Before the iPhone there was…

[XWAUForceflow]

What a blast from the past. The similarities to the iPhones are actually pretty stunning, while it doesn't look like it has anything in common with it on a first glance, looking at it more in-depth shows that while Steve Jobs might have hated the product he sure didn't hate the concept...

Also, great to see @Emily Young back in a video your facial expressions on Linus going all over the place where priceless!

[Commodus]

On 9/4/2023 at 1:24 PM, JuntaPiezas said:

I remember what  Windows Mobile was before the iPhone. Capacitive screens where the real point on the iPhone but it was when hackers starting developing for it using the raw power that was jailed by Apple when the real change was developing. In the end, it took Apple too much time to develop a complete product and Google prepared his own answer to it. Without Android, iPhone would be something very far from what we have know.

That's... not really how it went down.

 

Android was already in development before Apple announced the iPhone. In fact, it's well-known that Google switched tack after Apple unveiled the iPhone. It was originally focusing on a BlackBerry-style interface, but shifted priorities to a touchscreen design after the Macworld 2007 keynote.

 

Jailbreakers and modders didn't have much impact at all. Android's early success mainly came through a combination of needed software improvements as well as the right hardware and carrier partners. The platform didn't even have an on-screen keyboard at first. The OS only really took off at the end of 2009 with the Motorola Droid, which had the right cocktail of Android 2.0, good specs and, crucially, a carrier deal with Verizon. The Samsung Galaxy S launch in 2010 accelerated that shift.

 

After that, a lot of Android's success can be chalked up to variety. More price points, more form factors and better support for some countries. You can buy a $100 Android phone; you can buy gigantic cheap phones, or relatively compact high-end phones; you can get a device tailored to the Chinese or Indian market with local apps, stores and features. Apple has never really dipped below $399, has had a fairly rigid design formula (larger screens are more expensive) and does comparatively little to accommodate regional differences.

 

Don't get me wrong, Android has pushed Apple to improve the iPhone; screen sizes, camera tech and some software features, for example. It's just that the iPhone was more complete than you suggest (by July 2008 it had the app store, copy-and-paste, 3G, GPS and other key improvements), and that Android took off in no small part because Google was catering to users Apple simply refused to court.

[Guest]

On 9/8/2023 at 4:14 PM, Commodus said:

That's... not really how it went down.

 

Android was already in development before Apple announced the iPhone. In fact, it's well-known that Google switched tack after Apple unveiled the iPhone. It was originally focusing on a BlackBerry-style interface, but shifted priorities to a touchscreen design after the Macworld 2007 keynote.

 

Jailbreakers and modders didn't have much impact at all. Android's early success mainly came through a combination of needed software improvements as well as the right hardware and carrier partners. The platform didn't even have an on-screen keyboard at first. The OS only really took off at the end of 2009 with the Motorola Droid, which had the right cocktail of Android 2.0, good specs and, crucially, a carrier deal with Verizon. The Samsung Galaxy S launch in 2010 accelerated that shift.

 

After that, a lot of Android's success can be chalked up to variety. More price points, more form factors and better support for some countries. You can buy a $100 Android phone; you can buy gigantic cheap phones, or relatively compact high-end phones; you can get a device tailored to the Chinese or Indian market with local apps, stores and features. Apple has never really dipped below $399, has had a fairly rigid design formula (larger screens are more expensive) and does comparatively little to accommodate regional differences.

 

Don't get me wrong, Android has pushed Apple to improve the iPhone; screen sizes, camera tech and some software features, for example. It's just that the iPhone was more complete than you suggest (by July 2008 it had the app store, copy-and-paste, 3G, GPS and other key improvements), and that Android took off in no small part because Google was catering to users Apple simply refused to court.

 

As you said, Android swifted from a Blackberry-style product to an answer to the iPhone. Jailbreakers and modders did have an impact on the iPhone because it took Apple almost a year to launch the Appstore. Something about Jobs not wanting 3rd party software on the device... Thank god jailbreakers prove them wrong and forced them to do it.

[coius]

On 9/5/2023 at 9:04 PM, Bunjiman said:

@JuntaPiezas

I'll buy an eMate 300 off of you. Always wanted to play with one.  Closest I had was the 300Mhz Blueberry iBook G3 in 2002 (i think it was a 99 model with only USB, no firewire. Not sure if it had composite out, but it had I think 320MB RAM, Airport card and OS 9/OS X 10.2 or 10.3 by it's end, but it ended up dying.)

If you are interested, I do have some pretty old computers as well in my collection I could possibly exchange, including an upgraded LC III, a Performa 600 (I think) and a few others.  Plus some older early 486/Pentium I systems, and i think a Pentium MMX 200 board, all working, if you are more interested in a trade.