Display defect may crimp iPhone 5 shipments The iPhone 5 rumor mill continues to churn, with today's tidbit being a report that a flaw in Wintek-produced touchscreen displays will put a crimp in shipments of the not-yet-acknowledged Cupertinian superphone. According to the sometimes spot-on, sometimes "Say what?" market-watchers at DigiTimes, one of the manufacturer's …
At some point everyone that wants/needs something already has one, and the proportion of those people who will want/need to get an updated version of that same thing is only ever going to be a fraction of the total (maybe a big fraction, but still only a fraction).
Lies, damned lies and statistics.
Sorry but that's just a lame excuse. We've heard it all time and again, how the iPhone couldn't possibly be that thin without a sealed battery blah blah. Then lo and behold a phone turns up from a rival which is exactly as thin but with a removeable battery. e.g. Samsung Galaxy S2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErXqnQKs-tA
Look how it achieves this amazing feat - with a thin back cover with some pop clips. Space age technology I'm sure you'll agree.
How is it that a company which is allegedly a master of industrial design cannot produce a phone or computer with a removable battery?
The answer is they don't want to. They know by sealing in the battery that the device becomes more disposable. Disposable devices get replaced with new devices. It is a cynical cash grab, and one which one would have though the EU and other agencies would wish to stomp on.
I gave my original iPhone to my mom when I upgraded to the iPhone 4. The phone has been in use basically every day since 2007 with no appreciable decrease in battery life, which has been annoying her since she wants an excuse to upgrade. So I wonder if the angst about sealed-in batteries is much ado about nothing.
Even so, I checked the teardown photos when I bought my iPhone 4 and my new MacBook Air. It seems that as long as you have the correct pentalobe screwdriver and replacement battery, changing the battery in either one is a pretty straightforward affair that should only take a few minutes (no soldering etc. required).
"That's the only reason they seal the battery in. It surprises me that the EU hasn't crapped all over Apple for doing this."
Right. It couldn't possibly be because it makes for a neater/smaller solution (you don't need the extra 4 pieces of material's worth of thickness to both encase the battery and create a battery bay in the device). It's also entirely possible to change the battery for a new one if necessary, even if it involves getting someone to do it.
Why would the EU be crapping all over Apple for this though? Plenty of devices have internal non-replaceable batteries. At the very lowest end of the scale, electric toothbrushes are the first thing that comes to mind.
If you own an OralB toothebrush - possibly the most popular brand, then you notice that to comply with weee guidelines, the battery is removable at the products EOL.
you stand the brush on the charger and twist, this breaks the seal and the battery can be removed from the brush for disposal.
Maybe eventually, but we're a ways off that hitting. Even in a big developed market like the US, smartphones are only about 50% of the total market, so there's plenty of room for both Apple and Android to grow. Plus there are all those RIM and Nokia customers with itchy feet.
Apple and Google will continue to grow their markets fast for a good few years yet.
You sure about that ?
Tidbit vs. titbit
In American and Canadian English, tidbit is the preferred spelling of the noun meaning (1) a choice morsel or (2) a pleasing bit of something. Titbit is preferred everywhere else. Neither spelling is right or wrong. Titbit is older, but tidbit is etymologically justifiable (the first syllable likely comes from the archaic colloquialism tid, meaning tender). And tidbit is not so new itself; it was well established in American English by the early 1800s.
By-the-numbers Apple launch marketing process is *go*.
Press release about cancelled staff holidays - Check.
Press release about supply shortages - Check.
What's next; twitter trends showing correlation of iFan enthusiasm and searches for sleeping bags and thermos flasks for the queueing experience?
Such fun. I half-expect to see the staff tinkling a little bell every time another phone is sold; Pavlov and Skinner would be so proud...
I've just been to help a user who can't understand how to use their phone, then boast they're "getting an iPad"!
Why is it that the iPad crowd are usually those who can't use IT to start with?
Of course my response was "Oh dear. You'll been seen as technically illiterate carrying one of those mind!"
Their reaction was 'stunned'. They assumed that I'm as stupid as the rest of the flock and would be impressed. HA! Hardly. I know what I'm doing.
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