Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_cropThe Nexus 6 phone, which TeleRead Editor Chris Meadows and I both own and praise for e-reading, now sells for just $250 new on Amazon. That’s a nice price if you’re looking for one. But here’s what really grabbed me on the same Amazon page—a shopper’s assertion that choice of cell phones can reveal political inclinations, not just tech savvy. True?

“The Google Nexus 6 is the development platform for the Android operating system and Android applications,” wrote Thomas N. Williams. “It appeals to people with above average knowledge of computers, programming, networking, and those wanting to dig into the details of technology. If you are only interested in texting and calling your friends, you would probably be happier with an iPhone. If people in your social circle say things like ‘64-bit multicore ARM processor’ and they likely know what that means, the Nexus 6 is for you. If you and your friends have ever gone to the shooting range during your lunch break, the Nexus 6 is for you. If you can change the oil in your pickup or the clutch cable on your Harley, the Nexus 6 is for you.

“However, if wearing the right outfit or ‘raising social awareness,’ or even if you are still ‘Ready for Hillary’ you would be happier with the iPhone. If you ask your friends about ‘unlocking and rooting’ your phone, and they glaze over and start avoiding you, you should have gotten the iPhone. If you are completely convinced that 0.04% of atmospheric carbon dioxide will cause the oceans to rise, the polar bears to drown, and the planet to be devastated by severe weather and earthquakes, you really should have bought the iPhone. It will be all your fault – you will want to kill yourself.”

I can’t speak for Chris, except that I know from Facebook that he loves guns; but my own politics are in the direction of, “Love the polar bars,  and why stop at Hillary”? My ideal president, in fact, would be Bernie Sanders, who, with exceptions such as the gun control issue, is to Hillary’s port side. Furthermore, another in-house Android fan, Associate Editor Paul St John Mackintosh, although a Brit living in Hungary, would most likely be a progressive voter or beyond if he lived here in the States. Paul has described himself as a reformed Apple fanboy.

Life, however, can get complicated if we go by TeleRead’s StatCounter statistics for the past few hours, based on browser information. 54.1 percent of our visitors used iOS (26.4 percent iPhones and 27.3 percent iPads). The rest more or less used Android in one form or another. I went on to call up political inclinations as documented precisely or not by another online source, Quantcast. If we go by an index where 100 is normal for the Net at large, Republicans rated 79 here, Democrats were 94 and independents were 115.

One way or another, many of us could be susceptible to evil liberal influences from academia. Would you believe, that TeleReaders with graduate degrees came in at 169. Republican or Democratic, we’re a smart bunch. We’re also a bit better off than the world at large. People in the $100-$150K earning range checked in at 130, compared to a lowly 85 for those making $0-50K.

As we know, individuals’ economic circumstances can shape their political inclinations, one way or another, and a study shows that as of 2013, “Only 13 percent of iPhone owners had an income of less than 30,000 U.S. dollars per year.” By contrast, among people below $30K, Android ownership was 28 percent compared to 13 percent for the iPhone.

Yes, all this stuff is rather unscientific. But oh how fun it is to ponder! Needless to say, whatever your politics, you’re welcome here as long as you’re civil in discussing these matters with fellow TeleRead community members.

OK—so what kind of a phone do you use to read e-books on, and what are your own politics, and do you think there’s a correlation, or was Thomas Williams just glibly stereotyping?

Detail: I used the Hillary Clinton image just to convey the political theme of this post. I have no idea if she read e-books. Anyone know?

3 COMMENTS

  1. When I use a phone to read on, I use my Amazon Fire Phone. I also have decided I’d like Bernie Sanders to win, although I consider myself more of an Independent.

    I think the man you quoted, Thomas Williams, was being sarcastic.

  2. @Anne: Independents are well represented among TeleRead community members. I’m a lifelong Dem but am ashamed of the actions of both parties. Yes, here’s to Sanders in the White House!

    As for Thomas Williams, you just might be right. I wish I had his email address so I could find out for certain what his intentions were. That said, I still believe he was serious. That’s how bad political conversation has gotten in the U.S.

    Thanks,
    David

  3. I upgraded my iPhone 5 to a 6s plus recently. I have three decades of presidential voting behind me and have cast ballots for both parties and skipped once or twice too. My top choice this round would be Sanders – though he is soft on guns – with Hillary tied for third with a long shot Republican.

    I’m a computer programmer but most of the time have no desire to fiddle with my phone’s programming and see no need to jailbreak it. I wouldn’t bet heavy on phone choice as accurate prediction of political preference – I think it would be little better than random chance to get right.

    And just for grins and giggles, I once read that choice of alcohol was a political preference prediction. Liberals enjoyed clear colored booze like vodka where conservatives enjoy their drink with color like whiskey. Well, tonight I’ll have a toast to Sanders with a shot (maybe a double) of Fireball whiskey.

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