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Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

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Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#591

Post by rezashirazian »

mikestew wrote: post #13

And yet not a single hard detail in the article as to why the headline might be true. For going on ten years we've seen the "iPhone killers" come and go, and this article does nothing to tell me why this time it will be different. Perhaps because it won't be. Of what very few details the article outlines, they just go on about nifty hardware. Have we not learned by now that cool hardware still sucks when hamstrung by…

I've been a happy iPhone user for a long time and of all the things all these so called iPhone killers have demonstrated none of them have ever touched on the one thing that would make me switch.

1 TB of storage. I run out of space on my phone all the time and would love nothing more than unlimited (or close to it) storage on the device.

I honestly could care less about VR or home assistant.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#592

Post by TillE »

rayiner wrote: post #24
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #14

> Burke says the company will eventually be able to ship its own custom “silicon,” a buzzword for customized processors that make devices work better. Silicon is not a buzzword. It is the element with which the processors are built. Perhaps it's colloquial or jargonistic to refer to processors as silicon, but it's not a buzzword.

It's synecdoche.

Or "metonym", which has almost the exact same meaning.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#593

Post by satysin »

arthurfm wrote: post #391
satysin wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I fail to see why I would get this over a Galaxy or iPhone (if OS doesn't matter). They claim the best phone camera yet it doesn't have OIS so it isn't going to be the best for video I doubt.

> They claim the best phone camera yet it doesn't have OIS The video stabilization looked really good in the demo at the Google event [1] despite using the smartphone's gyroscope [2] to do what the camera would do if it had OIS. [1] https://youtu.be/q4y0KOeXViI?t=55m20s [2] http://www.theverge.com/a/google-pixel-phone-new-hardware-in... > Though there’s no optical image stabilization, Google tied the camera to the gy…

A neat trick but it won't be as good as proper OIS. Considering the price I can't believe they were unable to put in a camera with OIS.

IMHO it is a damn shame to see the Nexus line replaced with such high end devices. I can't see them selling that all that well. They are priced way too high.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#594

Post by WWKong »

erikpukinskis wrote: post #532
reacharavindh wrote: post #525

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is a matter of personal taste. I personally don't like the material design. I enjoy the thin typography and design of iOS, and finding myself enjoying the experience of "Messages" in iOS at the moment. The "tapback" feature letting me heart/thumbs up some message is elegantly done IMO. And the knowledge that the receiver is also getting it the way I intended is great.

Design is not a matter of personal taste. It either achieves the goals of the designer or it doesn't. It can be evaluated on a purely objective basis. You're talking about style, which is about expression more than outcomes, and is received in a very personal way. When someone reacts so negatively to material design that they won't use it, that is a failure. There's no matter of opinion there. The purpose of the desi…

What if this is not the definition of design? A quick search of various dictionaries didn't yield what you have described.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#595

Post by inopinatus »

dplgk wrote: post #279
yazaddaruvala wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every alarm, timer, and reminder I set (on my phone), are set by voice. I chose it because "Set an alarm for 8am" really is the best interface to interact with that subsystem.

I think parent is talking more about: "Please buy tickets to concert" "Front row tickets to concert purchased for $500" "Wait no, buy the cheapest tickets!" "Cancelling order! Purchased last row tickets for $10" "Only $10? Well maybe I can spend a little more an not be in the last row" etc

This is exactly the kind of exasperating dialogue I've had with underwhelming organic assistants too. It is not a problem confined to machines. Ergo, the next step in virtual personal assistants is learning your preferences and being able to apply them. It's not hard to imagine the following exchange:

"Alexa, book me a flight to Sydney for Wednesday"

Alexa knows that I'm in Melbourne, that I always fly economy class on flights under three hours, have a strong preference for Oneworld airlines, fly direct whenever possible, and like to fly in the mornings except between 8am or 10am on weekdays.

"I found three flights on Wednesday that match your preferences. On your kitchen screen now. Which one shall I book?"

The next development after that would be intermodal transport scheduling and calendar awareness: "Alexa, book me travel for the Sydney board meeting". "Here's an itinerary that matches your diary and preferences."

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#596

Post by inopinatus »

neals wrote: post #208

I don't like Google because they're gonna use my data against me. I don't like Apple because it's a walled garden and millions other reasons. I don't like Samsung because they bloat Android. I don't like Huawei because I don't trust the Chinese government to not do stuff to it. I don't like LG and HTC because the smartphone market is slipping away from them. Am I just getting old?

Nothing against Amazon then?

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#597

Post by euxneks »

mikestew wrote: post #13

And yet not a single hard detail in the article as to why the headline might be true. For going on ten years we've seen the "iPhone killers" come and go, and this article does nothing to tell me why this time it will be different. Perhaps because it won't be. Of what very few details the article outlines, they just go on about nifty hardware. Have we not learned by now that cool hardware still sucks when hamstrung by…

I'm not sure what about the iPhone needs to be killed? As far as I know it's not got the majority market share? If they're talking about the ecosystem where iPhone is definitely making a killing, then they need to work on their software more than their hardware.

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#598

Post by sorenjan »

I think the most unfortunate thing about this being so expensive and underwhelming is that now there's no good alternative for people that don't want to spend that kind of money on a phone to have an Android phone without an OEM skin and with quick updates to new Android versions. This premium phone is only guaranteed updates for two years, and the update situation in Android land is still appalling. Why isn't anyone working on a better driver model for smart phones like for the PC? I want the latest version of Android without any kind of skin, but I don't see any real alternative for me anymore. How can the company behind Android be satisfied with this situation?

Re: Behind the Pixel: Google’s First Real Threat to Apple’s iPhone

#600

Post by KirinDave »

DasIch wrote: post #556
exergy wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It runs full windows. Allow me to repeat. It runs full windows. I'm a grad student. I have a workstation in my office. But at home, it's perfect for reading research papers thanks to the high resolution display, the fact that I can disconnect the keyboard, and the included pen which I can use to annotate. Yes, the iPad can do all that, but I can reconnect the keyboard, and continue using Matlab, or log in remotely to…

You've seen the iPad Pro?

I have one collecting dust. My partner was going to use it for digital illustration but ended up hijacking my S4 and I use a SB now.

They're really quite nice. Not sure why people are predisposted to hate them. Certainly it can't be the usual privacy concerns: the iPad Pro is more instrumented than any install of Win10 could ever dream of getting away with.

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