Sweating and Swiping

http://www.thenortherneronline.com/2012/11/13/are-the-new-generation-apple-products-worth-the-money/

http://technoholik.com/media/content/2012/Sep/ipod-nano-new-post.jpg

With the introduction of the iPad mini, the corresponding release of the seventh generation iPod Nano is often overlooked.  To remind you:

“Now that the new 7^th generation iPod Nano has been released, it seems to have mixed both aspects of the 5^th and 6^th generation Nano bringing back the video playback but not including the camera the 5^th generation had.  Since the 5^th generation iPod Nano was released, it seems as though Apple had fit the most features into the Nano with a decent size capacity of 16 gigabytes.  But over time it seems Apple had gotten obsessed with the touch screen feature which in turn got in the way of the more appealing aspects such as the camera that the 5^th generation had.  When it comes to purchasing the new 7^th generation iPod Nano, it seems it would be a good buy with a price of $150.  But if you are thinking about trading in your 5^th generation Nano for the 7^th, that may not be a reasonable deal.  Especially if you enjoy the camera the 5^th generation has.”

Though the whole of this excerpt is informative, I wish to further its one sassy comment:  Apple is obsessed with touch screens.

What do I think of touch screens?  My entrancing analysis:

On a tablet?  Sensible.  On a phone?  Tedious.  On a music player?  Dopey.

What do you do with your music player?  If you’re like me, you bring it to the gym.  While you tire on the treadmill, you listen to those boisterous tunes that inspire your workout and aid you as you attempt another mile.

Riddle me this:  What is one act performed by all exercising individuals, regardless of their distaste for this unseemly human function?  Said succinctly and tactlessly, humankind sweats.  If you’re like me (and all of my breathing peers), you also sweat.

What’s my point?  The last thing I want to do while gasping on a treadmill is fumble with a miniscule screen to avoid smudging it with my overly moist grasp.  I’m weary, I’m irritable, and I’m not in the mood to smear my pricey gadget as I swipe to a new song.

I cannot stop wondering…  Has Apple performed market research that [wrongly] confirms our enthusiasm for touchscreens?  Am I the only one who prefers the original iPod dial?  Do users authentically enjoy touchscreens enough to justify Apple’s integration of this feature into EVERY device?

My hope:  That my current iPod lives forever so I can avoid the unpleasantly sticky practice of sweating and swiping.

Apples and Berries

http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/14/heres-a-blackberry-10-device-next-to-an-iphone-5/

Remember BlackBerries?  The devices that were firmly and not-so-clandestinely clutched by self-important businessmen and college students?  Though they never confirmedly left, their obsolescence and resultant obscurity were such that it is appropriate to newly sing, “They’re back!”

“RIM is launching BlackBerry 10 in February 2013 with several devices.  Little is known about these handsets but the pic here shows the touchscreen model next to an iPhone 5.  Tantalizing, I know.

“Draw your own conclusions but what we’re looking at is a device that looks a lot like a Droid X/X2.  It appears to be a little wider than the iPhone 5, which is encased in a bumper here.  Unfortunately the screen is not turned on so a snap judgment cannot be made about the future of RIM based on the low resolution picture.”

My current quandary:  Can any device, however unexpectedly inventive or clever or pioneering, ever sparkle when placed next to a gadget stamped with the trademarked nibbled apple?  Will we recognize imaginative genius when it is offered to us, given our present iProduct mania?

When we permit a few more of the specifically technology-based droplets to evaporate from this puddle of queries, we recognize that this is simply a matter of individual pluck and point of view.  Is man confident enough to advocate a contrary concept?  To defend an unpopular option?  To embrace the obscure?  To trust his preferences and dismiss the viewpoint of the masses?

I await the release of the BlackBerry 10.  My hope is that the device boasts solid hardware that shifts the loyalties of Apple users.  Why?  Not because I wish to hasten the decline of the iPhone, but rather because I am eager to observe the potentially original but likely conforming actions of my peers.

As a reader, you’re lucky, as I’m offering you notice of my impending social experiment (hee hee hee).

The In-Between iPad

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/10/03/ipad-mini-competitors/

Though an absurd quantity of Americans possess at least one and possibly twenty Apple products, the company has elected to expand its market by introducing a 7.85 inch tablet.  Surprise, surprise.

With this smaller product, Apple will compete with similarly mini tablets including the seven inch Kindle fire, the seven and nine inch Nook tablets, the seven inch Google tablet, and the seven inch Samsung Galaxy tablet.  These devices range in price from $159 to $500.

My first reaction pertains to the usefulness of this product.  The 7.85 inch size is a compromise between the 4.87 inch iPhone and the 9.5 inch iPad.  The new tablet will be too large for pocket transportation but, arguably, too small for legitimate, daily convenience.  An appealing price point, however, will likely override any customer misgivings.

 Though I question the practicality of this device, I do not underestimate the enormous sales Apple will enjoy with its release.  My current theory is that consumers purchase such tablets as the Nook and Kindle Fire to avoid the high prices of Apple products.  If Apple releases this new iPad at a price that competes with popular small-size tablets, buyers will likely opt for the tested Apple technology.

Moreover, Apple loyalists will purchase this mini iPad within months of its release, even if they already own a normal-size iPad.  How do I know this?  Somehow, Apple lovers always manage to justify/ find a use for each new Apple product.  They simply worship Apple and employ no restraint when the company’s latest sleek creations reach markets.  Cost and utility are immaterial to the allegiance of Apple fanatics.

Overall, Apple’s new tablet will be big…even though it’s small.

If a smartphone rings in Uruguay...

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/a-firefox-smartphone-for-the-poor/?ref=technology

The cited article is an intriguing one, as it addresses Mozilla’s mission to release a mobile operating system for smartphones, which it will market to the developing world.

Apple and Google phones are too pricy for these technologically evolving populations, resulting in a tantalizingly uncrowded market.

Mozilla hopes to price its Firefox models between $100 and $115, or “one-third to one-sixth the cost of the competition.”

In terms of the phones’ capabilities, they will offer “the middle of the high end of the feature set,” boasting touch screens, cameras, accelerometers, and Firefox browsers.

Though China advertises cheaper smartphones in the developing world, their $70 models offer miniscule screens and outdated software, marking them as inferior products.

Though my face adopts an unattractive soured expression when I think of the looming contamination of beautiful cultures by the corrosive, pernicious, homogenizing effects of technology, I cannot deny the brilliance of Mozilla’s plan.  Indeed, marketing smartphones to struggling individuals who covet modernity and global significance constitutes a tactical triumph.

Because Mozilla cannot advance a product that rivals those of Apple and Google, it is logical for the company to pursue a business model that does not crave technological excellence, but instead seeks impressively widespread distribution.  Indeed, Mozilla realizes that Apple and Google are inaccessible to developing populations and chooses to market to those nations.

Two things I will never cease to appreciate are simplicity and cleverness.  Kudos to Mozilla for cultivating a plan that boasts both.