Mobile phones & tablets thread

[race aficionado]

One of the common situations that always bugged me with my cell phone has been solved by Siri.

I don't know about you but when I'm in the sun light - in other words, out in the streets - I find it almost impossible to read my phone screen and find myself looking for a shade somewhere to get a better view so that I can make a phone call. Now with Siri, all I have to do is ask Siri to make the phone call for me. That's made my cell phone life easier.

Just saying . . .

[Jag_Warrior]

It seems Android is suffering due to the very thing that makes it good, it's openness and availability to all platforms: Fragmentation bomb wounds Android in developer war • The Register

It's the same thing that did for Nokia / Symbian, too many different devices means it's very difficult to write apps for all of them. Whereas with iPhone you only have (pretty much) one iPhone; but that's also a weakness as not everyone can afford or wants an iPhone.

I think that's the reason Apple is still selling the 3GS model. From what I've read, not that many cell carriers in Latin America and parts of Asia subsidize phones the way they do in North America and parts of Europe. So to grab some share, I guess Apple saw it as beneficial to offer older models at a much cheaper price. I also just read that the iPhone has overtaken the Blackberry in Canada. Ouch! That's gotta hurt. Kind of sad too, when you think about what a promising business that used to be.

And now that I can't stop ranting, how about those $600.00 per Share for Apple. I've got none but I'm glad Jag Warrior is loaded.

Kind of makes up for the dogs that I've picked over the years.

I'd say now is a good time to cash them in! I think Apple are in a bit of a bubble at the moment. They are doing very well, but should the iPhone 5 have - for example, an antenna which loses signal when you hold the phone-- there could be trouble!

Right you are. The same thing that's happened to RIM could happen to Apple. If they take their eye off the ball and don't keep offering products that the public falls in love with, their earnings (and share price) could fall.

But Apple's P/E ratio, while higher than Microsoft's, is lower than Google's and most other tech companies. It still seems fairly priced. Plus, by adding the dividend, many more mutual funds and money managers can hold it now. As long as it can stay above $540 or so, I'll probably buy call options with any pullback. Remember how Daniel made fun of me when AAPL dropped down to about $320 last year from $360 or so? I told him to buy some calls, if not the stock. I liked Daniel. He should have known that I wouldn't have intentionally steered him wrong. I actually miss the good natured ribbing that Daniel and I used to give each other in our Microsoft vs. Apple debates. Good times. Good times, man.

But anyway, the product that I see being their first stumble in a long time is this rumored TV set. I think the set itself will be fine. But unless they can make some rock solid content deals, why wouldn't the average consumer just buy a nice Panasonic or Samsung plasma set? I've considered buying the $99 Apple TV set top box. But then I think, "Why??? What shows will I get with it that I can't get now?" Instead of buying back their own stock (at $600 per share or whatever), I think Apple should use a chunk of that money to buy into a network, studio or production company. Sure, maybe that would be a dumb use of the money, but they have to get good content somewhere. Not just the crap movies that nobody wanted to see when they were in the theaters the first time. And right now, the content providers don't seem all that willing to make a deal with Apple... or anybody else.

And another thing ( )... why do I have to subscribe to cable or DirecTV to get HBO? Make a deal with Time Warner so that I can buy HBO a la carte. Make two or three deals like this and make it a package deal that I can buy through iTunes. Then I'll cancel DirecTV and buy this Apple TV plasma/HD set (that will be twice as expensive as the competition), but lets me pipe in EXACTLY what I want using my broadband connection, without being ripped off for stuff that I never watch.

[Jag_Warrior]

RIM is hardly holding on for dear life They've still got the business market and they've also got BBM which is hugely popular with the teen market due to the fact that it's free.

I'm not quoting Daniel here to give him a hard time or an "I told you so". I really miss Daniel. I felt like we had some spirited, but good debates. I found it to be fun and interesting. But when I saw the linked news story, I could only remember that someone (didn't remember who until I searched the thread for the quote) in this thread telling me that RIM was "not hanging on for dear life" last year, whereas many others thought the handwriting was on the wall over a year ago.

I'm not happy to see RIM struggling like this, with the stock only popping today because traders now see it as valuable only because it may now be a takeover candidate. I feel like more platforms, more competitors, improve the breed. Competition forces innovation. If there is only one dominant player (like Microsoft in the PC OS market), then you end up with junk software and products.

Too bad for RIM. Too bad for their loyal customers and investors. But any company that gets lazy, fails to innovate and doesn't keep up with the demands of the market, runs the risk of "hanging on for dear life". It doesn't matter if it's GM, RIM, Apple or Microsoft - no one can stay king for long if they get lazy.

RIM Weighs Bleak Options

Research In Motion Ltd.'s RIMM +7.06% new chief executive faces two bleak options: Attempt a bold turnaround of the embattled BlackBerry maker, or find a willing buyer. Neither will be an easy task.

RIM said sales of BlackBerrys fell sharply in the latest quarter, leading to the company's first revenue decline in seven years. Its subscriber growth rate from the previous quarter also hit an all-time low of 3%. And two of RIM's top officers stepped down, leaving RIM's executive bench as shallow as it has ever been.

Meanwhile, morale has flagged amid the unrest, according to executives inside and outside the company.

At a dinner meeting in February between RIM's chief technology officer, David Yach, one of the executives who left Thursday, and chief information officers from companies and government agencies, including the Department of Defense, the mood from the RIM side was somber, according to a person who attended the dinner.

"It was like going to a wake," this person said.

[schmenke]

Here's a dumb question for non-Apple users...

Do non-Apple tablets require anti-virus software? Are they susceptible to viruses similar to a PC

[Mark]

Do non-Apple tablets require anti-virus software?

No.

Are they susceptible to viruses similar to a PC

Because they are so locked down with apps unable to write outside their sandbox there isn't much in the way of viruses for iOS. I've never heard of any.

[schmenke]

Thanks.
So there's no worries when web browsing the 'net?

[donKey jote]

so long as you don't google billy's missus...

[Mark]

Thanks.
So there's no worries when web browsing the 'net?

Nah cos you can't run executables in the same way as you can with proper machines. That's not to say a virus is impossible, just that it's extremely difficult to get one to do anything.

[Jag_Warrior]

Here's a dumb question for non-Apple users...

Do non-Apple tablets require anti-virus software? Are they susceptible to viruses similar to a PC

Thanks.
So there's no worries when web browsing the 'net?

I don't think it comes so much from browsing. But from all that I've read (and why I'll never have an Android device), some of the apps are the viruses/malware.

New Android Malware Gains Root Without Permission

Android's Open Nature Makes It Easy Malware Target: Total Defense

I guess because of the open nature and lack of oversight on the Android app marketplace, a large percentage of the apps are apparently disguised malware. I guess that's why an IT guy at a previous company told me that they didn't allow Android devices on the company network. Apple and Microsoft devices can be infected too. But for whatever reason (better oversight and review, I'm guessing), it's not happening at nearly the same rate as with Android. And RIM devices seem pretty safe. If I can find one for $50 or $60 bucks in the next few months, I'll probably buy a Playbook just to have something to play with at the track. Plus, it'll probably be a collector's item soon.

[Mark]

iOS has two protections against rouge apps. Firstly that the only way you can get an app is first have it approved by Apple. And if it gets past this part it's contained within it's own environment so it can't damage the rest of the OS