Technology catch-all thread

[chw42]

I've had a few problems in the past. I had an iMac whose hard drive crashed. Twice. My original iPad also had a problem with the dock connector and had to be replaced. Apple products are certainly not immune to breaking or having problems just like anything else. They just tend to happen fewer and farther between than with other brands I've used.

 

When they did break though, Apple always honored their warranties and made it easy to replace the item.

 

Apple always did have a nice warranty. I went through like 4 iPods once. The first one had a broken home button, second one had poor screen quality. Third one just stopped working. They ended up giving me a refurb for the last one and I still have it. The battery is pretty much dead, I might get like 3-4 hours of full operation on it.

 

I feel as if the iPhone and the iPod touch were incredibly awesome when they first released, because they were more or less the first of their kind. Now they just feel small and bland to me.

Edited June 8, 2012 by chw42

[Y2HH]

The subsidies Sprint and Verizon pay are ridiculous, especially Sprint, who took a $15.5 billion gamble. They paid through the nose so much that they're going to sell iPhones on prepaid plans with Virgin Mobile. The cost? $650 for an iPhone 4S,$550 for an iPhone 4.

 

iPhone 4 = 2 years old, $550, that's far from reasonably priced. It also shows just how much the carriers have to subsidize the phones to get them affordable. Apple is charging these carriers a whole ton of money and I'm not totally sure that they're really making as much money as they should on it.

 

And the carriers, in exchange, get to force charge you for overpriced data plans and text messaging plans not to mention locking you into 'contracts', which is an absurd practice. Apple is charging what carriers and people are paying.

 

Sprint and Verizon entered into those agreements willingly, I might add. So I don't see your point here.

[Y2HH]

Apple always did have a nice warranty. I went through like 4 iPods once. The first one had a broken home button, second one had poor screen quality. Third one just stopped working. They ended up giving me a refurb for the last one and I still have it. The battery is pretty much dead, I might get like 3-4 hours of full operation on it.

 

I feel as if the iPhone and the iPod touch were incredibly awesome when they first released, because they were more or less the first of their kind. Now they just feel small and bland to me.

 

I personally find Apples iPhone, in modern times, a bit undersized...however, not absurdly over-sized like a lot of modern Androids. That's not to say there aren't Android based devices available that are of good portable size. I personally think the sweet spot for a phone/all-in-one portable device is around 4.0-4.2 inches diagonal, no smaller, no bigger. While Apple falls short of that (for now), many Android's have way overshot it, but not all. The iPhone 5 will be probably hit 4", which is exactly what I'd like to see.

 

As for bland...that's the point. Apple's modern tech is usually bland/simple, but sleek looking...their entire design philosophy is simplicity, where a lot of their competitors point is counter to that view, full of bells and whistles, which IMO complicates everything.

 

TL;DR: Apples iPhone is a bit undersized, but not as over sized as some Android's. Design is intended to be bland/simple.

[BigSqwert]

Not everyone has hands the size of a 9 year old's.

Edited June 8, 2012 by BigSqwert

[Y2HH]

Not everyone has hands the size of a 9 year old.

 

And not everyone is a civilized Sasquatch.

[chw42]

I personally find Apples iPhone, in modern times, a bit undersized...however, not absurdly over-sized like a lot of modern Androids. That's not to say there aren't Android based devices available that are of good portable size. I personally think the sweet spot for a phone/all-in-one portable device is around 4.0-4.2 inches diagonal, no smaller, no bigger. While Apple falls short of that (for now), many Android's have way overshot it, but not all. The iPhone 5 will be probably hit 4", which is exactly what I'd like to see.

 

As for bland...that's the point. Apple's modern tech is usually bland/simple, but sleek looking...their entire design philosophy is simplicity, where a lot of their competitors point is counter to that view, full of bells and whistles, which IMO complicates everything.

 

TL;DR: Apples iPhone is a bit undersized, but not as over sized as some Android's. Design is intended to be bland/simple.

 

I've gone through phones with a lot of differing screen sizes. My first Android phone had a 3.2 inch screen, my second and third ones had 4 inch screens, now I have one with a 4.7 inch screen. I don't think I can ever go back to a phone with a screen less than 4 inches. Once you get used to it, there's no going back (that's what she said).

 

The good thing about the newer Android phones is that they're extremely slim. Although they are fairly large in terms of dimensions, they don't feel all that oversized in your pocket. IMO, a 4.3 inch screen is probably ideal. I feel as if 4 is a bit small and 4.5 is getting a bit too big. A 4.3 inch screen with a HD resolution (that's a very high DPI though) would be awesome.

 

I know Apple hasn't changed their screen size because they've researched that a 3.5 inch screen is ideal for the average person to use it with just one hand (that's for men and women). But I feel like Apple will have to change that rule in the future. I know I won't ever even think about getting an iPhone if it keeps its current screen size.

 

As for the UI, I never found Apple's UI sleek. If you want that, look at the Windows Phones. Metro UI is about as modern, minimalist and sleek as you can get. I used to do some themeing on my iPod touch before and I never kept the stock menus and icons.

Edited June 8, 2012 by chw42

[StrangeSox]

Overcharging? It seems to me like maybe they've streamlined their production costs and leveraged their position within the industry to negotiate very profitable deals with the carriers to build those revenues.

 

iPhones, considering their capabilities and quality are very reasonably priced in the market. They certainly are not gouging.

Apple hardware has always been seriously overpriced. Where they have been great is user interface and interaction, there's no denying that.

[StrangeSox]

Not everyone has hands the size of a 9 year old's.

One of the criteria when i was phone shopping was "biggest screen possible."

[chw42]

One of the criteria when i was phone shopping was "biggest screen possible."

 

Did you get a Galaxy Note by any chance then?

[iamshack]

Did you get a Galaxy Note by any chance then?

Which I have seen and those are insane.

 

Ironic how all these same folks were making fun of the iPad as an oversized iPhone, and now they are putting that thing up to their ear.

[chw42]

Which I have seen and those are insane.

 

Ironic how all these same folks were making fun of the iPad as an oversized iPhone, and now they are putting that thing up to their ear.

 

Yeah, that thing's ridiculous. They plan on coming out with a 5.5 inch one, better get some bigger pockets.

 

I do like that it was designed for note taking, but I'd rather buy a separate tablet for that.

 

What I would like, however, is for a phone that has nothing but a screen in the front (no surrounding bezel). You can then make the screen like 5 inches without having to worry about form factor. The Galaxy Nexus sort of started doing that already.

Edited June 8, 2012 by chw42

[Y2HH]

Yeah, that thing's ridiculous. They plan on coming out with a 5.5 inch one, better get some bigger pockets.

 

I do like that it was designed for note taking, but I'd rather buy a separate tablet for that.

 

What I would like, however, is for a phone that has nothing but a screen in the front (no surrounding bezel). You can then make the screen like 5 inches without having to worry about form factor. The Galaxy Nexus sort of started doing that already.

 

Bezels are necessary to prevent accidental screen touch. Without a bezel, every time you touched an edge, you'd accidentally move, press or shift the screen from touch sensor.

 

You can see this at play if you've ever moved a tablet from one hand or the other and accidentally grabbed slightly too much...it turns the page, etc...it does something you didn't want or intend...and it's annoying.

 

That's why they use bezels. They're not just for show.

[StrangeSox]

Did you get a Galaxy Note by any chance then?

I have a Droid x2, which is 4.3 iirc. The other criteria was that i was buying two phones and this one was buy one, get one while having most of what i wanted.

[StrangeSox]

Which I have seen and those are insane.

 

Ironic how all these same folks were making fun of the iPad as an oversized iPhone, and now they are putting that thing up to their ear.

The note is silly, but an ipad isn't comparable to a 4.3 screen.

[chw42]

Bezels are necessary to prevent accidental screen touch. Without a bezel, every time you touched an edge, you'd accidentally move, press or shift the screen from touch sensor.

 

You can see this at play if you've ever moved a tablet from one hand or the other and accidentally grabbed slightly too much...it turns the page, etc...it does something you didn't want or intend...and it's annoying.

 

That's why they use bezels. They're not just for show.

 

That's more or less on the side of the phones though, not the top and bottom. I see a lot of wasted space on the bottom of most phones.

[danman31]

I seriously have to be the only person to ever have bad experience with Apple products.

 

My MacBook CPU gets to over 100* Celsius if I dare open more than 3 programs.

I had a similar problem with my old Pro. It's probably just almost time for the computer. Generally it wasn't about multiple programs, but it was about using Flash. Whenever Flash came into play the fan had to blast away to keep the thing from burning anything it touched.

[Y2HH]

That's more or less on the side of the phones though, not the top and bottom. I see a lot of wasted space on the bottom of most phones.

 

That's because of components beneath those areas require open space, particularly the cellular antennas...putting stuff (such as screens) in front of them impedes the signals to/from the devices.

[iamshack]

The note is silly, but an ipad isn't comparable to a 4.3 screen.

For the love of Pete, SS.

[chw42]

That's because of components beneath those areas require open space, particularly the cellular antennas...putting stuff (such as screens) in front of them impedes the signals to/from the devices.

 

There's always a way.

 

On the Galaxy S I disassembled a few months ago, the antenna was on the side of the phone, with a connector on the bottom. But that connector was part of a larger multi-purpose chip that included sensors for the capacitive keys, the microphone, etc. If you don't have capacitive buttons ( or buttons period), that chip can be much smaller.

 

I'm fairly positive they can move the antenna elsewhere and still get it to work. The antenna system of the HTC Sensation is etched on its back cover (although that had a death grip issue).

 

Plus, didn't the iPhone 4 have an antenna system that was wrapped around the phone or something? That caused some issues during launch.

[Y2HH]

There's always a way.

 

On the Galaxy S I disassembled a few months ago, the antenna was on the side of the phone, with a connector on the bottom. But that connector was part of a larger multi-purpose chip that included sensors for the capacitive keys, the microphone, etc. If you don't have capacitive buttons ( or buttons period), that chip can be much smaller.

 

I'm fairly positive they can move the antenna elsewhere and still get it to work. The antenna system of the HTC Sensation is etched on its back cover (although that had a death grip issue).

 

Plus, didn't the iPhone 4 have an antenna system that was wrapped around the phone or something? That caused some issues during launch.

 

Of course over time, as technology changes, designs can change, too. But right now components/antenna require too much space to allow screens to extend that far. Earpieces/microphones, etc...are all a current reality design teams have to deal with, can't just slap a screen over the earpiece, or you'd not be able to hear...not to mention you'd have a hole in your screen, which is a distraction.

 

Also, when you hold the phone horizontally for gaming, or movie watching...you now need a bezel on the top/bottom of the phone, which your design removed.

 

As for cell phone "death grip" issues, yes...the original iPhone4 had a problem because they put the antenna bridge in a spot where people could easily touch it, however, death grip is a signaling reality that exists on ALL phones...Apple simply made it VERY easy to present to people when they moved their antenna to the external metal in order to save internal space.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Y2HH

[iamshack]

There's always a way.

 

On the Galaxy S I disassembled a few months ago, the antenna was on the side of the phone, with a connector on the bottom. But that connector was part of a larger multi-purpose chip that included sensors for the capacitive keys, the microphone, etc. If you don't have capacitive buttons ( or buttons period), that chip can be much smaller.

 

I'm fairly positive they can move the antenna elsewhere and still get it to work. The antenna system of the HTC Sensation is etched on its back cover (although that had a death grip issue).

 

Plus, didn't the iPhone 4 have an antenna system that was wrapped around the phone or something? That caused some issues during launch.

Remember when you were talking about your non-existent girlfriend?

 

[chw42]

Remember when you were talking about your non-existent girlfriend?

 

 

When did this happen? I think you got the wrong guy.

[iamshack]

When did this happen? I think you got the wrong guy.

I would've sworn you and JoeCoolMan were lamenting this one day in PHT...

 

[chw42]

I would've sworn you and JoeCoolMan were lamenting this one day in PHT...

 

That was JoeCoolMan. Somebody said something about their girlfriend not knowing baseball and Joe just straight up said he didn't have one. Funny as hell.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

That was JoeCoolMan. Somebody said something about their girlfriend not knowing baseball and Joe just straight up said he didn't have one. Funny as hell.