Notes, thoughts.

Noticed this link on Daring Fireball, Samsung: power, corruption and lies – Mic Wright – The Kernel. The killer line;

You’re welcome to love Android and hate Apple. Just don’t be fooled into thinking Samsung are the good guys.

These days, I’ve increasingly noticed that Android users are the new old Mac users - you ask a couple of sceptical questions and you get an emotive, impassioned and ultimately irrational monologue of why Apple is evil and controlling  and why their device is ‘better’ - bigger screen, faster processor, more ‘open’. They talk about nerd stuff like inches, MHz and RAM. To follow my analogy, they’ve replaced Microsoft who were evil, unoriginal and money hungry according to the old Mac user.

I’m entirely open to the possibility there might be devices as good as, if not better, than an iPhone.

The problem with their outbursts is they never talk about the device being better as an experience. Nicer to use, easier to update the OS and manage your Apps, smoother, slicker and more polished. These aspects are all a function of software, interaction design and OS engineering - and where Apple hand Google their arse, every single time. And this is where the cheerleading of Android devices, compared with the old defence of Apple and the Mac falls down, in my opinion.

Apple users never used power and tech specs, they talked about ease of use, stability, security and just being ‘in love’ with their Mac. With the iPhone, Apple have successfully transferred that ‘surprise, delight and desire’ mojo they perfected with a niche product (the Mac) into a mass market device, the iPhone and now the iPad.

The only justified critique I feel from an Android nerd, is to criticise Apple’s hyper secretive, hyper controlling approach that decides for you what you can do with your device. The Apple cheerleaders will use the Henry Ford ‘faster horse’ quote to back up their belief Apple is being benevolent and has your interests at heart in an attempt to limit how much you can screw up your device. The other side will say Steve Jobs, and by extension the corporate culture he curated, has a dark edge of insane control, secrecy and are just out for themselves and profits. The fact Apple sell (rough figures without proper research) 30% of the smartphones, but pull 70% of the profits, actually backs this up nicely - despite many Apple fans trumpeting this as proof Apple is the best. Being fabulously profitable is a double edged sword. 

And now I arrive at my point, which so far I’ve been luxuriously meandering to via the scenic route, captured perfectly by the link above and the article beyond. If it’s a virtuous, good corporate citizen you’re after, Android, delivered via Samsung, isn’t  your friend.

Over to you Moto-Google-rola, time to impress us. Or maybe its No-Micro-kia’s turn to bust out the goods. I for one won’t be holding my breath, but will be looking forward to hearing a new line of attack once the bigger screen iPhone is released.