Topic: Calling all Apple fans! (iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc.)

[Sarail]

I'm a bit of a disgruntled Apple fan as of late, as those who follow me on Twitter know.

I'm quite upset with the iOS 6 update concerning the iPhone 4, and I don't feel that all of the actual iPhone 5 adjustments (I refuse to call them advancements) warrant upgrading to that phone. There's no reason in the world why the 4 couldn't have gotten at least the 3D flyover navigation in Maps, or even the panorama capabilities, too. Turn-by-turn, I can see...sort of. That requires voice, and Siri was never part of the 4 to begin with. Though, can Siri work on a 4?

Anyway, all of this nonsense is really making me want to switch OSes. And Lindy and Ceric are really pushing me to go Windows Phone - the Lumia 920 does look awesome. But I'm also seriously considering the Galaxy S III because, well... Android is Google, and I've really immersed myself into Google's whole schematic within the past year. So this is a tough decision for me.

SO. As an Apple fan, why should I stay? Why should I upgrade to an iPhone 5? I want logical reasons for doing so, because right now... Apple's iOS is looking quite bland.

[tendoboy1984]

I'm a bit of a disgruntled Apple fan as of late, as those who follow me on Twitter know.

I'm quite upset with the iOS 6 update concerning the iPhone 4, and I don't feel that all of the actual iPhone 5 adjustments (I refuse to call them advancements) warrant upgrading to that phone. There's no reason in the world why the 4 couldn't have gotten at least the 3D flyover navigation in Maps, or even the panorama capabilities, too. Turn-by-turn, I can see...sort of. That requires voice, and Siri was never part of the 4 to begin with. Though, can Siri work on a 4?

Anyway, all of this nonsense is really making me want to switch OSes. And Lindy and Ceric are really pushing me to go Windows Phone - the Lumia 920 does look awesome. But I'm also seriously considering the Galaxy S III because, well... Android is Google, and I've really immersed myself into Google's whole schematic within the past year. So this is a tough decision for me. :

SO. As an Apple fan, why should I stay? Why should I upgrade to an iPhone 5? I want logical reasons for doing so, because right now... Apple's iOS is looking quite bland.

iTunes and GarageBand? I can't think of any reason to stay with Apple, really.


You'd get a better experience with Android, one that is more customizable. The Google ecosystem is better than Apple's, and having Google Docs built-in for document creation is great. The only downside is that software updates are rather sporadic; Samsung devices and Google's own Nexus devices take precedence over other manufacturers. I really want to get a Google Nexus 7 tablet, but those reports of hardware defects are making me reconsider...


Windows Phone is a very smooth OS that hardly has any "crashes", and the whole interface is designed around social connectivity and cloud storage (Ex.: all your photos and videos are stored on SkyDrive). My girlfriend has a Windows Phone and loves it. No crashing apps, a smooth and fluid OS with a unique interface, native cloud storage with SkyDrive. It's a great product.

[BranDonk Kong]

Windows Phone is nice and sleek - but you would very much in the minority if you went with Windows at this time. I don't know how much that matters, but you'd be making an investment (kind of) in a mobile OS that is constantly shrinking.

The Panorama "feature" in iOS6 is nice...but my Samsung Omnia (Windows Mobile) from almost 4 years ago did panoramic photos, and my DROID RAZR has always had this "feature" as well.

[tendoboy1984]

Everyone who thinks Microsoft can't turn things around with Windows Phone needs to look at the bigger picture. Windows 8 (PC) and Windows Phone 8 are coming out next month, and Microsoft is going full force with integrating the two OS's; they're bringing native cloud support via SkyDrive, with cross-compatible apps and games. Complete integration is the key here. It's like iOS and Mac OS X all over again.

And there have been plenty of instances where a product (or company) that was deemed unsaveable managed to turn around and become a success. See Apple, the PS3, and the Xbox brand, for instance.

- Apple was on the verge of death before Steve Jobs returned to head the company. When they released the iMac and iPod, the company's fortunes, marketshare, and profits improved dramatically.

- The PS3 was being shunned by developers and gamers due to it's high launch price, and it took the redesigned PS3 Slim and a new $400 price to improve its sales.

- The original Xbox was a niche console with a small, yet dedicated fanbase. Xbox Live and Halo kept it alive during it's relatively short 4 1/2 year lifespan. Luckily, Microsoft had the money to burn, and they managed to turn things around with the Xbox 360, which became the de-facto standard for console developers.

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't think anyone here's saying Microsoft can't turn it around with Windows Phone, just that they've given no real indication that they're going to anytime soon. Just because it can happen doesn't mean it will. I also think a lot of people are upset at Microsoft's apparent strategy of crippling their desktop OS in order to support their mobile one.

[Adrock]

See Apple, the PS3, and the Xbox brand, for instance.=

Apple is the only 1 of the 3 that reversed their fortunes without burning money. When Steve Jobs returned, he reduced Apple's product line down to 4. He saved Apple by saving money and making smart deals. If anyone is skeptical of Microsoft, it's probably because, like Sony, they've been known to try to solve problems by throwing money at it. It can work (to a certain degree), but there's no guarantee that it will.

[tendoboy1984]

See Apple, the PS3, and the Xbox brand, for instance.=

Apple is the only 1 of the 3 that reversed their fortunes without burning money. When Steve Jobs returned, he reduced Apple's product line down to 4. He saved Apple by saving money and making smart deals. If anyone is skeptical of Microsoft, it's probably because, like Sony, they've been known to try to solve problems by throwing money at it. It can work (to a certain degree), but there's no guarantee that it will.

So Apple is a lot like Nintendo in that regard. They both love saving money by cutting costs, which in turn makes them money.


Microsoft and Sony could learn from them, but both companies are too set in their ways to change, I assume.

[BranDonk Kong]

I honestly do not believe for one second that Microsoft CAN turn it around with Windows Phone. Their market share shrinks every month, just like RIM's. They need something completely different in order to win people over (as in a completely new OS). It's not like Apple was releasing old iOS phones and then they finally released the iPhone and "got it right" and people started buying them. You have to start strong, just like iOS and Android. They both get more customers every day, while every other OS loses market share. Windows Phone has 1.3% of the market (according to Q2 2012 stats) - to put that into perspective, Windows Mobile (which has been defunct for a couple of years) has 3%.

[MegaByte]

Apple is not stopping Google from releasing iOS apps, they are just not gonna have Google Maps or YouTube pre-installed anymore (Google released a separate YouTube app last week, though they don't appear to have plans for a separate Google Maps app).

Or do they?

[Sarail]

I love how Tendoboy has once again derailed a thread, and I once again don't get legitimate reasons for deciding which OS route to go.

Thanks, broski.

[Adrock]

I love how Tendoboy has once again derailed a thread, and I once again don't get legitimate reasons for deciding which OS route to go.

Lulz. To be at least mildly fair, it was his thread to derail.

The only legitimate reasons are your own. Deciding which OS route to go is entirely dependent on what your needs are. I could pretty much go with any of them. I just like going on the internet and they all pretty much do that well, even RIM is getting there. I don't think many people chose an iPhone for the reasons I did, but that's what made it the right choice for me.

[Sarail]

Very true, Adrock. I suppose what I'm looking for then are valued opinions on why a person chose what he/she chose. I'm this close to going with the Galaxy S III, but now I'm hearing that a new Nexus phone may be coming shortly.

Also, Lindy and Ceric are really pushing WP8. And it looks very enticing. Ahhhh... I'm undecided!

[tendoboy1984]

I love how Tendoboy has once again derailed a thread, and I once again don't get legitimate reasons for deciding which OS route to go.

Thanks, broski.

This thread is about Apple and their products, and that's what I've been discussing. I already gave you the pros and cons of the different OS's in an earlier post.

[Sarail]

I realise that this isn't a real time conversation, but you DID steer the conversation in a new direction after my post. Thus, you derailed the thread...sort of hindering others from... oh, you know what?

Screw it. Go eat a banana. G'day.

[nickmitch]

I'm sticking with Apple because I'm lazy. Keeping my music in the iCloud is easier than moving it to Google. More customization in Android is nice, but I wouldn't spend enough time fiddling with it to make use of it. I've never seen anyone use NFC features from a phone in real life, so that means nothing to me.

Hope that helps.

[NWR_insanolord]

You can get most of the customization of Android in iOS via jailbreak, which I highly recommend. It'd be hard to go back to not having some of the Cydia tweaks I've got installed.

[Oblivion]

Too bad that my battery has been **** ever since I simply installed it.

[tendoboy1984]

Yeah I don't give a **** about hacking. Nintendo, Apple, Microsoft, Sony, are all against it. If you guys want to "stick it to the big bad corporations" then go ahead. Sure customization is nice, but that's what Android is for. No need to tweak your devices just to get features that will come in an official update later on.

You guys have unofficially gotten stuff earlier that Apple recently added in iOS6, but what's wrong with being patient and waiting for an official update?

[NWR_insanolord]

For the record, I have never used my iPhone jailbreak for piracy or anything illegal. I just like some of the tweaks that you can do that way. I don't see why I should wait for an official update that may never come to get some simple improvements that aren't hurting anyone.

[TJ Spyke]

I may consider getting Cydia, one of the appealing features I have read is the ability to get rid of the annoying "Other" space taking up precious space on my iPod Touch (currently it fills 820 MB, i've had it up to 1.5GB).

[nickmitch]

You can get most of the customization of Android in iOS via jailbreak, which I highly recommend. It'd be hard to go back to not having some of the Cydia tweaks I've got installed.

True. I had mine jailbroken for a while, but I got tired of keeping up with the updates.

[Oblivion]

For some reason, that Jailbreaking actually made my "Other space" go up past 2 GB.

[tendoboy1984]

What exactly is that "Other" space reserved for?

[Oblivion]

Apparently some kind of system process. However, I have the 8GB iTouch (which is actually only around 6.4, ugh) and all that Other space really ticks me off. Plus, even after I reset my iTouch, the battery life is still absolute crap. No way to replace it either, since jailbreaking void the warranty.


Oh well, time to save up for an iTouch 5G?

[NWR_insanolord]

If you wipe the device and restore it from a backup there's no trace of the jailbreak, so while they say it voids your warranty there's really no way for them to know it was jailbroken if you did that. I got a warranty repair on my iPhone that was jailbroken right up until I sent it in. They even tell you to erase the device before you send it in.