Nathan's Profile

  • http://www.DesignMap.com
  • Feb 22, 2007
  • 219
  • 99

Latest comments made by: Nathan

  • I care because this is a public forum. If you cared, you would comment at a level I'm sure you are capable of. Instead, just like every other post you ignore the real points and gab on about some other unimportant and unrelated nit. Farewell again, I took some months off of this site and it seems like I need to again - truly amazing how one poster can ruin a good thing.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 19, 2007 Posts: 219
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • yup, how'd you guess beeble? oh yeah, i use a mac, dead giveaway
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 19, 2007 Posts: 219
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • yes it is worth debating. The Eames have inspired countless designers to design better and better products for everyone. yet the Eames designed mass consumer products. If more designers were like the Eames, the world would be a much much much better place. Beeble your crassness (funny word that is) really frightens me.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 19, 2007 Posts: 219
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • Yep, Chris you nail it on the head. There is so much compromise going on at the handheld device level you just can't win. Batteries are woefully behind other tech. I remember back when the first black PowerBooks were introduced in 1999, and just to play a DVD there had to be special hardware acceleration to play full screen video. Fast forward to today and you can play full screen video on an iPod. But what about battery life? Still stuck at similar power capacity. I do think the iPhone promises a lot. Great battery life, it can't promise, but it does offer similar life just as every other phone. Get this, my Nokia barely survives a day and it has a 208x208 screen without 3G/wifi. But the iPhone is still a host of bad compromises. The iPhone still abides by the PDA/phone form factor and it suffers. we won't be seeing a true revolutionary mobile device until battery tech, miniaturization, and input has been advanced at least 2x's the current state of the art.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 19, 2007 Posts: 219
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • I also heard that Frank Gehry is inspired by squiggly lines, but that shallowness doesn't prevent him from being called the greatest architect of the last hundred years.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 19, 2007 Posts: 219
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • Dude, people are inspired by YouTube, the second coming of America's Funniest Home Videos for pete's sake. I have no problem being inspired by a tool that has been elegantly designed.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 19, 2007 Posts: 219
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • heck, I bought a Nokia 8801 which at the time was retailing well above the iPhone's launch price. And it doesn't do squat. Just makes calls on a tiny screen. But its a beautiful, elegant design. I love using it (the slide mechanism is absolutely satisfying everytime you use it). Loving a gadget is worth more than the money you pay for it. The iPod has proven that beyond any argument. I think Apple is going for that in the iPhone. Yes, they expounded on the features in comparison to smartphones. But as the author notes, its really all about the cool. Some people, and Breeble is probably one of them, would think I'm insane to pay that much for the Nokia when it doesn't do my laundry. They may even go so far as calling me shallow. But hey, people love things in life that make no practical sense. But that's what makes life enjoyable. We are emotional creatures, not Borg-like automatons that discount form over function. Heck, why does a Picasso go for over $80 million dollars when all it does is sit in the dark on a wall? Because it inspires, causes enjoyment, etc etc. Just like my Nokia, and just like the iPhone.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 18, 2007 Posts: 219
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • What is it with the 5 hour talk time people harp on? For cryin out loud, the Samsung Blackjack, the new smartphone hotness clearly states its 5.5 hour talk time. Using the 3G capabilities slices your total battery time in half. And if anyone actually pays attention, the "rated" battery life is never the same as in real life.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 18, 2007 Posts: 219
    Ultimate Death Match: iPhone Versus RAZR
  • I find graffiti and any handwriting recognition very difficult to use... and its not because of the software. Its a hardware problem: using a stylus without something to rest your hand on is deeply frustrating.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 11, 2007 Posts: 219
    MacWorld Surprises Again With Steve Back To His Best
  • I think the Mac mini was a surprise to most of us - it represents that Apple is at least somewhat willing to compete in the mid and lower price point markets aka... the 99% of the market Breeble points out. How do I sell the Mac mini to others interested in switching to Apple? I just say the OS is superior. The mini by itself is just not interesting. How would Apple convince cellphone buyers that their mid-lowend iPhone is worth purchasing? They couldn't because they'd have to scale down the platform too much and not offer the user experience to a level that makes it compelling choice. Many of the handsets today are loss-leaders... Apple has never ever lost money on hardware. Would they ever? I just don't think it will ever be a company strategy but they have surprised before.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 11, 2007 Posts: 219
    iPhone Reaction: Slick but Unwanted?
  • I'd keep close tabs on Helio as well, one could call them revolutionary with their GPS enabled 3g phones. They are creating a new category of "its not a phone, its a Helio"
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 10, 2007 Posts: 219
    What Do You Think of the iPhone?
  • Breeblebox - I have the Sony Ericcson m600i - a comparable smartphone: 5 hours of continuous use is typical. I can check email every 30 mins, browse the web about an hour, and make 2 hours of phone calls and then the battery is kaput. Normal usage is about 1.3 days before recharge. But using wifi, my friend who has the 990i says the battery life really suffers. Whatever that means... but I think it means you simply can't have wifi on for more than a couple hours.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 10, 2007 Posts: 219
    What Do You Think of the iPhone?
  • let's see here, SE makes the closest competitor: Sony Ericsson p990 - 802.11b - 3 band GSM - Euro 3g Band (2100 UMTS is not compatible w/ US) - PDA/Music/Photo/Video - 2MP Camera + Video call Camera - 80MB+64MB MS - 240x320 res - 4.4 x 2.2 x 1 inches Cost: $554 (unlocked) http://www.importgsm.com/product.php?productid=250&cat=0&page=1 Let's compare that to the iPhone - 802.11b/g (edge: iPhone) - 4 band GSM (edge: iPhone) - No 3G (edge: SE, only in Europe) - PDA/Music/Photo/Video (edge: iPhone because of iTunes, whether you use DRM files or not) - 2MP Camera, no video call cam (edge: SE, only in Europe since US networks do not offer video calls as a service) - 4GB/8GB (edge: a wash, since its more than Memory Stick capacity but not removable) - 320480 res (edge: iPhone) - 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches (edge: iPhone is substantially thinner overall, total volume is much less than SE) Cost: $500 / $600 with Cingular Contract (edge: SE is unlocked) http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/specs.html Those are the basic comparisons most buyers will look at. iPhone wins on the majority. And the other buyers will be more interested in the innovations such as widescreen iPod functionality (Cover Flow) Visual Voicemail, Widgets, etc. These "other buyers" are a new category, firmly outside of the established smartphone category. That's why the iPhone is revolutionary, it is creating a new category within the cellphone industry... not simply leapfrogging the smartphone one.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 10, 2007 Posts: 219
    What Do You Think of the iPhone?
  • I believe the keyboard was designed for dual thumb input as well, and not just as index finger as Jobs was doing. I used a virtual thumboard on my Palm T5 (same res as the iPhone) and to be honest - it can be fast as a physical one. Apple has added the visual cues and audio cues. In my experience those to cues (to compensate for tactile) is enough. Take one away, and it stinks. So if on a noisy bus/train you may have a hard time without the sound. The basic gist is that the two addition cues make up for the lack of tactile buttons. Without any hardware buttons, it will require the user to always look at the interface and then act. With hardware buttons you can do common things without looking, such as call answering and dialing. But I believe the tradeoff of these is overwhelmed by the flexibility and efficiency gained elsewhere in the UI.
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 10, 2007 Posts: 219
    MacWorld Surprises Again With Steve Back To His Best
  • excuse the typos, lack o' sleep
    Nathan had this to say on Jan 10, 2007 Posts: 219
    iPhone Reaction: Slick but Unwanted?