Content
- The stick company
- About Epic Games and Apple
The stick company
Went to a presentation of a stand / holder / mount for a smartphone or tablet called IMStick. Here is the site.
Firstly, it’s nice that gradually everything is returning to normal. Secondly, they showed a surprisingly interesting contraption. Although at first glance, you may not immediately realize what the beauty is.
The design is simple: a washer-shaped aluminum magnetic case, silicone-coated flexible wire, and a thin adhesive metal disc. It can be glued to a smartphone or a case, or you can simply hide it under a case. The magnet is powerful, the washer clings tightly to the body. The wire is threaded through the washer, after which it can be bent in different ways. You can bend the wire into legs, into a hook and hang the smartphone, or wrap the wire around something, securing the smartphone in this way. For example, around the handlebars of a bicycle. The neodymium magnet requires 2kg of pull-off force, so the lightweight 200g IMStick smartphone can easily hold. However, the kit comes with two wires, so the second can be used to additionally secure the smartphone.
Probably, based on the general style of photos, design, fonts and site design, you could get the impression that this is some kind of foreign story from Kickstarter. At least that’s what I thought when I browsed the site before the event. It turned out that the founder is Alexander Senatorov, and the team of the company is Russian-speaking. And even initially they wanted to produce IMStick in Russia. As they said, they made the first batch, which had to be removed further away and a plant in China was found.
The product was originally launched in the US in February on Amazon. Due to the pandemic, offline sales did not happen. They slowly came to Russia. While you can buy on online sites (such as these), in September, maybe they will get to offline retail.
In addition to the basic version, there is a stand option called IMStand, which consists of a two-piece metal base with a suction cup and a flexible rod. The IMStick is screwed onto the rod, and the suction cup on a metal base clings tightly to flat surfaces (glass, mirrors, etc.) in one turn. It turns out here is such a stand that allows you to hold the iPad.
This whole story came to me, since lately I have been in search of good tripods for my phone. I already have a very tiny one with flexible legs (nonsense), a 20 cm tripod with flexible legs (already the third one, since the legs are loose), another one with long flexible legs recently appeared, you can even wrap a young tree around (not bad, but cumbersome and heavy). And, in general, I do not like all these tripods too much, since the phone clings to them with the help of the holder, as in the picture below. I don’t like it, because it scratches the case, the phone tries to slip out, and cheap plastic (although it could be done normally for 300 rubles) breaks regularly.
IMStick caught on with its simple and theoretical versatility: you can attach it to a bicycle, to a car on a glass, it is convenient to place a smartphone on a table. On Monday I will make a material with my operating experience, I will record a short video of unpacking, because it is poorly clear from the pictures what it is all about. In short, I’ll try to evaluate how it all works live. So far, from the obvious disadvantages: if there is no cover, then you need to glue it to the phone case. And I don’t like that. A side disadvantage is that wireless charging will not work with a glued iron plate. But I don’t use it, so somehow it doesn’t matter.
If you have any questions, then ask.
About Epic Games and Apple
Apple’s position and how the App Store changed the world
The chef, as the chief gambler, has already briefly outlined the theme of the crisis in relations between Apple and Epic Games. The latter filed a lawsuit against Apple, considering that the commission of 30% is high, and in general Apple is a dastardly monopolist that controls all the software on the platform.
However, since I am an ardent fan of the creativity of both companies, I really want to insert my 5 kopecks. Although since the companies are American, it would be more correct to say “2 cents”.
By the way, if you didn’t know, then the phraseological unit comes from the biblical parable in which the poor widow donated 2 mites (the smallest Roman coins, but for the widow it was a lot), making her own contribution
As is usually the case, the views of the audience were divided. Someone supports Apple, because she did it all, and the parasites want discounts. And someone Epic, arguing that 30% is too fat. They discuss with ardor, although the topic, in principle, does not concern ordinary users. If Epic wins, there will still be no 30% discount.
Let’s go from a historical perspective. My opinion is that the civilized world owes a debt to Apple, since it was Apple that taught people to pay for content. With the invention of the iPod, the company showed that you can pay for music, and with the iPhone, for applications. I suppose pro-pirate readers can blaze with fire, but there is no escape from the truth. Piracy is detrimental to economic prosperity. All countries where piracy is rampant are generally worse off than those where torrent downloads will be fined.
Introduced in 2008, the App Store changed the world for both users and developers forever. Someone may say that nothing like that happened, because before it was possible to download programs from the Internet. But this is not the case. If you have forgotten, then in the XNUMXs, everyone sat, surrounded by antivirus software, and were afraid to once again download unknown programs to both the computer and the phone. And speaking about the phone, one cannot help but remind that installing applications in general was not an easy task. Paid applications with sending SMS to a short number were generally feared like fire, because there was a risk that then they would constantly withdraw money.
By launching the app store, and subsequently the advertising campaign “There is an application for everything,” Apple showed that it is not scary at all, but on the contrary, it is fun and interesting to download new applications for everything in the world – from the weather to virtual pimples that you can pop on your smartphone ( well, you understand, those in which the equipment is packed).
The next step Apple showed that it is possible to pay for applications. It’s easy, normal, and most importantly, safe. It has now become a habit to pay via the Internet, and at that time it took a certain courage to do this, not to mention linking (!) A card. Apple acted as a guarantor of security. The company said that only well-tested apps get into the app store, and only Apple processes all financial information, so that sensitive data will not be leaked. And you must agree that it is one thing to go to a certain site and trust a little-known developer (and for ordinary users, with the exception of Microsoft and Adobe, all developers are little known), and another thing is to pay for everything without leaving the comfortable space of the apple ecosystem.
By creating an app store, Apple has stimulated not only users, but also developers. First, Apple showed that apps were easy and simple to make. Everyone can write their own, send it to the AppStore. Secondly, you can make good money on this. I still remember the abundance of news from the time when some Petya, or American-style Peter, wrote an app after school that made funny sounds and paid off the loans of the whole family. Third, developers, like users, have come to trust Apple. They submitted their app to the store knowing that users would pay honestly for it. And Apple will simply give the money, and the developer will not have to bother with the creation of billing and pay commission for credit cards.
The Name App checks free names for websites and social networks. The developer did not disclose the income, but described it with the word “amazing”
It is important to note that the developers initially formed a complaint against Apple, since the company acted as a layer, not giving real access to customers. And if this is generally a blessing for users, then the developers were puzzled: who should write marketing letters and other nonsense? By the way, the same topic arises with the new Apple initiative “Sign up with Apple ID”, which does not provide information to third parties. Users are understandably ecstatic, and the multi-billion dollar spam industry is upset.
A dream that it was the same on Android and Windows, so that my mailbox does not fall into third hands
However, this was originally Apple’s intention. If you think about it, the combination of hardware + software is what makes the company unique. It is a protective moat around the business on which all prosperity is built. Tired of Samsung – I bought Xiaomi and did not notice the difference. Tired of the iPhone – I bought Xiaomi and immediately noticed the difference.
Apple has always fiercely defended its ownership of customer information. During the latest antitrust hearings in the United States, Steve Jobs’ letters were shown in court, which clearly explains why Amazon cannot sell books in the Kindle application on the iPhone.
Phil Schiller, chief marketing officer, writes that he saw an ad of a woman reading a book in a Kindle on an iPhone, then switching to Android and continuing to read where she left off. At the end, Mr. Schiller writes: “It’s not fun to watch.”
Jobs writes that you need to keep your head high and iBooks should be the only bookstore on iOS devices, because you can’t buy something on iOS without paying us (that is, Apple)
After some big developers like Netflix and Spotify refused to play by these rules, it set a precedent. And to some extent made the user experience less convenient. I downloaded the application, and in order to pay, I have to go to the Internet to the site, and there they may also be asked to re-enter the username and password, which you have not remembered for 100 years … On the one hand, Apple still seems to protect user data, on the other, it itself the same pushes to go to pay in the “terrible” Internet, because there is no alternative. With some amendments, the situation is similar on Android, where Google tried to copy the app store.
Epic Games’ position and what it might take
The position of Epic Games appeals to me, as the company has already gone on a crusade against the entire industry for quite some time. Epic Games are at war on all fronts. The company has built its game store as a competitor to Steam, and its 12% commission rate challenges everyone from offline stores to Amazon. Take a look below at the infographic from IGN.
The company also fights against all platforms, current and future. Epic Games is fighting for the right not only to gain access to users and reduce fees, but also to install its own app store (apparently through the AppStore). Quite frankly, the powerful arm of monopoly is no longer with Apple. Unofficial app stores can be easily installed on Android and Windows. Almost all manufacturers – Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and others – have long created their own Play Store counterparts. In general, nothing: it turns out to live and earn money from Google. For Apple, the situation is different. After all, the whole business is built on the tight integration of soft-hardware and involvement in the ecosystem. And as the realities of recent years have shown, it is impossible to raise prices for the iPhone indefinitely. If you have forgotten, after the iPhone X, the company is actively involved in promotional activities, offering trade-ins, installments and other options for indirect discounts. The main trouble is that Apple has brought the situation to an open confrontation, when the matter cannot be solved with minimal concessions.
I’m in this clash for Epic Games. If she wins, it will lead to lower commissions across the market. Users won’t get discounts, but developers will make more money. This will attract even more developers to the industry, even more new, interesting and good programs, which in the end is good for you and me. But the user experience will suffer, as everyone will immediately try to create their own app stores. If you look at Android, then we can say that the official store from Google is still the only adequate solution. Stores from other manufacturers are more like a trash heap with poor moderation. However, if in the third-party Android stores, in principle, there are almost no unique applications and, accordingly, there is no motivation to use them, then on iOS everything will be different. Users in pursuit of discounts will go to other stores, download bad apps, say that Apple is to blame – and that’s definitely Apple. And who needs it (this is a rhetorical question)?
If Apple wins, it will be good for the company’s business, but bad for everyone else and Epic Games. First, you and I will potentially lose cool applications. Secondly, don’t forget that Epic Games is not only good games and the right discount game store, but also the Unreal Engine. And if the confrontation deepens, then such petty things as the fact that either Epic Games or Apple will prohibit the use of the engine on iOS and macOS may come into play. Apple is already threatening that it could ban Epic Games from making applications for the AppStore altogether, taking away the developer’s account.
At this stage, unfortunately, Epic Games’ ultimatum lawsuit is killing the possibility of a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
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