It's Time To Gentrify Android
HTC One With A BikeReminder: don't text and ride.Dan NosowitzIt's a real up-and-coming operating system. Oh, sure, it's been here for years, but now it's ready for rich people to move on in.It's not polite to say, but here are the facts: Android is used by poorer people, and iOS is used by richer people. A Pew survey taken last month bears this out: Android is beating iOS in all income brackets except one. Among users in households that earn $75,000 or more, a whopping 40 percent identify as iOS users, compared to 31 percent who identify as Android users. Compare that to the users in sub-$30,000 households--only 13 percent use iOS, while 28 percent use Android. "Android is popular because it's cheap, not because it's good," wrote Sam Biddle for Gizmodo earlier this year, about the reason for the success of Android phones.But that's changing. The HTC One, and especially the contract-free version of the One released this month with stock Android, like Google intended, is good. It might be the best phone I've ever used. The tide is turning, and that means one thing.It's time for rich people to gentrify Android.* * *Android is the formerly bad neighborhood that brokers are starting to describe as "up and coming." Rents were cheap--you could snag a phone for free, or for $50 or $100, with a two-year contract. You could get an Android phone on whatever network you want, including those that deal significantly or even primarily to lower-income customers, like T-Mobile or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like MetroPCS, Boost, or Virgin Mobile who rent tower space from other, larger networks. You could get a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a phone. That's why the lower-income set opts for Android over iOS.The iPhone is for rich people not necessarily because it's more expensive; a current-generation iPhone costs as much and sometimes less than a current-generation top-of-the-line Android phone. But it came first, and so it grabbed the money and loyalty of the early adopters, who are by definition rich folks--it initially cost a whopping $500, and it remained pricey for a few generations. And its advertising focused on its premium materials, its high-end manufacturing processes, and its fancy (paid) apps. Apple successfully marketed the iPhone as high-end.But even bad neighborhoods have strengths. Android has flexibility iOS doesn't; there's only one iPhone, but there are dozens of Android phones at any given point. You have space to stretch out, if you want it. And slowly, Google and the Android hardware makers are realizing what landlords and shop owners in up-and-coming neighborhoods realize: your profit margins are an awful lot bigger when you sell to rich folks.The HTC One, with its big, gorgeous aluminum body, its vivid and spacious screen, its wildly superior versions of GMail, Google Maps, and the Chrome browser, its voice control that crushes Siri in every way possible, and its genuinely futuristic and exciting Google Now, is a perfect trigger for Android gentrification. It's a badass, affordable loft in a neighborhood you'd been eyeing but couldn't quite bring yourself to move to. That makes it different from the other top-tier Android phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S IV, a more-of-the-same sequel to a phone we didn't much like last year. iPhone users might look at a Galaxy S and think, "Why ditch my comfortable, luxurious iPhone ecosystem for a chintzy plastic Samsung phone with desperately overstuffed featuresets?" It'd be like moving from a comfortable old brownstone to a brand-new, spacious apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood...that's made with paper-thin drywall and the cheapest possible kitchen appliances. And a clothes dryer that singes your underwear. But the HTC One changes all that: it's something new and perhaps even better.Android phones are now a legitimate option for the wealthy. And as the rich people come to Android, the apps will follow, just as the organic grocery stores and adventurous Japanese fusion tapas restaurants come to gentrifying neighborhoods. A smartphone ecosystem is not unlike a neighborhood: when that 31 percent percent of $75,000+ households rises to 40 percent, you can bet the New Yorker will hurry a little bit harder to bring its digital magazine to Android.What happens to the lower-income types when Android starts marketing more heavily to the wealthy? I'm not sure. Maybe nothing! Just because there's previously un-accessed profit to be made on the high end of things doesn't mean manufacturers will stop catering to the (also profitable) lower end. There are hardware manufacturers who have shown no interest at all in the more premium side of the business, like ZTE, Kyocera, and Haier. Or maybe another platform, like Windows Phone or BlackBerry, will start marketing more heavily to the lower-income segment.But assuming the HTC One sells well, this could be the first major step towards Android gentrification. Some day, the rich kids who've grown up with Android will look back at the HTC One. "That was when my parents knew that Android was safe," they'll say.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
It's Time To Gentrify Android
H HTC One With A BikeReminder: don't text and ride.Dan NosowitzIt's a real up-and-coming operating system. Oh, sure, it's been here for years, but now it's ready for rich people to move on in.It's not polite to say, but here are the facts: Android is used by poorer people, and iOS is used by richer people. A Pew survey taken last month bears this out: Android is beating iOS in all income brackets except one. Among users in households that earn $75,000 or more, a whopping 40 percent identify as iOS users, compared to 31 percent who identify as Android users. Compare that to the users in sub-$30,000 households--only 13 percent use iOS, while 28 percent use Android. "Android is popular because it's cheap, not because it's good," wrote Sam Biddle for Gizmodo earlier this year, about the reason for the success of Android phones.But that's changing. The HTC One, and especially the contract-free version of the One released this month with stock Android, like Google intended, is good. It might be the best phone I've ever used. The tide is turning, and that means one thing.It's time for rich people to gentrify Android.* * *Android is the formerly bad neighborhood that brokers are starting to describe as "up and coming." Rents were cheap--you could snag a phone for free, or for $50 or $100, with a two-year contract. You could get an Android phone on whatever network you want, including those that deal significantly or even primarily to lower-income customers, like T-Mobile or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like MetroPCS, Boost, or Virgin Mobile who rent tower space from other, larger networks. You could get a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a phone. That's why the lower-income set opts for Android over iOS.The iPhone is for rich people not necessarily because it's more expensive; a current-generation iPhone costs as much and sometimes less than a current-generation top-of-the-line Android phone. But it came first, and so it grabbed the money and loyalty of the early adopters, who are by definition rich folks--it initially cost a whopping $500, and it remained pricey for a few generations. And its advertising focused on its premium materials, its high-end manufacturing processes, and its fancy (paid) apps. Apple successfully marketed the iPhone as high-end.But even bad neighborhoods have strengths. Android has flexibility iOS doesn't; there's only one iPhone, but there are dozens of Android phones at any given point. You have space to stretch out, if you want it. And slowly, Google and the Android hardware makers are realizing what landlords and shop owners in up-and-coming neighborhoods realize: your profit margins are an awful lot bigger when you sell to rich folks.The HTC One, with its big, gorgeous aluminum body, its vivid and spacious screen, its wildly superior versions of GMail, Google Maps, and the Chrome browser, its voice control that crushes Siri in every way possible, and its genuinely futuristic and exciting Google Now, is a perfect trigger for Android gentrification. It's a badass, affordable loft in a neighborhood you'd been eyeing but couldn't quite bring yourself to move to. That makes it different from the other top-tier Android phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S IV, a more-of-the-same sequel to a phone we didn't much like last year. iPhone users might look at a Galaxy S and think, "Why ditch my comfortable, luxurious iPhone ecosystem for a chintzy plastic Samsung phone with desperately overstuffed featuresets?" It'd be like moving from a comfortable old brownstone to a brand-new, spacious apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood...that's made with paper-thin drywall and the cheapest possible kitchen appliances. And a clothes dryer that singes your underwear. But the HTC One changes all that: it's something new and perhaps even better.Android phones are now a legitimate option for the wealthy. And as the rich people come to Android, the apps will follow, just as the organic grocery stores and adventurous Japanese fusion tapas restaurants come to gentrifying neighborhoods. A smartphone ecosystem is not unlike a neighborhood: when that 31 percent percent of $75,000+ households rises to 40 percent, you can bet the New Yorker will hurry a little bit harder to bring its digital magazine to Android.What happens to the lower-income types when Android starts marketing more heavily to the wealthy? I'm not sure. Maybe nothing! Just because there's previously un-accessed profit to be made on the high end of things doesn't mean manufacturers will stop catering to the (also profitable) lower end. There are hardware manufacturers who have shown no interest at all in the more premium side of the business, like ZTE, Kyocera, and Haier. Or maybe another platform, like Windows Phone or BlackBerry, will start marketing more heavily to the lower-income segment.But assuming the HTC One sells well, this could be the first major step towards Android gentrification. Some day, the rich kids who've grown up with Android will look back at the HTC One. "That was when my parents knew that Android was safe," they'll say.
H HTC One With A BikeReminder: don't text and ride.Dan NosowitzIt's a real up-and-coming operating system. Oh, sure, it's been here for years, but now it's ready for rich people to move on in.It's not polite to say, but here are the facts: Android is used by poorer people, and iOS is used by richer people. A Pew survey taken last month bears this out: Android is beating iOS in all income brackets except one. Among users in households that earn $75,000 or more, a whopping 40 percent identify as iOS users, compared to 31 percent who identify as Android users. Compare that to the users in sub-$30,000 households--only 13 percent use iOS, while 28 percent use Android. "Android is popular because it's cheap, not because it's good," wrote Sam Biddle for Gizmodo earlier this year, about the reason for the success of Android phones.But that's changing. The HTC One, and especially the contract-free version of the One released this month with stock Android, like Google intended, is good. It might be the best phone I've ever used. The tide is turning, and that means one thing.It's time for rich people to gentrify Android.* * *Android is the formerly bad neighborhood that brokers are starting to describe as "up and coming." Rents were cheap--you could snag a phone for free, or for $50 or $100, with a two-year contract. You could get an Android phone on whatever network you want, including those that deal significantly or even primarily to lower-income customers, like T-Mobile or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like MetroPCS, Boost, or Virgin Mobile who rent tower space from other, larger networks. You could get a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a phone. That's why the lower-income set opts for Android over iOS.The iPhone is for rich people not necessarily because it's more expensive; a current-generation iPhone costs as much and sometimes less than a current-generation top-of-the-line Android phone. But it came first, and so it grabbed the money and loyalty of the early adopters, who are by definition rich folks--it initially cost a whopping $500, and it remained pricey for a few generations. And its advertising focused on its premium materials, its high-end manufacturing processes, and its fancy (paid) apps. Apple successfully marketed the iPhone as high-end.But even bad neighborhoods have strengths. Android has flexibility iOS doesn't; there's only one iPhone, but there are dozens of Android phones at any given point. You have space to stretch out, if you want it. And slowly, Google and the Android hardware makers are realizing what landlords and shop owners in up-and-coming neighborhoods realize: your profit margins are an awful lot bigger when you sell to rich folks.The HTC One, with its big, gorgeous aluminum body, its vivid and spacious screen, its wildly superior versions of GMail, Google Maps, and the Chrome browser, its voice control that crushes Siri in every way possible, and its genuinely futuristic and exciting Google Now, is a perfect trigger for Android gentrification. It's a badass, affordable loft in a neighborhood you'd been eyeing but couldn't quite bring yourself to move to. That makes it different from the other top-tier Android phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S IV, a more-of-the-same sequel to a phone we didn't much like last year. iPhone users might look at a Galaxy S and think, "Why ditch my comfortable, luxurious iPhone ecosystem for a chintzy plastic Samsung phone with desperately overstuffed featuresets?" It'd be like moving from a comfortable old brownstone to a brand-new, spacious apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood...that's made with paper-thin drywall and the cheapest possible kitchen appliances. And a clothes dryer that singes your underwear. But the HTC One changes all that: it's something new and perhaps even better.Android phones are now a legitimate option for the wealthy. And as the rich people come to Android, the apps will follow, just as the organic grocery stores and adventurous Japanese fusion tapas restaurants come to gentrifying neighborhoods. A smartphone ecosystem is not unlike a neighborhood: when that 31 percent percent of $75,000+ households rises to 40 percent, you can bet the New Yorker will hurry a little bit harder to bring its digital magazine to Android.What happens to the lower-income types when Android starts marketing more heavily to the wealthy? I'm not sure. Maybe nothing! Just because there's previously un-accessed profit to be made on the high end of things doesn't mean manufacturers will stop catering to the (also profitable) lower end. There are hardware manufacturers who have shown no interest at all in the more premium side of the business, like ZTE, Kyocera, and Haier. Or maybe another platform, like Windows Phone or BlackBerry, will start marketing more heavily to the lower-income segment.But assuming the HTC One sells well, this could be the first major step towards Android gentrification. Some day, the rich kids who've grown up with Android will look back at the HTC One. "That was when my parents knew that Android was safe," they'll say.
It's Time To Gentrify Android
H TC One With A BikeReminder: don't text and ride.Dan NosowitzIt's a real up-and-coming operating system. Oh, sure, it's been here for years, but now it's ready for rich people to move on in.It's not polite to say, but here are the facts: Android is used by poorer people, and iOS is used by richer people. A Pew survey taken last month bears this out: Android is beating iOS in all income brackets except one. Among users in households that earn $75,000 or more, a whopping 40 percent identify as iOS users, compared to 31 percent who identify as Android users. Compare that to the users in sub-$30,000 households--only 13 percent use iOS, while 28 percent use Android. "Android is popular because it's cheap, not because it's good," wrote Sam Biddle for Gizmodo earlier this year, about the reason for the success of Android phones.But that's changing. The HTC One, and especially the contract-free version of the One released this month with stock Android, like Google intended, is good. It might be the best phone I've ever used. The tide is turning, and that means one thing.It's time for rich people to gentrify Android.* * *Android is the formerly bad neighborhood that brokers are starting to describe as "up and coming." Rents were cheap--you could snag a phone for free, or for $50 or $100, with a two-year contract. You could get an Android phone on whatever network you want, including those that deal significantly or even primarily to lower-income customers, like T-Mobile or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like MetroPCS, Boost, or Virgin Mobile who rent tower space from other, larger networks. You could get a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a phone. That's why the lower-income set opts for Android over iOS.The iPhone is for rich people not necessarily because it's more expensive; a current-generation iPhone costs as much and sometimes less than a current-generation top-of-the-line Android phone. But it came first, and so it grabbed the money and loyalty of the early adopters, who are by definition rich folks--it initially cost a whopping $500, and it remained pricey for a few generations. And its advertising focused on its premium materials, its high-end manufacturing processes, and its fancy (paid) apps. Apple successfully marketed the iPhone as high-end.But even bad neighborhoods have strengths. Android has flexibility iOS doesn't; there's only one iPhone, but there are dozens of Android phones at any given point. You have space to stretch out, if you want it. And slowly, Google and the Android hardware makers are realizing what landlords and shop owners in up-and-coming neighborhoods realize: your profit margins are an awful lot bigger when you sell to rich folks.The HTC One, with its big, gorgeous aluminum body, its vivid and spacious screen, its wildly superior versions of GMail, Google Maps, and the Chrome browser, its voice control that crushes Siri in every way possible, and its genuinely futuristic and exciting Google Now, is a perfect trigger for Android gentrification. It's a badass, affordable loft in a neighborhood you'd been eyeing but couldn't quite bring yourself to move to. That makes it different from the other top-tier Android phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S IV, a more-of-the-same sequel to a phone we didn't much like last year. iPhone users might look at a Galaxy S and think, "Why ditch my comfortable, luxurious iPhone ecosystem for a chintzy plastic Samsung phone with desperately overstuffed featuresets?" It'd be like moving from a comfortable old brownstone to a brand-new, spacious apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood...that's made with paper-thin drywall and the cheapest possible kitchen appliances. And a clothes dryer that singes your underwear. But the HTC One changes all that: it's something new and perhaps even better.Android phones are now a legitimate option for the wealthy. And as the rich people come to Android, the apps will follow, just as the organic grocery stores and adventurous Japanese fusion tapas restaurants come to gentrifying neighborhoods. A smartphone ecosystem is not unlike a neighborhood: when that 31 percent percent of $75,000+ households rises to 40 percent, you can bet the New Yorker will hurry a little bit harder to bring its digital magazine to Android.What happens to the lower-income types when Android starts marketing more heavily to the wealthy? I'm not sure. Maybe nothing! Just because there's previously un-accessed profit to be made on the high end of things doesn't mean manufacturers will stop catering to the (also profitable) lower end. There are hardware manufacturers who have shown no interest at all in the more premium side of the business, like ZTE, Kyocera, and Haier. Or maybe another platform, like Windows Phone or BlackBerry, will start marketing more heavily to the lower-income segment.But assuming the HTC One sells well, this could be the first major step towards Android gentrification. Some day, the rich kids who've grown up with Android will look back at the HTC One. "That was when my parents knew that Android was safe," they'll say.
H TC One With A BikeReminder: don't text and ride.Dan NosowitzIt's a real up-and-coming operating system. Oh, sure, it's been here for years, but now it's ready for rich people to move on in.It's not polite to say, but here are the facts: Android is used by poorer people, and iOS is used by richer people. A Pew survey taken last month bears this out: Android is beating iOS in all income brackets except one. Among users in households that earn $75,000 or more, a whopping 40 percent identify as iOS users, compared to 31 percent who identify as Android users. Compare that to the users in sub-$30,000 households--only 13 percent use iOS, while 28 percent use Android. "Android is popular because it's cheap, not because it's good," wrote Sam Biddle for Gizmodo earlier this year, about the reason for the success of Android phones.But that's changing. The HTC One, and especially the contract-free version of the One released this month with stock Android, like Google intended, is good. It might be the best phone I've ever used. The tide is turning, and that means one thing.It's time for rich people to gentrify Android.* * *Android is the formerly bad neighborhood that brokers are starting to describe as "up and coming." Rents were cheap--you could snag a phone for free, or for $50 or $100, with a two-year contract. You could get an Android phone on whatever network you want, including those that deal significantly or even primarily to lower-income customers, like T-Mobile or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like MetroPCS, Boost, or Virgin Mobile who rent tower space from other, larger networks. You could get a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a phone. That's why the lower-income set opts for Android over iOS.The iPhone is for rich people not necessarily because it's more expensive; a current-generation iPhone costs as much and sometimes less than a current-generation top-of-the-line Android phone. But it came first, and so it grabbed the money and loyalty of the early adopters, who are by definition rich folks--it initially cost a whopping $500, and it remained pricey for a few generations. And its advertising focused on its premium materials, its high-end manufacturing processes, and its fancy (paid) apps. Apple successfully marketed the iPhone as high-end.But even bad neighborhoods have strengths. Android has flexibility iOS doesn't; there's only one iPhone, but there are dozens of Android phones at any given point. You have space to stretch out, if you want it. And slowly, Google and the Android hardware makers are realizing what landlords and shop owners in up-and-coming neighborhoods realize: your profit margins are an awful lot bigger when you sell to rich folks.The HTC One, with its big, gorgeous aluminum body, its vivid and spacious screen, its wildly superior versions of GMail, Google Maps, and the Chrome browser, its voice control that crushes Siri in every way possible, and its genuinely futuristic and exciting Google Now, is a perfect trigger for Android gentrification. It's a badass, affordable loft in a neighborhood you'd been eyeing but couldn't quite bring yourself to move to. That makes it different from the other top-tier Android phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S IV, a more-of-the-same sequel to a phone we didn't much like last year. iPhone users might look at a Galaxy S and think, "Why ditch my comfortable, luxurious iPhone ecosystem for a chintzy plastic Samsung phone with desperately overstuffed featuresets?" It'd be like moving from a comfortable old brownstone to a brand-new, spacious apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood...that's made with paper-thin drywall and the cheapest possible kitchen appliances. And a clothes dryer that singes your underwear. But the HTC One changes all that: it's something new and perhaps even better.Android phones are now a legitimate option for the wealthy. And as the rich people come to Android, the apps will follow, just as the organic grocery stores and adventurous Japanese fusion tapas restaurants come to gentrifying neighborhoods. A smartphone ecosystem is not unlike a neighborhood: when that 31 percent percent of $75,000+ households rises to 40 percent, you can bet the New Yorker will hurry a little bit harder to bring its digital magazine to Android.What happens to the lower-income types when Android starts marketing more heavily to the wealthy? I'm not sure. Maybe nothing! Just because there's previously un-accessed profit to be made on the high end of things doesn't mean manufacturers will stop catering to the (also profitable) lower end. There are hardware manufacturers who have shown no interest at all in the more premium side of the business, like ZTE, Kyocera, and Haier. Or maybe another platform, like Windows Phone or BlackBerry, will start marketing more heavily to the lower-income segment.But assuming the HTC One sells well, this could be the first major step towards Android gentrification. Some day, the rich kids who've grown up with Android will look back at the HTC One. "That was when my parents knew that Android was safe," they'll say.
It's Time To Gentrify Android
HTC One With A BikeReminder: don't text and ride.Dan NosowitzIt's a real up-and-coming operating system. Oh, sure, it's been here for years, but now it's ready for rich people to move on in.It's not polite to say, but here are the facts: Android is used by poorer people, and iOS is used by richer people. A Pew survey taken last month bears this out: Android is beating iOS in all income brackets except one. Among users in households that earn $75,000 or more, a whopping 40 percent identify as iOS users, compared to 31 percent who identify as Android users. Compare that to the users in sub-$30,000 households--only 13 percent use iOS, while 28 percent use Android. "Android is popular because it's cheap, not because it's good," wrote Sam Biddle for Gizmodo earlier this year, about the reason for the success of Android phones.But that's changing. The HTC One, and especially the contract-free version of the One released this month with stock Android, like Google intended, is good. It might be the best phone I've ever used. The tide is turning, and that means one thing.It's time for rich people to gentrify Android.* * *Android is the formerly bad neighborhood that brokers are starting to describe as "up and coming." Rents were cheap--you could snag a phone for free, or for $50 or $100, with a two-year contract. You could get an Android phone on whatever network you want, including those that deal significantly or even primarily to lower-income customers, like T-Mobile or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like MetroPCS, Boost, or Virgin Mobile who rent tower space from other, larger networks. You could get a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a phone. That's why the lower-income set opts for Android over iOS.The iPhone is for rich people not necessarily because it's more expensive; a current-generation iPhone costs as much and sometimes less than a current-generation top-of-the-line Android phone. But it came first, and so it grabbed the money and loyalty of the early adopters, who are by definition rich folks--it initially cost a whopping $500, and it remained pricey for a few generations. And its advertising focused on its premium materials, its high-end manufacturing processes, and its fancy (paid) apps. Apple successfully marketed the iPhone as high-end.But even bad neighborhoods have strengths. Android has flexibility iOS doesn't; there's only one iPhone, but there are dozens of Android phones at any given point. You have space to stretch out, if you want it. And slowly, Google and the Android hardware makers are realizing what landlords and shop owners in up-and-coming neighborhoods realize: your profit margins are an awful lot bigger when you sell to rich folks.The HTC One, with its big, gorgeous aluminum body, its vivid and spacious screen, its wildly superior versions of GMail, Google Maps, and the Chrome browser, its voice control that crushes Siri in every way possible, and its genuinely futuristic and exciting Google Now, is a perfect trigger for Android gentrification. It's a badass, affordable loft in a neighborhood you'd been eyeing but couldn't quite bring yourself to move to. That makes it different from the other top-tier Android phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S IV, a more-of-the-same sequel to a phone we didn't much like last year. iPhone users might look at a Galaxy S and think, "Why ditch my comfortable, luxurious iPhone ecosystem for a chintzy plastic Samsung phone with desperately overstuffed featuresets?" It'd be like moving from a comfortable old brownstone to a brand-new, spacious apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood...that's made with paper-thin drywall and the cheapest possible kitchen appliances. And a clothes dryer that singes your underwear. But the HTC One changes all that: it's something new and perhaps even better.Android phones are now a legitimate option for the wealthy. And as the rich people come to Android, the apps will follow, just as the organic grocery stores and adventurous Japanese fusion tapas restaurants come to gentrifying neighborhoods. A smartphone ecosystem is not unlike a neighborhood: when that 31 percent percent of $75,000+ households rises to 40 percent, you can bet the New Yorker will hurry a little bit harder to bring its digital magazine to Android.What happens to the lower-income types when Android starts marketing more heavily to the wealthy? I'm not sure. Maybe nothing! Just because there's previously un-accessed profit to be made on the high end of things doesn't mean manufacturers will stop catering to the (also profitable) lower end. There are hardware manufacturers who have shown no interest at all in the more premium side of the business, like ZTE, Kyocera, and Haier. Or maybe another platform, like Windows Phone or BlackBerry, will start marketing more heavily to the lower-income segment.But assuming the HTC One sells well, this could be the first major step towards Android gentrification. Some day, the rich kids who've grown up with Android will look back at the HTC One. "That was when my parents knew that Android was safe," they'll say.
HTC One With A BikeReminder: don't text and ride.Dan NosowitzIt's a real up-and-coming operating system. Oh, sure, it's been here for years, but now it's ready for rich people to move on in.It's not polite to say, but here are the facts: Android is used by poorer people, and iOS is used by richer people. A Pew survey taken last month bears this out: Android is beating iOS in all income brackets except one. Among users in households that earn $75,000 or more, a whopping 40 percent identify as iOS users, compared to 31 percent who identify as Android users. Compare that to the users in sub-$30,000 households--only 13 percent use iOS, while 28 percent use Android. "Android is popular because it's cheap, not because it's good," wrote Sam Biddle for Gizmodo earlier this year, about the reason for the success of Android phones.But that's changing. The HTC One, and especially the contract-free version of the One released this month with stock Android, like Google intended, is good. It might be the best phone I've ever used. The tide is turning, and that means one thing.It's time for rich people to gentrify Android.* * *Android is the formerly bad neighborhood that brokers are starting to describe as "up and coming." Rents were cheap--you could snag a phone for free, or for $50 or $100, with a two-year contract. You could get an Android phone on whatever network you want, including those that deal significantly or even primarily to lower-income customers, like T-Mobile or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like MetroPCS, Boost, or Virgin Mobile who rent tower space from other, larger networks. You could get a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a phone. That's why the lower-income set opts for Android over iOS.The iPhone is for rich people not necessarily because it's more expensive; a current-generation iPhone costs as much and sometimes less than a current-generation top-of-the-line Android phone. But it came first, and so it grabbed the money and loyalty of the early adopters, who are by definition rich folks--it initially cost a whopping $500, and it remained pricey for a few generations. And its advertising focused on its premium materials, its high-end manufacturing processes, and its fancy (paid) apps. Apple successfully marketed the iPhone as high-end.But even bad neighborhoods have strengths. Android has flexibility iOS doesn't; there's only one iPhone, but there are dozens of Android phones at any given point. You have space to stretch out, if you want it. And slowly, Google and the Android hardware makers are realizing what landlords and shop owners in up-and-coming neighborhoods realize: your profit margins are an awful lot bigger when you sell to rich folks.The HTC One, with its big, gorgeous aluminum body, its vivid and spacious screen, its wildly superior versions of GMail, Google Maps, and the Chrome browser, its voice control that crushes Siri in every way possible, and its genuinely futuristic and exciting Google Now, is a perfect trigger for Android gentrification. It's a badass, affordable loft in a neighborhood you'd been eyeing but couldn't quite bring yourself to move to. That makes it different from the other top-tier Android phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S IV, a more-of-the-same sequel to a phone we didn't much like last year. iPhone users might look at a Galaxy S and think, "Why ditch my comfortable, luxurious iPhone ecosystem for a chintzy plastic Samsung phone with desperately overstuffed featuresets?" It'd be like moving from a comfortable old brownstone to a brand-new, spacious apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood...that's made with paper-thin drywall and the cheapest possible kitchen appliances. And a clothes dryer that singes your underwear. But the HTC One changes all that: it's something new and perhaps even better.Android phones are now a legitimate option for the wealthy. And as the rich people come to Android, the apps will follow, just as the organic grocery stores and adventurous Japanese fusion tapas restaurants come to gentrifying neighborhoods. A smartphone ecosystem is not unlike a neighborhood: when that 31 percent percent of $75,000+ households rises to 40 percent, you can bet the New Yorker will hurry a little bit harder to bring its digital magazine to Android.What happens to the lower-income types when Android starts marketing more heavily to the wealthy? I'm not sure. Maybe nothing! Just because there's previously un-accessed profit to be made on the high end of things doesn't mean manufacturers will stop catering to the (also profitable) lower end. There are hardware manufacturers who have shown no interest at all in the more premium side of the business, like ZTE, Kyocera, and Haier. Or maybe another platform, like Windows Phone or BlackBerry, will start marketing more heavily to the lower-income segment.But assuming the HTC One sells well, this could be the first major step towards Android gentrification. Some day, the rich kids who've grown up with Android will look back at the HTC One. "That was when my parents knew that Android was safe," they'll say.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
The Goods : July 2013's Hottest Gadgets
The Goods: July 2013's Hottest Gadgets
WowWee RoboMe
The foot-tall RoboMe is a customizable iPhone-based robot toy. Through its app, a user chooses eye shapes, facial-hair styles, and accents. And because RoboMe has voice-recognition software and an infrared sensor, it can learn vocal commands and avoid obstacles.
WowWee RoboMe $100
Sam Kaplan
A dozen great ideas in gear, including a programmable flashlight, a customizable robot toy, and socks that'll last a lifetime
WowWee RoboMe
The foot-tall RoboMe is a customizable iPhone-based robot toy. Through its app, a user chooses eye shapes, facial-hair styles, and accents. And because RoboMe has voice-recognition software and an infrared sensor, it can learn vocal commands and avoid obstacles.
WowWee RoboMe $100
Sam Kaplan
A dozen great ideas in gear, including a programmable flashlight, a customizable robot toy, and socks that'll last a lifetime
Friday, July 19, 2013
Nokia Introduces The 41-Megapixel Lumia 1020
Nokia Introduces The 41-Megapixel Lumia 1020, Due For U.S. Soil
Nokia Lumia 1020NokiaAn embarrassment of pixels.
At an announcement today, Nokia announced its newest, fanciest, yellowest smartphone to date: the Lumia 1020. Nokia makes great hardware, some of the best the Windows Phone platform has to offer, so we pay attention whenever they've got new toys to show us. And we pay more attention when that toy comes with a 41-megapixel camera
Nokia's flagship camera technology, which they call PureView (though this can refer to lots of different things, confusingly), is one of the most impressive leaps forward in mobile photography we've seen in a good few years. It was good enough to make last year's Best of What's New list--but until now, it was only available on a single phone, the 808 PureView, a Europe-only phone that used Nokia's mercifully deceased Symbian platform. The 1020 takes the PureView tech and sticks it in a shiny, flashy Windows Phone package, along with a 4.5-inch screen and a slimmer body than last year's model (which we thought was too plump).
So, what's up with this camera? The "megapixel wars," as they're called, are pretty much over; many customers have realized that megapixels don't necessarily imply anything about image quality, and manufacturers have, too. The HTC One, for example--maybe the best Android phone ever made--has a mere 4.3-megapixel sensor, choosing instead to focus on sensor size and image processing software.
But Nokia gets it; the key thing about this camera isn't the megapixel count, which is almost always cropped. It's got a Carl Zeiss lens at f/2.2. That latter number there refers to aperture, which is how much light a sensor lets in. The smaller that number, the wider the aperture, which means it lets in more light, which means you get better low-light performance and less "noise" (that's the fuzziness you see when you take pictures at night). f/2.2 is slightly unusual for a cellphone camera, as is the Xenon flash that should illuminate with more realistic, less harsh light.The megapixel count is actually a way to get around the problem of zoom. An optical zoom, like on dedicated cameras, involves motors and more metal and plastic housing and all kinds of stuff that increase the size of the device. That's okay in a camera, since it's dedicated to just the one task, but a phone has to be tiny, so they use digital zoom. Digital zoom is awful; it's just cropping the image and expanding the size. But if your original image is enormous--like, say, it was shot by a 41-megapixel camera--then you can crop and expand without losing image quality.The phone also has a host of new software tools for those who want to tweak settings manually, as well as an easy way to upload to services like Flickr. Instagram is a no-show on Windows Phone, but Nokia says they've implemented a "backdoor" so you can upload photos to the service. Doesn't sound like a real clean option, but that's all we've got.
The Lumia 1020 will be an AT&T exclusive, arriving July 26th for $300. Steep, but not unreasonable given the tech in this thing.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The Coolest 5 New Features In Microsoft Windows 8.1
The 5 Coolest New Features In Microsoft Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 Start MenuMicrosoft3-D printer support, hands-free operation, and all kinds of other features make Windows 8.1 more than a small update.Windows 8.1, the first update to the wildly different new version of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, just arrived in beta. It's easy to download--easier than the new version of OS X, anyway--but is it worth it? Check out these features and decide for yourself.
The Return of the Start Button
The Start button has been a major part of Windows since all the way back in Windows 95, but Windows 8 removed it. The Start menu, these days, is a totally different-looking touch-friendly array of shiny live-updating squares, but you access it by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard rather than a button in the applications bar. For whatever reason, this alarmed people, so Microsoft stuck in a button where the Start button used to be.It pops up a semi-transparent version of the modern Start menu, over whatever else you were doing. Cool I guess! You can also right-click to bring up other options like "shut down."
Hands-Free Mode
This is one of my favorite parts of Windows 8.1. Microsoft has a ton of apps already installed, from news readers to music and video players to games, and has updated a lot of those with cool new features. The Food & Drink app collects recipes and tips from famous chefs, but if you're reading it while cooking, you don't want to muck up your screen by touching it with your dough-covered hands or whatever. So Microsoft used some of its expertise from the Kinect and made a hands-free mode.Just wave your hands to swipe through pages and recipes. The computer's webcam will do the job of the Kinect. Pretty cool!
Search Is Actually Universal
The "Charms" menu, which you access by swiping in from the right side of the screen, has always had a search option, but it wasn't all that useful before. Now it's a true universal search function, allowing you to search Bing, but also your files, folders, and applications, all in one box.
New and Updated Apps
Yes, Windows 8 (and 8.1) has apps, just like a tablet or smartphone. These are different from regular applications like Word or iTunes; apps are designed to be used with touch, when your computer is doubling as a tablet. And Microsoft is surprisingly good at designing them. There are a few new ones for this update: a calculator (with scientific and unit converter built-in); Health & Fitness (which monitors your diet and exercise, sort of like a simpler Fitbit); Reading List, which like Instapaper or Pocket lets you save long items to be read later; and updates for existing apps ranging from some small cosmetic changes to the Maps app to a total visual overhaul for the Music app.
3-D Printer Support
Microsoft says Windows 8.1 is the first operating system to support desktop 3-D printers like Makerbot or Solidoodle intrinsically. 3-D printers will have a driver and an API, just like a regular 2-D printer (or, really, any accessory) so you should be able to hit File -> Print from your 3-D modelling software the same way you would to print from Microsoft Word. Not a huge difference--it's not like it's hard to print with 3-D printing software--but should make things a bit easier in the long run as new software and hardware can all rely on a single driver.
Windows 8.1 Start MenuMicrosoft3-D printer support, hands-free operation, and all kinds of other features make Windows 8.1 more than a small update.Windows 8.1, the first update to the wildly different new version of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, just arrived in beta. It's easy to download--easier than the new version of OS X, anyway--but is it worth it? Check out these features and decide for yourself.
The Return of the Start Button
The Start button has been a major part of Windows since all the way back in Windows 95, but Windows 8 removed it. The Start menu, these days, is a totally different-looking touch-friendly array of shiny live-updating squares, but you access it by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard rather than a button in the applications bar. For whatever reason, this alarmed people, so Microsoft stuck in a button where the Start button used to be.It pops up a semi-transparent version of the modern Start menu, over whatever else you were doing. Cool I guess! You can also right-click to bring up other options like "shut down."
Hands-Free Mode
This is one of my favorite parts of Windows 8.1. Microsoft has a ton of apps already installed, from news readers to music and video players to games, and has updated a lot of those with cool new features. The Food & Drink app collects recipes and tips from famous chefs, but if you're reading it while cooking, you don't want to muck up your screen by touching it with your dough-covered hands or whatever. So Microsoft used some of its expertise from the Kinect and made a hands-free mode.Just wave your hands to swipe through pages and recipes. The computer's webcam will do the job of the Kinect. Pretty cool!
Search Is Actually Universal
The "Charms" menu, which you access by swiping in from the right side of the screen, has always had a search option, but it wasn't all that useful before. Now it's a true universal search function, allowing you to search Bing, but also your files, folders, and applications, all in one box.
New and Updated Apps
Yes, Windows 8 (and 8.1) has apps, just like a tablet or smartphone. These are different from regular applications like Word or iTunes; apps are designed to be used with touch, when your computer is doubling as a tablet. And Microsoft is surprisingly good at designing them. There are a few new ones for this update: a calculator (with scientific and unit converter built-in); Health & Fitness (which monitors your diet and exercise, sort of like a simpler Fitbit); Reading List, which like Instapaper or Pocket lets you save long items to be read later; and updates for existing apps ranging from some small cosmetic changes to the Maps app to a total visual overhaul for the Music app.
3-D Printer Support
Microsoft says Windows 8.1 is the first operating system to support desktop 3-D printers like Makerbot or Solidoodle intrinsically. 3-D printers will have a driver and an API, just like a regular 2-D printer (or, really, any accessory) so you should be able to hit File -> Print from your 3-D modelling software the same way you would to print from Microsoft Word. Not a huge difference--it's not like it's hard to print with 3-D printing software--but should make things a bit easier in the long run as new software and hardware can all rely on a single driver.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Instavideo
Instagram Now Takes Video
Instavideo
InstagramTHE PICTURES...THEY'RE MOVINGInstagram, the wildly popular photo-sharing app that was bought by Facebook last year for a cool billion dollars, just announced that it now supports videos.They're pretty cleanly integrated into your feed; they won't autoplay as you scroll, instead showing just as a thumbnail with a small icon of an old-timey movin' picture camera in the top-right corner to indicate that these are videos rather than stills.
Easy!Videos can be up to 15 seconds long (or as short as 3 seconds), and you can stop and resume recordings while shooting, so you don't have to take a single continuous shot like you do with Snapchat. All the usual Instagram filters can be applied, and the videos include audio as well. It's available right now as an update for the iOS app, with Android soon to come.
So, the obvious question: isn't this just, um, a carbon copy of Vine, the video app launched by Twitter earlier this year? Ha ha ha welllllll yes, it is pretty much exactly the same, except Instagram is an app used by 130 million people a month, and Vine has maybe a tenth that many.
And Vine has had trouble; apparently a stream of videos isn't the easiest thing to grapple with, and Vine is often buggy or slow to load. Instagram videos could be almost three times as long as Vine videos--how is Instagram going to deal with that? "We have to figure this out," Instagram's CEO told The Verge.
In my brief testing of the new app, I can confirm it does, in fact, take videos. At least, it takes videos of my tech writer friends at their desks. The future!
Instavideo
InstagramTHE PICTURES...THEY'RE MOVINGInstagram, the wildly popular photo-sharing app that was bought by Facebook last year for a cool billion dollars, just announced that it now supports videos.They're pretty cleanly integrated into your feed; they won't autoplay as you scroll, instead showing just as a thumbnail with a small icon of an old-timey movin' picture camera in the top-right corner to indicate that these are videos rather than stills.
Easy!Videos can be up to 15 seconds long (or as short as 3 seconds), and you can stop and resume recordings while shooting, so you don't have to take a single continuous shot like you do with Snapchat. All the usual Instagram filters can be applied, and the videos include audio as well. It's available right now as an update for the iOS app, with Android soon to come.
So, the obvious question: isn't this just, um, a carbon copy of Vine, the video app launched by Twitter earlier this year? Ha ha ha welllllll yes, it is pretty much exactly the same, except Instagram is an app used by 130 million people a month, and Vine has maybe a tenth that many.
And Vine has had trouble; apparently a stream of videos isn't the easiest thing to grapple with, and Vine is often buggy or slow to load. Instagram videos could be almost three times as long as Vine videos--how is Instagram going to deal with that? "We have to figure this out," Instagram's CEO told The Verge.
In my brief testing of the new app, I can confirm it does, in fact, take videos. At least, it takes videos of my tech writer friends at their desks. The future!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Microsoft Takes Back Its Always-On Connection And Used Game Policies For Xbox One
Microsoft Takes Back Its Always-On Connection And Used Game Policies For Xbox One
Xbox One
MicrosoftThe most unpopular features of the new game console are getting scrapped, Microsoft has just announced.
Microsoft faced some very negative feedback when it announced that its new console, the Xbox One, would require an internet connection and be released with restrictions on used games. Kotaku wrote this about Microsoft's announcements of its polices: "The news was almost all bad." So, the company's just announced a new policy: "Haha, just kidding, you guys! We take back all that stuff you hated."
In a statement released on the Xbox website, Microsoft exec Don Mattrick said the two most unpopular features--restrictions on sharing used games and a mandatory internet connection--would be scrapped entirely. Internet connection will now be "just like on Xbox 360," meaning no connection is required to play games, while there "will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
"That's a major about-face for the company, which as recently as E3 hadn't budged on the policy, even after rival Sony played up the lack of restrictions on its PlayStation 4 console. The announcement is perhaps even more surprising coming this late in the game: the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are both planned for a holiday release this season. (Either Microsoft developers will be working overtime, or those requirements aren't as integrated into the system as Microsoft seemed to suggest.) The turn-on-a-dime audible was probably also nudged by Sony announcing that its PlayStation 4 would cost $100 less than the Xbox One: $399 to $499
There's not much word yet on how this audible will affect the Xbox 360 as a whole. In the statement, Mattrick said the "changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One," but it's not clear which "scenarios" that extends to. Whether this means an almost completely different system from what Microsoft has been pitching remains to be seen.
[Xbox Wire]
Xbox One
MicrosoftThe most unpopular features of the new game console are getting scrapped, Microsoft has just announced.
Microsoft faced some very negative feedback when it announced that its new console, the Xbox One, would require an internet connection and be released with restrictions on used games. Kotaku wrote this about Microsoft's announcements of its polices: "The news was almost all bad." So, the company's just announced a new policy: "Haha, just kidding, you guys! We take back all that stuff you hated."
In a statement released on the Xbox website, Microsoft exec Don Mattrick said the two most unpopular features--restrictions on sharing used games and a mandatory internet connection--would be scrapped entirely. Internet connection will now be "just like on Xbox 360," meaning no connection is required to play games, while there "will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
"That's a major about-face for the company, which as recently as E3 hadn't budged on the policy, even after rival Sony played up the lack of restrictions on its PlayStation 4 console. The announcement is perhaps even more surprising coming this late in the game: the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are both planned for a holiday release this season. (Either Microsoft developers will be working overtime, or those requirements aren't as integrated into the system as Microsoft seemed to suggest.) The turn-on-a-dime audible was probably also nudged by Sony announcing that its PlayStation 4 would cost $100 less than the Xbox One: $399 to $499
There's not much word yet on how this audible will affect the Xbox 360 as a whole. In the statement, Mattrick said the "changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One," but it's not clear which "scenarios" that extends to. Whether this means an almost completely different system from what Microsoft has been pitching remains to be seen.
[Xbox Wire]
Super-Hydrophobic Spray Makes All Your Stuff Liquid Proof
Super-Hydrophobic Spray Makes All Your Stuff Liquid-Proof
Chocolate Syrup on NeverWet-Coated Shoes
LancasterOnline.com on YouTube
It should start showing up on store shelves in a few weeks.
It's definitely weird to watch the NeverWet chemists pump chocolate syrup onto a pair of white canvas shoes and to see the syrup roll off in ribbons. Or how about when the researchers dunk an iPhone into a beaker of water and then pull out the phone and use it?NeverWet is a set of two ultra-hydrophobic sprays, including a base coat and top coat, that you can use to treat paper, fabric, metal and other materials.
When local news site Lancaster Online first posted a video about NeverWet-invented by chemists based near Lancaster, Pennsylvania-the video garnered almost 1.4 million views. Now, two years later, it'll finally be available commercially. NeverWet will sell for $19.97 at Home Depot, Lancaster Online reports in an updated story.
VideoWe haven't tried it here, so we can't say for sure if it's a good idea to spray it onto you phone. The Lancaster Online video does include a tutorial for property coating an iPhone.
We also can't say if you'll be able to try it immediately when it comes out. Rust-Oleum, a company that NeverWet's makers have licensed to manufacture the sprays, wouldn't tell Lancaster Online how much NeverWet will be made and which Home Depots will carry it. It will start appearing on store shelves in a few weeks, the news site reported.
NeverWet scientists first stumbled upon the stuff while trying to make a coating to protect steel from corrosion. They ended up with a spray that forms a very high angle of contact for any water that touches it, Lancaster Online explains. A material with a contact angle of zero will make a drop of water lie flat. Human skin has a contact angle of 75 to 90 degrees. Car wax has a contact angle of 95 degrees. NeverWet creates a contact angle of 165 degrees. If the contact angle were 180 degrees, any water touching it would form a perfect sphere.
[Lancaster Online]
Chocolate Syrup on NeverWet-Coated Shoes
LancasterOnline.com on YouTube
It should start showing up on store shelves in a few weeks.
It's definitely weird to watch the NeverWet chemists pump chocolate syrup onto a pair of white canvas shoes and to see the syrup roll off in ribbons. Or how about when the researchers dunk an iPhone into a beaker of water and then pull out the phone and use it?NeverWet is a set of two ultra-hydrophobic sprays, including a base coat and top coat, that you can use to treat paper, fabric, metal and other materials.
When local news site Lancaster Online first posted a video about NeverWet-invented by chemists based near Lancaster, Pennsylvania-the video garnered almost 1.4 million views. Now, two years later, it'll finally be available commercially. NeverWet will sell for $19.97 at Home Depot, Lancaster Online reports in an updated story.
VideoWe haven't tried it here, so we can't say for sure if it's a good idea to spray it onto you phone. The Lancaster Online video does include a tutorial for property coating an iPhone.
We also can't say if you'll be able to try it immediately when it comes out. Rust-Oleum, a company that NeverWet's makers have licensed to manufacture the sprays, wouldn't tell Lancaster Online how much NeverWet will be made and which Home Depots will carry it. It will start appearing on store shelves in a few weeks, the news site reported.
NeverWet scientists first stumbled upon the stuff while trying to make a coating to protect steel from corrosion. They ended up with a spray that forms a very high angle of contact for any water that touches it, Lancaster Online explains. A material with a contact angle of zero will make a drop of water lie flat. Human skin has a contact angle of 75 to 90 degrees. Car wax has a contact angle of 95 degrees. NeverWet creates a contact angle of 165 degrees. If the contact angle were 180 degrees, any water touching it would form a perfect sphere.
[Lancaster Online]
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