New Android Commercial

SkyHog

SkyHog

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Everything Offends Me
Take that iPhone:

Awesome commercial, brough to you by Verizon.
 
For nose-thumbing, I thought this did it better:


The problem with the "iDont's, is that most of these are things for which my last phone, a Windows Mobile HTC Mogul, could all say "iDo". Unfortunately, that phone could also truthfully say "iSuck", and this tends to make all the other stuff seem pretty unimportant.

So when comparing an android phone to an iphone, I'm going to be most interested in that "iDont suck" feature.

By the way, I'm pretty sure that a 5MP cell phone camera is a ridiculous concept, as the resolution of these images are typically very constrained by the quality of those crappy little lenses.
-harry
 
I found it interesting that the fine print points out that "Droid" is a trademark of LucasFilm Ltd. Go figure.
Click to expand...
Obiwanmindtrick_small.jpg


-harry
 
The problem with the "iDont's, is that most of these are things for which my last phone, a Windows Mobile HTC Mogul, could all say "iDo". Unfortunately, that phone could also truthfully say "iSuck", and this tends to make all the other stuff seem pretty unimportant.
Click to expand...

True. Android is a hell of an OS though.

By the way, I'm pretty sure that a 5MP cell phone camera is a ridiculous concept, as the resolution of these images are typically very constrained by the quality of those crappy little lenses.
-harry
Click to expand...

Here is an example....the pictures are pretty good, but not professional. On par with a 5MP Point and Shoot.
 

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Well, hopefully the actual phone will be released by the end of the month, because I really need a new one soon. Right now, Verizon doesn't have anything but Blackberry or WindozeME that I see, and I'm not really interested in getting into either of those.
 
If VZW learned their lesson from passing up the iPhone and really gave Google and Motorola the free for all in the design/software aspects then I could see a winner on their hands, especially if the battery life is better than the iPhone.

If, on the other hand, they're still playing their games with locking users out of built-in mapping/GPS, bluetooth profiles, etc then this will probably be another time that they shot themselves in the foot.
 
Ooh - also - the Droid seems to have an offset keyboard....blegh. That was one of the crappier things about a lot of the Windows Mobile phones back in the day.

Why would they do that? Sigh. Aside from that, I like the phone though.
 
Here is an example....the pictures are pretty good, but not professional. On par with a 5MP Point and Shoot.
Click to expand...
That's actually a 3MP image, heavily compressed, that most people are probably viewing on their screens at less than 1MP.

My argument is that given the quality of the lens, the images produced by the 5MP sensor are unlikely to demonstrate greater true resolution than a 1MP or 2MP sensor, because the lens is a limiting factor.
-harry
 
SkyHog said:
Ooh - also - the Droid seems to have an offset keyboard....blegh. That was one of the crappier things about a lot of the Windows Mobile phones back in the day.

Why would they do that? Sigh. Aside from that, I like the phone though.
Click to expand...

Well the article said they hadn't finished on the keyboard design, so it could change.

The QWERTY keyboard is actually pretty usable and has a soft-touch rubberized finish. We’ve been told the keyboard design isn’t final on this unit, thus the two no-shows.
Click to expand...
 
Equal time: Fake Steve says...

This one is funny too

Q. What platform does Oracle run best on?

A. An overhead slide projector.

Same for Droid, apparently.
Click to expand...
Meanwhile, Apple reports stellar earnings and announces a load of new iMacs, Minis (one with Snow Leopard server and 2x500 GB hard drives), and the Magic Mouse -- hope that last one is better than the Mighty Mouse.
 
rpadula said:
Equal time: Fake Steve says...

This one is funny too

Meanwhile, Apple reports stellar earnings and announces a load of new iMacs, Minis (one with Snow Leopard server and 2x500 GB hard drives), and the Magic Mouse -- hope that last one is better than the Mighty Mouse.
Click to expand...

A comment on the second link:
I have an Android phone on a real network. It works great all the time and can send MMS, even! It has copy and paste! Amazing!

Oh yeah, and it can run more than one app at a time and BG processes and Google doesn't tell devs "Sorry, we'd like to make that and sell it instead of you" after they've made and submitted their apps.
Click to expand...

Amazing.
 
I have an Android phone on a real network. It works great all the time and can send MMS, even! It has copy and paste! Amazing!
Click to expand...
That's certainly legit. For the iphone to go so long without basic functionality is completely incomprehensible.
Oh yeah, and it can run more than one app at a time and BG processes and Google doesn't tell devs "Sorry, we'd like to make that and sell it instead of you" after they've made and submitted their apps.
Click to expand...
Do note, though, that these are the kind of complaints that nerds (like me) make when we're explaining to people why Windows sucks and Unix rules. If we've learned anything, it's that Apple is good at adapting good nerd technology to real humans. Sometimes nerds don't like what gets lost in this adaptation, but we have to be suspect when nerds start listing marketing bullets, because their tendency is to tout what's important to other nerds.
-harry
 
Still, it was poor marketing. And it was in heavy rotation during all the weekend football games (that, and the Tmobile my touch ads -- ooh! snap-on faceplates :rolleyes:)

I already knew about Android, so I suspected Droid was another phone running it, but how was the average consumer supposed to get that what they were marketing was a Motorola-built, Verizon-sold, Android phone?

The "there's a map for that" ads are much, much better.
 
rpadula said:
Still, it was poor marketing. And it was in heavy rotation during all the weekend football games (that, and the Tmobile my touch ads -- ooh! snap-on faceplates :rolleyes:)

I already knew about Android, so I suspected Droid was another phone running it, but how was the average consumer supposed to get that what they were marketing was a Motorola-built, Verizon-sold, Android phone?

The "there's a map for that" ads are much, much better.
Click to expand...

It made reference to DroidDoes.com. Its a common (annoying, but common) tactic to get people to go "Huh? What's that?!?" and go to their website.
 
SkyHog said:
It made reference to DroidDoes.com. Its a common (annoying, but common) tactic to get people to go "Huh? What's that?!?" and go to their website.
Click to expand...

And a real useful website that is. I hate places where you can only get "info" by submitting your email address. Also you spend all this money on ads promoting your product, and then the website they are referring you to has absolutely no useful info whatsoever.

Marketing Fail. :mad2::mad3:
 
SkyHog said:
It made reference to DroidDoes.com. Its a common (annoying, but common) tactic to get people to go "Huh? What's that?!?" and go to their website.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I thought that only worked for those GoDaddy Super Bowl ads to find out what Danica Patrick is doing in the shower. :rofl: (which you're not allowed to watch anymore, now that you're engaged)


vontresc said:
And a real useful website that is. I hate places where you can only get "info" by submitting your email address. Also you spend all this money on ads promoting your product, and then the website they are referring you to has absolutely no useful info whatsoever.

Marketing Fail. :mad2::mad3:
Click to expand...

Really? Fail indeed.
 
wbarnhill said:
If VZW learned their lesson from passing up the iPhone and really gave Google and Motorola the free for all in the design/software aspects
Click to expand...

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA BREATHE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

VZW is a minor market player globally. They are 1st or 2nd in the US but small potatoes when it comes to directing design. They use a niche technology too.
 
smigaldi said:
They use a niche technology too.
Click to expand...

As much as I like their coverage (and I've been with them forever), this is their biggest drawback. I hate not being able to run Java apps, and being tied to BREW apps that they approve.
 
This has all the sexiness of a funeral procession. Honestly this can only appeal to the linux kid, hidden in a closet, and fed nothing but granola pining away for some anime chick while only appealing to the ‘fat friend’. That is if he can pull himself away from the computer long enough to consider having a girlfriend…
Click to expand...

I'm kind of stuck with VZW because of their coverage in our area I've resisted the iPhone. Now that they've designed something just for me, I might have to buy one.
 
I've just noticed the more sophisticated the phone the less likely the owner is to answer it.
 
SkyHog said:
Ooh - also - the Droid seems to have an offset keyboard....blegh. That was one of the crappier things about a lot of the Windows Mobile phones back in the day.
Click to expand...
Understand that the only smart phones I've used belong to friends, so I've never really gotten familiar with any of them.

Is the touch screen keyboard a la iPhone better than a tiny physical keyboard?

I don't know if it's parallax, fat fingers, or lack of practice but I probably average at least 2 tries to get the right letter when typing on a iPhone and only 1.5 on a keyboard built for someone with the eyesight and dexterity of the child labor that weaves silk rugs.

Joe
 
Is the touch screen keyboard a la iPhone better than a tiny physical keyboard.
Click to expand...
iphone devotees will sing the praises of iphone typing, but I found the little keyboard on my old HTC mogul to be more effective than my current iphone "keyboard". The iphone does get better with use, as you teach your fingers how to correct for that parallax issue you mention, and I have much greater success using it in landscape mode. But I find that the three dimensional shape of real keys helps to "center" my fingers properly, also making it possible to "touch type".

So my iphone typing is much better than it used to be, but I used to be comfortable using the HTC keyboard for typing long bits of text, whereas on my iphone, it's not something I relish doing. But the iphone has advantages over my old WM phone that more than compensate for slightly inferior typing. And my old HTC is still around, and after about 2 years of use, the space bar doesn't really work any more, so I'm not sure these things are really built to stand up to heavy use, and I suspect that a touch-screen will handle long-term "wear" better.
-harry
 
Areeda said:
Understand that the only smart phones I've used belong to friends, so I've never really gotten familiar with any of them.

Is the touch screen keyboard a la iPhone better than a tiny physical keyboard?

I don't know if it's parallax, fat fingers, or lack of practice but I probably average at least 2 tries to get the right letter when typing on a iPhone and only 1.5 on a keyboard built for someone with the eyesight and dexterity of the child labor that weaves silk rugs.

Joe
Click to expand...

On my iPod touch, I've found the onscreen keyboard to suck, and it is the same keyboard as the iPhone, so obviously, those that claim it works flawlessly are guided by something.

On my G1, its the same. I usually use the slide out keyboard.

What I can't stand, however, is a keyboard that is not centered on the screen. Take your computer keyboard and shift it about 6 inches left. Same idea. So weird.
 
Thanks Harry & Nick.

I know I gotta get one one of these days. I'm running out of excuses so I have to get creative.

Joe
 
You'll get used to the iPhone keyboard and then it isn't so bad. You can pretty effectively text message at a good speed with good gramar via it. My biggest problem with the iPhone keyboard is that it is dangerous as hell to use while driving (much worse than a physical keyboard).
 
The iPhone 3.0 keyboard is pretty fast. G1 physical keyboard is still faster but the virtual keyboard isn't quite there yet.

Nick, the non-centered keyboard drives me nuts as well.

VZW didn't drive the design from what I have heard (and you are far better placed than I); Google and MOT worked very closely on this device. And it's not the last...

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
... the iPhone keyboard is that it is dangerous as hell to use while driving...
Click to expand...
I agree. Using an iphone keyboard while driving is completely reckless and irresponsible behavior, and I really need to try to stop doing it so much.
-harry
 
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