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Which handset is the King of Smartphones? Gadget Show, 14 March 2011


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Old 21-03-2011, 16:20
rwould
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Why not? The only thing it was lacking was the touch screen, it had apps, GPS, a decent web browser, multi tasking, email, etc.

I see my iPhone as an evolution of that.
As the owner of a Palm V, then the SE P800 and P900, and then moving on the N95, getting software onto them compared to getting software onto the IPhone simply does not compare, never mind the volume of 'apps' that was rapidly made available.
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Old 21-03-2011, 16:29
DotNetWill
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As the owner of a Palm V, then the SE P800 and P900, and then moving on the N95, getting software onto them compared to getting software onto the IPhone simply does not compare, never mind the volume of 'apps' that was rapidly made available.
I said it had apps not that i had an app store :P

IIRC you could just browse to them and download them directly to the phone.

In any case, my point was that many think that the iPhone ushered in a new era of smart phones when, aside of apps stores and touch screens, it had all been down before and was/is pretty well understood. All Apple was sprinkle some Apple dust on it.
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Old 21-03-2011, 17:34
grumpyoldbat
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It's making it simple enough for the wider population to deal with - grannies with iPads etc.

When you had to find somewhere to buy an app, dig out a credit card, buy it, download it to your PC, plug in a cable, transfer it, install it, register it.... let's face it, only a tiny percentage of us geeks would bother. It's not that Apple did anything that wasn't already a possibility, they just came up with a very easy way of installing apps that literally anyone can cope with, and it's made all the other companies do the same.
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Old 22-03-2011, 21:43
brangdon
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In any case, my point was that many think that the iPhone ushered in a new era of smart phones when, aside of apps stores and touch screens, it had all been down before and was/is pretty well understood.
We had touch screens, too.

All Apple was sprinkle some Apple dust on it.
They improved the design and ease of use. This goes beyond aesthetics or fashion. It's really important, the difference between something getting used and it not getting used. I don't under-rate its value.

However, the original claim that "Without the iPhone we would not have all the other smartphones to choose from today" is I think manifestly wrong.
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Old 22-03-2011, 21:53
grumpyoldbat
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I think the point is more that without the iTunes App Store, we wouldn't have the ease of use of apps we have today and it's unlikely we would have had the wide mainstream use of smartphones that we now have. There had been lots and lots of smartphones before the iPhone. What Apple did differently is made them seem easy enough for non-geeks to use.
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Old 22-03-2011, 22:33
goomba
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I think the point is more that without the iTunes App Store, we wouldn't have the ease of use of apps we have today and it's unlikely we would have had the wide mainstream use of smartphones that we now have. There had been lots and lots of smartphones before the iPhone. What Apple did differently is made them seem easy enough for non-geeks to use.
I don't think the app store made the iPhone. People were going nuts about it well before Apple even did apps. It is easy to forget that the app store didn't come along until a whole year after the iPhone was launched. Before that Apple didn't let you install any apps.
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Old 22-03-2011, 23:30
IslandNiles
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I don't think the app store made the iPhone. People were going nuts about it well before Apple even did apps. It is easy to forget that the app store didn't come along until a whole year after the iPhone was launched. Before that Apple didn't let you install any apps.
Before the iPhone, Apple had already made the MP3 player cool. I'm certainly not saying the iPod was the first, or even the best, but it was the one that made them desirable for the masses. Something that was easy to use, attractive to look at, and that people actually wanted to own. The iPod touch only enhanced that. So when the iPhone came along, here was an ideal solution for many people. The desirability of the iPod touch with the additional feature of it being a phone as well.
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Old 23-03-2011, 10:22
goomba
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The iPod touch only enhanced that. So when the iPhone came along, here was an ideal solution for many people. The desirability of the iPod touch with the additional feature of it being a phone as well.
The iPhone was launched before the iPod Touch.
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Old 23-03-2011, 10:37
IslandNiles
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The iPhone was launched before the iPod Touch.
Really? Well, I stand corrected. However, Apple had already established itself as a desirable brand in the MP3 player market and so it was easy to see where their massive user base for the iPhone would come from.
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Old 23-03-2011, 14:20
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Old 23-03-2011, 14:22
DotNetWill
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I think the point is more that without the iTunes App Store, we wouldn't have the ease of use of apps we have today and it's unlikely we would have had the wide mainstream use of smartphones that we now have. There had been lots and lots of smartphones before the iPhone. What Apple did differently is made them seem easy enough for non-geeks to use.
The idea of an app store wasn't a new one they were just the first to do it on a phone. IMO someone would have done it sooner or later.
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Old 23-03-2011, 15:34
spoonfulofsense
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Can't believe people are giving Apple credit for making apps easier to use/install. Of course Apple did that because it's in their financial interest!!!

On My N95 I never paid for a single app, in fact the idea of paying for a few lines of code (phone apps are hardly complicated programs) was alien to me.

Apple made usung apps easier but at the same time made sure nearly all of them had to be paid for and that they're appstore was the only way to get it.

It's like crediting Tescos for making bread easier to buy whilst ignoring all the bakers who were selling it cheaper and have now closed down. Only it's worse than that because once you'd bought a Tesco bred bin you couldn't buy bread from another supermarket even if you wanted to.
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Old 23-03-2011, 15:47
IslandNiles
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Can't believe people are giving Apple credit for making apps easier to use/install. Of course Apple did that because it's in their financial interest!!!
Of course. They saw apps as a revenue stream, a way to make money. All companies look for ways of making a profit. Nobody's said they created the App Store to make apps and smartphones more accessible for everyone on all different platforms. But that has been a byproduct.

On My N95 I never paid for a single app, in fact the idea of paying for a few lines of code (phone apps are hardly complicated programs) was alien to me.

Apple made usung apps easier but at the same time made sure nearly all of them had to be paid for and that they're appstore was the only way to get it.
There are many, many free apps on the App Store. That said, I agree with your argument about competition. One of my concerns about digital distribution (be it the App Store, Amazon Kindle, PSN or XBox Live) is that there's no price competition because the product is only available from one source.

It's like crediting Tescos for making bread easier to buy whilst ignoring all the bakers who were selling it cheaper and have now closed down. Only it's worse than that because once you'd bought a Tesco bred bin you couldn't buy bread from another supermarket even if you wanted to.
I think the supermarket analogy works better if apps are thought of as all different products, because they serve all kinds of purposes. So it really depends on your point of view. Perhaps the supermarket has driven lots of small shops out of business, and whether it's cheaper is questionable, but it's hard to deny that it's more convenient to have all the products in one place to choose from.
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Old 24-03-2011, 18:17
Gary Glimmer
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I think the supermarket analogy works better if apps are thought of as all different products, because they serve all kinds of purposes. So it really depends on your point of view. Perhaps the supermarket has driven lots of small shops out of business, and whether it's cheaper is questionable, but it's hard to deny that it's more convenient to have all the products in one place to choose from.
So lack of choice is better and being tied to only one app store is good? And have to be forced to used itunes to do anything with it? I'd hate to be so restricted and told what to use, let alone pay two or three times what the product is worth just because they have a monopoly on their product and the marketing people/brain washers say so.

I know if i'd been duped into buying something for £600 i'd be on here trying to justify it to all who listen too. lol
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Old 24-03-2011, 18:26
Gormond
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I know if i'd been duped into buying something for £600 i'd be on here trying to justify it to all who listen too. lol
SIM free the iPhone is similarly priced to other handsets and with contract you wont pay £600 for it.
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Old 24-03-2011, 18:36
rwould
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I don't think the app store made the iPhone. People were going nuts about it well before Apple even did apps. It is easy to forget that the app store didn't come along until a whole year after the iPhone was launched. Before that Apple didn't let you install any apps.
A tad misleading. You could download things onto the IPhone through ITunes prior to the setting up formally of the App Store.
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Old 24-03-2011, 18:39
rwould
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I know if i'd been duped into buying something for £600 i'd be on here trying to justify it to all who listen too. lol
Whilst I do think IPhones have resulted in a mass overpriced phone market you can't claim that all their users have been duped. More the opposite, IPhone users tend to be very satisfied with their phones and not feel ripped off.

Surely in any consumer product consumer satisfaction should be a primary goal and Apple certainly achieve that.
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Old 24-03-2011, 18:39
Gary Glimmer
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SIM free the iPhone is similarly priced to other handsets and with contract you wont pay £600 for it.
lol, you know what £45 x 24 comes to?
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Old 24-03-2011, 21:44
IslandNiles
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So lack of choice is better and being tied to only one app store is good? And have to be forced to used itunes to do anything with it? I'd hate to be so restricted and told what to use, let alone pay two or three times what the product is worth just because they have a monopoly on their product and the marketing people/brain washers say so.
Nope, I wasn't saying that. I was making a point about convenience. Of course apps were available before the App Store, but by creating the App Store, Apple made them more easily accessible for people. Not through altruistic means - I never said that. The point was about how the App Store had changed how people used smartphones and got the ordinary person on the street downloading and using apps.

That said, I agree with you that lack of competition is a bad thing. It's one of the dangers of digital distribution, particularly on a closed platform.

I know if i'd been duped into buying something for £600 i'd be on here trying to justify it to all who listen too. lol
It always makes me laugh when people try to raise points like this. People who own Apple products are stupid or have been duped or brainwashed, like they've joined a cult. They can't possibly have done research and made a decision about what best suits their needs, like anyone else buying a phone or gadget.
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Old 24-03-2011, 22:11
Gormond
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lol, you know what £45 x 24 comes to?
Yeah and for that on O2 you get 1200 mins, unlimited texts with Wi-Fi and internet bolt ons which would cost you £35 atleast on Simplicity.
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Old 25-03-2011, 14:13
Gary Glimmer
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Yeah and for that on O2 you get 1200 mins, unlimited texts with Wi-Fi and internet bolt ons which would cost you £35 atleast on Simplicity.
But again, you're forced into this. You think everyone needs all that? No. But.. you have no choice.

Apple = Get what you're told cos we have a monopoly and you have no say.

Look at the shiny shiny lol..
Baa..
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Old 25-03-2011, 14:20
TheBigM
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Yeah and for that on O2 you get 1200 mins, unlimited texts with Wi-Fi and internet bolt ons which would cost you £35 atleast on Simplicity.
Then O2 is overpriced. £69 + £35pm for iPhone4 on 3's One Plan. 2000 mins, 5000 texts and AYCE data which allows tethering
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Old 26-03-2011, 18:22
KAC
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But again, you're forced into this. You think everyone needs all that? No. But.. you have no choice.

Apple = Get what you're told cos we have a monopoly and you have no say.
A monopoly on what? I look forward to reading your evidence.
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Old 26-03-2011, 18:53
Gormond
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Then O2 is overpriced. £69 + £35pm for iPhone4 on 3's One Plan. 2000 mins, 5000 texts and AYCE data which allows tethering
O2 has a better network where I live though so wan't an option for me, but I agree with you that's a much better deal.

Come my upgrade i'm gonna go with who ever throws in tethering as I wouldn't wanna pay for a separate plan for my iPad or laptop.
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Old 26-03-2011, 18:54
Gormond
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A monopoly on what? I look forward to reading your evidence.
Certainly not the phone market, as far as I know Nokia still has the largest share there.
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