A short post, but one I started thinking about when I was reading an article on the new HTC Droid and its 440 PPI display. Reading the article, I suddenly became aware that the retina display was the first time I am aware of Apple tried to differentiate itself on the technology, and not on the use case.
My choice for Apple, however, is not because of the best technology on board. They often don’t, and I really don’t care. Much as I don’t care about the retina ipad 3/4 versus ipad mini debate. What is relevant for me is the usability.
As this excellent review by Patrick Rhone on Minimal Mac has eloquently illustrated, I want my tools to be boring, to blend into the background so I can get on with using my tools. I’ve been the nerd, hacking my android phone and installing CyanogenMod builds. No more. It just takes too much time to make other tools do what I want them to do.
So I really believe Apple slipped on that one. It’s never about the “new”, unproven technology inside. It is always, to me, about the ease of use.
Exploring The Black Box 