Apple’s not much better at graphics than PC’s. In fact, the majority of modern laptops can probably outdo their Apple counterparts at that price-point. Sure, Macs are able to run Garageband and Final Cut HD (only because of OS X, which can be illegitimately put on any computer now), but that doesn’t really give them the ‘graphic-design-edge’ that everyone boasts about. In fact, I find the Windows variants of Flash CS3 and Photoshop CS3 to be much more user-friendly than the OS X variants (similar, but the tiny differences really bug me — windows that drag funny, etc).

Similarly, the Nexus One and Droid phones are written by many columnists to outdo the iPhone 3GS — both in terms of hardware and user experience. But why is it that the iPhone is still capable of surpassing these two phones in sales and popularity? (Granted, the Nexus One is still a ghost.)

photo credit: doommeer

Smart marketing.

It’s not about commercial time. If it were, the Droid would probably be a lot closer to the iPhone. And in fact, I personally find the Droid commercials to be a bit more clever than the iPhone ones.

It’s the simplicity, the physical popularity, the word of mouth, the lack of exposure the Droid has to the non-geek world, and the reputation (or lack of, rather).

The iPhone definitely has a much more interesting ‘one-button’ hook than the Droid would. One-button to do all things. One-button to rule them all. Etc, etc. It’s just funny, and it’s a major selling point — plus, Apple is very well-known for it’s ‘simplicity’ (in fact, OS X is maybe just a bit simpler than Windows, in my opinion).

photo credit: psd

Where do you see a Motorola Droid? Maybe in a Chinese mall, along with those next-level cell phones that only 0.1% of the population takes a note of. You don’t see classmates, friends, colleagues, bosses, or anyone using them. This is also a reason why Blackberry hasn’t been trumped by Apple yet. It’s because of the physical presence that both Blackberries and iPhones have; you see strangers in the mall scrolling with their thumbs, or texting on their QWERTY-keyboards. And maybe one person on a bench, on some phone that looks like an HTC model or a generic brand — nothing to pay attention to.

When the iPhone came out, the world knew about it. Sure, there are people that know about the Droid — but not many. And a lot of them are just…geeks. Enthusiasts. Where the iPhone appealed to fashionstas for its beauty, geeks for its applications (as well as gamers), media freaks for its screen, and insecure people for its popularity, the Droid is only known to geeks. Not your mother, not your sister, not your grandpops. Just geeks. Maybe you, and one or two of your friends. And, to be frank, no one really cares that much about it, because no one’s seen anything that it can do better than the iPhone (when in fact, there is quite a bit that can be shown).

And, lastly, the iPhone’s already proven to be fun to use. It’s proven to be worth its price tag. And its prices are dropping, while specs are rising. In contrast, the Droid is still very new to the market; although a lot of smartphones came before the iPhone, the iPhone is really the phone that brought smartphones to the mainstream crowd — Feist’s song, its clever demonstration of the Shazam app (which really wow-ed my friends when we saw it), and its variety of apps just really makes the phone. Whereas, the Droid (and Android) still has a lot to prove.

photo credit: dailylifeofmojo

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s very difficult to dislodge Apple and the iPhone from their throne. There needs to be a shift — from simple commercials, to different marketing tactics. How about giving away free Droids, to certain people to try? Chanel did that with her perfume — only to a few select exclusive high-end people, for free. That way, when people are looking to see what the rich people are doing, they find that — Lo and Behold, they’re not using the iPhone, but a Droid! It’s only ideas that are out of the box, that will stand a chance against Apple’s iPhone.

Cover image by William Hook: http://www.flickr.com/photos/williamhook/3656233025/

I could have only dreamed of this coming true — but here it is: the folks over at XDA-Developers (a bright bunch of people) have ported Google Android onto the HTC Touch (Vogue).  Now I’m really not so sure why it’s called the HTC Vogue (probably differences in countries — Canada calls the Samsung Blackjack just the Samsung Jack), but that’s besides the point.  Like…holy cow.  It’s alive.

HTC Touch Vogue running Google Android

photo credit: Kai Hendry

Sure, it’s got a bunch of minor bugs and issues for now, but it’s still something to contemplate — once its issues and bugs are gone, I’m definitely going to have to give this a try.

Why would you want to use any other search engine besides Google?

That’s the first issue that popped up in my mind too.  Google is the King of search, no doubt about it — and it’s used on a daily basis.  We’ve grown familiar with it.  We’ve even…befriended it.  We use Gmail, Google Reader, and Google Documents on a daily basis.  And I get that, because I’m in the same boat as you are — in essence, a Google lover.

However, there are certain aspects in which a search engine dedicated towards searching through forums would surpass Google.  For example, if you were looking for more variety when it came to opinion, who would you look towards?  Sure, Google — right?  And usually, Google would lead you to a review site — perhaps like CNet or Ars Technica, and that would be fine.  But what if you wanted more opinions?  Real people that have encountered real technical issues?

I’m not saying that reviewers aren’t real people, but we only get a certain amount of time to test our products before judging them, and to be honest, in such a short timeframe, there’s hardly any chance the product will have any issues.  Nor will we be able to thoroughly test it out as well as a real consumer who uses it.  And besides, variety would give you more of an idea of what to expect.  One reviewer telling you something is one thing, but a majority of members on a forum screaming the same thing is a whole new level.

I give you Twing

Twing is a search engine that is directed strictly towards forums.  Twing was actually brought to my attention just a week ago, and I’ve really gotten to enjoy using it.

The feature that I really loved was the option to search by post, topic, or even the entire forum.

The results satisfied my thirst for knowledge and I am pleased to say that I will be using Twing in the future to have a look at other people’s opinions on certain subjects or products.

Visit:

http://twing.com