Quote of the Day: "Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity" - George Carlin
iPad, Android, Fire...It's a battle and I'm in the fray...
So, those of you who know me (by "know" I mean, "have read my blog, spoken to me on at least one occasion, and/or stalk me quietly on the internet") probably have noticed that I'm a bit obsessed with the technology. To be more specific, I'm obsessed with gadgets. In an effort to bring my views to the larger (like 5 people) audience, here are a few things that I'd like to share:
1. Kindle Fire: Let's just be honest about what the Kindle Fire really is...another way for Amazon to collect information about you so that they can do more focused targeted marketing. Don't let the Fire trick you into thinking it's anything more than fancy spyware. The Silk browser funnels all of your web browsing thru the Amazon data center under the guise of making browsing faster by caching frequently visited sites, blah blah. The reality is that it may save you a few milliseconds here and there but the trade off is that Amazon will know everything you do while surfing the web on that thing. I love Amazon as much as any 30-something year old girl with a obsessive love for shopping via one-click could, but I feel that Amazon knows enough about my interests based on all the other ways they track my every move. That is the only reason I can see for why Amazon would bother with making the Fire. I mean, sure, I guess they are afraid that people will use the iPad and start buying books from Apple, but I can tell you from experience that Apple doesn't have nearly close to the selection of books and there is a Kindle App, so it's pretty much like having a Kindle but that can do other stuff. I mean, Amazon has already put Borders out of business, what more do they want from this world? If I was Amazon, until the day that Apple suddenly decides to get into the business of selling diapers and other stuff, I would focus more on making deals with publishers to ensure that Amazon keeps the largest selection of ebooks. The Fire is also significantly inferior to other non-iPad tablets on the market. Read the reviews. I'm not just making this stuff up. Again, don't get me wrong, I LOVE AMAZON. I just don't need them tracking me all the time. Some of the time is enough for me.
2. Windows based phones: hahahahahhahahahahahaha...I'm sorry, but it's just funny to think that these still exist. In all fairness, I have never even seen one of the newer ones in real life. I'm sure that they work perfectly fine, if you ignore the fact that the best Windows device is 2 years behind the current iPhone and Android devices. My last windows phone was over two years ago and I practically threw it into a fire after getting my first Droid. It crashed all the time and basically made me crazy. I guess Samsung, HTC, and Nokia are hedging their bets by making Windows based phone devices or maybe they have to because they signed some crazy deal with Microsoft years ago that forces them to continue making Windows phones. The reality is that Microsoft should just continue collecting the money on it's patents (pretty much EVERYONE pays Microsoft since they've managed to patent everything) and get out of the mobile OS business.
3. Android: I think most everyone knows that I heart my Android Phone. I won't bother doing an Android vs. iPhone comparison. They are two different devices, both with their pros and cons, and are geared toward different user types. There is reason the iPhone is so popular. It's great. I can't say that it isn't without being a stinking liar. It's probably the best phone for someone who has never used a smart phone before, someone who has always used other Apple products, someone who isn't tech savvy, and/or someone who enjoys mind control (hahahahahaha...just kidding...a little). I love my Android phone because I feel like I have more control over it. I can mold it to suit my own vision of how it should work. But, Android still has it's bugs and it does help to have some tech savvieness up ones sleeve and a few googling skills for the times of need. Not that there are a lot of those. I don't have issues all that often and the ones I do have are probably more due to me messing with my phone than anything else. Android based phones are also good for those who do not want to potentially drink the Apple kool-aid and submit to the evil empire. I have an iPad, so I could really swing either way.
4. Droid Bionic and 4G: The Droid Bionic is the greatest phone ever in my opionion. Duel core processors, 1GB of Ram, dedicated graphics processing unit, 4G...it's like my heaven phone. Of course the Motorola Razr is going to be slightly more ninja-rific with it's Kevlar cover, Super AMOLED screen, and a little bit faster duel processors, but it's basically just a skinnier version of the Bionic. The Bionic is a fine piece of phone. It's fast and responsive and will softly sing you to sleep at night. Sometimes I just stare at it in disbelief. It's like a computer in a phone. It's awesome. Also, if you have not experienced the speeds of 4G, then you have no idea. I'm going to go full on Nerd (like I already haven't...) for a moment...Sitting at my desk at work, I just did a speed test. I am getting 20.78Mbps download speeds, 13.81Mbps upload speeds. ON MY PHONE. I used my phone as a wifi hotspot in the car with the kids a few weeks ago. All three connected their iPods and streamed tv shows. It was re-donk-u-lous. It's faster than my internet at home. To be fair, we need to get a new wireless router because the one we have can only push 12Mbps even though our wired connection is like 18Mbps. But even at Max (which with Uverse can be a crapshoot), the Uverse is only 18Mbps download and like 2Mbps upload, whereas my phone at home gets 25Mbps download and like 20Mbps upload, which means that they are not capping upload speeds which is INSANE. 4G is no freaking joke. It's still new, though, so it doesn't have the traffic that 3G does, so I guess we'll see how it goes over the next year or two, as more phones jump onto the 4G bandwagon. But if you like to be able to, like, watch movies from Netflix while waiting in line at the grocery store, 4G is the way to go. Assuming you have unlimited data. Without unlimited data, you are totally effed. Last month, I used 5GBs of data. This month, I'm on track to use just as much. Also, the battery life isn't awesome when on 4G. It's easy to switch to 3G on the phone for when I'm not surfing or need an lightening fast internet connection, but on 4G I get about 4 hours of continuous use. This is why Apple did not go 4G on their new iPhone 4S. They couldn't figure out the battery life issue, either. I live with it, though, because sometimes you learn to make sacrifices for the things you love.
5. OverDrive Media Console: My new favorite phone app. I love listening to audiobooks, but buying audiobooks can be quite costly. Seriously, they are like $20-40. It's nuts. My local library (of which I am a member) offers audiobooks (and ebooks). The OverDrive Media Console app connects to my library and allows me to check out books and download them directly to my phone. It's so freaking great. There is also a desktop version. The only con is that Android does not support .wma file playback at this time, so I can only download books that are in mp3 format (the app doesn't even show the wma files when I search my library). Any book I want to listen to that is only available in .wma format, I have to download via the desktop application and then use other software to convert the file to mp3 and then load on my phone. This is not an issue for iPhone users. I belive that iPhone will play wma files, but i'm not sure. I've never tested it out. Maybe I'll see if Boyfriend will let me try on his fancy new iPhone...
6. iPad: I admit it, I love the darn thing. It does everything I could ever dream of. I can watch Netflix, read books, play angry birds, check email, save the world from alien invasion...anything. There is a reason people are willing to pay more for the iPad than for any other tablet device. Because it's worth it. I hate saying it, I am actually feeling pain from saying it. It's just that good. Since I got the iPad, I almost never bust out my laptop at night. Just to make you understand how huge that is, I used to sleep with my laptop. Now I really only bust it out at night if I want to play a game or I have to do work or other typing intensive activity. Or watch something in Flash. I guess there's that. Otherwise, I use my iPad for most things. It's just that awesome.
7. Mark Bittman How to Cook Everything: This is my new favorite iPad App. It's a cookbook but so much more. It's got like a billion recipes, plus instructions and explanations of all the basics, like the differences between types of knives and pots and pans, basic ingredients to always have stocked, etc. Also, when you find a recipe you like, you can click a little shopping cart and create shopping lists. So, you could plan out all your dinners for the week, make a list, and check things off as you get them at the store. It's got timers for when you cook and all sorts of functions I have yet to discover. It's amazing.
Ok, so I think I've nerd bombed everyone enough for one day...
Jenn - Don't judge me...
