The higher capacity devices (32GB - 64GB) are finally getting to the point the microSD cards are less necessary. That said, phones could still use more storage and there are other reasons to have a microSD card than simply overall storage. Many times, the sneakernet is still the fastest way to move things around especially when.you are move large amounts of data. I wish all Android devices had out of the box support for USB mass storage devices.
as is NFC (we're still too early in the game).
Apple is supposed to be a premium phone with premium features. They also control enough of the market that they can make NFC widely used.
Non-removable battery? I think it's a fair trade-off to get more battery or a thinner device (though I wish they aimed more toward the more-battery side of the equation).
A phone of any size with worthless if it doesn't have power. I regularly see Apple users tethering themselves to the nearest wall or car power socket because their phone is almost out of juice when they are in the middle of using it. If my phone is running low, I just swap out my battery with a charged one.
And in all that ranting you forgot to mention all the things that Apple devices have -- the ecosystem, the apps, the impressive engineering (to some of us, the feel of a device is indeed important).
These days, the best apps tend to be on both platforms. As far as engineering goes, I assume you are taking about the slick aluminum casing and such. Funny thing is that I rarely see anyone who doesn't have their phone in a case. What is the point of have a shiny shell built into your phone if you are just going to cover it in cheap plastic? That is like dressing in a full suit and then putting a hoodie and sweatpants on top of it all.
Face facts, some people like Apple products in spite of the fact that they don't have features that you deem necessary.
If that's what you want, fine. I just don't understand why someone would pay more for less.
It has a tiny screen, a non-removable battery, a non-standard connector, no microSD port, and no NFC chip. Also, it is no longer king in battery life. While I am not if sure they have fixed it yet or not, at release, they apparently didn't even have a decent map application for it. From a OS standpoint, Android has finally gotten to the point where it is at least as polished as iOS if not more polished. Some of the top Android phones are even coming out this cool new features that aren't even part of the stock Android OS. I haven't heard of any awesome new features in Apple since Siri. Siri is probably one of Apple's bigger advantages but Google has been making strides to lessen that advantage with Google Now and voice searching. Apple also has the advantage on manufacture support in pushing OS updates but then again, Apple has a nasty habit of keeping out the coolest new features on its older models. Overall, I am thoroughly unimpressed by Apples newest iPhone. It used to be that Apple was one of the first with new awesome features. Apple can't keep customers based on past successes forever.
It takes more resources for a man to do aerial surveillance than a drone. This extra cost helps prevent regular aerial surveillance from being the norm. If drones, storage, and processing power become cheap enough, it would be easy to keep a record of everyone's movements. I am not saying the drone tech is inherently evil but the government likes to abuse its power.
I know some phones do have chargers that will charge the batteries outside the phone. My Droid Charge had a battery charger slot built into the dock and my Verizon Galaxy Nexus has a stand-alone battery charger. I wouldn't buy a phone that without a battery charger available.
I use my phone enough throughout the day that that simply is not always enough. When I am work, I charge it if I remember but sometimes I forget. Also, if I spend most of a Saturday or Sunday on the go, I would definitely run our of battery since I wouldn't be charging mid-day. It is also nice to have an extra battery in the event that I forget to charge my phone at night.
Yes I do. I own several extra batteries and I always keep a charged battery in my wallet. It fits quite nicely. I even have a charger that will charge just the battery.
So, you *actually* want a phone that gets better battery life.
Sure but I don't anticipate that battery technology will meet my standards any time soon.
Android can be forked if need be. Sure, Google's services would probably be removed but there is no reason another company could not replace them with their own versions..
No removable battery? Aside from the fact that I am on Verizon, that killed any desire to get it. Until they create a battery that can go several days without recharging my phone, I want to be able to swap out my battery. If would be awesome if they made a phone where the battery was hot-swappable and cartridge based so I do not need to turn off the phone or remove the back cover to get to replace the battery.
Have you ever used Google News? It uses just the title and first sentence of the article. It is basically a news search instead of a general search with a news feed of the most recent entries. If don't know if their are Fair Use laws in France but I don't see why Google would owe the news sites anything. They don't even have ads on the site. My guess is that they only run it to encourage people to use their other products that do have ads or cost something.
Quite your bitching. A beta run is usually a signal that an official and stable version will be out soon. I can't see it being more than a year out. The real question is if the publishers selling their games on Steam will bother to port their current games and create their new games so that they can be used with the Linux client. Steam is trying to break out of one of the many chicken and the egg problems. Having one of the top digital download retailers on Linux will help encourage publishers to port/create games on Linux, hardware vendors (primarily graphics) to offer better Linux support, and gamers to game on Linux.
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I'd choose 1/3rd the size and weight.
Forget that, I want a smartphone with battery life that is measured in days instead of hours.
microSD port is arguably useless
The higher capacity devices (32GB - 64GB) are finally getting to the point the microSD cards are less necessary. That said, phones could still use more storage and there are other reasons to have a microSD card than simply overall storage. Many times, the sneakernet is still the fastest way to move things around especially when.you are move large amounts of data. I wish all Android devices had out of the box support for USB mass storage devices.
as is NFC (we're still too early in the game).
Apple is supposed to be a premium phone with premium features. They also control enough of the market that they can make NFC widely used.
Non-removable battery? I think it's a fair trade-off to get more battery or a thinner device (though I wish they aimed more toward the more-battery side of the equation).
A phone of any size with worthless if it doesn't have power. I regularly see Apple users tethering themselves to the nearest wall or car power socket because their phone is almost out of juice when they are in the middle of using it. If my phone is running low, I just swap out my battery with a charged one.
And in all that ranting you forgot to mention all the things that Apple devices have -- the ecosystem, the apps, the impressive engineering (to some of us, the feel of a device is indeed important).
These days, the best apps tend to be on both platforms. As far as engineering goes, I assume you are taking about the slick aluminum casing and such. Funny thing is that I rarely see anyone who doesn't have their phone in a case. What is the point of have a shiny shell built into your phone if you are just going to cover it in cheap plastic? That is like dressing in a full suit and then putting a hoodie and sweatpants on top of it all.
Face facts, some people like Apple products in spite of the fact that they don't have features that you deem necessary.
If that's what you want, fine. I just don't understand why someone would pay more for less.
I know how you feel. Until Google brings those features back, I am going to avoid the Nexus line.
It has a tiny screen, a non-removable battery, a non-standard connector, no microSD port, and no NFC chip. Also, it is no longer king in battery life. While I am not if sure they have fixed it yet or not, at release, they apparently didn't even have a decent map application for it. From a OS standpoint, Android has finally gotten to the point where it is at least as polished as iOS if not more polished. Some of the top Android phones are even coming out this cool new features that aren't even part of the stock Android OS. I haven't heard of any awesome new features in Apple since Siri. Siri is probably one of Apple's bigger advantages but Google has been making strides to lessen that advantage with Google Now and voice searching. Apple also has the advantage on manufacture support in pushing OS updates but then again, Apple has a nasty habit of keeping out the coolest new features on its older models. Overall, I am thoroughly unimpressed by Apples newest iPhone. It used to be that Apple was one of the first with new awesome features. Apple can't keep customers based on past successes forever.
Other players probably negotiated cross-licensing agreements for most of the cost.
After seeing how far behind the iPhone 5 was, you have to wonder why they don't spend more money on R&D.
What do you call the ad tiles then?
Android widgets don't have to be tiles?
I guess now we will have to makes devices with inverted tips.
And the companion cube probably has trademarks to deal with.
It takes more resources for a man to do aerial surveillance than a drone. This extra cost helps prevent regular aerial surveillance from being the norm. If drones, storage, and processing power become cheap enough, it would be easy to keep a record of everyone's movements. I am not saying the drone tech is inherently evil but the government likes to abuse its power.
You don't have to trust them. Just use a reputable VPN service.
If you throttle guest connections, speed. Now one wants to deal with slow internet.
Is Kindle Fire a full fork that is updated independently of Android or is it simply a re-skin?
Currently, I have a battery charger but I have to turn off the phone and pry off the back plate in order to swap batteries.
I know some phones do have chargers that will charge the batteries outside the phone. My Droid Charge had a battery charger slot built into the dock and my Verizon Galaxy Nexus has a stand-alone battery charger. I wouldn't buy a phone that without a battery charger available.
I use my phone enough throughout the day that that simply is not always enough. When I am work, I charge it if I remember but sometimes I forget. Also, if I spend most of a Saturday or Sunday on the go, I would definitely run our of battery since I wouldn't be charging mid-day. It is also nice to have an extra battery in the event that I forget to charge my phone at night.
Do you actually carry multiple batteries?
Yes I do. I own several extra batteries and I always keep a charged battery in my wallet. It fits quite nicely. I even have a charger that will charge just the battery.
So, you *actually* want a phone that gets better battery life.
Sure but I don't anticipate that battery technology will meet my standards any time soon.
That depends on how fast your home and mobile internet connection is, what you are doing, and whether or not you have a unlimited data plan.
I think that is more because of Verizon than Google. Google had to make compromises to get the last Nexus on Verizon.
Android can be forked if need be. Sure, Google's services would probably be removed but there is no reason another company could not replace them with their own versions..
No removable battery? Aside from the fact that I am on Verizon, that killed any desire to get it. Until they create a battery that can go several days without recharging my phone, I want to be able to swap out my battery. If would be awesome if they made a phone where the battery was hot-swappable and cartridge based so I do not need to turn off the phone or remove the back cover to get to replace the battery.
Have you ever used Google News? It uses just the title and first sentence of the article. It is basically a news search instead of a general search with a news feed of the most recent entries. If don't know if their are Fair Use laws in France but I don't see why Google would owe the news sites anything. They don't even have ads on the site. My guess is that they only run it to encourage people to use their other products that do have ads or cost something.
Quite your bitching. A beta run is usually a signal that an official and stable version will be out soon. I can't see it being more than a year out. The real question is if the publishers selling their games on Steam will bother to port their current games and create their new games so that they can be used with the Linux client. Steam is trying to break out of one of the many chicken and the egg problems. Having one of the top digital download retailers on Linux will help encourage publishers to port/create games on Linux, hardware vendors (primarily graphics) to offer better Linux support, and gamers to game on Linux.
I wouldn't want to use a LiveDVD for games. If I wanted that, I would play on a console.