By 
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an Apple hater. I think they’re a great company with some great products. But I also unapologetically love Android and sometimes, the competitive nature between the two companies gets the better of me.
In Apple’s event today, the company offered a snarky Android-related comment while announcing their brand new iPhone 5C (the iPhone 5S was also announced):
“Arsenic-free, mercury-free, and Android-free.”
That’s cool. It’s funny. But what’s also simultaneously funny is Apple’s announcement of kiddie looking polka dot cases for the iPhone 5C costing $29.
(Photo credit: The Verge)
For the sake of brevity, let me quickly list why I don’t like Apple’s new cases:
- They’re ugly and goofy looking. And that’s being polite.
- There are an outrageous amount of 3rd parties making covers and cases already… that look better than this. Maybe leave this up to them?
- The Motorola Moto X does it better.
If Apple were to allow users to customize the cutout shapes or at least offer a wide variety of cutout designs, the cases might actually be cool. Until then, I’ll stand on the sidelines laughing.
To Apple’s credit, I think the iPhone 5C is a logical progression of the device and it should be hugely popular. The unibody rear/sides look really, really nice, and I’d say resemble the Nokia Lumia hardware design more than most Android phones. Stake me now, but I think that’s a good thing for the market they’re targeting.
Follow the rest of the Apple Event at iSource.com and Phandroid, iSource, and WinSource will host a live hangout discussing the announcements afterwards on Google+
The sheep will still buy em
Hmm… I’d love to see a post on XDA to see how many people they’ve seen with this case.
just go for it, connect 4!
Yep, you know that case is just a stencil so you can color the ‘holes’ you want for a unique look. :D
Only $29 more to make your iPhone look cheaper
It’s the eighties all over again. Or maybe the partridge family shiek. Yikes.
The Partridge Family, I had forgotten about that show.
Sure, the cases look stupid. I don’t really understand the 5C.
However, Apple just announced the first 64bit phone and a lot of really impressive camera enhancements. For those of you who say they don’t innovate any more, that’s a step forward. The fingerprint sensor may be nothing new either (remember the Atrix?), but the implementation looks a lot more logical.
I can almost guarantee the 5c will outsell the 5s…fashion always trumps function
Unless the person wants to look like they’re rollin’ deep, in which case they’ll go for the gold 5S…
The fingerprint scanner on the Atrix was a feature for the heck of it. If the implementation of the fingerprint scanner in iOS7 is as deep as Tim said, then it will can radical.
Personally, I like the idea of the fingerprint for purchasing auth. That’s pretty cool.
The rest is a pretty big yawn, for me.
The fingerprint button is the only innovation IMO. It stands to be pretty neat if it works well though (and I’m sure it will).
I’m not convinced it’s a real innovation, as it just expands on what’s been done before. Using it to auth purchases is the best part of it, and that’s again just an extension of previous technology.
The biggest flaw, though, is that I’d want to set my Google Wallet (I know) account to only accept the fingerprint auth. Then I’d be a happy camper.
After having the Atrix, I’m not convinced I want or need a fingerprint scanner on my phone. I just think, if it’s there, it should be useful, and Apple expanded upon that usefulness.
Except the Atrix’s was inconvenient and didn’t work well. This one stands to be both convenient (in the home button) and work well (Apple paid many million to buy up a fingerprint tech company ~1.5 years ago). Once it is set up, all the owner has to do is pick up the phone and hit the button. Bam, instantly unlocked. No swiping, no pins, no lining up the camera to the face. That’s pretty neat. It’s not going to be a “must-have” feature, but it’ll be something unique to iPhone.
hmm or you can say OK Google Now on a Moto X and not have to even pick up the phone.
Product specific feature vs. an entire brand-wide feature.
It’s a physical button vs not needing any physical buttons
Yah, that’s true as well.
Is making a better wheel innovation? Or is it simply an improvement? Sure, at some points in tech, improvements become innovation. I don’t see this as one of them.
We’re really close to agreeing on everything. The Atrix was decent, but didn’t function as well as I had hoped (and I actually like the placement on the back over the front. My finger is more likely to rest where the Atrix had it, than have to shift everything to scan on the front). Apple’s might work well (won’t know, I won’t buy one). I like using it for auth purchases, pretty cool little thing there.
But I can’t call it innovative.
Ok, who’ll be the first for “Voice Unlock” ™ Hehehehehe.. Everyone knows the phones are always listening already right? :D
How is 64 bit innovative if it doesn’t actually use more than 4GB of memory? The extra registers in the processor does not make up for the increased overhead and memory usage.
But it’ll have more access to memory. I upgraded my laptop to x64 just so I can make use of all my 4GB of RAM.
It’s still a x64 processor. So that’s something. Referring to the iPhone 5S.
but you can’t upgrade a phone’s RAM. Even if you have SD, that’s not RAM
But I highly doubt there’s any use with 2GB of memory. The addition 2GB of “Address space” is not used by all the hardware addresses.
The only logical thing is 1) Marketing, and 2) A really seamless transition for when a 64bit processor is actually needed, the apps will already be there.
Windows got around that by using WOW64 to interrupt system calls.
Apple wants a piece of that cheap market. Android has flooded that sector (think cheap phone both here and in China), and Apple wants a piece of that pie.
Nokia smiling looking at those colourful iPhones. First Motorola got inspired, now Apple. That’s Nokia, struggling to stay afloat yet still inspiring other companies. :P
loloolololololololololololololololololololololol
Connect 4 is the first thing that came to mind when i looked at this. LOL seriously they have been making fun of plastic for a while now but they cant even pull the plastic look off. those things look hideous.
These new cases remind me of the Old Speak and Spell game.
Is that even a word, I thought it was more stupid. I agree.
I think people are missing the big problem with the 5c. c here obviously stands for cheap (really I think they were going for ‘colored’, but that’s not the c word that comes to my mind!), and that’s not what people who buy apple associate themselves with. People buy it to look like they spend stupid money, because they do. So before, it was a matter of just buying the old phone and it just looks like you’re waiting to upgrade to the new one, stuck on a contract. But now, they’re actually ostracizing and pointing out the people too cheap to buy the new 5s. You can now identify them. “Hey, looks like Jenny couldn’t afford the new iphone so she got the cheap colored one one! Guess she’s poor!”
Are you forgetting the 5S? If people want the status symbol, they’ll get the 5S with its unique metallic backs. The 5c is for cheap and emerging markets (think teenagers and China). Apple has no foothold there because no one can afford them. But if they come down to Android territory, they might be able to sling some product.
the markets you described are markets even more entrenched into the idea of “fancy”. People will be looked down upon for the ‘cheap’ phone. My point was before they just bought the recently discounted previous version for that price (what would have been the 5 if they followed normal practice) and no one would know the difference unless they saw the ‘s’ on it. Now it stands out that they bought the cheaper phone.
Maybe, but this will be the first time Apple has had a brand new phone at this price point. Slap a big rubber case on it, and no one would know. Might be appealing to someone who could otherwise not afford an Apple product.
But it’s not a brand new phone, the 5C is merely the 5 in plastic. off contract price is still the same. Had they not had the 5C, the 5 would have been reduced to 99, the same as the 4 was when the 4S came out. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
Ooo, nice catch!
There’s no way you can slap a cover on the 5c and “no one would know,” that that’s NOT a 5s.
Good point. I’m sure a lot of people that can only afford the (C)heap version will be looking for cases that make it look most indistinguishable from the regular (S)nob version. i.e.: more boxy.
lol @ (C)heap and (S)nob. I like it.
I see plenty of iphones at my high school. some save up and buy while others get their parents to pay for them
1st World Problems ;-)
C stands for cheap. Not cheap as in inexpensive. Just cheap.
Like that. Cheaply made…or Also Crap or Crappy.
Crapple :)
At $549/$649 off contract, it’s not even cheap.
Good point, and very true. So I think the consumer for that product is parents buying them for their young children, and also people in emerging markets, overseas, where no one has the $$$ for the 5s…actually, scratch that last part, since it’s only “cheap” if you get it subsidized on a 2 year contract.
phatmanXXL [16,000+ posts], the Apple fanboy troll, has already preordered his in every color.
A sellout like him probably will be buying all those ugly cases for the iphone 5c, thats for sure.
Huh? Wait!! So did the real one switch over, or the fake one? Because there’s a fake phatmaxXXL. The fake one doesn’t have like 16,000 posts when you view the account. LoL!!
neh , the fake one is a sellout apple fanboy , and the real one is one of us.
I’m the real one, I guess “phakeman” already trolled the site today. I just now got here.
We got your back bud!
Also a number different, like 16001, I think.
Apple has cornered the phone market for 16 year old girls.
Not just 16 year olds
http://24.media.tumblr.com/4977860951d45bd054277f33654565a4/tumblr_mo8mlqt4CT1svn1xeo1_500.jpg
Hey I’m eating here!
Wow that truly is one Sad and Boring interface :(
Moto X is still endlessly cooler.
$29 for the ugliest case imaginable??? What? Who buys this… Oh… Wait…
bahahahastevejobsbahahaha
steve jobs is rolling in his grave right now for what the company is doing to apple’s image.
The company is Apple so what Apple is doing to Apples image. Their doing it to themselves lol
But Steve Jobs never would’ve come to the point in making their product related to android or stupid cases like this one. Goodbye Sweet Apple, and a flight of rotten apples send thee to thy rest.
Now your Jesus phone can be Holy!
I see what you did dere
What’s the difference between Iphone 5 and 5c ?
5c is plastic, thicker, has a bigger battery, and has an ugly ass case. That’s all I know so far.
Yea and 100 less.
You mean the 5 is, right?
I don’t even count the price difference, because they would have dropped it anyway. That’s what they did when the 4s came out, they dropped the 4 by $100. They just slapped some plastic on it this time.
the iphone 5 in a plastic case.
Also an additional 8-10 bands of LTE in one phone. The 5c, and 5s for that matter, is the same across the board on T-Mobile, At&,t and Verizon.
No, they didn’t “reinvent” anything. They invented it for the first time! Get a plastic case for your plastic phone. Wait, they’re not plastic at all, they are poly-carbonate!
No, you’re wrong. They ARE plastic! “iPhone 5c is beautifully,unapologetically plastic.” Yes, ladies and germs, they actually said that. LOL.
They have reinvented the water proof backside of a case. Now water can get in via easy access holes. No need to worry about your phone not getting wet if you set it down on top of a few drops of water. Now it gets wet every time, Score!!!
I’m switching to apple because the cool new case gives me the always-on ability to play Connect 4!!!! Something I have always wanted but never got with an Android phone.
omg lol , how did we not notice this?
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/09/10/phil-schiller-says-new-iphone-5c-is-android-free-you-damn-right-it-is/
if it is android-free, I guess Apple maps should return to the picture right?
who’s up for a game of CONNECT 4?!?!!!!??!
anyone?
no one?
friends?!!??!??
The bigger story is the iPhone 5 is discontinued. Apple is smart enough to realize no one would buy a 5s if they kept the iPhone 5 around.
The 5C is the 5-just in plastic.
Actually the 5C is cheaper for them to make while keeping the iPhone 5 internals for larger profit margins. Greed at it’s finest. Why keep producing the original iPhone 5 when you have an excuse to issue the same thing with a crappier shell that costs them less to make. Can’t stand Apple they’re the worst.
cheap plastic +supposedly better front facing camera is the only difference between the 5s and 5cheap
And 5crap doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner.
That iPhone 5c video is the most ridiculous piece of mumbo jumbo I have ever seen. It’s laughable. I was instantly in the mood to re-watch the Kit Kat video. The iPhone 5c is overpriced, unnecessary, and a disgrace to Job’s legacy. And that Connect Four case is HIDEOUS!!! I so hope Milton Bradley sues Apple. As for the 5s, I do think (for other people) the Gold version of the iPhone 5s is a great product, and looks fantastic, however, I do not personally feel comfortable with Apple taking pictures of my fingerprint and storing it, no matter what “secure element,” they use to store it on, and their claims of it not being accessible by anyone or anything other than the sensor software.
“however, I do not personally feel comfortable with Apple taking pictures of my fingerprint and storing it,”
Well, the NSA does!
EXACTLY.
Samsung makes plastic phones everyone complains. Apple makes plastic phones everyone praises them. Smfh!
I have always been pro-plastic phones, but I must say, Samsung does plastic badly. It was great on their Galaxy Nexus, but that slimy, shiny plastic on the last couple of Galaxy S lines is bad. That being said, there are sure to be people who have always hated plastic phones, altogether, who will now praise plastic in the way that cult leader Jonny Ive did in that ridiculous marketing video they made.
Agree
Always wondered why didn’t they released S line with mat colors (colours – for Canadians)? Mat black = awesome.
This.
Well at the risk of sounding simplistic…there is plastic and there is plastic.
magical plastic
iplastic.
i agree with you on that.
Hey pal, Apple doesn’t use cheap plastic, they use magical *steel-reinforced* polycarbonate. Big difference! /s
Samsung’s isn’t cheap plastic. They’re polycarbonate as well, durable as hell, with much r&d going into them. Look it up; they’re the type made for F1 cars.
He was kidding…
You obviously haven’t been on the Internet long, let alone know sarcasm when you see it.
Ahhh… Yeah OK. It sounded like Jason Farrell was attacking ‘hip king’ lol.
You dawg, I heard you like plastic. So I put a plastic iPhone in a plastic case so you can hipster while you pretend like you never bashed Samsung for making a plastic phone.
Who need finger scans we have Face unlock.
who wants to give apple their fingerprints?? (I wouldn’t give em to google either granted..)
I agree, the new 5C looks really nice, the cases are atrocious!
The 5s could cure diseases and y’all still wouldn’t be impressed
” we can already cure diseases this isn’t innovation! ” you’d say..
It doesn’t cure diseases but it looks like you could get STD’s just by touching it
LoL!! These cases are not innovative. They’re just different. I mean there are already poka-dotted cases.
Hmm…
I think some line should be drawn to what’s innovative and what’s just a redesign. I don’t think innovative is necessarily something new, but something that will… Well… it’s hard to explain. I just believe that something doesn’t have to be brand new to the world.
Like for example, a new type of battery. Batteries are new, but the technology behind it. Or how about a solar panel case that can keep a phone running full charge without the need of a battery. Solar panels need to be large to draw in that much energy. So a small one that could would be innovative to me.
Hmm… I feel like I’m just ranting now. LoL!! Sorry.
These cases look like discount mall crap that will be discounted 80% cause they didn’t sell. To be clear, there is no innovation in these cases. Thanks for your post Apple troll
hahaha they look like crocs
Lolololol
yeah…
$4 Chinese eBay cases look better. I love my nillkin for my nexus 4
What Is the screen resolution?
5c has the same as 5, 1136×640 “retina” display.
I can hear Steve Jobs rolling in his grave, because now Apple is trying to compete with Android directly through devices, even though Jobs says he will never do that.
Cool case concept, but imagine if they let users get their own custom laser cutting rather than the dots. Then you can market your one color phone, and a custom other color case, that would be neat. This is only cool if you’re into retro 80’s garbage, or if you just so happen to support a sports team that is comprised of two fruity colors.
Iphone’s are toys anyway, now they just look even more so.
I agree, ios7 looks like it belongs in a nursery. Sure the effect of the tilted screen on the icons is cool. But the icons themselves are hideous. I liked the look of ios6 much better. Given that 7 is more like android than ever before, I don’t know if I could handle staring at those horrible icons. And because it’s Apple there is nothing anyone can do about it. No customization.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/apple-unveils-panicked-ideafree-man-at-launch-even,33814/
Apple: Brining you yesterday’s phones today.
Well done.
Apparently the cases show that you are free of good taste
And the leather 5s’ for free of good sense.
Seriously the prices they bring to market are nuts, but people are going to pay them. 550 for the cheapest 16GB 5c off contract and Sim free(at least it is a world phone). Glad I’m getting a gorgeous N5 at probably 400 max with probably double Apple’s capacity! And the case will be not be cheap silicone, that falls off constantly, for $30, but TPU for maybe $5, at most.
Made in Jupiter.
Am I the only one who looks at those cases and thinks…
Daleks?
Even Daleks come in a variety of colors: Note the Polka Dot Design. BBC sue Apple Now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxD-5z_xHBU
Alright that’s it…I’m done with Apple. Somebody please recommend a good Android phone…gonna make the switch
LG G2
Welcome to your new home buddy, Htc One.
Wait for the Nexus 5 to come out in a month or two and ditch the contract. They hold their value very well and you can get a great new phone every year for about $150/year. And always on the latest update. And the biggest reason: no contracts needed!
What Oem is doing the Nexus 5?
Likely LG. Likely based off the G2 which is a phenomenal device (except the buttons on the back which will be moved back and LG’s software, both of which Google will fix in the Nexus version)
But we won’t know until it’s announced. Likely next month. If you want one now, get the Nexus 4. It’s a great device (Except the glass back).
Costs $249 new from Google. Selling for $200 on swappa. (How about that for retained value!)
Ok cool! So for a guy who has NEVER owned an Android phone the Nexus 5 is the way to go huh?
I came from the iPhone 4 to the galaxy nexus (2 years ago). Everything I originally disliked about android were solved with the nexus line. You have to play with them in person and see whatyou like . Some people like the skins and different designs. It really can be overwhelming actually. Without knowing you or knowing what you like or your technical level its impossible to make a sweeping recommendation. But if I had to, it would be for the nexus line (if you don’t want a contract). Moto X is also a fantastic option for first time switchers and if you’re on contract that’s my pick.
You might want to consider a name change soon :/
Oh definitely! I left it so that you all would know that this conversion is genuine…
Recently converted my brother to the s4, he loves it.
Haven’t you trolled this site before (honest question)?
Absolutely…been a HUGE troll of this site (see my Disqus history for proof). I’m growing up, ridding myself from the clutches of Apple and looking forward to a new beginning. I have never given Android an honest try, so now I am ready to…
Fair enough.
you were, but now youre going to be okay for a long time , enjoy your stay here ;)
Looking forward to the switch…I’ve been burned by Apple for the LAST time…
As a fair warning, there will be things you will miss. But over all, the freedom of the ecosystem is worth a couple of small bugs that I’ve run into throughout my 4 year tenure with android. Looking forward to my Note 3. If you take the time you will really enjoy the depth of control you get with an android phone.
I’m gonna give it a fair, objective try
Samsung Note 3, LG Optimus G2, or Sony Xperia Z1
Bump for the Note 3, if you are interested in screen size.
what i found in droidlife.. lol
Best. Meme. Evar.
“Arsenic-free, mercury-free,.”…
They had to say that because they are made in Foxconn
Lol where’s the rest of it.
What that screenshot in the article doesn’t show is the text “hon” (part of “iPhone”) that will be visible on the back of the phone through the case, making it even more ridiculous.
Samsung’s Flip View Cover vs Apple’s Polka cover plz!
:)
Oh and… Apple users get a phone worse than the iPhone 5 for the same price…
‘Android free’
My phone cases haven’t come with Android either, Apple.
Daily reminder millions of idiots will still flock to Apple’s products. Daily reminder Apple’s stock price will remain high and they’ll probably overtake XOM as the most valuable company by market capitalization again soon. Daily reminder the average iPhone user will believe Apple invented finger print readers (even though they were featured on WinMo devices years ago) Daily reminder Apple fans will rub 64 bit in your face yet they don’t understand what it even means.
Also, daily reminder Apple never respects your freedoms.
But daily reminder Apple is good at what they do and thousands of developers agree and flock to iOS development before Android development. And that Android is horrible fragmented.
http://i.imgur.com/eJvDRTm.jpg
While you guys yamm.. Apple will still sell truck loads of those new candy iPhones… Isn’t it sound business…?
Even with the iPhone announcement, Apple’s stock was down once again! but we seen in the past financials aren’t the big point! Don’t know why but the 5C could be sold better than the 5S!?
http://dsmtech.blogspot.com/2013/09/iphone-5c-4-inch-retina-display-plastic.html
To be fair it goes down every announcement. Wait to see what happens with the release and the numbers that follow. That will tell the real story. I expect they will do well. Although, I do think that sales of the 5s will be lower than many shareholders will like. From what I’ve seen all over the web even many Apple faithful are planning on holding off till the 6.
This phone is brought to you by the letters C and S and comes with the approval of the NSA.
tinyurl.com/l3cselt