a huge disappointment the iPad was when it came out! Of course, I am aware of it’s market success, but for me, it was more limited than my phone. I couldn’t pop-in my sdcard from my camera and upload my new pics to picasa or facebook, or just blog about my travels (with pictures). You need a PC to do that. In fact, you need a PC with iTunes installed to do that. Good luck finding one in the guesthouses I usually stay at.
A tablet that is easy to just wave around screams for a camera – not for taking pictures (no built-in cam comes close to the quality of my pocketable Panasonic) but for video calls. It’s kind of fun to talk to your family and friends on the other side of the world and have them see the people and scenery around you in real time. That was also a no-no with the first iPad. This part, at least, was rectified by iPad 2 (but the other problems remain). Still, I need a PC (and that steaming pile of shit called iTunes) to do anything I want to do with the thing…
Well, when the iPad 2 came out last week, I was kinda impressed. It’s a good value for the money on the lower end, the $800+ ones don’t offer anything new though. I think this assessment is accurate… Compared with the Xoom, it lacks several features (some of which are available through expensive addons) like HDMI out, sd card support, etc. And that’s quite scathing when it comes to Apple. Even though my opinion is a positive one, Apple used to stand for excellence and unique solutions you won’t find anywhere else until they copied them. Now iPad 2 comes out, and there isn’t a single important new feature that you won’t find in an already released product, the XOOM, or soon to be released Honeycomb tablets. Even the iPad was something unique (even with it’s limited features – my criticism is based on what I expect from a tablet) – no device before it had usability nailed down as well as the iPad. Honeycomb, in this respect, was a game changer. iOS 4.3 looks far less sexy in comparison.
Edited 2011-03-06 12:36 UTC
“Apple used to stand for excellence and unique solutions”
They definitely have unique solutions, although calling it solutions is a stretch. Because they seem to want to lock you in more and more.
and? Yes, its a bit of a let down. But its a hardware refresh. Apple is known for their incremental hardware refreshes. That’s all this is. If it doesn’t suit your needs, then get something else. I don’t get why people are getting so up in arms over the ipad2?
And as for the OS looking dated.. compared to what? It doesn’t have flashy screen transitions or gimmicky 3d effects. And? I’m, personally, waiting for the touchpad with webos, but I’m still plenty happy with iOS on my iPod. It does what I want, what lots of people want, and works fine. I dont care about widgets or multiple desktops. I personally hate widgets, so not having them in iOS isn’t much of an issue to me :p
And as for apple meaning excellence and all in the past.. ha ha! I love how poor peoples memories are. Apple has rarely been super innovative and creative. Everyone forget how tired, old, buggy, mac os classic was for years? How their hardware was routinely slower than the competition? people still loved it. But they have always had flaky, shitty hardware and software, just like everyone else. They are just masters of selling it.
So, I really don’t understand why people seem to hold them to some higher standard and then get pissy when they fail to deliver. Its hilarious. I was really disappointed in no built in SD storage or higher resolution screen and that finally made me decide to just wait for the touchpad, but the refresh is fantastic for my dad who just wants the faster cpu/gpu mix.
anyways, nuff ranting
Edited 2011-03-06 16:47 UTC
Yeah, me too I don’t see the use of Widgets on a Tablet. To me they go against the simplicity of mobile interface.
I’m still waiting for the right tablet to come along before I toss my PC.
My requirements:
*OS has to have regular updates especially for the web browser. And it has to be a good browser.
*SD card slot for memory expansion.
*Wi-Fi Direct, FlashLinq or some other kind of device to device networking standard.
*10-12 hours of battery life.
*Easy to replace the battery when it dies.
*Guaranteed Long term support (5-10 years).
*Lets me root it or unlock it or whatever if I want.
*Doesn’t need me to root it or unlock it.
*I can spill coffee on it run over it with my car without it breaking.
*I get to choose/change the service provider at any time.
Edited 2011-03-06 19:22 UTC
yeah, me too. One thing I do honestly hate about tablets is that even with the move to higher resolution screens, they are *still* forcing apps to be full screen. I would kill for a tablet with iOS or something that had a nice, simplistic tiling UI for apps. Even if it just allowed two windows, I’d be perfectly happy at that point. I could have a video playing while surfing or working on a document or an IM client while surfing, etc. I hate only being able to run one app on the screen at once.
But I do NOT want free floating windows or whatever. It needs to be a properly split screen for multiple apps. Like ratpoison or tiling mode in screen on unix.
Like this – http://cdn.ipodtouchfans.com/forums/imgcache/23475.png
It would be so damn nice.you could easily set it up where you could drag your finger in the split to resize a window and force the others to resize with it. I do not know why they don’t do it… *sigh*
I love that link! I wonder why no tablet ads show a screen like that when trying to sell it?
Don’t be a fool. You must know that he was talking about the window management itself and not the content of the windows…
*Guaranteed Long term support (5-10 years).
The concept of any consumer electronics device getting meaningful support 5 to 10(!!!) year support after purchase is just insane. That support costs a lot of money for the company, would cause all sorts of code/feature splits, and the device is producing no revenue at that point. Thanks to electronics advances, you’ll be able to pick up a replacement for the same price that is running in the range of 8x faster (at 5 years) to 1/50th the speed (at 10 years) with more memory, better screen, etc. Maybe you can find a company that will do it, but the product is going to cost 20x what it would otherwise.
I get that it’s a waste of a perfectly good (if incredibly slow at that point) device, and I’d totally change my tune if the rate of technological advancement slows down, but as it stands, the reason not to expect this is because it makes no sense.
*I can spill coffee on it or run over it with my car without it breaking.
OK, I’m now guessing that part of the list was a joke mixed in with some reasonable items. I’ll toss in:
*Display should be upgradable to full holographic.
*Manufacturer needs to offer Cold Fusion battery upgrade whenever that becomes available.
It’s not insane at all. I have speakers from a British brand, and they have a default life-long guarantee. I can come in in 30 years, and they’ll service them. For free. And their products aren’t insanely expensive – at least, their budget line (which is what I have) isn’t.
We have come to expect our devices to break down, and Apple stuff is no exception. If you want REAL quality, you’ll have to look at more posh brands than Apple – Harman/Kardon, Marantz, KEF, and so on. Companies like Apple like to pretend they play in the same league as those, but they”re actually not even within shouting distance.
None of those companies support their consumer electronics for 5-10 years. Want proof? Go find the DTS-MA upgrade for a 10 year old Marantz receiver. Of course, you know that support consumer electronics for that long is unrealistic, you just like being contrarian or something.
More proof:
Marantz warranty, 3 years: http://us.marantz.com/us/Support/Pages/Warranty.aspx
“And we back them with an equally unusual Three year warranty”
Harman/Kardon, 1 or 2 years:
http://www.harmankardon.com/en-US/Support/Pages/WarrantyInformation…
And, to the best of my knowledge, KEF doesn’t make consumer electronics, they make speakers.
Well that doesn’t seem to be a problem with video game systems.
I was only half joking. If only nintendium wasn’t so scarce today. Once forged the only way to destroy nintendium electronics was to throw ’em back into mount doom.
All my Sega systems still work, even my motorised-drawer Sega(Mega) CD.
They really made solid stuff. Quite impressive, really.
Then again, there’s not much to screw up.
The first CD system _was_ over-complicated internally and in general, though. Tons of ribbon cables and daughterboards.
Whats really awesome is that Nintendo JUST stopped repairing NES units for people a few years back because certain parts were becoming impossible for them to find.
They still service and repair SNES units and up iirc. THAT is damn impressive support.
Because people sometimes step out of Steve Jobs’ RDF and look at his words with critique.
On the other hand, Apple is the only consumer electronics company that is actually trying to do something different. All other seem to have fallen asleep for a long time.
Hardware Refresh, what everyone else calls a new model.
That is where you can’t agree with Apple. Because the way you want to use it is not the way that Apple wants you to use it.
And my problem with that is, that they don’t say what iPad is to be used for? GarageBand? iMovie? FaceTime and PhotoBooth? Only that? Oh and Angry Birds HD….
I find that I can do all of what you want and more through web-apps (*yes* john gruber’s shit-sandwich solution) I presume na~Avely that here in the world of HW haxors that wrapping a solution that is 3 or less clicks away (@ google+Automator+Saghoian). Otherwise the iPad is no more a stand alone device than any other other pad or sub-notebook. The issue here unfortunately that we have yet to arrive at that ‘city in the sky’ where all of your functions are handled by one device – less so one that shares it’s screen with a touchpad AND is web enabled – for free (not the $$$ cost but the time cost) and if the solution is to roll a web app that does what you said AND the interface (not just the headers) is free than fish or cut bait.
…This is nonsense.
The solution to creating an all-in-one solution is… a web app?
You seem to think the solution to _any given problem_ is “a web app + something”.
Ok, ok, we get it. You just learned CSS and JavaScript. That’s cool.
It’s also not that difficult, and not a very good solution for …anything. It’s a _tolerable_ solution for many things, but it’s rarely the _best_.
It’s just an outgrowth of various historical events.
It’s cumbersome and requires you to write in 3 different languages to get one ‘application’. The resulting ‘application’ is infinitely slower than a native application would be.
You don’t even state what this application would actually _do_. I think you’re saying it would “connect to the cloud”… Ummmm… Yeah… That’s what websites are, really.
A world wherein applications are “network aware” and transparently remote their UIs, remote their storage, remote their CPU cycles. It’s a grand vision that has been predicted and attempted many times. All such attempts have failed; the only successful effort has been the under-the-radar “web app” which quietly did these things without raising a fuss or requiring that everyone sign on.
Fast forward to the (near) present and some folks woke up and realized that we have today what Java and NeWS promised but couldn’t deliver, we almost have what DCOM was supposed to deliver. It’s just wrapped up differently and not at all standard and requires a dozen different languages and formats. So here we are, today, incrementally moving the under-the-radar, it-works-because-it’s-open web toward being a real applications platform.
Everything you say is true. Today. But despite the chaos and the mind-numbing effort involved, eventually there will be real useful applications using the browser.
I think you’re looking for the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit. It includes SD card reader and USB connections. So you don’t _need_ a PC to view your pictures
However I do agree with you, I’d prefer it integrated.
Apple fail, as usual.
Built-in SD card reader with no driver vs. add on that works. Define fail again please.
$70 on top of the price of an iPad just to get it to read SD cards and output to HDMI. And it can’t even do both at the same time.
That you could only synchronize them with itunes. I know there are some alternative way, but Apple is more willing to break them with each update than fixing security issues.
And yes, there is not version of itunes for linux.
I will never touch an iThing ever because of the anti features.
Why can’t I have direct access to the files stored in the device using a simple file browser? Why am I forced to use that atrocious piece of s… oftware called iTunes?
Why can’t I have a microSD slot?
Why can’t I install anything I want on a device that I bought ( not stole nor rented) with my own money. I mean it’s mine, why do I need someone to tell me what to do with it?
Why do I need someone to decide for me whether I want flash or not?
Because Apple don’t target you or give a flick what you think – and neither do they need to. They’ve targeted the 90%+ of users out there who couldn’t give a crap about those things. Which is exactly the point missed by those who believe Android 3 is a game changer. It’s not just about the user experience on the device, it’s about making the whole thing easy enough that anyone, irrespective of level of IT expertise, can use it. Apple know very well that the likes of you are not going to buy their products anyway, but they’re good with that because they know that what they’ve produced appeals to their target audience.
iTunes may be a steaming pile of shit in your opinion, but I have many clients, both Mac and Windows users, average business and home users, who use it every day and never have a problem with it, just as I don’t. Ever thought that maybe the problem is with the user?
But for him, this sucks. That’s the point. He is just telling the story of why the iPad sucks for him.
And you know what? Some of these missing features are stuff that the “average joe” would like, but the lack of them doesn’t prevent him from buying the iPad and it doesn’t get him to write on internet forums about how much he misses it. Still he wouldn’t mind having the feature there.
So, funny thing is, these are rooms for improvement that Apple’s competitors may take advantage of in order to provide a better experience for users. It is stupid to ignore stuff like support for SD cards just because “Apple doesn’t care about people that will not buy the iPad because it doesn’t have an SD slot”. That’s so utterly stupid. Apple should do their best to provide the best experience for as many users as possible, and iFans should encourage this.
How would an SD slot not improve the iPad? How is it in contrast to catering to the “average joe” that could live without it? Why defend the lack of it and not just acknowledge that it would improve the iPad?
Edited 2011-03-06 15:01 UTC
Because it’s never about those mundane details. Apple is a way of life. It defines you. If it’s wrong, then you’re wrong. Its absolute authority is what gives your life meaningful direction.
It’s a way of life – it’s Apple! Think differently!
Well, on a more serious note, apple annoys me these days (I loved apple when they first came out with iphone) but I do think they’re pretty brilliant, but, OMFG, these fanatics.
Apple reminds me a lot of the cold-war USSR.
In Soviet Apple words define you!
…sorry.
Let’s see how people react with sales figures. I am guessing that they will continue to grow and overshadow any and all of the competitors.
I would bet the value of my house on the fact that iPad will outsell any of the competitors. But that has nothing to do with iPads superiority or inferiority or whatever, but mostly due to this:
http://teamcoco.com/content/apple-employees-can%E2%80%9…
Well, you can always get a Motorola Xoom and enjoy the SD card on that device. Oh wait, no you can’t, because IT DOESN’T WORK YET!!!
LAMO Same with Flash. And where is the wifi only version?
At least Samsung is going back to the drawing board:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/03/samsung-to-adjust-galax…
Unlike Motorola, perhaps Samsung will actually FINISH the f**king thing before they release it.
You know, it’s funny… iPad has been out almost a year, and now Apple is on their second iteration of tablets, and Android vendors are still sitting around with a thumb up their asses, trying to figure out what to do. Fandroids have got to be embarrassed about this.
Edited 2011-03-06 22:26 UTC
So by your logic Apple doesn’t need to improve the iPad and make it better by adding feature X because no other tablet has that feature.
Then why the hell would anyone make anything that hasn’t been done yet?!
Sorry, but you fail at trolling.
Not yet they don’t, since there is no competition and it is selling quite nicely.
That’s comment amounts to “NYAH NYAH!” and adds nothing to the conversation.
That’s like saying that the US foreign policy is fine, because they’re obtaining more [resource] from [foreign country with US military presence].
“NYEH! Getting stuff means everything’s gonna be fine forever until it isn’t!”
Meaningless.
Just pointing out the obvious, and most of you seem to be missing it. That point being, why should Apple change their business plan, one that works and has worked for the past decade? They were first to release, no one has caught up yet, so why should you EXPECT them to do anything differently now? I am certain they are quite comfortable with their position and they have a product that most people enjoy. You can debate their business ethics, hardware specs and other aspects of their product life cycle ad nauseam but it does not change that simple fact of my previous post.
Edited 2011-03-07 14:09 UTC
Haunches: You like sitting on them.
The Android tablet that came out a year before Apple’s iPad, does have Flash and SD-card reader, and has always had it.
Try gooling archos internet tablet. The first android version do have a lot of different limitations, but it also was only a fifth generation multimedia tablet anno 2008.
What is with the attitude of people like you?
“IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT SHUT UP!”
We have a right to express our opinion, you have a right to disagree. You don’t have a right to demand silence.
Then again, you got your avatar from 4chan, so you’re probably just a troll…
Android 3 is a game changer not because it supports the stuff that most people don’t care about. It’s a game changer because it’s the first Android version that you can explain benefits over iOS on iPad under 60 seconds(The Elevator Pitch). And it’s a”game changer” not in the sense of “iPad has got to catch up”, but “It does not take too long for a person to make up his mind about Android”
QFT. I’m a developer, I have 5 different OSs at the last count across my machines at home, and yet I still use iTunes. It sucks that all these iDevices need iTunes to manage files, but I don’t own any – for me iTunes is a music player, and a good one at that! My MP3 player, my phone, my cameras etc. all show up as standard USB mass storage devices on all 5 OSs I use, allowing me to put/take what I want on/off them, when and where I want. That was a major consideration when I was buying each one.
Bottom line is if you don’t like iTunes, use Media Player, RhythmBox or anything else. If you don’t like the iPad, don’t buy it. It’s ideal for a pretty massive market of media consumers, and that’s what it’s aimed at.
“iTunes may be a steaming pile of shit in your opinion, but I have many clients, both Mac and Windows users, average business and home users, who use it every day and never have a problem with it”
I’m with the other guy who says it’s a steaming pile of shit. I’d suggest an alternative hypothesis: That it’s you (and your supposed clients) who are in the minority.
Edited 2011-03-07 11:11 UTC
You’ve nailed it. When people on this forum scoff at others for not “rooting” their phones, or proclaim people idiots for downloading an infected app like CHESS from the Android Market…you know they live in their own little world. And…it also affects so-called technology experts. You’ll love the following link:
http://www.asymco.com/2011/03/04/flummoxed-again/
It’s amazing how many people have fallen on their faces predicting the demise of the iPad. Thank goodness for the internet and caches.
Because YOU didn’t design it. I have an old Dell Inspion 910 that i have to frequently re-work just for basic 21st century reality. So I gave it to my eight year old. She said (sic) why not get rid of all of these ports and have a touch screen. As a developer I couldn’t agree more as a father I told her to “shaddup and eat her peas” 2 eight years old she hass more than enough, (well realistically told her about the nature of marketing) then gave her my old 1.25GHz g4 12″ which sucks in the real world but is great as a net-book/iPad replacement. her birthday is in june, Should I buy a ‘new’ inspion on a bargain basement iPad 1?
-=- The underlying message of GNU (and iOS) is do it or shuddup about it.
Wat?
That “(sic)” is meaningless here, and you didn’t put quotes around what your daughter said, but that’s enough with the general English grammar lesson…
Nothing you wrote here has anything to do with the comment to which you are replying.
“I will not use this product because it is restrictive.”
“Yeah? Well, my laptop is old and my daughter dislikes it. You should design a better tablet or stop complaining!”
O_O???
When Apple talk about a ‘post-PC’ I think they’re referring to the idea that the traditional PC or laptop will not longer be the ‘be all and end all’ device. Right now the PC/Laptop pretty much is the primary method for getting onto the internet etc. But gradually there will be a greater balance between using a traditional computer on one hand whilst when ‘out of the house’ using easy to transport portable devices. These new devices won’t replace the existing desktops and laptops but they’ll ‘carry more of the load’.
Mainframes didn’t stop being used when servers came along, and servers weren’t obsolete when desktops and workstations become dominant – what changed were their roles; mainframes moved to become the big heavy lifting machines in large government departments and banks, servers rather than being a the centre providing all computational power now serve other functions. In the case of portable devices, they will not replace desktops or laptops but instead desktops and laptops will do other things – the heavy lifting where ‘grunt’ is important and portable devices where flexibility and portability at valued higher than grunt.
The difference is, when smaller servers and desktop computers arrived on the scene, it became possible to get work done without the mainframe. To describe a “post-mainframe” world, the mainframe would no longer be necessary for the overwhelming majority of tasks.
iPods and iPads need a PC. We won’t be in the post-pc era until two things happen: The PC isn’t needed to get full use of the device, and the device can assume many of the roles of the PC (such as, as a previous poster mentioned, pulling pictures off of a camera and uploading them).
And when that happens these devices will effectively be PC’s. More lame-o marketing speak that really means nothing.
I will never call an iPad a PC until I can install my own OS on it without serious voodoo.
I’ll never buy a device without the at least the _extremely high likelihood_ of the ability to install an OS of my choosing on it.
I have high hopes that CyanogenMod will be ported to the Droid Pro at some point… I think it’ll just take time.
I’m sure that the number of users who want to install their own OS on their devices (not to mention CyanogenMod!) leaves all of the manufacturers… Sorry, were you saying something? Companies don’t care, you’re talking about what, .5%? .1%? .01%?
But these more portable devices will never have the power and flexibility that a desktop or laptop can provide – video/audio compression would be painful (it already is on an Atom CPU), writing long documents necessitates a real keyboard and not an ‘on screen’ one (carrying around a dock and keyboard undermines the whole exercise in the first place), programming for these said devices or larger make it impractical etc.
I am really confused how there are still people out there who think that they can come up with a device that is some sort of silver bullet that can replace all other devices – this mythical ~A 1/4 ber device that ends up being the proverbial mobile phone with 100 features and does each one of them really badly. When ever you have a device there will be compromises – if you want more power you’re going to have to give up battery life and portability; you want portability and maximum battery life then things are going to be stripped off it to reduce weight and power usage.
We keep having this same bollocks driven market speak every year with some knucklehead from the peanut gallery declaring the PC era has ended just as they simultaneously declare it to be the year of the linux desktop and Microsoft is apparently dying. I’ve heard it for the last 12 years and I’ll bet my bottom dollar for the next 10 years the same arguments will be thrashed out and once again proven to be incorrect in their assertions.
Edited 2011-03-07 01:24 UTC
Seeing what Apple did with its iPad within a year, it is obvious not to put your money under iPad2, but instead wait few more years and the iPad4 or iPad5 will be something worth purchasing.
This however is regular apple marketing and product development – they release new product, totally sub-par in technical point of view but still get lots of money, then they start raising the bar each year and advertise obvious features as something revolutionary and people happily pay more money. After 4 or 5 cycles Apple makes finally the device that has norm features and then loses all interest on the product as there can be done no more innovation. If you’re lucky they do not EOL the product all together.
And their obsession with hating on Apple, but this was damn funny… and true.
As far as I know, every single OSAlert staff member owns and frequently uses various Apple devices. Some of us are long-time Apple fanatics. So if there’s hate, at least it’s hate-by-familiarity.
to some extent , the way we consume our media is changing rapidly .less of the desktop pc and laptop , more of the tablets and mobile devices.sadly its a situation thatll only accelerate with most consumers being all tooo happy with a device that removes the learniing curve.but it also spells a death knell for developers , maby of us got into the hacking because the boundaries of the pcs we came oup with may have been therebut no artificial restrictions were thrown in the way of the inquisitive types.with the new breed of pads and tabs a wholly consumerist generation seems to be the future.and that imho is quite sad
A chance to take a snipe at Apple is not to be lost on OS News, but the graphic you post actually illustrates one of the best parts of the iOS ecosystem. Every time I plug my iPhone or iPad into my computer, it creates a backup of the iPhone and iPad as well as syncs the apps, videos, music, etc that is on my computer. There has been much moaning and groaning here about having to do this connection, but to me it is just about the best feature. If my iDevice should die, or should I buy a new one, I simply connect to my computer and it recreates everything like it was before. There is NO way that I know of to do that on an Android device without performing a major operation, something an OS News reader would probably find simple but to the average user would be an exercise in futility. One can use Doubletwist, but it only works with media files, not apps, settings, game saves, etc. Some people don’t like syncing to a computer and that is just fine. Personally, I find it reassuring and one of the best parts of being an Apple user. Lest anyone call me an Apple Fanboy, I do have a NexusOne, unlocked version that I use on the CellularOne system.
It would still be nicer if it could also do an incremental sync wirelessly in the background (like Time Machine), and maybe just tag it when a backup set is complete so you can roll back to it if needed. A wired ‘backup now can still be supported, but in general a rolling, behind the scenes method would be fine. I could always show the last time in completed a sync in Settings or something. And think, then you’d only have to read complaints about missing SD slots and no Flash!
I replaced my Android phone recently. When I set the new phone up with my Google account, all the Market software from the old phone was automatically downloaded on to the new phone, while all my data was already on the SD card. No computer involved and a win for Android over iOS, I’d say.
I honesty can’t tell if people are angry at Apple for being successful selling “gimped” products or if they’re angry that competition has been slow to arrive. Android is getting there on handsets, but it isn’t quite there yet. And even with Android’s alleged openness, I still can’t remove third-party UIs or sideloaded apps without rooting the device. Some devices are slow to get updates, if they get them at all. This isn’t what a lot of users expect from an open platform. We finally get the Xoom but it’s expensive, buggy and there’s little software for it. Apple has essentially had the tablet space to themselves for almost a year now.
It’s different approaches and different business models. Apple withholds features until they have a stable, polished implementation and they don’t allow beta apps on the App Store. Google is the opposite. I think Google needs to use Android’s popularity to get the carriers to make the handsets more open to the end user. If I don’t want NASCAR on my EVO, I should be able to get rid of it easily. If I don’t like TouchWiz or Motoblur, I should be able to go back to the standard UI without a lot of fuss. They should also consider an Ubuntu-like strategy with Android – have an LTS version that is more stable and polished but not necessarily bleeding edge for general use. Then have a more cutting edge version for those who want the latest features even if they’re not quite polished.
There are aspects of iOS that annoy me – file transfers, push notifications, no wireless synching – but overall it works and works well. Third-party apps for the most part are good. Apple goes beyond ticking off checkboxes of features and incorporates “soft skills” in addition to having very talented engineers to create an overall experience. This is what Google and their partners haven’t quite gotten yet. It’s like Disneyland – there’s a lot of hard work and engineering that goes into creating the experience, but for visitors it almost seems (to use Jobs’ term) magical.
As for “post-PC”, when people use an iPhone or an iPad they don’t feel like they’re using a computer and that’s the difference.
…or people could just be angry at Apple for _making_ these ‘gimped’ products.
I’m angry about that, and angry with the people who fall for it.
Stupidity disgusts and frustrates me.
So people are stupid because they don’t have the same hardware or software requirements that you do?
I know others have different needs than I do, so if they choose a different product or service that I would, it’s fine by me. I make the choices that suit my needs and let others do the same. I honestly don’t know why that’s a problem for so many people. If you want something you can get under the hood and tinker with, don’t buy an iOS device. But most people don’t care to, so it’s not an issue for them.
I bought my iPhone with eyes wide open. I knew it was a closed platform. I knew I’d be restricted to the App Store. I knew I wouldn’t be able to tinker with it. But I don’t want to tinker with my phone. The only thing I’m not happy with is the service. Sure, in your not-so-humble opinion, the device is gimped, but it works for me. If you want to choose another platform, great. I just don’t see why these types of comments and conversations should be so contentious.
Edited 2011-03-09 02:36 UTC