I have to chuckle at people. They want thin and light. They also don't mind giving Apple a 50%+ margin on something they buy from them, which incidentally is pretty dumb. Almost as dumb as camping out in front of an Apple store for three days so you can be among the first to own the newest fad.
What it means for you is that your brand new iPhone's case is made of a material that's cheap for Apple to use. It's pretty, but it will bend, and where the buttons are and the material has been weakened (a lot) by cutting those holes it will bend very easily. It's a classic case of form over function.
So if you stick it in your back pocket (not a good idea in the first place) you might find that it has more of a curve coming out than it did going in. That, by the way, can break the screen too, or detach it from the base, which is arguably just as bad if not worse, especially if you try to unbend it.
This is what you get when you reward companies that build things with form (e.g. "pretty", "thin", etc) before function (e.g. will it survive everyday use, does it have good RF performance, etc.) Apple could have chosen a material with considerably better strength (e.g. magnesium or titanium alloy), but it would have been more expensive (and cut into their margin), or they could have used more material (at the cost of thickness and/or weight).
Instead, they put out a $600+ device that is quite easy to damage in what many people consider to be ordinary daily use. One of the reasons I have contempt for Apple is that they have always been known for intentional planned obsolescence in an attempt to force you back into their store for another bite of your wallet.
However, this little ditty may be a bit too much of curve even for them, particularly given the extraordinarily high asking price attached. Will the morons who pray at the alter of Apple ever wise up? I doubt it. This is economic Darwinism at its best, and a fool and their money are soon parted. But then again, who needs any money when they live at home in their parents' basement?
That's what you get for being an iFanboi and buying iCrap!
Full disclosure and a silver lining: We have made a boat load of money investing in Apple stock over the past 10 years (starting around $72/share and before the splits). As long as their are fools who will buy this stuff, I'm more than willing to profit from their ignorance.
But unless a fellow pays $600 for an ultra-thin and sexy smartphone, what are his chances of receiving furtive glances from a hottie at the next table of the Starbucks? (as you both are sucking down $5 coffee that tastes like charcoal.)
ReplyDeleteThis brings up a more general syndrome: why has the "I am what I buy" consumer mindset moved from hot cars, designer jeans or other clothing, Danish furniture or whatever, to iGadgets as the best way to raise their self-esteem?
That's true. Apple, just like our inept government, exists because of a public that makes their existence possible. I guess you can't blame Apple for exploiting the ignorance.
DeleteMiss your medication today? I dislike certain firms who, say, disregard the law, blatantly lie in order to skirt it, slash and burn against individuals instead of other firms, or act in repulsively immoral ways, etc. But I don't label their customers as dumb, fools, morons. If I wanted to hear that, I'd remarry. Most folks foam in rage at products they've actually owned and used. I was originally going to point out the misinformation you're so embittered about, but I can see that this post is not really about Apple or the iPhone 6 Plus, facts, or anything else, so much as as it is about your nature. Unsubscribed.
ReplyDeleteYou are too funny. At various times over the years I have bashed every President since Nixon, Wall Street banks, the American public in general, natiuonal parks, and probably even the Easter Bunny. Say something bad about the sainted Apple and it gets you fired up. You've proven my point and deserve the title of iDiot. We don't screen any posts, but this isn't a site for anonymous posters anyway. Go scrape the pennies from the food crumbs and dust in your sofa cusions so you can go stand in line to buy some more iCrap and order your new mail order bride. You're not needed or wanted around here.
DeleteThose hardware "failures" have not been my experience regarding Apple products. They last longer than those PC based products (with their kludgy operating system) I had prior to "going back" to Apple in 2003. Three years was the expected life of those PC based products. The MacBook Pro is pushing the five year anniversary. The original iPad (April 2010) is still meeting needs. The three year old iPhone is doing a fine job.
ReplyDeleteFor any technology product, the business model for every manufacturer is planned obsolescence. It is the only way to get larger revenue volumes every year to keep those shareholders happy.
Just in case you may be wondering. I have not had a watch in 20+ years.
You've made some good use out of that iPad. I was really commenting more about the new iPhone. However, your iPad is still made by slave labor in China in order to preserve margin, and try to replace the battery sometime and see what happens. :-)
DeleteSome manufacturers are worse than others