Disqus - Latest Comments for stormideas

Re: iPhone 6 and Android value

Bob — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 07:44:31 -0000

I'd agree with the assessment that 6 Plus negates many of the reasons why some users have been choosing a high end Android device over an iPhone. However, as you nod towards with your mention of Xiaomi I think there’s potential for further disruption with the rise of high end Android devices (Xiaomi Mi4, Oppo Find 7, OnePlus One, Nexus 6 as current or almost current examples) being sold unlocked at around half the price or less of an iPhone 6 Plus.

A 64GB iPhone 6 Plus will cost £699 in the UK (from Apple) if you compare this to a OnePlus One 64GB costing £269 you get a premium phone with specs within a stone’s throw of the iPhone for 38.5% of the cost. For me that also brings it down a level in terms of requiring insurance in addition to reduced worry about breakage, scratches or theft. The build quality, OS and user experience right down to the unboxing are excellent.

If this trend continues can we see a situation where many people, even wealthier users, choose to ditch
their two year contracts to move to SIM Only deals at around £15 a month and replace / upgrade their phones every 6-12 months with this kind of premium but relatively inexpensive Android handset? It feels like things may move in this direction. The Nexus 5 sold on this model was fairly successful but for me the device itself lacked the premium finish we’re now seeing in some of these other devices.

As you point out this is perhaps more of an issue for Samsung than it is for Apple with Xiaomi having major IP hurdles to entering Western markets and Apple’s high level of lock-in but anecdotally I know many people with iPhones who are sick of waiting two years to upgrade on a fairly expensive monthly contract, often with a chunk at the end where they are nursing along a cracked or otherwise broken device!

Re: Microsoft’s Silverlight-based Local Impact Map | Adam Kinney, Continuum Explorer

Bob — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:53:51 -0000

Hey Adam, I'm loving using Silverlight with maps at the moment - check out:

http://dwqr.live.stormid.com

For some Water Quality statistics - never mind the dryness of the data - check out all those polygons over Silverlight maps! Also posted some thoughts today on why Silverlight is in a good place for mapping with another example:

http://blog.stormideas.com/...

Cheers,

Bob

http://www.stormideas.com

Re: Enough with the free crap, make stuff worth paying for

Bob — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:43:37 -0000

Totally agree with you here, we've been developing a Silverlight 2 collaboration system called colaab:

http://www.colaab.com

And while we do offer a free account we decided to try and monetize through subscriptions rather than going with a totally free product and hope to build up huge enough numbers to become sustainable through advertising. We're seeing a lot of other applications taking on this model.

Thanks,

Bob

--
Bob Thomson
storm ideas
http://www.colaab.com
http://blog.stormideas.com
twitter: movingforwards

Re: The Proofing Is In The Pudding With Colaab

Bob — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:55:34 -0000

Thanks for the review! We've worked hard on colaab and think we've produced a really useful service.

I'd like to add that we also offer a completely free package that has 50MB of storage and 1 workspace so you can really start using the service with absolutely no commitment.

Thanks for the feedback on the marketing site, it's very valuable. All of the content is going through a spelling and grammar check as I write this and we're testing every link goes where it should.

Thanks,

Bob

--
Bob Thomson
storm ideas

http://colaab.com
http://blog.stormideas.com
twitter: movingforwards