Sometimes I have to remind myself that not everyone wants or cares about the latest gadget on the block or the biggest and fastest piece of tech on the market. Although some friends will ask my opinion about what to get or when to get it when they’re looking for a phone, gaming console or television, most of the time they’re just going to get whatever suits their needs best whenever the most convenient time comes up. In other words, their lives aren’t dictated by release dates or processor speeds, and I find that completely baffling and unnerving. And yes, I probably feel that way because I can see the logic in their thinking and just refuse to accept it.
Anyone getting the new iPhone this Friday (today)? The new Galaxy Note in October? The Lumia 920 in November?
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Sorry for the lack of strips over the past week! I present my case for that in a blog post here, but it basically comes down to being completely wiped out after Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo last weekend. I’m just now feeling somewhat normal. With any luck, I’ll be fully recharged by the end of this weekend and can get back to some cool BOTstuffs I have planned for you all!
I bet you’re already waiting on line for the Wii U!
fig! welcome back to the comments, dude! long time no see. and, yes – i’m a little apprehensive about it, but still eagerly awaiting the Wii U. heheh.
and check you out: your return to the comments is triumphant since you just achieved the Shades of Firsting! wear them well – these are 20% bigger, made with gorilla glass 2.0, and have built in wifi, LTE and NFC built right in:
😎
I tend to just buy the cheapest thing that works, my own phone happens to be 5 or six years old, since it till works I just kept it, it always seemed strange to me, that anyone would go through phones as fast as a year.
if we were hanging out and you pulled out your 6 year old phone, i’d probably have the reaction bot did in the 3rd panel, Z. but then i’d still have no argument about why you should upgrade and would mostly remain silent. 🙂
the lumia 920 for me and IP5 for the missus
those lumia windows phones look super sexy, jf#300! although Nokia’s last gen phones didn’t do that well, i’m hoping they bounce back when the 920s come out. let me know how those phones are when you get ’em.
My Dad was telling me about his latest Apple upgrade, how powerful and sleek it was and all hte features and so on and so forth and when he was done, I asked him if he’d read the e-mails I’d sent him a few days ago, with pics of the kids.
He told me he couldn’t figure out how to access his e-mail . . .
ha! that’s the problem with these super smartphones, Sarah W – they’re only as powerful as what you can get to work on them. hope he figured out the email. 🙂
I got a fairly new phone at Radio Shack in January with internet capabilities, the ability to play games, voicemail, GPS and other features. I’m still trying to figure out different features. I can only imagine how long I’d spend figuring out the features of the latest model of cell phone. Though part of the reason I haven’t figured out all of the features on my phone is lack of time from working two jobs.
i hope you find some time to play with your phone between your two jobs, Rainey! pro tip: that’s what bathroom breaks are for. 😉
No, no, and no. I’m totally with the Cornfather on this one. My supervisor had to have a laptop in our staff meeting so she could see the big release of the iPhone 5. I just don’t understand. I have had the same Android phone for a couple of years now, and other than its memory being too full and my not being able to move enough to the nearly empty SD card, I’m perfectly happy with it.
By the way, remind me not to piss off Jefbot. He’s scary. 😉
you shoulda seen the pencils for that third panel before i inked it! it was even scarier, and i had to tone it down. >:)
heheh. i’ll admit to reading the liveblogging of the iPhone 5 going on while i was at work, Shanna. even though i pretty much already knew what it was going to look like and all the new features it would have, i couldn’t resist reading about it. and since i can’t even get one until my contract’s up next may – and by then it’ll be obsolete – it was all just gadget porn, really. 🙂
Third panel made me lol so hard. Also, strike up the band, Anime fan’s back in town!
woo! always glad to see you back in town, Anime fan! glad you got some LOLs on your return. 😀
If you can tell me the reference I just made you get bonus points. Hint: I’m a Fallout addict.
much to the disappointment and outrage of my Fallout-obsessed buddies, i never played much of the Fallout series, Anime fan.
It’s fine, Bot. I’m sure we won’t 8) have a falling out.
Where’d my shades of firstness go? B) 8) BD 8D
glad we won’t be having a falling out over Fallout, Anime fan!
Yeahhhhh, I’m all over the Cornfather with this one.
dang it.
I haven’t posted in a while, but I have still been reading. In fact, you’re the only webcomic I continue to read after my job change in February. Sadly, my current job affords me less time to surf the webs. Anyway, I’m currently looking at picking up a new phone, but it’s because my contract is done at the end of the month, so I’m switching to Virgin Mobile, to get away from contracts and save myself $ per month on my phone bill. They don’t have the latest and greatest phones, but I’m still stuck on getting the new release from them, or something cheaper…it’s a hard decision.
glad to have you back, theBean! looks like a few BOTpeeps away for a while are back today, which makes me happy. thanks for keeping me on your reading list even after your job change. 🙂
i’ve thought about switching carriers, but since my iPhone was grandfathered in on unlimited data with AT&T, i’ll remain shackled to them until the day they take that away.
I’ll get the new phone sometimes next year. I always skip the S versions of the phones and go with the numbered versions.
cool. i’m on the other upgrade path, TPC – my contract’s up for renewal when the S versions come out.
I love Bot’s line in the last panel, also I’m with Cornfather on this one.
i’m glad bot didn’t try and argue his point since most of you BOTreaders are with the Cornfather’s ideology on this one, 52pickup!
I believe the term “duped into buying” applies to anything Apple. Overpriced, fragile, and (especially recently) under-featured, I’ve got a solid boycott against that company across the board. Their recent lawsuit frenzy hasn’t gained them any brownie points either. To each their own tastes, but you’d be hard pressed to convince me that iGadgets are anything more than the aforementioned.
i’m agnostic when it comes to gadgets, Alexander – i’ll buy whatever suits my needs best. and don’t let your prejudices dissuade you from buying iGadgets. they’re quite nice, actually, especially when stacked against the competition. apple’s success at reinventing and popularizing the music player, smartphone and tablet markets speaks for itself. and defending one’s IP is par for the course in all big business, but especially tech: see all the patent suits put forth by microsoft, google, samsung, yahoo and facebook, to name a few.
I’m fond of my iPod because it’s a simple, efficient way of storing music, podcasts and videos so I can rock out while I’m working. But I can’t stand Macs; they are so unintuitive to how I see computers. Probably because I cut my “technical” teeth on Windows computers, but…meh.
yeah, i bounce from windows xp/7 to mac osx so often that i don’t have much of a preference anymore, T. (though if i had to choose, i’d give the slight edge to osx lion on my MacBook Pro.) like you said, it just matters what you cut your teeth on.
I won’t disagree that Apple pioneered a lot of modern electronics, but looking at it all today it seems like everyone else does it all, more, and better. Just look at the 4G situation, nearly every other major developer has had a 4G capable phone for at least the last year, and with how often Apple releases new tech, you’d think they would have hopped on the bandwagon ages ago.
As for the lawsuits? I wouldn’t bat an eye over it if it weren’t for the fact some of these suits seem like they have the silliest reasons behind them… they tried to sue an online grocer from Denmark because their logo looked vaguely similar to the Apple one. “People could get confused,” they said. There’s infringement, and then there’s just being picky. Maybe it’s just that the Apple suits have caught more media attention, and maybe I’m just jaded, but for the life of me I can’t see a good reason why Apple is suddenly going suit happy against everyone.
eh, it’s all subjective about what’s “better” anyway. i say just go with what works for you – just remember that your choice doesn’t make other choices bad. having my iphone integrated with my apple tv, laptop and ipad seamlessly (and more importantly – easily) via icloud – not to mention free imessaging and facetime with my iFriends and iFamily – is something that can’t be matched by android or windows phones currently. doesn’t mean i hate on my friends who like their android phones & tablets and doesn’t mean i won’t switch to Android or Windows in the future. just means i dig the way my stuff works now!
and to answer your examples, when the iPhone 4S came out almost a year ago, Apple left out true 4G because (in addition to killing battery life and being expensive) it wasn’t available as widely as it is now. it wasn’t because they couldn’t do it (it’s built into the iPad 3, you know) it’s just that they wanted it to work well with a wider adoption than it had previously. remember, apple doesn’t release a new flagship phone every 2-3 months the way android does, and the iphone’s the only phone they make.
and funny you should pick the lawsuit you did, since Apple Computer was itself sued by the british record company Apple Corps several years back for which Apple Computer paid hundreds of millions of dollars for the trademark rights, showing that’s just how business is done in these patent suits. yes, it sucks, and patent law should be overhauled, but i don’t think you should target apple as being somehow worse than other companies.
can we all get along now? 😉
droid 4 or 5 in november to replace my R2D2 droid 2. To also much agreement with @Alexander. the only apple product I will ever own is my ipod. and its just a classic nothing fancy it plays music and solitaire and thats about it. as for phones, I’m sticking to my google powered ones thanks.
that’s awesome that you still have your R2D2 phone, dj! and see my response to Alexander as to my thoughts on apple.
Dude, great nerdrage face there! See, I don’t buy phones. I get whatever my provider is offering as an incentive when I sign up and get whatever’s free when I upgrade. That policy has netted me some good phones in the five years since I decided I needed a cell ohone.
Phone, even. This is what happens when I use my free smart phone to make comments instead of getting to sleep like I should.
😀
ha! glad you like the nerdrage going on today, T! although i can’t get myself to hold off on upgrading to the latest phone myself, i can totally understand getting that free phone from your provider whenever you’re up for it. phones are getting so powerful these days, that the upgrades are becoming more and more incremental anyway.
Honestly, I’m still amazed I can check e-mail, Facebook, websites and Cracked.com on my phone. I still fondly remember my first phone, which was as basic as you can get. When I upgraded to a texting phone, I remember being amazed I could have a whole keyboard so small in my hands, and swore I’d never get an iPhone/smart phone because I prefer real buttons under my fingers.
That resolve didn’t last all that long…
in some ways, i still prefer texting on my old Nokia phone with just the number/face buttons! i got so good at that, i could type way faster on it than even the full keyboard on my Treo!
Heh, me too! I got to the point where I never had to look at what I was typing, which made the whole texting-and-driving thing easier (before it was illegal here, and I don’t do that silly thing anymore). And there’s a lot to be said for a phone that you have to flip open to use; no butt-dialing.
when i got my first candy bar-style cellphone, i butt dialed people all the time, T! so embarrassing.
I’m still using a “dumb” phone for all my phone needs, and am thinking about skipping a smartphone and just getting a tablet. My current smartphone that I use mainly for internet when I’m not at my computer is a 2005ish Windows Mobile phone. Pretty soon I think it’ll be incompatible with wireless standards (it only uses WEP authentication anyway).
If I do end up getting a new-fangled smartphone it’ll likely be one that can use a few apps I find awesome, make calls and preferably be cheap. Past that I don’t care about it. Heck I see kids complaining that two large, in color backlit screens aren’t enough for their “gaming on the go” and want to cry, because all I had for the longest time was a black and green, dot matrix small screen. So I guess I’m thankful that we have smartphones in the first place, and not so hung up on what they can do.
Speaker of the Dead!
i say if it works for you, go for it, Descolada! besides, it sounds like any modern smartphone within the past couple years would be a major upgrade! no need to spend $500 on getting the latest and greatest, as tempting as that might be. 🙂
Exactly, explaining the setup I have now is kinda weird. I have this pay-as-you-go crappy little phone that doesn’t even have a keyboard, onscreen or physical, and I only use it for texting and making calls, then only admittedly like once or twice a month. When I go somewhere and I think I might want internet I have a HTC Wizard (2005 or so model early “Smartphone”) that I can use to get on wifi, and only unsecured and at 11mbps. It works, and only because I’m making it work for now because I can’t afford anything else.
Unlike the cornfather however who is completely apathetic to the latest stuff coming out, I actually pay attention to it, 1: Because I like knowing what new tech can do. 2: Pure self torture when I hear the price.
i like your system, Descolada! and i know what you mean about self-torture when it comes to tech – there are so many things i’d like to buy at all times, but sometimes i just gotta chill, sit back and read about it, cuz otherwise i wouldn’t be able to make rent.
I have no clue, nor any need, to know when new technology comes out… I’m probably gonna be scolded for this but I don’t really care about technology. All I need is a phone with facebook, angry birds, gmail and twitter. Plus, every student (including me 🙂 ) who started upper secondary school this year got a Samsung Galaxy Tab for 3 years to use for studying, so I ain’t complaining. (Though pretty much everyone uses them for Temple Run or Word Feud, or Angry Birds, or Facebook…)
I really don’t understand the obsession with angry birds, played it once, and got bored, it was like any other general game you might find on newgrounds. I wonder if me being a long time newgrounds user has made my immune to such games trapping me.
like most apps, i played Angry Birds for a while and got bored of it, Z. downloaded Angry Birds Space but haven’t opened it yet. recently picked up 10000000, obsessed over it, completed it, and am now over it. played the new Pitfall for a week or so, then dropped it. you get the picture. 🙂
although it’s hard for me to resist the lure of new tech, i think your way of looking at things is how most people view smartphones and tablets, DAS. they don’t care that one has a quad core processor, or an extra 4gb of ram, or a higher pixel density – they just want it to work reasonably well with the apps they want to install. btw, that’s pretty awesome you’re getting a free Galaxy Tab!
I NEED the iPhone 5! …but I need money for food more.
Just go outside with some cardboard saying “I spent all my food money on a Iphone 5.”
sounds like it’s time to stock up on the ramen and instant noodles, FunnyShaffer!
dat third panel… I love it.
thanks, Steve! i love it when i have the opportunity to draw bot wigging out.
You should draw more demons… you seem to be great at drawing red glowing eyes, fangs, and otherwise those sort of things. I dont mean it in a bad way btw.
i do love drawing evil creatures, DAS – i have a few that just might appear in some future JEFbot comics!
Story of my life right there. Seriously, hating something, but not knowing how to justify your hate with a reasonable argument. Every. Single. Day. With my sister at least.
ha! glad you can relate, Noramil! and, yes – sisters can be evil, sneaky and just plain weird. watch yourself.
I have a little fat Nokia, probably a decade old, no texting or apps. I don’t need to replace it, it worked even after I accidentally dropped it into an industrial washing machine.
Haha, I’m one of those odd people who doesn’t replace my gadgets until they’re actually broken. I don’t think Jefbot and I would get along very well.
i used to absolutely love my little Nokia, Wanderer! heck, i loved my little StarTac, too. but once i started upgrading, i couldn’t stop. i think i have a problem.
Lots of Android phones for free that will play Angry Birds, make calls, and not fund Apple’s legion of evil.
“legion of evil”? how so, Greg? especially in comparison to Google.
I got my iPhone 4S in June. I don’t regret buying it, its been really convenient to have and the 5 isn’t that great. That cat on the bookshelf reminds me of Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service except that one’s smiling.
the 4S is a pretty awesome phone, Nat, but i’ve been playing with my friend’s 5, and it’s pretty cool. not cool enough for me to break my contract and get one, but good enough for me to start thinking about the 5S in a year. of course, by that time, it’ll be interesting to see what windows and android are doing.
While I don’t have an iPhone (I had a cellphone years ago, but I’m no longer thrilled at the prospect of being on an electronic leash 24/7/365), I’ll probably be in The Cornfather’s shoes (figuratively, at least. I only wear sandals or Vibrams these days…) using my iPad 1.0 when others are using iPad 3s and 4s because I can still read through scores while listening to Classical music and watch episodes of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”. They’ll get my original iPad when the last electron flows out of it’s cold, dead battery!
i still have my iPad 1.0 (along with the New iPad) and it still does streaming video, books and a ton of apps beautifully, reynard61! and i totally feel you about the “electronic leash,” although at this point, i wouldn’t know what it would be like to not be “leashed.”
I get twitchy when I don’t have my phone on me, even if the loss is just for an hour or so. It’s weird, I went for most of my life without one, and now I can’t imagine living without it.
so, so true for me as well, T.
Is that voice of reason? In Jefbot strip? Dieties help us, world is comming to an end.
And it will probably arrive at the hands of Godzilla-bot in third panel.
ha! i’m sure that “voice of reason” would be squashed if i squeezed in a 5th panel, Maryz! no doubt bot’s brain is already working on a rebuttal. 🙂
For the moment, I’m sticking with my iPhone 4, as I’m saving my money for the holiday gaming season!
good thinking, GG11 – SOOOO much cool stuff coming out this holiday! i fear i’m just going to get further and further behind on my gaming with all the sequels coming out. and, of course, i’ll probably pick up the Wii U, too, just because.
It’s funny, I just recently got a new smartphone for free as well. It’s a Samsung Galaxy SII and I like it enough.
sweet! sometimes free tastes best, Fijiman. 🙂
For some reason that makes so much sense I can see the same thing happening to me
you and the Cornfather should hang out, Jiro. 😉
Tell them to give me the free phones! I get tired of paying for mine…
it’s amazing how many free phones are out there, Oz! good ones, too. but if you want the latest iPhone, Galaxy, HTC One or Nokia, you’ll have to pay. 😛
Dude, I have a Verizon slider phone with a qwerty pad made by Samsung. I don’t even know how to work a smart phone/iPhone/phone with internet capabilities.
my advice: stay with what you got, Bender_Sastre! once you go down that “new technology” path, you won’t be able to get off it. 🙁
As long as the phone can send messages, receive calls, play music, and connect to the internet for free (WiFi), that’s all I need for a phone. 😀 (Games are a plus)
i think most people would agree with you, ROM! while i love all the state of the art tech that keeps getting churned out, it’s just not a realistic or affordable option for many.
I’m not exactly sure, but isn’t an S2 cheaper than IP4?
nope. quick check on AT&T: iPhone 4 = 99 cents. S2 = $99. contrary to popular belief, apple is very competitive on price in the smartphone and tablet markets.
Galaxy S3 for me. There are some things I miss about the iphone, but the benefits (to me) greatly outweigh the shortcomings.
cool! my friend has an S3 and loves it too, Saeed.
Those stuff are far too expensive considering that in year they will be obsolete anyway.
I have an 8 year old Nokia, who is on it’s fourth battery, but still “rocks on”… so to say. ( He deservers being adressed as a person after so much time. 😀 )
wow! an 8 year old Nokia, Formel!? i’m impressed. if you keep it around any longer it may just become sentient and take us out a la Skynet.
Good for the Cornfather. I bought an iPhone 4S when my old phone went kaput. I intend to keep it until it turns into sawdust and we use holograms to speak to one another.
heh. i have a 4S, too, Angela. not sure i’ll keep it around as long as you, but i’ll have it at least until the 5S or a phone with holograms comes out. 🙂
When I finally upgrade to a smart phone, I’ll probably go The Cornfather’s route and get something cheap. It seems hard to keep up with the latest and greatest where cell phones are concerned, because something newer and better seems to be released every 2-3 months or so. And bot, is that Kuroneko-sama there in the third panel?
i think that’s a wise decision, Striker – no need to drop hundreds of dollars upgrading to the latest and greatest on your first smartphone. better to ease into it and see what you like.
and: good identification skills! that is indeed kuroneko-sama. 😀
Yay Im finally up to date after starting five days back! lol
Love the strips, but there seems to be a problem fr me
all the guest stripes (excluding the Inception one) dont load and neither does chapter 60!
I already tried opening them on other browsers still nothing 🙁
woo! thanks for reading through all the back issues, EnigmaX!
and thanks for letting me know about those problems; i had to rebuild the site recently, and there have been some glitches. just fixed JEFBOT.60 and will be looking into the guest strips!
HHAHAHA i just did this bot! i needed a phone again so i signed up with sprint and omg omg it was only 100 bucks for the 4s pretty good deal but i could have done the same thing as cornfather and gotten the 4 for free and i got 5bucks off my holder i mostly did it cause the iphone5 was sold out and i wouldnt be able to get one for 2-3weeks thats nuts! too funny!
I worked for T-Mobile for a while. There was one man that called in to get a new phone and looking at his records, he bought the newest top of the line phone we had every 4-6 weeks. He paid full price for them every time too. Said he just got tired of them and wanted something different.