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don't you get tired of this blah? HN is about founders and the IT industry. mobile technology is the biggest growth area right now. Apple and Google are domina

don't you get tired of this blah? HN is about founders and the IT industry. mobile technology is the biggest growth area right now. Apple and Google are dominating, with different concepts software and hardware wise. Samsung is in there as a hybrid with many different approaches, incl. WP8 which is Nokia's and Microsoft's stake. RIM is practically dead in the water. Instead of going full nerd retard, shouldn't you be keen on understanding what is going on? Why Apple is breaking records? Why, as Gruber notes in his review, there is a target group very attracted to Samsung (or just bigger form factors)? Imagine you're in the automotive industry, producing accessories for various brands. wouldn't you approach customers driving a BMW differently than the ones driving a Lexus? There might be hostility and sneering between those groups, but what does it matter to you? It feels like the horrible mindset of sports fans, just within nerd circles. My team is better than yours, even though I just sit on the sidelines and have no impact on the actual play. Cause there is nothing else in my life to get excited about.

initself 14y ago
I don't think there's any requirement that says "because HN caters to starts ups, one shouldn't go off about gear".
bobsy 14y ago
I think it is a fair summation of the article. I mean really. What is actually new? Very little is the answer. Apple have bumped up the specs... everyone does after a year or two. That is really about it. Its a hardware upgrade. Well. A hardware upgrade with a new adapter... because that is exactly what the world needed. Fuck standardization. Realistically Apple wanted to milk more money from people. You have no choice but to get an adapter, otherwise all your docks and peripherals will no longer connect to your iPhone. YES! GET THE IPHONE5! > The question everyone who hasn’t yet pre-ordered wants answered: Should you upgrade? My answer is simple. If you can afford it, yes. Your answer is wrong. If your phone function's fine, you have no complaints with its responsiveness etc. No you do not need to upgrade. The iPhone5 brings nothing which is compellingly new to the table. It is a minor update. A bit like a new XBOX. Does exactly the same stuff as your current xbox, looks slightly better, loads games slightly faster. If your iPhone breaks, hell, check out the iPhone5. If you don't have an iPhone and can justify the cost look into it. Otherwise buy a cheap android handset which - while rougher around the edges - has all the same phone functionality (You are buying a phone) for a fraction of the cost.
- taligent 14y ago
  What is your point ? Every phone upgrade is a hardware upgrade.
- jawngee 14y ago
  > Realistically Apple wanted to milk more money from people No, they wanted to make the phone thinner and lighter. They gained 20% with an adapter that's 80% smaller. My guess is that the Lightning adapter will be, at minimum, USB 3.0 speeds, if not better. It's also entirely digital, meaning the adapters have to have DACs in them to output analog, hence the price. I wonder why each iteration of the iPhone has to be science fiction?
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
    - brisance 14y ago
      Micro USB can't do everything the new connector can e.g. digital out. The iPhone 5 is not all-new, despite the protestations in the launch video. It looks like a mid-season 3-series with a new spoiler stuck on it and a stretched wheelbase. What people wanted (especially after the 4s), was a new 911. You must be joking! The 3 series has undergone much more radical changes than a 911! And the iPhone 5 is closer to the design philosophy of the 911, which traces its history back 50 years! Hell, I can even guess how the next generation is going to look.
      - deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
- pinaceae 14y ago
  see, cheap and functions as well appeals to a certain demographic. by that mindset you would never by a BMW (to stay out of mobile) - which is perfectly fine, you can argue that this brand of car does not add anything useful to the table. a prius gets you from A to B as well, as a commuter you never use all that horsepower anyway. this is one side of the argument, represents a demographic and target group. no need to invest in luxury for your products, focus on utilitarian approach. can be rough around the edges, but needs to get the job done. but what about BMW buyers? why is BMW selling like hotcakes? is it just about the marketing? all an illusion? just like with a mobile device, you need to try it to find out. Gruber calls it "niceness", which is a pretty good term. Attention to detail, materials, the composition of it all. No rough edges. Apple is showing of the micron-precision manufacturing in their latest iPhone video. Why does a phone need that? BMW does the same, visit BMW world in Munich to get a grasp of it. There is a target group that responds to level of detail. Even superfluous one, think of classic traits attributed to Japanese handiwork or cooking. Does sushi need to look that good? Does a wooden temple need such intricate structures? No surprise that Jobs' was infatuated with Japan and Sony. Do specs and factsheets appeal to everyone? Obviously not. BMW exist. Apple as well. Both can be described as overpriced, overhyped items of self-indulgence that are being surpassed by a lot of competing products. But that 'surpassed' is subjective. Once you add taste and design into the mix, it becomes a very different picture. Now think of your target group. Is your own taste a good indicator or does it cloud what your users would actually like?
zobzu 14y ago
i think his summary is spot on. Daring Fireball has always been a terrible blog to read. The iphone 5 is a fine phone IMO, even thus they failed to advertise it as such, use a crappy new connector and "forgot" about NFC. The screen looks good, the CPU looks excellent, its finally lighter, it also finally has LTE, and the rest, well, is mostly on par with rest anyways.
nilsbunger 14y ago
Amen bro :) I like to think of Apple and Google as different "eigenvectors" for building a big, profitable company. Apple represents one extreme -- closed, premium, vertically integrated, resulting in highest profits but lower marketshare. Google is almost the opposite -- open, ad-supported, trying to get its search box and ads onto everything, resulting in highest market share but lower profits. Being able to pick pieces from each approach for your own company is the real lesson here. And for me, personally, I could get excited working at either Apple or Google -- just like it's interesting to play chess on either the white or black side. My goal is to understand the game!
blrgeek 14y ago
Pinaceae - I am in no way disparaging Apple here. The iPhone and Apple are breaking records. What I really didn't like was the vapidness and hypocrisy of Gruber's review. Gruber's talking as if this is the second coming - when in reality this is a good evolutionary upgrade. BTW - I bought a first gen iPod/iPad, have owned 3 Apple notebooks, and have made a dozen or so people buy Apple computers and iPhones. I have no hesitation recommending an Apple product to those it would be best suited for.

initself 14y ago

I don't think there's any requirement that says "because HN caters to starts ups, one shouldn't go off about gear".

bobsy 14y ago

I think it is a fair summation of the article. I mean really. What is actually new? Very little is the answer. Apple have bumped up the specs... everyone does after a year or two. That is really about it. Its a hardware upgrade. Well. A hardware upgrade with a new adapter... because that is exactly what the world needed. Fuck standardization. Realistically Apple wanted to milk more money from people. You have no choice but to get an adapter, otherwise all your docks and peripherals will no longer connect to your iPhone. YES! GET THE IPHONE5! > The question everyone who hasn’t yet pre-ordered wants answered: Should you upgrade? My answer is simple. If you can afford it, yes. Your answer is wrong. If your phone function's fine, you have no complaints with its responsiveness etc. No you do not need to upgrade. The iPhone5 brings nothing which is compellingly new to the table. It is a minor update. A bit like a new XBOX. Does exactly the same stuff as your current xbox, looks slightly better, loads games slightly faster. If your iPhone breaks, hell, check out the iPhone5. If you don't have an iPhone and can justify the cost look into it. Otherwise buy a cheap android handset which - while rougher around the edges - has all the same phone functionality (You are buying a phone) for a fraction of the cost.

taligent 14y ago
What is your point ? Every phone upgrade is a hardware upgrade.
jawngee 14y ago
> Realistically Apple wanted to milk more money from people No, they wanted to make the phone thinner and lighter. They gained 20% with an adapter that's 80% smaller. My guess is that the Lightning adapter will be, at minimum, USB 3.0 speeds, if not better. It's also entirely digital, meaning the adapters have to have DACs in them to output analog, hence the price. I wonder why each iteration of the iPhone has to be science fiction?
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
  - brisance 14y ago
    Micro USB can't do everything the new connector can e.g. digital out. The iPhone 5 is not all-new, despite the protestations in the launch video. It looks like a mid-season 3-series with a new spoiler stuck on it and a stretched wheelbase. What people wanted (especially after the 4s), was a new 911. You must be joking! The 3 series has undergone much more radical changes than a 911! And the iPhone 5 is closer to the design philosophy of the 911, which traces its history back 50 years! Hell, I can even guess how the next generation is going to look.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
pinaceae 14y ago
see, cheap and functions as well appeals to a certain demographic. by that mindset you would never by a BMW (to stay out of mobile) - which is perfectly fine, you can argue that this brand of car does not add anything useful to the table. a prius gets you from A to B as well, as a commuter you never use all that horsepower anyway. this is one side of the argument, represents a demographic and target group. no need to invest in luxury for your products, focus on utilitarian approach. can be rough around the edges, but needs to get the job done. but what about BMW buyers? why is BMW selling like hotcakes? is it just about the marketing? all an illusion? just like with a mobile device, you need to try it to find out. Gruber calls it "niceness", which is a pretty good term. Attention to detail, materials, the composition of it all. No rough edges. Apple is showing of the micron-precision manufacturing in their latest iPhone video. Why does a phone need that? BMW does the same, visit BMW world in Munich to get a grasp of it. There is a target group that responds to level of detail. Even superfluous one, think of classic traits attributed to Japanese handiwork or cooking. Does sushi need to look that good? Does a wooden temple need such intricate structures? No surprise that Jobs' was infatuated with Japan and Sony. Do specs and factsheets appeal to everyone? Obviously not. BMW exist. Apple as well. Both can be described as overpriced, overhyped items of self-indulgence that are being surpassed by a lot of competing products. But that 'surpassed' is subjective. Once you add taste and design into the mix, it becomes a very different picture. Now think of your target group. Is your own taste a good indicator or does it cloud what your users would actually like?

zobzu 14y ago

i think his summary is spot on. Daring Fireball has always been a terrible blog to read. The iphone 5 is a fine phone IMO, even thus they failed to advertise it as such, use a crappy new connector and "forgot" about NFC. The screen looks good, the CPU looks excellent, its finally lighter, it also finally has LTE, and the rest, well, is mostly on par with rest anyways.

nilsbunger 14y ago

Amen bro :) I like to think of Apple and Google as different "eigenvectors" for building a big, profitable company. Apple represents one extreme -- closed, premium, vertically integrated, resulting in highest profits but lower marketshare. Google is almost the opposite -- open, ad-supported, trying to get its search box and ads onto everything, resulting in highest market share but lower profits. Being able to pick pieces from each approach for your own company is the real lesson here. And for me, personally, I could get excited working at either Apple or Google -- just like it's interesting to play chess on either the white or black side. My goal is to understand the game!

blrgeek 14y ago

Pinaceae - I am in no way disparaging Apple here. The iPhone and Apple are breaking records. What I really didn't like was the vapidness and hypocrisy of Gruber's review. Gruber's talking as if this is the second coming - when in reality this is a good evolutionary upgrade. BTW - I bought a first gen iPod/iPad, have owned 3 Apple notebooks, and have made a dozen or so people buy Apple computers and iPhones. I have no hesitation recommending an Apple product to those it would be best suited for.