Apple Jumping on the Phablet Bandwagon

[afv011]

Originally Posted by pl001

That sounds more like an excuse to showcase the technology rather than anything anybody would want.

Here's the demo, scroll to 1:50.



I think this is more useful that the curved displays we have now.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by afv011

I think this is more useful that the curved displays we have now.

Thanks for the vid, but I still don't get it. A cutaway case like the Samsung Viewcover does the same thing without making the screen goofy and awkward during normal use. OK, sure, if your phone is in a bookcase and all you can see is the edge, maybe this would come in handy. There are other use case scenarios too I suppose, but for way too narrow of a market for Apple to try it IMO.

Edit: I do think the flexible displays are pretty cool though. Easy to see the potential there.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by pl001

Thanks for the vid, but I still don't get it.

It should be noted that neither did Samsung themselves. That was a prototype which never got made. The Samsung Round which they've now released curves the other way, inwards.

Graham

[colinsky]

I'm hoping someone has made you stand in the corner for using such a silly word.

[Katsunami]

For me, phablets are useless.

Too big to be a phone.
Too small to be a tablet.

I want a high-powered 4 inch Android-phone. My Nexus 4 (4.7 inch) is the absolute maximum I'm willing to carry. I refuse to go even larger than that.

(Actually, I'm moving away from Google as well: I'm always logged out, have no YouTube channel, and the only thing that can be found in my Google account is the registered Android device and the number of installed applications.)

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by frahse

They have released a TV. (... you don't remember?)

It was removed from my brain in a scene very reminiscent of a Men in Black movie.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Anthem

It was removed from my brain in a scene very reminiscent of a Men in Black movie.

There are things that our puny human brains can't handle.

(That is when we cry "release the monkey!")

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by frahse

There are things that our puny human brains can't handle.

(That is when we cry "release the monkey!")

Just let me know when you need me

[afv011]

Is Fall 2014 already too late?

Part of Apple’s decline in iPhone share can be attributed to not having a large-display smartphone to sell, while nearly all Android manufacturers have a phablet on sale that has a display larger than 5 inches, IDC said. Android’s third-quarter market share of 81% was up from 74.9% a year ago.

Phablets, with screens of 5 inches to 7-inches, made up 21% of the smartphone market in the third quarter, IDC said, up from just 3% a year ago

Source

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by frahse

There are things that our puny human brains can't handle.

(That is when we cry "release the monkey!")

Truth.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Graham

As I said, the absolute killer app when out and about is Google Maps.

This is the ONE and ONLY reason that I still have a smartphone.

Public transport is my main mode of traveling, and so I'm often on foot in places where I don't know my way around. Google Maps can show me the way, without me having to take a complete map or a partial printout with me.

Another thing which is nice to have but could be omitted, is internet itself, so I can find arrival and departure times of trains and buses without having to read the boards, which is often very hard because of my poor eyesight. However, I could just take a printout with me, of the arrival and departure times of all the buses and trains that are relevant to me on a particular journey. (Which I often do, as a backup, actually.)

If there hadn't been any Google Maps, I would never have had a smartphone, let alone a Google account. I hate accounts of companies that make it their business to gather data. Therefore, my Google account is empty apart from the registered phone, and I'm never ever logged in except when using maps.

I would LOVE a phone that just runs an operating system that does not need any connection to any accounts, where I'd be able to side-load a third-party maps application.

(Hm. Basically, a more modern version of Windows Mobile 6.x...)

[pl001]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I hate accounts of companies that make it their business to gather data.

I hear you there. It's not even so much the data collection that bothers me. It's trying to keep track of the 50+ accounts I've accumulated over the years. And the fact that they can't seem to standardize on a secure user name and password format.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by afv011

Is Fall 2014 already too late?

No. Apple will never regain their former marketshare. Their proprietary and higher-end business model ensures they will always end up a niche player in every market they enter. There are pros and cons to that model. Obviously right now it is working quite well for them.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by pl001

I hear you there. It's not even so much the data collection that bothers me. It's trying to keep track of the 50+ accounts I've accumulated over the years. And the fact that they can't seem to standardize on a secure user name and password format.

It's a bit offtopic, but hey... the answer is short.

Use something such as Keepass, or another password safe.

Spoiler:

With regard to companies, I don't really care if they track; I don't mind Amazon or Kobo knowing which books I buy, or browse when signed in. I don't really care. What I do care about are huge companies that blanket the entire internet to gather data: Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on. These companies don't really have any products to sell; the only reason they exist is because they provide a "convenience service", and use it to gather data.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by afv011

Source

And who says that people WANT those overly big phones?

I know many people who would like a high-powered Nexus-type smartphone, but not as a 4.7 or (for the Nexus 5) a 5 inch device. They'd like to have a 3.7 or 4 inch phone. (And they want it to be a Nexus because of the operating system updates.)

Many people buy the large phones not because they want a large phone, but because they want a powerful one. The fact that a phone is 4.7 or 5+ inch is just something that they have to be content with.

If you doubt me, then please show me a *current* 3.7 or 4.0 inch smartphone that is as powerful as a Nexus 4 or 5 (quadcore 1.5+ GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, etc). I would love to buy one.