And yet, if I mention that it would be nice if iPhones have a removable battery, you go ape and respond as though your honor had been personally attacked. Get a grip, man! Steve Jobs told people who had antenna problems that they were holding the phone wrong. You suggest putting the phone in the microwave. Both ridiculous of course. The fact is, Apple makes such choices to prevent the user from having more control over the device, and of course, to maximize profits. Apple hates when third parties make accessories that allow them to make a buck, and so they create proprietary cords and work hard to make working on an iPhone, iPad or Macbook Pro as difficult as possible for non-Apple techs.
Many of us know this and buy Apple products in spite of it. There are many things people like me love about Apple. But I, unlike you apparently, admit of the possibility that Apple may not be perfect. It is a choice, with tradeoffs, and one of those tradeoffs is, they HAVE to control everything. Including batteries. There are many reasons why a removable battery is nice, and NSA spying through the microphone (whether they have to have PHYSICAL ACCESS TO YOUR PHONE or not, is just one of many.
Have a great day.
--written on Macbook Pro Retina
You get your own grip, Defiant. You just spouted a load of mythological based FUD yourself. A lot of what you just said simply is not true. First of all, please link me to a thread on FreeRepublic where I have gone "Ape" over anyone suggesting it would be "nice if iPhones have a removable battery." Please.
There are excellent engineering reasons for not having a removable battery which I understand and appreciate. These choices made by Apple engineers are why our iPhones and iPads are as small, thin, and light as they are, yet still have industry leading battery lives. Ask yourself, Defiant: "What does it take to add a user replaceable battery?"
Not having a user replaceable battery allows Apple engineers to use caseless battery cells that can be as flat as they need them, in any shape that best fits the available volume and space. . . or even use two or more separate battery packs in different locations inside the body of the phone to maximize the energy availability in the space availability, and increase the operational time. . . all while minimizing size and weight, on which consumers put a premium.
All that would have to be given up for a small minority who, like you, who have been carping for seven years about not having replaceable batteries. You want more time? Buy a Mophie case and double the power.
No, Defiant, this is a decision that makes sense every way you look at it. . . Adding a user-replaceable battery makes no sense unless you want to add cost, size, weight, problems, more customer dissatisfaction, and, in the long run, shorten the longevity of your product.
Is that going "ape" or is that explaining why Apple made a reasonable product design decision that I like that makes the product overall a better product?
You picked up on more FUD on "Antennagate" and Steve Jobs' comment. Jobs made an off the cuff joke to a guy he thought would have a sense of humor, before he went on to explain there really was no problem. And there wasn't. . . but the guy had no sense of humor, didn't believe Jobs, and spread the comment around the world. The iPhone4 went on being sold WITHOUT any antenna changes or redesign in the rest of the world, Defiant, and no antenna complaints were registered in any other market or carrier. Articles, which I posted on FR, from Australia were asking "what antenna problem?" and the iPhone 4 actually, when tested against competitors, was found to have the best reception performance of them all. The issue was a carrier based problem with AT&T only, with too many customers and not enough bandwidth causing dropped calls in certain urban areas. The unchanged iPhone 4, has been resurrected by Apple this year for sale in third world countries and STILL no antenna issues.
And I was quite serious about putting a phone (not just an iPhone) in a microwave oven. . . Even if it is a humorous solution. But I see you have no sense of humor like the guy Jobs was chatting with.my point was that if you are so damn paranoid and worried that someone can eavesdrop on you from a turned off phone and you must talk about something sensitive, put the damned thing in a microwave oven. A microwave oven is impervious to the radio wavelengths. . . nothing in, nothing out. Then you should probably have your chat in Klingon.
Your claim that "Apple hates when third parties make accessories that allow them to make a buck, and so they create proprietary cords and work hard to make working on an iPhone, iPad or Macbook Pro as difficult as possible for non-Apple techs" is absolutely ludicrous and demonstrates you don't know what you are talking about. If Apple hates this so much, why are they the leaders in meeting system standards? What is "proprietary" about Intel's Thunderbolt? How come Apple licenses over 10,000 authorized accessory manufacturers for Apple accessories? Why has Apple paid out over $10 Billion to independent App developers? Why do Macs work with industry standard peripherals? Why does Apple make adapters available for all standard cables? Why does Apple publish the specifications for their "proprietary" connectors which they've adopted to be able to make their devices even thinner yet, not, as you say "just to make working on . . . as difficult as possible. . ."? Why does Apple use a standard, easily available screwdriver, although not common, if they are trying to lock out techs. . . when the tech can buy one for under $10?
Could it be, Defiant, that the Apple devices have gotten so compact and layered with parts, that an amateur tinkerer should be discouraged from tinkering? Some devices do reach a level of such complexity. A recent IFixIt tear down of an Apple product warned readers that if they attempted the tear-down, they could easily tear a hidden ribbon cable connector off its circuit board if you didn't know where it was, under two other parts, and the cable had to be carefully disconnected before you removed those parts. Do you think, just perhaps, that might be why it's hard to open the cases?
Do you know that back in 1998 people were complaining about Apple using "proprietary cables" and using these strange proprietary peripherals that had to use those damn "proprietary USB connectors?" Where do you think innovation comes from? Apple is not using these connectors to lock out competition. They're better connectors.
You claim I respond as though I have been personally attacked. Defiant, when I respond like I have been personally attacked, it's because I HAVE BEEN personally attacked. Defiant, I have been the target of some of the worst invective, insults, and name calling on FreeRepublic merely because I use a Mac, iPhone, iPad and/or maintain the Apple/Mac/iPhone/iPad/iOS PING list and post articles for the list. Some of those attackers succeeded in getting themselves banned for life from FreeRepublic.
On this thread, a troll came on with the usual off hand insults to Mac users. . . Implicitly stating that Mac users are too stupid and inept to be able to find back doors and viruses. Then implying we are so stupid we buy overpriced hardware containing underpowered obsolete parts. I did not insult him. I showed him how his fallacious his assertion were with graphical proof. . . and challenged him to prove his assertions. For this. I was called an A$$hole, and you attacked me with more misinformed "facts" from the FUD mill. The SAME people keep coming onto these threads, spreading the same lies, despite being shown the facts over and over. Yet they will repeat the same thing the next time. I tried the polite approach. . . I still do. I have been getting this for TWENTY YEARS - I turned 65 last Friday and I just won't take it anymore. They are the trolls. They are the A$$holes. Read what you want into it. . .
If you check my posting history, you will find that I have posted negative articles about Apple as well as positive articles. . . and I've also criticized them. Your unwarranted assumption that I believe Apple is perfect is totally wrong. I just prefer facts and truth over myth and revisionist history. . . and FUD.
Six years ago I was discussing suing Apple with my in house attorney. . . my wife died suddenly due to a massive heart attack. I was keeping her last voicemail message to me on my iPhone in my visual voicemail inbox and would listen to it daily. One morning it was gone! I frantically looked for it, called Apple support, went to the Genius Bar and was informed that Apple iPhones were set to retain voice mail for only 30 days and then automatically delete them!!! Why? No one knew why. There was no lack of memory. It was a completely arbitrary timed deletion put in by some anonymous programer. And no, voicemail is not backed up and at that time it couldn't be forwarded or copied to anything. It existed only on my phone. No, I found out, ATT did not have a copy. . . Or they wouldn't admit to having it.
A wrote a bitter, nasty letter to Steve Jobs. He called me personally to apologize for Apple's oversight and egregious error. . . and told me the issue was fixed and would be in the next iPhone update.
No, they are not perfect. They make mistakes. I decided not to sue. My lawyer said there were no economic damages and emotional damages are hard to prove.
My point is that I will correct misinformation, provide the correct data, and generally provide links to the proof. If you don't like that and think that's being a "fanboy" too bad. If you are interested in news about Apple and their products, if be glad to add your name to the ~560 other Freepers on the Apple/Mac/iPhone/iPad/iOS Ping list who have asked me to do what you have criticized me for doing: keep them appraised of what's happening in the world of Apple, and keep the fact straight when people post myths, lies, and FUD. I've been maintaining that list for almost ten years.