Full category list for displayed posts: Humor, News, Quickies
C-Section Comics pretty much hit the nail on the head with this take on the big three brands of smartphone users, how they see themselves and how they see each other. Click the image for a full-size view.
Be sure to check out the artist’s archive for more witty, well-drawn takes on some of the great questions and topics of the day.
Who knew it might turn into infographic week? Here’s another visualization of the battle raging among companies in the mobile communications universe. This one plots the contestants’ current positioning and trend directions on XY axes of profit share and market share — and it raises some interesting questions:
Should we be talking about manufacturers or platforms? Is the ultimate success of one dependent on the success of the other (ie: can HTC thrive and Motorola whither if Android’s popularity continues to increase)? Do consumers have manufacturer, platform or carrier loyalty — some combination thereof, or no loyalty whatsoever?
And perhaps most crucial of all, can we get George Kokkinidis to re-do this chart?
Via [Horace Dediu]
Take a look at the litigious melee going on among companies trying to squeeze profits out of the mobile communications landscape. It’s a wonder we have phones and operating systems at all, isn’t it?
Interestingly, the one suit against Google by Oracle is somewhat misleading, given that many of the suits represented by the flying arrows in the graphic relate to Google’s Android operating system, including all of the ones filed by Microsoft.
Microsoft, with its Windows Mobile 7 OS about to ship, is asserting intellectual property infringement cases against Motorola and HTC, claiming Google’s Android operating system runs afoul of patents it holds for several important tasks handled by today’s new generation of smart phones. Specifically the software giant says Android copies its patented methods for handling email, contacts and calendar synchronisation, scheduling meetings and notifying applications of changes in signal and battery strength.
Via [The Guardian]
BMW's iPad kit at the Paris Motor Show
BMW will soon offer an “official” iPad integration kit to allow backseat passengers the use of Apple’s magical new device to watch movies and play games in its automobiles, according to reports from the 2010 Paris Motor Show. Of course, Engadget hates it, but some may wait until BMW announces price and availability before drawing conclusions.
Perhaps if they offered free drinks and salty snacks, too, it could become a hit.
OK, you’ve used your iPhone to control robots. Now you can turn it into one, if you have the same techno wizard chops as Kazu Terasaki, the guy who’s done just that.
Here’s the
Perhaps “walking” isn’t quite the right word here. They’re sort of “sliding” their way across the table. But hey, all robots have to start somewhere, right?
(Via Gizmodo, and about half of Twitter this morning)
New Apple Friend Bar Gives Customers Someone To Talk At About Mac Products
Another chunk of genius from The Onion, poking fun at those of us who love our Apple products a little too much.
The Apple Friend Bar, it says, is a new service where ordinary Mac fanatics can book appointments with experts who will be happy to just chat about Apple products. All. Day. Long.
My favorite part is when the Friend Bar employee is quoted saying: “Unlike your girlfriend or co-workers, we’re not going to get tired of discussing the wireless networking capabilities of the Snow Leopard operating system.”
Laurent Bourrelly, who likes to collect a few Apple-related things, had a great idea for a USB memory stick: how about make one out of some old Mac junk?
Here’s the result: the command key stick. If you want to make your own, Laurent has published some instructions – they’re in French, but you’ll be fine with just the pictures.
Then again, if you can read French, you might enjoy Laurent’s blog about all things Apple: pomme-c.
Perhaps you’ve seen a few XtraNormal text-to-video movies already. It says here you’ll be seeing more in the not-too-distant future.
Perhaps you’ve even seen this one already, but no matter, it’s funny enough to be worth watching again and again and again. Definitely NSFW for strong language, esp toward the end.
Perhaps the best iPhone 4 Promo video Apple would never want you to see.
“It’s probably safe to say we invented a new metal.”
Not sure you’d have to be an Apple fan to buy this rattan love seat for your summer lollygagging, but it probably helps.
Spotted by Eirik Nilsen, it retails for about $1,500 (9,900 Norwegian Kroner) at Coop Obs Bygg in Stavanger, Norway.
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