[ImprovedSilence]

Perhaps. But once the end user notices the lag compared to their friends device, it very quickly becomes an end users (and very shortly, the platforms) problem. My android lags, and it pisses me off.

per your quote: "It's the same as getting an upgrade to your PC, a new video card, etc. You were perfectly happy before, but relative to your new reality the old one seems subpar, and you overestimate how much it interferes with your enjoyment of the device." Doesn't quite make sense in this market though. It's all about having the fastest, shiniest, device. And if you can't keep up or deliver ever demanding performance increases, you die. If good was good enough, and we didn't care that the next best thing was only marginally better, we'd still be using punch cards.

[TeMPOraL]

> t's all about having the fastest, shiniest, device. And if you can't keep up or deliver ever demanding performance increases, you die.

It's not even about that. It's about something usable and working as expected. I have an Android smartphone (LG P350) with bundled Facebook and Twitter, both of which I never use because they're too heavy for the phone. They barely work, they hang up for minutes, and crash my homescreen. And if I try to sync them, it usually ends with me taking the battery out after few minutes of staring at shining screen of a totally non-responsive (hardware buttons included) phone. Not to mention that once or twice an incoming call was too heavy for that phone to handle, => battery removal operation necessary.

Next time before choosing Android, I'll carefully test current devices, and switch to iPhone if I ever find a trace of UI lag.

[interlagos]

I don't disagree with what you've written, and the relative thing is a problem -- if people feel a bit shameful that their new device isn't as slick as the last generation iPhone, it does hurt love of one's device a bit. That's why Android 4.0 takes big steps in the "be proud to show it off" realm.

However to the relative thing, to most smartphone users the things that matter are can I use Facebook, how is the picture quality, can I share videos, etc. Others want a keyboard, big and bright screen, etc. To normal users -- the ones buying the overwhelming bulk of devices -- this just isn't the big issue that it is on tech boards. It just isn't.

[catch23]

I disagree here based on interacting with someone who owns an ipad v1. When this person tried out my samsung honeycomb tablet, she thought it was slower "computer" that hers, even though she's doesn't know the specs of my "dual-core" honeycomb tablet.

[danssig]

This is why Apple is right to not talk about specs. It doesn't matter what your specs are if your actual device is slower.