Apple Knows Best

Lots of buzz lately with the very promising launch of the iPhone 4 which is now out (sorta) coming on the tails of the successful iPad launch and Android's success continuing through the recent Evo 4G giving Sprint a decent phone - finally and the upcoming Droid X through Verizon. Inevitable comparisons between the two and .. I'm not going to get into that. I think what's important to take away isn't that the iPhone 4 has a slightly higher resolution screen than the Evo 4G or the upcoming Droid X. Or that Android has microsd card storage and Apple doesn't. Or that even with froyo Android still stutters sometimes.

The takeaway is that these are true side-by-side comparisons. For years pretty much any review of a new phone could be summarized as "Not as good as the iPhone, a decent choice if you don't/can't use AT&T".

Nothing had touched the iPhone but with Android starting to mature I think we're truly at the point where each is a side-grade to the other with genuine pros and cons - and not just technical minutiae either.

And besides who knows, Oprah's revelation that she has an EVO 4G may cause the soccer moms of the US to rise up and lead Android forward in glory.

Die-hard Apple fans may disagree - and that's okay - but realistically when I get out there and talk to my non-tech friends - they don't care. To them they are both pretty much the same thing. Slick UI? Check. Lots of Apps? Check. Big touch screen? Check. It's now more about choice. People choose the iPhone because it integrates better with their other apple products.. or because it has better media support via iTunes.. or they like how it looks - whatever. Likewise people may choose Android because.. Android is all about choice. Choose a carrier, choose a shape, etc. Arguing about which is 'better' in a collateral sense is just.. silly.

Ultimately this all benefits consumers which I think is great - both iPhone & Android consumers.

The iPhone release hasn't been flawless though and in a throwback to what happened with the Nexus 1 (Google's droid pony), we've seen fairly consistent reporting that at least some iPhone 4's suffer a rather serious signal loss issue depending on how you hold the phone.

Now that's bad enough but.. Steve Job's reaction is even worse - Steve says don't hold your phone that way.

Call me cynical but now Steve Jobs not only wants to tell you what applications to use, and what media to consume - but also how to hold your phone? Uh Okay. I guess that would be a little less ridiculous if Apple's own ads didn't show people holding the phone this way.

So Apple fans I only have one question - do you still believe their products are made with Unicorn dust?

Products so revolutionary they have to be held a particular way.

Maybe they'll write an app for that.

But seriously, I think this is just silly and is - in my opinion - an unfortunately Apple-ish way of dealing with this. A snide remark from on high "How dare you actually want to hold my phone!". Get over yourself Steve, it is a handheld phone isn't it?

So I say if this is Apple's true position on their product - let's go with a new iPhone 4 theme song...