RIM recalls 1,000 PlayBooks, Nvidia CEO explains slow Android tablet sales

[Stella]

They do in the UK. There are great SIM only deals from all the networks over here.

Thanks - I'll have to look around more, haven't had much of a chance yet. Moving takes a lot of time. I do know that UK cell phone plans are significantly better than Canadian ones.

 

[OllyW]

Thanks - I'll have to look around more, haven't had much of a chance yet. Moving takes a lot of time.

I hadn't noticed you'd moved over here, welcome to the UK.

 

[lsvtecjohn3]

I hate it when people say that they get the phone for "free". How can you say it is free when the total cost ends up being 960£? Sure, some of the money goes to the actual plan but you still pay like 20£ a month for the phone. You are paying it in installments, which means it is not free. In most cases, you end up paying more than you would by paying the phone right when you buy it and then getting a separate plan.

Maybe in Europe it's that way but in the US if you get the phone for free that what it is free. You pay the same monthly payments as someone who bought the phone on contract with the subsidized price and even people who buy off contract pay the same monthly prices.

For example
free phone $100 per month 24 month contract $2400 total
$199 phone $100 per month 24 month contract $2599 total
$599 phone $100 per month no contract total is $100 per month multiply by the total number of months you use the phone an add $599. So if you keep the phone for 1 year it would be $1799

 

[Hellhammer]

Maybe in Europe it's that way but in the US if you get the phone for free that what it is free. You pay the same monthly payments as someone who bought the phone on contract with the subsidized price and even people who buy off contract pay the same monthly prices.

For example
free phone $100 per month 24 month contract $2400 total
$199 phone $100 per month 24 month contract $2599 total
$599 phone $100 per month no contract total is $100 per month multiply by the total number of months you use the phone an add $599. So if you keep the phone for 1 year it would be $1799

At least with AT&T, the cheapest plan with 199$ iPhone 4 is 55$ a month. Looks like they don't even offer an iPhone in one payment. No matter what way you put it, you are NOT getting the phone for free. It may end up being cheaper than some other plan but you pay a hefty premium each month anyway. Looks like their marketing works if people really think they are getting the phone "for free", although the total price is 2400$.

While this is slightly offtopic, a new law will come into effect here in Finland next month that will make phone contracts illegal. Basically, it gives the consumer a right to dismiss the "contract" whenever he wants, so that will most likely kill the contracts. Contracts have never been very popular in here though, people have always preferred to pay it all at once instead of tying themselves into a 2-year deal.

 

[*LTD*]

http://www.cultofmac.com/rims-ipad-killing-playbook-suffers-fresh-slate-of-battery-woes

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook suffers new round of battery woes

“Panned critically at debut, RIM recently had to recall over a thousand half-baked units,” John Brownlee reports for Cult of Mac. “Now reports indicate that a recent patch has made PlayBook performance even worse than it was before.”
“According to many PlayBook users, a patch released earlier this month for RIM’s tablet enabled new video chat functionality, as well as BlackBerry Messaging via RIM’s Blackberry Bridge application,” Brownlee reports. “But guess what? That update was as half-baked as anything else RIM’s done with the PlayBook.”

Brownlee reports, “RIM now admits that after upgrading the software, it is common for the battery to drain faster than normal or for the battery level to fluctuate irregularly.”

------------------------------------------



Wasn't amateur hour supposed to be over?

I wonder when RIM's finally going to kill off this POS.

See, when you're Apple and you have some update issues, you get a pass now and then because of the strength of your product. Consumers ultimately know what they're getting and what they can expect long-term from an Apple device. Apple are judged by different standards. And this is normal.

But when you're RIM and competing in the same space as Apple, you can't afford even the slightest hiccup, because everything you do, every move you make with your product, will inevitably be compared to Apple's fully-realized, over-achieving offering.

RIM not only has their own issues to overcome, they've also got Apple's mindshare to deal with, and of course, the "other" guy in the game, Google, that likes to push sheer volume.

Anyway, this device was DOA to begin with. So it really doesn't make a difference.

 

[roadbloc]

Wasn't amateur hour supposed to be over?

Meanwhile, Apple sells iPhones with weak antennas and tablets with screen bleeding problems. It works both ways.

 

[*LTD*]

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Wasn't amateur hour supposed to be over?

Meanwhile, Apple sells iPhones with weak antennas and tablets with screen bleeding problems. It works both ways.

Not in market reality, it doesn't.

Apple gets a pass. It's the iPhone. Different standards. And frankly, a blockbuster product (whose older outdated iteration outsells even modern handsets), even with alleged antenna issues that didn't really exist (but let's say they did for argument's sake.)

RIM can't afford to do what Apple can get away with. What might be a hiccup for Apple can actually break the competition trying to break in to a segment in which Apple has an entrenched product and go head-to-head. There is no room for errors when you compete against Apple. Just ask Samsung and Motorola and HP. Unless of course, you license out your OS to every box-maker and just push sheer volume. And at the moment it doesn't seem like RIM is doing that.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

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Not in market reality, it doesn't.

Apple gets a pass. It's the iPhone. Different standards. And frankly, a blockbuster product (whose older outdated iteration outsells even modern handsets), even with alleged antenna issues that didn't really exist (but let's say they did for argument's sake.)

RIM can't afford to do what Apple can get away with. What might be a hiccup for Apple can actually break the competition trying to break in to a segment in which Apple has an entrenched product and go head-to-head. There is no room for errors when you compete against Apple. Just ask Samsung and Motorola and HP. Unless of course, you license out your OS to every box-maker and just push sheer volume. And at the moment it doesn't seem like RIM is doing that.

Well first off your "source" is useless in my book. It is from an Apple fanboy site and used well language you use for bashing so it makes it even more useless. Anyone who believes it is a valid source on bashing another product clearly does not know anything. LIke your long list of links that you have used I say MAYBE and I mean MAYBE 3 of them are valid rest are from fanboy sites or link to same articles.

Also you are doing your standard Apple gets a pass crap no matter what. Makes your case even weaker. You are proving time and time again you understand very little about the market and just believe what ever crap comes out of Apple mouth and push it as fact.

 

[*LTD*]

Well first off your "source" is useless in my book. It is from an Apple fanboy site and used well language you use for bashing so it makes it even more useless. Anyone who believes it is a valid source on bashing another product clearly does not know anything. LIke your long list of links that you have used I say MAYBE and I mean MAYBE 3 of them are valid rest are from fanboy sites or link to same articles.

Also you are doing your standard Apple gets a pass crap no matter what. Makes your case even weaker. You are proving time and time again you understand very little about the market and just believe what ever crap comes out of Apple mouth and push it as fact.

They're not making it up, genius.

They're just reporting the news. As in, reproduce it from elsewhere.

Did you not know this??

http://blackberryrocks.com/2011/05/...draining-faster-tablet-os-v1-0-3-resolutions/

http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB26855

http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?newsid=3280741&olo=rss

These Apple "fanboy sites" (like MacRumors) simply reproduce the news. They aren't the actual source. They aren't personal blogs. LOL

The only thing anyone at this point needs to understand about the market is to simply look at how and why Apple does what they do. Since they handle the market like it's their plaything. They sell more and more of their stuff each quarter and make the most money off it. Look at the WINNER, then try to understand how and why they do what they do.

Treat it like an ongoing case study and you'll learn a few things.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

They're not making it up, genius.

They're just reporting the news. As in, reproduce it from elsewhere.

Did you not know this??

http://blackberryrocks.com/2011/05/...draining-faster-tablet-os-v1-0-3-resolutions/

http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB26855

http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?newsid=3280741&olo=rss

Oh I was not surprised by it at all. But your other links prove to me that the first one was worthless and pretty much pure bashing.
The others were straight to the fact and if you ever even follow RIM for a while you would learn that this is typical that it goes up and down with updates. They generally get some that might of been missed in early testing and will get another one out pretty quickly. Also on the playbook they have been fairly quick with new updates coming out.

 

[Jagardn]

As a consumer, profits only tells me a company is making huge margins on my dollar. That is not something I find positive.

Profits matter to shareholders. Consumers should look for value for their dollar.

Apple creates markets, android would not exist without it. The droid phones came out of woodwork because of the iPhone. Same with the tablets, then at some point apple will create some other new device and everyone else will follow. I am an apple stockholder and I have a MacBook, MBP, 2 Time Capsules, airport express, and an iPhone...all paid for by my Apple stock. Do I love Apple? Hell yes!

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

As a consumer, profits only tells me a company is making huge margins on my dollar. That is not something I find positive.

Profits matter to shareholders. Consumers should look for value for their dollar.

Apple creates markets, android would not exist without it. The droid phones came out of woodwork because of the iPhone. Same with the tablets, then at some point apple will create some other new device and everyone else will follow. I am an apple stockholder and I have a MacBook, MBP, 2 Time Capsules, airport express, and an iPhone...all paid for by my Apple stock. Do I love Apple? Hell yes!

Google bought Android INC back in 2005.
iPhone or no, Android existed no matter what you say.

Congratulations on owning Applle stock btw.

 

[lsvtecjohn3]

At least with AT&T, the cheapest plan with 199$ iPhone 4 is 55$ a month. Looks like they don't even offer an iPhone in one payment. No matter what way you put it, you are NOT getting the phone for free. It may end up being cheaper than some other plan but you pay a hefty premium each month anyway. Looks like their marketing works if people really think they are getting the phone "for free", although the total price is 2400$.

While this is slightly offtopic, a new law will come into effect here in Finland next month that will make phone contracts illegal. Basically, it gives the consumer a right to dismiss the "contract" whenever he wants, so that will most likely kill the contracts. Contracts have never been very popular in here though, people have always preferred to pay it all at once instead of tying themselves into a 2-year deal.

I don't know how to explain it that you'll understand. The phone is free, you can't do anything about the phone plans you have to pay what the carrier charges. Do you pay hefty premium? yes but you still get the phone for free. If you paid the subsidized price for the phone you'll still be paying the same monthly bill as someone who bought off contract or someone who got the phone for free.

 

[maflynn]

I don't know how to explain it that you'll understand. The phone is free, you can't do anything about the phone plans you have to pay what the carrier charges. Do you pay hefty premium? yes but you still get the phone for free. If you paid the subsidized price for the phone you'll still be paying the same monthly bill as someone who bought off contract or someone who got the phone for free.

Agreed, if I buy an unsubsidized phone or a subsidized phone or get a phone free. My monthly cost is exactly the same.

 

[KnightWRX]

Apple creates markets, android would not exist without it.

Android existed before the iPhone :

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2005/tc20050817_0949_tc024.htm

Check the date yourself.

 

[*LTD*]

Android existed before the iPhone :

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2005/tc20050817_0949_tc024.htm

Check the date yourself.

Android in its *current form*. As in, not a button-festooned, clumsy atrocity with no app store.

Eric Schmidt took great notes.

Apple brought the industry to where it is today, almost overnight. And they still set the bar.

 

[*LTD*]

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Yeah. Apple "didn't do anything great for the industry."

Sidekick??

ROFLMAO

We'll have so much fun together. Until you're gone. Please, make the most of it so we can be entertained.

 

[roadbloc]

Apple brought the industry to where it is today, almost overnight. And they still set the bar.

I'll give you that Apple brought some great changes to the mobile industry. But not overnight. The first iPhone was hardly a patch on what Symbian based phones were achieving at the time. When we get to the iPhone 3GS and the App Store boom, then yeah, they did well at beating Nokia at their own game.

I'm unsure how Apple is setting the bar... what even is the bar? In the terms of new features and hardware, yeah, they brought the compass and the gyro. But general specs-wise and OS-wise, Apple are not the bar setters at all. iOS is all greatly finished and smoother than a babies bottom, but Android is by far a more powerful mobile OS.

So yeah, Apple have done some great stuff for the mobile industry. Nokia have done a hell of a lot more though.

 

[KnightWRX]

I'm unsure how Apple is setting the bar... what even is the bar?

Like for the iPod and iPad, Apple has set the bar on branding and marketing. Convincing a very large segment of the population that no other product is as good as theirs when it's plainly false.

 

[maflynn]

Like for the iPod and iPad, Apple has set the bar on branding and marketing. Convincing a very large segment of the population that no other product is as good as theirs when it's plainly false.

But that's no different from any other manufacturer, be it auto maker, washer machines, or computers.

Apple creates a well thought out and designed product. They excel at being able to market that device to consumers. They create an air of coolness and explain exactly how the features fit a need. So far I've not seen too many tablet makers do exactly that. HTC comes close with some of their phones.

 

[KnightWRX]

But that's no different from any other manufacturer, be it auto maker, washer machines, or computers.

No, it's different in that Apple succeeded. They don't sell you a device based on functionality. They sell you an image. "Go hang out at Starbucks with an iPad. Sure a Xoom does the same thing, but it won't draw a crowd!".

 

[rdowns]

Like for the iPod and iPad, Apple has set the bar on branding and marketing. Convincing a very large segment of the population that no other product is as good as theirs when it's plainly false.

Oh, that old gag.

Marketing and branding will bring in sales but won't sustain it if your product doesn't perform. The iPod grew for 8 years, produced billions in profits and still sells tens of millions of units per quarter even though our phones and tablets can replace them.

 

[roadbloc]

Like for the iPod and iPad, Apple has set the bar on branding and marketing. Convincing a very large segment of the population that no other product is as good as theirs when it's plainly false.

I meant in the terms of the mobile market specifically. Apple did set the bar with media players and are currently doing so with tablets. The mobile market, I'm not too sure.

 

[KnightWRX]

Oh, that old gag.

Marketing and branding will bring in sales but won't sustain it if your product doesn't perform.

I didn't say Apple products don't "perform", I wouldn't own them if they didn't. I just said other products perform as well if not better in some cases. It's just that Apple has just the right level of "perform" mixed with highly effective branding/marketing to make it appear they are the best, when they're just late to the party most of the time.

That's the thing with Macrumors and some of you "Apple does no wrong", you can't admit that other products are just as good and sometimes, Apple just rides the coat tail of their branding to get you all to buy into something.

I like my Apple products, I wouldn't plaster Apple all over my electronics. Diversity is good.

 

[maflynn]

No, it's different in that Apple succeeded. They don't sell you a device based on functionality. They sell you an image. "Go hang out at Starbucks with an iPad. Sure a Xoom does the same thing, but it won't draw a crowd!".

Its not different, its just that apple is better at it