Why is Quickflix not on Google Play?

I have a Quickflix subscription and was going to stream Quickflix movies on my Android TV, but then I looked through Quickflix's devices and it looks like the Quickflix app is available on every single app store other than Google Play. Now I will have to keep borrowing DVDs from them. I'm tempted to just cancel my subscription and just stream over Google Play Movies. The only thing stopping me from streaming is the fact that DVDs from Quickflix are about $3 per movie, which is cheaper than most streaming movies from Google. Quickflix should understand that because Android runs on 80% of all smartphones and 55% of all tablets, they are missing out on a large number of customers by ignoring Android.

Kogan Agora Mini 8 Dual Core Tablet - Antutu Benchmarks

I purchased this tablet from Kogan for $120 when it was available. It was quickly sold out afterwards. I purchased it for my mother. The Antutu benchmarks show that this tablet is quite fast. Not as fast as the Galaxy Note 3 but about the same as the Nexus 4. It is interesting to note that the Kogan dual core tablets are much faster than the Kogan dual core smartphones (the Kogan Agora 5) even though both are advertised as dual core. It's not just the number of cores that matter but the quality of those cores.

Reasons Behind the Decline of the PC

There is a lot being side nowadays about the decline of the PC as sales of tablets and smartphones boom. I still find the PC to be useful mainly because then functionality of most programs and websites on a bigger screen is enhanced significantly. Furthermore, typing on a physical keyboard is faster than a touchscreen keyboard because the touchscreen is smaller, meaning you need to use your use your thumbs to type, and on a large tablet the fact that there is no tactile feedback hampers the efficiency of touch typing. I can type quickly on a tablet, but not as fast as on a physical keyboard.

Another reason why I like to use a PC is because it is more ergonomic (see Are tablet ergonomics a pain in the neck?). Using a tablet for long periods of time causes your neck to move down and forward because you typically hold the tablet (or smartphone) down and lean down to look at it. A PC monitor, on the other hand, sits vertically in front of you, meaning it is safe.

So why do statistics show the PC is in decline? One reason, I think, is because many people already have PCs. PCs are necessary for email, banking, job hunting, and so forth. Because everyone already has a PC, not many people feel a need to buy another. They will keep it until it breaks. Not many people have smartphones or tablets, but that is changing. Many people are switching from features to smartphones and many are buying tablets.

However, just as many people are satisfied with their PCs and don't bother upgrading to the latest Alienware, I believe the smartphone market is not immune to consumers sticking to their old phones because it is good enough and not worth the upgrade. Many Apple users seem to stick with the iPhone 4 rather than upgrade to the 5 and I see many Samsung users sticking to their Galaxy S3 or S2.

One factor working in the smartphone's favour is that the smartphone is a public device. I carry my smartphone around with me and many people see me with my smartphone, so if I were very sensitive about other people's opinions of me, I will buy a beautiful and powerful smartphone to show others that I am stylish but also technologically sophisticated. The PC and tablet, on the other hand, stays at home, so getting something good enough for the lowest cost is the priority.

Many people carry tablets around, e.g. to play games or swatch movies on the train, but I only ever keep my Nexus 7 at home. I normally don't carry anything with me other than a phone, keys, and a wallet. I find it inconvenient to carry a bag or briefcase, and with everything done electronically nowadays, I think it is unnecessary.

To me, a tablet and desktop computer are similar in that they are devices used at home that offer more screen size than the smartphone. At home I rarely use the smartphone because I prefer the bigger screen on a tablet, and if I need a physical keyboard I use the PC.

PC software tends to offer more functionality than the tablet, but not by much, and although I prefer a physical keyboard, many people may not care, and if this is the case many people may find that they can save money by doing without a $500 PC and instead use a cheaper tablet. Decent tablets like the Nexus 7 cost around $200 to $300. You can check email, Facebook, do internet banking, pay bills, and job hunt on a tablet. You don't need a PC. Even if you do need a physical keyboard, you can simply buy a $50 Bluetooth keyboard to pair a $200 Android tablet, and you effectively have a laptop that costs less than most PCs (PCs typically cost around $500 or more).

All these factors I think explain the decline in PC sales. PC manufacturers should just switch and focus on making more phones and tablets.

The Importance of Android

The Android operating was invented in 2003 as a camera operating system. It was purchased by Google shortly after and the operating system was modified slightly for use on touchscreen smartphones.

The Apple iPhone was released in 2007 and quickly dominated the touchscreen smartphone market previously dominated by Microsoft's Palm devices. The Apple iPad was then released, also dominated the tablet market, quickly outselling Microsoft's Tablet PCs.

Android started slowly but its growth was explosive. Today Android is used on 70% of all smartphones. It is a free and open source operating system used by numerous manufacturers.

One of the benefits of Android is that the manufacturers who use it are faced with greater competitive pressure, leading to greater value for money for the consumer. If you owned an iPhone 4S and wanted to upgrade to get a faster phone, so you search online and realise that the fastest phone on the market today is the Samsung Galaxy S4. You want to buy it but realise that if you do, you will not be able to transfer your music on iTunes, your apps on the Apple App Store, and so forth to the Galaxy S4 because it uses a Android. So you reluctantly buy an iPhone 5, a phone that is more expensive than the Galaxy S4 but two times slower. This problem exists because you are trapped in the Apple ecosystem. But what if you were in the Android ecosystem and used, say, a Samsung Galaxy S3? Then your upgrade choices are infinite. You buy a phone from HTC, Sony, Motorola, LG, Huawei, Asus, HP, Oppo, and many more. You can buy a phone to suit your preferences and tastes, and if any company wants to rip you off, simply move to another one. You cannot do that with Apple. You are stuck with one company that has no incentive to offer you a better product for a lower price.

Although it is difficult to move from Apple to Android, it all depends on how invested you are in the system. If Apple takes advantage of its customers too much, they may get so angry they will be willing to switch to Android regardless of the costs, so the existence of Android does put pressure on Apple as well as Android partners.

Google Retail Store is a Good Idea

I was at Myer today buying wedding gifts. While there, I walked by an Apple Store and looked at all the iSheep inside playing on iPhones, iPads, and iPad minis. I then remembered news that Google will one day had retail stores just like Apple. I think this is a great idea. The reality is that Google products like the Nexus 4, 7, and 10 are great products but because most people don't buy things online and like to touch and feel things in their hands, there needs to be a physical presence. Once people touch and feel the Nexus smartphones and tablets, realize that these are excellent products that are a fraction of the cost of the equivalent iPhone or iPad, there is a good chance they will buy. Why get the $350 iPad mini with dual-core CPU, 0.5 GB RAM, and low-resolution screen when you can get the Google Asus Nexus 7 with Tegra 3 quad-core CPU, 1 GB RAM, and high-resolution screen for only $200?

Some people say Google starting its own store is just a copycat move by Google to get in on Apple's turf. But Apple did not invent the store. They have existed since ancient times. Selling things in a shop is not new.

Update 15 March 2013: Google have confirmed that they will not have retail stores, which is disappointing.

Kogan Agora 10" Dual Core Tablet

Today I visited my father's house and noticed that my five-year-old half-sister held a 10-inch tablet in her hands. I asked my father about the tablet and he notified me that he had purchased two 10-inch Android tablets from online retailer Kogan.

Since one of her friends purchased a Sony tablet, my half-sister has been wanting a tablet for herself. I remember when we visited the shopping mall, she would say to her father, "I want an iPad!" and then point to a Samsung Galaxy Tab. It's not good to reward bad behaviour, but learning how to use a tablet can have educational benefits and can allow the child to familiarise herself or himself with the latest technology. Not to mention that fact that nothing mutes a loud and reckless child as effectively as a tablet PC.

In my opinion, Apple's main innovation is in its marketing. Their marketing and brand recognition is so strong that many children (and even most uninformed adults) refer to all tablets as iPads, regardless of whether they powered by the Android or Windows operating systems or whether it is made by a company other than Apple, e.g. Samsung, HTC, Sony, Motorola, or even Microsoft. But given that the latest iPad 4 would cost around $600, it just seemed stupid buying an iPad 4 for a child when the child would likely drop, break, or spill food on the device.

My cousin, thinking that she was saving hundreds of dollars by not buying the latest iPad 4, purchased instead an iPad 2 for $400. Given that it is an iPad 2, it has a low-resolution display (NOT the iPad 4's high-resolution 264ppi Retina display) and it only had a measly 0.5 GB RAM and used an ancient and weak 0.8 Ghz single-core A5 CPU. Why would you spend $400 on an iPad 2 with ancient technology when you can spend less than half that much ($180) and get a Kogan Agora 10" Dual-Core Tablet? The Kogan Agora tablet is more than two times cheaper than the iPad 2 yet also has a dual-core processor, has two times more RAM, and has a bigger battery.

That being said, the Kogan Agora 10" is not the best of the best. I would argue that the best tablets out now are the Nexus 7, Nexus 10, iPad 4, and Asus Transformer Prime. But these tablets are generally quite expensive whereas the Kogan Agora 10" is $180 whereas the smaller 8-inch Kogan Agora Dual Core Tablet is only $120. The Kogan Agora 10" also has a respectable 1 GB RAM, which is equal to the amount of RAM in the iPad 4. When I looked at the screen of the Kogan tablet, I noticed that the display was pixellated and blurry compared to the crispness of the iPad 4 and the Nexus 7. Nevertheless, for a $180 tablet, what do you expect? For most people, the low-resolution 132ppi display on the Kogan Agora tablet it is not a huge issue. It is approximately equal to that of the iPad 2. If you want high-resolution on your tablet, you'll need to pay more. The iPad 4 has an impressive pixel density of 264ppi Retina display but will cost you $600. The Google Samsung Nexus 10, however, has an even better pixel density of 300ppi and will cost you $500.

How is the battery? According to Kogan's website, the Agora 10" Dual Core has 8000 mAh. The website does not give the actual battery life of the tablet in hours, and I was not able to test it given the children were playing on it. Nevertheless, the iPad 2 has a 6,944 mAh battery and goes for about 10 hours, whereas the new iPad 4 has a 11,666 mAh battery, which is roughly 70% larger, yet still goes for about 10 hours as well given that the iPad 4 has a high-resolution Retina display and dual-core CPU, it consumed much more power. Given that the Kogan Agora has a dual-core CPU like the iPad 4 but has a low-resolution display like the iPad 2, my rough guess is that battery life will be around 10 hours as well.

I went into the Kogan Agora's browser and also played some Angry Birds to see if the tablet could handle it. It seemed quick and responsive, so it is likely that the dual-core CPU is doing its job. The kids installed various games on the tablet and played them. There seemed to be no issues with performance. The Kogan Agora also runs the latest version of Android, i.e. Jelly Bean, which is supposedly much faster than previous Android versions. All in all, I was impressed. When they carry it around with them, the children keep referring to the tablet as the "iPad," and I keep telling them, "it's a Kogan!" but they don't seem to understand.

Given that I am used to the Nexus 7, what surprised me about the Kogan Agora 10" Dual-Core is that it is quite heavy. Furthermore, even though the Kogan website says the tablet uses USB, the Kogan Agora does not seem to charge with a standard micro-USB charger but has a completely different charging connector, so if you run out of batteries at a friend's house, chances are you will not be able to use his or her charger. I would prefer it if the tablet used micro-USB, but given it's only $180, I'm willing to forgive.

The Kogan Agora 10" Dual-Core has a premium feel to it, even though it is plastic. Although it is heavy, it is thin, black, and sleek. Carrying it around gives off a premium look, that is, until people notice the "Kogan" logo on the back.

If you go to Kogan's Facebook page, you will notice that Ruslan Kogan receives many complaints. Reading his Facebook page, you'd think the man is completely incompetent. But my experience with him (as well as my family's experiences) has mostly been positive. I have purchased a Nexus 7 from him and a car charger. The items took a bit of time to come (maybe a month) but this was fully disclosed on the website and I was happy that it eventually came. Furthermore, Kogan seems to be able to sell goods that are much cheaper than the brick-and-mortar retailers. For example, the Google Asus Nexus 7 sold on his website is cheaper than the same tablet sold directly from Google Play. Kogan also sells a Kogan branded 5" dual-core phablet smartphone for only $150, which is absolutely incredible given most good smartphones from Samsung or Apple cost $600. Kogan may be a controversial figure who has upset many, but there is no question that he delivers for the customer.

Update 9/2/13: I have performed the Antutu benchmark test on the Kogan Dual Core tablet. It received a score of 11505. This is very good.