I'm not saying iPhone is as bad. When I saw the N97 video it immediately reminded me of how my iPhone 3G started behaving after upgrading it to iOS 4 -- lagging, not responding to taps, etc. My response was tongue in cheek.
I'm a happy iPhone 4 user now and would never switch to any other "smartphone", let alone Nokia.
On Mac every OS-bundled program do update through a central utility found on the Apple dropdown menu. 90% of other programs use the Sparkle framework (~100% if the program is Mac-only) which provide an unobtrusive way of updating.
The engadget article has been written by a real journalist. The dailytech article instead has been written by a person who doesn't know that in "modern" China 100% of factories are like Foxconn.
It's just another pathetic way to attack Apple. "Only Escape From _Hellish Apple iPhone Factory_ Was Suicide". Oh come on. Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of electronics and computer components worldwide and they don't make just iDevices. According to Wikipedia Foxconn make these products:
1) Mac mini, iPod, iPad, and the iPhone for Apple
2) Intel-branded motherboards for Intel
3) various orders for Dell and Hewlett-Packard
4) motherboards for Zoostorm
5) PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 for Sony
6) Wii for Nintendo
7) Xbox 360 for Microsoft
8) cell phones for Motorola
9) Amazon Kindle
10) Cisco equipment
It's a news only cause it's cool to attack Apple. I bet you to find a single electronics product around you that isn't "Made in China". And we all know that work conditions in China are terrible and what has happened in the last 30 years.
Given how many are predicting that the mobile web is a key component, if not the dominant component of the future of the web itself, and further given how many HN readers are running, or would like run some kind of web-focused startup. I don't see how this can NOT be HN relevant news.
Regardless of what your personal preferences are for one mobile platform vs another, the increased competition among the leading mobile platforms is driving down prices and driving up innovation in the mobile market. All of which is driving greater penetration of web-capable smartphone vs plain old "feature phones". All of which is likely to make the "mobile web" and important part of being competitive in any web-based venture.
