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An Apple a day, then Jobs wants you to chuck it away

Daniel Piotrowski

by Daniel Piotrowski

05 Oct 08:44am

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Filed under: Apple, Business, Ethics, Iphones, Ipods, Steve Jobs

115 comments

Another week, another Apple product feted as the Second Coming in gadget form. Wait, hang on a minute. . .

What did we do before temporal noise reduction? Pic: AFP

Apple are pretty good at hype, but it seems like they’ve been a little too good at it this week. Apple fan-boys and -girls (and shareholders) were roundly disappointed this morning with the launch of a slightly improved iPhone 4, the 4S. They were let down after whipping themselves up into a frenzy of iPhone 5 speculation over the past week.

But give it 9 days, when the smartphone is set to be released here, and you’re sure to see Apple-maniacs queueing from one end of your nearest capital city to the other to get their hands on the new smartphone. Their existing year-old iPhones will just get tossed. That’s a feature of Apple products. Your latest whizz-bang gizmo is always just a few short months away from being made obsolete by a product with only slightly more whizz and a pinch more bang.

The real genius of Apple - best known for how smart their phones and marketing strategies are - is how they keep us all coming back for more.

Apple’s recipe for success is this: first they hype up a product relentlessly. Tech-bloggers and brekky TV techheads then slobber all over themselves in excitement. Then your average consumer feels they’re not nerd chic enough without one.

Then they buy one and well, built-in technological obsolescence takes care of the rest. That’s a fancy and difficult-to-spell way of saying their products run out of steam after 18 months (if you’re lucky).

For instance, just look at the battery life of an iPhone 4. A survey of 1000 techies by PC World magazine found a plurality wanted the iPhone 5 to have improved battery life over any other feature. That’s because if you’re using your iPhone fairly heavily, its battery isn’t likely to get you through the whole day after a year of use.

Sure. The phone is capable of so many functions that of course the battery’s not going to last forever.

But your average consumer can’t just go out, buy a new battery and slot it into their iPhone. There’s no point. Apple have sealed the phones shut. Sucks to be you if your phone dies when you’re out on a bushwalk and you wished you had a spare battery on you.

If your battery’s dead, you’ve got to take it into the Mac Store and get it replaced by a professional. Which costs a fair bit of dosh. And why would you bother when you can easily upgrade to a new iPhone with new features and a fresh battery anyway? The staff are happy to hawk you a new one.

It’s the same story with the iPod. The battery doesn’t last. So eventually you buy a new iPod to replace and while you’re at it, buy some overpriced music for it off iTunes.

It’s a clever but not entirely ethical business strategy. Imagine if you had to buy a new car every year and a half because your engine only lasted half your commute to work.

It doesn’t seem like anything’s going to change anytime soon. The iPhone 4S’s battery life is pretty much the same as the previous model.

If only Apple could power their phones with hype instead.

Most commented

115 comments

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    • MD says:

      08:48am | 05/10/11

      What’s funnier is that all the ‘new features’ they announced today have been available on a number of Android phones for 6 months to a year!

      Reply

    • VVS says:

      09:51am | 05/10/11

      Can it make telephone calls?

    • neo says:

      10:08am | 05/10/11

      What about the front facing camera that Apple “invented”!? I recall the feature on the old Nokias, years before the iphone, I think I used it once and filed it under “useless” in my mind.

      To be fair, this is an updated i4, you can hardly expect many new features, this is in line with the industry standard of tweaking a few things and polishing off the faults of the original. Of course, the new iPhone scores pretty low against what is on the market at the moment, but that’s always been the case with new iphones, when i3 and i4 were released, there were much better products already available on the market, so nothing new.

      For anyone that is thinking about buying a phone at the moment, I would hold off until Q1 2012 when the quad core beasts will be released. Otherwise, your phone will be severely outdated pretty damn fast, even if you get the best on the market, such as the Galaxy S2 or the HTC Sensation.

    • marley says:

      10:10am | 05/10/11

      @VVS - people with iPhones wouldn’t be caught dead making telephone calls.  That’s soooo last century.

    • andye says:

      11:38am | 05/10/11

      @neo - front facing camera = skype.

    • neo says:

      12:24pm | 05/10/11

      It’s funny how Skype ripped off MSN Messenger, made a name for itself, and now Microsoft is buying up the very software that is a rip off one of their products.

    • Rich says:

      04:09pm | 05/10/11

      Can you install the latest version of android OS on your phone from mid 2009?

      Does your phone have malware which is increasing at a rate greater than 400% per year?

      Apple didn’t invent phones or smartphones, but when they launched iPhone in 2007, they were written off by the pundits only to lead a massive change in the way we live our lives.

      Haters gotta hate.

    • bad elephant says:

      04:53pm | 05/10/11

      Exactly. These days I don’t even yawn when I hear the words “new release”. Why fork out a ton of money for a phone when it’ll depreciate quicker than your Uncle George’s budgie smugglers.

    • acotrel says:

      06:38am | 06/10/11

      What I really like about Apple software is the way when you install it on your PC, it invades and takes over.  I’ve uninstalled every smidgin of it from my own computer, unfortunately my wife has an iPod, so we have tolerate it one her machine.

    • neo says:

      09:01am | 06/10/11

      Yeah, I have the latest Android installed, a custom ROM actually, with more free memory and the ability to install apps on the sd card.

      Never had any malware on my phone either, probably because I have never downloaded any apps called “Sexy Babes 4 U” which have 2 positive reviews saying “best app evr, get now”.

      Rich, you and your muppet fellow apple users are the reason Apple screens every piece of soft that goes on their market. Apple realises the stupidity of their users, they know you people will download apps that a normal person would know for malware.

    • Anna C says:

      09:01am | 05/10/11

      Apple and their devotees are becoming more and more cult-like with every passing day. There is mass hysteria every time Apple releases a new product. Just pathetic really.

      Reply

    • neo says:

      10:17am | 05/10/11

      Of course it is. But it’s a never ending face off between the tech savvy and the tech inept. Apple hit the nail on the head, they market their products to people who don’t know much about technology, grannies and schoolkids and the like. These people simply don’t know enough to realise that there are better products available.

      iPod is the perfect example, at the time of it’s release, I’ve had an mp3 player for quite a while, so I was pretty surprised when I heard people say “Wow, the iPod is so good, it lets you listen to your mp3s on the go!” As you can see, despite pretty much all the major brand mp3 players having better sound quality than the ipod (this is true to date), being more user friendly and having a much better approach to managing your music (an mp3 player should always be a plug and play portable HDD, anything that isn’t fails at the outset), people still flocked to Apple.

      I used to enjoy mocking Apple users for being so bad with tech, but I’ve come to realise that it’s not their fault, they don’t know any better, and you can only really pity people like that.

      Anything that lacks customisation (everything produced by Apple) is a pretty fail product tbh.

    • We use both says:

      10:39am | 05/10/11

      Consider this then; Windows users (windows were an Apple innovation by the way, as was the mouse) run their clunky, ugly, virus-prone “me too” software on platforms manufactured or cobbled together by a large number of companies ranging from large international corporations to small back-yard operators. As of last year sometime, more than 10 out of every hundred computers operating in the US are Macs; generally better engineered, more innovative, intuitive, intelligent and infinitely more dependable. So, quality and consistency wins out in the end, and that’s not a bad thing I’d have thought. Instead of knocking Apple, maybe we should all start wishing like crikey we’d bought some shares back in the good old days.

    • Anonymous says:

      11:41am | 05/10/11

      Shut up, We Use Both, you pathetic little ignorant fanboy.

      Apple didn’t invent the Mouse. Xerox and Telefunken commercially released mice years before Apple did, and I’m not even taking into account the earlier patents. Google “Engelbart”.

      Someone needs to yank you free of that reality distortion field that you’re trapped in… fanboy.

    • andye says:

      11:42am | 05/10/11

      @We use both - Apple nicked the GUI and the mouse off Xerox. Just saying.

    • Bruce says:

      11:44am | 05/10/11

      Neo: Generally agree with your statement. However, after many failed attempts to show my wife how to use a computer, she can now use an ipad. Yes, I acknowlege it could be the intructors fault !! I learnt to use a computer using DOS commands, when 3.1 came along, I could not believe how much easy it was. I guess if that works, that a good thing and gets more people up to speed with current simple to use technology. As for me I will stick with Windows based computers, I believe the apple novalty bubble will burst and will be replaced by something newer, cheaper and even more sexy brand.

    • RyaN says:

      12:52pm | 05/10/11

      @We use both: usual completely incorrect fallacies spouted by an Apple fanboi.
      Lets take a look at your completely fallacious claims shall we. “windows were an Apple innovation by the way, as was the mouse”
      No windows was not an Apple invention silly, the first GUI driven by mouse was the developed in 1973 was developed by XEROX called the Xerox Alto, later called the Xerox Star. The mouse was in fact invented by Douglas Engelbart and the Xerox platform was the first graphical user interface that took advantage of this.

      The “me too” software clearly followed in 1979 where Apple stole all the ideas used by Xerox. Still to this day they haven’t actually managed to get it to work effectively enough to appeal to a broad enough market to make it worth actually writing viruses for this joke of a platform.

      Now that you are suitably educated on how Apple takes old ideas and lies to the people claiming they are their own innovations “face time, how funny” and the latest “Voice commands” on the new iPhone are fine illustrations of just how far behind technology Apple actually are.

      As for the article, if you think nerds use iPhones then you are sorely mistaken, in the IT world it is common knowledge that if a supposedly technical person turns up to an interview with an iPhone we already know they are technically inept.

    • We use Both says:

      03:32pm | 05/10/11

      @ anonymous — Ha! You do realise you sound genuinely fearful, don’t you? Wassup, business dropping off, losing market share or something? LOL

    • Expat Ozzie says:

      03:45pm | 05/10/11

      We use both: You might also like to know that apples OS X is based on FreeBSD which is a free derivative of the AT&t’s Unix OS. They aren’t even capable of producing their own software. What they are good at is wrapping other peoples ideas in nice shiny plastic and marketing to the ignorant.

    • MG says:

      04:05pm | 05/10/11

      @We use both: You say “generally better engineered, more innovative, intuitive, intelligent and infinitely more dependable”. Hmmm, obviously you’ve never working in IT supporting Macs & Windows PCs in the same environment. All Apple Macs (iMac, Macbook Air, Macbook Pro, Mac Mini & Mac Pro) use standard off the shelf components (CPUs, RAM, hard drives, etc). And these components fail just as often as in Windows PCs. I just recently had 2 new Macbook Pros where the hard drives failed. Both were under a month old. From a hardware technical point of view, they are no better or worse than a top brand Windows PC like Dell or HP. Cost of ownership, warranty, etc is another story. And not in Apple’s favour.

    • Anonymous says:

      08:47am | 06/10/11

      @We Use Both
      That’s all you’ve got? Really? Even after I’ve called you out? Weak.

      I suppose you could call me genuinely fearful, yes. But I’m only fearful of the fact that people are so easily led to believe things that are flat-out fabrications, and at the same time flaunt a false sense of superiority as if they’re proud of their ignorance and blind devotion to an anti-competitive, litigious brand with a well-documented history of lying to their customers.

    • neo says:

      09:04am | 06/10/11

      Was there a study conducted on the average IQ of an iphone user VS an Android user?

      Why bother, right, we all know the end result of that one wink

    • Dan says:

      09:01am | 05/10/11

      And despite all this…I’m probably still going to buy the 4S anyway. Though I wonder if my 3G is retro-cool yet?

      Reply

    • Fiona says:

      08:53pm | 05/10/11

      We have a 3310. Now that IS retro cool. It still works too. My kids aren’t impressed when we tell them you can play snake on it though.

    • Nicole says:

      09:02am | 05/10/11

      “That’s because if you’re using your iPhone fairly heavily, its battery isn’t likely to get you through the whole day after a year of use.”

      Mine has NEVER lasted more than 4 hours with heavy useage!

      Reply

    • John Smythe says:

      09:37am | 05/10/11

      Add to that, using Japan as an example, Softbank is the carrier and their infrastructure SUX! The iPhone spends more time TRYing to connect than actually being connected in the first place.

      It’s a huge drain on the battery constantly trying to connect to the main carrier…...

      I understand that Apple are going to open up the new iPhone 4 (maybe 5) to other carriers due to the image hit they have taken by doing a sole contract with Softbank.

    • Aaron says:

      12:34pm | 05/10/11

      Heavy use I can get around 6-7 hours out of my GS2, that said screen brightness is on half. Not quite enough to last a whole day but I think it’s pretty darned good

    • NSW says:

      09:08am | 05/10/11

      “iDrones annoyed because a product they will only buy as a fashion statement and to check their fakebook all day still hasn’t been released”

      Apart from the fact androids are far superior to these products just take a look at the users.

      Reply

    • KH says:

      09:14am | 05/10/11

      I had a problem with the home button on my iphone 4 - took it to a mac store and they just gave me a new one - transferred all my apps etc, and it was done.  Apparently way too hard to fix it!

      Reply

    • Aaron says:

      12:37pm | 05/10/11

      That’s dealing with faulty hardware. This is talking about simply replacing a battery. If I had a phone that didn’t last a day, like the iphone (luckily I have a GS2, lasts all day), I’d grab a second battery and want to be able to flip open the back cover, drop the fresh battery in and off we go. Can you do that with apple? No.

    • Mitch says:

      09:23am | 05/10/11

      There’s this amazing new invention everyones talking about.  It’s called the internet.  And apparently you can use it to find information.  Like information on how to replace your iPhone battery yourself.  I think it’s called Google or something?

      Reply

    • d says:

      10:46am | 05/10/11

      ... using the makers of android to find out how to fix your apple?

      yes i did lol at the thaught

    • neo says:

      12:21pm | 05/10/11

      I think the issue here is that you shouldn’t need any guide, or even a screwdriver to replace a battery in your phone. It has been like this since before I had my Nokia 5110, and it still is the standard today - pop off the cover, replace the battery and pop the cover back in. Apple wants their products to be used as they are, no options to customise or upgrade. Their products are glorified shopping mall directories.

    • Ben C says:

      12:22pm | 05/10/11

      @ d

      My sentiments indeed.

    • Simon says:

      09:23am | 05/10/11

      oh well, keeping the chinese in a job at least ...

      Reply

    • PsychoHyena says:

      09:33am | 05/10/11

      Well I’m being rebellious by not owning any kind of smartphone, never have and most likely never will unless the data prices go down and I can start streaming my various playlists for next-to-nothing. Everything a smartphone can do I can do with a camera, mp3 player, a standard mobile-phone and a computer, without carrying around $500+ in my pocket just ready for it to be stolen.

      Reply

    • Super D says:

      10:03am | 05/10/11

      You can’t fit a camera, mp3 player, standard phone and laptop in your pocket though can you?

    • joel says:

      10:11am | 05/10/11

      How big are you pockets though, dont think you can fit all them in at one go and walk straight.
      Very rebellious and naive of you

    • Anna C says:

      11:16am | 05/10/11

      “Well I’m being rebellious by not owning any kind of smartphone ...”

      PsychoHyena, I’ll go one better. I have never owned anything made by
      Apple and have no intention of ever doing so. They are all style over substance. I’d rather have something that is functional, cheap and cheerful.

    • Aaron says:

      12:40pm | 05/10/11

      Psycho Hyena: I didn’t have a smartphone for quite some time, unfortunately my old mobile (Nokia 6210 due to a power cable getting run over and destroying the screen) and my mp3 player (unfortunately an iPod touch) died at the same time. The smartphone option just helped out a bit, it’s a little bit more pricey, but have freed up space in my pocket…

    • Blenny says:

      12:51pm | 05/10/11

      i think they are awesome. Especially my HTC Incredible. I love the fact I can search for a restaurant in google, click its address, takes me to google maps, I can see where it is compared to my location, then I can click it straight into the navigator. Then put it back in my god damn pocket. Brilliant.

    • Soames says:

      01:54pm | 05/10/11

      I actually bought a smartphone, only because I wasn’t able to get an SMS reply from The Prodigal quickly enough,  before the next one came in, (from his iPhone, the smart arse). So I got a basic Samsung GIO. Mistake. The keyboard is so touchy, with my fat finger hovering above the screen,  static electricity burst down in a blinding flash of blue lightning to the virtual keyboard. Got cracking on the Colossus machine, found an ‘app’ called Big Buttons. Wonderful. Took over most of the screen, gave a reassuring click to say I’m doing alright. I’ve no use for most of the rest of the social media claptrap, being a grumpy old bastard. Now I’m looking for a keyboard app that does morse, as I’ve some old war buddies to contact around the world, (morse is faster), without having to go down the back yard to the war room, crank up the old HF for ITU transmission, adjust the antennae etc. Much like a kind of courtroom reporters’ shorthand machine.

    • PsychoHyena says:

      03:32pm | 05/10/11

      @Super D and Joel, so I use two or three pockets for the camera, mp3 player and phone. I wouldn’t need the computer while wandering around, if I need directions I find a map or ask directions, if I need to upload or email or download something I wait until I get home or I get to an internet cafe.

      @Anna neither have I smile

      Honestly I love my gadgets, but if I’m not going to be using half the functions on a gadget at least 75% of the time then I’m not going to buy it.

    • ts says:

      08:06am | 06/10/11

      @super d and joel

      no you cant fit them in your pocket *but* you can fit a BETTER camera, a BETTER mp3 player, a BETTER phone and a BETTER tablet in a very small bag as I do.

    • Heath says:

      09:37am | 05/10/11

      Last I checked there aren’t that many Mac heads out there. Most of these ‘fanbois’ are windows users.

      Reply

    • Babe in the Woods says:

      09:41am | 05/10/11

      I really don’t get the hype.  My old Nokia still makes calls, texts, uses the net if I need it (rarely, home and work is enough).  Still, they do seem to love the new toys.  The next street over from me will soon have thousands queing up to spend, so something must be good.

      Reply

    • LBJ says:

      09:49am | 05/10/11

      Small things amuse small minds…?

    • Babe in the Woods says:

      10:38am | 05/10/11

      @LBJ Maybe so.  But they all look so happy and excited.  Then they come proudly marching out brandishing the new toy.  It’s fun to watch.

    • Fred says:

      09:47am | 05/10/11

      It’s like a really good looking women, they look really good and good for your ego, but high maintenance. I’m looking forward to getting me an Android phone.

      However after years and years of looking for the perfect keyboard I’ve settled on an Apple keyboard hooked up to my PC. They’re geniuses at aesthetics and usability that’s for sure.

      Reply

    • Aaron says:

      12:42pm | 05/10/11

      Too bad they can’t do a good mouse raspberry (And before anyone get’s onto it, they DID NOT invent the mouse)

    • PsychoHyena says:

      03:33pm | 05/10/11

      @Aaron I will never understand Xerox for that

    • Super D says:

      10:07am | 05/10/11

      I got an iPhone 4 from my wife as a xmas/birthday present last year and I’ve been pretty happy with it even though I had been planning on getting an android phone.  I think my next phone will be android because Apple are a little to authoritarian for my taste.  Considering before the iPhone I was using a motorola razr the next phone may be quite some time away.

      Anyway nice to know I’ve still got a hip phone for the time being and I won’t be shamed by iPhone 5’s for a couple more months.

      Reply

    • Tchom says:

      10:49am | 05/10/11

      Does it have Flash yet?

      Reply

    • Ben C says:

      12:27pm | 05/10/11

      I doubt it Tchom, Apple doesn’t want anything owned by Google accessed on their products (i.e. YouTube).

    • RyaN says:

      12:55pm | 05/10/11

      @Tchom: that wouldn’t be that new fangled flash thing that has been around for 12 or so years and has been supported by just about every device for the last 6 or so years? Sorry I meant every device bar Apple.

    • Alicia says:

      04:48pm | 05/10/11

      I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding you, Ben C but you can access YouTube on the iPhone and iPad.

    • Mark says:

      10:53am | 05/10/11

      And on one has asked the question how many Chinese workers committed suicide while manufacturing the iPhone 4 and a half in near slavery conditions? Apple and their fab fan boyz wan’t talk about this!

      Reply

    • Dean says:

      12:19pm | 05/10/11

      Everything is made in China. Playstations to potato peelers.

    • D'oh! says:

      12:35pm | 05/10/11

      And Android phones are made where???

    • RyaN says:

      12:56pm | 05/10/11

      @D’oh!: we are speaking about Apple phones here fanboi!

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      11:16am | 05/10/11

      Dammit I want a Kindle Fire NOW…....

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      11:32am | 05/10/11

      Though I’ve gotta say, Apple can be pretty good to their customers.

      I dropped my brand new iPad 2 getting out of the car the other day and shattered the screen. Took it to the Apple Shop the next morning, and they replaced it for free, on warranty. Pretty stoked.

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      11:33am | 05/10/11

      The only thing my non smartphone is really missing is web access, which it seems 90% of smartphone users only use for google maps (it has updateable maps built in) or facebook anyway.
      I think it was worth sacrificing that for a mobile phone that has a battery life of over a week, and thus is truly mobile.

      Reply

    • H B Bear says:

      11:34am | 05/10/11

      Emperor Jobs has no clothes.

      Reply

    • Adam Dennis says:

      12:06pm | 05/10/11

      This is all tedious commentary from fanboys of one thing or another. As far as I can see, Apple aren’t particularly guilty of hype. The problem is that a self-indulgent industry of talk has sprung up around smartphone manufacturers (Daniel P’s piece is a good example of “nothing to say”). So, Apple released a new phone today ... its functionality and price will suit some people. Other people will find different products suit them better - end of debate. We really don’t need the ill-informed commentary above.

      Reply

    • Brian says:

      12:14pm | 05/10/11

      In all fairness it’s not just Apple. Back in the 80s you’d buy a TV, stereo and a VCR, maybe a walkman or a portable cassette player (boombox). And you’d be set up for around 10 years or until something broke. Now days you have to refit your lounge room every 2 years because the tech out dates so fast. I bought an ipod touch 2 years ago. It still works and isn’t much different to the latest model as far as playing music goes so it’s good enough still. I can’t afford to keep up with the rapid changes.

      Reply

    • no fanboi says:

      12:32pm | 05/10/11

      The battery only lasts 12 months as does the warranty yet most contracts are 24 months….  Something wrong with this picture…

      Oh and itunes is a heaving pile of excrement as a piece of software if you want to add your own movies and music and not just pay crapple for it all.

      Why can’t I drag and drop documents, pics and files on and off?

      Reply

    • metallicahead says:

      01:31pm | 05/10/11

      If you can’t figure any of that out, turn in your geek card.

    • John Smythe says:

      03:00pm | 05/10/11

      You can…convert them to MP4 with a free converter.
      Pics…..you can specify which folder.

      I don’t like their attempt to lock down control, but there are easy ways around it.

    • Fiona says:

      09:00pm | 05/10/11

      You do realise that you can jailbreak an iPhone don’t you???

    • Nathan says:

      12:32pm | 05/10/11

      Apple hyped it up relentlessly? The *only* thing that came out of Apple, was an invitation sent out last week for the media event. The hype and unrealistic expectations were 100% created by the media.

      I think the media builds them up to crazy levels, just so that they can then write hundreds of click bait stories the following week where they tear down the product for not having the things they were “promised”. (And by “promised”, I mean things Apple never ever promised, and were just dreamt up by tech journalists with nothing else to write about.)

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      03:13pm | 05/10/11

      sssshhhhhhh, you are ruining the hype and the forever ongoing android Vs apple fanboi battle! look around you, so many misinformed fanbois on both sides keyboard warrior’ing until the death!

      The whole thing is quite amusing how so many get so defensive over a phone.

      The stupid part is really articles like the one above where some nobody writer can complain about things like “what if you are out on a bushwalk and your battery goes flat” well who’s fault is that for not being prepared?
      Or comments about battery life on a handset that he nor anyone posting here has got their hands on to actually real world test?

      The worst are the suckers who believe this crap.

    • The Punch Card says:

      12:42pm | 05/10/11

      Your comment:The Jobs Forum is tomorrow !
      The Tax Forum is today!
      The Punch Forum is Yesterday!

      Reply

    • iLover says:

      12:50pm | 05/10/11

      It doesn’t matter what the purchase, there will ALWAYS be people who will readily toss-aside their year-old “whatever” to buy the latest one.

      To have a crack at only Apple about this smacks of nothing more than jealousy, probably because your Mummy & Daddy wouldn’t buy you one when they first came out (and you were probably still at High School).

      Reply

    • Ben C says:

      02:38pm | 05/10/11

      @ iLover

      Yes, and that year-old “whatever”, nine times out of ten is an Apple product.

      No other company that I know of stages product releases as frequently and as over-the-top as Apple.

    • The Masked Commenter says:

      01:24pm | 05/10/11

      I dont like how Apple continue to trickle feed features onto their phones. I also can’t believe people keep getting sucked in by them. I always research my phones on gsm arena. I doubt i would ever buy an iAnything. If i buy something, i want to do what I want with it. If you buy Apple, you can only do what Apple allows you to. Seems like a dictatorship to me. I like my freedom.

      Reply

    • Harold says:

      01:25pm | 05/10/11

      I’ve never seen a apple ad on telly yet. Where’s all the hype people are on about?

      Reply

    • Anubis says:

      01:47pm | 05/10/11

      I once owned an Apple i product and threw it away after a week. What utter crap they make.

      Reply

    • HappyCynic says:

      02:11pm | 05/10/11

      Let’s face it, Apple make some sexy, sexy products, especially their keyboards for iMacs which are awesome smile

      But they’re f**king expensive and usually the tech is out of date by the time they’re released.  Other companies may make better products using better tech but they also haven’t cottoned on to the fact that accessibility (for us non-nerds) sells better than functionality and they’re just as expensive.

      As for the batteries on iPhones, this is huge problem with all new portable toys.  The 3DS, the PSP, most smartphones, most GPS units, even the new PS Vita being released next year all have crappy battery life.  The problem is no one has yet figured out how to make a small enough battery that last a long time without using really rare metals.

      Speaking of rare metals, did you know the iPhone and other touchscreens electronics require indium tin oxide to work?  There’s no more than 6,000 tonnes of the stuff on Earth meaning that at the rate with which Apple and it’s competitors keep using it it’ll all be gone within about 4 - 10 years. 

      Unless someone discovers another way to make touchscreens the iPhone will be dead by 2021.

      Reply

    • Daniel Piotrowski says:

      02:36pm | 05/10/11

      Absolutely - the rare earth metals stuff definitely warrants a look

    • John says:

      02:21pm | 05/10/11

      Medicore stories! How about stories about the mass slaughter and crimes committed by NATO on the Libyans? How many people have died because of NATO criminality? Why the blackout in the news media? Where are the arrest warrants for Obama, Sarkozy and Cameron for crimes against humanity? Gee They could bombing and killing millions of people and we would be here talking about useless apple products. Why do our western leaders get a free pass to commit war crimes?

      Reply

    • Ren says:

      02:44pm | 05/10/11

      Important topics agreed but your saying we should dedicate the punch to war stories only?

      I like the different topics.

    • Ren says:

      02:44pm | 05/10/11

      Important topics agreed but your saying we should dedicate the punch to war stories only?

      I like the different topics.

    • Ren says:

      02:40pm | 05/10/11

      Finally people are starting to see the light with Apple stuff.

      It is a constant upgrade with Apple. Pay more for overpriced hardware with a pretty average operating system at best.

      Thing is Apple isn’t letting people downgrade anymore. I had a customer that wanted to run an older piece of software on his new mac that didn’t work with Lion. Fair enough, just put Snow Leopard on there? Noope. Cant downgrade anymore.

      Thing that always makes me grin is people will go out there, spend 2.5k on a Mac. Get their applause when walking out the store, realise it doesn’t do what their Windows computer did and or it doesn’t run the software they need so they install Windows on their Mac. I don’t know about you guys, but if that were me, Id feel like a total shmuck.

      People say to me often. “I’m buying an Apple!” I ask Why. “Because they are better!” is the reply. “How are they better?” No idea is the reply or something totally random like they don’t break down. LOL.

      There is however a thing that Mac users can’t do that Windows users can.

      Shut the hell up about their computer.
      I just don’t care that you own a Mac. No one else does. Stop bringing it up all the time.

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      03:20pm | 05/10/11

      Yeah its just horrible when things just work straight out of the box on a stable OS.
      Id hate to have that curse put on my windows machine!!

      People upgrade when they need to, I know some fanbois and none of them are buying a new iphone, macbook pro or imac each year or even two years, the product lust might be one thing but its not often backed up with that frequent product purchases.
      The iOS on the iPhones is backward compatible to an extent so if you want iOS5 on your iPhone 4 you can just upgrade the software, no need to buy a new phone.

    • Ben C says:

      03:44pm | 05/10/11

      @ Phil

      It’s only a stable OS because hackers and virus programmers know that serious businesses don’t use Mac. As a result, they don’t bother writing viruses for Mac, as it doesn’t have the impact as a Windows virus. Who knows how many holes are in MacOS?

    • Joe says:

      06:10pm | 05/10/11

      @ Phil

      My Windows 7 laptop has never crashed or locked up in the 16 months I’ve owned it. It is true Windows used to have stability problems, but those days are gone. Viruses? Haven’t had one in years and I don’t even have anti-virus software. The Mac OS is decent enough, but I personally don’t think it’s any better or worse than Windows 7.

    • Ren says:

      03:35pm | 05/10/11

      Point being Phil is that used to be the case but the trend is changing now. Apple are trying to force people into upgrading.

      Watch and see.

      Reply

    • Phil says:

      08:28pm | 05/10/11

      Every brand is pushing for this sort of disposable society depending on people to forever be upgrading their tech, its hardly new they are businesses not charity.
      Simply though if you dont want it, need it or cant afford it dont buy it, no one is holding a gun to anyones head.

      If they were forcing people to upgrade why would they offer backward compatibility for new software on handsets that are 2 years old? sure it will give people a taste of what the new OS has to offer on their old phone but if they wanted to force people as you make out they wouldnt support old hansets or software versions much like the various blends of Android that will never see any updates after 12 months.

    • Ren says:

      08:19am | 06/10/11

      You are missing the point.
      To make it simple.

      Apple Mac doesnt let you downgrade anymore forcing you to have latest versions.

      Windows 7 includes XP mode allowing you, assuming the app doesnt run on 7, 64bit to still run the app you paid good money for. Thats called caring about what products customers may have bought in the past and wish to continue using. NOT forcing them to upgrade.

      I just dont know how to make it any more simple.

      Like most apple fanboi’s there is no point in discussing because Steve jobs has had his way with you and all you care about is promoting apple products and defending them with lines such as “they are businesses not charity”

      Ill leave you to think of other grand arguments why Apple should continue on this path for the greater good of humanity.

    • Oliver says:

      03:41pm | 05/10/11

      This: “Apple fan-boys and -girls (and shareholders) were roundly disappointed”

      Then this: “Apple’s recipe for success is this: first they hype up a product relentlessly.”

      How can the fans be disappointed when Apple have supposedly been relentlessly hyping this product? Oh I know, because you made it up to support your negative portrait of Apple. When you want to make a point, its best not to contradict yourself.

      Reply
    • Daniel Piotrowski

      Daniel Piotrowski says:

      04:09pm | 05/10/11

      Hi Oliver,

      I don’t see the contradiction. Apple can hype a product and some pundits like that mashable link near the top of my article can swallow it before they announce what they’re doing properly. But as I pointed to, a number of prominent tech bloggers didn’t react well to the product and the share price dropped. Hype fail.

      We’ve seen Apple hype up products to great success before (the iPhones, the various forms of iPad) and it’s followed that kind of pattern.

      I’m not all down on Apple, I’m typing this on my MacBook, which is far better than any other lappy I’ve had. But they’re a company who want to fatten their bottom line and I reckon it’s fine to be critical of them.

      Cheers

    • Ben C says:

      04:24pm | 05/10/11

      @ Oliver

      They’re disappointed that it’s only a minor upgrade from the previous version. The end-product doesn’t justify the hype that it received from Apple.

    • martinX says:

      08:30am | 06/10/11

      But Daniel, Apple didn’t hype anything. They had a single announcement to the press about a product launch and said barely anything about the details of that launch. It was on the Apple campus, and a single video stream went to European journalists. “Tech pundits” (another phrase for mouth-breathing neck-beards who need to get out more) created the hype and then created the negative reaction when the product didn’t match the unicorn they’d dreamed of.

    • Oliver says:

      09:18am | 06/10/11

      Apple’s product development is notoriously secret and as usual, the pre-launch hype came from rumour sites and analysts. People built up their own expectations with zero official guidance, based upon leaked photos and dissected configuration files. The funniest aspect is that the model rumoured to be the iPhone 5 was actually just an iPod touch.

      While the hyperbole might be pretty strong at a product’s launch, unlike many tech companies (Microsoft’s phones, HP’s tablets), they actually have a product ready to go that day or shortly afterwards so I can’t see why you find Apple to blame for people’s disappointment.

      The pattern of product upgrades you mention is part of the furious cycle of obsolescence that has boosted Apple’s pre-iPod stock price from $13 to nearly $400. As iPhone makes them more money than all their other products combined, the speculation on a new model probably had the market salivating and when their self-generated expectations failed to match reality, the stock deflated.

    • Ben C says:

      03:50pm | 05/10/11

      Unless you are in an industry where multimedia processing (visual and/or audio) is your main business, you don’t use a Mac. They are hopeless for spreadsheet processing, software compatibility is minimal (seriously, whoever decided that Apple should not support Flash - most likely Steve Jobs - is as narrow-minded as they come).

      Reply

    • Roger says:

      04:14pm | 05/10/11

      iPhones are a substandard piece of junk that hardly ever make it all the way through a 24 month contract. My iPhone 3GS with Three is on a 24 month contract due to expire in April next year. Battery life has degraded to such a point, the fully charged phone now has a stand-by time of between 4 to 6 hours if I don’t make and receive calls, and check my email too often, if I do, it’s dead within two hours. Made an appointment with one of Apple “Geniuses” only to be told it’ll cost me $125 plus labour, to get the battery replaced. What a joke. I got back to Three customer care, who told me I can upgrade to another iPhone, or any phone I wish in the Vodafone range, but only if I pay $270 to be released from the contract. Apple phones are inferior quality, 7 months into my contract, I was without my phone for two weeks because it refused to charge, 3 months after I got back, it begun to intermittently freeze, and it was serviced again. My business partner has had an HTC smartphone for just over a year, no problems, and its user interface is infinitely superior to Apple’s. What’s more it plays Flash videos, none of the Apple phones and iPads do, despite the fact that 75% of the world’s websites use flash animations or videos. Apple will never let their phones run flash web components because it allows people to use iPhones for useful and interactive things rather than just merely a glorified toy and mobile email device. Apple make great computers and iPods are cool, but from personal experience, you’d have to have rocks in your head to pay big bucks for such an inferior phone.
      I’ve joined Vodafone and gotten myself the new Samsung Galaxy S2 on the $45 infinite plan. Its user interface and on-screen keyboard is infinetly superior to Apple’s. Less typo errors sending text messages, better battery life, and what’s more when the battery’s on its last legs, you can remove it and replace it easily. AND it plays flash video and supports Adobe Flex, a system that provides interactive web-based applications such as sendoutcards. AND it comes with a 24 month warranty, same time period as my new Vodafone contract. As for Three and my contract with them, I will be making a formal complaint to the T.I.O. about this short-coming, plus the fact that I get charged exhorbitantly high roaming data charges, despite the fact that I spend all my time in and around the Gold Coast from Southport to Burleigh and nearby areas. How the hell can you be roaming, and be charged $5.12 for 250kB of data (not Mb !!!). I will be asking the T.I.O. to release me from this contract.

      Reply

    • Ben C says:

      04:29pm | 05/10/11

      @ Roger

      Complaining about Three these days is complaining about Vodafone.

    • Roger says:

      04:58am | 06/10/11

      Thats not the point, Ben, this is about an over-priced, over-hyped, inferior quality product, being the iPhone and way its buil and designed. I also oon a Macbook Pro and love the machine, beats my previous i5 windows machine in every way. It is just beyond be.how.the Apple ‘fanbois’ rave on abouf the iPhone when Android devices such as the Samsung Galaxy are so much more functional. Hey i can even type fast on this phone as.their on-screen keyboard actually works well. Apple’s is hopelesa.

    • Danny B says:

      02:29pm | 06/10/11

      “Less typo errors sending text messages”

      http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com

      Some of the iPhone’s funniest typos.  Hundreds of entries.  And I’ve yet to see an android phone on there…

    • Alicia says:

      04:55pm | 05/10/11

      I had an iPhone 3G before it met the concrete in a particularly violent fashion one afternoon and the glass shattered. Music player just stopped working before that. I now have a HTC Desire S. I prefer Andriod in many ways but I wish companies would get with the times and start producing their apps for Andriod as well.

      Regarding the battery life on the iPhone, definitely sucks but my Dad brought this extra battery thing that you attach like a case. Makes it a bit thicker but when the main battery runs out, you flick the switch and, voila, extra battery power.

      Reply

    • Gavin says:

      06:58pm | 05/10/11

      The way you lot carry on about this stuff, you’d swear no one has a choice in the matter. Here’s a tip - if you like it, buy it; if you don’t like it, don’t buy it. Projecting your insecurities about your own decisions onto others is just childish.

      Reply

    • Richard says:

      07:38pm | 05/10/11

      I prefer PC and I prefer Android phones.

      I really dig the concept of open-source. Seriously, over time, there’s just waaay more potential, open-source will always be better in the end.

      Trendoid Hipster Doofuses just prefer Apple because deep-down they’re all left-wing socialist sheeple who crave to be restricted and controlled.

      True freedom-loving Libertarians can never be tied down in this way.

      Don’t get me wrong, I give a lot of respect to the High-end sort of of products that are necessary for specialist usage, especially in the music industry. And iPod, iPhone and iPad were all frakking revolutionary, just amazing breakthroughs that added so much value to society and to people’s lives, and I respect that.

      But my own personal choice, every time, will be for the freedom and autonomy of open-source platforms. Sure its a trade-off, not everything will be as “tight”, but I just love imagineering beyond horizons, and Apple’s anal attitude to intellectual property makes me feel claustrophobic.

      Reply

    • NESLIHAN KUROSAWA says:

      11:42pm | 05/10/11

      Hi Daniel,

      Are you employed by Apple??  So much information in so little time!!  Only joking!!  I just wanted to know with the longer lasting battery, can we be on the phone much longer, meaning 24 hours a day!!  Also having a smart phone would actually make us all smarter as well??  It seems a little crazy if you ask me!!

      I personally would like to wait for version 7, which happens to be my lucky number!!  I honestly do not get all this interest in different versions & models of mobile phones.  Our lives entirely do not depend on it , right?

      Is it all about making a fashion statement??  What if you do not have one, are you going to feel all left out, unloved, unappreciated & alone??  I will just take my Apple into McDonald’s for a break & a cup of coffee with my best friend,  Just to consider my options,  when it comes to spending my money wisely & efficiently!!  I most certainly do appreciate the latest update, you have provided.  Best regards to your editors.

      Reply

    • Fay says:

      07:26am | 06/10/11

      Quite happy just using my computer at home(and its not a new one) for my internet and my old sony Erricson for phone calls while I’m out. Otherwise I buy a newspaper if I really want to read all the little bits and pieces and wathc TV for the rest. all this upgrading is just another way for companies to get their hands in your pockets.

      Reply

    • Frank says:

      07:54am | 06/10/11

      wtf is temporal noise? lol does this mean that Iphones can stop the voices in people’s heads? Can they capture dead people with the camera?  Can’t wait for the “OMG didn’t realise how much better life is without those pesky temporal noises getting in the way” comments from the idiots who keep buying these things.

      Reply

    • Frank says:

      07:55am | 06/10/11

      all Hail Android and Google!!

      Reply

    • Stephen says:

      10:44am | 06/10/11

      Windows Phone 7 - awesome stuff & Mango 7.5 on the way.  Thats from a house with more Apple products that Windows too.

      The best thing is my carrier were offering a top line W Phone at rock bottom prices (the sheep i.e. teenagers - were not buying)  & I saved $40 per month over a IPhone or Andriod plan.  Thats $960 over the life of the plans for myself & my wife.  Thats a lot of dosh hey?

      Point is I love the competition & the phone OS wars as savvy consumers, who are not insecure about being seen with the “right” device can shop around & get damm good functionality & performance on any of the platforms.  Bring on Googles OS I say.

      Reply

    • ImaWestie says:

      12:23pm | 06/10/11

      But a replacement battery for a two year old blackberry is $90. For which you get a new battery for your two year old phone (which stopped being covered by warranty a long time ago).
      That far into a phones life, it starts to show it’s age.

      If a phone bettery lasts 18 hours without a recharge, for 18 moths. It has done it’s job.
      If it doesn’t. The design sucks, and anyone who wants one is a sucker.

      Disclaimer: I’ve never owned an iphone in my life.

      Reply

    • Flutz says:

      05:38pm | 06/10/11

      Am proud to say I have never owned (and probably never will own) an iproduct of any kind.

      In fact I don’t even own any kind of smartphone - still using my Nokia N95 and it’s more than doing the job I need it to do.

      Reply

    • Lemonskin says:

      08:17am | 07/10/11

      @Flutz… FYI a Nokia N95 IS a smartphone, it’s just an older, non-touchscreen one.

    • embracedmadness says:

      08:33am | 28/03/12

      Anyone at all concerned about the USA establishing drone bases here in Australia?

      Reply

    • real jordans for sale says:

      10:22am | 08/06/12

      “Bubble bath and wine”… I’ll have to try that next

      Reply
 
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