Android vs Apple: the shoot-out

in apple on 2014-08-17 21:29 (#3Y4)

Two interesting articles showed up in my RSS feed today, that juxtaposed, make for an interesting discussion. First, Business Insider has provocatively written that Android is definitively the OS for poor people, and iOS for the rich. They've got some data that shows that people of higher income brackets overwhelmingly use iphones, while Android devices are used by the brackets with less disposable income. But at the same time, they've posted a good article showing a list of eight things the iphone can't - and probably will never - do. They include external storage, NFC support, USB connectors, and a couple of others [all one one page, not eight clicks: thank you!]

So is Android destined to be the poor man's iphone, or is it the ecosystem busy pushing the boundaries of technology and function? Because the days of claiming Android is simply catching up to Apple seem to be long behind us.

10 comments

Nope, The Other Way 'Round (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-08-17 21:40 (#3Y6)

iOS has become the ghetto for the stupid people.

We kind of laugh and pity them. They are, however, a very reliable revenue source for the time being.

Of course, more seriously, it's good that at least we're avoiding monoculture for now. It would be better, of course, if both Microsoft and RIM weren't completely incompetent, but alas they are.

Re: Nope, The Other Way 'Round (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-08-17 22:29 (#3Y8)

Case in point -- Apple drones were finally getting around their brainwashing to notice that everyone else in the world had phone screens bigger than a business card, going on 5 years. Now at long last Apple's poised to introduce a decent size screen, maybe, in September. Of course it's got to be made of something expensive though. http://online.wsj.com/articles/new-iphone-a-sapphire-screen-and-a-higher-cost-1408042296

It's really funny to watch. Unfortunately now that the reality distortion field has been buried, Apple's a lot clumsier and more and more of their wealthy drones are waking up to reality. I think the jig is up by the end of the decade...

Is this grade school? (Score: 5, Insightful)

by skarjak@pipedot.org on 2014-08-18 01:28 (#3YD)

You may be able to show that more people with lower income buy Android phones, which is obvious considering that there is a wide range of Android phones and only a few (overpriced) iphones. I also think that, for some reason, owning an iphone is viewed as a sort of status symbol by certain people (despite equivalent phones existing for Android). So yes, there are reasons which explain that you may find more people with higher income throwing money at Apple.

Coming up with this statistic is one thing, but to then go and say that Android phones are "for poor people" is ludicrous. All kinds of people use all kinds of Android phones; it's an open platform after all. The article seems to acknowledge this a few paragraphs down, but they seemed fit to include this clickbait of a title. For shame.

I also think there's something vaguely insulting about describing certain items as being for poor people, honestly.

Re: Is this grade school? (Score: 2, Interesting)

by kwerle@pipedot.org on 2014-08-18 04:08 (#3YF)

Yeah, this is a crappy article about a crappy story. For the curious, the 8 things - and my comments are:
* SD card support for extra storage - never happen; true
* NFC for mobile payments - can't say I miss it. Whatever.
* An improved texting solution on the keyboard, like Swype. - next release; next month?
* A 128 GB option - yeah, I'm sure they'll never get more storage...
* Non-proprietary dock connection (usb) - maybe with USB-C
* A micro-HDMI port - my guess is the number of people who miss this is small enough it'll never happen
* Replaceable battery - never happen
* While we're at it, better battery life! - I guess they'll do what they can

Re: Is this grade school? (Score: 3, Insightful)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-08-18 04:26 (#3YG)

Hey folks, please stop downvoting every post you disagree with. It's so childish and makes the registered users of Pipedot seem like the ones who are trolls. (This is significant only because it makes the posts invisible to other registered users.) Half the posts in this thread have been downvoted, even though there was nothing untoward about them.

Try responding to people instead of knocking them on the head.

Re: Is this grade school? (Score: 2, Funny)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-08-18 10:16 (#3YN)

Har, har, since there is no limit on mod points around here, I've just modded them back up. Mod war: go!

Re: Is this grade school? (Score: 0)

by skarjak@pipedot.org on 2014-08-18 13:04 (#3YV)

To be fair, I was a bit harsh on iphones. But I was feeling righteous anger. :p

Re: Is this grade school? (Score: 3, Insightful)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-08-18 06:23 (#3YK)

I agree that article was probably expressly provocative and vaguely insulting. Inaccurate too, since high - end android phones are often more expensive than Iphones.

iPhone or Android unlocking services (Score: 1)

by iphonecrazy@pipedot.org on 2019-06-03 16:09 (#4GDFZ)

Is iPhone or Android easier to unlock - or are they both the same?
I have found various companies, including iphone approved unlock, official sim unlock and official imei phone unlock. All look about the same except the first one specializes in iPhones. But does this even matter? The last one has the same design as the first so is this the same company or is it standard?
I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and iPhone 7. Both excellent phones by the way :-)
Would like both unlocking but don't know where to go as stores want to charge too much..

Re: iPhone or Android unlocking services (Score: 1)

by evilviper@pipedot.org on 2019-06-06 09:32 (#4GM77)

If you've had service on your phones for a year, in the USA, your carrier MUST unlock your phone for you.

See: https://pipedot.org/2X09

They all have unlocking terms on their sites you can find with a quick search, some with even lesser service requirements.

For the illegitimate unlocking services, I would highly discourage the use of random websites you've found. Ebay has plenty of sellers who offer unlock codes, where users can post negative feedback and can get refunds.

Those unlock codes only work for GSM services like ATT and T Mobile. Verizon and Sprint services require a valid IMEI, and that's tracked in a carrier database, where only they can mark it "unlocked" and available for service on other carriers (MVNOs).