Over-priced consumer technology?

xi5yvm0owc1s2b · 09-11-2018 2:25pm

CrankyHaus wrote: »

They changed from coming out with one market changing product after another under Jobs to their current situation where the best they can do is buy Beats branding from Dre to sell overpriced headphones.

Part of that was Steve Jobs' famous Reality Distortion Field, though. He had a way of making you think he was changing the world whenever he launched a new device like the iPod ... which in reality was just an MP3 player. A decent MP3 player, admittedly, and one that, when coupled with iTunes (which was basically a legal version of Napster) and clever marketing campaigns, did alter how people listened to music. But Jobs had a way of making you believe you were witnessing the Second Coming every time he appeared on stage, and there was a lot of hype around his every move.

Tech is really pushing the Internet of Things as the next transformational tech market. It will probably happen but I wonder if there will be a counter-swing towards privacy and security. People are getting more and more concerned about things like Alexa recording them, nations are getting more concerned about foreign tech companies in their IT infrastructure (eg Australia and the US towards the Chinese). I wonder how people would feel about setting their utilities through their smartphone if hackers started cutting off their heat and light or causing their food to rot in their fridge?

Excellent points. One notable thing about the period from the early 90s to the early 2010s is that very few people gave two hoots about privacy. That began to change after many high-profile hacks made people realize that their online information wasn't necessarily all that secure. Then Snowden came out with his revelations about how much data government agencies were intercepting and storing about you, which made people think about state surveillance. Now people are understandably reluctant to rush into the Internet of Things and put hackers in control of their appliances and their front door. The tech industry has to grow up and start taking privacy and security a LOT more seriously. So the changes we will see in coming years won't necessarily be flashy in the Steve Jobs sense, but we absolutely need improvements to security, privacy, and a lot of other stuff that makes our devices and data harder to breach.

CrankyHaus · 09-11-2018 2:56pm

Reina Incalculable Serpent wrote: »

Part of that was Steve Jobs' famous Reality Distortion Field, though. He had a way of making you think he was changing the world whenever he launched a new device like the iPod ... which in reality was just an MP3 player. A decent MP3 player, admittedly, and one that, when coupled with iTunes (which was basically a legal version of Napster) and clever marketing campaigns, did alter how people listened to music. But Jobs had a way of making you believe you were witnessing the Second Coming every time he appeared on stage, and there was a lot of hype around his every move.

I agree, and I found Apple-mania unsufferable at its height. Like many visionaries he had a healthy dose of spoofer in his make-up, not to mention a shamelessness about nicking other people's good ideas. However it was his mp3 player, his mp3 service and his smartphone that changed the market. He was able to weave all the pre-existing elements of each product together into a consumer focused game-changer. The Economist obituary said that his success was because he was not an engineer, his focus was on the consumer use and how he could market it rather than the technicalities of the product.

Reina Incalculable Serpent wrote: »

Excellent points. One notable thing about the period from the early 90s to the early 2010s is that very few people gave two hoots about privacy. That began to change after many high-profile hacks made people realize that their online information wasn't necessarily all that secure. Then Snowden came out with his revelations about how much data government agencies were intercepting and storing about you, which made people think about state surveillance. Now people are understandably reluctant to rush into the Internet of Things and put hackers in control of their appliances and their front door. The tech industry has to grow up and start taking privacy and security a LOT more seriously. So the changes we will see in coming years won't necessarily be flashy in the Steve Jobs sense, but we absolutely need improvements to security, privacy, and a lot of other stuff that makes our devices and data harder to breach.

I'm not in the industry so I may be wrong, but I'm not getting any impression that Tech is genuinely more focused on privacy and security than before. As far as IoT goes it seems to be taking the approach that using good marketing to sell an insecure product is cheaper and thus more profitable than making a secure one. I expect any change to be spurred by outside forces like state/EU/intergov regulation and consumer sentiment for privacy and security. Tech inroads into transportation may be what drives a change, as the safety and security standards to put multi-tonne high-speed products on public roads will be stratospherically higher than for a phone or a social media site.

RasTa · 09-11-2018 2:57pm

Anyone spending over €300 on a phone needs their heads examined however everyone is addicted to them these days so maybe that's the reason.

Frunchy · 09-11-2018 3:04pm

People buying the new expensive flagship phones rarely use the added capabilities. Most people would be far better off buying a midrange or old flagship phone.

murpho999 · 09-11-2018 5:01pm

RasTa wrote: »

Anyone spending over €300 on a phone needs their heads examined however everyone is addicted to them these days so maybe that's the reason.

€300 is not a lot of phone these days.

I assume you're talking about the outright to buy price rather than what Networks charge up front on contract?

OldMrBrennan83 · 09-11-2018 6:17pm

RasTa wrote: »

Anyone spending over €300 on a phone needs their heads examined however everyone is addicted to them these days so maybe that's the reason.

I think anyone spending over €200 on a holiday needs their heads examined, someone else will think anyone spending over €1000 on a car needs their heads examined. We're all different. Like we get it, you're not into phones. So don't buy expensive ones and don't let anyone force you to do it. Problem solved.

McGiver · 09-11-2018 6:52pm

Mookie Blaylock wrote: »

Incorrect

Which one? OnePlus Chinese crap manufactured in Chinese sweatshop? Or that most mobile phones are manufactured in such places?

McGiver · 09-11-2018 7:04pm

murpho999 wrote: »

I also don’t get the narrative that Apple are an evil corporation that takes advantages of Chinese workers in sweatshops and overcharges for phones whilst Samsung are a benevolent knight in shining armour who release phones for the greater good. Samsung are a huge corporation driven by making profits just like all other businesses.

Yes, but two crucial differences:

1. Apple is a grand tax evader and really can be called an evil corporation in this respect. Samsung doesn't engage in complex tax evasion of this scale, as far as we know.

2. Samsung is a chaebol, a Korean conglomerate. Not a publicly traded company as Apple.

Raging_Ninja · 09-11-2018 7:06pm

McGiver wrote: »

Which one? OnePlus Chinese crap manufactured in Chinese sweatshop? Or that most mobile phones are manufactured in such places?

OnePlus is a solid mid-range phone that provides good value for money. Those Chinese sweat shop workers are doing the manufacturing jobs that the west has exported due to high minimum wage and overly strict regulations.

The premise of the OP is incorrect - how can a phone be 'overpriced' if large numbers of people are willing to buy it? It would seem to me that they got price point right.

McGiver · 09-11-2018 7:11pm

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

OnePlus is a solid mid-range phone that provides good value for money. Those Chinese sweat shop workers are doing the manufacturing jobs that the west has exported due to high minimum wage.

The premise of the OP is incorrect - how can a phone be 'overpriced' if large numbers of people are willing to buy it? It would seem to me that they got price point right.

Agreed on the value for money. But it's still a Chinese company. And customer support is reportedly poor (assume they can't sustain a good customer service due to aggressive pricing strategy).

Billy86 · 09-11-2018 7:19pm

Captcha wrote: »

Apple design their own CPU's/GPU but dont manufacture them and are actually a few years ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to CPU's. They are as fast as full laptops with fans these days and Apple is rumored to be working on new laptops with hybrid cpu's to include the iPhone ones.

Can I get a link to that? Not saying you're wrong but I've honestly never heard it before and find it odd that Nvidia and intel would allow Apple to design their own CPUs under the intel/Nvidia brands, never release them for direct consumerism, and not advertise on any way that an i5 8400 in a Macbook is years ahead of an i5 8400 in a pc or for general component sale?

TitianGerm · 09-11-2018 7:20pm

McGiver wrote: »

Agreed on the value for money. But it's still a Chinese company. And customer support is reportedly poor (assume they can't sustain a good customer service due to aggressive pricing strategy).

One Plus customer service is excellent. If your phone needs to be repaired for whatever reason they arrange collection and it's shipped to their repair centre in Germany.

Someone on Boards broke their screen and sent it in. One Plus contacted them after receiving the phone and offered an upgrade to the newest model at the time.

adox · 09-11-2018 7:33pm

murpho999 wrote: »

Yes it is.

Unless you're going to start saying it's just slightly under which you would still need a 4k tv for.

iTunes films are also 4k, well a lot of them with more being upgraded all the time.

I only have a 4k tv a few weeks and love it and am surprised how much 4k(be it compressed or not) is available.
I upgraded my Netflix sub, I have an Amazon Prime which has 4k content and for the first time ever I’ve found myself buying movies from iTunes - all at fantastic prices. A few examples:

Get Out(4k) €4.99
A Quite Place(4k Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos soundtrack) €6.99
It(4k Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos soundtrack)€6.99

I’ve also bought a few films for €3.99, some are HD and some are 4k.
Also got a free UHD Blu-ray player with the TV.

TVs have to the be the single best value for money technology product there currently is. Prices have plummeted in the last decade or so and the TVs have improved no end.

Mookie Blaylock · 09-11-2018 7:36pm

McGiver wrote: »

Which one? OnePlus Chinese crap manufactured in Chinese sweatshop? Or that most mobile phones are manufactured in such places?

Both your statements re OnePlus are incorrect...

McGiver · 09-11-2018 7:56pm

Mookie Blaylock wrote: »

Both your statements re OnePlus are incorrect...

Evidence?

Mookie Blaylock · 09-11-2018 8:06pm

McGiver wrote: »

Evidence?

Indeed, you provided none

Raging_Ninja · 09-11-2018 8:19pm

McGiver wrote: »

Evidence?

The OnePlus 5T I own is an absolute champ. Does everything I need, runs a lightly skinned version of Android which is absent of all the crapware other OEMs like Samsung load onto their devices. Good battery life, aluminium back, good screen and was very reasonably priced.

I'm not a fan of the new trend where OEMs are adding glass backs to everything and definitely unhappy about them removing headphone ports.

This review does direct technical comparisons between the Onplus 6T and its peers: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/10/oneplus-6t-review-amazing-value-with-an-even-more-amazing-fingerprint-reader/

Grayson · 09-11-2018 8:38pm

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

I'm not talking about games that cost €10-€15. It's the ones that are €60-€70. They'd want to be brilliant at that sort of money.

There's only a few games I buy at launch and I play the fcuk out of them. For example I have 900 hours clocked into rainbow 6 siege.

I wouldn't spend that on a single player game that I'd only get a week out of. I always wait till the price drops.

Capt'n Midnight · 09-11-2018 10:34pm

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Anything Apple TBH. They used to offer a point fo difference, albeit at a cost, now the stuff is poorly designed muck they're rightly getting reamed by the right to repair laws coming into the States.

I got my first Apple product a year ago.

It's only got a single core processor but I love it.

Stratvs · 09-11-2018 10:43pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

I got my first Apple product a year ago.

It's only got a single core processor but I love it.

Does it do pink lady’s or only Granny Smiths ?

Capt'n Midnight · 09-11-2018 10:45pm

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

I read somewhere that 80% of the components inside Apple products are not actually made by Apple. Its basically generic parts from various companies but nicely packaged externally.

Apple computers stopped being special when they moved to Intel.

It just means the hardware is more standardised than the random components on a PC

You can stick the same version on Ubuntu on a Windows or a Mac

Stick OSX on a PC you get a Hackingtosh the only trick is keeping to standard hardware.

r3nu4l · 09-11-2018 10:54pm

Birneybau wrote: »

A bit of research will give most people value and quality.

I actually buy Moto Gs (was Motorola, Google and now Lenovo). Cracking phones for the price and do exactly what I need.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/motorola-5-7-Inch-Android-Sim-Free-Smartphone-Deep-Indigo/dp/B079SQF4BD/ref=sr_1_1?s=telephone&ie=UTF8&qid=1541709856&sr=1-1&keywords=moto+g

Same here, love my moto G phones, currently in the G6 plus.
Also have an iPhone for work, can't be bothered with it.

Pac1Man · 10-11-2018 8:55am

I have my OnePlus 3 since launch (approaching 2.5 years) and it has been flawless.

Admittedly I probably could have gotten a cheaper phone for how I use it but at €400, it wasn't too expensive. It still feels as quick as ever.

What am I missing out on by not using an Apple product? Do you really need to buy into the full eco system to see the benefits? My only experience with the company is a 1st gen iPod Touch which still works! Must be ten years old at this stage.

kneemos · 10-11-2018 9:12am

Prefer the old CRT Telly's myself,much easier to watch than the harsh in your face flat screens. Good for sports though.

JohnnyFlash · 10-11-2018 9:22am

The best and only differentiating feature of iOS and the iPhone over cheaper android rivals is far superior privacy. Apple do far more to stop ghoulish companies like Facebook and Google from siphoning user data. They charge a premium on the device as a result. I’m cool with that.

Raging_Ninja · 10-11-2018 9:28am

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

The best and only differentiating feature of iOS and the iPhone over cheaper android rivals is far superior privacy. Apple do far more to stop ghoulish companies like Facebook and Google from siphoning user data. They charge a premium on the device as a result. I’m cool with that.

Do they actually though? Or do they just say they do?

kneemos · 10-11-2018 9:30am

CrankyHaus wrote: »

A lot of this thread seems to be focused on Apple, which is kind of fair. They changed from coming out with one market changing product after another under Jobs to their current situation where the best they can do is buy Beats branding from Dre to sell overpriced headphones. The only cutting edge product they still have that lacks better and cheaper competition that I can think of is Airpods, and that won't last long.

Phones, computers and TVs are all fairly mature markets by now and I wouldn't expect much more life-changing stuff there.

Tech is really pushing the Internet of Things as the next transformational tech market. It will probably happen but I wonder if there will be a counter-swing towards privacy and security. People are getting more and more concerned about things like Alexa recording them, nations are getting more concerned about foreign tech companies in their IT infrastructure (eg Australia and the US towards the Chinese). I wonder how people would feel about setting their utilities through their smartphone if hackers started cutting off their heat and light or causing their food to rot in their fridge?

Information gathering devices to sell to the highest bidder.
Even cars are tracking your movements and some say your conversations.

Mookie Blaylock · 10-11-2018 9:45am

kneemos wrote: »

Information gathering devices to sell to the highest bidder.
Even cars are tracking your movements and some say your conversations.

I cover my phone in tinfoil, nobody listening to me bah!

Wanderer78 · 10-11-2018 9:50am

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

The best and only differentiating feature of iOS and the iPhone over cheaper android rivals is far superior privacy. Apple do far more to stop ghoulish companies like Facebook and Google from siphoning user data. They charge a premium on the device as a result. I’m cool with that.

Do they actually though? Or do they just say they do?

Come on now, apple are at this game to, there's a reason why they've been investing billions in data center's around the world!

Franz Von Peppercorn · 10-11-2018 10:05am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Come on now, apple are at this game to, there's a reason why they've been investing billions in data center's around the world!

For Icloud. Authorised upload of documents.

That’s not the same as tracking and letting every 3rd parry track everything.

Wanderer78 · 10-11-2018 10:09am

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Come on now, apple are at this game to, there's a reason why they've been investing billions in data center's around the world!

For Icloud. Authorised upload of documents.

That’s not the same as tracking and letting every 3rd parry track everything.

Come on now lads, tax avoidance and data collection is the aim of the game in this business, and apple aren't exactly squeaky clean in these departments, going to a talk on this later, should be interesting

Franz Von Peppercorn · 10-11-2018 10:15am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Come on now lads, tax avoidance and data collection is the aim of the game in this business, and apple aren't exactly squeaky clean in these departments, going to a talk on this later, should be interesting

None of this is an answer to my explanation. In fact Apple make it hard to track devices for 3rd party apps.

And apples model isn’t data collection, it’s hardware sales. Google obviously need to track people across sites, even devices, to maintain its advertising model. If you are getting something for free then you are the product.

kneemos · 10-11-2018 10:18am

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

None of this is an answer to my explanation. In fact Apple make it hard to track devices for 3rd party apps.

And apples model isn’t data collection, it’s hardware sales. Google obviously need to track people across sites, even devices, to maintain its advertising model. If you are getting something for free then you are the product.

No need to track Apple fans,they come to you.

Wanderer78 · 10-11-2018 10:20am

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Come on now lads, tax avoidance and data collection is the aim of the game in this business, and apple aren't exactly squeaky clean in these departments, going to a talk on this later, should be interesting

None of this is an answer to my explanation. In fact Apple make it hard to track devices for 3rd party apps.

And apples model isn’t data collection, it’s hardware sales. Google obviously need to track people across sites, even devices, to maintain its advertising model. If you are getting something for free then you are the product.

Do people actually believe this nonsense? Apple are collecting data just like any other technology firm, this is a part of their business model, yes there are probably worse offender's out there, but just like apples blatant global tax avoidance, which I think apple have been unfairly singled out in, all of them are in the business of data collection, to be used for the act of 'wealth extraction'

Franz Von Peppercorn · 10-11-2018 10:44am

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Do people actually believe this nonsense? Apple are collecting data just like any other technology firm, this is a part of their business model, yes there are probably worse offender's out there, but just like apples blatant global tax avoidance, which I think apple have been unfairly singled out in, all of them are in the business of data collection, to be used for the act of 'wealth extraction'

I know exactly how the technology on both platforms work. Apple make it impossible to collect device information that’s easy on android like the MAC address of a device. And they, once again, do not make the bulk of their money from advertising so don’t need the tracking that google needs. A simple glance at their profits and what generates profits for them would clearly show that. You’d think the people who caterwaul about high iPhone prices would get it. Apple isn’t really an internet company. It’s a manufacturing company (albeit outsourced). It does have a growing services industry but that’s stuff that is paid for directly not by advertising.

I didn’t say anything about tax avoidance. Although since Apple ponied up the 13Bn that’s not true either.

10-11-2018 11:16am

Pac1Man wrote: »

What am I missing out on by not using an Apple product? Do you really need to buy into the full eco system to see the benefits? My only experience with the company is a 1st gen iPod Touch which still works! Must be ten years old at this stage.

You don’t need to be in the full eco system as imo apple make better and nicer hardware, better software and the integration of the two is much better meaning the performance is better (even where the headline specs might look inferior).

But when you have all the devices they all work together so well and it’s somwthing non-apple users don’t really know anything about. I have a MacBook, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch and and all 4 work together so well, for a quick example even the small things like the watch unlocks the Mac automatically (so no entering a password) or the way you can take/make network calls on the Mac or iPad without touching the phone.

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Do people actually believe this nonsense? Apple are collecting data just like any other technology firm, this is a part of their business model, yes there are probably worse offender's out there, but just like apples blatant global tax avoidance, which I think apple have been unfairly singled out in, all of them are in the business of data collection, to be used for the act of 'wealth extraction'

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI%E2%80%93Apple_encryption_dispute

Another example of where apple won’t just hand over data or allow back doors.

Also I really cannot fathom why anyone has an issue with tax avoidance. It’s perfrtly legal and any company or person who doesn’t engage in it is a fool. Do you pay tax you can legally avoid, I know I certainly don’t and investigate any possible way I can reduce my tax bill legally.

TerrorFirmer · 10-11-2018 12:44pm

Captcha wrote: »

Apple design their own CPU's/GPU but dont manufacture them and are actually a few years ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to CPU's. They are as fast as full laptops with fans these days and Apple is rumored to be working on new laptops with hybrid cpu's to include the iPhone ones.

I assume you are talking about the A12X which has shown it can do very well on a short, and limited, benchmark.

Not dismissing the achievement, as it's impressive for a mobile CPU, but it's not a real world test, or even close to one.

I have noticed people claiming 'it's as good as an i7' (and you're alluding to the same with the comments about laptops) despite there being zero evidence to support that, aside from one incredibly cherry-picked, limited benchmark which would not remotely represent real-world scenarios.

I'm not in the know about mobile CPU's so perhaps in the ARM race they're ahead of all their competitors, but they are certainly not 'years ahead' of Intel or AMD.

AndrewJRenko · 10-11-2018 1:24pm

Joey Rapid Numskull wrote: »

You don’t need to be in the full eco system as imo apple make better and nicer hardware, better software and the integration of the two is much better meaning the performance is better (even where the headline specs might look inferior).

But when you have all the devices they all work together so well and it’s somwthing non-apple users don’t really know anything about. I have a MacBook, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch and and all 4 work together so well, for a quick example even the small things like the watch unlocks the Mac automatically (so no entering a password) or the way you can take/make network calls on the Mac or iPad without touching the phone.

It's easy to get stuff to work together when you have proprietary interfaces that others can't access.

Joey Rapid Numskull wrote: »

Also I really cannot fathom why anyone has an issue with tax avoidance. It’s perfrtly legal and any company or person who doesn’t engage in it is a fool. Do you pay tax you can legally avoid, I know I certainly don’t and investigate any possible way I can reduce my tax bill legally.

The issue isn't so much with individuals or companies that minimise their tax liability. The issue is with Governments that allow massive organisations like Apple, Google and Facebook to pay less tax than a corner shop.

kneemos · 10-11-2018 1:36pm

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

It's easy to get stuff to work together when you have proprietary interfaces that others can't access.

The issue isn't so much with individuals or companies that minimise their tax liability. The issue is with Governments that allow massive organisations like Apple, Google and Facebook to pay less tax than a corner shop.

There's a reason they allow them to pay less tax. FDI accounts for in in five private sector jobs.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/one-in-five-now-employed-by-foreign-multinationals-1.2486929

AndrewJRenko · 10-11-2018 1:43pm

kneemos wrote: »

There's a reason they allow them to pay less tax. FDI accounts for in in five private sector jobs.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/one-in-five-now-employed-by-foreign-multinationals-1.2486929

So why should they get away with paying less tax than the employers of other other four out of five private sector jobs?

Raging_Ninja · 10-11-2018 2:08pm

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

So why should they get away with paying less tax than the employers of other other four out of five private sector jobs?

Because it's a handful of companies who employ 20% of workers. They very well might only be there due to tax incentives.

Pwindedd · 10-11-2018 2:35pm

Used to be an iPhone user but then I had one stolen on me about 5 years ago. Had to buy a cheap but functional handset quickly and did a bit of research and bought a moto G on Amazon. Am now on my third moto G (G5) and they do everything I need them to. Reliable fast and easy to use. Just can't justify walking round with nearly a grands worth of tech in my pocket - that said I'm a big fan of the iPad. I actually think they're good value for money. My current one is now 6 years old. A few chips and cracks around the edge but it's a workhorse. Can't update iOS anymore so it's time for a new one. But as the last one cost me just a fiver a month (399 purchase price divided by 6 years divided by 12 months) I see it as really good value. Even if the new one only lasts 3 yrs. They have even dropped in price. Equivalent model now is only 369 -

TL:DR - Find something that does the job you need it in the price range you can afford and don't worry what everyone else is spending their money on.

AndrewJRenko · 10-11-2018 2:38pm

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

Because it's a handful of companies who employ 20% of workers. They very well might only be there due to tax incentives.

What has being a handful of companies got to do with it? If tax policy is to be based around company size, then the low rates should apply to large indigenous firms?

kneemos · 10-11-2018 2:50pm

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

What has being a handful of companies got to do with it? If tax policy is to be based around company size, then the low rates should apply to large indigenous firms?

You don't need to attract indigenous firms to the country.

We're pretty good at attracting FDI apparently.

AndrewJRenko · 10-11-2018 3:50pm

kneemos wrote: »

You don't need to attract indigenous firms to the country.

We're pretty good at attracting FDI apparently.

But you need to keep the indigenous firms, to stop them expanding overseas instead of here, right?

Yeah, we're pretty good at attracting FDI firms by letting them away with paying almost no tax. That doesn't mean it is a good thing.

10-11-2018 4:04pm

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

It's easy to get stuff to work together when you have proprietary interfaces that others can't access

I see this as a good thing tbh, it’s much more secure and works better. Much like the App Store doesn’t allow any old rubbish and virus riddlers apps like the play store.

AndrewJRenko · 10-11-2018 6:51pm

Joey Rapid Numskull wrote: »

I see this as a good thing tbh, it’s much more secure and works better. Much like the App Store doesn’t allow any old rubbish and virus riddlers apps like the play store.

It's a good thing until you find that there is no software that meets your needs on the App store. So when you need to be able to top up your Luas card without going to a Luas stop, it is not a good thing. You need an Android phone for that.

Odysseus Mouse · 10-11-2018 8:03pm

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

It's a good thing until you find that there is no software that meets your needs on the App store. So when you need to be able to top up your Luas card without going to a Luas stop, it is not a good thing. You need an Android phone for that.

It's ridiculous how locked down NFC is on Apple hardware. This would be so convenient for me.

Pac1Man · 10-11-2018 10:49pm

Strange. I never had any viruses or security issues on Android since day one.

AndrewJRenko · 10-11-2018 11:30pm

And then there is the simple question of needing to add memory to a phone - with Android, you simply buy a micro-SD card of your choice - any size, any manufacturer.

How's those iPhones when you need extra memory?

Over-priced consumer technology?

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