The iPhone Topic

[CVByrne]

That was a different take on the same response there Darren. The assumption that the aging out of date iOS as a phone operating system is superior to Android 4.1 when all its key updates are simply adding functionality Android has.

You know they're gonna talk up new features of the notification system. Which I hope Google sues Apple over once the patent is granted.

Whether the survive or not you gotta at least admire Nokia for trying to push the limits in areas like the camera. Apple is happy to make a phone that's 7/10 in all respects. Why not push for a feature or two that nobody else has? Pick something and make that thing amazing. Not just all round slightly improvements.

The thing is Apple can do this, they just won't.

[CVByrne]

What will be interesting is how much time they spend focussing on features already commonplace in Android. Namely

Bigger Screen LTE Obviously the free turn by turn navigation on iOS maps will a big one Expanded Notifications, introduction of profiles etc.. Camera software like burst shot, best shot etc..

I imagine these will make up the majority of the speech.

What I want to put to our Apple fans is, people will salivate over these things. But you understand the consternation when you can go pick up a Galaxy S3 for example which has every single one of those features and more. So what are people getting excited over? Existing features and functionality? Why? Because Apple say so.

I'm not saying Apple devices are bad. Some are the best in class. The iPad for example remains head and shoulders above the best Android tablets. Apple Macbooks remain very solid quality devices since they switched to intel. But the Macbook Air for example in no longer the best ultraportable, it was last year but it hasn't been upgraded bar the internals.

What I'm saying is the assumption of all things Apple being innovative and the best is a complete myth. Enough is enough. It's time for the media to face up to the fact.

[VillaForever1970]

The thing is Apple can do this, they just won't.

They haven't got to being the biggest company in the world from just releasing things when they are ready.

No company in their right mind would do that, not even android or samsung.

What I'm saying is the assumption of all things Apple being innovative and the best is a complete myth. Enough is enough. It's time for the media to face up to the fact.

Apart from some times it is true, any laptop better than the Retina MacBook Pro yet, or when it was released?

Why are their designs so widely copied?

[Dodgyknees]

That is what grates.

**** it, it's not just about phone tech.

I know, but if you're lacking in the hardware department then your software has gotta be full of amazing unique features. Which iOS isn't, it's actually just copying features from Android now.

I made the right choice, cannot see what the new Iphone will have that would make me put my Galaxy down.

The thing is though Apple is such a big company it COULD make something absolutely stunning and blow the competition away. They just wont as it's easier to make the device which makes the most money, not the best device that makes a lot of money.

Read this- and I agree!

Apple lost me through being lazy!

[CVByrne]

The retina Macbook pro is great. My mate has one. The screen res is currently overkill. But no other company could release a laptop like that, at that price and ever think to sell any.

Apples designs have been copied because rivals realise that consumers value the aesthetic of their devices. Aping apple designs is an easy way to make your device look better.

But then you move past apple aping. Look at the new Series 9 by Samsung. Utterly stunning design, far nicer to look at than a Macbook Air. Hell it's looks are what made me sell a 4 month old ultrabook to buy one.

Samsung started with apple aping with the galaxy s. But have moved beyond that. They have a desirable phone with original design with the galaxy S3.

Yes Apple had a golden era of creation and design. The iphone changed the whole market for the better. But like all things in the world, others eventually catch up and surpass. It's time to accept Apple products aren't unique, innovative or special anymore. They need to compete now with totally capable and powerful rivals.

Having someone say they wouldn't buy an android phone because they need satnav. This kind of ignorance is bliss for Apple. But as smartphones become ubiquitous, people will focus of features that matter to them and make normal consumer decisions.

[b23avfc]

What Apple has excelled at more than anybody is marketing, every time the haters hate on... the rep grows bigger. And they sell more phones. You cannot beat the man. Even if you have a better phone.

[darrenm]

They haven't got to being the biggest company in the world from just releasing things when they are ready.

No company in their right mind would do that, not even android or samsung.

1. Android isn't a company. It's an open-source operating system. Google are the largest contributors and release their own versions of it for their Nexus devices. Other companies (such as Samsung) release their own versions for their own devices. It's also support by the Open Handset Alliance, a group of companies dedicated to keeping standards open so companies such as Apple can't create monopolies. The companies involved in the Open Handset Alliance include T-Mobile, eBay, Vodafone, Broadcom, Intel, Marvell Yukon, NVidia, Texas Instruments, ARM, HTC, LG. Sony, Motorola, Samsung, Asus, Garmin, Toshiba, Dell, Acer, Foxconn, Lenovo, NEC, Sharp.

2. They've become the (current) biggest company in the world from stealing other people's ideas and marketing them extremely well.

Apart from some times it is true, any laptop better than the Retina MacBook Pro yet, or when it was released?

Why are their designs so widely copied?

Sometimes they are the first to release certain hardware, yes. Mainly because no-one else can get away with the prices they charge. But for every retina (debatable if actually better than existing SAMOLED technology, and is actually nothing to do with Apple) that they brought out first, there's a hundred other things they didn't come out with first.

Widely copied? Are you serious?

[CVByrne]

What Apple has excelled at more than anybody is marketing, every time the haters hate on... the rep grows bigger. And they sell more phones. You cannot beat the man. Even if you have a better phone.

Currently that statement above is true. But for how long? 3 years? 5? Forever?

How many people will be disappointed when they see the new design is very similar to the 4 and 4S? I think quite a few.

People are buying the new iPhone because they want the new iPhone. No reason other than it's new and it's the iPhone.

When I buy a laptop I have key features that matter to me, in order. Batterylife, weight, footprint and design and then screen quality.

Nobody who buys an iPhone at the moment cares about specific features. They just want the new iPhone. But in a wider smartphone phone market we see companies now focussing on a key feature or two to differentiate themselves.

Take Motorola and the Razr Maxx, a big smartphone that can offer almost 2 days batterylife. To be honest that really interests me. Then take Nokia and their focus on the camera, they want to be associated with unique design and excellent phone cameras. Samsung are the spec whores, trying to have the best spec devices on the market, period. Which has served them well.

But in a few years when smartphone novelty wears off, when there are no new features that are unique enough to sell a phone on. Then it becomes like all other industries in the world, Cars, TVs, Computers, Insurance etc.. it becomes cut throat competitive, which benefits the consumer.

Me personally, my desired phone would be a nice looking device with a big good quality screen, excellent batterylife, excellent camera, and fully featured versatile OS. There will be a point in a year or two when I can make buying decisions based on personal needs, like I do when buying a computer.

But at the moment, we're not there yet. But the reason Apple is suing everyone, is because we're getting there and they fear the day when we do.

As an analyst pointed out smartphone growth in the US dropped to 9% in the first quarter of this year, and the majority of that growth was on Payg. Apple need to retain customers or try poach customers and that is a very competitive world to be in.

[blandy]

it's an inferior phone

That's a subjective judgement, an opinion. To which you're quite entitled.

People judge things like smartphones by more than just tech specs.

Is a bigger screen size, by half an inch or whatever, more of a factor than, say, their preference for one OS over another? is the amount of storage or memory more of a factor than the ease of taking photos? or the build quality? is the availability of apps more important than how easy it is to send a text message? Does voice operation count for more than the swiping and typing?

Most people don't care or compare one type of processor against another, do they?

You know what you get, good and bad with (say) an Apple device - they're expensive, well made, user friendly, "closed" but better protected against nasties, hard to upgrade the hardware and don't have those little memory cards, but do have excellent software updates....and so on.

Some people prefer them, some don't.

Personally I think changing the connectors on them is a bad thing, and a bad move. It would put me off getting one, if I wanted or needed a new phone.

LOL. So you've just listed everything that a top-end Android phone has over an iPhone anyway.

Amount of storage: check

Ease of taking photos: check

Build quality: check

Availability of apps: check

Ease of sending a text message: check

Voice operation: check

not quite sure what you mean by swiping and typing, but certainly typing: check

Did you just assume that iOS / iPhones have those advantages over JellyBean phones without even checking? It's hardly surprising with the media geared up as it currently is.

It seems both you and CVByrne have jumped to a conclusion and then responded to your assumption as to my view.

To be clear, I have no idea which is "better" - an android, an iphone, a nokia or any other. And you know what - I don't effing care.

In assuming that by saying "people don't just judge on tech specs" I'm somehow claiming upihones are better and then responding as if I have said that, you rather demonstrate a "passion" for one phone over another that I find utterly baffling.

You respond to me like I'm "defending" the indefensible, rather than making a general comment about how people judge things.

Carry on.

[darrenm]

What Apple has excelled at more than anybody is marketing, every time the haters hate on... the rep grows bigger. And they sell more phones. You cannot beat the man. Even if you have a better phone.

LOL. Yeah, that's exactly what's happening.

[darrenm]

it's an inferior phone

That's a subjective judgement, an opinion. To which you're quite entitled.

People judge things like smartphones by more than just tech specs.

Is a bigger screen size, by half an inch or whatever, more of a factor than, say, their preference for one OS over another? is the amount of storage or memory more of a factor than the ease of taking photos? or the build quality? is the availability of apps more important than how easy it is to send a text message? Does voice operation count for more than the swiping and typing?

Most people don't care or compare one type of processor against another, do they?

You know what you get, good and bad with (say) an Apple device - they're expensive, well made, user friendly, "closed" but better protected against nasties, hard to upgrade the hardware and don't have those little memory cards, but do have excellent software updates....and so on.

Some people prefer them, some don't.

Personally I think changing the connectors on them is a bad thing, and a bad move. It would put me off getting one, if I wanted or needed a new phone.

LOL. So you've just listed everything that a top-end Android phone has over an iPhone anyway.

Amount of storage: check

Ease of taking photos: check

Build quality: check

Availability of apps: check

Ease of sending a text message: check

Voice operation: check

not quite sure what you mean by swiping and typing, but certainly typing: check

Did you just assume that iOS / iPhones have those advantages over JellyBean phones without even checking? It's hardly surprising with the media geared up as it currently is.

It seems both you and CVByrne have jumped to a conclusion and then responded to your assumption as to my view.

To be clear, I have no idea which is "better" - an android, an iphone, a nokia or any other. And you know what - I don't effing care.

In assuming that by saying "people don't just judge on tech specs" I'm somehow claiming upihones are better and then responding as if I have said that, you rather demonstrate a "passion" for one phone over another that I find utterly baffling.

You respond to me like I'm "defending" the indefensible, rather than making a general comment about how people judge things.

Carry on.

Probably worth calming down a bit and reading. If you don't 'effing care', you're probably getting a bit too hot under the collar about a phone discussion.

You've mooted your own point by listing everything that comparable Android phones have over iPhones. Your point was, one may have this, one may have the other, but in actual fact, everything you've listed is demonstrably superior in Android. I didn't jump to any conclusions, that was the point I was making, I wasn't attacking your implied defence of iPhones, you've assumed that. So it seems you've jumped to a conclusion that I'd jumped to a conclusion. Are you sure you don't have a 'passion' for one phone over the other?

[Stevo985]

In my experience, the people who care the most about what iPhones can and can't do are the people determined to let us know that their phone is better than one.

[jim]

In my experience, the people who care the most about what iPhones can and can't do are the people determined to let us know that their phone is better than one.

And mine :winkold:

[darrenm]

In my experience, the people who care the most about what iPhones can and can't do are the people determined to let us know that their phone is better than one.

Exactly this. Generally most own iPhones.

[CVByrne]

In my experience, the people who care the most about what iPhones can and can't do are the people determined to let us know that their phone is better than one.

When you read a review of a TV, you get a review of a TV, all its pros and cons and you can then decide which tv fits your needs and buy it.

That is not the case with smartphones and Apple products. There is no impartial reviewing of apple products. A negative review is directly related to site traffic.

Nobody will judge apple devices objectively and on their merits. This leads to a frustrated misleading tech reviews, it also gives a special place to apple which it abuses by litigation and ultimately hurts the consumer.

That's why we care. Lack of impartiality and fear to criticise.

[b23avfc]

What Apple has excelled at more than anybody is marketing, every time the haters hate on... the rep grows bigger. And they sell more phones. You cannot beat the man. Even if you have a better phone.

Currently that statement above is true. But for how long? 3 years? 5? Forever?

How many people will be disappointed when they see the new design is very similar to the 4 and 4S? I think quite a few.

As an analyst pointed out smartphone growth in the US dropped to 9% in the first quarter of this year, and the majority of that growth was on Payg. Apple need to retain customers or try poach customers and that is a very competitive world to be in.

Yep, you're not wrong there for sure. Have they reached their peak? Could be. Maybe after the 5 I'll start trying out others. I'm sure they'll be better.

[b23avfc]

In my experience, the people who care the most about what iPhones can and can't do are the people determined to let us know that their phone is better than one.

Exactly this. Generally most own iPhones.

In my experience it's the opposite Those who care most about what iPhones can and can't do are Android users.

I don't care either way.

[CVByrne]

Yep, you're not wrong there for sure. Have they reached their peak? Could be. Maybe after the 5 I'll start trying out others. I'm sure they'll be better.

Yeah, exactly how long will the Apple love in last? It can't forever. Nothing lasts forever. People will get bored of the iphone and try something else. Sure Stevo did that with the S3 this year. Rev is a bit bored of Android. I'm a bit bored with Android and switching to windows phone and Nokia. I'm excited at owning a big brash yellow phone running a unique and cool looking os.

I know my S3 is a better phone in most areas. But who cares, it's a big yellow Nokia,

The Lumia 820 even has express on covers, and how retro is

that!

At some point the hype will end and Apple will have to compete like the rest of them. I wish that was today, but the hype lives on. It won't forever.

[b23avfc]

Yep, you're not wrong there for sure. Have they reached their peak? Could be. Maybe after the 5 I'll start trying out others. I'm sure they'll be better.

Yeah, exactly how long will the Apple love in last? It can't forever. Nothing lasts forever. People will get bored of the iphone and try something else. Sure Stevo did that with the S3 this year. I'm doing it with windows phone and Nokia. I'm excited at owning a big brash yellow phone running a unique and cool looking os.

I know my S3 is a better phone in most areas. But who cares, it's a big yellow Nokia,

The Lumia 820 even has express on covers, and how retro is

that!

At some point the hype will end and Apple will have to compete like the rest of them. I wish that was today, but the hype lives on. It won't forever.

True. We are addicted to the next big thing... poor old industry leaders

[CVByrne]

It's a big yellow Nokia. Seriously how cool is that?

I'll sell it at some point and get the new nexus phone though.

Booerns.