Phone, Tablet and Gizmo Thread #0x02

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Sep 2013 21:54

clear pic of the upcoming nexus5
http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/03/goog ... exus-leak/

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 13 Sep 2013 00:56

Apple Unveils Panicked Man With No Ideas

CUPERTINO, CA—At a highly anticipated press event at its Silicon Valley headquarters Tuesday afternoon, tech giant Apple officially unveiled to the public a panicked and completely idea-free man.

The white, ultrathin man, who exhibited such features as artificial excitement, a fully quavering voice, and what appeared to be a near total lack of inspiration, was put on full display for thousands of shareholders, industry insiders, reporters, and fans today in what Apple hopes will be a game-changer for the multinational corporation.

“This is the future of Apple,” announced the lightweight, 75-inch desperate man while being presented on stage. “We are indeed staking our company’s reputation on what you see here on this stage. And as always with Apple, you are getting a glimpse of the entire tech industry’s future today.”

“Our customers expect the best products from Apple, and that is what we will continue to deliver,” continued the feckless man, offering a tedious, innovation-free display and a high rate of perspiration.

The rest of the article is at the link

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 13 Sep 2013 02:32

Singha wrote:>> Glamour? What Glamour? Only in the Bay Area, do geeks think working in some cool engineering job is glamorous.

this about it from outside the box
- big salary, accord for a start, nice apartment with running hotwater, all the latest stuff
- enough free cash flow to buy up all latest gadgets - every year
- enough money to on nice vacations and weekend outings
- drinks are cheap and plentiful
- well developed touristy and hobby infra
- good savings if one is DINK/SINK ie no kids to bring up
- cash to provide parents and go home with nice gifts
- getting to work on the earliest trendy stuff

think about it from POV of a guy stuck on a bike in the ORR negotiating the next pothole or sweating it out in chennai .... he will have to put in the same damaging hours to survive here anyway but take away the day to day hassles and add that thick layer of malai I outlined above. a kid cant even think of a 1020 toy here, there is available OTC for what $99 ? he could buy a sack of walnuts and almonds with no damage...here almonds and fresh fruit is so expensive I even have to carefully ration it to my kids
or think even further back to a upper middle class kid studying in college.

most of you are in massa/bay area why? surely not to plant the green/saffron flag or enjoy the fresh air there!
most of you despite the gripes hang out in the bay area forever why? why not live and work from say st.louis or talahasse?

+1.

KJo · Post by **KJo** » 13 Sep 2013 02:37

mahdi o mahdi wherefore art thou

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Sep 2013 07:12

and before the iSheep get their word in about the fingerprint sensor, let me quote TOI today that Moto had used it on some phone in 2011 and Sony had a scanner on a usb mem stick in 2003.

butofcourse if the tree fell in the forest and you didnt hear it fall, did it really fall?

falling too is a state of mind - erwin schrodinger/Farexbaba!

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 13 Sep 2013 07:37

^^^yes but but....did those fingerprint sensors have a quartz lens and a steel ring around them??? hain? hain?

We have fingerprint scanners on all the standard issue USB sticks provided to us for work purposes by KB.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 13 Sep 2013 08:03

eh..is this true?

when i first heard of scanner..i thought it will be useful for child locking or guest accounts...seems not so.

http://www.siliconbeat.com/2013/09/11/a ... one-wrong/

Touch ID does have one other feature right now besides allowing users to log into their phones. It can be used instead of a password to purchases in Apple’s iTunes and App stores. If you’re like me, and have a long password, there’s a lot of appeal to just using your thumbprint.

But wait, there’s a good chance that you won’t want to turn on the feature. That’s because if you turn it on, it’s accessible for all recognized users of the device. In other words, any fingerprint that can be used to log into the phone can also be used to make purchases in Apple’s stores — on your account.

That’s got to be one of the most ill-conceived features I’ve ever heard Apple come up with. Instead of enhancing security, it makes your iTunes accounts far less secure than they were previously.

My daughter, for example, has no idea what my password is for iTunes. But if she can log on to my phone with just her thumbprint, she can suddenly make purchases on my phone by just tapping her thumb again.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Sep 2013 09:14

so i thinking verizon is on a $130b purchase of vodafone shares and relieve future profit sharing could be long term risk, considering verizon may be overtaken say a sudden merger of sprint+att - example. wow!

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 13 Sep 2013 09:56

GB shares have shot up nicely making me a neat profit balle balle. FB is doing nicely too. Now only if Chacha starts paying dividends.

partha · Post by **partha** » 13 Sep 2013 12:28

Raja Bose wrote:GB shares have shot up nicely making me a neat profit balle balle. FB is doing nicely too. Now only if Chacha starts paying dividends.

Cool. When NOK went below 4 a couple of weeks back, I came so close to investing (one click away) but didn't muster enough courage

Only consolation is that my analysis was correct about NOK but it was not of much use though! Wondering whether I should invest now

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 13 Sep 2013 14:43

Singha wrote:and before the iSheep get their word in about the fingerprint sensor, let me quote TOI today that Moto had used it on some phone in 2011 and Sony had a scanner on a usb mem stick in 2003.

butofcourse if the tree fell in the forest and you didnt hear it fall, did it really fall?

Yes, My Moto Atrix had a finger print scanner and it worked very well. Not as glamorous as apple, but it got the job done.

hanumadu · Post by **hanumadu** » 13 Sep 2013 20:17

Raja Bose wrote:GB shares have shot up nicely making me a neat profit balle balle. FB is doing nicely too. Now only if Chacha starts paying dividends.

.
GB had greater potential with D&S. The downside was it could have run out of cash, though I think it was unlikely.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 14 Sep 2013 00:59

Google patents ‘Scroogling’

---

VicG strikes again

How Google+ killed Google's company-wide privacy effort

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 15 Sep 2013 09:19

Apparently GB and M$ had daggers drawn, with GB making an Android phone and M$ making a surface phone.

Though I am not sure how M$ making a surface phone is a threat to GB. M$ has never made a phone before -- assuming they can churn one out with good industrial design and features, they dont have a supply chain. Assuming they are able to make millions of it, they dont have a distribution network -- they have to sign numerous deals with carriers and retail Cos to carry their phone. Assuming they are able to strike distribution deals, they still have to market and sell them.

GB's phone hardware is very good. It is clear that it is the software that is holding back sales. When I say software is holding back sales, it could be technical or non-technical reasons: Could be lack of Apps, customers going with "familiar" and "safe" options of iOS/Android. Maybe users dont like the tile interface. Maybe the OS is not viewed to be as full featured as iOS or Android. Given GB's carrier agreements and ability to make top notch hardware the probability they could succeed with Android is far higher than M$ succeeding with a surface phone. They could have done something innovative -- like team up with Amazon and fork Android OS.

In other news, M$ releases ads Mocking iPhone's "lack of innovation" and then does a rapid downhill ski when it didnt hit the mark.
http://mashable.com/2013/09/14/microsof ... ne-parody/

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 15 Sep 2013 10:49

Actually all the GB carrier deals in massa were done by Mickey. After years of GB arrogance plus GB's refusal to sell anything but unlocked phones in massa, carriers in massa got so pissed off they wouldn't even talk to GB for MeeGo and later WP. So Mortullah, now you know why GB doesn't care about your persistent dream of selling unlocked phones in massa - they have been there, done that and learned a bitter lesson.

According to chaiwallahs, GB had done an Android phone much before it talked to Mickey as in it put the base Android OS on one of its HW platforms*. In fact it had approached Chacha first but after Chacha asked for an unacceptable pound of flesh, Uncle Fester took advantage of that and got GB squarely into the WP camp. GB could not have forked Android instead of either switching to Android proper thru OHA or going with WP - it neither had the time nor the money (both of which Amazon had).
--
*This was not the 1st time GB had done a Linux phone....they actually had a Linux variant of the N95 at one point.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 15 Sep 2013 11:33

Why would carriers be opposed to unlocked phones ? Locked or unlocked, it doesn't stop them from offering primarily costly post paid plans.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 15 Sep 2013 12:03

Suraj wrote:Why would carriers be opposed to unlocked phones ? Locked or unlocked, it doesn't stop them from offering primarily costly post paid plans.

they will run to prepaid providers that are cheaper?

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 15 Sep 2013 12:11

Only the big-4 have decent coverage nationwide, and even among them, VZ leads with AT&T behind. It would seem sufficient for them to informally cartelize the business and offer primarily post-paid deals , or expensive pre-paid ones, while keeping the smaller MVNOs marginalized. I didn't get why they would be so upset with Gumboot offering unlocked phones.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 15 Sep 2013 19:17

Raja Bose wrote:Actually all the GB carrier deals in massa were done by Mickey. After years of GB arrogance plus GB's refusal to sell anything but unlocked phones in massa, carriers in massa got so pissed off they wouldn't even talk to GB for MeeGo and later WP. So Mortullah, now you know why GB doesn't care about your persistent dream of selling unlocked phones in massa - they have been there, done that and learned a bitter lesson.

Actually TMO has now separated the billing for actual service and the actual cost of the subsidized phone. If you bring your own unlocked phone or have paid off the subsidy, your rate remains low. They are gaining customers now. According to the CEO John Legare, the next phase will be to sell unlocked phones to TMO customers. That is, no carrier bloat ware and you get the phone as manufacturer intended it.

Two lines with unlimited talk & text: $80
Each additional line with unlimited talk & text: $10
Data of 500 MB/month per line: free
Additional data of 2 GB/month per line: $10
or unlimited data per line: $20

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 15 Sep 2013 21:32

^^^exactly the change has to come from carriers, dont expect the device maker to do it. Dont forget the massive tamacha Chacha got in 2009 when it tried to do the whole unlocked business and claimed it was revolutionary (weird since GB had been doing it for many years before). After the incident the carriers made Chacha GUBO and all pious promised of looking out for OHA device manufacturers went out of the window and hence today only those who have independent muscle like Sammy can somewhat dictate some terms to the carriers. Rest are at the tender mercies of the carriers.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 16 Sep 2013 03:49

Raja Bose wrote:... today only those who have independent muscle like Sammy can somewhat dictate some terms to the carriers. Rest are at the tender mercies of the carriers.

Nope. Even Sammy can't. Android updates to Sammy phones still come much later to the US than the international market. That too, every carrier gets them at different times, because each carrier's model is slightly different inside. Carrier bloatware is also common on Sammy phones which you can't get rid off till you root it. Sammy is in the same boat as everyone else. Which is why it is even more surprising that they sell so many more phones than the others.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 16 Sep 2013 08:47

^^^They get some leeway during the approval process in the type of HW they put in for the carrier branded phones. Others don't even get that luxury. Carriers are the ultimate evil in the US telecom industry.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Sep 2013 09:34

sounds like a pack of goondas who control a "territory" under police/govt patronage and want a cut on every deal that goes down.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 16 Sep 2013 09:38

nachiket wrote:
Raja Bose wrote:... today only those who have independent muscle like Sammy can somewhat dictate some terms to the carriers. Rest are at the tender mercies of the carriers.
Nope. Even Sammy can't. Android updates to Sammy phones still come much later to the US than the international market. That too, every carrier gets them at different times, because each carrier's model is slightly different inside. Carrier bloatware is also common on Sammy phones which you can't get rid off till you root it. Sammy is in the same boat as everyone else. Which is why it is even more surprising that they sell so many more phones than the others.

The premier phones of the Galaxy S and Note series hit at the same time world wide. Carrier bloatware is there and hopefully TMO can lead the way out of this mess and present the phone just as Sammy intended it.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 16 Sep 2013 09:43

More nonsense from MSFT.
Microsoft removes cringe-worthy videos, says they were intended to be ‘light-hearted poke’ at Apple (Update)

And this is what happens when a once great company is taken over by MSFT. More stupid stuff like "scroogled" instead of pointing out their own strengths in design, build quality and functionality. Nope it's brought to us by the same folks who brought the BSD.

This proves the point that MSFT can not be trusted.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 16 Sep 2013 10:13

^^^Which for-profit wall street traded company can be trusted?

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 16 Sep 2013 10:16

Mort Walker wrote: The premier phones of the Galaxy S and Note series hit at the same time world wide.

I'm talking about the OS updates, not the phones themselves. US customers always get them after the international customers do since each carrier wants to dick around with the new release and introduce more bugs.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 16 Sep 2013 10:19

The branding approach of M$ actually puzzles me. Instead of doing warm fuzzy ads with indie bakers smiling and kids running around clutching a windows Phone/Tablet, A black guy, a chinese motorma and a while guy all drinking coffee and checking email on their windows phunwa -- they come out with these nonsensical comparison ads and dissing their competitors.

This works only if (a) The brand and sales itself is strong -- so there are a bunch of loyal fanbois to cheer on (b) The ads are well made and really funny -- so fence sitters can laugh. A good example is "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" ads. Sammy's ads against FruitCo is only partially successful. Though sales are high, the brand is not as aspirational as iPhone, neither were the ads funny.

M$ is weak in both these aspects. Their sales are not strong and neither are the ads funny. So they just come across as mean spirited crybabies who are upset that they arent selling anything and are intent on convincing everyone "We are shitty, so are our competitors!" Which only serves to reinforce (a) They are shitty (b) They are mean.

I want to see stand-alone ads on what value M$ brings to the table for consumers.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 17 Sep 2013 05:03

^^^At least thankfully they are not promoting the murder of puppies like Sammy

The new ads are crap.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 17 Sep 2013 07:17

^^^The only good ad that MSFT had was the wedding scene where Android users were on one side and Apple users on the other and ended up fighting. The only people using WP were the waiters. Which is a metaphor for real life.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 17 Sep 2013 07:24

^^^Android is the iPhunwa of the poor sire, not WP

Its not a coincidence that Sammy designed their smartphunwas to look like the iPhunwa. It was a smart move.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 17 Sep 2013 12:03

looking to upgrade from ip4.

not impressed on i5s, based on my limited reading of reviews.

What are my options - HTC 1? S4? Moto X?

i browse a lot, moderate email use, casual time pass games. don't want too many bloatware / features that have too much learning and only sporadic use. i guess that leaves S4 out.

anything else i should be looking for? don't want to jump to WP for now.

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 17 Sep 2013 12:11

Gus ji,
Looks like you are in market for a top end phonewa...

If you have time suggest to wait till Nexus 5 - launch may be in October. Battery savings in each successive iteration is these days too good to pass up.

Else S4 Nexus edition (its vanilla android and has no bloatware).
HTC one is weak in battery and camera

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 17 Sep 2013 16:50

Is the battery worse than ip4? Currently it lasts a day for moderate usage or maybe I am trained on my usage to fit the current battery life. If should not be worse than that.

Camera - a decent one is fine. Again something on par with my current phone is fine.

negi · Post by **negi** » 17 Sep 2013 18:27

^ What's your budget ? If it is above 30k then might as well upgrade to 5C someone coming from Massa can buy it for you. Apple supports it's products for far more longer time than anyone see even iOS7 will be supported on your iPhone4 I am telling you if your phone is working fine then why even upgrade ? If your budget is in 20s then your options are Nexus, GS III and HTC1 . Personally I would suggest you jump to WP I recently bought Lumia 820 for GHQ because I for some reason do not like the Android interface.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Sep 2013 20:08

yes dump the sikular biryani and go for pure veg lumia 920 maybe...beast of a phone for sure.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 17 Sep 2013 20:54

me goin to massa onsite for current project. company bahadur pays ph bill and I pay only the subsidized cost.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 17 Sep 2013 22:31

Gus wrote:me goin to massa onsite for current project. company bahadur pays ph bill and I pay only the subsidized cost.

See if you can lay your hands on the Google Edition of the HTC One. If you're comfortable with Android, it is the best phone out there. The regular version is good too.

negi · Post by **negi** » 18 Sep 2013 00:04

Gus sir then it is a no brainer if you have been a iOS user you will not like Android at least I do not , I like WP far better. You are going to massa so iPhone will cost you at least 5k or more lesser there . I use my phones until they stop working which means a minimum of 3-4 years so the 10k cost difference between say a Samsung GSIII and a iPhone 5C will not matter when 2 or so years down the line GSIII will not be able to run the then released version of the Android however that will not be the case with the iPhone. Look at Galaxy S it was released at the same time as iPhone4 and it could not even receive the Android 4.x update but iPhone4 will get the iOS7. Same could happen 2/3 years down the line with GSIII.

Moreover just to let you know Samsung has this irritating policy of rolling out updates for it's devices in descending order of the year they were released in so Galaxy SII users will get the Android's latest release after several months behind the GS III users

If you are going Android then go with Google Nexus or other option is if you are geeky then remove the crapware loaded by likes of Samsung and HTC and load stock Android but iirc that voids the warranty so every time you go to the dealer to claim the warranty you will have to reload their crapware back (my friend does this all the time with his HTC 1).

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 18 Sep 2013 00:51

^^That's why I mentioned the Google edition of the HTC One. It comes with stock Android (same as on the Nexus devices but with better hardware). No carrier bloatware, no TouchWiz/Sense stupidity, more free space, better speed and battery life and quicker updates. Stock Android is actually a really good OS. Even better than the current version of iOS, I would say. Too bad it is available in so few devices, and none of them subsidized.