New for 1968! The Ford Thunderthrust, now with HYDRAMATIC OVERDRIVE!
All manufacturers make all phones of similar cost and do similar things and people will have irrational allegiences that are based mostly on emotion and Team Spirit! (Go Team! Team Red Rules! Team Blue drools!)
Actually most of them will just go online on Friday morning and spend about five minutes entering their credit card information on a web page. At least that’s what I will do. I’d love to be able to consider an Android and would if their security wasn’t so shitty.
Only the very latest version of Android has at-rest encryption, and it’s not on by default.
Every Blackberry and iPhone’s data is encrypted at rest. More importantly, if you take an image dump of the storage off an iPhone, you cannot brute force crackt it, the encryption is tied to the hardware itself, and the way the keys are generated, they’re sufficiently complex, and the time to generate it is sufficiently long, that the iPhone can only do something like 10 a minute. (See the Security Now podcast ep 347 if you want to get down and dirty.)
Big improvement is the 20% drop in weight, when you do long distance trekking that is appreciated along with the use of lighter aluminum instead of current heavier backing on the 4 models, though titanium would be nice.
Bigger screen a plus, thinner I found is better more for everyday use, it fits in the pocket better, but thinner also comes with less durable. I think I would rather have thicker + a lot more battery life. Apple seems to be content to stay at the 1500 mAh mark while I would like to see double that.
New connector sucks, it requires carrying around the charger instead of just using a friends while away traveling (unless they have the new iPhone).
Overall a nice improvment, especially to me the weight savings.
Could you enlighten me please? Android uses apps, yes? You have to pay for these apps? If I binned my iPhone and bought an Android and still wanted to play Angry Birds (ad-free), or use Tapatalk, or use Ordnance Survey maps in ViewRanger, and so on and so on, then would I or would I not have to buy these apps again?
But the whole phone-OS geekery and fanboy phenomenon is an utter mystery to me. It’s as if people flamed each other on the internet for using Indesit washing machines rather than Bosch.
EDIT: This is an answer to Colophon regarding what Mangetout said about not buying apps again.
Android app piracy is rampant.
Part of the reason is that Android allows you right off-the-box to install downloaded application files directly, much like you would install a downloaded program on a PC.
To do the same on an i-device you have to have it jailbroken first and then still the installation process isn’t very straightforward.
Ok. I don’t really use iTunes though. What does that have to do with accessing my company’s email remotely? The IT Dept set the rules and I believe they are very common for companies with high value data. For years it was Blackberry only. Three years ago or so they started to allow iPhones too.
I buy a lot of apps for Android but it’s not a really major consideration with regards to switching. Most of these apps are $1-3 and most of them aren’t essential anyway. I could easily replace the ones I use with any frequency for well under $50. The cost of a high-end phone without subsidies is above $600 and if you receive a subsidy your monthly plan is probably $50 or more. The cost of replacing 15-20 apps is simply not that great.
What keeps me on Android is the fantastic hardware ; there is no other platform with anything like the Galaxy Note, the rich and flexible user experience, (I consider widgets in particular essential) and the easy integration with Google services. Repurchasing some inexpensive apps isn't really an issue though a platform like Windows Phone which may not yet have the apps at all might give me some pause.
Yeah, but the lustre is tarnishing a little. But it doesn’t really matter.
It helps to look at the whole situation from a little further back:
The AppleZealots and Fandroids are bitching back and forth as to who has made the best $2000 decision (over two year contract), they will then gladly line up to thump their chests as to how they made the best $2000 (over two year contract) decision again…because they can’t stand that $20 a month subsidy (which isn’t given back, mind you) going to waste.
This while continually complaining about the carriers, their pricing structures, their service shortcomings, and their ability to screw you at every turn.
Remember that this is the 0.1% of the population that cares. Everybody else just goes with the flow and has the monthly cost painlessly auto-deducted from their bank account.
You really don’t understand that particular issue, do you?
You have an iTunes/iCloud/iPhone account…it can be compromised by someone who knew your name/address and last four digits of your credit card (which is printed on EVERY receipt you get).
While they’re working on changing the process, they’re doing it after a very visible member of the IT press damnear lost everything when the hacker does what hackers do:
Gain access
prevent the authorized people from getting access.
That has nothing to do with iTunes the application and everything to do with everyone wanting to live on the bleeding edge.
Purchasing stuff with NFC/Google Wallet/Apple Passbook is next. Your iTunes account (with credit card) will now be easily linked to potentially any financial transaction you care to make.
The iPhone 5 is 16% smaller in volume, and the screen is 18% bigger. That’s pretty crazy engineering IMO.
As a guy with my phone in my pocket all day, having a thinner silhouette is great. Nothing looks more tacky to me than a big phone in some dude’s front pocket.
I have to say, I love the design of the original iPhone. And with a patina, it’s absolutely gorgeous. The iPhone 5 is the best of the rest, but just doesn’t match the original.
One would hope, but it’s a symptom of bleeding edgeness, not an isolated case. There are other aspects that are still being probed by people…some with less than honorable intentions.