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| (Source: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2012/02/6201.Win8Logo_01_thumb_23669D8A.jpg) |
I've been especially excited lately. Excited in a way that I haven't truly been since 2007 when the iPhone was introduced. I was thirteen, almost fourteen, and it was a really big deal to me then. Exciting. Wonderful. Magical even; and most of all it fueled my childlike wonder. A short amount of time has gone by and the iPhone has set itself as the de facto standard for quality. Sam(e)sung calls it 'obvious,' so obviously they did it first right? Wrong! Dishonesty is rampant in almost every design in smartphones today. The hardware... oh the hardware.
(Source: http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/samsung_phones_before_after_iphone.jpg?w=640)
Phones didn't have the standard 3.5 mm headphone jacks that we have today... until the iPhone. The standards we have today in the hardware of our phones is almost exclusively thanks to Apple.
Android itself is a rip of the iPhone software, and a great deal of the 'features' that it has over the iPhone started with the iPhone! The Jailbreak community was a sort of wild testing ground for Apple. They could see what really worked and what didn't.
Wifi-Sync? Jailbreak, then Android, then Apple.
Third party apps (and Appstore)? Jailbreak, then Android, then Apple (mostly, not the third party Appstore).
Lock screen Widgets? Jailbreak, then Android, then Apple.
Multitasking
Custom wallpapers
Volume button shutter release
Video out
Wifi hotspot tethering
Folders
Bluetooth keyboard support
Copy and paste
APPS
(Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-steal-jailbreak-2011-6#improved-notifications-1)
All thanks to Apple's jailbreak community. Just because it isn't officially Apple's and they play cat-and-mouse, doesn't mean they don't get some credit. Yes, the innovation ultimately goes to the jailbreak developers... and Apple for making something capable and worth developing for. Something worth making even more fantastic than it is right now. A device that is better than when you first bought it. That is a practice that only Apple implements right now. Obvious right? Then why doesn't everyone do it and stop copying the real innovators.
Which brings me to the point that I've been thinking about incessantly for months. Windows. Windows Everywhere. Microsoft's push for a unified and supportable ecosystem. Phone, gaming, laptop, desktop, tablet: all unified through their cloud services and seamless. An old idea, but one that hasn't yet been fully realized; I think they may pull it off. I'm excited to no end. I obsess over any and every Windows rumor now, something that used to be reserved for Anything Apple. I love Apple products for a few simple reasons: I enjoy using them, they work and are stable, they will always, always, ALWAYS be better than when I first bought them. Simplicity and elegance that I can bond with on an emotional level. Like it or not, we bond with our devices; they have our lives on them.
Windows 8
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| Live tiles what a great idea! They're like the widget fad but actually usable and useful at a glance. |
An introductory video to Windows 8
Surface
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| Note: Unsourced images are screenshots from Microsoft.com and their other product websites. |
Xbox
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| Unified UI across all platforms |
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| Awesome games |
Windows Phone 8
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| Phones that I don't immediately think, 'That's either an iPhone or some Android phone.' |
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| Good Marketing Campaign |
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| Good selection of quality, non-spammy apps (I'm looking at you Google Play! Phones shouldn't need Anti-virus software!!!) |
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| A budget phone with good build quality |
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| And Good Specs! |
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| A flagship phone that makes me excited |
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| And doesn't leave me disappointed! |
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| A usable online website with useful information |
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| And a light, fast, but still powerful Appstore The iTunes software makes me cringe there is so much bloat. Windows Phone 8 Appstore is clean, light, and lightning fast. |
I'm excited because there is something new that is worth entrusting my digital life on. The iPhone is still very trustworthy and I love it. It works, it's fast, it has a ton of great ideas, but if everything works out like we've been promised I will switch to Windows. It's just that great.
For all of these reasons, This Is My Next: Nokia Lumia 920.
