I can think of one reason this will never work: People suck at driving. All it would take is one idiot to roll their car, snag a wire and take the whole cable system with 'em. It would severely hose traffic for hours since not only would you have the usual mess from the jackass's car, but now you'd have potentially hot cables all over the highway mucking things up.
I agree with you on the original iPhone. As much as I hate Apple, their marketing nonsense and their idiotic fanbase, the first iPhone did completely change the face of the cellphone market. Since then, though, they've simply been milking the brand name; which is something Apple does incredibly well.
To address your points on each: 1. Screen: Yes it's a high resolution, but it's not really innovative to cram more pixels using ancient LCD technology. Samsung's OLED displays are quite sexy and arguably nicer looking -- even if the resolution is 25% lower (roughly, too lazy to do the exact math). Then you've got those PixelQi displays which absolutely dominate everything else when viewed under sunlight or other high-intensity lighting. There are lots of ways they could have gone which would have made other manufacturers crap themselves, but instead they chose to play the numbers game. Nothing to see here.
2. Camera. Throwing a 5mp camera in a phone is hardly innovative. Hell, the SE K850 did that three years ago and it had a xenon flash to go with it. My two year old c905 had an 8mp camera with flash and the very user-friendly Cybershot UI -- both in software AND hardware. This is nothing more than an incremental upgrade to the 3.2mp that was on the 3G. Nothing to see here.
3. CPU/RAM: Come on now. If you don't have an argument for it, don't throw out some ambiguous statement like that. Let's be real: High-end smartphones have been using 1ghz Snapdragons for at least six months prior to the release of the iPhone 4. Moreover, these are mostly Android phones which have their own apps and real multitasking, so it will get used. Again, this is Apple simply catching up to everyone else.
4. Music: This comes down to UI preference, which is why I don't really count it for/against Apple. Damn near any smartphone will play music in a large variety of formats, it's just choosing your poison. Personally, I prefer the XMB style SE uses in their phones, but that's just me.
5. Bluetooth: I've been utilizing stereo bluetooth since damn near its inception. That the iPhone never supported the full BT spec until this iteration is nothing short of embarrassing.
And these are just hard specs comparisons which, with the exception of music, don't even take user preference into consideration. But really, when your latest-and-greatest high-end phone is being outclassed by two-year-old dumbphones in many regards, there's a problem. Unless, of course, you're Apple and your fans are willing to overlook everything just so they can get some seating on the bandwagon.
Wait... Apple has been raising the bar!? How did you (or anyone) come to that conclusion? In every area I've ever cared to look into regarding phones, they're outmatched. Let's see: Screen? Nope. Camera? Nope. CPU/Ram? Nope. Music? On par. Bluetooth? Fuck no.
About the only thing I'd credit Apple for was making touchscreens "cool" and making phone manufacturers care about apps and otherwise extending the capabilities of your phone without raping your bill. Personally, I hate using a touchscreen as the primary input, but I do enjoy the fact that I can now write my own software on my Android-based phone (thanks to Apple plowing the way). However, that was years ago. What they've done since then is jolly jack shit. There's no revolution. Hell, each new iPhone just adds crap that other phones have been doing for ages -- and they still aren't there yet.
If anyone is playing catch-up these days, it's Apple. However, when you have the type of fans they do, why bother innovating when you can leave that to your competitors who are trying so damned hard to kill you?
I've attempted to install the various forms of Ubuntu a number of times over the last few years and every single time has failed during installation/setup in some horrific and, somehow, unique way. And the best part? Posting anything on the Ubuntu "support" forums gets me treated like a retard by the community, regardless of how in-depth and/or technical the content of my post is. Oh how I love being told to "make sure the thing I burned to a CD was actually an ISO" and "follow the on-screen directions" when the issue is Ubuntu treating my three independent drives as if they were a single disk in a RAID array.
And that discouragement is exactly what he's pointing to. Unfortunately, I agree with you: Anyone who's smart enough to be deterred by the possible repercussions of texting + driving or whatever is going to be smart enough to realize it's a fucking stupid idea to begin with.
The real problem here is the vast majority of Americans are of the mindset that everything is perfectly okay until they're explicitly told otherwise -- and even then there has to be a punishment strict enough that the perceived benefits don't outweigh the penalty to prevent them from going ahead and doing it anyway.
When did you damn kids get so uppity about backwards compatibility? Not even three generations ago it was (almost) completely unheard of and no one cared. Did you also troll discussions involving Nintendo when they dropped GB support from the DS (and again when GBA support was dropped from the DSi)? How about the 360's (initially) piss-poor backwards compatibility and Sega's complete ignorance of the concept? I could keep going, but I think the direction I'm heading with this is fairly obvious: Terrible troll is terrible.
In any event, if you have a stack of PS2 games, I'm assuming you also own a PS2. In which case, why not just use that and... you know... stop bitching? If this is not the case, then you're clearly not doing your research (hint: There are PS3 systems that have varying degrees of backwards compatibility). Try taking a good look at your options, pick one and move on with your life -- the internet does not care about your inability to solve problems.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play some PS2 games on my EE-equipped PS3. Good day.
Anyone with half a brain should be able to identify the overlapping functionality from both screenshots you posted. The only thing that set me back for a second was that the shuffle/repeat options on the iPhone UI look more like status icons than buttons, so I overlooked them at first.
In any event, this isn't even a fair comparison. First, that looks like an old version of the default skin for the Android music player. Secondly, I've yet to see two Android devices which have the same (default) UI for the music player. For instance, my Xperia X10 is closer to the iPhone UI you posted than the Android one. But whatev.
You know, this may be the first valid argument I've ever seen for the uber-lockdown thing Apple has with the iPhone/iPad OS. As much as I hate recent Apple products, I can do nothing other than agree with this statement. Good job, sir.
The problem I see with this is the ridiculous litigation that seems to be common place as of late.
I like to think I'm a fairly decent programmer/designer, but I'm in no way prepared to deal with a patent troll in the event I come up with the Next Big Thing (tm) and accidentally infringe on a few hundred patents. Nor am I prepared to handle the opposite: Inventing something great and having someone either steal it or copy it without even acknowledging me.
I suppose working for Fatty McFatcat isn't all bad. Though, I won't argue that it couldn't be better.
Definitely agree. Plus, the more wordy you make the language, the more likely people are to make mistakes. Just think of all the times that people misuses then/than, loose/lose on internet comments *shudder* If you get your basic syntax mixed up like that when programming, you are going to have problems.
Hrmm... I half agree with you.
I definitely agree in that once you learn one or two languages, picking up others is a matter of learning syntax and some common libraries. However, I think the real problem with people typing like jackasses is because "you knew what I meant, so whatever; no reason to fix it" (which doesn't exactly work in any programming language I've ever heard of). Now, while a language like the one being discussed may not turn Joe Sixpack into a programming virtuoso, it may make him/her more mindful of silly grammar mistakes and errors which may translate into them not looking silly when they write emails and texts.
You know... for a second there I was thinking to myself "my last laptop had a stylus with an eraser and it didn't have any fancy carbon-based tip," and then it hit me.
What health care? I've not had any form of insurance in... oh, say ten years or so -- far too expensive to justify the costs for the service you get. Can I afford it? Yes. Will I ever get it? Not likely.
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Yes, the people demand LCDs capable of 640x960!
Wait...
I can think of one reason this will never work: People suck at driving. All it would take is one idiot to roll their car, snag a wire and take the whole cable system with 'em. It would severely hose traffic for hours since not only would you have the usual mess from the jackass's car, but now you'd have potentially hot cables all over the highway mucking things up.
Apparently you haven't put gas in a vehicle in the last 30 years or so.
"Specialist?" Well... They are pretty special, aren't they?
Even so, that still puts him at -4 or -5 on the bad-thing-o-meter.
I agree with you on the original iPhone. As much as I hate Apple, their marketing nonsense and their idiotic fanbase, the first iPhone did completely change the face of the cellphone market. Since then, though, they've simply been milking the brand name; which is something Apple does incredibly well.
To address your points on each:
1. Screen: Yes it's a high resolution, but it's not really innovative to cram more pixels using ancient LCD technology. Samsung's OLED displays are quite sexy and arguably nicer looking -- even if the resolution is 25% lower (roughly, too lazy to do the exact math). Then you've got those PixelQi displays which absolutely dominate everything else when viewed under sunlight or other high-intensity lighting. There are lots of ways they could have gone which would have made other manufacturers crap themselves, but instead they chose to play the numbers game. Nothing to see here.
2. Camera. Throwing a 5mp camera in a phone is hardly innovative. Hell, the SE K850 did that three years ago and it had a xenon flash to go with it. My two year old c905 had an 8mp camera with flash and the very user-friendly Cybershot UI -- both in software AND hardware. This is nothing more than an incremental upgrade to the 3.2mp that was on the 3G. Nothing to see here.
3. CPU/RAM: Come on now. If you don't have an argument for it, don't throw out some ambiguous statement like that. Let's be real: High-end smartphones have been using 1ghz Snapdragons for at least six months prior to the release of the iPhone 4. Moreover, these are mostly Android phones which have their own apps and real multitasking, so it will get used. Again, this is Apple simply catching up to everyone else.
4. Music: This comes down to UI preference, which is why I don't really count it for/against Apple. Damn near any smartphone will play music in a large variety of formats, it's just choosing your poison. Personally, I prefer the XMB style SE uses in their phones, but that's just me.
5. Bluetooth: I've been utilizing stereo bluetooth since damn near its inception. That the iPhone never supported the full BT spec until this iteration is nothing short of embarrassing.
And these are just hard specs comparisons which, with the exception of music, don't even take user preference into consideration. But really, when your latest-and-greatest high-end phone is being outclassed by two-year-old dumbphones in many regards, there's a problem. Unless, of course, you're Apple and your fans are willing to overlook everything just so they can get some seating on the bandwagon.
Wait... Apple has been raising the bar!? How did you (or anyone) come to that conclusion? In every area I've ever cared to look into regarding phones, they're outmatched. Let's see: Screen? Nope. Camera? Nope. CPU/Ram? Nope. Music? On par. Bluetooth? Fuck no.
About the only thing I'd credit Apple for was making touchscreens "cool" and making phone manufacturers care about apps and otherwise extending the capabilities of your phone without raping your bill. Personally, I hate using a touchscreen as the primary input, but I do enjoy the fact that I can now write my own software on my Android-based phone (thanks to Apple plowing the way). However, that was years ago. What they've done since then is jolly jack shit. There's no revolution. Hell, each new iPhone just adds crap that other phones have been doing for ages -- and they still aren't there yet.
If anyone is playing catch-up these days, it's Apple. However, when you have the type of fans they do, why bother innovating when you can leave that to your competitors who are trying so damned hard to kill you?
OS Installation. Seriously.
I've attempted to install the various forms of Ubuntu a number of times over the last few years and every single time has failed during installation/setup in some horrific and, somehow, unique way. And the best part? Posting anything on the Ubuntu "support" forums gets me treated like a retard by the community, regardless of how in-depth and/or technical the content of my post is. Oh how I love being told to "make sure the thing I burned to a CD was actually an ISO" and "follow the on-screen directions" when the issue is Ubuntu treating my three independent drives as if they were a single disk in a RAID array.
If that were the case, then unlocked phones wouldn't work (since they don't come with the preloaded garbage locked phones do).
I don't know why US mobile companies enjoy blasting themselves in the foot like this.
What amazes me is that you kept buying the stuff after repeated problems. At what point will you stop paying for overpriced junk?
The bank I go through here in the states also has the SMS bit -- it's great. I wish they did the other stuff you said, though.
And that discouragement is exactly what he's pointing to. Unfortunately, I agree with you: Anyone who's smart enough to be deterred by the possible repercussions of texting + driving or whatever is going to be smart enough to realize it's a fucking stupid idea to begin with.
The real problem here is the vast majority of Americans are of the mindset that everything is perfectly okay until they're explicitly told otherwise -- and even then there has to be a punishment strict enough that the perceived benefits don't outweigh the penalty to prevent them from going ahead and doing it anyway.
When did you damn kids get so uppity about backwards compatibility? Not even three generations ago it was (almost) completely unheard of and no one cared. Did you also troll discussions involving Nintendo when they dropped GB support from the DS (and again when GBA support was dropped from the DSi)? How about the 360's (initially) piss-poor backwards compatibility and Sega's complete ignorance of the concept? I could keep going, but I think the direction I'm heading with this is fairly obvious: Terrible troll is terrible.
In any event, if you have a stack of PS2 games, I'm assuming you also own a PS2. In which case, why not just use that and... you know... stop bitching? If this is not the case, then you're clearly not doing your research (hint: There are PS3 systems that have varying degrees of backwards compatibility). Try taking a good look at your options, pick one and move on with your life -- the internet does not care about your inability to solve problems.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play some PS2 games on my EE-equipped PS3. Good day.
Anyone with half a brain should be able to identify the overlapping functionality from both screenshots you posted. The only thing that set me back for a second was that the shuffle/repeat options on the iPhone UI look more like status icons than buttons, so I overlooked them at first.
In any event, this isn't even a fair comparison. First, that looks like an old version of the default skin for the Android music player. Secondly, I've yet to see two Android devices which have the same (default) UI for the music player. For instance, my Xperia X10 is closer to the iPhone UI you posted than the Android one. But whatev.
You know, this may be the first valid argument I've ever seen for the uber-lockdown thing Apple has with the iPhone/iPad OS. As much as I hate recent Apple products, I can do nothing other than agree with this statement. Good job, sir.
It's probably a reference to Visual Studio.
Same, my chunky PS3 is updated and works great.
Double-declutch? The hell is that? I can't even work a regular clutch. You, sir, have given me a new reason to appreciate truckers.
Yes. The Satio (specs: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_satio_(idou)-2683.php).
Hell, every SE phone I've ever owned has had a front-facing camera in addition to the standard one.
The problem I see with this is the ridiculous litigation that seems to be common place as of late.
I like to think I'm a fairly decent programmer/designer, but I'm in no way prepared to deal with a patent troll in the event I come up with the Next Big Thing (tm) and accidentally infringe on a few hundred patents. Nor am I prepared to handle the opposite: Inventing something great and having someone either steal it or copy it without even acknowledging me.
I suppose working for Fatty McFatcat isn't all bad. Though, I won't argue that it couldn't be better.
Dear Slashdot: :(
How do you mod an entire thread off-topic?
...
:)
Goddammit...
Definitely agree. Plus, the more wordy you make the language, the more likely people are to make mistakes. Just think of all the times that people misuses then/than, loose/lose on internet comments *shudder* If you get your basic syntax mixed up like that when programming, you are going to have problems.
Hrmm... I half agree with you.
I definitely agree in that once you learn one or two languages, picking up others is a matter of learning syntax and some common libraries. However, I think the real problem with people typing like jackasses is because "you knew what I meant, so whatever; no reason to fix it" (which doesn't exactly work in any programming language I've ever heard of). Now, while a language like the one being discussed may not turn Joe Sixpack into a programming virtuoso, it may make him/her more mindful of silly grammar mistakes and errors which may translate into them not looking silly when they write emails and texts.
You know... for a second there I was thinking to myself "my last laptop had a stylus with an eraser and it didn't have any fancy carbon-based tip," and then it hit me.
Well played, sir.
What health care? I've not had any form of insurance in... oh, say ten years or so -- far too expensive to justify the costs for the service you get. Can I afford it? Yes. Will I ever get it? Not likely.