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I'm so old, I remember when people paid Microsoft to use their software
superboyac:
Man, wouldn't it be wonderful for a company to just start making cell phones that are blank slates, not tied to any carrier?-superboyac (February 14, 2011, 12:07 PM)
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Google did in '09 with the Nexus, and it promptly died when carriers pulled out after thinking about giving customers software choices. They found out they could charge for that stuff!
...the carriers decide that phones should be locked down (for supportability as well as for 'lock-in').-mwb1100 (February 14, 2011, 11:42 AM)
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Hey, isn't that the same argument book publishers are making about ebooks? Small world.
-zridling (February 14, 2011, 12:27 PM)
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That's very unfortunate. Shit. That's terrible. Just this weekend I was thinking how cool and amazing it would be if companies like Apple or the phone manufacturers started making completely open, touch screen devices. Basically, just a screen with an OS and nothing else. Then, each of the manufacturers or the consumers can take that device and use it for whatever specific purpose they needed by adding software to it. So, for example, I need an alarm clock...I go to the store, buy a small $100 touchscreen device, install the alarm software...BAM, dedicated alarm clock. How cool would that be? I could do the same for a bathroom radio, a remote control, etc. It's all about having the blank device, and having it be cheap enough where you can just dedicate them for each thing. With a $700 tablet, you don't want to just use it as an alarm clock because it's too expensive (even though I'd still be tempted to). But this would be way better than having to buy a real alarm clock that has 1/10th the features of a software alarm clock. This would be a terrific idea, and someone is going to do it and get rich relatively soon. i wish I could be the one.
The locking of these readers and tablets is very annoying. I just jailbroke my ipad this weekend, just so I can load the freaking awesome comic reader app called "Comic Reader Mobi". Oh my...reading comics on that thing is so fun! It can enlarge ONLY the text bubbles, and has a really cool magnifying lens feature. It is such an amazing application, I'm loving it. Now, this app was banned from itunes because it needed a convenient way to load those cbr cbz files onto it, which goes against the closed filesystem rules of Apple. So the guy just made it available as a jailbroken app only. But it kicks the butt of all the other "legit" comic readers out there. Just one example of how the restrictions are preventing the users from enjoying great innovation and convenience. The ipad is PERFECT for this kind of comic book reading.
JavaJones:
While I agree that locked devices are really crappy, I'm not sure I see the need for a $100 alarm clock. ;)
- Oshyan
superboyac:
While I agree that locked devices are really crappy, I'm not sure I see the need for a $100 alarm clock. ;)
- Oshyan
-JavaJones (February 14, 2011, 01:07 PM)
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Hey, that's just you. I'm not the only one. It's not uncommon anymore to see alarm clocks now that have mp3 playing capabilities, as well as some deluxe boom box features, and they sell for well over $100. So the day is coming, my friend. Guys like me would gladly pay $100 for an alarm clock that can do a lot, vs $30 for a old-fashioned clock. I mean, the super cheap clocks are crap, i would never use one. The mid-range clocks brag about having multiple alarms (usually two), and not much flexibilty with those alarms, and they can easily sell for $30-50. So this idea is very reasonable. It's going to happen sooner or later. If I were a manufacturer, I'd just create a bunch of different sized, different-speced screens with android on it, and users can use it for whatever. I'd make a tiny 3" version that people can use as desk clocks, or mp3 players. Then I'd have mid-size version for things like a desktop calendar, or a screen on the fridge to write notes. Then I'd have a big boy for portable computing, like the tablets today (ipad). Why should we be limited to the buttons and features the hardware manufacturers decide to include? Just give us a blank device and we'll choose how to use it.
JavaJones:
I suspect the vast majority of people wouldn't know what to do with such devices and they would not sell well. They would sell great to a small subset of the market, but I doubt they would catch on enough to make it worth a hardware manufacturer's time to make a bunch of different "blank" devices. They'd have to invest tremendously in making them easy to use, customize, and fit to your purpose, and that in itself is very difficult and time consuming.
Nonetheless it's a beautiful "vision". :)
- Oshyan
mahesh2k:
Man, wouldn't it be wonderful for a company to just start making cell phones that are blank slates, not tied to any carrier?
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Are all cell phone brands are tied to carrier in united states ? or you can buy sim and phone separately ?
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