The 10 biggest tech 'fails' of 2010

[Morba]

I guess. In that case, I cant argue. It only makes it an even poorer financial decision to me. I certainly wouldn't buy an iPad as well as a perfectly usable laptop. But then I'm not the market Apple are targeting.

Definitely, if you needed to update your hardware for laptop usage then I can understand why people do that instead. The price comparison compared to usage would make it silly to have an ipad and an old outdated laptop

My biggest worry about getting an ipad is that I would never get to use it, my wife and my boy would be fighting over them!

 

[Sagalout]

Ok so you have one iPad at home that you constantly use - so is it really that mobile which is the entire point of it. Also you want another device to do exactly the same job? I don't get why?

I have a family and they fight over it!...so another one is so that I can actually get my hands on it on an evening, plus the wife gets annoyed when I've taken it with me to use on the train and she has to use the desktop! Its use is 90% at home and 10% mobile. I take it on holiday with us as its great for watching movies on the plane and also have the AV lead for connecting to TVs in hotels etc. I use it on the train a fair bit, but only for watching movies and playing games - I'm lucky in that if I'm going for a meeting that involves a 3 hour train journey I dont usually have to actually do any work

Tablets have been out for years - I find tablets much more useful due to the ability to actually connect to network devices so you can telnet into them and take notes in meetings by writing. I don't see that with iPads. Having an iPad pen tested last week at work and seeing them send a lot of data in clear text also posses a security risk.

Great, but I dont want to telnet into mobile devices, and I'm pretty sure my wife doesn't either! If i take notes in a meeting I'll type them, but this isn't a work machine for me - its a leisure device.

I don't have an irrational hatred of the company the point I was making is that people seem to have an irrational love of the company even though the tech costs triple the price of competitors. You want to browse the web in full then a £200 laptop will do the job better - as the person above has said he uses it at home where theres always a charger to hand.

I dont have an irrational love of the company at all. A lot of what Apple does frustrates me, but they do have a knack of building a great UI, and I'm at the age where I cant be arsed spending time continually tweaking, updating of hacking things. The ipad just works.

As said, it is used at home 90% of the time, but then so are most peoples laptops if they are honest. Battery life isnt an issue though - if I'm on the train I can watch a 2 hour movie and the battery is still at 80%. If I'm going somewhere and need full functionality then I'll chuck the powerbook in my bag, but most of the time I just want to consume media, and the ipad is perfect for it. Nice and slim so takes up the same room in my bag as a magazine, instant 'on', much lighter and easier to use in a confined space (ie train seat!) than a laptop etc etc etc

 

[Kainz]

Bring on the Apple haters/envy'ers...oh wait.

 

[Wicksta]

Yep, android is not tablet supported and never will be. It is ChromeOS that is aimed at tablets and is not released yet.

The next version of Android (Honeycombe) will be aimed at tablets:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/07/honeycomb_tablet/

Having said that, FroYo works really well on my Galaxy Tab, I use it for films, books (Kindle and WHSmith) and games, which I can share with my HTC Desire. I've not noticed anything untoward about it as a tablet OS. I chose the Galaxy Tab as it's a much more portable size than the iPad, and I wanted more than a couch potato device so I could easily use it for trains and flying etc. Also the aspect ratio isn't 4:3 like the iPad, it's widescreen.

 

[scorza]

Yes the Flash argument is rubbish but we all know the only reason why Apple doesn’t support Flash is because loads of games on the App Store would not sell if you simply go to a Flash website and play them for free like Angry Birds. The minute they officially support Flash, the minute they start losing money on the App Store, so they try to justify that by going on about HTML5.

That might be true when national 3G/Wifi coverage is good enough to guarantee you could get to that Flash website when you wanted. Even then I'd probably buy the app so I could use it abroad without incurring massive data charges.

 

[Conscript]

Bring on the Apple haters/envy'ers...oh wait.

Please, stop labelling everyone who dares to criticise certain aspects of Apple and their products as "haters/envyers", just because they haven't chosen to lap up the marketing. It's getting tiring and you're only making yourself look like a rampant fanboi.

 

[Glaucus]

That might be true when national 3G/Wifi coverage is good enough to guarantee you could get to that Flash website when you wanted. Even then I'd probably buy the app so I could use it abroad without incurring massive data charges.

Yep, I think apple have made a booboo on this now. Change of mind since they first came out. It was like music and drm. As soon as they lost DRM sales exploded. As android has showed, apps will still be used.

 

[Kainz]

Please, stop labelling everyone who dares to criticise certain aspects of Apple and their products as "haters/envyers", just because they haven't chosen to lap up the marketing. It's getting tiring and you're only making yourself look like a rampant fanboi.

Heard it all before, the mere mention of the A word brings out the haters and envy crowd which is equally as pathetic. Just because people have chosen to buy a device with their own money hardly makes them prone to marketing.

 

[Things change I've changed]

People seem to class 'mobile' as outside the home only, what's wrong with wanting good mobility 'in the home'?, you want to check the net quickly, pick up the iPad, instant on, your on the net, or walk over to the PC?, change the channel on the TV with the remote control, or walk over to the TV?, the TV has become an integral part of our lives, so much so that the remote control simple as it is was so important, now the internet is becoming the same, I honestly believe in the future practically everyone will have a tablet setting on the sofa/coffee table and we will look back and wonder how we ever survived without them, this is only the beginning.

 

[Conscript]

Heard it all before, the mere mention of the A word brings out the haters and envy crowd which is equally as pathetic. Just because people have chosen to buy a device with their own money hardly makes them prone to marketing.

And just because I'm sceptical of their brand, doesn't make me a "hater".

I'd happily own an iPhone4 if it wasn't so bloody expensive.

 

[Wicksta]

People seem to class 'mobile' as outside the home only, what's wrong with wanting good mobility 'in the home'?

There's nothing wrong with either, some people go out more than others though and prefer the portability of a smaller device. People who stay at home most of the time in front of the TV or a computer would probably appreciate a bigger device. It's horses for courses.

 

[malachi]

That's very true.
How much do apple take (as a percentage) from the apps that are sold?

Heard Apple take about 10 or 15 percent, if you sold an app on there. Not sure if that percentage is correct. Apple did make a killing amount of money from Angry Birds alone.

 

[Morba]

Heard Apple take about 10 or 15 percent, if you sold an app on there. Not sure if that percentage is correct. Apple did make a killing amount of money from Angry Birds alone.

Yeah even a small percentage will make a huge return for them. 15% though is mental!

 

[HumbleCoder]

Yeah even a small percentage will make a huge return for them. 15% though is mental!

If you mean the iPhone/iPad app store. Apple take 30% of your sales.

 

[Morba]

If you mean the iPhone/iPad app store. Apple take 30% of your sales.

Yeah, that app store.
30%! wow!

 

[HumbleCoder]

Bring on the Apple haters/envy'ers...oh wait.

Heard it all before, the mere mention of the A word brings out the haters and envy crowd which is equally as pathetic. Just because people have chosen to buy a device with their own money hardly makes them prone to marketing.

I own a MBP, an iPad and an iPhone yet I'm still highly critical of Apple and air on the side of the iPad being a nice toy but mostly pointless.

So it always makes me laugh when people say things like that, it's almost as if if you've own an Apple product then you know it's brilliant therefore would never be critical of it.

 

[Raikiri]

Enjoy your restrictive device.

M.

I have been since June, easily the best phone I've owned

As for the iPad, I was very dubious and as memyselfandi said would have much preferred a fully fledged tablet PC but having used one they're pretty nice.

Ok so you have one iPad at home that you constantly use - so is it really that mobile which is the entire point of it. Also you want another device to do exactly the same job? I don't get why?

Tablets have been out for years - I find tablets much more useful due to the ability to actually connect to network devices so you can telnet into them and take notes in meetings by writing. I don't see that with iPads. Having an iPad pen tested last week at work and seeing them send a lot of data in clear text also posses a security risk.

Yes, crappy resistive tablets with 2 hour battery lifes and running Windows, which isn't exactly designed with a touchscreen interface in mind.

I don't have an irrational hatred of the company the point I was making is that people seem to have an irrational love of the company even though the tech costs triple the price of competitors. You want to browse the web in full then a £200 laptop will do the job better - as the person above has said he uses it at home where theres always a charger to hand.
M.

But it generally doesn't cost 3x, the only competitor of a similar quality is the Galaxy Tab which costs the same.

 

[Nexus]

Was it, I've not seen any figures to suggest that it was?

There were some figures released maybe a month and a half to two months ago. It showed a massive drop in their readership, however of course they tried to spin this.

It was never going to work really though was it... most in the industry said the same. I notice they are heavily advertising on TV currently using the iPad, which is one of those things where the majority won't even have one to read it on anyway.

 

[Sudden]

Not really sure why you are getting so worked up over something that you are not being forced to buy or use

You obviously haven't really used one, if you have used one at all, as they are nowhere near as bad as you make out. I'm not a fan boy, when the iPad came out I was very dubious about whether it would do well or not. Personally I would prefer a tablet which had a full OS which could run normal software and a more rectangular screen which would make watching widescreen videos better.

But a couple of weeks ago I ended up winning a 16gb wifi iPad. I have to admit that I have be surprised at how nice it is to use and how slick it is to do most things. Yes there are a few niggles but overall I'd have to say I am very impressed with it.

Would I prefer a tablet as above still ... yes, am I happy using the iPad for now ... yes

I don't deny that it does what it's meant to and works great for that. My issue is just for spending more on a device that does less than a netbook is capable of, albeit with a nicer looking interface and a touchscreen. Those things don't however, in my opinion, justify the higher price point. I can accept the price if the iPad did everything that a netbook could do and would admit that it's useful, but without that full functionality, it really doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Kainz]

I own a MBP, an iPad and an iPhone yet I'm still highly critical of Apple and air on the side of the iPad being a nice toy but mostly pointless.

So it always makes me laugh when people say things like that, it's almost as if if you've own an Apple product then you know it's brilliant therefore would never be critical of it.

Hardly. I own an MB, an iPhone and lately an iPad yet I recognise Apple's faults and have done from the start when the appstore arrived - it would be their failure and success.