iamthegtiguy

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iamthegtiguy
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  • Editorial: Apple's iPhone strategy is bad for investors, good for consumers

    iamthegtiguyiamthegtiguy
    This article is beyond absurd. Sometimes I wonder about this place and its editors/writers. First off, it makes the obvious logical fallacy of assuming that because Apple now sells a $1,550.00 smartphone, that all of that pricing MUST be due to the phone being so expensive to manufacture to such a high standard. I've got news for you: there's a reason that Apple has the highest profit margins in the industry -- and it's precisely because Apple DOES NOT plow all of its revenues into developing superior phones. Sure, it plows some of the revenue in, but (by the largest margin in the industry), Apple charges sky high prices because (1) people (at least in the past) are wiling to pay it; and (2) it creates huge profits for Apple. Look, I've been using iPhones for over a decade. I have had them break in many, many ways. Are they a bit more durable than a $200 cheapie android? Of course. Is the software more streamlined and easier to use? Of course. But this article totally misses the point. All signs point to the fact that Apple's share price has dropped because of: (1) issues with China, including tariffs; and (2) Apple has finally pushed the pricing envelope too far. The reality is that Apple has for a long time pushed a strategy that is good for investors, good for consumers, and that creates the world's best phone platform. These items are not mutually exclusive here. There's no need to pretend that they are. This article is based upon a conclusion that is wholly absurd.
    blurpbleepbloopmuthuk_vanalingamdysamoria

  • Amazon Alexa & Google's Assistant are inexcusably terrible at knowing when they're called

    iamthegtiguyiamthegtiguy
    This is the biggest bunch of crap. First off, Siri has lagged so far into third place in the digital assistant "wars" that this article comes off as a desperate Apple fanboy's attempt to find SOMETHING, ANYTHING that Siri is better at. Second off, there will always be false positives with digital assistants. Though I acknowledge that many of the false positives currently occurring can probably be improved, the bottom line is that language itself will always have false positives. Think of how many times you think someone says your name, but it's really another person with the same name in the room? Think of how many commercials say "Hey Alexa . . . ." Regardless, I have a 100% apple automated home, but I still use Alexa for my digital assistant. FIX SIRI!
    saltyzip

  • Apple Music rival Tidal accused of late royalty payments, inflating listener numbers

    iamthegtiguyiamthegtiguy
    I was done with Apple Music years ago when it completely destroyed my (legally) ripped collection of lossless music.  It also corrupted my library of 3,000+ past iTunes purchases -- something Apple has yet to fully fix.

    I still love Apple products, but I will be damned if I ever try Apple Music again.  And I sure hope Tidal doesn't fold. 
    1) That may have occurred because of you linking to Apple Music, but that's Apple issue, specifically with a bug(s) in their OS and/or app. That means you should be wary of Apple, in general, not Apple Music.

    2) After that happened did you at least decide to start backing up your data? At some point the user has to take responsibility for not taking precautions. That doesn't mean that Apple wasn't at fault, but it means you also have a personal responsibility. Like if a woman has a stroke while driving and runs off the road onto the sidewalk and hits you. While that's not your fault the car drove up on the sidewalk, if you walking and holding an iPad up to your face watching an episode of The Benny Hill Show on YouTube whilst walking there's a finger to be pointed at you, too.e>
    So you made some decent points. But streaming Tidal from an AppleTV, for example, digitally plugged into a high-end Amp with a high-end DAC does sound wonderful. As for my music files, I did have it backed up. But that isn't the point -- the files are fine, it's everything else that is the problem. Because the iTunes interface has become more draconian over the years, it has hobbled my entire music collection. For example, Apple "doubled" or "tripled" my purchases of about 2,000 songs on iTunes. It never charged me for this, but my Apple-sourced iTunes song history indicates that I made multiple purchases of many songs and albums. The result is that no matter how I arrange my library on iTunes, many, many albums have two and three versions of the identical song. And these files get pushed directly onto all of my apple devices, because the internal iTunes library indicates that I bought multiple versions. This eats up valuable space on my iPhone. It also makes these albums completely unlistenable, unless you want to listen to each song two or three times in repetition. Whenever I call into Apple to try to get it fixed (I have probably tried 3-4 times over the past couple years), I get put on hold for hours, and end up being hung up on or never called back. Additionally, my iTunes library file, which dates back to 2004, became completely corrupted by Apple Music when I unsubscribed. This was, of course, during the initial 90-day period back before Apple had Apple Music functioning well. But at that point, I just gave up on the whole damn thing. Rather than create a brand new library file, I just use Tidal now, and am very happy with it.
    cgWerkscornchipspheric

  • Apple Music rival Tidal accused of late royalty payments, inflating listener numbers

    iamthegtiguyiamthegtiguy
    Except that Tidal is the best music streaming service available.  It's the only service that will stream its entire catalogue in lossless data formats, making it the best format for serious audiophiles.  It also has an amazing host of extras -- music videos, advance rights to certain concert tickets, etc.

    I was done with Apple Music years ago when it completely destroyed my (legally) ripped collection of lossless music.  It also corrupted my library of 3,000+ past iTunes purchases -- something Apple has yet to fully fix.  

    I still love Apple products, but I will be damned if I ever try Apple Music again.  And I sure hope Tidal doesn't fold. 
    skingerscgWerksglynhspheric[Deleted User]

  • Kuo: Budget 6.1-inch LCD iPhone lineup could start at $550

    iamthegtiguyiamthegtiguy
    gregg thurman said:
    Apple was criticized because AirPods, at $179, was too expensive.  Today they are the best selling wireless earbud.
    Apple was criticized because Apple Pencils, at $99, was too expensive.  Today they are the best selling tablet stylus.
    Apple was criticized because the Apple Watch, at $329, was too expensive.  Today it outsells the entire Swiss watch industry.
    Apple was criticized because the iPhone X, at $999, was too expensive. Available for only 2 of 3 months in the December quarter it generated more profit than 600 Android handset manufacturers combined.
    Apple is being criticized because the HomePod, at $349, is too expensive.  We don't even have full launch quarter results, yet Kuo is saying that WS's first year 10 million units sold estimate is too high by 8 million units.

    The iPhone 7 4.7" (base unit) was $649 at launch.  A year later Apple reduced the price to $549.
    The iPhone 8 4.7" (base unit) was $699 at launch.

    Now, Kuo is telling us that the next LCD iPhone, with DSDS technology, a much larger (6.1") screen and FaceID will start at $550 (just over half the price of iPhone X base unit).

    Does anybody see how so out of character this would make Apple?    There isn't enough margin in a $550 iPhone, that will cost more to build than did the iPhone 7, possible.

    I've said it before, Kuo is an idiot, but gets massive recognition because some (about 40%) of his many predictions come true.  If I threw 20 lbs of spaghetti against the wall I'm sure some of it will stick.  That doesn't make me an expert spaghetti thrower.  It does give the media something to drive clicks and enhance my reputation.

    Kuo's reputation as an expert predictor of Apple's product plans is the result of selective reporting his prognostications by this and other Apple-centric blogs.

    Except that it might replace the iPhone SE (which is currently very inexpensive), and Apple might stop selling legacy iPhone 6's, 7's, etc., so it needs a product to fill the "Economy" price slot.  At some point, Apple will make a push to stop selling devices with home buttons entirely, and this might be the time.  When they do this, they will absolutely need an "economy" version of the iPhone to replace the legacy models.  

    Also likely, given that the dual-SIM feature is really only necessary in China, is that this cheaper dual-sim model will be sold only in China, India, etc., and eventually only brought over here to the US when Apple does away with the legacy iPhones.

    Also, your initial statements are largely and completely inaccurate.  There were very few complaints about the AirPods being too expensive, most of the complains revolved around other aspects of them.  And the Apple Pencil, which was panned for being too expensive, may be the "Best selling tablet stylus," but that isn't saying much.  Nobody uses tablet styluses.  The Apple Pencil was an attempt by apple to move the stylus into the educational and professional settings, and despite being the best seller in those segments, it has largely failed at that goal.  I will give you the Apple Watch -- but again, most of the original Apple Watch complaints did not revolve around price, or if they did, it was more aimed at the "Apple Watch Edition" models and/or the obscenely overpriced watch bands, etc.  We'll see on the HomePod, of course.
    [Deleted User]