From the Editor's Desk: Bad timing for Batman, Nexus 7 shipping (or not), and other odds and ends

By Phil Nickinson  | Jul 22 2012 | 12:44 pm  | 38 Comments

Phil Nickinson

Hey there, everybody! Took a week off from this column last week, as my fingers (and the rest of my body) could hardly move after installing some hardwood floors. Don't let those TV shows fool you -- that stuff is hard. On the plus side, I've decided to wear kneepads 24/7, which should do wonders for those broken joints of mine, previously abused by too many years (and one ACL replacement) on the soccer field, and currently by a few too many inches on the ol' waistline. Don't knock it till you try it.

A few thoughts as we head back into another work week:

  • As I said atop our news post last week announcing the release of Gameloft's The Dark Night, we're all painfully aware of the shooting in Aurora, Colo., just outside Denver. It's a nice little suburb I've been to a number of times, when my maternal grandmother was alive. My question: Should Gameloft have postponed the release? There are arguments on either side of that, certainly. 
  • Oh, and you'd be amazed at how quickly I can (and have, and will again) ban people who think they're leaving funny comments in regards to a dozen people getting shot.
  • So the 16-gigabyte Nexus 7 tablet is back to "Coming soon" status on Google Play. Obviously, something weird happened with fulfillment. For my part, I got the one I ordered on July 3 (though the Nexus Q I ordered with it isn't shipping yet). What's odd is that the two 16GB Nexus 7s I ordered on June 27 -- during the Google I/O keynote, actually, as soon as they hit the store -- are still in limbo. The UPS label has been printed, but that's it. For what it's worth, this is the first time I've ever had an issue ordering a device from Google Play. Countless Galaxy Nexus phones have made it without issue. Is it a Google thing? An ASUS thing? Is the Nexus 7 just that popular?
  • I picked up the Kindle Fire this weekend for the first time since getting the Nexus 7 -- only so I could watch "The West Wing." Amazon created a nice little niche for itself with the Kindle Fire and streaming video, but it's time for the company to open things up onto non-Kindle devices. And releasing a better Kindle Fire (which we fully expect to happen later this year) isn't the answer. Want to put a hurt on Netflix? Get on the iPad. And on Android tablets. And push hard on all the new Windows gear.
  • Some great thoughts from Rene Ritchie on the Nexus 7. The whole "save state" thing doesn't bother me nearly as much as it does him, though, but that could that while I frequently use an iPad, I don't use it as thoroughly and completely as he does. (Or maybe it's just difference in the way we think.)

So what's coming next? Samsung's doing something on Aug. 15. (Good lord, it's almost August already?) We'll be at the IFA conference in Berlin in late August/early September, so there's that, too. And we're already looking ahead to the CTIA conference in San Diego in October.

This week I'll be meeting up with the other Mobile Nations editors in Winnipeg, which I'm told is in Canada. (Hey, I just get on the plane ya know?) Exciting things are afoot, and those of you who frequent CrackBerry might have seen the Mobile Nations Passport teaser. This is good stuff, folks. 

Phil Nickinson Editor in Chief

"Phil is a recovering print journalist, editor of Android Central, subtitles and street signs."

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There are 38 comments. Add yours.

McPlot says:

I was there. I don't blame Batman, or the theater . I blame the sick **** who did it. But I was not in the same room om, nor do I know anyone who was hurt or killed. I can tell you that I have NO plans on seeing the movie now.

And to kill some rumors. Aurora has a very bad area. Where the shooting happened was not it.
The psycho who did it had no outward signs and did not tell anyone. He was an "A" student in a Phd program.Not some unemployed low life.

MERCDROID says:

I saw the movie, and it was good; but I don't blame you for not wanting to see it. I have a friend that lives within walking distance of that theater, and he decided last minute not to go see it. He had a gut feeling that he should wait. My prayers go out to everyone affected...

jldandrea says:

No offense to Phil Nickinson, but why do we always have to see the same picture of his smug chubby face whenever these "editor desk" posts come up? I'm not asking for Ashley Esqueda, but ANY new picture will do. How about a smile even?

HAAS599 says:

Hey, just be glad he isn't showing pictures of his feet anymore. Also, take a look at your own pic and try to lead by example.

I noticed Rene's and Phil's profile pic have a similar eyebrow thing going on. Sup wit dat?

jldandrea says:

"Also, take a look at your own pic and try to lead by example."

Nice try but two things: 1) I don't write for a blog. 2) My picture isn't an eye sore.

HAAS599 says:

1) No, you just troll the comment section

2) That's debatable, but the words you type definitely are.

jldandrea says:

"hurr you have an opinion I don't like, you MUST be trolling!"

Phil Nickinson says:

Either way, you're kinda being a dick.

jldandrea says:

Fair enough, but you seemed like the kinda guy who could laugh at himself.

Phil Nickinson says:

I am. It's just that you weren't funny.

jldandrea says:

In my defense, I wasn't trying to be :P

danman7 says:

Wheaton's Law rules!

briankurtz79 says:

I read Rene's article. Save state?! That's what he had to bitch about?! It took iOS years to save anything! When they did start saving state they called it multitasking!!!!!

Uncle Louie says:

Gee, why ever would that be offensive? Who the hell cares what picture is used?!

jldandrea says:

I do. I have to look at it. Therefore, care is involved.

HAAS599 says:

Thing is, nobody cares about you.

Bolt473 says:

I'm not sure of the official method for reporting typographical or grammatical errors, and I'm not trying to come off as a troll or a "grammar nazi", but in bulletin point Number 4 you said "And a releasing a better Kindle Fire...". Just thought I would let you know!

Fguills75 says:

Phil, you suck for banning me! I made no reference to the shooting in Aurora!

Speedstr says:

I don't know why, but I have the image of the bully from the kayak.com commercial associated with you now...Should have been nicer to Phil in high school. j/k

crxssi says:

>"My question: Should Gameloft have postponed the release?"

Probably not. One of the worst reactions is to let it destroy everything around us (with the absolute example being the road to becoming even more of a police state). It is very sad and upsetting, and my heart goes out to the people there and their families.

Hand_O_Death says:

I personally do not think that GameLoft or anyone else should allow a sick person like that to effect their lives or business anymore than he already has effected those in that theater and their families, let alone his own family. A jerk like that needs to be forgotten as soon as his trial is over and the needle is removed from his corpse.

As for Rene's review, he seems to attempt to be impartial as best as he can. I think the save state in the app drawer think is a little silly, but I chalk that up to being he forced into thinking that is how a tablet should work via Apple. I bet if he really used it and went crazy with productivity apps, he would loath those app icons in his face all the time on his iPad.
I also could personally care less about that bounce effect that apple uses in their scrolling, but that is just me (personal preference).

I just do not get his idea of a large iPod instead of a small iPad. I mean the hardware in the N7 is pretty bad ass, unless he is referring to the fact that it is stock set up for portrait instead of landscape, I am confused. I am pretty sure it is a full tablet and works fantastic for me.

Klotz says:

I could see if the movie playing was controversial like "Natural Born Killers" how they should pull back on releasing content based on it. But the Batman franchise has been enjoyed by children and adults for years. I can see limiting advertising for there products but they should still be available to fans of the series. The movie that was playing in that Aurora theater is irrelevant and if your dialog on the incident involves "Batman" your taking away from the real tragedy that occurred.

icebike says:

In other news, HTC sold back half of its holding in Beats Audio to the good Doctor who once again holds a majority share of 75 percent.

Beats new market segment to con, er, focus on is high end car lines from Chrysler Dodge.

horacenick says:

Sad for them, it was a concrete manifestation of bad luck, yes, it's a bad time.

ridie1389 says:

I dont think they should've postponed it. Cuz that means that sick freak who called himself the "joker" would win! He would scared enough to change things. And we can't let terrorists and psychopaths win. EVER.

jrenner says:

I don't think gameloft should delay it's launch anymore than I think they should stop showing the movie. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the victims, but I don't think we need to stop enjoying a great movie and game combination.

dylandersen says:

I don't know why this is even a feature on the page. This is essentially a personal blog post - note the quip about the "maternal grandmother". I'm here for Android news and this is just a rehash of news in one man's eyes. And yes, I know if I don't like it I can leave - but I do enjoy this site, just not these "FROM THE EDITORS DESK" posts.

codiusprime says:

Must have been unpleasant to have Phil guide your hand and mouse to click on the link to a post you already knew you weren't going to like.

ejraney says:

I look forward to these every week. Nobody is forcing you to read them.

randpost says:

I don't see why people should have to postpone seeing the movie or hold a games release date because of shooting. As horrible as it may be,If there was a mass shooting at 7-11, It wouldn't stop me from getting my slurpy fix on that day at a different 7-11. Did we stop going to high school after columbine?

Speedstr says:

What I don't understand about Rene's nexus 7 article is that he first admits the Nexus 7 is considerably more portable then the iPad. He sets out to compare the N7 as a "bigger, more functional phone", (I think he means an iPod Touch) and the iPad as "a smaller, less functional laptop" He goes on to say, "But when I'm out without a laptop and need to get things done, I'll want the iPad"

Really? Rene's going to compare the tablet to a laptop? I thought it was agreed upon by consensus that tablets are mainly media consumption devices. not portable PCs called laptops. That, while they can do the stuff laptops can, are still nowhere near the efficiency level that laptops can provide. Yes, I understand Rene can probably do more with his iPad than his colleagues, but most of his readers wont bother to use their iPads/N7s to the full potential as he will, and I would have felt better if didn't review the N7 device as a laptop. Because tablets aren't laptops.

Also...He finishes up to say that he looks forward to the rumored 7.85-inch iPad. Good, so do I. I would love to see it have the same specs as the iPad 3 and keep it at a $250 price tag.

Eric Rossman says:

I am missing something in Rene's complaint. What is he talking about?? Rene seems to only invest himself into a competitors product enough to find reasons why he dislikes it for not being an iOS device.
My younger brother received his 8GB N7 (I am still waiting for my 16GB N7 order) and I have some "Me time" with it; I was playing shadowgun, pushed the power button (manually dropping it into sleep), then woke it up to find it was still in the exact spot within the game waiting for me. It woke up another time showing the same chrome page that was up when it timed out into sleep as well. It works exactly as I would expect. My iPad2 does this as well, so where is the complaint??

I recall Steve Jobs claiming that the 9.7 inch form factor tablet was ideal for tablets, and subsequently rebuking the 7 and 5 inch form factor's usefulness or marketability. Now Apple is considering the 7 inch form factor for a tablet? What a magic spin this will be.

I have come to determine that Phil works for Rene, and that is why we are treated with Rene links from Phil's commentaries. I don't mean this in a bad way, just a theory. Heck Phil and Rene may just simply be friends (outside of work) for all I really know..

-happy gadgetry to all -thanks :)

Phil Nickinson says:

We work together, actually, and I enjoy reading other people's opinions of the products we use every day, even if I don't agree with them. (Soon as RIM makes something anyone would actually want to use, maybe I'll like to it, too. :p )

Eric Rossman says:

I understand that only people with true perspective can kindly disagree. It does strike a specific interest to hear the Android experience from Rene.

dwade says:

I saw the Batman movie yesterday. I really liked it. I don't think there should be any reason to have postponed it. As others have already said, it's not the movies fault nor the theater, it's the suspect's.

Now while there one of the upcoming movie previews they showed was a gangster movie (forgot the name). In one of the scenes several gangsters are shooting machine guns into the audience at a movie theater... That they may want to postpone release on IMHO.

dugndublin says:

It is in Amazon's best interest to be platform agnostic. This is the approach Amazon used with Kindle reader. That is why you can read Kindle books on Android, IOS, PC's, Mac's, as well as Kindle devices. I would hope that is their strategy going forward.

pckocher says:

I, too, agree with Phil when he writes, "Want to put a hurt on Netflix? Get on the iPad. And on Android tablets. And push hard on all the new Windows gear." Don't we always hear that companies are willing to forsake hardware margins (or even sell it at a loss) to make their money later on media? Why wouldn't Amazon want to make their video service available on other tablets and phones?

dugndublin says:

It is in Amazon's best interest to be platform agnostic. This is the approach Amazon used with Kindle reader. That is why you can read Kindle books on Android, IOS, PC's, Mac's, as well as Kindle devices. I would hope that is their strategy going forward.