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Even now though, hold an iPhone 4 in one hand, and hold the Nexus S in the other. Both are fine, fast phones with a wide array of features... But one feels dat

by trezor 15y ago

Even now though, hold an iPhone 4 in one hand, and hold the Nexus S in the other. Both are fine, fast phones with a wide array of features... But one feels dated, awkward and like it belongs 5 years ago with some light finishing polish to cover it up. Seriously dated. Do. Not. Want. Samsung doesn't need to get their shit together. Just look at the Samsung Galaxy S II preorders. They are the highest ever recovered for any device. I think Samsung is doing just fine with their so-called "cheap-feeling" phone. So sure. If things like the physical finish matters more to you than the actual capabilities of the device, then sure, continue buying Apple stuff. In a world where every competitor is cheaper, more open and offers more choice, this is really the only reason one could possibly have for choosing Apple these days.

jodrellblank 15y ago
Are you saying the iPhone 4 feels like it belongs 5 years ago and is "seriously dated"? You realise that's a year before iPhone 1 was released and at a time when the "Best smartphone" category ( http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6452_7-6600061.html http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6452_7-6600061.html ) had Nokia N95 and Windows Mobile 6 in it and mostly no touchscreen, no multitouch devices? this is really the only reason one could possibly have for choosing Apple these days. Untrue and inflamatory trolling. The app store or specific apps, iTunes store integration, familiarity, preference for iOS, loyalty to Apple corporation, integration with Apple TV, fashion,
- trezor 15y ago
  You realise that's a year before iPhone 1 was released My bad. So 4 years ago it was the best, despite lacking 3G. 4 years later and next to nothing has changed. I honestly think it warrants being labeled "dated". Untrue and inflamatory trolling. The app store or specific apps, iTunes store integration, familiarity, preference for iOS, loyalty to Apple corporation, integration with Apple TV, fashion, The app store is in my opinion inferior to Android Market. And the constant changes which Steve goes about with ensures that fewer and fewer developers will put up with it. The iTunes integration and requirement is for most people a bug, not a feature. Preference for iOS is like you said, a preference, but it's hardly warranted. This thing haven't moved an inch since launch. Loyalty to Apple corporation is a mental handicap to everyone not bitten by Steve Jobs RDF. Why on earth would you be loyal to a corporation? I'm loyal to me and my needs, and I want the best. The iPhone isn't. Integration with Apple TV, a product useless in most parts of the world. Gee thanks. I'll consider it once Apple opens its TV/Movie store where I live, something they haven't done 3 years after they launched the music store. Fashion? Are you serious? It may have been fashion a year ago, but right now everyone are getting Android phones. Apple haven't gotten any successor to the iPhone 4 out, and most Android phones in sale now, not to mention the dual-core models coming out as we speak, surpass the iPhone 4 on every metric. The iPhone was a success based on it being the king of the smartphone game, and now it is slowly but surely lagging behind. Unless Apple does something unheard of with the iPhone 5 (including a near-complete rewrite of iOS) they will still be lagging when it comes out. They will release a device with dated software on day one and then they have lost. They will no longer be the better or premium option, they'll just have a glossy look. I realize I'm an iPhone owner gone Android-fanatic. Yes. I am biased. But right now, the iPhone objectively has very little appeal unless you are burdened with the loyalty-handicap.
  - zygen 15y ago
    HN should add a "report troll" link for comments like this.
    - trezor 15y ago
      I think Apple is starting to lose the mobile war where they used to be kings. I don't think that telling people with the loyalty-handicap that their misplaced corporate loyalty is not a globally shared opinion nor truth qualifies as trolling. But while I (obviously) disagree with your opinion, you are entitled to yours just as I am to mine. Have an upvote.
      - sigzero 15y ago
        There is nothing to indicate definitively what you state.
      - Hari_Seldon 15y ago
        Don't feed the trolls
      - jodrellblank 15y ago
        But telling people who buy Apple that the "only reason they could possibly buy it" is because they only care for fit and finish and not capability. That they buy with a loyalty "handicap", that their loyalty is "misplaced" and implying that they think "it is a globally shared opinion and ultimate truth", that is trolling. My bad. So 4 years ago it was the best, despite lacking 3G. 4 years later and next to nothing has changed. I honestly think it warrants being labeled "dated". That "next to nothing" which changed includes GPS, compass, new kinds of motion sensing, retina display, significant CPU, RAM and Processor upgrdes, non-jailbroken availability of bluetooth keyboard, copy/paste and multitasking support, airplay, video recording, video out by cable, installable Apps instead of saved links to webapps, the entire App store, a higher res camera (twice), multiple cameras, MMS, facetime, significant improvement in javascript speed in Safari, in hardware accelerated graphics/GPU, the appearance of the game center, a slew of new Exchange Activesync features and policies for IT departments to manage iOS and on-device encryption which works instead of lying. And it's thinner and lighter and has better quality fit and finish. The iTunes integration and requirement is for most people a bug, not a feature. I think for most people it's a feature. The bug is "I have to plug my phone into a music player to activate it?" and "document transfer with iTunes as intermediary sucks". The feature is "I can buy music from iTunes store on my desktop, laptop or phone all using the same account all will get it when I sync. Same with video, which I can then play on AppleTV. My phone has iTunes remote control on it. My apple devices work with each other, no worrying about transcoding and copying and SSH keys and scripts and bodges." Loyalty to Apple corporation is a mental handicap to everyone not bitten by Steve Jobs RDF. Why on earth would you be loyal to a corporation? I'm loyal to me and my needs, and I want the best. The iPhone isn't. A corporation is a group of patterns and procedures executed by people. It's the human equivalent of software. The difference between a good corporation and a crummy one is like the difference between Registry Optimizer Spy Cleaner 2000 and Google Chrome. Loyalty to a corporation means "Dealing with them was helpful and not painful, I predict low hassle in future". Disloyalty to a corporation means "That was a load of hassle, no thanks to their other products". Apple's website is nicer than Dells and Microsofts to find what I need. Apple's call centers were fantastic at the times I've called them, Microsofts were terrible and Dells were poor without an expensive contract. Aviva were terrible, Direct Line were great. Barclays were terrible. It's not loyalty like patriotism where it can never be broken, but "I had good experiences in the past, that's why I will buy their devices in future" absolutely is a valid reason for choosing something over something else and it's not a mental handicap to do so. Fashion? Are you serious? Fashion is a valid reason why people choose to buy things, yes. That counters "Absolutely the only reason is if you care about fit and finish". I The iPhone was a success based on it being the king of the smartphone game, and now it is slowly but surely lagging behind. What is it lagging behind in that other current phones have and most non-geek users would want? (i.e. not "appears as a disk drive when cabled, which has been around for years and Apple chose not to implement it, but something new and cutting edge") Unless Apple does something unheard of with the iPhone 5 (including a near-complete rewrite of iOS) they will still be lagging when it comes out. They will release a device with dated software on day one and then they have lost. They will no longer be the better or premium option, they'll just have a glossy look. Were you watching the iPad 2 release? While everyone else was harping on about Android CPU cores on their tablets, Apple released an incredibly polished, world class piece of software engineering for a pittance of a price (Garage Band tablet edition). You can argue about how useful iPad Garage Band is for writing songs, but it's evidence that Apple isn't resting on laurels unable to innovate and pushing "dated software". I realize I'm an iPhone owner gone Android-fanatic. Yes. I am biased. But right now, the iPhone objectively has very little appeal unless you are burdened with the loyalty-handicap. iPhone has incredible appeal. All the stuff it could do yesterday, it can still do today. Unless you specifically want some of the things a competitor phone can do that iPhones can't, it's still a fine choice - and in terms of all the things smartphones collectively do, "what other phones do extra" is a tiny subset. (Sorry, essay time!)

by trezor 15y ago

jodrellblank 15y ago

Are you saying the iPhone 4 feels like it belongs 5 years ago and is "seriously dated"? You realise that's a year before iPhone 1 was released and at a time when the "Best smartphone" category ( http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6452_7-6600061.html http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6452_7-6600061.html ) had Nokia N95 and Windows Mobile 6 in it and mostly no touchscreen, no multitouch devices? this is really the only reason one could possibly have for choosing Apple these days. Untrue and inflamatory trolling. The app store or specific apps, iTunes store integration, familiarity, preference for iOS, loyalty to Apple corporation, integration with Apple TV, fashion,

trezor 15y ago
You realise that's a year before iPhone 1 was released My bad. So 4 years ago it was the best, despite lacking 3G. 4 years later and next to nothing has changed. I honestly think it warrants being labeled "dated". Untrue and inflamatory trolling. The app store or specific apps, iTunes store integration, familiarity, preference for iOS, loyalty to Apple corporation, integration with Apple TV, fashion, The app store is in my opinion inferior to Android Market. And the constant changes which Steve goes about with ensures that fewer and fewer developers will put up with it. The iTunes integration and requirement is for most people a bug, not a feature. Preference for iOS is like you said, a preference, but it's hardly warranted. This thing haven't moved an inch since launch. Loyalty to Apple corporation is a mental handicap to everyone not bitten by Steve Jobs RDF. Why on earth would you be loyal to a corporation? I'm loyal to me and my needs, and I want the best. The iPhone isn't. Integration with Apple TV, a product useless in most parts of the world. Gee thanks. I'll consider it once Apple opens its TV/Movie store where I live, something they haven't done 3 years after they launched the music store. Fashion? Are you serious? It may have been fashion a year ago, but right now everyone are getting Android phones. Apple haven't gotten any successor to the iPhone 4 out, and most Android phones in sale now, not to mention the dual-core models coming out as we speak, surpass the iPhone 4 on every metric. The iPhone was a success based on it being the king of the smartphone game, and now it is slowly but surely lagging behind. Unless Apple does something unheard of with the iPhone 5 (including a near-complete rewrite of iOS) they will still be lagging when it comes out. They will release a device with dated software on day one and then they have lost. They will no longer be the better or premium option, they'll just have a glossy look. I realize I'm an iPhone owner gone Android-fanatic. Yes. I am biased. But right now, the iPhone objectively has very little appeal unless you are burdened with the loyalty-handicap.
- zygen 15y ago
  HN should add a "report troll" link for comments like this.
  - trezor 15y ago
    I think Apple is starting to lose the mobile war where they used to be kings. I don't think that telling people with the loyalty-handicap that their misplaced corporate loyalty is not a globally shared opinion nor truth qualifies as trolling. But while I (obviously) disagree with your opinion, you are entitled to yours just as I am to mine. Have an upvote.
    - sigzero 15y ago
      There is nothing to indicate definitively what you state.
    - Hari_Seldon 15y ago
      Don't feed the trolls
    - jodrellblank 15y ago
      But telling people who buy Apple that the "only reason they could possibly buy it" is because they only care for fit and finish and not capability. That they buy with a loyalty "handicap", that their loyalty is "misplaced" and implying that they think "it is a globally shared opinion and ultimate truth", that is trolling. My bad. So 4 years ago it was the best, despite lacking 3G. 4 years later and next to nothing has changed. I honestly think it warrants being labeled "dated". That "next to nothing" which changed includes GPS, compass, new kinds of motion sensing, retina display, significant CPU, RAM and Processor upgrdes, non-jailbroken availability of bluetooth keyboard, copy/paste and multitasking support, airplay, video recording, video out by cable, installable Apps instead of saved links to webapps, the entire App store, a higher res camera (twice), multiple cameras, MMS, facetime, significant improvement in javascript speed in Safari, in hardware accelerated graphics/GPU, the appearance of the game center, a slew of new Exchange Activesync features and policies for IT departments to manage iOS and on-device encryption which works instead of lying. And it's thinner and lighter and has better quality fit and finish. The iTunes integration and requirement is for most people a bug, not a feature. I think for most people it's a feature. The bug is "I have to plug my phone into a music player to activate it?" and "document transfer with iTunes as intermediary sucks". The feature is "I can buy music from iTunes store on my desktop, laptop or phone all using the same account all will get it when I sync. Same with video, which I can then play on AppleTV. My phone has iTunes remote control on it. My apple devices work with each other, no worrying about transcoding and copying and SSH keys and scripts and bodges." Loyalty to Apple corporation is a mental handicap to everyone not bitten by Steve Jobs RDF. Why on earth would you be loyal to a corporation? I'm loyal to me and my needs, and I want the best. The iPhone isn't. A corporation is a group of patterns and procedures executed by people. It's the human equivalent of software. The difference between a good corporation and a crummy one is like the difference between Registry Optimizer Spy Cleaner 2000 and Google Chrome. Loyalty to a corporation means "Dealing with them was helpful and not painful, I predict low hassle in future". Disloyalty to a corporation means "That was a load of hassle, no thanks to their other products". Apple's website is nicer than Dells and Microsofts to find what I need. Apple's call centers were fantastic at the times I've called them, Microsofts were terrible and Dells were poor without an expensive contract. Aviva were terrible, Direct Line were great. Barclays were terrible. It's not loyalty like patriotism where it can never be broken, but "I had good experiences in the past, that's why I will buy their devices in future" absolutely is a valid reason for choosing something over something else and it's not a mental handicap to do so. Fashion? Are you serious? Fashion is a valid reason why people choose to buy things, yes. That counters "Absolutely the only reason is if you care about fit and finish". I The iPhone was a success based on it being the king of the smartphone game, and now it is slowly but surely lagging behind. What is it lagging behind in that other current phones have and most non-geek users would want? (i.e. not "appears as a disk drive when cabled, which has been around for years and Apple chose not to implement it, but something new and cutting edge") Unless Apple does something unheard of with the iPhone 5 (including a near-complete rewrite of iOS) they will still be lagging when it comes out. They will release a device with dated software on day one and then they have lost. They will no longer be the better or premium option, they'll just have a glossy look. Were you watching the iPad 2 release? While everyone else was harping on about Android CPU cores on their tablets, Apple released an incredibly polished, world class piece of software engineering for a pittance of a price (Garage Band tablet edition). You can argue about how useful iPad Garage Band is for writing songs, but it's evidence that Apple isn't resting on laurels unable to innovate and pushing "dated software". I realize I'm an iPhone owner gone Android-fanatic. Yes. I am biased. But right now, the iPhone objectively has very little appeal unless you are burdened with the loyalty-handicap. iPhone has incredible appeal. All the stuff it could do yesterday, it can still do today. Unless you specifically want some of the things a competitor phone can do that iPhones can't, it's still a fine choice - and in terms of all the things smartphones collectively do, "what other phones do extra" is a tiny subset. (Sorry, essay time!)