The Xoom, Android, Microsoft, Everyone else, and Apple

So, Motorola's Xoom is being renamed Doom before even leaving the gate.  The tablet running Android 3.0 has been labeled over-priced for what you get, and I tend to agree with this.  Also, there seem to be rumors running around that in order to enable wifi on the Xoom you'll have to pay for at least one month's worth of 3g data usage through Verizon....   What are they thinking???

Microsoft and Google seem determined to make up in quantity what they lack in quality when competing with Apple, and yet they continue to fail.  They have a multitude of devices out there running their respective operating systems and yet Apple products are still the "must haves" of the industry.

I begin to wonder if Apple's closed ecosystem is really the way to go.  Create a product, or even a line of products from the ground up, not just hardware, but software too, make it look stylish and throw it out on the market and watch it fly off the shelves.  Oh, and it doesn't hurt if you can put a groovy picture of an Apple on it too.

Sometimes I get so disgusted with how HP, Dell, Samsung, Lenovo, Sony, Acer and all the other manufacturers lag two to three years behind Apple in design that sometimes I just want to throw in the towel, replace my 4 notebooks with Macbooks, set up a NAS, and be done with Microsoft and the PC manufacturers for well and good.

I would be lying if I said I have never gone to Apple's website and perused a Macbook Pro or two, but usually once I get a look at the price, and the generally outdated hardware, I remember why I continue to buy PC's with Windows on them.

Verizon Wireless Customers: Beware the iPhone 4

The mostly glass iPhone 4 may not be as strong as Apple contends.  Recently, California resident Donald LeBuhn filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the iPhone 4 is not as strong as Apple claims it to be.

Popular smart phone insurer Square Trade has also released a report that the iPhone 4 is 68% more likely to be damaged in an accident than the iPhone 3GS, and they also report an 82% higher rate of damaged screens.

Start saving your pennies now, as not only do the apps tend to cost more, it looks like the cost of insuring the iPhone (and the high deductible) may be in your future as well.   It is a steep price to pay to have a phone with an Apple on the back of it.

According to Apple, the glass found on the iPhone 4 is '20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic.' Apparently none of this matters when you drop the device from about 3 feet up as the glass tends to shatter on impact.  Something my wife's plastic Blackberry Bold has managed to avoid (and she drops it about 2-3 times a week) for the last several months.

It's no secret that my wife is hard on her phones, and she likes the cool factor of the iPhone 4, however she will be the first to admit that the iPhone 4 would not stand up to her abuse, and she is now looking to a more durable Android phone to use her upgrade on.