Technology Apple

[dilla]

Thanks a lot. Prior to the S4 I actually had a Sony Ericsson - the Xperia Arc. I could've bought the S2, but I made a decision of not buying the "mainstream" phone on purpose, even though I was aware of the fact that it was technically better. At that point Android wasn't optimized for dual core and there was no reason to believe it'll be anytime soon, and the Xperia Arc just looked cooler.
Earlier I had a Samsung phone with Bada and a shitty Samsung Android and I was giving it a lot of crap for having software bugs and as a matter of fact, at that point I wasn't even a fan of Android at all. I just wanted to try it and thought the UI experience and many software design solutions were pretty bad and not intuitive at all, but it had potential.
They made a long way since then though, and hate it or love it, since the very first Galaxy S, Samsung had the most well-balanced and technically cutting edge Android smartphones every year. That's why they were selling so well.

I think that's what it was. The Samsung you had after the Bada that had Android that was bug ridden. I was bringing that up because I remember you cursing the phone, despite it being barely adequate to complete tasks on.

I remember the S1s. The Vibrant, Captivate, etc. Same shit, just different US carrier. They had one of the best displays back then, probably because they made their own. the S-AMOLED was all the talk.

Shit, now we turned this into the Android Part 2 thread.

My battery is starting to shit itself now on my MacBook Pro. I barely get three hours of battery on it, but I also use Chrome and have a Twitter app running live syncs in the background. Still. It's a huge drop off from the ~7 hours I got, or ~5 hours when watching video. I don't feel like throwing or selling this away, but I do want to upgrade past the C2D CPU I've had since April 2010. Not sure if I replace the battery for $100 and slap in an SSD and 8 GB of RAM and use it for another year or two, or give it to my mom and get a new one.

 

[masta247]

^ The 13' MBP with Retina and Haswell is pretty sweet. Long battery life + great CPU performance while being significantly smaller than the regular Pro and a sweet screen - I think that's the most balanced combo for a laptop. I'd probably be getting that one coming from an older Pro - you'd see major improvements on all fields.

 

[dilla]

Honestly, I would just wait for the 13" MBA to get Retina. I like how it's much lighter and thinner, over the 13" MBP. I don't do anything intensive, especially not gaming. For a productivity notebook, I'd be better with a less-powerful, cheaper MBA. But no way would I skimp out on the screen. I did that in 2010 with the CPU and opting for the C2D over the i5, which was 15" only.

I'll see. I actually have not held/used a 13" rMBP so I don't know if it's thin enough now compared to my current MBP or if I still prefer the thinness of the MBA.

 

[Pittsey]

I think you're just mad he didn't give as much praise to the N5 as you would have wanted him to.

I don't have an N5.

Phones are all so samey these days, and far more powerful than I need, that I have no interest in them anymore. My only requirement is stock android. ie. NO FUCKING TOUCHWIZ. I can't see how Masta thinks that it is decent. Or that he likes things like S Voice. They are fucking shit. If he had a PHD in Skinning Android - I still would think - he must be high on mushrooms.

If you own a Mac. You are not a geek!

 

[masta247]

Phones are all so samey these days, and far more powerful than I need, that I have no interest in them anymore. My only requirement is stock android. ie. NO FUCKING TOUCHWIZ. I can't see how Masta thinks that it is decent. Or that he likes things like S Voice. They are fucking shit. If he had a PHD in Skinning Android - I still would think - he must be high on mushrooms.

Phones are very different actually. They pack entirely different technologies each, and are made in different ways.

If it comes to Touchwiz, it's generally recognized as more usable and functional than Stock and it really went a long way to be described as something positive these days even by geeky Android websites. Seriously, please read those if you still think that stock is better than "skinned":
http://www.androidauthority.com/touchwiz-better-than-stock-android-215634/

http://pocketnow.com/2013/05/29/android-oem-skins-important

If you own a Mac. You are not a geek!

I own a PC as well, which is my main platform I work on ;-)

 

[Casey]

TouchWiz is a piece of shit. Stock Android on the N5 smokes it.

Proprietary stuff defeats the objective of Android IMO. I have owned Android devices from almost every major OEM (HTC, Motorola, LG, Sony, Samsung, ASUS) and I use the same apps on all of them. If I started using TouchWiz apps I'd lose that ability. Plus, I wouldn't use them anyway because they are fucking garbage.

 

[Pittsey]

Phones are very different actually. They pack entirely different technologies each, and are made in different ways.

You like to argue don't you...! Is black, white?

They are all the same in terms of being able to handle everything you throw at them. Is there an app that can't be run by an S3, for example. They all use almost the same design.

Fucking hell.

My wish list - Native Android. NFC. (Not that I can buy goods with it, Like I want to). Low Power Bluetooth. - Which is why I am still using the N4.



P.S - Touchwiz is shit. You could post a link to Sergey Brin saying it's awesome, and I'd still disagree.

I own a PC as well, which is my main platform I work on ;-)

Yeah... It was just a general comment from me. Mainly aimed at the facebook masses who talk about ipads, iphones and Macs and then profess to be massive geeks.



I don't dislike all Apple products. But I do hate the Macbook. My brother has one. It doesn't work like Windows, so I don't like it.

I do like the Ipad Air. But I'd never buy one because it runs iOS.

 

[dilla]

I don't have an N5.

Phones are all so samey these days, and far more powerful than I need, that I have no interest in them anymore. My only requirement is stock android. ie. NO FUCKING TOUCHWIZ. I can't see how Masta thinks that it is decent. Or that he likes things like S Voice. They are fucking shit. If he had a PHD in Skinning Android - I still would think - he must be high on mushrooms.

If you own a Mac. You are not a geek!

But you are looking into buying one, correct?

I agree phones today look different on the outside but run the same shit on the inside. Having all phones running stock would worsen the problem. I used to be such a stickler for having Stock Android on my phone, but now I've realized that hardware is powerful enough that it can run a custom UI and not really lag too much.

This new-found view would normally conflict with my experiences in 2009 with my Droid Eris which ran Sense on a shitty CPU and no RAM. That was what turned me off of custom UIs and I never looked back after that. But today, TouchWiz runs decent on an S3 and S4. And even an S2. I'd rather root a TouchWiz ROM and delete the shit I don't need and keep the rest. As I mentioned before, I heard that running a CM ROM, or any other ROM, deprives the device of some drivers and features. This makes picture quality shit, battery life less, etc.

Even stock Android has become too bland for me. I don't see CM making ROMs that are better than TouchWiz anymore. They just skin the cat to make it lighter. I thought the fur was weighing it down, but now the cat is stronger and I kind of miss the fur. It can handle it. And dare I say, it looks better with it now.

I'll have to give it a go before really passing judgement, but I am sick of CM now. XDA is just littered with other ROMs, which are probably CM based, but still don't make me comfortable flashing them. I'll find a rooted TouchWiz ROM and go from there.

The only problem is the S3 is only at 4.3 officially, not 4.4.x like I am now. Not sure what I'd be missing by downgrading to JB again.

 

[Pittsey]

But you are looking into buying one, correct?

Not really... I just have a shopping addiction. I spend at least £200 a week on gifts to myself.

But... I'm worth it.

 

[dilla]

Masta should at least be missing this http://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/12/ipad-air-battery-life/

The N7 being the worst? Holy hell.

 

[dilla]

This was really neat http://thetechblock.com/15-years-apples-homepage/

 

[masta247]

Masta should at least be missing this http://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/12/ipad-air-battery-life/

The N7 being the worst? Holy hell.

2nd gen, yes. It has a small battery, that's why. The first gen N7 was a battery life king.

I don't really find the Air's battery life THAT great. I mean- it's not bad but not groundbreaking compared to my 1st gen N7. Maybe similar and even worse under heavy load - when I was downloading some files from Dropbox while browsing web the percentage was going down really quick.

Also, I gave the Air to my mom. It's funny because while I really hate the iOS and think it's not user-friendly at all, it's so easy from a newbie's perspective. My mom doesn't have any issues and I'd say she almost finds it easier to use than me! Like it's designed for tech illiterates and it's magically easier for them to use. For instance there were times when I was trying to figure out how to go back, or how to download a freaking app from the app store, or trying to share a pic, and she could find all those things faster than me. I was just getting frustrated.

 

[dilla]

Yeah, they have their place in the market. I too am shying away more and more from the iPad the more I am using my sister's. Jailbreaking it literally added nothing of use to it. On second though, it let me install cracked apps, and while most of them are shit anyway, I did manage to get Pages and Numbers from iWork. They are free now, but only for new buyers of iOS devices.

 

[dilla]

Masta, what do you think of the iPhone 6?

I think it looks incredible. It's nice to see Apple finally increase the screen resolution to a more competitive range. Unfortunately, it would be on the more expensive "Plus" model, which is a rip off at 16GB for $299.

But it looks so damn nice. Probably the best looking phone I've seen.

Not looking to upgrade just yet but it makes a strong case to do so.


I'm not into the whole wearable tech just yet, so the negative opinions of the Apple Watch are kind of irrelevant to me right now. I'll wait some time before looking to those.

 

[ARon]

Serious? It looks exactly how I expected it to look, boring as fuck

 

[dilla]

I was more wowed by the tech behind it. I saw the video with Ives narrating and it impressed me a lot more than Android offerings. Or are you talking about the iPhone 6?

That sure as hell isn't "boring." I'll wait to see one in person and hold it, but I think it is the best looking phone out right now.

The more I explore Cydia and look at forums with all the tweaks, the more the gap between Android's "customized" options is bridged, in my eyes.


This thing has serious considerations to be my next phone. I don't understand all that camera jargon with sensors and focal length and shit, but I know that camera is going to fuck anything else on the mobile market right now. Save for that Windows Phone that has the camera as its only redeeming feature.

 

[S O F I]

might cop the iphone 5. lol. yes, 5. the 6 too big.

 

[dilla]

might cop the iphone 5. lol. yes, 5. the 6 too big.

It'll probably be free at this point.

 

[Pittsey]

I was more wowed by the tech behind it. I saw the video with Ives narrating and it impressed me a lot more than Android offerings. Or are you talking about the iPhone 6?

That sure as hell isn't "boring." I'll wait to see one in person and hold it, but I think it is the best looking phone out right now.

The more I explore Cydia and look at forums with all the tweaks, the more the gap between Android's "customized" options is bridged, in my eyes.


This thing has serious considerations to be my next phone. I don't understand all that camera jargon with sensors and focal length and shit, but I know that camera is going to fuck anything else on the mobile market right now. Save for that Windows Phone that has the camera as its only redeeming feature.

That's called marketing...!

 

[dilla]

That's called marketing...!

What is? Camera jargon or making a better camera?


The camera is important to me. I don't use it daily, but when I do, I have high expectations on quality. For a camera phone.