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If Apple sucks so much, how are they so successful?

Tell them those apps were ALL FREE and the light turns to darkness as they realize that they’ve been had.

'ALL FREE' meaning 'ad supported'. That's why all those 'free' checkers games, tip calculators, flashlights, live wallpapers or whatever so often require full internet access, location data and phone calls.. So they can track you, sell that tracking data to third-parties, and serve you with relevant ads. In return they provide you with the 'free' app or game.
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'ALL FREE' meaning 'ad supported'. That's why all those 'free' checkers games, tip calculators, flashlights, live wallpapers or whatever so often require full internet access, location data and phone calls.. So they can track you and serve you with relevant ads, in return for providing you with the 'free' app or game.
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Almost all of the apps I have were free. Almost none of them have embedded ads. I see your point, but there are a LOT of truly free apps out there.
 
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So which is it:

1- They (Apple) claim outright to have invented something that we had prior to Apple's claims, so Apple is a liar.

2- They announce something that existed before, in other products, that was not invented by Apple, but it is new to the iDevice and when Apple says this or that is new, idiots take that to mean Apple is actually claiming they invented it, when all they did was say it is new to their latest iDevice.

3- Press reporting is a freaking joke, Fanboys of the Android side abound, and Apple is accused of claiming that they invented something when in reality, they never made such claims.

4- Apple uses technology developed by others and some here blast Apple for stealing an idea. If you read the fine print and product documentation, they credit certain companies in the boilerplate. Like the use of certain Adobe components in their products. And people say, "See... Adobe had this before and Apple is copying them."

5- The web is filled with inaccurate information often driven by an obscene amount of mis-information driven hate and so much of it is incredibly inaccurate and people are too lazy to do further digging, so whatever Apple does is reported as pure evil or clever marketing or great innovation by people that have nary a clue either way; they have Google access and they graduated from the University of Wikipedia. The truth is NOT out there, Mr. Mulder.

6- It does not matter, regardless. We benefit from the innovation and all we care about is our products work and what the other side is doing does not matter.

Please re-read post #146. None of us particularly want to close the thread and/or dish out infractions. Please ensure that your posts maintain the standards of civility that Android Forums prides itself (and its members) on.

I can make two absolutely true statements: the iPad is the best tablet on the planet and the Zio is the best Android phone on the market.

However, I must qualify my comments and say when I bought my iPad, there was nothing else on the market and so far, the apps I require (like Pages) have little equal in the Android Market.

So for me, my opinions are actually facts. And your mileage will differ because your needs are not my needs, so an iPad might NOT be a good choice for some people. Then we argue. Pointless.

You cannot say I am wrong until I qualify my comments and explain why my whatevers are the best whatevers compared to other whatevers.

As for the Zio, it is a no contract phone and regardless of how much I use it, I know to the cent, what my bill will be. I know that if I stop using it, there will not be a huge fee.

It was more costly than the iPhone, too. That is to say, more costly than the $49.95 iPhone available as we e-speak.

I think there are too many blanket statements on the forums. People should qualify their statements and avoid considering them to be facts. You are entitled to your own opinion, but never your own facts.

And Slug . . . when I say "You" I do not mean You, Slug. Another problem with forums. You cannot easily use the word "You" without people thinking it is an attack.
 
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You cannot easily use the word "You" without people thinking it is an attack.

That shouldn't be a problem, nor should offering one's opinion. Where we are seeing problems is with the way some of those opinions are expressed. So long as it's done with civility and kept on-topic things will be just fine.

As a wise man said, "attack issues, not each other" ;)
 
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I think the smart cover was pretty cool, the first time I saw it. It's a neat idea. Some of the features I have seen in other products. A magnetic sensor that detects the cover and shuts off or puts the device in stand-by is similar to my Blackberry that turns off the screen while in my holster with a magnetic flap.

Here is an interesting ponderable:

In thinking about this, and forgetting for a moment that patents might exist to cover the use of magnets mounted in covers to control RIM/iDevices, the technology has been available for many years. And forgetting that RIM might hold a patent that Apple quietly uses with all due payments and licensing fees paid to Research In Motion.

I am not so sure any patent can be granted for simply using magnets and magnetic switches in the cover of a device to control said device. The reason is simple: the technology is old, widely used, and the components are designed specifically for this application.

Some SCM copiers uses magnetic reed switches as interlocks when the photo copier service door was ajar. Reed switches were designed specifically for turning things on and off or controlling this or that using magnets.

I do not think the RIM/iDevice uses reed switches in the glass form; they might use a solid state device or other type.
 
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On the other side of the coin, people like to discuss companies who's practices they find questionable. It might be pointless to some, but not to others. That is the beauty of a discussion. If you see no merit in it, you are free to let those that do carry on, and remove yourself entirely.

The term sheep was used. I suppose that is rude, maybe we should say lemmings? Or perhaps just followers? There are, undeniably, people out there that want Apple products because they are Apple products, and there are a lot of them. If you don't think that is true, you aren't close to someone that has worked retail for years. A whole lot of this is marketing. Remember their Mac v PC ads? While humorous, a bunch of that was a downright lie. Their current ad says "If you don't have an iPhone, well, you don't have an iPhone." That gets the followers riled up and being sad that they don't have an iPhone, on no merit whatsoever other than the fact it isn't an iPhone.

Their devices are fine. I would also go as far as to say that the iPad is the best tablet on the market, largely based on application availability. That doesn't mean that I am happy with their marketing tactics, and that doesn't mean that I shouldn't be allowed to complain/discuss them.
 
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On the other side of the coin, people like to discuss companies who's practices they find questionable. It might be pointless to some, but not to others. That is the beauty of a discussion. If you see no merit in it, you are free to let those that do carry on, and remove yourself entirely.

The term sheep was used. I suppose that is rude, maybe we should say lemmings? Or perhaps just followers? There are, undeniably, people out there that want Apple products because they are Apple products, and there are a lot of them. If you don't think that is true, you aren't close to someone that has worked retail for years. A whole lot of this is marketing. Remember their Mac v PC ads? While humorous, a bunch of that was a downright lie. Their current ad says "If you don't have an iPhone, well, you don't have an iPhone." That gets the followers riled up and being sad that they don't have an iPhone, on no merit whatsoever other than the fact it isn't an iPhone.

Their devices are fine. I would also go as far as to say that the iPad is the best tablet on the market, largely based on application availability. That doesn't mean that I am happy with their marketing tactics, and that doesn't mean that I shouldn't be allowed to complain/discuss them.

If Apple (or Android/Google) is guilty of something bad, fine, it should be discussed. If someone's low opinion of either conpany is baseless, let us discuss that as well. It serves little good when people assume that a bad opinion is based on facts.

I worked retail for many years. For the oldest commercial photographic firm in Utah. We sold lots of cameras like Leica and Hasselblad; two clearly superior cameras compared to Nikon and Bronica, for example. Those that came into our store looking for the best, based on advertising and reviews, usually bought Leica for 35mm and Hasselblad, for medium format.

Both companies earned their demonstrably high and provable reputations. At the time, the Hasselblad SWC contained a special lens that was so high in quality, it was technically impossible to improve.

There were Nikon users that hated other brands because they fell for the hype proffered by Nikon. Trust me, plenty of Nikon's customers went Nikon because they thought it was the superior brand and with no knowledge of what makes a camera truly great.

And the complaints over Leica's cost were prevalent, just like the complaints over Apple's high cost. Lots of camera users that bought cheaper brands decided that their choice was the best camera and will argue to the death despite the facts.

That said, a Leica polarizer filter was five time the cost of a Tiffen or Ednalite, but in no way superior. They used odd millimeter sizes and Hasselblad used the Bayonet fitting on the front of their lenses, so other manufacturers could not easily supply filters. And when a few did, the costs were high because they knew users had no other options.

So perhaps what Apple does/is accused of doing is not new. I have seen it all before.

I remember when I bought the Yashica FR. It will take the ultra high quality optics originally created by Zeiss for the Contax RTS and variants. My old FR was a better camera than Nikon. What I only considered were the optics. You think any Nikon user would admit that a cheap Japanese camera like a Yashica was optically superior to Nikon? No way.
 
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I can make two absolutely true statements: the iPad is the best tablet on the planet and the Zio is the best Android phone on the market.

However, I must qualify my comments and say when I bought my iPad, there was nothing else on the market and so far, the apps I require (like Pages) have little equal in the Android Market.

So for me, my opinions are actually facts. And your mileage will differ because your needs are not my needs, so an iPad might NOT be a good choice for some people. Then we argue. Pointless.

If all you say, Bob is valid, then if I were to say that it is an undeniable fact that the Asus Transformer is the absolute best tablet on the market because it gives me the functionality i require within my budget, it would also be equally valid.

Opinions and beliefs and facts are different things. We might as well be arguing truth as well, which, while is an interesting and stimulating exercise in semantics and philosophy, really proves nothing. Perhaps it is because nothing is provable if, in fact, opinions are facts until proven not to be facts. An interestingly democratic philosophy but one i don't think Socrates, Aristotle, Jung or Sartre would approve of ... perhaps Voltaire, and Ianesco, but both were a bit absurd.

So we differ in opinion and propose counter arguments. I am not sure what makes it pointless unless you are saying that you are steadfast in your beliefs and will not consider any contradiction. Of course if you are saying that we each have different needs, requirements, criteria, experience and expertise, and the available resources and devices suit each person uniquely which make any attempt to impose opinion of superiority on another pointless, then I am in complete agreement.

It is the age old question asked in device forums such as this in perpetuity ... "what's the best 'X'" or "which 'X' should I get." Without having intimate knowledge of the infinite number of variables going into that decision, all any of us can do is recount what is best in our own unique situations, which if not similar to the the person asking the question is not only irrelevant, but potentially misleading, if they act on the recommendation.

So, a counter opinion, as long as it's based on honest and genuine experiences is certainly NOT pointless for a third party reading each opinion. It tells them that a.) there exist differing opinions to the solution to the question posed, b.) personal factors influence the suitability of each solution, and c.) with a bit of reasoning and extrapolation, that the most appropriate resolution of the question may be entirely different from either opinion offered.

You cannot say I am wrong until I qualify my comments and explain why my whatevers are the best whatevers compared to other whatevers.

I most certainly can say you are wrong, if my education, experience and intelligence (or lack thereof) tells me that you are, if you provide no explanation or reason. It is then incumbent upon yourself to provide such, if you are so inclined. And even after you have provided such and I continue to disagree with your assessment, opinion or belief, I can continue to say you are wrong. It may be that given your set of circumstances you are correct, but given mine, you are wrong.
 
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So perhaps what Apple does/is accused of doing is not new. I have seen it all before.

I am sure it isn't. But we are aware of what they are doing because they are what is popular, hip, cool, etc. We discuss the names/brands of the things we are personally aware of, do we not? I am not saying your are implying this, but just because Apple wasn't the first to exploit their fans doesn't mean we should be any more accepting of it.

Again, I bring back the "sheep" statement. That person's opinion isn't based on facts, but my statements are. Many people want idevices for the sheer fact that they are idevices. This certainly is fact. So, while his opinions were just that, opinions, they weren't exactly wrong. Conversely, I have friends that won't touch Apple BECAUSE they are Apple, something equally ridiculous.
 
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I am sure it isn't. But we are aware of what they are doing because they are what is popular, hip, cool, etc. We discuss the names/brands of the things we are personally aware of, do we not? I am not saying your are implying this, but just because Apple wasn't the first to exploit their fans doesn't mean we should be any more accepting of it.

Again, I bring back the "sheep" statement. That person's opinion isn't based on facts, but my statements are. Many people want idevices for the sheer fact that they are idevices. This certainly is fact. So, while his opinions were just that, opinions, they weren't exactly wrong. Conversely, I have friends that won't touch Apple BECAUSE they are Apple, something equally ridiculous.

So far, I have not seen anything that comes close to my iPad, so count me in as someone who bought an iPad based on the ads, and Apple web site. When iWent to the iDark iSide, there were almost no Android tablerts out there.

Baaa Baaa Baaa
 
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So far, I have not seen anything that comes close to my iPad, so count me in as someone who bought an iPad based on the ads, and Apple web site. When iWent to the iDark iSide, there were almost no Android tablerts out there.

Baaa Baaa Baaa

Being that the "sheep" was defined as the person who bought the iPad simply because it was an idevice and you explained why you, personally, bought yours, you wouldn't qualify, unless of course you really want to. :)

FWIW I come from the iPhone. I have had every model, to be exact. Until the EVO, there wasn;t a device that I considered to come close. But I didn't buy those devices BECASUE they were Apple. I bought them because they were the best at doing what I wanted (namely internet browsing, which I still think is better on iOS).
 
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I avoid getting into any pissing contests with my leashed friends because their Iphones can’t hold a candle to my EVO.[/IMG]

So don't you think you're on a leash? HTC's leash. That's unless you've rooted, customised and modded that EVO, thus breaking the leash and making it yours. I broke Samsung's leash the day I rooted and installed CyanogenMod on my Galaxy S.

See also jailbreaking and modding iOS devices, aka breaking Apple's leash.
 
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The term sheep was used. I suppose that is rude, maybe we should say lemmings? Or perhaps just followers? There are, undeniably, people out there that want BMW's/Nice Clothes/Air Jordans/Oceanfront homes etc. because they represent status, and there are a lot of them.

'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity'.

We are all guilty of being 'sheep' to some extent. Live and let live.
 
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So far, I have not seen anything that comes close to my iPad, so count me in as someone who bought an iPad based on the ads, and Apple web site. When iWent to the iDark iSide, there were almost no Android tablerts out there.

Baaa Baaa Baaa

I have a 7" Galaxy Tab. I'm madly in love with it. I would not trade it for an iPad for any ammount of money you wanted to name. I hate the closed eco-system on iOS and I don't care for the launcher at all. I can't say I'm fond of the Tab's default launcher, but I can change that with ease without even having to root the thing. My Tab is the perfect size (10" is way too big for my liking) to haul around and it's got built in 3G. It all cost me less than $300 so the price point on it far better than the iPad. I can do things like send attachments which my friends with iPads cannot. I have not seen anything that comes close to my Galaxy Tab and that includes the iPad.

That all being said, this is what works for MY needs. What everyone else needs is different. Buying something doesn't make you a sheep. Buying something just because it's XYZ brand makes you a sheep.
 
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So far, I have not seen anything that comes close to my iPad, so count me in as someone who bought an iPad based on the ads, and Apple web site. When iWent to the iDark iSide, there were almost no Android tablerts out there.

Baaa Baaa Baaa

Apple had a big hit with the iPad. If anything, they help generate a lot of interest in tablets with the success of the iPad. I don't think that many people were interested in tablets until the iPad. Now that there is so much interest, many other manufacturers are hoping to capitalise on that interest.

Apple had a head start and manufacturers are playing catch up. Last year, there was not many alternatives to the iPad. This year, there is a much wider selection of tablets to choose from and there will only be more selection next year.

I've only just been looking at tablets and I have found that there are non-Apple tablets out there worth looking at. I am considering the iPad 2, but I have also found that other tablets are also worth considering as well.
 
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I have a 7" Galaxy Tab. I'm madly in love with it. I would not trade it for an iPad for any ammount of money you wanted to name. I hate the closed eco-system on iOS and I don't care for the launcher at all. I can't say I'm fond of the Tab's default launcher, but I can change that with ease without even having to root the thing. My Tab is the perfect size (10" is way too big for my liking) to haul around and it's got built in 3G. It all cost me less than $300 so the price point on it far better than the iPad. I can do things like send attachments which my friends with iPads cannot. I have not seen anything that comes close to my Galaxy Tab and that includes the iPad.

That all being said, this is what works for MY needs. What everyone else needs is different. Buying something doesn't make you a sheep. Buying something just because it's XYZ brand makes you a sheep.

There is no tablet even close to my jailbroken iPad2. Once you jailbreak it, which any 5 year old can do, the iPad is the ultimate tablet. I can do anything, including Flash, utilize folders, customize the crap out of it, download torrents, and so on. You get the best of both worlds with a jb iPad. That's been my solution to fill my tablet needs.
 
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There is no tablet even close to my jailbroken iPad2. Once you jailbreak it, which any 5 year old can do, the iPad is the ultimate tablet. I can do anything, including Flash, utilize folders, customize the crap out of it, download torrents, and so on. You get the best of both worlds with a jb iPad. That's been my solution to fill my tablet needs.

I can do all of those things on any Android device without having to root it. I still don't care for the form factor of the iPad. I feel like if I fell asleep reading that it would clunk me on the head and do some serious damage. I have enough brain damage as it is. Again, it's all about personal preference though.
 
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Do you not look at any other products at all? Do you think that HTC is the be all end all product and nothing can/will ever match them? DO you claim all other Android manufacturers are just wannabe HTC companies? Do you claim your device is better in every single way possible (including specs) when you can be proven otherwise? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I think you know the answer. ;)
 
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