Did you order the new iPhone?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I spent 95 percent of my time in an environment that is TOTALLY dominated by Apple product. I have used and owned most the Apple products that are purportedly so popular today. Some aspects are great, and some are truly wonderful. On the other hand, not everything is perfect, and that is something that the Apple fanboys are not prepared to admit nor accept. Never did and never will. </p>

<p>The comparison between the Apple products and the ROW is not an apples to oranges. With Apple, not only do you buy the software, you also have to buy the hardware and adopt a completely closed ecosystem. If Apple were producing clothes, they would be a one-size fit-all with a black and beige of choices. It would be pretty but everyone looked the same. A living parody of its own Big Brother commercial. </p>

<p>What some tend to forget is the differences with the Microsoft or Linux world where the choice of HARDWARE is quasi unlimited as the software is licensed. In so many words, you have a choice of super cheap computers as well as “tricked” up machines with thousands of dollars spent on graphic cards or memory banks. On the other hand, buying a Mac is mostly akin to buy a DVR or a microwave. You will simply never open it up and upgrade it. </p>

<p>Lastly, for people working on “not fun” PCs, you might consider that the machines you work on have been crippled to fit a company policy and have the workers focus on specific tasks. It is not unheard of to have companies using software that is a decade old. Windows XP anyone? </p>

<p>In the meantime, when looking strictly at computers, the share of Apple running OSX remains incredibly small in comparison to the Windows environment. As expected and planned, it remains incredibly small in the low end market of the consumer market. And there are plenty of reasons for that. </p>

<p>As far as the story of how a 1984 Apple product transitioned, it is not a straight line. Chances are that, without the success of the iPod and other mobile products that rejuvenated the marker, Apple might have become a non-event and only served a market where it had a strong following, or where it could cajole its way in. It is easy to confuse the success of IOS and the position of Apple in a new world of mobile communications and computing. </p>

<p>Right now, the “dialogues” are not about Yosemite versus Windows 8.1 as much as iPhone6 plus versus Samsung Note. It is all about who was right in pushng the phablets and why Jobs did not continue to offer the biggest screen in the way the iPhone did in its first iteration. Now, we have that 5.5 screen that is still not as bright as the Samsung QHD, the camera is still not the best, the iPhone still lacks an expansion slot for memory or connectivity, it is still unable to run multiple applications beyond the spilt screen, it still will choke on Flash sites, and it is still lacks a removable battery. </p>

<p>None of the above wll stop people from buying it and repeat how their choice were the best. It is human to support our own choices --and perhaps brag about them-- but that does not mean it ought to be true! </p>

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<p>Apple sold 4m phones in 24 hours. So Xiggi will have to put up with them for a bit longer.</p>

<p>Two comments. First, MS created a horrible lock-in - BillG was right that the key was “Office, Office, Office” - and charged through the nose for upgrades (and a bunch of really lousy products). It was MS, for example, who refused even to open up the file formats for Word & Excel so they wipe out competitors. They made you buy a license for 2 different forms of server just to make anything work properly. (I give them credit for having a good program for non-profits to get cheap or free licenses.) There is a reason MS was taken to antitrust court. As for Linux and various UNIX flavors, love some of it but outside of some server software I never saw much penetration of visible enterprise or home markets. The biggest penetrations have been, I believe, in the special server markets that users never see. That’s been huge but it’s not visible. </p>

<p>Second, I don’t understand nor do I care about who claims what about phones. I care about what my phone does and how I use it. In a more general sense, in the latest quarter, Apple and Samsung made 105%+ of all the smartphone profits - meaning the others lost money - and Samsung’s share slipped as Apple’s rose. Apple’s share will likely rise some more. That’s the market voting with their pocketbooks and that’s important because it reflects in share prices and how technology is developed: as in, we can continue to expect lots of iOS apps and we can expect continued issues between Google and Samsung (which matter since Samsung is such a large Android-ish vendor), etc. </p>

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<p>My wife has professional reasons that she would find it awkward to be non-Apple for phone and tablet. I have my issues with Apple, but find it easier to belong to the same Ecosystem as my wife than to switch. I currently have an iPhone 4s and an iPad Air. We also have two AirPort Extremes, two iPhone 5, another iPad Air, 1 Apple TV (and 2 Roku), and the kids each have a MacBook Pro. My daughter moved from iPhone to Samsung, and Apple geniuses (that’s what they call themselves, but I can say it with a sneer) spent three Genius Bar visits trying to convince my iPhone not to try to iMessage her and fail. </p>

<p>So, I think the man behind the curtain gets to sell me a iPhone 6 since my power button is failing and I think it’s time to finally get 4G. Eyes wide open, but silently cursing all the way. </p>

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A big part of why I distrust Apple is because of this trap they lay - having purchased Apple products, they make it genuinely difficult to interact with non-Apple users even though the basic protocols should be quite simple. I don’t like companies that openly try to trap you.</p>

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<p>@cosmicfish, I don’t disagree at all. I have found Apple a disagreeable vendor. It’s a young person’s battle to fight though. </p>

<p>I remember a few years ago, I wanted Mac.com access for my daughter (I no longer remember the reason why it had to expedited, or the exact cost). </p>

<p>To expedite, we paid a shipping surcharge of $x, and then received a cardboard box with a pamphlet inside which contained on it the n-digit unlock code. So, cardboard and paper were used, sent via an airplane to near my town, loaded on a truck and delivered to closer to my town, loaded on a truck and delivered to my house – all of which could have been accomplished at 0 incremental or environmental cost via email (and almost instantaneously). Shame on Apple. </p>

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<p>I don’t understand how Apple “traps” users. Nearly all the things you do on a phone or tablet are through apps. Those are developed in almost all cases by independent companies who are free to make the same app for other platforms. Apple’s own apps share to other programs reasonably well. I say reasonably well given the cloud is new and interoperability issues are, so far, more about synching between your various devices. That said, I use Google apps and they work fine on any platform, as do most other apps.</p>

<p>An app like iMessage is limited mostly because text messaging itself is odd. Not long ago, it was essentially a phone company monopoly for which they charged absurd prices. On my iPhone, I have the option - which is on - to “Send as SMS” when iMessage is unavailable. It’s a way to send messages but it isn’t limited to iPhones, though the desktop version is different. I also use Viber, WhatApp, Skype, etc. I’m free to use any of those - and most are free to use.</p>

<p>I’d say Apple goes further in making it relatively easy to use whatever you want. And apps pick up on this. Dropbox, for example, has tools for looking at document formats that not many years ago would have been considered black magic. </p>

<p>When people talk about Apple’s “walled garden”, they generally mean the app process: that you get apps from a central source and these apps are approved by Apple, that you can’t put whatever you want on your phone. There is a trade-off in that: the most common reasons for app denial, per Apple, is it’s broken, doesn’t do what it says, duplicates other apps, is a security danger, etc. For a user, that’s meant no viral infections on iOS. Some security issues of course but no viruses. For a developer, besides the oddity that Apple users pay for apps and developers make so much more off Apple, an attraction is that your work can’t as easily be stolen and duplicated or twisted into something else.</p>

<p>Other complaints are about things like how Safari has better sandboxing (and extensions) than other browsers can get, but that’s getting into technical issues that are changing fast. Watch for what happens with extensions in iOS: a real change in the way apps can interact. And watch how that works with Apple’s TouchID authentication. </p>

<p>Sure some people buy iPhones because they like how they look. The newer Samsung Galaxies are, IMHO, the first phones to look as good or better than an iPhone. So what? We buy clothes because we like how they look. We buy cars, etc. for reasons like that. A weird thing is the allegation that iPhones are toys … but iPhone users buy more apps and use more web data - every usage metric says this - so it’s actually more that lots of people have cheap Android phones which they use mostly as phones, for messaging and for basic web stuff. </p>

<p>Not long ago, I remember a business grad school in Texas announcing they were standardizing all their students on Dell notebooks running Windows so their grads “could parachute directly” into enterprises. Times change. </p>

<p>BTW, back in the day, mac.com subscriptions were purchased and came with a certificate. Mac.com became “MobileMe” and me.com and then became iCloud. Shows how short our memories are: MobileMe was 2010 and the cloud was just starting to gain recognition. Dropbox went live in 2008. MobileMe went away in 2012. The huge drop in online storage pricing is recent. S3, as I remember, opened up in late 2006 but didn’t gain awareness until a little later.</p>

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<p>Has that anything to do with I wrote about OSX? In case you missed it, I own plenty of Apple products in both professional and leisure settings. I am not sure why you had to add that line about putting with iPhones a bit longer! That is WHAT I use all day long. I just bought the 6+ as a gift for my father, and I will upgrade in a few months when deals will be availiable around Xmas. I bought my current one a few days before the retailers starting throwing gift cards like beats in NOLA. With both a 5 and a 5S, I am in no rush!</p>

<p>I own/have owned almost every product discussed in this thread including all formats of the iPad. Some have been winners and others not so much. But that was not the point of discussion as I was responding to the KoolAid comment. It is all about preferences, and there are elements I find more useful on the the Window or Linux platform. And distinctly so! There have been many issues reported with the Windows system, and there are plenty of solutions available with a couple of keystrokes. Some are more annoying than others. But that DOES happen with the Macs just as well. In fact, there are problems that have been IGNORED by Apple for years … all that is needed is to look at the forum for some often reported issues. </p>

<p>Fwiw, the computer that gives my family the most grief in terms of operations (such as printing in a Windows environment or play nice on a network) in its daily use and has caused the biggest expenses in maintenance and repairs is none other than a MacBook of 2010. Several batteries, two trackballs, several chargers, and I forget some trips to the NOT-SO-GENIUS bar. </p>

<p>But heck, it is easier to pretend that those things do no happen! </p>

<p>. </p>

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<p>How about OSX? </p>

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<p>I do not disagree entirely, but if you are going down that road, you might have to recognize that the best looking and most stilish phones were the first HTC. Perhaps before the iPhone came out. Fwiw, I am not sure the Samsung LOOK better. They are bigger, brighter, have more expansion, but are not necessarily better looking. </p>

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<p>I was poking at you for your attitude.</p>

<p>FYI to anyone, if you don’t want the U2 album, Apple has posted a page that removes it: [url=&lt;a href=“https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/offerOptOut]here[/url”&gt;https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/offerOptOut]here[/url</a>].</p>

<p>If you don’t trust my hidden link, here’s the hidden url: <a href=“https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/offerOptOut”>https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/offerOptOut&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>DD’s wifi failed in her 4s. This is a very known problem with the device. It has happened to many, many 4s users. The phone was not quite two years old by a couple of months. We did not buy AppleCare. ATT refused to do anything about it because it was an apple product. Apple flatly denied that there was anything wrong with the 4s, despite numerous issues reported. Apple also flatly refused to do much. Well…they sold her a new (they claim not refurbished) 4s for $200 which I believe is a colossal ripoff since it is clearly now several generations old. BUT she needed a phone ASAP, and was not eligible for an upgrade until Jnauary. So she paid. We looked online first, but really couldn’t find a replacement for less.</p>

<p>When Apple KNOWS it has an issue, it eithr buries it’s head in the sand, or sends out emails to all, even if the issue doesn’t apply to them (I got the email about battery issues with the 5, but I have a 5s).</p>

<p>The 4s has failing wifi issues. Also, the home button fails on to as well…that also happens on some of the iPhone 5. </p>

<p>I just wish this company would do a better job of standing behind its product.</p>

<p>I have an iPad Air, and a 5s…and I have AppleCare on both. I shouldn’t need it…the product should last for 2 years! And known issues should be fixed by the company.</p>

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<p>I thought as an interesting point about security in general I’d add to this thread rather than starting another. [url=&lt;a href="Not Found - Rhino Security Labs[/url</a>] an example of what actually happens from a company that breaks into things for a living. They broke into Secret, an app that lets you share stuff anonymously … except … and what they describe is easy and ideas like this are widely distributed.</p>

<p>So when celebrity photos, etc. are hacked, you have to imagine all the bad guys and people with too much time on their hands, etc. all trying things like this. </p>

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<p>I am not as big of an Apple fan as I used to be.
They have changed their focus imo.
They really dont need to offer so many permutations of the iphone.
Since I havent seen the iphone 6, I am speaking more of the iphone5c&s.
I know they are constantly " improving" hardware, but ( & I am speaking of electronic industry in general, not just Apple), some of the fine tuning between models reminds me of the tweaks USNews does each year with their college rankings. Basically meaningless to most people.</p>

<p>I first bought a Mac desktop, because my husband had to use a computer in his factory job & he absolutely hated it.
I thought if he was able to be comfortable with the hardware at home, it would be easier.
Instead, because I bought a Mac, it seemed to make his luddite tendencies worse. ( But I had wanted to just be able to use it, not learn to write code) </p>

<p>I think our society has gone a bit overboard with electronic love, but already we see the dialing back.
For instance, when viewing blueprints, he has to look at a laptop screen, that can’t show all the part at the same time.
Wouldn’t it be better to be able to handle the actual blueprint? </p>

<p>I was reading headlines on my phone, and since my daughter is interested in hiking the PCT, (& I know some parts of it are very hairy) I clicked on a headline that read "* Hikers try to improve Pacific Crest Trail…*, but what was left out, was the word, “App”.
Who cares.</p>

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<p>I think the iPhone 5c might have been one of the few busts. There have been a few iPod misses, too (including the tiny Nano I currently have). </p>

<p>I am very impressed with iPhones and have been fortunate to not have had major issues. I had the battery problem with my 5 in the last few months, but now it is replaced so when I sell it after my 6 arrives, the buyer gets a new battery. I’ve had 2, 3, 4 and 5, I think. I use a big, protective Otter Box case- not stylish but it makes me feel more secure!</p>

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<p>Today, I happened to have a lunch with several people, and one of them works for Apple and has had an iPhone 6 Plus with him. I did not have a chance to take a closer look because so many others were eager to take a closer look at it so I passed.</p>

<p>I do not plan to upgrade my iPhone 4S. It still works fine for me so why should I upgrade it?</p>

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<p>To me, the 5S was a big step: it enables things like fitness tracking, meaning a more advanced set of sensors and a chip that can process this data without killing your battery. Compared to the new phones, all it “lacks” is Apple Pay - because no NFC - (unless you also have an Apple Watch). The 5S should be an attractive choice for most people at the now lower price. In other words, I think the 5S is something even people who don’t use many apps could use because they could set up a fitness tracker and use that.</p>

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<p>My only beef with Apple is no flash support (frustrating when I search YouTube for music) and poor battery life. Beyond that? I think they’re great. No screens of death as I’ve had with Windows products. I couldn’t care less about the internal chest beating - I want a simple phone or tablet that does a lot for me, intuitively, and my iPhone and iPad do just that. </p>

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<p>PG, have you experienced the blue screen of death … lately? I have not seen one of those in years! On the other hand, although those have been more infrequent with the iPad Air since a few months, the freezing and booting to the home screen with the previous versions of the iPad were a CONSTANT issue. You might have upgraded as many have done but the first two versions of the iPad were horrible after the updates moved beyond the limitations of the hardware. In the same vein, about every IOS upgrade has resulted in several problems and weeks/months before being fully addressed by Apple. Same thing for memory and battery leakage on many versions of the iPhone. </p>

<p>This week Apple will unveil a new IOS and I am sure that the web will have plenty of complaining voices. Guaranteed! </p>

<p>So in terms of “blue screen” I do not think that the iPad has a stellar record. People who upgrade most of the times are somehow sheltered from the problems. The same can be said about the machines that exhibit “blue screens” as we tend to hold on a LOT longer on “business” computers. At home, I have computers that still run Windows XP with very old graphic cards. They suffer under the avalanche of the “new” graphic requirements of many sites. </p>

<p>By the way, I will be curious to read about your transition from a Windows laptop to a MacBookPro when you take the plunge. ;)</p>

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<p>I dont upgrade the first day.
I wait at least a couple days until they issue the .2 version.</p>

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<p>^^</p>

<p>I know what you mean, but the .2 versions would be a long wait. IOS 5,6 and 7 did not have any of such version. The updates are in the form of x.0.x and x.1.x as on 7,01, 7.02, etc and 7.1.1 etc. </p>

<p>The interesting part of that the “quick” updates rarely acknowledge the biggest problems. </p>

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<p>I had a first generation iPad…and it never dropped or got a dreaded blue screen. Of course, Apple stopped supporting upgrades to tie iOS for the first generation iPad.</p>

<p>My iPad Air is great, but it does have issues occasionally of just reverting to the home screen for no reason. But generally, it’s fine.</p>