Apples Are Only Good For Pies

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jespsen

Life was much simpler when Blackberry and Apple were still just fruit...and Samsung only the classics! 

How is this for ironic? I am writing this on my Samsung and I am complaining about Apple while my Blackberry sits in rice recovering from it's unexpected Polar Bear Dip on Christmas Day. Firstly, clarification on Polar Bear Dip for those who may not know. It's popularity has grown into a world wide phenomenon with the ability for national news to quickly become global fodder, I was not so worldly growing up for sure! Regardless, a polar bear swim is when humans for unknown reasons wish to emulate polar bears and swim in near frozen water. Being resourceful however the quick swim in the frigid water is often followed up by a  re-heat in a hot tub that has been set up on the shore line. Similar to the Nordic countries like Norway that roll naked in the snow before jumping in the sauna. Well not people with heart conditions :) In Canada they are often done to raise money for some charity rather than pleasure.

I was retrieving and praying

But back to mobile devices, for the second time in as many years, my phone took it's own polar bear dip when it plunged into the icy depths of toilet water. Yes, the water was clean and being as I quickly and without thought as to cleanliness reached in and pulled it out, I can personally attest to the frigid temperature of the water. It was very sobering...yes I had been drinking. The last time it happened the phone was a Blackberry Bold and was less than 24 hours old and alcohol was not a factor. I was so mad at myself. As fast as I could make it home, I put it in a container and covered it with rice. And left it there with the battery beside it for several months. I was, quite frankly, terrified to take it out in case it didn't work. But alas it did work and that phone was a gem until I fell down the stairs with it in my back pocket and the camera quite working. Once a device is water damaged, and yes technicians can tell, repair cost are out of your pocket and no work is guaranteed. As my son put it, water damage can continue to occur unseen in the form of corrosion within the casing. He felt that this was actually the cause for the camera malfunction.

Blackberry Torch 9800

Having access to several phones because of his age (and line of work), he graciously provided me with a new (to me) phone with a working camera. It was a Blackberry Torch and if even possible, I liked it better than the Bold. The screen was bigger to accommodate my old eyes and it combined the touch screen feature with the qwerty keyboard that I love. Without ever having an iPhone, I always looked at them as a toy/plaything whereas a Blackberry was a tool. Although I never had the phone, I did own an iPad for a time. Yes, I succumbed to the hype. It was an overpriced toy! With no capacity for flash, compatible word processing programs and only the touch screen to type, I found it difficult to use it productively. So I got rid of it, in favour of the Samsung tablet that I got a companion keyboard for, making it similar to my baby laptop (10 inch screen) that I used to take everywhere with me. I loved my little eeePC that I got free during a promotion with the Royal Bank of Canada back in 2008. I hear you, "if it was great why replace it?" Well, I'll tell you, the "h" quit working so I resorted to cutting and pasting every time I needed an "h". You have no idea how many words have an "h". It got to be a real nuisance when if came to any serious writing. Many words didn't show up on the spell check. Hat:at, show:sow, that:tat. You get the point. The iPad was a poor substitute and so along came the Samsung. It's a tablet, a working laptop computer and with it's Polaris Office system, it's a dream. I am aware that it is possible to buy a keyboard to work with the iPad, and I may even agree that I did not give the iPad a fighting chance without said keyboard, but the roadblocks I came up against just wasn't worth the trouble. For me.

I use my mobile phone as a portable office. Appointment cards are wasted pieces of paper, because everything went into the calendar of my phone. I can't make a personal phone call, because all my contacts were in my phone. My note pad was filled with thoughts, ideas for writings and cool things I read. E-mail was the best and quickest way to communicate for even those times when I couldn't answer the phone. Social media, browsing, text and bbm were all bonus tasks that could be performed.  Oh yeah and it was a phone too! Losing it was like severing my right arm. Suddenly the house was too quite without the familiar Pink Panther theme singing to me with an alert of an incoming call. Bugs Bunny letting me know "What's this? A letter for me", Mr Bean would implore me to "Pick up,  pick up" when a specific friend tried to reach me. I guess my phone was a working tool as well as a toy :)

RICE-A-PHONI
For this trick to work, the container needs an airtight seal.

It's the holidays and I don't have disposable money to rush out and buy the latest and greatest electronic just because it is new. But I was lost, I honestly did not know what was on my schedule of things to do or appointments to attend while my beloved Torch was relaxing in a rice bath oblivious to my trauma. lol. God bless my son, who came to my rescue again. Today his selection is somewhat more limited and I had the choice of a Blackberry Bold without a battery (sadly I don't have a stash of batteries at my disposal) or an Apple iPhone 3. The iPhone 5 was recently released so I guess this one is 6 months old. haha! Okay a little older, but isn't it crazy how fast new models are released in the electronics industry? 

Trying to be unbiased, I am very grateful to have any phone that can remind me of the numerous commitments stored in my calendar and my personal contacts. How sad is it that I cannot contact my own children without my mobile device? What a world we live in. To be fair to me however, during the four years of his university experience, my son probably went through 6-8 phone numbers - who could be expected to remember all of those? My daughter did go through fewer but it was just easier to rely on the phone to know them. All I needed to know was their name and press the picture of the phone handset. So, when I got the iPhone, I inserted my Sim (memory) card and...nothing came up. No contacts. On the up side, my calendar showed that I had some time to try and figure out this new device.

The phone is used, and thusly did not come with a manual and no, I did not look one up on line. But user-friendly should be mandatory in these devices that are produced to be used across the generations and even for people without internet access. Blackberry, that was once so addictive that it was referred to as "Crackberry" because of it's ease of use as an out of office connective device. It became as necessary as the office stapler. But RIM has fallen out of favour lately with it's failed foray into the tablet market. The Playbook was plagued with production and distribution problems and people just gave up waiting and scooped up tablets already tried and true on the store shelves. Confidence in the business slid as fast as the stock prices. The cell phone market had also changed. There were new and innovative companies trying to gobble up market share and the large business market had been taken over by the social masses who wanted a gaming device as well as a phone. Admittedly, the larger screen is preferable for viewing pictures and videos. But for productivity, nothing beats the Blackberry in my opinion.

YES! I admit I'm an addict :)

So here are some of my beefs with the iPhone 3. It is possible that some have been rectified in the newer versions that have been released or that I am just not aware of a fix. Also, when referring to Blackberry, I am including the Curve, Bold and Torch, as I have experience with all and they all have the features listed unless otherwise noted.

1. Sound preferences. On a standard Blackberry you have profiles that apply to all phone tones. Normal, loud, silence all, phone calls only, vibrate only to name a few. Plus you can create your own. Ring tones that are downloaded and assigned to specific functions or contacts do not need to be separately programmed. I cannot find this very handy feature on the Apple, when during the night I only want to be disturbed by phone calls not incoming e-mails.
2. Alarm. This would also be affected by #1. If a wake up alarm is set on the Blackberry, the sound preference is irrelevant. Your alarm will go off and wake you up. And during the night the phone behaves as a bedside clock, that is just a handy feature all around but especially if you are travelling. Last night I set the alarm on the Apple, then having no options, turned the phone volume down and if the alarm went off, I didn't hear it. Another Blackberry perk, the alarm goes off continually until you shut it off or snooze - and the amount of snooze time is chosen by you as well.
3. Sound alerts. I have not downloaded any ringtones onto this temporary phone, but am not pleased that I don't have the option to change the tone for e-mail and calendar alerts. A noise emits from the phone and I have no idea why. Waking it up from sleep-mode and I have to guess and check my e-mail etc to see if that is what the notice was. The Blackberry gives me a flashing light to indicate activity and a count of and indicator for new activity along the top of the screen. Ringtones don't matter for even on silent these alerts will be present. Again, in terms of productivity this is very efficient.
4. Version. I don't really know if this is unique to Apple but I have never experienced it on Blackberry. Programs are always coming out with newer versions with what they think are improved features. As witnessed by the mass protests when Facebook rolls out a new version, the public is not always willing to concede the improved aspect. Regardless it happens and this is a perfect example of this Apple blemish. iPhone says I have the latest version on the phone, Facebook says I don't. So I can't get facebook app on this phone. On the forums, Apple devotees blame facebook, others blame Apple. I don't know but it makes this phone a rather costly brick.
5. Browser. We all know that if we go over our data usage we are dinged like crazy. On the Blackberry I could close the browser and was confident it was not running. On the Apple, I am just not sure that I trust a "back" button to log me off. This could be a paranoia issue and lack of confidence in the product issue. 
6. Apps. Having a Blackberry, I could never quite understand the need for apps, except for playing games. Why do I need an app on my phone for the bank when I could just as easily go on their website via the browser? I got an app to turn my phone into a flashlight and a weather app. That was about it. What I see standard on this iPhone, I am beginning to understand the need for all the apps. There is nothing on this phone to be a productive piece of equipment until I visit the app store. 

I am sure there is more I could beef about but I will stop and concede that like the Mac computer vs the IBM compatible there is room in the world and a market for all the various types of devices. Computer or phone, it all boils down to the same thing for me. Productivity vs creativity. The Mac has always been the computer of choice for the creative minds that want to draw and create on the screen. The IBM was preferred in the workplace.This mentality is illustrated perfectly in the school system that stocks it's elementary school computer labs with Macs and their high schools with IBM compatible units. 

I am creative with a pencil or paint. My mind is very imaginative. But my electronics I prefer to be for my productive side - writing etc. I can see why some would prefer the iPhone with the necessity to customize it's usage as beneficial for the creative and inquiring minds that like to understand and explore electronics. But for others like me, I just want a device that will work the way I want without driving me crazy how to figure out how to do the simplest of tasks. I am told that I am not using the Samsung tablet to the fullest extent and I haven't even scratched the surface of it's capabilities. That may be true, but for now it is doing exactly what I want. Anything more would surely be a bonus and I will investigate if this damn iPhone would just tell me if I have an appointment I am late for? 

The only thing I know for sure is that in the future I will be keeping a spare Blackberry within reach for the next time I find myself in this predicament. Hopefully it won't be water related! But for now...

Anybody have a Blackberry I can borrow? :)

UPDATE: The love affair resumes. The new (to me) Torch and I are together again. He even has a new name, Roger. I am not too thrilled about his background, but I am willing to overlook that small imperfection. Until the rice releases my first love and we are re-united.  

Brand Loyalty Only Goes as Far as The Dollar Stretches

Money - Pink Floyd

Commercialism and Consumerism - Loaded topic! Hey, I've heard that somewhere before! lol! I am not a business tycoon and know very little about the subject of economics both nationally and internationally. The range of my actual experience extends from working as an employee in a retail environment and as a shopper. I am actually quite experienced in the latter :) But I never purported to be an expert on any subject that I have delved into on this blog. Just absurdity as I see it.

Monopoly - Not Parker Brothers
To that end, there was a time when all you heard and read about was the monopoly that Microsoft had when it came to home computing. And indeed, they had a product in "Windows" that everyone wanted, and to bolster their success in the corporate world, Microsoft packaged Windows with other programs of their own design like Office, Media Player and Internet Explorer. In fact, Microsoft was sued many times over this alleged monopoly that they had. Or was it jealousy because AOL customers preferred IE over their own Netscape. Face it, consumers are fickle and if they perceive that something better has come along, well the proof is in the ultimate choice. For me, Netscape was great until I discovered IE then along came Firefox. Today I move between Google plus and Safari. I would dump Safari but I don't have that option. And herein lies the problem. How is what Microsoft was doing a monopoly but Apple forcing Safari, iTunes, iCloud etc upon us is somehow different. It seems to me with my limited computer knowledge, that I can play many formats of media with Media player but the same is not true for iTunes. My Media Player library transfers efficiently to iTunes, but iTunes is not compatible with any portable player but iPods and some music is not compatible to even Media Player. I don't care for this double standard as I see it. I also feel that Apple is taking advantage of this marketplace niche by keeping prices artificially inflated. Consider that Apple is only sold in select locations chosen by the company, sale prices are dictated by the company, not the market. Don't get me wrong, Apple as a company can do whatever they want to sell and market their products, my point is that this should be practice across the board. Why should Microsoft be criticized when they play the same game. 

RIM and Apple
Let's move from Microsoft and computers to Apple and RIM. Two completely different products despite both being cellphones. It reminds me very much of MacIntosh Computers versus IBM compatible. Hold on...consider that for a moment. Mac's are stand alone, like nothing else, and not friendly with other home computing systems. IBM opens the door and lets everyone share. I sense a form of racism. :p The point is that for consumers, there was a place in the market for both systems. Where one failed, the other excelled - and that was good. Like humanity, we can fight each other or we can work to complement one another. Mac was great for the design and artistic programs. IBM was viewed as more of a work horse dealing with finances and productivity. Blackberry and iPhone are the same. Blackberry has traditionally been the phone of choice for the Bay Street Suits and those who use their phone as an extension of their office. It was a question of familiarity using the keyboard to respond to e-mails and such. Along came the iPhone and suddenly people flocked to the new kid on the block so they too could have a chance to play Angry Birds. With the wide open touch screen, it was a great format on which to play, no doubt about it. There was an explosion of games in the forms of Apps that could be downloaded for the iPhone. Blackberry didn't have that - they had BBM which is an instant instant messaging service. No delay between the providers. There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems, neither one is better than the other, it depends on what you want your phone to do for you. 

Rogers and Rogers
Going back full circle, has anyone picked up on the market saturation by Rogers. Someday I would like to sit through an hour long television show just to see how many Rogers commercials I would see. The cellphones, television systems, internet connections, sponsorship of special events, publishing and television programming. Now ownership of television stations and programming and home security systems. It is no wonder that they chose to bow out of the video rental market. Quite frankly I tune out most of their commercial simply because I feel overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. Two or three commercials by the same company in quick succession is at least two too many. And most seem a little stupid and condescending "thanks you gorgeous creature". The scene is too fake and contrived. One of their ads though simply boggles my mind - so we will call it ineffective. The one number add, where your cell phone number is used to access all your accounts. Well, in the year 2012, not only do a high percentage of us have cell phones, but it may be our primary or only telephone. More people with access to my home and electronics have my cell phone number than my home phone number. If they have that "One Number" does that mean they too can access all my accounts? How stupid is that? If there is more to the program then that, then Rogers has done a very inadequate job of communicating that with their advertising. And no, I don't really care because I am not a customer of Rogers. And one more thing about Rogers, they would have been smarter to add their name to the Skydome rather than change it to Rogers Centre. It will always be Skydome to most people who aren't paid to refer to it. Rogers Skydome has a better ring to it. 

Pepsi and Coke
But in the best possible scenario these companies can all co-exist and let us, the consumers, make choices on what and where we want to spend our money without feeling like we have made the wrong choice. What I dislike is the general negativity I hear. You like Coke I like Pepsi, but the only time I will force my choice down your throat is if you are in my home. But did you hear the bashing of RIM recently when BBM went down briefly? Did you also hear about the lengths that the company went to in order to apologize to their loyal customers? Now, do you remember when iPhone had a bug in it's alarm? A casual search on the internet will identify that it has happened more than once, with some people complaining of losing jobs over the glitch. All electronics are subject to malfunctions at one time or another, that doesn't make your iPhone better than my Blackberry. Thank you very much. :p

New and Improved! 
I recognize that all companies do it and the more hype you can generate, the better the bottom dollar but it drives me crazy when companies come out with yearly with better and more expensive versions of products. It makes me think that what they put out previously was just junk. Back when the kids were younger, I developed a real sour taste in my mouth with Nintendo and other gaming systems that released new systems every Christmas season - rendering the currently held ones worthless and useless when wanting to purchase new game releases. I have a Sega Genesis gaming system tucked away unable to play anything but the old Pink Panther game that is packed away with it :) 

But wait, this is the premise and marketing strategy of nearly every business in the marketplace. For clothes it is seasonal and we are led to believe that our current wardrobe just won't do - despite the function remains the same. New car models are thrust upon us yearly. But something happened there, it used to be the new models would roll out in the early part of the year on the sticker, now it seems throughout the year new models are unveiled. And whatever make and model you currently own is no longer safe enough or good for the environment. I guess it is what keeps the economy rolling along and us working. But it sure can get frustrating...Brand loyalty only goes as far as the dollar stretches.