iPhone Naysayers

It’s interesting to sit back watch tech pundits and some bloggers trip over themselves to write negative articles after an Apple launch. It’s nothing new, it’s been going on for years with the same result — they’re wrong.

iPhone 5 photoThe launch of the iPhone 5 was no different. The interesting thing to note about these naysayers is that its usually the same group of people predicting the demise of the iPhone or Apple, or maybe both.

What usually happens is that Apple sells a gazillion iPhones while these same people yap their gums about how bad it is.

Here is the cold hard truth about the iPhone — if people thought the device was lacking in any way, they wouldn’t buy it. Apple has proven over and over again that people do want the iPhone with the features they put in it.

I’ve heard people talk about the design of the iPhone 5 and that it didn’t change much. My immediate question is, “why did it need to change?” The only answer seems to be that they expected, or wanted, something different.

Change for change sake is not a good design decision. Taking the design you have and making it better is a good decision — that’s exactly what Apple did with the iPhone 5. While the outside of the iPhone did receive some tweaks, Apple spent a lot of time on the innards of the device, changing almost all of the components.

The iPhone has the ability to connect to a variety of networks, including LTE. It’s built with anodized aluminum and glass inlays, and lighter and thinner than its predecessor. The iPhone also comes with the A6 processor, sporting twice the processing and graphics performance. There’s more, but you get the idea.

These are actually things you will notice when you use the iPhone 5. The extra power will allow developers to build better apps, making our lives as consumers that much easier.

The bottom line is this: will people buy the iPhone. Judging from today’s news about the iPhone pre-orders, the answer is a resounding yes.

Published by

Jim Dalrymple

Jim Dalrymple has been reporting on Apple for almost 20 years and has written for many industry publications. Jim currently runs The Loop, a technology focused blog, and plays guitar in his spare time. You can follow him on Twitter or visit his Web site.

277 thoughts on “iPhone Naysayers”

          1. lol it’s definitely dumb to naysay any Apple product. Doesn’t change the fact that the iPhone 5 has caught up to most of the other smartphones out there, it hasn’t surpassed them though. The reason people buy iPhone is because that is all they know, those that switch find things that work better for them. It’s really all personal preference now because the technology has pretty much caught up with Apple and surpassed in several areas.

            I’ve found several friends switching from iPhone to Galaxy Nexus and S3.

          2. And I have friends switching from Android to iPhone.

            Your statements are wrong, too. “iPhone hasn’t surpassed them” – by WHAT measure? Fastest CPU/GPU doesn’t count? Most color-accurate screen – doesn’t count? Lightest smartphone on the market given the features – doesn’t count? Thinnest smartphone that has 8MP camera – doesn’t count? Probably best build quality among ANY phone – doesn’t count? Best battery life among any smartphone with screen size of 4 inches or less – doesn’t count? Most convenient power connector (reversible) – doesn’t count? Possibly best speaker on a smartphone – doesn’t count? Best free headphones (come with phone) – doesn’t count? No career branding, no career-loaded apps, one phone can work on many carriers – doesn’t count?

            Give me a break, trolls. It’s just fine if some other features are more important to you, no problem. Just don’t be so arrogant as to make an absolute claim that phone hasn’t surpassed others in any way or think that what’s most important to you is also most important to others.

          3. I was referring more to the fact that they have finally decided to increase the size to a respectable display size albeit still smaller screen size then other smartphones. Fastest CPU debatable, GPU for sure.

            Most color-accurate screen is fairly subjective considering that when you hold an S3 and a iPhone 5 next to each other you can’t tell the difference with the naked eye, unless the retina display is different on the iPhone 5 from the 4S.

            Lighter? Lighter than what? Have you even done research? lol iPhone 5 is 112g. The Sony Xperia SX is 95g.

            Thinnest phone you say? The new Motorolla Razr is 7.1mm and the iPhone 5 is 7.6mm

            8MP camera… yes plenty of this and better than it. I don’t need to list the smartphones since they abound.

            I’m sure we could go to iFixit and find smartphones with better build quality but why spend the time. Drop two phones see which one stacks up. Sorry wrong build quality I guess.

            Best battery life amongst any smartphone with the size of 4 inches or less? How about if you go above 4 inches to say 4.65 inches like the S3? Surely it would suck more battery life right?

            S3 has 22 hours of talk time, iPhone 5 has 8 hours. S3 has 800 hours standby time, iPhone 5 has 225.

            iPhone 5 still has no removable battery, yes batteries go out. Also doesn’t have an SD slot, or NFC chip.

            I’ll take 1mm more thickness and 21g of added weight for better features than the iPhone 5 provides. Again, personal preference. Your precious iPhone 5 is perfect for you, but not everyone and doesn’t stack up like you think it does.

            Live in the real world, not your apple bubble. I know apple tech because I research tech and I love tech. I’m just as quick to shoot down people who claim their stuff is better on android. The numbers talk.

          4. Thanks for that post, because it just shows how out of touch you, and others that think like you are. The original iPhone was bashed for not having a removable battery/sd slot/etc either, as was the iPad. What happened there? I can’t believe you still rail on this stuff, pretending that people care about this stuff and that it matters in the marketplace. No, the iPhone will NEVER have a removable battery, nor an SD slot, so I guess in your mind it will always be ‘behind’ some X phone that does. In the real world, all evidence shows that this stuff is less relevant today than in 2007, when people like you predictable failure for the original iPhone because of the lack of these things. You act like this stuff matters, yet both the iPhone and iPad reshaped entire industries without them. That tells you nothing?

            As for the rest of your post, it’s interesting that for all the aspects you picked out different phones which supposedly are superior to the iPhone with that 1 metric, while being completely obtuse to the main point, which is that there isn’t a SINGLE phone that exceeds the iPhone, overall. Sure, phone X might be a smidgen lighter (but worse in all other ways), phone Y might be a smidgen thinner (but worse in 10 other ways.. you get my drift. I also spent a few seconds Googling S3 talk time (because your number sounded amazingly suspicious), and nowhere did I see 22 hrs.. I saw links that stated 8 to 10. I’ assuming the rest of your post is filled with the same unsubstantiated trash. In short, you just dont get it. Most people dont buy specs. They buy the whole package. And the iPhone presents an extremely strong package if one looks at the combination of hardware, software, ecosystem, build quality, and support.

          5. I can source my comments if you so like.

            http://smartphones.techcrunch.com/l/245/Samsung-Galaxy-S3

            Lists the talk and standby times. It’s not unsubstantiated trash. It has a 2100 mAh battery and the iPhone 5 has a 1425 mAh as far as I remember.

            You can’t list things like it’s the lightest phone when it’s not or that it’s the thinnest phone which it isn’t either.

            What you can list is that it’s got a unique set of features that differentiate itself.

            To be frankly honest I’m not a fanboy of anything. I’m a fanboy of tech. I find it annoying the Apple Fanboy’s feel the need to try and prove that everything apple does it way better than anything else.

            It’s not. FYI, I wasn’t a naysayer of the first iPhone, do you know me? Apparently not so that’s an outlandish statement considering you know nothing about me.

          6. I don’t need to know anything about you to respond to your comments and judge them on their own merits.

            As far as I recall, I haven’t read ANYWHERE that the appeal of the iPhone is that it is the highest specced phone on the planet, so you’re arguing against a strawman, ie. an argument that was never made in the 1st place. I checked that link, that talktime must be an error because it’s listed on no other page, and is so much of an outlier from talktimes of all other smartphones today that one can conclude it’s simply incorrect.

            The entire crux of your argument was that the iPhone is ‘behind’ because of certain ‘specs’ like removable batteries, etc. My argument was that based on history and consumer reaction, those metrics are not valid indicators of merit or progress. One can even look beyond smartphones and tablets for evidence of this. Apple has now become the #1 laptop maker, with 27% of the US market. Apple’s recent laptops have non-removable batteries. They’re flying off shelves, and they start at $1000. Conclusion: Consumers don’t care, this shit doesn’t matter.

          7. Some just don’t get it, or just refuse to look at the facts.
            Apple ranters especially don’t get it. Apple got the design and features right, otherwise the iPhone would not have held up so well for so long through all its iterations on the correct theme. Meanwhile, Android makers keep throwing features madcap, like mud at a wall, hoping to come up with the great Apple iPhone killer. It’s the difference between trends and classics. Apple’s classic approach is copied, unashamedly, and for good reason, from the iMac, MacBook lines, even the Mac Mini, and all the way through to the iPhone.
            The Apple effect is profound. While a new Android may look good out of the box, in little time it is recognised as old hat, big, clumsy and boring, destined to rest at the back of Sock Drawer Heaven—it just takes so little time to be bored with pedestrian design and with that touch of plastic.
            Like classic tech builds of the past there is a difference in quality that just stands out over time. I remember the feel, the appealing sound and sense of quality my dad’s Leica camera had, compared to my old Kodak Brownie, of which I was very fond. Actually my Brownie was a good little camera, but it sure was no Leica.
            I won’t even go to updates. That would be unfair.

          8. VegasDude let me ask you a direct question regarding the other platform i.e. Galaxy Nexus or S3, does Google allow its Android to updating to the more current Sandwhich or Jellybean or whatever the newer version of the Android is??? And the answer to this question is a RESOUNDING NO. You are stuck with a model that has an outdated OS when S4 or Nexus2 is released. Let me tell you why that is, Its because the OEMs bank on selling more phones with the newer version of Android and ridding themselves of the older product they have because they do not have a thriving ecosystem like Apple does. So all they can bank for is IN THE HARDWARE. Hoping the newer batches of phones they chunk (Samsung for example) will get the people to buy them due to their upgraded specs. Then the old one you have is now as old as time. Now, with the Iphone, it is still supports updates to OS even with the Iphone 3GS!!! That this already by far four year ago a product!!! In the smartphones product cycle, such an old product will have been already be considered a dinosaur. But since it is still supported and updated with the latest iOS (to be released in Sept. 22) they still remain relevant. It just that they have fewer firepower and lower spec. But hey, they are still connected to the Apple platform, supported, still functional and relevant. That in itself still counts as value for money -for four years and moving forward.

          9. “I’ve found several friends switching from iPhone to Galaxy Nexus and S3.”
            Either they were very fast or they were switching from the 4S to the Nexus and S3. Apocryphal “facts” from “some bloke on the Internet” is going to really mess with Apple’s bottom line.

          10. “Yep, all the iPhone naysayers drank too much fool aid.”- Ben Bajarin. Ben I am grossly appalled by your remarks with this “fool aid”. I thought techpinions encouraged healthy and intelligent debate and discourse. Your unclassy comment above neither adds credence to the iphone argument against the arguments against the iphone. If you must recourse to comments of debasing nature then I suggest you refrain to pen other “intelligent” analyses. Just because people speak gibberish and unsound does not give you the moral ascendancy to call them with derogatory statements. They are after all offering their opinions against the iphone. They have all the right to dissent-its called free speech Ben. And while you too have the right to fire back— its really uncool coming from Ben Bajarin.

          11. I apologize that you missed my attempt at playful banter with VegasDude which did actually lead to a good conversation. Look at the context of his comment. And you will see how I was prodding him to elaborate and he did.

            I’m also welcome for you to judge my body of work here at Tech.pinions, TIME, as well as my many comments in intelligent discourse with commenters.

  1. “Taking the design you have and making it better is a good decision”

    And has been Apple’s modus operandi for 14 years for every new product they create. I’m not saying they’re the same as they ever were, but why anyone would be surprised or disappointed by this iteration of the iPhone simply demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of why Apple has grown to become as successful as it has today.

    1. What some people are complaining about is the lack of innovation matching the level of perceived hype surrounding Apple’s releases. The original iPhone and some of the following iPhones were ground breaking. The iPhone 5 isn’t quite as impressive in the current ecosystem when compared to the original iPhone in the old ecosystem. Back “in the day”, people *had* to have an iPhone. Now, people are actually asking about alternatives. The iPhone isn’t alone any more.

      This isn’t to say the iPhone 5 is not impressive — just that it’s not as cool as a Star Treck tricorder that some people are hoping to be wowed with.

      1. People have the sense to settle for the best because it is human nature to aspire for the best when they can afford it and even when they can’t afford it.

        But then people buy crap because they hate the other company which also hold true. Like someone mentioned that the app being display in the picture gallery is a big deal and a revolution in software.

        And like what Einstein said about the universe and human stupidity still holds true today and for eternity.

      2. You seem to have a short memory. Every single iPhone garnered negative press and was derided and criticized by the pundits. Sure, there’s always the odd reasonable article, but the majority of the coverage has been negative, for every single iPhone, including the original.

  2. I love the Loop and Amplified, Jim, and I love Apple. However, I think your missing the point of people’s frustration – the iPhone doesn’t have to be radically different for people to love it. But the problem is that Apple’s using the same selling points year after year… “ooh look, it’s SO thin! and SO light!”
    I think the audience is fed up with the same iterations every year. I doubt people would mind a new, slightly bigger (or the same size) iPhone, if it was truly revolutionary and had some big additions. Like NFC (just an example, I’m sure there are tons of innovative features out there, if Apple would just stop trying to shrink the same-old same-old into smaller packages).
    I’m still going to get the new phone. But sometimes the conservative feature list is a little depressing in spite of the glorious updates to the pre-existing phone. The app ecosystem is the only reason people still give this a “pass” as the best phone.

      1. Oh, the iPhone of course – and that’s my point. I see I have angered Apple fans who are a little more zealous than I am. That said, the Galaxy S3 comes dangerously close. If it wasn’t my aversion to screens that are too big and app ecosystems that are too small, I’d be on that bandwagon.

      2. That’s a pretty subjective question. There is no one best phone for everyone. However, iPhone users for the last 5 years have been the most satisfied with their purchase, so you could start there.

    1. Your example of a missing feature is NFC! Firstly it’s not the only way to make mobile payments, maybe not even the best way, certainly not ubiquitous. Why should Apple jump on that particular bandwagon?

      Is NFC all you can come up with? To hear some people talk, Andriod phones are “packed with tons of innovative features”. But they always trot out NFC. Maybe you can tell me what these “missing” features are?

        1. I think I’m right in saying that Apple were expected to bring wifi direct to iPhone but chose not to do so right now. I’m sure the hardware is capable but not supported by the OS. Expect this to be touted as a big feature of iPhone / Apple TV connectivity at some point. Maybe next year 😉

          1. The way Apple works, there’s no way they’re going to adopt a wireless-to-TV technology until a standard emerges. Intel in a single presentation at IDF managed to promoted two different approaches, WiDi and WiGig.

          2. Agree that Apple will wait for a protocol to be supported in the radios they use in their devices. Perhaps the year after next then 🙂

            For playing Video from iPhone to AppleTV, AirPlay is getting better and will probably suffice, but for games where lag is not an option, Wifi Direct (AirPlay Direct?) has a big role to play. Maybe this is what’s holding up the release of an AppleTV app store?
            The point I was trying to make is that there are multiple ways to share data without introducing another wireless technology such as NFC. S-Beam is just another way to share files, by no means the only way.
            I’m interested in what Apple will do with technologies such as WiFi Direct and Bluetooth 4. NFC, not so much.
            Maybe you should write an article on Device to Device communication (if you already have, or you know a good one, link please!).

      1. Again, I’m not an engineer; if I knew the technology, I would have mentioned it. I have seen NFC smart tags in use and I think it’s a very innovative, capable feature. Of course, it doesn’t align with Apple’s philosophy… i know that. My point, that people fail to grasp, is that Apple’s selling points have been thinness and finish for years now. Perhaps it’s time to expand the physical technology’s functionality instead of just shrinking the phone year after year. Or at least come out with a iPhone+ that will show off premium-grade tech, even if it’s just a figurehead. Like the Mac Pro is to the iMac (or at least was… I look forward to the Pro’s “new things” that Cook alluded to in 2013).

        1. Do you really, honestly believe the only change in the iPhone in the last five years has been “thinness and finish”? That “it’s time to expand the physical technology’s functionality”? Really? Sadly, I have to conclude that you’re just another ‘droid.

  3. Never confuse ‘Techys’ with the General Public. This conversation is a ‘Techy’ one – and they will always go for Android (oooh look a CLI in the kernal!) 95% of the world thinks different – these are Apple’s customers.

    BTW – I know people think Techys are the ‘givers to technology widsom’ to the rest of us but the people who think that are Techys.

    1. Sorry for being pedantic, but a kernel (note spelling) does not have a CLI (unless you consider kernel flags to be a CLI, but they’re not interactive). A CLI is an operating system feature, which may provide programs with a CLI to access features of the kernel. The kernel itself is only dealt with through system calls.

      Besides that, I basically agree with you. Sometimes I talk to the other 95% and I’m baffled by how little they know (and frankly how little they care) about the things that matter most to me, like standard connectors and software freedom.

      1. What baffles me is how people like you care about software freedom, but most of your life is spent in closed systems, using proprietary products and services. But oh when it comes to software, that needs to be open and free!

  4. The rigt audience is not bored – trust me. This is the best phone ever. You’ll see how it being so big it also is so light.. That’s only one amazing feat.. If you don’t believe me watch the sales numbers as they come

    1. Are you literally just stating what was in the article or are making your case? Either way, best sales do not mean best phone.

      1. The best phone is subjective. The best phone for me may not be the best phone for my wife. I think we need to be wise in understanding the role consumer preference plays in the consumer decision making process.

        Also best does not always mean best specs. But again as I said it is subjective and that is OK. That is why consumer choice is so great.

        1. Agreed. However, in keeping with the subject of this post… “the consumers don’t always know what’s best for them”. But that’s neither here not there.

          1. And you do? I think you underestimate the consumer, you seem to think iPhone users are misguided in some way yet they have been the most satisfied with their phones for the last 5 years! They may have chosen iPhone because of marketing, but they seem to want to stay with the platform once they make their choice.

          2. @35eba2d21b00e81a4f346ce08f1c68ab:disqus Haha, why so much animosity? I hope you know that isn’t my line, but a quote from Steve Jobs. It was a poke at Apple’s own philosophy. The only thing I know is that when I’m standing in an Apple store and holding the phone in my hands, I’m instantly enamored with the feel, look and quality.
            @arbourable:disqus All I’m doing is warning against blind love for Apple. I do love their products. I know the numbers. I know what customers like. I am NOT a naysayer. I’m just a little let down by this iteration of the phone, that’s all.

      2. JPM: “best sales do not mean best phone”

        That’s simply not true from a user stand-point.

        The iPhone has been, and continues to be, the best selling, most popular smartphone in the world. Consumers vote with their money, and if they weren’t as satisfied with the iPhone and didn’t feel it was the best smartphone for them, the iPhone would not be the incredible success it is and has been all along!

  5. “Here is the cold hard truth about the iPhone — if people thought the device was lacking in any way, they wouldn’t buy it. Apple has proven over and over again that people do want the iPhone with the features they put in it.”

    Yes, in a world where everyone knows what is buying, and nobody buy things just to be “cool” without any clue on why X product is better than Y.

      1. What is bad?
        I don’t know why everybody is complaining about the new iPhone.

        Let’s take the Galaxy S3, it’s a Galaxy S2 with a bigger screen, faster processor and iterative design. (hey, where have I seen that before).

        The 920, a bigger screen, faster processor (that wasn’t hard), and a lot, lot heavier.. (hey, where have I seen that before).

        Smartphones are becoming mature. And the iPhone is (again) setting the tone. Instead of going bigger, just to employ the bigger chips, bigger battery’s to support the bigger screens or bigger camera’s, or the bigger sim-card space, the bigger connectors that don’t support the things like the new connector does; Apple made the phone smaller, supported everything al the other phones do AND ships it within a week after it’s been announced…

        Now please explain why that’s bad? And why people don’t want that?

        There’s 1% tech-junks that want ridiculous specs, to big screens, root access and SD-card support. The other 99% just want a phone that works…

    1. Actually my firms research is consistently showing that consumers today are very educated about their tech purchases. They actually know exactly why they are choosing this product over that one, and it is largely based on preference not specs.

  6. Sure, the iPhone is as good and a tiny bit better than the iPhone from last year, and the iPhone from the year before that, and the one before that. That’s not the point. The point is that the samsung/nokia/sony/etc. phones from 4 years ago where crap. 3 years ago they where much less crap. 2 years ago they where even less crap, and 1 year ago they started encroaching on the iPhone (reason’d etre for the whole patent world-war Apple is waging against everybody). This year we’re seriously starting to wonder if we’re not better off with one of those that formerly produced crap phones. And if Apple keeps doing what they do, next year or the year after it won’t be a question anymore. That’s why Apple needs to innovate and change. Not because what they have is good. But because what others have been doing has gotten better, so Apple has to get even better if they want to stay on top.

    1. Your logic makes no sense. Yeah, all these companies changed dramatically in RESPONSE to the iPhone. When you start off as garbage, and get better, the change is dramatic. These companies transitioned to a design and OS that aped the original iPhone. Apple got it fundamentally right the 1st time, so I’m not sure how you’re expecting the same dramatic changes that everyone else in the industry were forced to undergo. They ALL rebooted after the iPhone, to be more like the iPhone. Apple will keep making changes and improvement where it sees fit, but they’re not gonna make random, dramatic changes for the sake of change. At the end of the day, consumers will decide. Since iPhones are still the best selling phones on the planet, and the iPhone 5 looks to smash all previous records, I think the marketplace is speaking with a loud voice. People like what Apple are doing, and its not realistic to expect Apple to re-revolutionalize the industry every year. They already did it once, which is more than any other of the established companies. I have no idea what reasonable people were expecting with this update, as every single facet of the phone is improved.

      1. You’re running under the flawed assumption that because companies have been making crap phones, and because they are aping the iPhone, they’d be incapable of producing a phone that blows the iPhone out of the water. That’s a risky gamble to make if you’re betting $100 billion.

      2. I prefer to have freedom. Hence I don’t choose iPhone. I don’t need simple, I need advanced.

        iPhone 5 is mostly just boring.

        1. I prefer freedom too. In this case from having an ad company tracking me and my data. I also prefer free time. When I have to unlock a boatloader and futz around with a device because the vendor can’t update it properly, in encroaches on my valuable time.

          Time is the most precious commodity we have. We can earn more money, but an hour lost is lost forever. From what I’ve seen, Android is great for people who don’t seem to hold their time in high esteem. When I read about about people who value Android’s openenss, I’ve yet to find anyone doing anything interesting with this openness. Wallpaper and widgets. That’s it. And all the while, the carriers are calling the shots.

          Everyone I spoke to who has an opinion on the matter is *getting* the iPhone 5. But the funny thing in your case, you cite the perfect example of what Apple wants. Don’t want an iPhone. Great! Buy an iPod.

          1. Well it’s actually well known among the developer community that if you have an app that needs to work with areas in the phone that are off limits for iOS that you develop on android and then build it for iOS.

            The reason being that as a developer we have a lot more freedom with the android platform in terms of accessing the camera API or the Dialer API as well as publishing the app. (I’m sure you will just rip this apart, but take it for what its worth).

            That being said you’ll find that there is a huge difference between users on android and iOS. iOS is way more profitable for a developer as opposed to Android in most cases.

            And since I’m sure someone will call this into credibility you can read more about it from someone that’s perhaps more well respected.

            http://scobleizer.com/2012/09/12/context-is-the-new-battleground-between-android-and-ios/

            There actually are quite a ton of amazing things going on due to Android’s openness that iOS will never have. That’s because both are designed for totally different purposes. Each one is quite successful in it’s own right.

            Several friends have switched from iPhone 4 to Galaxy Nexus and S3. I’m curious why and I’ve gotten the surface level details but mostly it’s due to the features and freedom. They don’t rom or root like I do so their time is spent using the device and enjoying it.

            All about personal preference these days. For others it’s more detail.

          2. It’s also well known in the developer community that if you want to make money, you go with iOS.

            I have some friends who use Android. It’s always talk about how cheap the phone is. That appears to be the main consideration. The only guy I’ve ever physically spoken to about Android who cited freedom when asked “What do you do with it?”

            Widgets. And some gui changes.

            What are these amazing things that iOS will never have? I mean, I have yet to hear of anything actually amazing?

          3. That link I posted talks about it. Contextual apps are the new thing. iOS is behind in that game, and Android is ahead. Developers are hungry for access, some will try to use undocumented API’s and hope it slips by. Others will be limited in what they can and can’t do regarding iOS apps for contextual purposes.

            I already stated in my previous post ”
            iOS is way more profitable for a developer as opposed to Android in most cases.”. Apparently you haven’t spoken to developers that are working on the next big thing in mobile. It’s all about Contextual.

          4. It’s things like. An app popping up a notification 5 minutes before you normally leave for work showing you the traffic and delays and possible route changes without you having to do a single thing.

            It’s apps like suggesting that you text your gf/spouse at 5:15 to let her know you are running late because you normally leave at 5 and you haven’t yet.

            It knows information about your habits based on GPS, Calls, Likes, Dislikes.

            Very big brother, but also very cool when you consider the possibilities of anticipating information needed and providing it before the user even has to ask for it.

          5. VegasDude, I really appreciate your contribution to this thread as well as the balanced way you are articulating things. I am very interested in the contextual apps you are speaking of. This is one of the things that has got me thinking the most regarding Android. In fact I wrote an article on the subject here at Tech.pinions here.

            http://techpinions.com/the-one-feature-i-still-want-from-my-smart-phone/8608
            I agree that Android is ahead in this area. I am using the Gal Nexus with Jelly Bean and very impressed with it. There are a number of things I like quite a bit about it but there are things I miss about iOS.

            Thanks again and I hope you keep coming back and contribute more thoughts to our daily columns.

          6. Great article, hadn’t read that one yet. I think context is definitely the next big thing. Apple will role it out eventually once they have had time to determine it’s benefit and effect. In some areas Siri does it but not exactly the same or as much yet.

            While I definitely think you would make more money on iOS with a well integrated contextual app, it will be a bit before the API’s or methods are opened up the same. Until the it’s definitely fun to tinker around via Android on these ideas.

          7. No offense, but not only is that not amazing(to me), but there is nothing there inherent in Android.

            Apple TV’s ability to show video and photos on my TV is more interesting to me. Action Movie’s ability to take video of a friend’s band playing and then allowing me to add a missile attack is more interesting.

            Having apps, good ones, that walks my daughter through making letters, or having great interactive books is more interesting.

            Heck, knowing that the iPhone 3GS I purchased back in 2009 will get iOS 6 with no effort on my part is interesting.

            Making a movie trailer with my kids is more interesting…to me.

          8. It certainly comes down to what’s important to you. I’m not dismissing your stuff, but…and please don’t take offense to this, because none is meant, I just haven’t heard of anything from the Android side that I would look at and go, “Okay, I’ll move to Android for that.”

            For background, I am a developer of 17yrs with experience who cut is teeth on Unix C and codes in Java, C#, C/C++ on Windows and Linux. I am experienced in a variety of RDBMs like Oracle, DB2, Postegres, Hypersonic, SQL Server. I use Intellij Idea and count amongst my favorite open source tools Spring, Hibernate, Quartz, etc. I used OS/2 for years

            I’m pretty hardcore, but I find iOS just more interesting.

          1. Well for one thing if Apple had included NFC for Playbook you would have found it to be pretty cool. I pay with my phone most of the time. I find it to be a great feature.

          2. I’ve used my iPhone to pay for goods in the Apple store over WiFi and it is cool. The point is that NFC is not ubiquitous and not the only way to pay. Not a compelling feature here in the UK for sure, never seen a NFC terminal. Expect Apple to roll out their take on this feature with specific partners or to adopt something that has already become a standard.

  7. With the iPhone, as with other Apple products, for me (and probably many others), it comes down to the OS. I do web development, and a lot of it for mobile devices. I’ve tested tons of devices. Dozens of Androids, Blackberries, even some of the Windows phones, and their OS’s just aren’t good enough. The touch response lags, the device is slow, they don’t feel as polished as the iPhone.

    So, when picking a phone, like when picking a computer, it’s not all about the hardware. When people talk about the iPhone hardware features, such as lacking NFC or whatever else, they’re ignoring a huge aspect of the phone – the software. Not having to download an anti-virus app. Not wondering if an app in the app store will work on my specific hardware/software configuration. It’s the iPhone software that makes it desirable, not the hardware.

    1. I agree to some extent. More specifically, I believe it is the combination of software, hardware, and aesthetics that are quality and work seamlessly together. It is the very things that ‘techys’ complain the iPhone is lacking, that makes their mobile preference inferior, especially in the minds of people who like their phones to work properly. I don’t miss flash, I don’t have any use for NFC, and I really do not want to two hand my phone every time I use it.

  8. Let’s face it. The iHaters gotta hate. That’s the only way they can get their jollies. Whether they call the iPhone passe, lacking in features or behind the times or whatever BS they don’t like about the iPhone, the fact of the matter is there are eventually going to be over 100 million users who enjoy using it and it will be considered a successful product. Apple didn’t get to where it is by selling lousy products. No company can demand a premium on subpar products. Most companies can’t even stay in business selling subpar products.

    The tech-heads say the iPhone is boring. What the hell does that supposed to mean? They haven’t even spent any time using the smartphone. Is it any less boring than a Galaxy S III? You use it and if it works well for you, then that’s what should matter. Apple is going to clean up on iPhone sales, so the iHaters who consider the iPhone behind the times, that’s their problem.

  9. I agree 100%…… Apple has beat the competition to the perfect phone….. all apple is doing now is perfecting it and who ever wants to dispute that apple is doing wrong, pay attention to the sales. Nobody twisted my arm or forced me to buy the iphone 5. Everywhere I go I see people of all ages using the iphone and ipads. They are smiple to use and consistent. Why would apple want to change the design/look to where peoplle have to RELEARN how to use the phone.

  10. Different time because of different competition. The iPhone 5 will be the best selling iPhone to date because they’ve got enough momentum to keep them going and because it’s genuinely a great phone. The difference is it’s no longer the best phone. The first time the iPhone was challenged was arguably with the HTC incredible and EVO 4G just prior to the launch of the 4. Until then Apple never really had competition, since then what have we seen? We’ve seen Google steamroll past Apple in daily activation figures (now something like 3 times as many). At the time the 4 still made the competition irrelevant, others tried to compete but overall they failed. Things changed again with the Samsung Galaxy S2, which sold amazingly well (driving Samsung to be the #1 manufacturer), but still it wasn’t clearly better than the 4, just better in some ways and the 4S arguably closed that gap up for the most part. This time though the lead didn’t last long, by spring the Galaxy Note was available everywhere and arguably the best phone out there…except it was too big for some people so still you could favor the 4S. A couple months later the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3 were released and for the first time since the release of the first iPhone there was nearly universal accord that the Galaxy S3 was the best phone on the market. Since then it’s sold over 20 million units. The difference in the launch of the 5? For the first time it didn’t beat back the competition, after the launch of the 5 the Galaxy S3 is still the best phone on the market and the Galaxy Note 2 is about to be released.

    It will take time for the general market to figure this out, for the effects of 3 year contracts to wear off and for people to change, etc. But the tide is turning very slowly for Apple. Denying it is akin to the ignorance of the RIM executives when their sales were rising but their market share was sinking fast. The same is true for Apple right now. The market is growing and their sales are rising, but their market share is no longer growing rapidly, Google is beating them quarter after quarter, RIM doesn’t have much market share left to take, and Microsoft is busy trying to nip at their heels (whether they can steal any market share or not remains to be seen).

    Does this mean Apple’s going to crumb and vanish? No, they’ve got a solid user base, a strong eco-system, and great devices, it just means their market share is going to start widdling away…ever so slowly, you can see the beginning of it in their margins, and it’s certainly nothing they can’t prevent or reverse with the right innovation, but they are no longer leading the innovation, they’re following, not such a bad thing except they’re falling behind. If they keep it up I’d give them 24-36 months before you start to see significant effects, they’ve got enough momentum to carry them that far, but when the market gets saturated and they start losing users to other platforms (you can already see it in the most developed markets like the US where users are beginning to migrate to Android, the Samsung lawsuit figures prove that) that’s when they’ll have problems.

    1. This is probably the most accurate post I have seen on this issue. You knocked it out the ballpark. Apple users will hate you for it but you gave a fair and honest assertion of what is really going on. You didn’t bash and you didn’t rally for either, you just told it the way it is. I cant wait to see you get jumped by the Iphone lovers though. LOL

  11. Actually, the design has changed a lot. It’s the first unibody iPhone. It took a lot of work to get this phone looking the way it does. It only seems similar because apple still liked a lot of the original design decisions of the iPhone 4. The internals, a place no user will see, is where all the blood and sweat is.

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