Well, it's that time again. It's time to look at a new Nexus phone and a new version of Android. This time, I'm feeling very happy about the newest version of Android (but not just because of what Google did with it) and the (now aging) Galaxy Nexus.
The Galaxy Nexus is already nine months old (practically a dinosaur in this day and age), but I just had to pick one up once I seen Jelly Bean in action. I initially was going to pick up the Galaxy Nexus back in February, but my distaste of Ice Cream Sandwich forced me to choose the HTC Sensation instead. I was also going to consider the Amaze, but the cheaper price for Sensation along with the ability to root it fully drove me to the Sensation.
Upon first viewing the Galaxy Nexus in the flesh, I was really pleasantly surprised by its appearance. The pure black slate front is faceless. There are no capacitive buttons whatsoever and there is only a volume rocker and a power button on each side of the phone respectively. Combined with these qualities, I've watched humorously numerous times as people who attempt to use my phone struggle to even figure it out.
The iconic camera bezel is still there of course and the larger and more powerful front facing camera is more prominent than the Nexus S. One nice addition, however, is a three color LED notification below the screen. This was something that was missing from the Nexus S. (Third party ROMs got around the limitations by making the capacitive buttons blink and light up on notifications.) Surprisingly, I never found the much larger size of the Galaxy Nexus that foreign. In fact, after using my Sensation and then this phone, I wondered why Android phones weren't always this big before.
Still, not all is great. The hardware still suffers from the lack of premium build materials. The plastic battery cover is extremely flimsy, but one benefit to it is it doesn't contain the NFC chip antenna and can be replaced with another (I chose to replace it with an aluminium one to give it a more premium feel and increase the weight to balance it a little more in my hand.).
Internally, the Galaxy Nexus packs a 1.2 GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4460 with a juiced up PowerVR SGX 540 GPU running at 307 MHz. The GPU is the same one found in the original Hummingbird chipset and the Nexus S by extension. It comes with 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of user space, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, NFC, Wifi (with all the variants), GSM radios with pentaband HSPA+ running at 21 Mbits, and a barometer (oddly). There are also a few other unique tricks like MHL and USB-on-the-go.
Likely the most noticeable feature is the 1280 x 720 resolution Super AMOLED screen. With a pixel density of 326, it rivals the iPhone. It's visually impressive to behold, has excellent feedback, and you can barely even tell that it uses the pentile arrangement.
Overall, I'm impressed with the hardware, especially since Google decided to reduce the price of the phone down to $349 (I got mine for $430 during the import ban). The phone can work on any carrier that uses GSM and it has a bevy of features that help it keep pace even by today's standards. The only real drawbacks I seen were the 16 GB of storage and reliance on the SGX 540. While the phone runs any game out there today efficiently, I felt it was a cheap choice to use (considering when this phone first hit it was around $600). As for storage, the Galaxy Nexus uses a different storage protocol called MTP instead of your regular mass storage mode. It's a bit different, but it allows the phone to incorporate app storage and USB into one allowing apps as near large as you need. However, 16 GB feels dated now. 32 GB should have been the minimum and I hope the next Nexus goes that route.
Booting up the phone, I immediately rooted it and installed a custom version of Jelly Bean on the phone. Any differences from the original will be noted as I run into them. Jelly Bean itself brings a fairly large amount of changes to the board, but the two things major things are Project Butter and Google Now.
Project Butter is the most obvious. Google has gone a great distance to make everything as smooth and fluid as the iPhone in respects. The end result isn't quite as smooth as the iPhone (that's owing to the fact that iOS is programmed directly for the hardware whereas Android has to function on many different phones), but it's still very close. In fact, Project Butter completely revived the Galaxy Nexus. The phone feels as fast as some phones that have just been released. That's one hell of an achievement and tells me that Project Butter is successful.
The other major thing is Google Now. Now is a sort of intelligent push version of Siri. Instead of asking it a bunch of questions, Google Now automatically presents you with the most relevant information based on previous searches (you can still do voice searches and commands as well by the way). This of course means you need to use Google's services, but if you're not, what the hell are you doing with an Android phone anyway? I haven't gotten that much use out of it so far myself. This is partly because I constantly switch ROMs, resetting all my data and because a lot of the push information is things I don't need (public transit, sports scores). Still, my hope is that it becomes even more feature rich in the future and learns even more of my habits. I'd hope one day for it simply tell me things like appointments in case I forget or how long it's going to take to get to work based on traffic conditions.
There are a few mundane things added to Jelly Bean that make it nicer. New animations for all the windows, expandable notifications, and some minor UI redesigns and flair. All in all, Jelly Bean is much more responsive, fluid, and enjoyable than it's predecessor.
A few things of note before I end this. My version of Jelly Bean came with several additions not seen in the original. First, it has an optional menu key. This was something I loathed about ICS on the Galaxy Nexus initially. There are customizations like toggles in the notification bar, settings to adjust the battery style and clock, and skipping music tracks by holding down on either of the volume buttons when the screen is off. Of course, the biggest is the Theme Chooser engine made popular by CyanogenMod that can entirely change the experience of the ROM.
I'm also running a custom kernel controlled by its own app. The app allows me to increase sound output, change frequency sets, overclock the GPU, reduce the voltages, and a few other unique things that really push the level of control I have over my phone.
Overall, the Galaxy Nexus is a purchase I definitely don't regret. I'm happy with its features and I can't wait to see what Google has in store for its next Nexus device.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Android 4.0: A disappointment
I feel bad about making this post, I really do. Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS for short for the rest of the blog) has been a major letdown for me.
First off, let me preface this with the good. There are a lot of great things I do like about ICS. First of all, hardware acceleration. This has what fans of Android have been clamoring for since the beginning. The buttery smooth action of the iPhone is very desirable and most thought this would be it. Sadly, an Android developer has said that it won't happen because of the way Android is made. However, it does create a very good amount of smooth transitions between windows on the main UI. Other programs can take advantage of this and I've seen some so far like ADW Ex Launcher which is as smooth as the iPhone.
A few other good things. Syncing with Chrome bookmarks, a redesigned and faster browser with very smooth zooming, syncing pictures to your gmail account, some much needed UI polish, a few tricks pulled from third party ROMs like swipe to remove notifications.
However, there are some major issues. First, the stock launcher. While the Eclair/Froyo/Gingerbread launcher was very smooth with its opening transition animation and 3D rolodex drawer, the stock launcher on ICS is choppy, counter intuitive, and buggy. The opening animation for the drawer often takes at least a second to even register compared to 2.1-2.3 where it was always instant. The removal of the widgets selection when holding down on the screen to integrating it into the launcher is confusing to say the least and very slow. Having to flick through many different widgets depending on what you have installed to find the one you want as opposed to just a list is a major turn-off. Thankfully, the original method still exists in third party launchers. I also have experienced many crashes of the launcher itself.
The UI, while refined, is really all over the place. Every part of ICS looks like it belongs somewhere else. The calendar has one look while the browser another. The UI only look vaguely uniform and it can really be a distraction for those used to Froyo or Gingerbread stock.
I also seem to encounter a bug where the gallery won't read my SD card (or partition when talking about the Nexus S). It takes a bit of fiddling around with the gallery's data and the camera to get my files to show up. Definitely a deal breaker as I use custom wallpapers.
Lately, it's been shown that the build has a bug, specifically for the Nexus S, but likely for all phones, that prevents the phone from sleeping. This was the dreaded bug that basically ruined Android in the earlier versions (pre 2.0). My Behold II had this problem and I could lose battery after mere hours. I'm certainly not going to upgrade unless Google gets this fixed.
I'm not giving my seal of approval on ICS. While Eclair/Froyo/Gingerbread maintained the good components of the previous generation and added to it, ICS seems to be a step back for Android. This is one of those rare instances where a skinned version of Android is going to be better than stock.
First off, let me preface this with the good. There are a lot of great things I do like about ICS. First of all, hardware acceleration. This has what fans of Android have been clamoring for since the beginning. The buttery smooth action of the iPhone is very desirable and most thought this would be it. Sadly, an Android developer has said that it won't happen because of the way Android is made. However, it does create a very good amount of smooth transitions between windows on the main UI. Other programs can take advantage of this and I've seen some so far like ADW Ex Launcher which is as smooth as the iPhone.
A few other good things. Syncing with Chrome bookmarks, a redesigned and faster browser with very smooth zooming, syncing pictures to your gmail account, some much needed UI polish, a few tricks pulled from third party ROMs like swipe to remove notifications.
However, there are some major issues. First, the stock launcher. While the Eclair/Froyo/Gingerbread launcher was very smooth with its opening transition animation and 3D rolodex drawer, the stock launcher on ICS is choppy, counter intuitive, and buggy. The opening animation for the drawer often takes at least a second to even register compared to 2.1-2.3 where it was always instant. The removal of the widgets selection when holding down on the screen to integrating it into the launcher is confusing to say the least and very slow. Having to flick through many different widgets depending on what you have installed to find the one you want as opposed to just a list is a major turn-off. Thankfully, the original method still exists in third party launchers. I also have experienced many crashes of the launcher itself.
The UI, while refined, is really all over the place. Every part of ICS looks like it belongs somewhere else. The calendar has one look while the browser another. The UI only look vaguely uniform and it can really be a distraction for those used to Froyo or Gingerbread stock.
I also seem to encounter a bug where the gallery won't read my SD card (or partition when talking about the Nexus S). It takes a bit of fiddling around with the gallery's data and the camera to get my files to show up. Definitely a deal breaker as I use custom wallpapers.
Lately, it's been shown that the build has a bug, specifically for the Nexus S, but likely for all phones, that prevents the phone from sleeping. This was the dreaded bug that basically ruined Android in the earlier versions (pre 2.0). My Behold II had this problem and I could lose battery after mere hours. I'm certainly not going to upgrade unless Google gets this fixed.
I'm not giving my seal of approval on ICS. While Eclair/Froyo/Gingerbread maintained the good components of the previous generation and added to it, ICS seems to be a step back for Android. This is one of those rare instances where a skinned version of Android is going to be better than stock.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Who will be in the sequel to the Mortal Kombat game reboot?
Needless to say, there's a lot of spoilers here. If you haven't beaten the game with all of the characters or played through the Story mode, then you should probably stop reading.
That being said, Story mode for the new Mortal Kombat game is a major clusterfuck. With the game basically setting itself up for a reboot of Mortal Kombat 4, nearly all of Earthrealm's warriors dead or really screwed up, you wonder who will be in the next game. So let's just get down to business.
First off, the ones that you can bet will be in the next game.
Shinnok - End game boss easy. I see him as a non-playable character as opposed to his first fighting game appearance (he originally appeared in Mythologies as the final boss) where he was both a playable character and the final boss. I imagine him having all of his old moves and some new ones to boot.
Quan Chi - Also easy. He caused all of the problems in the reboot. I know he will be in the next game.
Scorpion - Another easy one. He's a specter so you can't kill him and he's under Quan Chi's control. Also probably a fan favorite and the most popular character in the entire series.
Noob Saibot - Also a specter. Destroyed in the reboot after being sucked into the soulnado. Could be a bit difficult to explain, but hey, he's already dead. Can't get much worse off can he?
Sonya, Johnny Cage, Raiden - The only Earthrealm warriors to survive the Story mode. Probably some new looks for them plus new moves, but they're staples at this point.
Cyrax - Becomes a good guy in the original continuity. Captured by Sonya and reprogrammed to return his soul. Joins Special Forces. (OR according to his Ladder ending, becomes good and hangs out at the Shaolin Temple)
Sektor - Becomes the new grandmaster. Could be an enemy to Cyrax now.
Kano - After Cyber Sub-Zero's chapter in Story mode, he's never seen again so it's reasonable to assume he's still alive.
Sheeva - Also still alive, but her Ladder ending suggests she takes the Shokan to Earthrealm making her a possible Good alignment.
Mileena - Still alive, probably takes over Outworld in Shao Khan and Sindel's absence.
Reptile - Also still alive. Without Shao Khan and Shang Tsung around his allegiance is anyone's guess.
Baraka - Also alive and probably not doing anything since his character is more of a thug.
Ermac - Not only still around, but with Shao Khan dead his ladder ending could become his future. King Jerrod takes over his body and he joins Earthrealm.
Character that could possibly appear in the next game.
Liu Kang - Dies in Story mode at the hands of Raiden accidentally, could be resurrected. His (and Shang Tsung's) Ladder ending suggest he becomes a God to protect Earthrealm. He could easily be restored from the Elder Gods and takes Raiden's place with Raiden becoming mortal for killing him as punishment.
Smoke - Dies in Story mode, but his Ladder ending says he's part demon. No reason why he couldn't be resurrected.
Motaro - Killed by Raiden in Story mode. Safe to say he now resides in the Netherrealm thanks to Quan Chi's bargain with Shao Khan. Could be the secondary boss before Shinnok.
Mavado, Kobra, Kira, or Jarek - With Kabal dead (but Kano still alive), the Black Dragon might wonder what happened to him. I likely see Mavado, but Ed Boon didn't want any clone characters so Kobra is most likely since he isn't like any other character in the game.
Bo'Rai Cho - Seen in some of the Ladder endings, he could be involved finding out what happened to his student Liu Kang (or trying to stop him).
Tanya - Seen in Shao Khan's arena stage in early prototypes, she could make an appearance, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Havik - Very slim chance. He appears in Noob Saibot's Ladder ending, but that would suggest that Noob turned on Quan Chi which is unlikely.
Hotaru - Johnny Cage's Ladder ending could suggest him since Johnny suddenly has a problem with his powers. Still, I doubt Ed Boon is going to involve all of the other realms this early on.
Rain - A DLC character, his Ladder ending suggests he takes over Outworld so without Shao Khan around he could very well rule it.
Kenshi - Another DLC character. I doubt this some since his whole purpose is to defeat Shang Tsung and he was killed via transfer into Sindel to amplify her power. Without that, what is he going to do?
Skarlet - Third DLC, very strong that she returns, possibly even for Earthrealm. With Shao Khan dead because of the Netherrealm she might ally herself with them to get revenge.
Cyber-Subzero - Hard to say. He was killed by Sindel, but his ladder ending suggests he is possessed by Shao Khan's spirit. He could very well be in the next game with no real alignment at the time being.
Reiko, Frost, Taven, Daegon - All were either mentioned or seen at one time. Taven is unlikely since he was in hibernation as of the old continuity (things have changed though), Frost has no one to train her since Sub-Zero is no longer around in the same way, Reiko and Daegon seem the most likely since Reiko is mentioned in Story mode and Daegon can be seen fighting on the Pit stage (he is also active according to MK: Armageddon)
Characters not coming back most likely.
Kitana, Jade, Stryker, Jax, Kabal, Nightwolf, Sindel, Kung Lao, and Shang Tsung - All killed by either Shao Khan or Sindel at some point in Story mode.
Kratos and Freddy Krueger - These are characters from entirely different franchises. I feel that these guys were one-offs.
So, barring they don't decide to just bring everyone back (possibly evil since they are under Quan Chi's control), here's what I perceive provides the most realistic roster.
Boss: Shinnok
Mid-Boss: Motaro
Roster: Quan Chi, Ermac, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, Raiden, Scorpion, Noob Saibot, Cyber Sub-Zero, Rain, Reptile, Baraka, Sheeva, Skarlet, Bo'Rai Cho, Mileena, Reiko, Liu Kang, Cyrax, Sektor, Mavado.
Add in a few DLC: Tanya, Daegon, Nitara, Zombie versions of dead characters, etc.
Seems like a great start. Of course, like with Cyber Sub-Zero and Skarlet, the MK team might just make a few new characters we have never seen.
That being said, Story mode for the new Mortal Kombat game is a major clusterfuck. With the game basically setting itself up for a reboot of Mortal Kombat 4, nearly all of Earthrealm's warriors dead or really screwed up, you wonder who will be in the next game. So let's just get down to business.
First off, the ones that you can bet will be in the next game.
Shinnok - End game boss easy. I see him as a non-playable character as opposed to his first fighting game appearance (he originally appeared in Mythologies as the final boss) where he was both a playable character and the final boss. I imagine him having all of his old moves and some new ones to boot.
Quan Chi - Also easy. He caused all of the problems in the reboot. I know he will be in the next game.
Scorpion - Another easy one. He's a specter so you can't kill him and he's under Quan Chi's control. Also probably a fan favorite and the most popular character in the entire series.
Noob Saibot - Also a specter. Destroyed in the reboot after being sucked into the soulnado. Could be a bit difficult to explain, but hey, he's already dead. Can't get much worse off can he?
Sonya, Johnny Cage, Raiden - The only Earthrealm warriors to survive the Story mode. Probably some new looks for them plus new moves, but they're staples at this point.
Cyrax - Becomes a good guy in the original continuity. Captured by Sonya and reprogrammed to return his soul. Joins Special Forces. (OR according to his Ladder ending, becomes good and hangs out at the Shaolin Temple)
Sektor - Becomes the new grandmaster. Could be an enemy to Cyrax now.
Kano - After Cyber Sub-Zero's chapter in Story mode, he's never seen again so it's reasonable to assume he's still alive.
Sheeva - Also still alive, but her Ladder ending suggests she takes the Shokan to Earthrealm making her a possible Good alignment.
Mileena - Still alive, probably takes over Outworld in Shao Khan and Sindel's absence.
Reptile - Also still alive. Without Shao Khan and Shang Tsung around his allegiance is anyone's guess.
Baraka - Also alive and probably not doing anything since his character is more of a thug.
Ermac - Not only still around, but with Shao Khan dead his ladder ending could become his future. King Jerrod takes over his body and he joins Earthrealm.
Character that could possibly appear in the next game.
Liu Kang - Dies in Story mode at the hands of Raiden accidentally, could be resurrected. His (and Shang Tsung's) Ladder ending suggest he becomes a God to protect Earthrealm. He could easily be restored from the Elder Gods and takes Raiden's place with Raiden becoming mortal for killing him as punishment.
Smoke - Dies in Story mode, but his Ladder ending says he's part demon. No reason why he couldn't be resurrected.
Motaro - Killed by Raiden in Story mode. Safe to say he now resides in the Netherrealm thanks to Quan Chi's bargain with Shao Khan. Could be the secondary boss before Shinnok.
Mavado, Kobra, Kira, or Jarek - With Kabal dead (but Kano still alive), the Black Dragon might wonder what happened to him. I likely see Mavado, but Ed Boon didn't want any clone characters so Kobra is most likely since he isn't like any other character in the game.
Bo'Rai Cho - Seen in some of the Ladder endings, he could be involved finding out what happened to his student Liu Kang (or trying to stop him).
Tanya - Seen in Shao Khan's arena stage in early prototypes, she could make an appearance, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Havik - Very slim chance. He appears in Noob Saibot's Ladder ending, but that would suggest that Noob turned on Quan Chi which is unlikely.
Hotaru - Johnny Cage's Ladder ending could suggest him since Johnny suddenly has a problem with his powers. Still, I doubt Ed Boon is going to involve all of the other realms this early on.
Rain - A DLC character, his Ladder ending suggests he takes over Outworld so without Shao Khan around he could very well rule it.
Kenshi - Another DLC character. I doubt this some since his whole purpose is to defeat Shang Tsung and he was killed via transfer into Sindel to amplify her power. Without that, what is he going to do?
Skarlet - Third DLC, very strong that she returns, possibly even for Earthrealm. With Shao Khan dead because of the Netherrealm she might ally herself with them to get revenge.
Cyber-Subzero - Hard to say. He was killed by Sindel, but his ladder ending suggests he is possessed by Shao Khan's spirit. He could very well be in the next game with no real alignment at the time being.
Reiko, Frost, Taven, Daegon - All were either mentioned or seen at one time. Taven is unlikely since he was in hibernation as of the old continuity (things have changed though), Frost has no one to train her since Sub-Zero is no longer around in the same way, Reiko and Daegon seem the most likely since Reiko is mentioned in Story mode and Daegon can be seen fighting on the Pit stage (he is also active according to MK: Armageddon)
Characters not coming back most likely.
Kitana, Jade, Stryker, Jax, Kabal, Nightwolf, Sindel, Kung Lao, and Shang Tsung - All killed by either Shao Khan or Sindel at some point in Story mode.
Kratos and Freddy Krueger - These are characters from entirely different franchises. I feel that these guys were one-offs.
So, barring they don't decide to just bring everyone back (possibly evil since they are under Quan Chi's control), here's what I perceive provides the most realistic roster.
Boss: Shinnok
Mid-Boss: Motaro
Roster: Quan Chi, Ermac, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, Raiden, Scorpion, Noob Saibot, Cyber Sub-Zero, Rain, Reptile, Baraka, Sheeva, Skarlet, Bo'Rai Cho, Mileena, Reiko, Liu Kang, Cyrax, Sektor, Mavado.
Add in a few DLC: Tanya, Daegon, Nitara, Zombie versions of dead characters, etc.
Seems like a great start. Of course, like with Cyber Sub-Zero and Skarlet, the MK team might just make a few new characters we have never seen.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
5 months down the line....thoughts on my Nexus S
Now that I have had my Nexus S for five months now, have rooted it, and installed custom ROMs, I thought I should give a bit of an update to personal peeves and enjoyable things I have found about it.
First off, the good. After tinkering with it for some time, I managed at one point to get a custom ROM/custom kernel combination that netted me 45 hours of battery life on one charge. I have since moved on to a newer ROM that isn't that great on battery life, but it shows with the proper settings and software that one can really crank out the battery life on this phone.
Secondly, the minor annoyances. There are really only three types of ROMs at the moment. There are tons of actual ROMs, but all come from the same variances. It's either CyanogenMod 7, AOSP (the basic stock option that comes with the phone initially), and MIUI (a Chinese derived variant with some blendings of Cyanogen and AOSP and custom UI).
I spent a lot of time with Cyanogen because of all the customization that worked so seamlessly. However, CyanogenMod has been unstable at times. It's slowly improving, but not fast enough considering Ice Cream Sandwich will be out by the end of the year and they haven't even managed to lock down 2.3.4 stably enough for daily use. It was my go to ROM until recently.
MIUI, on the other-hand, has just as much customization, if not more, than CM 7. However, I found that certain themes would cause my text to be rendered too dark to read. Because of many of the Chinese oriented themes which clash with my American sensibilities, I found I had to put together a hodge-podge theme. In the end, I couldn't really get the ROM the way that I wanted it in spite of its benefits. I still keep a backup just in case I want to upgrade to newer versions which are improving all the time.
Right now I'm rocking SuperAOSP 8.6 . It's a hybrid ROM combining AOSP with CM 7. This gives it the stability of AOSP with the customization of CM 7. I have to say that I passed up on this ROM for some time. I had a backup of it but did little with it. After dealing with Voodoo color issues, reboots, and other problems, I have abandoned CM 7 for the time being. My current ROM is the most up to date at 2.3.4 with only a few minor quirks like Voodoo color taking a second to kick on after turning my screen on.
Finally, the bad. There seems to an issue with the back capacitive button on my phone. It's fairly intermittent and it seems to span across all ROMs, but I'm not sure if it is a hardware or software related issue. Basically it seems that the button is either difficult to press or outright non-responsive. Sometimes though, like after playing Gem Miner for a bit, the button works flawlessly. My Zagg shield may be partially to blame, but I'm not sure right now.
I've had issues finding a decent case to keep it in. The lightweight plastic is a liability for me and my phone was purchased off contract so I'm not taking any chances with it. I initially used an Amzer Jelly case with my Zagg shield. It was decent, but I wanted to up the protection. I tried TPU cases, but they made it where I couldn't push the power button without difficulty. I already have issues with the back button so I chose to abandon these types of cases. I then moved on to a Trident Aegis case. The case itself is actually wonderfully designed and very unique. However, the plastic part of the case (two piece case) has soft touch material that began to flake off, likely because of how often I put it in and removed it from my pocket.
In the end, I went with the Seidio Convert case. It consists of a snap together soft touch plastic case (materials are better with this case than the Trident one), which can be upgraded to a second case that goes on top of it, making it like a Otterbox Defender case that I had with my Nexus One. It also comes with a belt holster which was something I decided to move to. Having the case on my belt actually saved battery because it was no longer next to my leg giving off heat which causes the processor to work harder. The battery itself heats up as well which is also not good for overall performance. So far the case has been great. The snap together case is difficult to get off if I need to, but not agonizingly so. The back button issue may be exasperated by the case, but I'll take the risk.
Aside from all this, the phone is really good. I'm disappointed that no companies have really jumped on the idea of using the NFC chip for debit transactions. Paypal was supposed to do this, but seems to be slow going to get to it. I was personally hoping that the whole NFC thing would take off, but as of now it is a useless feature that draws battery when its on. I likely see NFC getting big if the next iPhone adopts the technology like everyone predicts it will. Sad to see Apple dictating when people should be adopting technology.
I'm a little depressed at the limited accessory offerings. Unlike the Nexus One, that has a wonderful desktop dock and car dock, the Nexus S desktop dock is really rather bland, costly, and can only be ordered through Samsung's site. I don't really have an opinion of the car dock. Neither were available through the website for some time before the desktop dock was finally made available. I sense that the Nexus S isn't doing as well as one would hope from its limited accessory offerings. I see this as a problem from Google. Had they utilized a different chipset (the first gen Hummingbird could only do 7.2 mbps max), or chose to not try to cram in a NFC chip when the tech wasn't being adopted (it's the reason why the Nexus S doesn't have 720p recording because of the front facing camera and NFC taking up a great deal of space) they might have succeeded better. The loss of the SD card for this phone is really the baffling part as all Android phones, down to the crappiest one you can find, have SD card slots.
Still, the phone is good in spite of its shortcomings. It will definitely hold me until the rumored Nexus Prime comes later this year. Hopefully, Google is willing to do what they did with the Nexus One and push the bar while providing a good mix of future proof technology.
First off, the good. After tinkering with it for some time, I managed at one point to get a custom ROM/custom kernel combination that netted me 45 hours of battery life on one charge. I have since moved on to a newer ROM that isn't that great on battery life, but it shows with the proper settings and software that one can really crank out the battery life on this phone.
Secondly, the minor annoyances. There are really only three types of ROMs at the moment. There are tons of actual ROMs, but all come from the same variances. It's either CyanogenMod 7, AOSP (the basic stock option that comes with the phone initially), and MIUI (a Chinese derived variant with some blendings of Cyanogen and AOSP and custom UI).
I spent a lot of time with Cyanogen because of all the customization that worked so seamlessly. However, CyanogenMod has been unstable at times. It's slowly improving, but not fast enough considering Ice Cream Sandwich will be out by the end of the year and they haven't even managed to lock down 2.3.4 stably enough for daily use. It was my go to ROM until recently.
MIUI, on the other-hand, has just as much customization, if not more, than CM 7. However, I found that certain themes would cause my text to be rendered too dark to read. Because of many of the Chinese oriented themes which clash with my American sensibilities, I found I had to put together a hodge-podge theme. In the end, I couldn't really get the ROM the way that I wanted it in spite of its benefits. I still keep a backup just in case I want to upgrade to newer versions which are improving all the time.
Right now I'm rocking SuperAOSP 8.6 . It's a hybrid ROM combining AOSP with CM 7. This gives it the stability of AOSP with the customization of CM 7. I have to say that I passed up on this ROM for some time. I had a backup of it but did little with it. After dealing with Voodoo color issues, reboots, and other problems, I have abandoned CM 7 for the time being. My current ROM is the most up to date at 2.3.4 with only a few minor quirks like Voodoo color taking a second to kick on after turning my screen on.
Finally, the bad. There seems to an issue with the back capacitive button on my phone. It's fairly intermittent and it seems to span across all ROMs, but I'm not sure if it is a hardware or software related issue. Basically it seems that the button is either difficult to press or outright non-responsive. Sometimes though, like after playing Gem Miner for a bit, the button works flawlessly. My Zagg shield may be partially to blame, but I'm not sure right now.
I've had issues finding a decent case to keep it in. The lightweight plastic is a liability for me and my phone was purchased off contract so I'm not taking any chances with it. I initially used an Amzer Jelly case with my Zagg shield. It was decent, but I wanted to up the protection. I tried TPU cases, but they made it where I couldn't push the power button without difficulty. I already have issues with the back button so I chose to abandon these types of cases. I then moved on to a Trident Aegis case. The case itself is actually wonderfully designed and very unique. However, the plastic part of the case (two piece case) has soft touch material that began to flake off, likely because of how often I put it in and removed it from my pocket.
In the end, I went with the Seidio Convert case. It consists of a snap together soft touch plastic case (materials are better with this case than the Trident one), which can be upgraded to a second case that goes on top of it, making it like a Otterbox Defender case that I had with my Nexus One. It also comes with a belt holster which was something I decided to move to. Having the case on my belt actually saved battery because it was no longer next to my leg giving off heat which causes the processor to work harder. The battery itself heats up as well which is also not good for overall performance. So far the case has been great. The snap together case is difficult to get off if I need to, but not agonizingly so. The back button issue may be exasperated by the case, but I'll take the risk.
Aside from all this, the phone is really good. I'm disappointed that no companies have really jumped on the idea of using the NFC chip for debit transactions. Paypal was supposed to do this, but seems to be slow going to get to it. I was personally hoping that the whole NFC thing would take off, but as of now it is a useless feature that draws battery when its on. I likely see NFC getting big if the next iPhone adopts the technology like everyone predicts it will. Sad to see Apple dictating when people should be adopting technology.
I'm a little depressed at the limited accessory offerings. Unlike the Nexus One, that has a wonderful desktop dock and car dock, the Nexus S desktop dock is really rather bland, costly, and can only be ordered through Samsung's site. I don't really have an opinion of the car dock. Neither were available through the website for some time before the desktop dock was finally made available. I sense that the Nexus S isn't doing as well as one would hope from its limited accessory offerings. I see this as a problem from Google. Had they utilized a different chipset (the first gen Hummingbird could only do 7.2 mbps max), or chose to not try to cram in a NFC chip when the tech wasn't being adopted (it's the reason why the Nexus S doesn't have 720p recording because of the front facing camera and NFC taking up a great deal of space) they might have succeeded better. The loss of the SD card for this phone is really the baffling part as all Android phones, down to the crappiest one you can find, have SD card slots.
Still, the phone is good in spite of its shortcomings. It will definitely hold me until the rumored Nexus Prime comes later this year. Hopefully, Google is willing to do what they did with the Nexus One and push the bar while providing a good mix of future proof technology.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Our patent system is failing us...
It's become extremely apparent that our patent system has been hijacked by corporations. The patent system was intended to give the creators of their inventions the chance to profit from them for a predetermined period of time while licensing it out to others and preventing the creator from taking the invention with them in death. That giant sentence aside, the patent system as it stands now has been hijacked as a weapon by corporations against corporations (and people in certain instances).
Most of this hijacking is by tech companies patenting existing technology or obvious things. One just has to look at the recent lawsuits between Apple vs Samsung and HTC, Microsoft's shady mafia cut dealings, the absurdly abstract software patents of Apple, among others.
Of all these, Apple has to be the worst with Microsoft a close second. Apple has been on the warpath now that Android has eclipsed its market share in the smartphone arena. Apple and many others on the lawsuit wagon can't directly target Google with the exception of Oracle, so they hit the cell phone manufacturers. Apple started with HTC and moved on to Samsung. The problem is the fact that many of these disputes won't even be valid by the time the perceived patents are granted.
One of the biggest problems with patents in general is the time it takes to approve them. This is why you frequently see patent pending on products or why the patent number is usually in the millions these days. At the rate computer technology moves these days, most of the things we use are considered public domain long before the patent is even granted. Even worse, the patent office seems to have to real cataloging because they have granted already existing patents again.
What all this amounts to is corporations are suing each other to prevent losses on technology they don't even have patents to. Some of it has been played off as other arenas such as trade dress and outright theft, but the end result is still the same: corporations waging legal war to be top dog. Apple of all of them is the worst. For all of their advancement in the field of operating systems and the way we use our technology, they continue use underpowered hardware to create huge profit margins while suing their competitors to maintain their lead. They're anti-competitive, dirty, and by using these patent suits, driving technology in reverse by slowing down what could be great hardware.
However, let's not forget Microsoft. The software giant has learned from its previous mistakes in the 80s and 90s by no longer be overt about things. Recently, Microsoft has taken to making deals with Android phone manufacturers. By taking a small cut of the money sold on each handset, they won't sue for their patents. This isn't licensing, this is mafia style extortion. We've never, as a public, even been privy to what these patents are. Barnes and Noble however, are going to go ahead and fight it.
This madness needs to stop. The recent auction of Nortel's patents to a consortium of Microsoft, Apple, and others whom competed against Google for them showed that they are out to pummel the search engine giant. The patents are the guns and the judges are the generals. We are in need of dire patent reform and soon. Because eventually, innovation will be crushed and these corporations will have so much power from patents, legal loopholes, and mergers that the people will no longer have any recourse. Once you only have a couple of choices for the things you like, you're forced into purchasing from a business you had taken a stand against. Let's hope something gets done in favor of the consumer for once.
Most of this hijacking is by tech companies patenting existing technology or obvious things. One just has to look at the recent lawsuits between Apple vs Samsung and HTC, Microsoft's shady mafia cut dealings, the absurdly abstract software patents of Apple, among others.
Of all these, Apple has to be the worst with Microsoft a close second. Apple has been on the warpath now that Android has eclipsed its market share in the smartphone arena. Apple and many others on the lawsuit wagon can't directly target Google with the exception of Oracle, so they hit the cell phone manufacturers. Apple started with HTC and moved on to Samsung. The problem is the fact that many of these disputes won't even be valid by the time the perceived patents are granted.
One of the biggest problems with patents in general is the time it takes to approve them. This is why you frequently see patent pending on products or why the patent number is usually in the millions these days. At the rate computer technology moves these days, most of the things we use are considered public domain long before the patent is even granted. Even worse, the patent office seems to have to real cataloging because they have granted already existing patents again.
What all this amounts to is corporations are suing each other to prevent losses on technology they don't even have patents to. Some of it has been played off as other arenas such as trade dress and outright theft, but the end result is still the same: corporations waging legal war to be top dog. Apple of all of them is the worst. For all of their advancement in the field of operating systems and the way we use our technology, they continue use underpowered hardware to create huge profit margins while suing their competitors to maintain their lead. They're anti-competitive, dirty, and by using these patent suits, driving technology in reverse by slowing down what could be great hardware.
However, let's not forget Microsoft. The software giant has learned from its previous mistakes in the 80s and 90s by no longer be overt about things. Recently, Microsoft has taken to making deals with Android phone manufacturers. By taking a small cut of the money sold on each handset, they won't sue for their patents. This isn't licensing, this is mafia style extortion. We've never, as a public, even been privy to what these patents are. Barnes and Noble however, are going to go ahead and fight it.
This madness needs to stop. The recent auction of Nortel's patents to a consortium of Microsoft, Apple, and others whom competed against Google for them showed that they are out to pummel the search engine giant. The patents are the guns and the judges are the generals. We are in need of dire patent reform and soon. Because eventually, innovation will be crushed and these corporations will have so much power from patents, legal loopholes, and mergers that the people will no longer have any recourse. Once you only have a couple of choices for the things you like, you're forced into purchasing from a business you had taken a stand against. Let's hope something gets done in favor of the consumer for once.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Beginning of the End of the First Round That Leads Up to the End
Confusing title aside, the first of what will likely be many meetings with AT&T, T-Mobile, other companies, and congress took place. Needless to say, it was just fucking hilarious. Most of the proceedings can be read on tmonews (AT&T Senate meeting).
Try as they might, AT&T and T-Mobile's CEOs couldn't sneak in an inch on the first round of senators. Some highlights I thought were fun were:
* AT&T claims merger will help rural areas with better converage - Franken (comedian who used to be on SNL) launched this one out of the park by saying that AT&T advertises nationally, not locally so why should the deal be looked at as such. Totally valid but not a blockbuster point. Building rurally tower-wise is more of an issue with the land owners. Many rural people don't want towers in their backyard because they are visible like a sore thumb unlike urban areas where towers can be concealed. Plus, I've rarely had issues with coverage in rural areas. I didn't have high speed data, but I was able to make calls and texts which are really the primary functions of the phone. This merger is more about data than coverage, after all AT&T says they cover 97% of Americans.
* Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint tells the committee that this merger will likely spell the end of Sprint through a Verizon merger...potentially - Very true. Both AT&T and Verizon would cover 82% of Americans if this deal passes. Sprint will have about only a third of the customers that the Big Two would. Eventually, Sprint would no longer be able to compete as the companies now have basically buyout other companies until there is more spectrum up for sale. Sprint would find themselves merging with Verizon since they use the same technology for their 3G network and have loads of spectrum to use. Of course, this could be a bit of fear-mongering, but is a very realistic future.
* AT&T continues to ignore T-Mobile's position as a competitor - AT&T is still saying that the smaller companies (with less than a tenth of AT&T's customer base) are competitors while almost refusing to admit that T-Mobile is one. Senator Kohl finally blurted out that they were competitors, asking them to just admit it. This is something I don't fully understand. I fail to see how AT&T thinks all of these regulators and politicians are simply going to believe that a company with 33 million customers isn't a competitor to AT&T. T-Mobile has maintained consistent build out of their network and generate excellent data speeds at affordable prices. My only guess is that AT&T has to downplay T-Mobile in order to convince everybody that T-Mobile needs them. Truthfully, they don't. HSPA+ and HSPA Evolved have the capabilities to reach 680 Mbps. Not as fast as LTE, but still very good with minimal impact on battery life. Just because T-Mobile may not have the capital to upgrade to LTE doesn't mean they are out of the game.
* The deal is worth a total of six billion dollars if it fails - This is the three billion dollars in money, two billion in spectrum, and one billion in roaming charges that T-Mobile gets if the deal fails. Certainly I would like to believe that T-Mobile is just playing AT&T, but the truth is more than likely this is the limit in how much AT&T will push in bribes, lobbying, and advertising to make this deal look good to politicians and officials. Technically the actual value of T-Mobile is only about half as much as AT&T is paying. It shows how desperate AT&T is for TMo's spectrum. I doubt AT&T even cares about the customers so much as it is in keeping up with Verizon that already has their 4G network building out rapidly. Even Clearwire, the company that Sprint rents spectrum from, has gone on to say that switching to LTE is nothing more than having the proper phone and a software upgrade for their towers. AT&T runs the risk of falling behind and losing customers with it.
There are plenty more of interesting tidbits, but these are what I find most interesting. As more of these bits of information come out, I realize how badly AT&T wants T-Mobile's spectrum. The reality is that AT&T's spectrum issues are not quantity, but quality. They own spectrum at tons of frequencies, but not many that are close to each other. This results in dropped calls, data loss, etc. While T-Mobile on the other hand, pooled their spectrum close together (mostly in the 1700 MHz band range for 3G/4G) which is why their network suffers a bit in buildings but has far fewer dropped calls and issues.
The thing is, AT&T wants to use the 1700 MHz spectrum from T-Mobile to build their LTE network. While it's common knowledge now that LTE is the future of cellular technology, why waste time reconfiguring an entire network when they could just get pentaband phones and build on top of T-Mobile's existing network? It would be cheaper, faster to do, and wouldn't alienate the T-Mobile customers that swing over after the merger from having their smartphones rendered useless. AT&T sure isn't thinking this through. I only hope the deal gets rejected.
Try as they might, AT&T and T-Mobile's CEOs couldn't sneak in an inch on the first round of senators. Some highlights I thought were fun were:
* AT&T claims merger will help rural areas with better converage - Franken (comedian who used to be on SNL) launched this one out of the park by saying that AT&T advertises nationally, not locally so why should the deal be looked at as such. Totally valid but not a blockbuster point. Building rurally tower-wise is more of an issue with the land owners. Many rural people don't want towers in their backyard because they are visible like a sore thumb unlike urban areas where towers can be concealed. Plus, I've rarely had issues with coverage in rural areas. I didn't have high speed data, but I was able to make calls and texts which are really the primary functions of the phone. This merger is more about data than coverage, after all AT&T says they cover 97% of Americans.
* Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint tells the committee that this merger will likely spell the end of Sprint through a Verizon merger...potentially - Very true. Both AT&T and Verizon would cover 82% of Americans if this deal passes. Sprint will have about only a third of the customers that the Big Two would. Eventually, Sprint would no longer be able to compete as the companies now have basically buyout other companies until there is more spectrum up for sale. Sprint would find themselves merging with Verizon since they use the same technology for their 3G network and have loads of spectrum to use. Of course, this could be a bit of fear-mongering, but is a very realistic future.
* AT&T continues to ignore T-Mobile's position as a competitor - AT&T is still saying that the smaller companies (with less than a tenth of AT&T's customer base) are competitors while almost refusing to admit that T-Mobile is one. Senator Kohl finally blurted out that they were competitors, asking them to just admit it. This is something I don't fully understand. I fail to see how AT&T thinks all of these regulators and politicians are simply going to believe that a company with 33 million customers isn't a competitor to AT&T. T-Mobile has maintained consistent build out of their network and generate excellent data speeds at affordable prices. My only guess is that AT&T has to downplay T-Mobile in order to convince everybody that T-Mobile needs them. Truthfully, they don't. HSPA+ and HSPA Evolved have the capabilities to reach 680 Mbps. Not as fast as LTE, but still very good with minimal impact on battery life. Just because T-Mobile may not have the capital to upgrade to LTE doesn't mean they are out of the game.
* The deal is worth a total of six billion dollars if it fails - This is the three billion dollars in money, two billion in spectrum, and one billion in roaming charges that T-Mobile gets if the deal fails. Certainly I would like to believe that T-Mobile is just playing AT&T, but the truth is more than likely this is the limit in how much AT&T will push in bribes, lobbying, and advertising to make this deal look good to politicians and officials. Technically the actual value of T-Mobile is only about half as much as AT&T is paying. It shows how desperate AT&T is for TMo's spectrum. I doubt AT&T even cares about the customers so much as it is in keeping up with Verizon that already has their 4G network building out rapidly. Even Clearwire, the company that Sprint rents spectrum from, has gone on to say that switching to LTE is nothing more than having the proper phone and a software upgrade for their towers. AT&T runs the risk of falling behind and losing customers with it.
There are plenty more of interesting tidbits, but these are what I find most interesting. As more of these bits of information come out, I realize how badly AT&T wants T-Mobile's spectrum. The reality is that AT&T's spectrum issues are not quantity, but quality. They own spectrum at tons of frequencies, but not many that are close to each other. This results in dropped calls, data loss, etc. While T-Mobile on the other hand, pooled their spectrum close together (mostly in the 1700 MHz band range for 3G/4G) which is why their network suffers a bit in buildings but has far fewer dropped calls and issues.
The thing is, AT&T wants to use the 1700 MHz spectrum from T-Mobile to build their LTE network. While it's common knowledge now that LTE is the future of cellular technology, why waste time reconfiguring an entire network when they could just get pentaband phones and build on top of T-Mobile's existing network? It would be cheaper, faster to do, and wouldn't alienate the T-Mobile customers that swing over after the merger from having their smartphones rendered useless. AT&T sure isn't thinking this through. I only hope the deal gets rejected.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Apple sues Samsung - Samsung sues Apple, hilarity ensues...
Oh the hilarity. It seems like the mobile tech world is just rife with stupidity and lawsuits. This is pretty much how lazy companies prosper and how competent companies stay relevant.
Apple just recently filed a lawsuit against Samsung for their Galaxy S cell phone line that includes not only the base model and the unique American carrier offerings, but also the Galaxy Tab and the Nexus S. The first thing that strikes me as odd is the fact that this lawsuit is coming right before Samsung releases the Galaxy S II line, the successor to the first in much of Europe and Asia and about a year or so after the release of the original Galaxy S.
The lawsuit goes on to describe the Galaxy S infringing upon the overall appearance of the iPhone, particularly in the UI department, but also pertaining to just the overall shape and buttons on the phone. First off, I have a hard time seeing the hardware copying here. Yes the base model Galaxy S does indeed have a single home button on it....surrounded by two other buttons on each side of it. There's also that big old Samsung logo on it, so there's no confusing this with an iPhone. Now Touchwiz, yes, it's a shameless imitation of iOS. Depressingly so, in fact. Considering that Touchwiz 2 (Touchwiz 3 is the iOS look-a-like) looks and behaves nothing like the iPhone, it makes me wonder why Samsung would take this route.
However, the most telling thing of this lawsuit is that they included the Galaxy Tab and Nexus S in the lawsuit. Unless there is some underlying tech element I haven't read up on, the Galaxy Tab bears almost nothing in common with the iPad or the iPhone. More importantly, is the Nexus S aka my phone, in this lawsuit. For the record, the Nexus S is extremely uniquely designed in comparison to any of its Galaxy S cousins and runs stock Android. There is absolutely no way you could confuse a Nexus S for an iPhone.
What does all this tell me? Apple is flanking Google. Plain and simple, they're getting ready to go after Google for Android. Apple has already went after HTC and Motorola for various phones that they say violate their patents. Each case cites different patents, a certainly odd maneuver, but painfully obvious. Apple knows they can't go after Google directly. They lost the "look and feel" lawsuit with Microsoft and they've been bitter about it ever since. So instead, they are targeting the rest of the Open Handset Alliance. They figure if they put enough holes in the manufacturers, they'll bail from the whole Android scene. Problem is, these companies are also billion dollar corporations.
So, obviously, Samsung retaliated with their own suit. Their lawsuit claims they infringe on ten different patents. I don't know about HTC, but Motorola is one of the forerunners to cell phones at all. I know they're packing a shit ton of patents. These are electronic giants, not fly-by-night companies that will back down and pay whatever you ask. Plus the way I understand it, Samsung may have a few edges in this case. One is a lawsuit Apple lost to a company called Meizu whose phone looked nearly identical to the iPhone and the other is the Samsung F700 which was coming out at the same time as the iPhone. Either way, Apple has a long journey on these suits and the companies aren't going to back down so easily. Combine that with the fact that the Oracle vs. Google (aka the elephant in the room) case may be wrapping up sooner than anticipated thanks to a recent statement by the judge presiding over it and Android may be coming out on top in the future.
Either way, Google has the money to defend itself against Apple. It also helps that the people in general like Android. Shutting down an OS that is installed on over 30 million handsets and growing is no easy feat. Worst case scenario is settlements and payouts, but even then Apple is just going to have to get used to the fact that the iPhone isn't the top dog OS (not that it ever was, that distinction goes to RIM and Nokia, but Apple doesn't know any better).
My take? Apple is trying to stay relevant (hence the second sentence of this post). They've had to delay the iPhone 5 for a few months longer than they would like and need to remain a presence in everyone's minds. In the tech world today, a few months can spell success or failure. Apple will still be around, but their potential dominance in the mobile market will be in jeopardy which is why they are mounting the offensive against the OHA. Either way, it's hilarious to watch Android vs. Apple fans fight over it, ridiculous lawsuits get filed on overly vague patents, and multibillion dollar companies crying about things rather than continuing to push the envelope in innovation. At the same time, it's pretty depressing the state of affairs, especially with the patent office since if their were some reform and restructuring, these type of lawsuits would go away.
Apple just recently filed a lawsuit against Samsung for their Galaxy S cell phone line that includes not only the base model and the unique American carrier offerings, but also the Galaxy Tab and the Nexus S. The first thing that strikes me as odd is the fact that this lawsuit is coming right before Samsung releases the Galaxy S II line, the successor to the first in much of Europe and Asia and about a year or so after the release of the original Galaxy S.
The lawsuit goes on to describe the Galaxy S infringing upon the overall appearance of the iPhone, particularly in the UI department, but also pertaining to just the overall shape and buttons on the phone. First off, I have a hard time seeing the hardware copying here. Yes the base model Galaxy S does indeed have a single home button on it....surrounded by two other buttons on each side of it. There's also that big old Samsung logo on it, so there's no confusing this with an iPhone. Now Touchwiz, yes, it's a shameless imitation of iOS. Depressingly so, in fact. Considering that Touchwiz 2 (Touchwiz 3 is the iOS look-a-like) looks and behaves nothing like the iPhone, it makes me wonder why Samsung would take this route.
However, the most telling thing of this lawsuit is that they included the Galaxy Tab and Nexus S in the lawsuit. Unless there is some underlying tech element I haven't read up on, the Galaxy Tab bears almost nothing in common with the iPad or the iPhone. More importantly, is the Nexus S aka my phone, in this lawsuit. For the record, the Nexus S is extremely uniquely designed in comparison to any of its Galaxy S cousins and runs stock Android. There is absolutely no way you could confuse a Nexus S for an iPhone.
What does all this tell me? Apple is flanking Google. Plain and simple, they're getting ready to go after Google for Android. Apple has already went after HTC and Motorola for various phones that they say violate their patents. Each case cites different patents, a certainly odd maneuver, but painfully obvious. Apple knows they can't go after Google directly. They lost the "look and feel" lawsuit with Microsoft and they've been bitter about it ever since. So instead, they are targeting the rest of the Open Handset Alliance. They figure if they put enough holes in the manufacturers, they'll bail from the whole Android scene. Problem is, these companies are also billion dollar corporations.
So, obviously, Samsung retaliated with their own suit. Their lawsuit claims they infringe on ten different patents. I don't know about HTC, but Motorola is one of the forerunners to cell phones at all. I know they're packing a shit ton of patents. These are electronic giants, not fly-by-night companies that will back down and pay whatever you ask. Plus the way I understand it, Samsung may have a few edges in this case. One is a lawsuit Apple lost to a company called Meizu whose phone looked nearly identical to the iPhone and the other is the Samsung F700 which was coming out at the same time as the iPhone. Either way, Apple has a long journey on these suits and the companies aren't going to back down so easily. Combine that with the fact that the Oracle vs. Google (aka the elephant in the room) case may be wrapping up sooner than anticipated thanks to a recent statement by the judge presiding over it and Android may be coming out on top in the future.
Either way, Google has the money to defend itself against Apple. It also helps that the people in general like Android. Shutting down an OS that is installed on over 30 million handsets and growing is no easy feat. Worst case scenario is settlements and payouts, but even then Apple is just going to have to get used to the fact that the iPhone isn't the top dog OS (not that it ever was, that distinction goes to RIM and Nokia, but Apple doesn't know any better).
My take? Apple is trying to stay relevant (hence the second sentence of this post). They've had to delay the iPhone 5 for a few months longer than they would like and need to remain a presence in everyone's minds. In the tech world today, a few months can spell success or failure. Apple will still be around, but their potential dominance in the mobile market will be in jeopardy which is why they are mounting the offensive against the OHA. Either way, it's hilarious to watch Android vs. Apple fans fight over it, ridiculous lawsuits get filed on overly vague patents, and multibillion dollar companies crying about things rather than continuing to push the envelope in innovation. At the same time, it's pretty depressing the state of affairs, especially with the patent office since if their were some reform and restructuring, these type of lawsuits would go away.
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