I'll save that for later

One of the things that was puzzling to me about my iPhone is why I couldn't download files off the internet.    Say for example you found a menu online, and you wanted to save it to your phone.  

  The iPhone does not allow this.   It has no problem viewing the menu(assuming its not flash), but if you want to save it to your phone you can't do it.

The same goes for all file types.  

Wierd...

Superphone Returns - How much do you love _____?

I returned the iPhone the other night.  It was actually cheaper to return than any Android phone I've returned.   They charged 10%.   Other phones are a flat $35.   I did not say goodbye and I do not miss it.

I was SO happy to have my android back.  My friends asked me what I missed the most.

I said on a large scale, I missed apps abilities to integrate with the system (for example desksms)

On a small scale I missed Swype

Today I was thinking.    How much do I love my Android phones?  How much do people love their iPhones?  How much do people love their blackbackberries?

There is no way to quantify this, so I made one up.

How much would somebody have to pay me to use an iPhone 4 for two years?   The answer I can up with was about $1500, plus getting the phone for free, for a net price of 1699.

So if somebody paid me $1699 i would use an iPhone 4 for 2 years, no exceptions.

Here are some more examples...  Note these are all personal, but I encourage you to put prices on your own vices.

$2500 to not drink soda for two years
I would PAY $800 to use a macbook air for two years (macbook airs are $1300)
$1,000,000 to not drive for two years (i would have to close my business)
$10,000 to be a vegetarian for two years
$1000 to not eat fast food for two years
$3000 to not play video games for two years
$15,000 to wake up at 5:00 AM for two years


In other words, I would rather use an iPhone than not drink soda for two years, or, I would rather use a macbook air than anything else on the list.

Anybody have some fun examples?

Battery update

I never did update my battery status.   The battery never got better.   There was a Saturday where I had 53% remaining at the end of the day.   However that was just luck.   If you remember, when I first mentioned the battery problem, the phone had been in my pocket for an entire night, with no usage at all.

O well, i wish I could have been able to tell what it was.

Back on Android I never charge my phone, I just replace batteries.   My android phone does EVERYTHING for me, and the battery pays for it.    I would rather turn the phone off for 30 seconds to replace the battery than worry about keeping it charged, constantly plugging it in and unplugging it.   (I get in and out of my truck 25 times per day).

Flash

In my nearly 4 weeks in using my iPhone, I have to say I never missed not having flash.    Every website had figured out some other way of delivering content.  In fact I never even needed it.

However it is still comical that it is left out of the iOS.    Every once in a blue moon, when your trying to look-up a restaurant menu from a random restaurant that is IN flash.... you'll want it.

Its like keeping the phone number to some of your high-school friends.    You dont really need them, but when you NEED them, you want to have them.

*note I didn't really use the phone browser a whole lot because i felt the screen was too small.

Planned obsolescence

Definition: Planned obsolescence: in industrial design is a policy of deliberately planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become obsolete or nonfunctional after a certain period of time.


Most consumers don't know it, but Apple doesn't care about consumers, only profit margins.


Apple has perfected planned obsolescence.   Not only do they do it on purpose, they do it deliberately in-front of everybody and nobody has a clue.    This post will clarify how Apple only wants your dollars.


iOS updates - with each iOS update, apple leaves major features out of old hardware.    I mentioned earlier in the bog that the 3GS is not getting a tabbed browser.  Why?  Its not like it takes extra processing power.   Here are some more examples


The iPhone 3g didn't get these updates with iOS 4.   
   - multi-tasking       (the three year old HTC G1 had multitasking, why can't the iPhone?)
   - custom backgrounds.  Really? must be a big memory hog!
   - Screen lock 
   - Bluetooth keyboard support (no biggie)
   -There are also numerous reports of the phone being slowed WAY down to borderline unusable.


The iPhone 3gs will not get with iOS5 - rumored
  - a tabbed browser
  -advanced picture editing
  -"reader" feature
  - iMessage


It is being reported that the iPhone 4 will not get Apples new "assistant" voice assistant program.   They are saying its because of processor and memory usage, but Android has had this service for two years!   Two years ago phones had 600 Mghz processors and 256 meg ram.   Apple just wants to sell more phones, and they are very good at it.


A quick google results in numerous posts from owners that upgraded their iOS, and report more bugs, worse battery life, overheating, ect.


Perhaps one of the biggest exampled of planned obsolescence is the lack of removable batteries.    Apple states that after 400 complete charge cycles, the battery will lose 20% of its capacity.    I was going through about 1.5 charges per day, so after about 10 months, I would have a noticeable decrease in battery life.   After 15 months i bet the phone would be almost unusable.


Apple wants you to buy a new device before the average consumer would consider the phone not useful anymore.


Luckily my Android phones have replaceable batteries.   The Nexus one, which is now almost two years old, has every feature the hardware allows as the Nexus.

Marketshare

   Android is currently hammering iOS in market share.   In the third quarter it was reported that Apple sold iPhones to 28% of smartphone buyers, while Android sold to 56%.   Over the past year, i THINK iOS has gone from 21% to 28% while android has gone from 35% to 56%.

   Consumers are voting with their wallets.   Consumers are saying that when ALL THINGS ARE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, Android is vastly superior to iOS.

I say "all things are taken into consideration" because this is a very important part of my argument.   This argument is more than iOS the operating system vs Android the operating system.   Its about iOS the "choice" vs Android the "choice"   You could replace the word "choice" with "economy" if you wanted.

Apple has chosen to only be available on AT&T and Verizon.
Apple has chosen to have a closed ecosystem
Apple has chosen to release one device, once per year
Apple has chosen to charge $199 for their top tier device the entire year, regardless of competition.
Apple has chosen to keep a 3.5" screen
Apple has chosen to release tech that is outdated (yes i said it)
Apple has chosen operate an OS that lacks basic features.
Apple has chosen to never have "SALES" on their devices.  They are always $50 or $200.

I have heard these arguments before defending iOS

"of course android sells more, they have more devices"
"of course android sells more, they are available on more carriers"
"of course android sells more, you can get free phones"
"of course android sells more, you can get them on any carrier"

My point is that when a consumer weighs ALL their options, twice as many are choosing Android over iOS.

Does this make it twice as good?   I dont know, i'm still wrestling with that....

*I can take this example to the extreme.   Say you have the option of buying a Lexus for $60,000 or a Hyundai for $5,000.  A vast majority of people with choose the Hyundai.   In this example i'm saying that the Hyundai is the superior car, all things taken into consideration, because it would sell 10x the numbers of the Lexus.

Now take price out of the picture, everybody chooses the Lexus.   However this does not take all things into consideration.

Open vs closed

This post is about an open system vs a closed system.

   More directly related to phones, Apple operates their iOS economy in a closed matter.   With the exception of accessories, you can only buy apps, songs, hardware, etc from apple.   Only Apple makes the device and only Apple can service the device.   Any violation of the above will violate your warranty and/or get you sued.

  Android on the other hand is a like a frat party.   Anybody can do anything they want for any price and for any reason.   However there are some restrictions.  In order for a phone to have the Google name on it and have the stock Google apps installed, Google has to approve the device.

Most people probably don't care about open vs closed and that is fine.   However this topic will directly relate to the next one on "market share"

Consumers have seen this battle play out multiple times.   Here are some examples of previous open system vs closed system battles, and their outcomes.

Betamax vs VHS - Betamax was a superior product, but operated by Sony in a closed nature.   Only Sony made Betamax players, while VHS was made by anybody who wanted too.   Guess who won, even with an inferior (albeit slightly) product.

AC  vs DC.    This battle was the the standard for electric current.   Thomas Edison backed DC current and had many patents and inventions in place to ensure their success.   Westinghouse, Siemens and Oerlikon all backed AC current.    When Edison realized he was losing, he went on a negative publicity campaign trying to halt the success of AC.   Sound familiar?

Mac VS Windows.   Perhaps this is the best example.    In the early 80's Steve jobs essentially perfected the personal computer.  Apple fought with IBM and a number of other competitors throughout the 80s.    In the late 80's early 90's Bill Gates licensed Windows to manufacturers, while Apple remained a closed system, manufacturing their own computers.   These manufacturers competed with each other, drove down pricing, and won (and are still winning by FAR) the marketshare wars.  

Apple wants complete control of their OS and they are going to lose AGAIN because of it.

Historically, even though somebody MAY have a better product, if they operate within a closed system, they will lose the marketshare wars.

*****
Fun facts:
  -Car manufacturers cannot void your warranty if you service your car somewhere other than a dealership.
  -Long ago when I was looking to switch from my blackberry, I was up in the air about Android or iOS.   I chose Android because i had read that Apple recently denied the Google Voice app from the iPhone.
  -Apple has recently required software developers to get thier applications signed in order to work on their computers.
  - Apple charges $99/year for software developers.   The first submittal is free, but if your app gets rejected it costs $50 to try again.
   -An iOS developer had submitted an iCloud similar app to the appstore and it was denied, about 6 months prior to the announcement of iOS5.