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By 'this' do you mean why didn't Android completely beat iPhone? Similar reason to why the Mac is making a comeback. The hardware market has changed. In the 80
by FigBug 12y ago
By 'this' do you mean why didn't Android completely beat iPhone? Similar reason to why the Mac is making a comeback. The hardware market has changed.
In the 80s / 90s, computers were very expensive and it was common to only buy exactly what you needed. PCs excelled at this. Everything was an option: Video card (MDA, CGA, EGA, VGA), ram, hard drive, hard drive controller, serial port controller, sound card. If you later needed more capabilities you upgraded whatever was necessary.
As computers became cheaper, upgrading began to make less financial sense. Upgrading a component and paying for it to be installed became almost equal to the cost of a new computer. There also became less to upgrade, onboard sound, network, etc was good enough. The only thing left to upgrade was CPU (but usually required a new motherboard) and video card. Upgradability which was originally a huge selling point became a niche feature.
As integration continued, size, weight, power consumption all became more important than upgradability / customization. Hardware wise, all Android phones and the iPhone are pretty much the same.
- AJ007 12y agoI wonder how long throwing away 'computers' after a year or two of use will remain common for us in the first world. Does technology get the credit for the difference between the 80s, or is it some mix of the current balance of geo-politics, interconnected global trade, wage arbitrage that still allows slavery in the supply chain, and free interest rates (in the case of Europe, negative)? May be in the end game biodegradable 'computanium' that is killed and reborn daily right before it becomes obsolete? It still feels very strange and disturbing to throw away something less than a decade old much less two years.
- bjelkeman-again 12y agoI tend to retire my machines to less demanding or suitable tasks. A Mac Pro 2006 (with a Cinema Display from 2000) is still going strong as a studio music computer running Logic Pro X (essentially a Hackintosh on Mac hardware, as Apple stopped supporting them). A MacBook from 2005 drives a TV with streaming video (although it needs retiring now). It is harder with smartphones, but I have older phones being guest map and GPS devices.
- etherael 12y ago> May be in the end game biodegradable 'computanium' that is killed and reborn daily right before it becomes obsolete? Server side from the client perspective, that's effectively what "the cloud" really is.
- pjmlp 11y agoIt is only common in countries where people go for contracts like US. In many countries people pay full price for handsets and use pre-paid cards. In no way you see them replacing their mobiles every two years.