OT: I-Phone 6/All Cell Phones

[For Waukee]

Speaking of Apple, I'm in the market for a laptop and have always liked Apple products. Anyone have an opinion on the MacBook? How does it fare against the many PC notebook options out there? Thanks


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[Ill-yasova]

Again, not an Apple Fanboi at all, haven't had an Apple product in many years but as someone who works in the financial industry, Apple Payments is going to be huge.

Apple rarely innovates. They take existing ideas and make them work better (not always).

I'm curious, I don't know much about Apple Payments but I use Google Wallet on a fairly regular basis. What are the differences?

[Zeezprah]

apple was the one that created the game. companies like samsung can rip on the iphone for "copying ideas", but ultimately the iphone was completely revolutionary.

agreed that apple takes some ideas and makes them better though. i think people sometimes mistake apple making sure features are very strong before releasing them with lagging behind.

i'm not even an apple fanboy either, but i've yet to find a phone that convinces me to switch (i ordered the 6). nothing i've played with or used short term is as smooth, and the touch screen is still the best.

sometimes simplistic is best.

not saying there's not other great phones, but don't be mistaken, even though iphone is the most mainstream, it still remains a top option.

[mattg]

apple was the one that created the game. companies like samsung can rip on the iphone for "copying ideas", but ultimately the iphone was completely revolutionary.

agreed that apple takes some ideas and makes them better though. i think people sometimes mistake apple making sure features are very strong before releasing them with lagging behind.

i'm not even an apple fanboy either, but i've yet to find a phone that convinces me to switch (i ordered the 6). nothing i've played with or used short term is as smooth, and the touch screen is still the best.

sometimes simplistic is best.

not saying there's not other great phones, but don't be mistaken, even though iphone is the most mainstream, it still remains a top option.

This is where I'm at. Every android phone I've used doesn't run as smooth as the iPhone. There's minor lag and choppiness when navigating between screens and IMO the layout comes across as 'busy'. App icons also don't look as good as they do on apple, they tend to look more kid-ish instead of crisp and sleek like they do on iOS. The main thing I also hear from diehard android fans who try to convince me apple sucks is rave about the customization options on their phones, which I understand. However, these people never seem to realize I have absolutely no need for that and would never use it, the stock options are good as it is on an iPhone and I don't need to tweak them. Plus, I get the vibe that the people who rave about customizing the hell out of their android smart phones don't actually change that much, despite what they say.

[crkone]

Again, not an Apple Fanboi at all, haven't had an Apple product in many years but as someone who works in the financial industry, Apple Payments is going to be huge.

Apple rarely innovates. They take existing ideas and make them work better (not always).

I'm curious, I don't know much about Apple Payments but I use Google Wallet on a fairly regular basis. What are the differences?

It has an apple logo on it. I'm guessing that having Apple finally behind NFC payments will kick many retailers in the butt to accept NFC as a payment option. I've been using my NFC at Walgreens, McDonalds, and misc. hotel vending machines for years. It'll be nice for other places to finally adopt it. In two years hopefully Apple can get water tight phones and wireless charging.

[Newz]

I personally like Windows Phone the most out of the phone operating systems. It sucks that they can't seem to carve out a bigger piece of the pie when it comes to market share. Because of this very few things are being developed for it and that makes it hard to justify buying one.

Right now I'm using a Droid Maxx and this thing is amazing. Best phone I have ever owned. I don't do a ton of crazy things with my phone. I primarily surf the web, email, Facebook, chat, fantasy football, music, some video, etc. But this things battery life never seems to end and I've never had a problem with it. Very impressive device.

I don't mind Apple and I think it is what it is. The things that bother me most about their company are:

1. I cannot stand that they call everything they release revolutionary these days. You aren't revolutionary at all... you are releasing things that have already been out and trying to do it in a more polished way. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But please, stop acting like you are coming out with something that is 'revolutionizing' anything, because you are not.
2. It bothers me that people buy into that insane concept and try to tell me about it.
3. I still think their products are mostly overpriced. Yes, this includes their phones as they are typically a year or two behind other cell phones.

I get the adoration for the OS and stuff. If you like it, you like it and more power to you.

I also agree with the poster from earlier in this thread who says he cannot comprehend why some people upgrade phones so often. I share a similar opinion... I can't believe people buy new phones all of the time when they offer very little in terms of upgrades unless you buy one every 3-5 years.

[MickeyDavis]

Every 2 years has been my usual upgrade. In two years there was always a pretty big leap in phone technology. But that's no longer the case IMO. The year to year model changes will be smaller, more bells and whistles than anything else.

I hope Windows phones stick around. I want more competition than just the "big 2".

[Zeezprah]

i actually completely agree about windows phones. they are completely underrated. the aesthetics on the nokia lumia are also awesome too.

if i switched ever, that would probably be what i went for.


and as far as apple getting NFC, it's awesome because like crkone said, it will kick the pants of a lot of retailers to have that capability. if it's not in stores like target, walgreens, etc by the middle of 2015, i'd be extremely surprised. as a guy who rarely carries cash and is completely pro electronic payment, i'm stoked. i hate carrying "crap" around. i still look forward to the day when we don't need keys anymore.

[MickeyDavis]

Apple convinced them to charge the "card present" fee instead of the "card not present" fee (which Google Wallet uses). Pretty big change. Tokenization is important too. Along with the fingerprint. Not that GW isn't secure but this is the next step. You can also use AP to pay for in-app purchases, something GW doesn't support right now. People have been VERY slow in using GW or any contactless payment system. While chip and pin is (finally) coming beginning next year I will prefer using AP whenever I can instead of swiping my card. The merchant will never have my card number so that eliminates one avenue of potential fraud for me. Fraud will never be eliminated but anything to reduce it is a good thing. The big breaches like Target and Home Depot get reported but there is a lot more than that happening every day.

[crkone]

Retailers don't ever see your credit card info when using Google Wallet either, they see a CC that Google set up in which you can use any credit card or gift card you wish. The reason NFC has been terrible so far is that it is super expensive to buy those terminals. Any retailer that is mandated to get the EMVs (the ones that also accept NFC payments) will allow Google Wallet or Apply Pay. Fraud is basically going far away with the EMVs anyway, so it's not too big of a deal. One thing that is easier is the push one button and it's paid for instead of enter the pin, but I'm sure Google will make it easier. The banks paying for the card fee is nice and all, but it really has nothing to do with Google Wallet. Apple is using the landscape that Google built with NFC, and Google will use the push to retailers to adopt NFC.

Google Wallet is definitely used for in-app purchases: https://developers.google.com/wallet/digital/docs/

[skones]

It seems the prevailing notion here is that it's Samsung or Apple which couldn't be further than the truth. Samsung dramatically alters the Android UI and overlays it with Touchwiz. Touchwiz in itself is so heavy on extra features that users don't use that it creates some lag with the phone. With that being said, those that say Android phones have a tendency to be laggy lead me to believe that they haven't done their due diligence as they've gotten incredibly smooth beginning with the release of Android Jelly Bean (2012) (Kitkat 2013, and Android L releasing early November).

The price points are a huge factor here. These phones, off contract will retail for 800-900 dollars. You're going to see the subsidized pricing on phones rotate out completely within the next couple of years in favor of the monthly payment system most carriers are already adopting. Android offers a variety of alternatives that are at far better price points and offer more bang for the buck. The Nexus line, the Moto X, and the Chinese OEM OnePlus One, which is reported to become available to the masses in October as they've been on an invite system over the course of the last four or five months. Nexus has retailed at about 350 for the 32GB model with the latest chipset, the Moto X will debut at $499 and the OnePlus is at $350, all off contract.

It's funny reading, "I wouldn't need that feature" because the reality of the situation is that when you begin to use a specific feature, you become dependent on it. How many people said, "I don't need a smart phone, I only make calls and texts," "I wouldn't use Siri," etc.

What Apple used to do well is integrate everything to the cloud, but Google has taken that much further than Apple is capable given the many services they offer across the internet through their Search Engine, Gmail, Google Drive, etc. It's this integration that has made Siri look like a dinosaur in terms of personal assistants on telephones, and one of the keys as to why Android has surpassed the Iphone in a big way.

In terms of design unification across devices, Google announced and has been pushing Material Design, their new simplistic design standard. You're going to see most apps and icons put more in sync with eachother across the board in the coming months. As a result, google is also encouraging OEMs to ease up on skins which will allow faster updates to software as well as their apps which they've put in the playstore. This is a large advantage over Apple which uses one big update each year to the IOS. Putting apps in the appstore on google's part allows them to make changes to important parts of their OS through an automated update over Wifi or a simple click to the Update link in the appstore as well as integrating new features on the fly.

The Moto X is definitely a device to consider, as the new version will be available for preorder tomorrow. The phone can be activated using a simple, "OK Google" or any preprogrammed command which allows your phone to wake and perform tasks while it is asleep. Their active notification software is also some of the best out there as it pertains to viewing notifications. You can view, dismiss, or open these notifications through the lockscreen while they flash intermittently at intervals while lighting up battery friendly pixels.

The LG G3 is also a big player. They placed their buttons on the back of the device last year with the LG G2, which is a bit odd to start, but ultimately becomes an extremely comfortable way to operate your device. Their Knock On and Knock Code features allow you to power on the device by double tapping the screen or unlocking your device by tapping the screen in specific areas you program. Their interface has become much more minimalistic as well which makes it one of the best performing phones on the market as it's not nearly as bogged down by the overlayed UI. In terms of flagships, it also offers the best display currently on the market at 2K.

As far as the Apple Watch is concerned, it's awful. It's design is poor in comparison to the Moto 360, the LG G Watch R, and the Asus Zen Watch. The interface looks extremely cluttered, and will be complicated by the use of the dial (an awful addition) rather than gestures and simple swipes.

I'm going to stop right now, this post is probably all over the place.

[humanrefutation]

It seems the prevailing notion here is that it's Samsung or Apple which couldn't be further than the truth. Samsung dramatically alters the Android UI and overlays it with Touchwiz. Touchwiz in itself is so heavy on extra features that users don't use that it creates some lag with the phone. With that being said, those that say Android phones have a tendency to be laggy lead me to believe that they haven't done their due diligence as they've gotten incredibly smooth beginning with the release of Android Jelly Bean (2012) (Kitkat 2013, and Android L releasing early November).

The price points are a huge factor here. These phones, off contract will retail for 800-900 dollars. You're going to see the subsidized pricing on phones rotate out completely within the next couple of years in favor of the monthly payment system most carriers are already adopting. Android offers a variety of alternatives that are at far better price points and offer more bang for the buck. The Nexus line, the Moto X, and the Chinese OEM OnePlus One, which is reported to become available to the masses in October as they've been on an invite system over the course of the last four or five months. Nexus has retailed at about 350 for the 32GB model with the latest chipset, the Moto X will debut at $499 and the OnePlus is at $350, all off contract.

It's funny reading, "I wouldn't need that feature" because the reality of the situation is that when you begin to use a specific feature, you become dependent on it. How many people said, "I don't need a smart phone, I only make calls and texts," "I wouldn't use Siri," etc.

What Apple used to do well is integrate everything to the cloud, but Google has taken that much further than Apple is capable given the many services they offer across the internet through their Search Engine, Gmail, Google Drive, etc. It's this integration that has made Siri look like a dinosaur in terms of personal assistants on telephones, and one of the keys as to why Android has surpassed the Iphone in a big way.

In terms of design unification across devices, Google announced and has been pushing Material Design, their new simplistic design standard. You're going to see most apps and icons put more in sync with eachother across the board in the coming months. As a result, google is also encouraging OEMs to ease up on skins which will allow faster updates to software as well as their apps which they've put in the playstore. This is a large advantage over Apple which uses one big update each year to the IOS. Putting apps in the appstore on google's part allows them to make changes to important parts of their OS through an automated update over Wifi or a simple click to the Update link in the appstore as well as integrating new features on the fly.

The Moto X is definitely a device to consider, as the new version will be available for preorder tomorrow. The phone can be activated using a simple, "OK Google" or any preprogrammed command which allows your phone to wake and perform tasks while it is asleep. Their active notification software is also some of the best out there as it pertains to viewing notifications. You can view, dismiss, or open these notifications through the lockscreen while they flash intermittently at intervals while lighting up battery friendly pixels.

The LG G3 is also a big player. They placed their buttons on the back of the device last year with the LG G2, which is a bit odd to start, but ultimately becomes an extremely comfortable way to operate your device. Their Knock On and Knock Code features allow you to power on the device by double tapping the screen or unlocking your device by tapping the screen in specific areas you program. Their interface has become much more minimalistic as well which makes it one of the best performing phones on the market as it's not nearly as bogged down by the overlayed UI. In terms of flagships, it also offers the best display currently on the market at 2K.

As far as the Apple Watch is concerned, it's awful. It's design is poor in comparison to the Moto 360, the LG G Watch R, and the Asus Zen Watch. The interface looks extremely cluttered, and will be complicated by the use of the dial (an awful addition) rather than gestures and simple swipes.

I'm going to stop right now, this post is probably all over the place.

So...when did you start working for Google?

[ReasonablySober]

This is interesting.

tl;dr version: Apple isn't necessarily designing a smart watch, they're designing a luxury item meant to stand alongside your $5000 and up Rolex.

When the prices of the steel and (especially) gold Apple Watches are announced, I expect the tech press to have the biggest collective **** in the history of Apple-versus-the-standard-tech-industry ****. The utilitarian mindset that asks “Why would anyone waste money on a gold watch?” isn’t going to be able to come to grips with what Apple is doing here. They’re going to say that Jony Ive and Tim Cook have lost their minds. They’re going to wear out their keyboards typing “This never would have happened if Steve Jobs were alive.” They’re going to predict utter and humiliating failure. In short, they’re going to mistake Apple for Vertu.

And then people will line up around the block at Apple Stores around the world to buy them. I think Apple Watch prices are going to be shockingly high — gasp-inducingly, get-me-to-the-fainting-couch high — from the perspective of the tech industry. But at the same time, there is room for them to be disruptively low from the perspective of the traditional watch and jewelry world. There’s a massive pricing umbrella in the luxury watch world, and Apple is aiming to take advantage of it.

[turbo2k]

i actually completely agree about windows phones. they are completely underrated. the aesthetics on the nokia lumia are also awesome too.

if i switched ever, that would probably be what i went for.


and as far as apple getting NFC, it's awesome because like crkone said, it will kick the pants of a lot of retailers to have that capability. if it's not in stores like target, walgreens, etc by the middle of 2015, i'd be extremely surprised. as a guy who rarely carries cash and is completely pro electronic payment, i'm stoked. i hate carrying "crap" around. i still look forward to the day when we don't need keys anymore.

I absolutely love windows phone os. I've had them for almost 4 years now, since WP7. I use my phone as a phone/email/web/work device, not for entertainment or being a socialite. I wish more people gave them a chance. As easy to use and as beautifully simple or even moreso than iOS.

[MickeyDavis]

It will be interesting to see how much the gold watch will sell for. The basic is $349, I agree with the article, no matter how much the gold ones are selling for there will be buyers. I'm seeing a guess of $1200 on several sites. I already have a fairly expensive watch. If/when I ever buy a smart watch it won't be of the luxury variety.

[crkone]

It's a strange gamble, but a gamble they can afford to lose. As for me, I'll stick with TAG Heuer.

[SupremeHustle]

I got my Moto 360 yesterday. Unimpressed so far. My heart rate is a mellow 52 bpm, though.

[MickeyDavis]

Keep us updated on that, it looks interesting.

[ReddRum]

So for those that have pre-ordered or are going to order the I-Phone 6 are you going with the I-Phone 6 4.7 inch OR the I-Phone 6 Plus 5.5 inch?

I decided on the I-Phone 6 Plus 64 GB Silver and White version...

[ReddRum]

I debated which one to get, I've been happy with the size of my S3 but I ended up ordering the Plus. I've only bought one app ever (Swiftkey) so I won't have to rebuy anything except that one.

What is your ship date? I had to go to the Verizon store on Friday afternoon and my and my finacee's Plus' aren't shipping until October 28th. Not happy about this at all but at least I will have iOS 8 to mess around with in the mean time... I guess there is HUGE demand for the PLUS and ship dates have been pushed back quite a bit due to lack of supply.