I can’t stop thinking about the similarities between the Moto X and the iPhone 5C. \u00a0Brightly-colored polycarbonate cases around last year’s top-of-the-line internals. \u00a0And the iPhone still undercuts the Moto X by half price on contract.<\/p>\n
As predicted, Wall Street is savaging Apple’s stock – but then, nobody goes to a stockbroker for anything more complicated than rape jokes and tacky accessories (of which more later). \u00a0Certainly not for actual insight on technology. \u00a0The fact of the matter is this: the modern smartphone is good enough already. \u00a0Thus Motorola’s willingness to ship the Moto X as equipped. \u00a0An 8-megapixel camera is plenty good. \u00a0300dpi on the display is plenty good. \u00a016 GB of onboard storage is enough for most anyone in a world where people are migrating to Spotify and Rdio and Netflix.<\/p>\n
In the past, Apple would always use last year’s model as the $99 phone, and the two-year-old model as the free-on-contract phone. \u00a0This time, there’s a new device in the $99 spot – and it’s basically an iPhone 5 that costs Apple less to make. \u00a0The $99 option has a much higher profit margin for Apple than previous iterations of the one-down phone. \u00a0So it sort of boggles the mind that the stock would slump\u2026but then, it’s all about Wall Street’s expectations, not those of customers or tech specialists, isn’t it?<\/p>\n
Everyone keeps crowing about how Apple needs to produce a dirt-cheap phone for developing markets – conveniently forgetting the fundamental truth of almost forty years of Apple Computer – they don’t do dirt-cheap.<\/em> Period, paragraph. \u00a0So are they just abandoning that space? \u00a0No. \u00a0Why do you think they’ve launched a trade-in program? Why do you think the iPhone 4 (not the 4S) is still on sale in China? Why do you think iOS 7 still supports the iPhone 4 with every feature that doesn’t require specialized hardware (i.e. Siri and AirDrop and parallax view)? \u00a0Because the refurb iPhone 4 is the dirt-cheap phone for developing markets.<\/em> \u00a0Save the bits, replace the battery and the cracked front glass, and boom, ready to go and for far less than building a new phone.<\/p>\n Don’t let the Auburn degree fool you, folks: Tim Cook is smart. \u00a0And like God, or the Cylons (but unlike Ronald D Moore as it turns out), he’s got a plan. \u00a0Look back at what a “disappointment” the iPhone 5 was last year and decide who you’d rather bet with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I can’t stop thinking about the similarities between the Moto X and the iPhone 5C. \u00a0Brightly-colored polycarbonate cases around last year’s top-of-the-line internals. \u00a0And the iPhone still undercuts the Moto X by half price on contract. As predicted, Wall Street is savaging Apple’s stock – but then, nobody goes to a stockbroker for anything more … <\/p>\n