IntoMobile » Random

Spoiled kids don’t get iPhone for Christmas, disown parents on Twitter

Simon Sage — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:15:22 +0000

An interesting thing happened on Christmas Day this year: thousand upon thousands of hopeful children didn’t get an iPhone under the tree. While some were still happy to get anything at all, others gathered the shattered remains of their dreams, and cast the biting shards out to Twitter, saying things like “No Iphone. I hate my dad.“, “My parents are the worst mother Fucking parents in the world fuck you mom and dad for not getting me a Iphone. FUCK YOU. FML. #Iphone“, and “Didn’t get the iPhone for Christmas #pissed #nottalkingtomyparentsagain“. Similar tweets aired the unbridled fury of teens who got a black iPad instead of a white one.

While it’s sad to see kids stooping to such depths, I doubt it’s anything really new. What’s new is that people are casting the spotlights on these spoiled kids by retweeting and otherwise sharing these posts. Now, the public backlash to these individuals may be overkill for what was an off-hand comment, but in a lot of ways, I’m all for appropriate public shaming through social media. A great example of this phenomenon is Ocean Marketing, who recently made a series of poorly-worded e-mails with a customer and one of the biggest influencers in their industry. Once the misstep went viral, it put the marketing company out of business, and left a permanent dent in the product’s brand. Then there were the Vancouver riots earlier this year, where hockey fans were throwing a childish city-wide tantrum because their team lost. In an age where everybody has a camera thanks to their smartphones, social networking made identifying some of the unmasked rabble-rousers a breeze.

With any luck, the amount of negative attention these kids are getting will help them realize that they can’t get away with that kind of attitude in the real world. The worst-case scenario is that their parents cave, buy them the damned iPhone, teach them that they can get whatever they want, and those kids grow up to be self-entitled assholes.

Here’s a great great little song putting together just some of the spoiled tweets. Kids these days, eh?

[via @fart]

Siri: The iPhone Movie pits man against machine

Simon Sage — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:30:48 +0000

Although Siri isn’t technically that much better than what had been previously available, it certainly has made a better case for everyday voice recognition on smartphones. Of course, the “talking to your computer” scenario has a distinctly Space Odyssey feel to it, which is helped in no small part by some of the more… quirky responses Siri has been known to give. Based on that tone, the fine folks at Rooster Teeth have cooked up this movie trailer.

A bunch of friends get an iPhone 4S for Christmas, but things quickly turn awry when Siri decides it doesn’t enjoy assisting anymore. Here’s the trailer – it’s fun, it’s silly, and you probably won’t talk to Siri the same way ever again.

Ninjas return to battle over Nexus unboxing

Simon Sage — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:48:58 +0000

When the Nexus name first appeared, it called together the disparate ninja clans to perform The Great Unboxing, unified as an unstoppable kung fu force. It didn’t take long for the tentative alliance to devolve into bickering, and finally brazen treachery for the launch of the Samsung Nexus S. Today, the furious Red Ninja takes the battle to the desktop, bending the very fabric of time in the process. For the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, you take control of the Red Ninja to unleash flying kicks upon the Black and White Ninjas, while dodging their deadly 8-bit shuriken. As your foes fall, amass Nexus Power to defeat their evil, miniature superiors.

Grasp your destiny at the web version here, and complete your quest in the Android Market.

[RT @googlenexus]

BlackBerry: the phone even muggers won’t steal

Simon Sage — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:14:33 +0000

A mugger preying on students near Columbia University has apparently been on the hunt for iPhones, but don’t worry BlackBerry owners – he’ll just toss your phone back at you in disgust. An unnamed suspsect apparently bumped into two students, both of whom had BlackBerry smartphones, and left empty-handed. A smattering of similar reports illustrate similar situations. A recent NYPD report says small handheld gadgets like smartphones account for over half of local robberies in October. iPhones aren’t the only Apple product popular among robbers; elsewhere, thieves recently jacked 125 iPads right from a Best Buy.

Wow, has BlackBerry demand dropped off so much that a thief couldn’t even fence one at a fraction of the retail price? Well, RIM’s U.S. smartphone market share is down around 9% these days, so, yeah. Maybe this guy just has a very specific racket, considering he would just walk away if he couldn’t get an iPhone, and not even demand cash. While this situation might paint a bad picture for the popularity of BlackBerry, at least current owners of RIM smartphones don’t have to worry as much about getting held up. iPhone owners, are you wary about flashing your phone in public places for fear of eagle-eyed thieves? What about you, BlackBerry owners?

[via DNAinfo, pic: grafvision/Shutterstock]

Drunk RIM employees ground flight to Beijing, fined $71,000

Simon Sage — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:31:14 +0000

In a flight from Toronto to Beijing, China, RIM’s George Campbell and Paul Alexander Wilson got so drunk and unruly, that they had to be physically restrained and the flight had to land in Vancouver. Each one was fined over $35,000, and won’t be able to fly Air Canada for a year while they’re on probation. How’s RIM handling the situation? Well, the drinking buddies have been suspended for the time being, but RIM hasn’t elaborated on what exactly these guys did with BlackBerry products. It’s a big fine, encompassing costs for fuel, landing fees, crew costs and dealing with now-irate customers.

The last PR gaffe from RIM that came remotely close to this was when co-CEO Mike Lazaridis cut off a BBC interview after a question about security abroad, but after this, it seems like the makers of BlackBerry can swing in both “overly uptight” and “obscenely raucous” directions. It wouldn’t be surprising if these two guys got canned as a result of their conduct, but considering how many people are getting the boot from RIM these days, they may have been headed in that direction anyway.

[via Globe and Mail]