Which Are You?

[Sydney's Mom]

My daughter got her iphone 5 on Friday, and that is when I decided to root my thunderbolt - to show her how much more flexible my device is. But it really isn't. After rooting my HTC Thunderbolt and installing ics, and losing my apps (my fault, shouldn't have happened), I went to both Google and Amazon to redownload my apps. Google wasn't an issue, but Amazon was a bear! You had to start at the top and scroll down through all your apps! I had 300 apps, and it took 4 days to download them. Finally, when I tried three times to download the last 11, I called up Amazon, and told them I was done, and they were going to have to give me $28 in credit to rebuy the apps (I had gotten them all for free, but they cost up to $10 each now). Well, they did so, but it made me realize--I looked down on Apple users, because the OS was more constraining. But if Amazon came out with an android phone, it would probably download apps as easily as the Fire. And the kindle is my preferred reading device (although epub is my preferred format).

So, I have decided you can't be independent. Things are getting so platform specific, you choose by default. So, which are you trendng toward? And if you pick None of the Above, you should have a substantial amount of data from all three platforms. Since I have an android phone and a kindle fire, my movies come from Amazon, as do my apps, although I am going to go to Google Play a lot more now.

[teh603]

I had an iRiver Story HD with wifi, but it got stolen back in June or July and I haven't seen it since. =(

[Anabran]

I did not vote in your Poll because polls are pointless IMHO

but still Should'nt you have included windows 8 in your poll??

I am a Mac OS/Android user
But windows 8 will likely be a major player in the mobile device market also

[Belfaborac]

Is the poll more useless or less useless than a post saying you did not vote because all polls are useless?

[daffy4u]

All of the above?

I like to play in all the sandboxes but webOS is still my OS of choice (if I can load open webOS on some new hardware, I'll be all over it). After that Android followed by Apple. I'm itching for a Surface tablet as well.

[DiapDealer]

I voted none of the above ... but only because I don't think I fully comprehend the question.

[Apache]

I use most of them and like to choose based on what I like. I do not want to be locked into one device or company. For ebooks Apprentice Alf is my friend. So I voted I resent your implying I must choose.
Apache

[spindlegirl]

None of the above was an actual poll choice, which I voted. I'm not a tablet user. I love my PC and netbook.

[pidgeon92]

I'm Apple all the way, except for my ebooks.... I my eink Kindles.

[david_e]

All of our devices are from Apple, we buy all of our music, movies, and tv shows from iTunes.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I voted none of the above ... but only because I don't think I fully comprehend the question.

I think it's about phones. If so, then I should vote none of the above. We have trac phones.

[Andrew H.]

I have the following products:
Apple
iPhone
iPad
Apple TV
(and old iPads)

Microsoft
Computer OS
XBox

Amazon
Kindle 3
Kindle PW on order
Roku (not made by Amazon, but used for Amazon Video).

In terms of ecosystem constraint, I think you are really only meaningfully constrained by apps. Media constraints are less significant (although there is a convenience factor).

WRT media, the vast majority of music on my iDevices came from my CDs; I have a smattering of songs I bought from iTunes and a smaller smattering of songs I bought from Amazon. Neither of these companies use DRM, so the songs could be played on any future device.

The majority of my movie watching comes from Netflix. I've rented movies pretty much evenly from both, although I'm probably tending more towards Apple at the moment. Although if you have any time to plan, Redbox DVDs are by far the best deal.

I read exclusively in Amazon formats, although of course that could be changed if necessary. My long form reading is done on my Kindle, but for shorter works I use the Kindle app on my iPad or iPhone. (For whatever reason, I read more on the phone than on the iPad).

If I ended up getting an Android or Windows tablet and phone, most of this behavior wouldn't be affected; I would still be able to read my books on Amazon, play my music, or rent movies. And Redbox would probably still remain the best deal...

But for apps, like programs for traditional computers, you really are locked into an ecosystem. If I switched to a Mac, there are a lot of programs I would have to rebuy, and there are likely programs that wouldn't be available. The same is true of iPhone apps - if I switched to a windows or android phone, I'd have to rebuy the ones I wanted. Luckily, apps are so cheap (and the most useful ones are often free) that that's not really much of an economic loss.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I think it's about phones. If so, then I should vote none of the above. We have trac phones.

Tracfone Yea!
for what I was giving Verizon in 4 Months, I get a Year on 2 phones and no peak/non-peak or out of area charges.

I feel no need to identify myself with a platform, and buy according to my needs.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I think it's about phones. If so, then I should vote none of the above. We have trac phones.

That's also how I took it, voting none.

My wife has Net10. One child in college has StraightTalk--and a Kindle Keyboard 3G. Our adult children, living their own lives, have Android. My parents have trac phones.

I have an employer-supplied, highly locked-down, BlackBerry, but that doesn't make me a BlackBerry. If the employer took it away, I'd probably go Net10.

For mobile internet, I want news and weather. My Kindle Keyboard 3G is fine there. Between the New York Times Latest News Blog, overnight Calibre uploads, and 3G text-based-internet, my news hound desires are fully met, so I can't see the need for a smart phone.