Patrick Gibson:

Google is getting better at design faster than Apple is getting better at web services.

Most insightful thing I've read all week.

Alex Dobie, editor at Android Central writes:

The open -- or "openy" -- nature of Android has its advantages -- a wide variety of hardware, hackability and custom ROM support, endless choice in screen sizes, software customizations, multimedia chops, chassis styles and industrial designs. But it comes with one major Achilles heel -- the labyrinthine, time-consuming and expensive process of getting phones updated with a new version drops. It’s not anyone’s fault, it's a weakness that's built into Android's DNA, and one we doubt will ever be overcome.

This is why Android is just not for me.

Don't get me wrong; Android is a fantastic platform...but it just has too many hurdles that prevent users from getting their hands on the latest version.

I love well-designed software. I love using software the way the designer meant for it to be used. I love software designers that have the balls to say "No" to feature requests because they have a clear vision and they're sticking to it.

Whenever I see that New Software Update indicator, I jump on it immediately because I always want the latest and greatest. I may not have the money to upgrade to the new iPhone every year. But when Apple releases a new version of iOS, it feels like it's a new phone. And that's enough to keep me happy and hold me over through my two-year contract.

But the reality is there are some people that are the complete opposite. There are people that get annoyed by software updates and go on as long as possible avoiding it.

Those are the jailbreakers. The tweakers. The "I want to customize every bit of my smartphone to make it unique" kinda people. The people that want more hardware specs bang for their buck instead of well-designed out-of-the-box software.

Those are the people that will never have the latest version of Android running on their smartphones...and they're perfectly fine with that.

This chart by Ryan Jones is the reason why I sold my first-gen iPad yesterday.

Some people still have doubts because Steve Jobs infamously once said that 7" tablets are "dead on arrival." I, on the otherhand, am still betting on the iPad mini because of three reasons:

• this won't be the first time that Steve Jobs has backtracked on one of his bold statements.
• the iPad mini can produced cheaply by using the same touchscreen as the iPhone 3GS.
• the market and business opportunity is there. It wasn't there back then but the success of the Amazon Kindle has proven otherwise.

So I'm calling it now:

Apple is going to reassert its market dominance. It's gonna address that gaping hole under its price umbrella and be the hottest seller this Christmas shopping season. It's going to change the way an entire generation of children will learn in school.

The iPad mini is coming. It's gonna completely suck out all the air from the room and suffocate the competition, just like the iPad mini did to the mp3 player market.

I can't wait.

Californians fed up with being charged for ending their cell phone service prematurely won a major victory in a Bay Area court decision that concluded such fees violate state law.

In a preliminary ruling Monday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Sabraw said Sprint Nextel must pay California mobile-phone consumers $18.2 million as part of a class-action lawsuit challenging early termination fees.

FUCK YES.

This court ruling is so ridiculously huge. Right now, carriers leverage exclusive cell phones to force you into shitty 2 year contracts. The only good thing about it is your expensive phone will largely be paid for by the carrier. On the other hand you're stuck with a 2 commitment.

You ever notice how everywhere else in the world you can get any phone, throw in a SIM card and you're good to go with any carrier? That's the way it should be. Pressure needs to be put on carriers to make their service plans better. No more of this baiting people with sexy cell phones into a 2 year trap.

You want an iPhone? Go ahead and pop in your SIM card. Want a better plan? Just cancel your current and sign up with someone else.

It should be that easy.

Surely this ruling will be appealed, and it's only in affect in California. But this is just a start...hopefully it foreshadows a time when we'll see unlocked phones and real consumer choice in the US.