Linked List: February 20, 2013

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

Galaxy S3 Bug Results in Crashing When Text Is Copied 

First reported to Samsung back in October, still a problem. You’d think if anyone would have a Copy function that worked perfectly, it’d be Samsung. (Via Terence Eden.)

Sony Holds PlayStation 4 Press Event, Doesn’t Show PlayStation 4 

What was the bigger shitshow: Sony holding a long press event for a device they didn’t show and wouldn’t give a shipping date or price for? Or the gadget blogs that devoted hours of coverage to this?

Claim Chowder: ‘iPhone Dead in Water’ 

Henry Blodget, back in April 2011, declaring the iPhone “dead in the water”:

Importantly, it’s not a question of which platform is “better.” (This is irrelevant.) It’s a question of which platform everyone else uses. And increasingly, in the smartphone market, barring a radical change in trend, that’s Android.

So that’s why Android’s gains matter. And, yes, Apple fans should be scared to death about them.

Strategy Analytics, earlier today:

The data show that Apple’s iPhone 5 overtook Samsung’s Galaxy S3 by some 12 million units in the last quarter of 2012 to become the world’s bestselling smartphone.

That’s not terribly surprising. What is surprising is that according to Strategy Analytics the iPhone 4S — discounted by Apple when the new model came out — also overtook the Galaxy S3.

‘I Don’t Really Know How to Write This Letter’ 

Letters of Note:

After adapting Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange for the big screen, Kubrick brought Burgess on-board to write a Beethoven-inspired Napoleon novel on which his epic could be based.

In June of 1972, Burgess supplied the filmmaker with the first half of his manuscript; Kubrick rejected it by way of the following letter, thus ending the collaboration.

Android First 

ShiftyJelly, on launching version 4.0 of their podcasting app for Android first:

Pocket Casts on Android has outsold the iOS version historically at about 5:1. That means for every 1 iOS version we’ve sold, 5 were sold on Android. The Android version also costs $1 more, so we’re making more per transaction as well. The reasons for this are a blog post on their own, but it’s a fact.

On Android there is no native podcasting solution, and we see a massive potential to fill that space. There are other apps out there, but we feel we have what it takes to become the dominant podcasting app on that platform.

Makes sense, given that they’re making significantly more money from the Android version. That’s not a story you hear often, though. (Via Benedikt Winkelmayer.)

Google Releases New Preview of Glass 

I don’t get the appeal of this other than as a network-connected head-mounted camera, which I personally have no need for. If you have a phone in your pocket, why wear this? And it doesn’t seem to replace the need to carry a phone. Whole thing still seems very vaporous to me. (And count me in with David Chartier regarding the pricing and availability.)

iPhoneDevSDK Admins Didn’t Know Site Was Booby-Trapped 

Jacqui Cheng:

iPhoneDevSDK — the site apparently responsible for the hacks at Facebook, Apple, and Twitter — says it was not aware it was being used to attack visitors until it read press reports this week. In a news post (do not click if you’re wary of security breaches) on Wednesday, site admins said they had no knowledge of the breach and were not contacted by any of the affected companies. Though, iPhoneDevSDK is now working with Facebook’s security team in order to share information about what happened.

Headline of the Day 

Ars Technica: “Two-Year-Old Phone Receives 15-Month-Old Software Update”.