Phablets: Time for a Larger Phone... Note 3 vs LG G-Flex

Went shopping today for a bit and I was pleasantly surprised to find two LG G-Flex devices on display today at the new Main St ATT store in Salinas, CA. Thought I'd love the curved screen. I do.  Got 3 reps to join in the fun and get after this beast and here's the conclusion: the software is confusing and while there are some cool features we all liked (like tapping the screen to turn it on/off) none of us could figure out how to do things that are simple and intuitive on the Note 3 (including doing split screen). I was ready to take this phone home as I want to get a larger device and am overdue for an upgrade (currently using a Nexus 5 for most of my mobile communications).  Soo we played and played and the more we did the more we said things like , "the icons sure are ugly". "better root that baby", "I'm confused".. all the while one of the reps was pulling up videos on how to use this phone.. Looks like I'm ready to go with the Note 3 on this one.. any thoughts? Seems the Note 3 was snappier, better looking (1080p) and more intuitive.

Monday Notes: the "Walled Garden" is Apple's strength ..along with Apps

I borrowed it. Sure.. been thinking about profits and distribution in tech. The Apple stores and the "walled garden" and now HP is introducing tablets with WebOS (it's Palm's right?)..

In October 2009 John Gruber wrote on his blog Daring Fireball:

"Operating systems aren’t mere components like RAM or CPUs; they’re the single most important part of the computing experience. Other than Apple, there’s not a single PC maker that controls the most important aspect of its computers. Imagine how much better the industry would be if there were more than one computer maker trying to move the state of the art forward."

@thorn_waite and I were chatting about the next iPhone on Twitter this AM  noting how an analyst can create a lot of blog hits for various tech sites by claiming to know what's going on inside the apple ecosystem. Thorn believes "Apple will have 2 phones in September, but they will be the 4S and the 4. Those analysts are rarely right, but they generate very bloggable copy.... Apple's "walled garden" is a fair price to pay for a safe, easy app ecosystem." think the point is being made. We have Chromebooks made by Acer and Samsung. Not the same thing but man is there a transition going on. All about mobility and thin and light.

Steve said: "This is worth repeating. It's in Apple's DNA that technology is not enough. It's tech married with the liberal arts and the humanities. Nowhere is that more true than in the post-PC products. Our competitors are looking at this like it's the next PC market. That is not the right approach to this. These are post-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC, more intuitive."

Saw my good friend Pete Cochrane working on a beautiful pen and ink piece (pictured below) at Starbucks in Prunedale and I noticed he was watching a movie on his Mac Air.. looks like that's a device that will be another another home run with additional horsepower..we chatted about the ultimate mobile device.. any thoughts?