technophilic

"To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human."

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:17:10 +0800

“To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human.”

- Mouse (The Matrix, 1999)

With WP7 Mango available for all, Microsoft pushes ahead with new updates

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:26:49 +0800

With WP7 Mango available for all, Microsoft pushes ahead with new updates :

The Mango rollout, and subsequent patches, is starting to show the appeal of Microsoft’s via media. A bit more hardware variety than the iPhone, less than Android, and with availability of major updates that’s much closer to Apple’s than it is Google’s. Future upgrades should continue to build on this now solid foundation, giving Microsoft a genuine market advantage over Google.

I don’t know - I generally like Windows Phone, but I see myself going for an Android device over a Windows Phone one.

Terms of Apple's Sweetheart Deal for Grand Central Terminal Retail Store Revealed

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:22:49 +0800

Terms of Apple's Sweetheart Deal for Grand Central Terminal Retail Store Revealed:

All other tenants at the terminal with the exception of a Chase ATM branch pay a percentage of their sales to the MTA once an agreed-upon threshold has been reached. The MTA has apparently been willing to sacrifice such an arrangement in order to land Apple as a tenant, projecting that the company’s presence will drive increased sales at many of the over 100 other retail stores at the terminal.

Clout.

Apple iMessage and Poor User Experiences

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:27:43 +0800

Apple iMessage and Poor User Experiences:

iMessage is one of the more used features in iOS 5, but it also suffers from usability issues, especially for people who own multiple iOS devices like an iPad and an iPhone.

Makes me wonder how such things actually slip past the likes of supposedly perfectionistic Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall.

17-minute long video that basically summarises into: There is...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:20:00 +0800

17-minute long video that basically summarises into: There is something on Android devices that is logging just about everything users do on them.

Can’t say I’m surprised at all since this is precisely their business model: You are Google’s product. The more services you use, the better a product you are to Google’s customers.

Some of the most intrusive services I can think of are: Search, social networking and phone. Google, of course, has the first one nailed completely. It has so far failed miserably at social networking which is perhaps a very juicy fruit for its business purposes, but who cares about that when you are doing well with phones? It doesn’t matter what social networking platform or email service (remember Gmail privacy issues?) you use as long as you do it through your phone (as many people do), since the phone is able to log and already in wide-scale practice if the above video is true.

"If you leave me alone then allow me to enjoy my solitude."

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:14:32 +0800

“If you leave me alone then allow me to enjoy my solitude.”

Now, for whatever reason if you do wish to point out an Apple...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:21:47 +0800

Now, for whatever reason if you do wish to point out an Apple marketing faux pas, look a bit further into their history. The above is Apple’s 1985 ad - Lemmings.

Since the ad was targeted at the phone rather than its users,...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:14:02 +0800

Since the ad was targeted at the phone rather than its users, people didn’t criticise Motorola for having “no class”.

No clue, perhaps.

Can the iPhone 4S replace a "real" digital camera? Ars investigates

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:21:08 +0800

Can the iPhone 4S replace a "real" digital camera? Ars investigates :

Pretty darn impressive for a small phone like the iPhone 4S.

I did a little searching and now I don’t think I was too far off when I first saw the Lumia...

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:40:43 +0800

I did a little searching and now I don’t think I was too far off when I first saw the Lumia 800 and thought that it looked like an iPod mini. Here, it bears a striking resemblance to a 5th generation iPod nano.

The following is also quite amusing:

Lumia 800 looking beautiful in this photo. The Apple fanboy in...

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:30:00 +0800

Lumia 800 looking beautiful in this photo.

The Apple fanboy in me is thinking that it looks a tiny bit influenced by the iPod mini’s curves.

Engadget's Galaxy Nexus Review

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:12:00 +0800

Engadget's Galaxy Nexus Review:

Average build quality and materials

Hardware-wise, it seems to be the same old story.

…gone is the signature lag that’s familiar to anyone who’s ever browsed the web on Android

By most accounts, Android has finally matured to a point where I feel it is worth a look for my own use. Now if it comes on hardware that is compelling enough for me…

The Verge's Galaxy Nexus Review

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:41:00 +0800

The Verge's Galaxy Nexus Review:

8.6 - a draw with iPhone 4S, the incumbent top-rated smartphone reviewed by The Verge.

I think it’s extremely responsive. Perhaps just a tiny tiny tiny bit less responsive than the iPhone in general use.

Take note, Scott Forstall.

People buy iPhones: A) not knowing about Samsung Galaxy S II B)...

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:39:31 +0800

People buy iPhones:

A) not knowing about Samsung Galaxy S II
B) despite “this thing is huge!”
C) precisely because “this thing is huge!”

Samsung thinks it’s A. I personally think it’s somewhere between B and C.

That "Different Factor"

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:38:00 +0800

While iOS is almost five years old and has matured considerably since its inception, I think it now faces a little problem of some users switching over to the other side.

With the iPhone and iOS, Apple has crafted out an extremely well-designed series phone. Something that is meticulously designed from the ground up doesn’t have to change wildly if it has been thought out carefully from the start, which is true for iPhone and iOS.

(Picture from Gizmodo. I added the 2007 Android as it completes the picture.)

Unfortunately, I believe that the iPhone’s reliable familiarity and consistency may work against Apple for quite a number of people looking to purchase a new phone. There are people who want something different when they get a new phone. Externally, the iPhone 4S is so similar to its predecessor that it has turned some people off from an upgrade (based entirely on my anecdotal experience).

Android (or perhaps Windows Phone as well) provides variation. Each version is markedly different from the previous one. It moved from being a Blackberry clone to an iPhone one, and shook things up a bit with each major update. Android phone manufacturers have different user interfaces between them. More importantly, there are hundreds of Android hardware options. I think that it is this “different factor” which accounts for some people opting for Android (aside from those who plain prefer it over iOS). Some are bored with their iPhones: “It is different from my phone”. For some, it is probably an attempt at anti-comformity: “it is different from the phone everyone else is using”. It does not hurt that a switch to Android is more attractive than something more radically different like Windows Phone as the former is an exceedingly successful iPhone clone: it is different, but still somewhat comfortingly similar.

Screen size easily affects the “different factor” since it is the most obvious facet of a touchscreen smartphone. A 4” screen isn’t necessarily better than a 3.5” one. Some people may feel that a 4” screen is able to display more content, while others may feel that a 3.5” display makes for a more portable phone. I suspect that for many, a bigger screen just feels nicer simply because it is different. If not for the trend of “bigger is better” when it comes to screen sizes, even a smaller screen size may seem like an upgrade.

Why, HTC, now part of the bigger-is-better crowd, released a smaller 2.8” version to their flagship 3.5” Xda II smartphone in 2004 as an upgrade:

It was well-received. That was during a period when the prevailing trend was “smaller is better”, perhaps not so coincidently after Apple released the iPod mini (the phone was named Xda II Mini).

I don’t buy that “bigger is better”, but I do think that a bigger screen is indeed obviously different. Apple may well release a 4” iPhone next year to easily satisfy this “different factor”. However, this is Apple we’re talking about - albeit sans-Steve Jobs - so I am interested to see if Apple can reinvent its flagship product on its fifth birthday without changing the screen size, something that is not flawed to begin with. Think different they have to indeed.

PS: Of course, this problem may indeed be a non-issue for Apple considering the iPhone 4S’ stellar sales figure so far.

Getting Over It

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:56:00 +0800

Saying that Android phones copy the iPhone is like saying that every laptop copies the original laptop. Get over it!

That’s about right actually. Apple’s PowerBook 100 series pioneered the form factor that is now still the de facto standard for modern laptops. Aside from that, Apple also changed smartphones for the better. Get over it.

Research firm: Amazon sells $199 tablet at a loss

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:51:22 +0800

Research firm: Amazon sells $199 tablet at a loss :

A small but sizeable number of people will probably buy the Kindle Fire and find some way to put stock Android on it. It’ll serve as a cheap tablet.

Video

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:02:55 +0800

Epic Music Battle

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:52:00 +0800

Hilarious.. I wish I was half as musically talented:

thai-flood-hacks: Water Bottle Swimming Vest for Cats via...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:24:05 +0800

thai-flood-hacks:

Water Bottle Swimming Vest for Cats via Message/Facebook submitted by Siriwat