Chinese KitKat

[geoffrey mendelson]

On 1/6/2014 11:14 AM, E.S. Rosenberg wrote:
>
> Depends on the OS and it's support but yes... (my n900 still has great
> support and if it wasn't falling apart as a result of severe abuse
> would still be using it, but that's also a much more open system,
> we'll see what happens with the Jolla now)
>
Software age is IMHO far more relevant than you might think. For 
example, my 2000 vintage Motorola Timeport phone, with a new battery 
from eBay, still does what it was designed to do, which is be a 
telephone. But a smartphone is not designed to be a telephone, it is 
designed to be a handheld computer first, a cellular data terminal 
second and almost as an afterthought a telephone.

It used to be that the leading edge of hardware and software development 
was fueled by gamers. They wanted more power, more facilities, and more 
efficiency, and were willing to pay for it to play their ever evolving 
games.

These days, the leading edge (although currently it is a smaller blade) 
of software and hardware development is apps. People want more and 
better apps and they want them on more and better devices.

Don't think just because they failed miserably to provide the same apps 
on phones and desktops that we have heard the last of Microsoft or their 
concept. Maybe they will figure out how to do it right, or someone else 
will. Eventually they will all merge and until they do, the need to 
constantly improve your hardware and software will keep pushing the 
leading edge farther and farther away.

Bear in mind that users in the US, which is currently the largest 
smartphone market, do not actually buy cellphones. They buy a year or 
two year service contract which includes the hardware. When the contract 
is done, they move on to a new phone.  So in order to attract customers 
to upgrade, the phones have to upgrade their apps and capabilities.



Geoff.

-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson 4X1GM/N3OWJ
Jerusalem Israel.