Related
http://www.pcworld.com/article/1867...irst_week_of_sales_were_weak_report_says.html
Thats a ton of complaints coming out for only 20k sales.
Not being available in T-Mo stores really hurt sales. I think being able to see this screen and hold it in person would move a hell of alot more units.
he Nexus One didn't benefit from such a strong marketing push like the Motorola Droid (estimated $100 million), despite Google's phone featuring so-far unique Android features. This has reflected in poor first week sales for the Nexus One, as per the table below. (Click image above to enlarge)
Instead, Google chose a soft launch for the Nexus One, selling it through their website. But the steep $500 Google is asking for the unlocked device and the mixed reviews the Nexus One received didn't help to maximize first week sales.
Flurry's report mentions that the Nexus One lacks the "wow factor" and the general perception that the device is not seen as revolutionary, but rather just evolutionary from other Android phones.
Om Malik, of GigaOm, notes that Flurry's estimated sales numbers for the Nexus One might even be a bit far fetched. He mentions Google has been giving away the Nexus One to its employees and also lent it to many members of the media for reviews, which could have bumped up Flurry's analytics.
Next to the poor first week sales figure, the Nexus One has also seen mounting complaints over the 3G connectivity of the device and the lack of developer tools for the Android 2.1 platform.
In her review of the Nexus One, my colleague Ginny Mies notes that Google's phone "isn't quite the game-changer people hoped it would be, though it certainly trumps other phones in performance, display quality, and speed." Next to pros like a dazzling OLED display, snappy performance and sleep, slim design, she marks the lack of multitouch support and the software keyboard as cons.
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I'm actually glad. I dont want the nexus one to become a fashion icon like the iPhone did.
EDIT: YOU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE
melterx12 said:
I'm actually glad. I dont want the nexus one to become a fashion icon like the iPhone did.
EDIT: YOU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE
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awww Fuuudgdeeee
Had to be 2 new yorkers didnt it. lol
Agree with this though. Ive been saying I hope a ton of people want it but few get it. That way Google is pressed to resolve there customer service and HW issues and early adopters dont look like bandwagon jumpers for the latest fashion device.
On the flip side... I hope Google doesnt turn around and blame Tmobile. Tmo and Google have been continually bringing out Android sets I hope that relationship doesnt sour because of this.
Actually 20k in sales for a phone that has reportedly had the vast majority of users buy the unlocked version is pretty damn good (Leo Laporte mentioned it on TWiT on Sunday)
melterx12 said:
I'm actually glad. I dont want the nexus one to become a fashion icon like the iPhone did.
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As much as I give credit to Apple for what they've done with the iPhone, the iPhone has become the "razr" of phones.....the "Wal-Mart" of phones....
The bad press on this phone is silly. It takes nothing into consideration, bends around the truth, and just sounds misinformed. This phone had a soft launch, wasn't available in stores, no television ads, and wasn't really advertised by Google until the day of it's launch.
These soft launches make an impact. Word will spread and then it will pop up and explode on Verizon. I'm not even trying to defend the device, it just makes me angry seeing so much misinformed crap popping up on the web.
"But the steep $500 Google is asking for the unlocked device and the mixed reviews the Nexus One received didn't help to maximize first week sales."
Mixed reviews meaning angry fanboys? I don't get it. The thing runs Android really well, is fast as hell, looks great, has a good camera, etc. I have no idea what people were expecting. Android has been out, and this was stated to be an Android device.
mark925 said:
As much as I give credit to Apple for what they've done with the iPhone, the iPhone has become the "razr" of phones.....the "Wal-Mart" of phones....
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+1
everybody and their dog has an iphone. i'd rather have something few others do
To be honest, and trying to be unbiased, I think these numbers are ok for Google. Here's why I say that... given the marketing channel used here (online only sales and advertising), I suspect that Google is banking on a moderate rate of sales early on, with an increase a little later. Most people like to see and touch something prior to dropping hundreds of dollars on it. I think Google is counting on the early adopters to buy the phones, and then once we have them and others start seeing and playing with them, they will start buying. In theory, this should work the same as if the N1 would have been sold in stores, except the initial sales would be lighter and the rate of sales would be steeper after the first few weeks.
My proverbial 2 cents...
#1. It's hard for someone to drop that much cash on a phone unseen. Like others have pointed out, it's hard to sell a mobile phone without being able to "touch" it and play with it at a retail store.
#2. The N1 is one of the first handsets relatively available for purchase which has the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. I honestly think the "hacking" community for the N1 will be similar of what the G1 (HTC Dream) has seen... In other words, the HTC Passion is basically the next great hacking platform as the HTC Dream experienced.
Cheers,
Kermee
So essentially 1 in 150,000 Americans (ROUGHLY, only considering domestic sales) are packin the N1 - Sounds like a pretty elite/exclusive group if you ask me
booloobunny said:
..."But the steep $500 Google is asking for the unlocked device and the mixed reviews the Nexus One received didn't help to maximize first week sales."
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Also, to add onto this...I don't think the price is steep at all. In fact it is cheaper than many other unlocked devices with lesser hardware. Also, it has been pointed out in many places that getting the unlocked version is cheaper than going with the subsidized version and mandatory plan.
When a phone can be purchased only from one location and one URL only gadget freaks like us know about it's existence. Some of my friends who think they are gadget freaks were shocked to see my phone over the weekend. They didn't even know about it yet. Forget the common man. Unless, the phone is sold in T-mobile, and B&M stores, it will be hard to sell like Driod.
Except for lousy T-mobile 3G inside buildings, I love this phone. But I am seriously thinking about returning just to go back to AT&T as I would like to stay with the best GSM carrier who gets most unlocked 3G phones so I can keep changing my phones every few months.
uansari1 said:
To be honest, and trying to be unbiased, I think these numbers are ok for Google. Here's why I say that... given the marketing channel used here (online only sales and advertising), I suspect that Google is banking on a moderate rate of sales early on, with an increase a little later. Most people like to see and touch something prior to dropping hundreds of dollars on it. I think Google is counting on the early adopters to buy the phones, and then once we have them and others start seeing and playing with them, they will start buying. In theory, this should work the same as if the N1 would have been sold in stores, except the initial sales would be lighter and the rate of sales would be steeper after the first few weeks.
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I agree. This seems similar to Gmail when it was in Beta....and Gvoice. Only certain people had it and it was invite only. This seems to make a launch more manageable (less volume) and the inital adopters are the ones who typically want it the most and spread the word to others for free.
I want one... I just don't want to pay $530 to be a beta tester. I think once the 3g issues are solved we'll see alot more people pay for the phone
once Verizon and vodaphone get this phone. Sales will SKY rocket.
Instore sales
The only way for a big change in sales would be to sell the Nexus One in stores, mainstream buyers are not going to spend premium money on a handset that they can not handle first.
There are not enough early adopters and tech heads like most of us on this site to make a major impact on sales. Plus many of us are holding off to see how the 3G issue gets handled before buying.
since they didnt really air commercial for the phone and it is only available online. the numbers are pretty good.
melterx12 said:
The HARDWARE to produce the Nexus One costs $175$. This price does NOT include licensing, manufacturing, advertising, shipping, Government Taxes, etc.
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Yeah... Putting the parts together... probably costs more than the parts themselves, including labor.
Sure, I could get the "parts" for my car too for less than a quarter of what it sells for... I wouldn't want to try to assemble it though!
Cheers,
Kermee
melterx12 said:
The HARDWARE to produce the Nexus One costs $175$. This price does NOT include licensing, manufacturing, advertising, shipping, Government Taxes, etc.
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...not to mention R&D
I still have people ask me when its coming out when I show them mine, this phone is still very "underground"
melterx12 said:
The HARDWARE to produce the Nexus One costs $175$. This price does NOT include licensing, manufacturing, advertising, shipping, Government Taxes, etc.
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Can you send me a link to where you found out the hardware only cost $175 for the nexus one. I would like to see how much the snapdragon proc costs, and the 512mb of ram, and all the other components in the phone, and just the cost of putting it together.
And I am not referring to licensing, manufacturing, advertising, shipping, Government Taxes, etc.
Just the hardware and the costs to put the phone together. I call bull**** on the $175 dollars.
That is how much it might cost to put together the iphone 3gs with much cheaper hardware. But the Nexus One hardware is another story.
On things like this to offer their customers.......WTF???
http://phandroid.com/2010/09/03/sprint-to-get-the-samsung-galaxy-tab-this-november/
Even if Sprint does NOT get it why doesn't Tmo say "hey we'll take it!!"
When it comes to agreements between 2 or more business goliaths, I don't think its as simple as we'll take it. Lots of legal matters to get sorted out. Just look at all the drama it took to get the iPhone on AT&T to start with. They battled over details for awhile and still had issues after the release. Don't even wanna go into foreget tablets. Can we at least get a good list of smartphones on T-Mobile? One great phone and one very respectable phone (see Vibrant then MyTouch Slide) does not make for good choices when time to upgrade.
I was extremely excited about this Galaxy Tab, but in reality, the price is kind of a dealbreaker, and as far as I can tell, there is no wi-fi only version. I am not paying for another device on the network.
But as far as why T-mobile doesn't step up: it is just like mmalott says. Contracts have so many intricacies, so many things that have to get ironed out.
But for what it's worth, you don't know that they won't make it available for T-mobile yet. Maybe Samsung will go to all 4 carriers with it, you never know. We'll have to wait and see.
gthmcty1 said:
On things like this to offer their customers.......WTF???
http://phandroid.com/2010/09/03/sprint-to-get-the-samsung-galaxy-tab-this-november/
Even if Sprint does NOT get it why doesn't Tmo say "hey we'll take it!!"
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I guess the G2 doesn't count? WTF is your problem? If you love Sprint so much cancel your contract and go with them.
The price is way to high for what is. For that price I can get a small fully functioning laptop that folds into a touch tablet.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk cause the XDA app sucks
I'm happy that T-Mo is not trying to get all these first-gen experimental devices but focusing on the few solid and core devices along with providing great services.
This is what a normal consumer really needs.
MilkPudding said:
I'm happy that T-Mo is not trying to get all these first-gen experimental devices but focusing on the few solid and core devices along with providing great services.
This is what a normal consumer really needs.
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So true...
mmalott said:
When it comes to agreements between 2 or more business goliaths, I don't think its as simple as we'll take it. Lots of legal matters to get sorted out. Just look at all the drama it took to get the iPhone on AT&T to start with. They battled over details for awhile and still had issues after the release. Don't even wanna go into foreget tablets. Can we at least get a good list of smartphones on T-Mobile? One great phone and one very respectable phone (see Vibrant then MyTouch Slide) does not make for good choices when time to upgrade.
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that. plus there's the fcc approvals needed for each band/network it supports.
I've seen websites saying Verizon is getting it to, it's not unlikely that they are just releasing on all the carriers like they have with the Galaxy S series. They aren't even out of here yet are they? Didn't this happen before with the Galaxy S series, one company said we are getting it then the others followed?
heygrl said:
I guess the G2 doesn't count? WTF is your problem? If you love Sprint so much cancel your contract and go with them.
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My man/girl where on earth did you get the notion that I was Sprint fan? I have been with Tmo for 7+ years and would not even think about switching services!!! My original point being is why doesn't Tmo "make a play" for things such as the Tablet or even a good , better, best smartphone, even if we do not get them?
Granted given the response by "mmalot" looking at it that way I completely see why Tmo has taken the path it has.
I am happy with Tmo no doubt but I just wish their aggressiveness would equate to a better selection of phone choices, granted the Vibrant which I love is no slouch even with it shortcomings is still a great phone in its own rights.
Regarding a phone such as the G2 which has not come out yet I am sure it will be a worthy opponent I am NOT bashing Tmo I am suggesting that they become slightly more aggressive.
Make sure you have a valid point or even comprehend the statement that is in front of you before you go "bumping your gums" and comment such as you have done.
And in closing I do not have a problem with Tmo as I stated have been a loyal customer for 7+ years (when they were voicestream wireless)and will remain a customer but I like everyone else am entitled to their opinion and I will exercise it at will "heygrl", so please do not try and come at me like I am coming from left field, it was a "freedom of speech" moment.
I do know that a lot of the times the carriers have to bid on the phones/devices that they get. Depending on the manufacturer/device. Would you rather have a g2, mytouch hd, and possibly 2-3 other big devices by the end of the year, or would you rather have a galaxy S that is a little bit larger, without the Super amoled? Do remember that T-Mobile is dropping a ton of funds on rocking out the HSPA+ across the country super fast, and they're the 4th largest carrier. They have to choose a lot more carefully about where to invest then the others.
If someone has a vibrant now, the g2 wil be irrelevant by the time they have to upgrade again. Should not be releasing phones so fast, imo.
Also I may etf my contact and move off android because the fragmentation and slow updates/buggy devices are unbearable.
Almost regret not staying on at&t and getting am iphone. This is ridiculous.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
L8ter n8ter
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Actually it's: l8er n8er, but nice try at being witty without actually responding to the content in my post. These forums seem ripe with trolls.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
AT&T doesn't release an iPhone every year? T-Mobile releases 2 high-end devices within a few months and suddenly they need to slow down... according to other people they need MORE.. just stfu already.
N8ter said:
Actually it's: l8er n8er, but nice try at being witty without actually responding to the content in my post. These forums seem ripe with trolls.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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If you like locked down fancy looking feature phones and a barely working network then ATT is for you, and they'll gladly take your money, enjoy you iPhone 4, we don't care, it's your money
At the end of the day the real reason we're all with tmobile (don't lie) is because of their great plans/ pricing and awesome customer service. If that wasn't the case we'd be all on verizon. I think their approach with the vibrant/g2/faster network this year will play out very well for them.
I hate when people get offended if you tell your opinion about a company. Heygrl the way you reacted on the last page was childish. Grow up, I dont understand why people pledge loyalty to a company then act like blinded fanboys if you tell the truth about them.
T-Mobile obviously needs to step up. Whether they get this tablet or not isn't a dealbreaker for me. Especially if there is no wifi only version. However they need more phones, more high end state of the art phones. Verizon and Sprint are rumored to release 1.5 Ghz phones this year, they are not slouching. The G2's hardware will be completely obsolete by 2011, it will be a new generation of hardware. People seem to think this phone is the best ever because of HSPA+. What happens when you never reach those plateaus of speed and the first dual-core devices drop this year? Gonna feel buyers remorse huh.
It's also rumored that Samsung is working on the Galaxy S2 phone with a 2Ghz processor, 4gb of rom, 1gb ram, super amoled2 and 340ppi. Now THAT'S a revolution, but you ignorant fanboys would never see that because your devoted loyalty to a company makes you think the G2 will be the best phone ever. Such a joke...
HTC has a conference in a week or so, you think their best announcement will be the G2? Come on now. They are working on 1.5-2ghz phones, new battery and screen tech, and dual core devices.
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Even though I don't always agree with Tmobile's business sense I do like their more conservative nature. I don't need 3-5 phones with 2ghz cpus and the latest greatest iPhone at the cost dealing with the stereotypical corporate giant. All I ask for is at least 1 -2 comparable smartphones (MyTouch Slide & Vibrant delivered beautifully), good customer service, and keep your hands out of my pockets. I think T-Mobile has done an outstanding job at doing this. Dealing with Tmo has been a personal experience as compared to dealing with AT&T which was the usual your-the-little-guy thing.
Tmo has left me in wonder plenty of times. Where I live just got 3g but they were trying to sell me a 3G phone prior to that? Why are you guys selling the MyTouch Slide for only $20 less then the Vibrant? Am I missing something there? You guys are rolling out 4G!? But... there's plenty of places that don't even have coverage, EDGE, or 3G yet? Just some of the things that make me scratch my head sometimes but in the end, AT&T and Verizon don't leave me with the satisfaction that T-Mobile does.
Personally I don't want or need 20 smartphones to choose from. Too many problems for the network, the consumer, and the manufactures which will leave more often then not unhappy under the quantity over quality method of thinking.
At the end of the day its your choice based on your experiences and opinion. And this is a forum where people voice experiences and opinion. Just wish people could be more civilized about it so that others can hear/read them without the annoying gibberish.
I guess the real reason that people are so upset with T-mobile is because T-mobile was the first with an android phone and the first with the Google Nexus One phone, and they have lost that crown.
After Sprint got the HTC Hero, T-mobile wasn't the only android carrier anymore, and when Verizon got the Droid, they decided to buy up 95% of the high-end android smart-phones for the next 1.5 years.
AT&T rode iPhone popularity to the top. T-mobile failed to do this with Android. Looking at Android growth & popularity, locking up a few high end exclusives over the next 2-3 years could have propelled T-mobile into 3rd place in terms of subscribers. If I were to guess, then I would say that this is the reason why the CEO got the boot.
T-mobile is not doing that bad...what they aren't doing is beating out the competition with any of their handsets. Everything they release is done bigger or better by another carrier.
Its not as exciting as a 4G release, or a heavily marketed branded line of android phones like Verizon does... but clear away the smoke and mirrors and you'll have to admit that T-mobile is probably tied for 2nd at best (with Sprint), or at worst 3rd overall on android handsets.
The only thing they are missing is a 4.3" high end device to be the definitive 2nd place android carrier.
As for being #1... it won't ever happen. Verizon has 3x the subscribers and charges 20% more for service. They have the cash to burn to stay on top in terms of handset selection.... which they pretty much have to because iPhone lovers will never leave AT&T until the handset is available elsewhere
First of all I am not what I would call a fan boy even though every major appliance in my house is a Samsung, even the dishwasher. I have an S3 phone and the Note 10.1 is my constant companion. Lately I have been wondering as we wait for JB update (both phone and tablet) if the Apple ruling in the USA is hampering the speed that we are getting Samsung updates or software. Hell, you can barely get any accessories for the Note 10.1 in the US much less an update. There are even issues with some software available on the the Samsung app store that due to licensing issues Samsung can't sell in the US but the rest of the world has full access.
I love my tablet and would not trade it for any other. Works great as it is and if JB never came I would be fine. However, I think that it is possible we will see a much different user experience here in the states over the next few years when it comes to Samsung Tablets and Phones than the rest of the world. Until Apple gets off the crack pipe and stops litigating every electronic item that comes out we may have an issue.
Thoughts?
rap6388 said:
...if the Apple ruling in the USA is hampering the speed that we are getting Samsung updates or software.
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It's just Samsung's priorities or lack thereof. HTC's just as bad. And both typically launch updates internationally first so our friends overseas aren't getting something we're not since other than the one German carrier ROM no Note has JB. The JB roll-out on the SGS3's not going particularly well and the One X JB update went back to the drawing board after problems were encountered when it was rolled out to the first region to receive it (Taiwan). So it’s the update process that sucks and the U.S. is just along for the ride.
Hell, you can barely get any accessories for the Note 10.1 in the US
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Or Europe. The car dock for the GN was released nine months after it was shown. Same thing for the wireless charging station for the SGS3. The U.S. actually got the book cover for the Note before Europe. The accessory line is just mismanaged; I don't think the U.S. fares better or worse than the rest of the world. And again, HTC's the same. Kind of makes you wonder why they offer accessories at all if they don't want to sell them.
I think that it is possible we will see a much different user experience here in the states over the next few years when it comes to Samsung Tablets and Phones than the rest of the world.
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You need to separate tablets and phones. Phones are always going to be a cluster here in the U.S because Samsung doesn't sell unlocked phones directly and the carriers here are notorious for their lack of urgency for getting updates out. The U.S. Wi-Fi Note is a Samsung direct device and so far hasn't been treated better or worse than its international relatives when it comes to updates. Samsung customizes the s/w by region for each device they sell. The U.S. is just another region and a big one at that. Certain Android features are blocked in the U.S. by both Samsung and HTC but so far that hasn’t appeared to affect the update schedule one way or the other.
Don't you guys never heard abaut ebay (de or gb). And considering on updates, sammobile page is available on whole earth.
No, its the same everywhere else. I'm in the uk and have received 0 updates.
im in egypt and no update
i wish the give the update to world wide very soon
I don't think I was clear. This is not about the JB update but just Samungs' position in the market right now with Apple hanging over their head based on the over the top billion dollar ruling.
For example, there is an app in Samsung market called DirectOffice Print. It is a great print app but the US owner can't buy the app on the app store because of contract issues Samsung has in the US. It is items like this and features that the US seem to miss that I am speaking of.
rap6388 said:
I don't think I was clear. This is not about the JB update but just Samungs' position in the market right now with Apple hanging over their head based on the over the top billion dollar ruling.
For example, there is an app in Samsung market called DirectOffice Print. It is a great print app but the US owner can't buy the app on the app store because of contract issues Samsung has in the US. It is items like this and features that the US seem to miss that I am speaking of.
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The Samsung App store not being able to manage payments in the U.S. is an infrastructure issue that has nothing to do with Apple. They've said U.S. payments will be in enable in Q1 2013. And the "billion dollar ruling" is a drop in the bucket; they made $7.4B in profit in Q3 of this year alone. By raising Apple's chip prices 20% they probably covered it if they indeed ever have to pay it. The Note V will be out by the time appeals are exhausted. If Samsung's not doing something or not doing it right it's because their Samsung. They get a lot right but they get a lot wrong too.
rap6388 said:
I don't think I was clear. This is not about the JB update but just Samungs' position in the market right now with Apple hanging over their head based on the over the top billion dollar ruling.
For example, there is an app in Samsung market called DirectOffice Print. It is a great print app but the US owner can't buy the app on the app store because of contract issues Samsung has in the US. It is items like this and features that the US seem to miss that I am speaking of.
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Click to collapse
Well, as much as I hate to say it, this is how Sammy does business.
It's worse if you're in Canada.
Samsung Canada has a reciprocal agreement with Samsung USA not to sell to each other's market. But Samsung Canada doesn't feel there's much demand in Canada for computer products - just phones... (although it is getting better - we now have netbooks... Yes, that was sarcasm...) so we either get Samsung products late or not at all. And even though we're right on the border - we can cross border shop - we can't buy the products in the US online and have it shipped.
Ironically, Samsung opened their first North American full time store in Metrotown Mall in Burnaby British Columbia Canada (a suburb of Vancouver).but they can't show most of their products because they're not available in Canada and you can't buy them from the US.
And even though Canada uses the same cell and WiFi frequencies as the US, we get 'special' verisons of their products that block us from getting updates at the same time as the US. (That's why there's a GN 8010 AND a GN 8013 that are essentially identical). I had the same problem with my Galaxy Nexus phone - the Canadian version is a yakjuux which is supported (barely) by Samsung rather than the yakju version that's supported by Google directly,.
Like you - most of my hardware is Samsung - simply because they build exactly what I want. No one else does. But it means I have to drive to the US and buy these over the counter and drive them back, or have a friend in the US ship it to me.
I may like Samsung's products - but the company sucks...
Side note: Also, they're lousy at getting accessories in big box stores like Best Buy and Future Shop up here... I was trying to get a Note 10.1 Book case and the Samsung Store was out. They recommended going to BB or FS and I had to point out that neither of them actually carry any Samsung accessories - hell, it's hard enough finding the Note 10.1 in some of them...
I should have learned my lesson when I had my Tab 10.1, took them a year to update it to ICS. By the time they did that, I had been using unofficial ROM for about 4 months (give or take). Not acceptable. This is definitely my last Samsung tablet, even though I love it dearly. Samsung don't deserve one single dime for their awful commitment to customer's satisfaction.
Gotta get Nexus
if you want the latest ROMS
mrdaco said:
Don't you guys never heard abaut ebay (de or gb). And considering on updates, sammobile page is available on whole earth.
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That's not a solution. If I wanted to buy from unreliable and potentially shady resellers - I'd buy at Best Buy.
At least they have a return policy...
The point is that if you're going to make products, you should support them well. Or at all. Samsung is the leader in sales for smartphones and are rapidly growing in market share for tablets... yet they still can't get Best Buy to carry cases for their phones or tablets. All you get is the usual wall after wall of iDevice crap.
Best Buy isn't a charity - they carry what they think will sell - or what the manufacturer will pay them to carry (yes, surprise - manufacturers pay for special displays and 'endcaps' as well as for preferred positioning - higher on a shelf for example). Samsung has to spend a bit more to get the visibility Apple gets. They have to realise that customer support is more than just having a lousy website that's more about selling more product than about supporting the customers they already have...
But 'return customer' and 'customer loyalty' seems very low on Asian hardware maker's minds, it would seem.
TheWerewolf said:
But 'return customer' and 'customer loyalty' seems very low on Asian hardware maker's minds, it would seem.
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The h/w business is almost entirely Asian with the exception of Apple, Nokia, and Motorola. We've discussed update priorities, accessory availability, and general attention to existing customer's needs. Only Motorola sells Android devices so it's them vs. the Asians if you want to draw a comparison. I've owned devices from Motorola and most of the Asian manufacturers. Here's my conclusion: they all suck in the three categories we're discussing. Let's add a fourth category; product quality. Here's my quick assessment:
Samsung - Means well but gets caught up in their enormity. Their priority is clearly future sales but they generally tend to treat the existing customer base well. There are exceptions and the OG G-Tab update to ICS is a good one. By offering dozens of different s/w types on a single device they make their own life more difficult. Rolling out updates across regions is a cluster because of it. They have terrific warranty service and will pay roundtrip shipping for repairs and replace a device with a new one if parts aren't available. They suck at the number of accessories offered and making them available in a timely manner. Their products are generally well put together using premium components.
HTC - Has really been trying to get updates out more quickly and with better quality. The One X has been updated to three new Android versions and has gotten three new versions of Sense since March. In spite of that it still takes too long to get updates out and they've had some pretty bad s/w that's been deployed without being thoroughly tested. Their warranty service is hit or miss depending on region. The U.S. isn't too bad and they do seem to try to get things right. They have a really nice variety of accessories; good luck trying to find them in stock anywhere. Their products are made from premium components but they've had a lot of QC issues with their latest devices. Good examples are extremely well made. They don't provide warranty support for devices that have had their bootloaders unlocked.
LG - Their support in the U.S. is atrocious and the rest of the world is a mixed bag. An alarming number of their products over the past two years have had design and h/w issues. Examples are overheating, spontaneous rebooting, boot loops, and sporadic wireless performance. Both the new Optimus G and N4 have thermal throttling issues so it doesn't seem like much has changed. The HTC Droid DNA has the same chip set and isn't experiencing similar issues. They are absolutely atrocious at updates. They offer few accessories and what's offered is impossible to find. Their devices are built well but it doesn't matter if they have fatal design flaws. The customer has to pay to ship a device to LG for repair.
Asus - They put more effort in to serving their existing customers than any other Android manufacturer. They are quick to update their devices, have representatives commenting on XDA, and try to address issues they're made aware of. Their warranty service is atrocious with frequent claims of "customer induced damage" for known issues. It can take weeks to get a device repaired and it's difficult to get an accurate status. Customers pay shipping to get the device to Asus. Their products are made from inferior and in some cases outdated components. They also have an abnormally high number of QC issues. The latter two elements along with crappy repair service sort of negate their customer service efforts. They offer a few basic accessories that seem to be generally more available compared to other manufacturers. When they introduce a new device its a cluster trying to find it and, because they're offered in multiple colors, finding the matching keyboard. They don't provide warranty support for devices that have had their bootloaders unlocked.
Sony - There are tied with LG for being worst at keeping their devices updated. I'm not familiar with their mobile device service but I've used them for PC service and they've been very responsive. Their products are generally well made but always seem to be a cycle behind everyone else design, feature and s/w wise. They tend to do well with offering accessories and making them readily available but they are very expensive.
Motorola - Their support of existing customers is tragic compared to the Asians. Even after Google acquired them they announced that late-2011 high-end devices that they promised upgrades to ICS for wouldn't be receiving them. They offered affected customers $100 off a future Motorola phone instead. They are also worse than the Asians at updates they do roll out. Their warranty and repair service is generally good. Their products are well made but MotoBlur is considered the worst of the overlays. It has been toned down on newer phones but is still far less complete than Sense or TW. They offer quite a few accessories but they are quite expensive. They are fairly easy to find. But in comparing Motorola to the Asians their complete lack of regard for existing customers makes them the worst of a bad lot. They don't provide warranty support for devices that have had their bootloaders unlocked.
So, at the end of the day, there aren't really any stand-out winners. Toshiba, Acer, and Lenovo are bit players based on the low volume of devices they sell so I haven't included them. From general observation they aren't typically known to be any better or worse than the companies I've described. So balancing all four criteria Samsung and HTC, IMHO, are the best of a bad lot (at least in the Android world). Since Samsung seems to be taking over the Android world any way we might not have to worry about comparisons for very much longer.
Thoughts? Personal experiences?
BarryH_GEG said:
The h/w business is almost entirely Asian with the exception of Apple, Nokia, and Motorola. We've discussed update priorities, accessory availability, and general attention to existing customer's needs. Only Motorola sells Android devices so it's them vs. the Asians if you want to draw a comparison. I've owned devices from Motorola and most of the Asian manufacturers. Here's my conclusion: they all suck in the three categories we're discussing. Let's add a fourth category; product quality. Here's my quick assessment:
...
So, at the end of the day, there aren't really any stand-out winners. Toshiba, Acer, and Lenovo are bit players based on the low volume of devices they sell so I haven't included them. From general observation they aren't typically known to be any better or worse than the companies I've described. So balancing all four criteria Samsung and HTC, IMHO, are the best of a bad lot (at least in the Android world). Since Samsung seems to be taking over the Android world any way we might not have to worry about comparisons for very much longer.
Thoughts? Personal experiences?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like Samsung should hire Asus to support their products and Asus should get Samsung build their products.
Vincent9756 said:
Sounds like Samsung should hire Asus to support their products and Asus should get Samsung build their products.
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Click to collapse
Here's the difference between Asus and Samsung/HTC when it comes to updates. Asus is the hands-down winner for getting updates out the door the fastest. But in doing so, it takes at least three subsequent updates to make the initial update complete. Samsung and HTC are painfully slow but (usually) the updates they get out are pretty solid. By that time, because Asus had to update the update multiple times, they arrive at the same place at the same time. Kind of a "tortoise vs. the hare" thing.
BarryH_GEG said:
The h/w business is almost entirely Asian with the exception of Apple, Nokia, and Motorola. We've discussed update priorities, accessory availability, and general attention to existing customer's needs. Only Motorola sells Android devices so it's them vs. the Asians if you want to draw a comparison. I've owned devices from Motorola and most of the Asian manufacturers. Here's my conclusion: they all suck in the three categories we're discussing. Let's add a fourth category; product quality. Here's my quick assessment:
...
So, at the end of the day, there aren't really any stand-out winners. Toshiba, Acer, and Lenovo are bit players based on the low volume of devices they sell so I haven't included them. From general observation they aren't typically known to be any better or worse than the companies I've described. So balancing all four criteria Samsung and HTC, IMHO, are the best of a bad lot (at least in the Android world). Since Samsung seems to be taking over the Android world any way we might not have to worry about comparisons for very much longer.
Thoughts? Personal experiences?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I wasn't actually making a 'Western vs Asian' comparison - although rereading what I wrote, it does come across that way. Unfortunately, Apple is kind of the bar for support, quality and attention to detail, even with their recent decline in all three areas.
But my experiences with HP, for example - with their Slate 500 was odd - they had delivery problems, but they really went the extra mile to make up for it. In fact, in my own case, they ended up giving me almost a 30% discount for being late. I didn't even ask for it. They did screw up by choosing n-Trig for the digitiser - but at the time, it seemed a logical choice.
I only have one major experience with Dell - I bought an Axion Windows Mobile PDA that failed. They sent me a box in which to return it at no cost... and a new unit along with the box - also at no cost.
Of course, I have a Transformer Prime - and it's such a mixed bag of hurt and happy. As you note - the device feels right - and they got a lot right about it. It has the best USB driver support of any tablet out there. It provides enough USB power to run a hard drive. The dock is brilliant. And then they mess up something as basic as the GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth. And I think most of us could have dealt with that - if Asus hadn't utterly botched their response to the problem by essentially admitting the problem, then failing to fix it, then claiming the GPS wasn't meant for serious use (commerical GPS? What?) then trying to erase history by removing the feature from the box, then sending everyone a free GPS dongle that was just horribly thought out... and didn't fix the WiFi or BT issues. To add insult to injury - they announce a replacement pair of Transformers with the problem fixed... just two weeks after finally shipping the Prime - which was late. But the Infinity was supposed to be $100 more (which kind of took some of the pain away) - only to finally ship at the exact same price as the Prime.
Oh.. and then just after getting the dongle, the Prime's back camera died and that took a month to get repaired...
That's a lot of bad PR and bad customer support in one ball of hurt.
I bought an HTC Surround - the design made it impossible to remove the back without holding the screen which is on a slider. I sent it back after just two months of ownership because after upgrading to WP7.5 the screen started to act oddly.They claimed that the strain on the screen damaged it and refused to repair or replace it under warranty - demanding $250.
Which brings us back to Apple for a moment - I bought an iPhone 3G and two weeks afters the warranty expired, the 3G radio fried. When I took it back, they refused service - but offered refurb replacement.. also for $250. I asked if I could pay extra and upgrade to the 3Gs, but they refused claiming that their agreement with the cellco prohibited that. You'll pardon me when I get annoyed at people who go on about how great Apple's customer support is and how 'they'll replace or repair broken devices, even if they're a little over warranty...' Riiiight.
So, yes, as much as I hate to say it - at the moment, Samsung is the least evil current choice....
But it's definitely not what I would call a great choice...
TheWerewolf said:
Apple is kind of the bar for support, quality and attention to detail, even with their recent decline in all three areas.
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Click to collapse
I totally agree. Part of it is because Apple's a marketing culture. They have always believed that pulling customers in with an excellent experience (h/w, s/w, content, support) and not relegating the control of the experience to others would lead them to loyalty, advocacy, scale, and profit. Looking at their market cap you can't argue with their approach. But their stock's dropped 20% since September while Samsung's been selling record numbers of devices and reeling in record profits. Samsung is no Apple and I don't think they'd ever be able to adapt that culture. But Apple's begun to bore people by sticking to their formula while everyone else is offering bolder more individualized experiences. The aging of Apple's demographic and adoption of Android by younger market segments doesn't bode well for Apple's future. At some point they are going to have to do something interesting and it isn't making the iPhone's display taller. Remember their famous "1984" commercial and the "think different" campaign? They've become what they used to parody.
I'm from Australia and thought much the same particularly with accessory availability. Then I moved to kenya of all places. Here Samsung is the undisputed champion. Nobody has an Iphone. Everyone has Samsung. Accessories are everywhere. All the major Supermarkets have a phone shop inside them and nearly all carry accessories en masse.
It makes an enormous difference to the functionality and usefulness of the product when you can do things like plug a flash drive into it or plug it into your TV. There are also many dedicated Samsung shops around the place. Although for some reason they seem to get the products later than the other retailers.
Samsung can definitely get it right in certain regions. I'm not sure why it struggles in others
Sent from my GT-N8000 using xda app-developers app
Simple, its what the public wants... Or thinks it wants...
Samsung have started to push out adverts here in Oz, especially S3 and SGNote 10.1, now when you rarely ever used to see their phones advertised. Apple was everywhere...
The shops are simply responding to what the customers want... Everyone was buying apple products, so naturally you stock Apple accessories with a few other brand accessories too. But if the lions share of customers want Apple products, why would you stock with only a few Apple accessories and have a whole heap of stuff you can't sell because the perceived market isn't there? That would be, from a sellers point of view, madness...
Until public opinion and buying habits shift noticeably then we are stuck with shops full of Crapple merchandise. When Android becomes a major seller, this is where standardisation is good, then we'll see the stock move to that area instead as profit drops for Apple stock... Unfortunately there's still a perception among retailers that Apple is an easy sell... That and the fact that there are a million different types of android tablet and phones out in the world, and there's only so many things they are prepared to stock while generally all Apple stuff fit or was useable by all apple customers... Until Iphone 5 that is...
The issue as I have always understood it has many sides. First Apple builds their OS for their devices, no one else gets it no other hardware can run it so they only have to optimize and remove features based on the generation of the device (3GS, 4, 4S, etc) and what will and won't work.
Now for Android OEM's they have a couple of challenges. First Google makes the OS and unless you are chosen for a Nexus launch you won't get the new OS in its finished state until after that (don't recall when JB 4.1.1 came out) so they have to wait.
Then the OEM's have to decide which devices can and cannot run the software based on the crippled (carrier specified hardware in the USA) so devices that are less than a year old get screwed over (HTC 2012 and 2011). Then they have to make sure their drivers work since not ever one of their phones (and tablets) uses the same processor or family of processors so we have Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Samsung, Intel, etc. Then the priority is always given to the latest hardware going out the door since you want your newest hardware to (hopefully) be running the most current OS you had in the pipeline, or in our case JB 4.1.1. Then they start to update for devices they can support.
Now what I see as a huge issue and is the heart of fragmentation is Google's failure to set standards and timelines from both the OEM's and Carriers (USA are the offenders here) to deliver the OS updates. Google should be collaborating with the OEM's to enforce software rollouts. They could also put forth some type of awareness campaign to insure users are in the know and can have an expectation from their carrier and OEM that they will get that update. Oh wait that was the Android Alliance crap announced last year that did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
For me I would be fine with my GN 10.1 and soon GN 2 running some iteration of JellyBean hopefully 4.2 so it has the enhanced security features etc.
BarryH_GEG said:
I totally agree. Part of it is because Apple's a marketing culture. They have always believed that pulling customers in with an excellent experience (h/w, s/w, content, support) and not relegating the control of the experience to others would lead them to loyalty, advocacy, scale, and profit. Looking at their market cap you can't argue with their approach. But their stock's dropped 20% since September while Samsung's been selling record numbers of devices and reeling in record profits. Samsung is no Apple and I don't think they'd ever be able to adapt that culture. But Apple's begun to bore people by sticking to their formula while everyone else is offering bolder more individualized experiences. The aging of Apple's demographic and adoption of Android by younger market segments doesn't bode well for Apple's future. At some point they are going to have to do something interesting and it isn't making the iPhone's display taller. Remember their famous "1984" commercial and the "think different" campaign? They've become what they used to parody.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just gotta say: iCustomers are snobby, horribly wretched, self-absorbed "high designer" wanna-be's. Apple's hw is far from impeccable, the sw is strangling. They're good at glamour (making something appear far better than it actually is). Samsung is unfortunately trying to cut into that crowd, and I think they'd do better to provide a strong counter position: a tablet that lasts for years instead of 6 months. A phone that makes it to the next upgrade cycle (like the gNex).
Early 20th century design principles (built to last decades-- ie heirloom quality) should be a global standard....yes I know I'm pipe dreaming here....
Apple IMO has made it difficult for Samsung to really get behind its own products in the US, but it's jot just apple, mobile device carriers have lobbied our government, fcc, and individual manufacturers to NOT release things like the p6800 or the n8000 because carriers want you to buy a phone AND a tablet with a data plan, not just a tabletnwith telephony hardware... so f***ing sick of our markets being manipulated by the big players, people don't even know that there ARE tablets available with telephony hw... blah...
Sent from my GT-N8013 using XDA Premium HD app
http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/10/3/4800914/htc-q3-2013-unaudited-earnings
The mobile market is fierce, it looks like small companies have no place in it ..
Nokia, motorolla, blackberry ..
Is HTC facing the same grim future ?!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ..
I would hardly call HTC small. Its a failing giant. While the HTC one is a great phone, its probably too late for HTC, just as its too late for Microsoft.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
So sad to see how a good company with a great product can not get back into the race. I thought that HTC with the One will have a small revenue but no. Once again it goes under appreciated
Enviado desde mi HTC One usando Tapatalk 2
http://www.t3.com/news/t3-gadget-awards-2013-htc-one-wins-phone-of-the-year
http://www.htc.com/www/about/newsroom/2013/2013-08-16-HTC-One-named-best-european-advanced-smartphone-2013-2014/
The company has had a streak of terrible products for years .. And this year they redeemed themselves with a GREAT phone .. But perhaps it's already too late ..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ..
If you haven't notice, all of the companies that only make cellphones haven't been doing too great (Nokia, HTC, Blackberry, Motorola...etc.), it really hard to compete with these large companies (Samsung, LG, Apple, Asus, Sony...etc.) because even if one of their smartphones doesn't do too great they still got their other products from other segments of the market to bring in revenue. Samsung's domination in the market is concerning though. Its never good to have one company dominating, especially for us consumers.
HiddenSanctum said:
If you haven't notice, all of the companies that only make cellphones haven't been doing too great (Nokia, HTC, Blackberry, Motorola...etc.), it really hard to compete with these large companies (Samsung, LG, Apple, Asus, Sony...etc.) because even if one of their smartphones doesn't do too great they still got their other products from other segments of the market to bring in revenue.
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Click to collapse
Its not the end of the world. The HTC One was the first stepping stone down a path of profitability. The HTC One was a success, but with that success you also need to cover the failures (their operating loss would be far greater if the One didn't do well).
With the launch of their next products, and so long as they stick with the positives of the One; improving upon them they will come back to profitability.
Their ship hasn't sailed just yet, Nokia and Blackberry have had abysmal performance for what seems like forever and are only now going the way of the dodo( and Nokia put up one hell of a fight with their devices, just bet on the wrong horse).
While true that many handset makers have other sources of income, they are also potential money pits (TV divisions for nearly all of them are in the toilet). Samsung is essentially the 800lb gorilla. They can design, manufacturer and market devices in a faster manner than the others since they can self produce most of the components as they have all that infrastructure in place. Only way to beat them, is to continually put out a stellar product that does what it should really well and better than the competition. This doesn't just go for HTC, but for any competitor.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
plznote said:
I would hardly call HTC small. Its a failing giant. While the HTC one is a great phone, its probably too late for HTC, just as its too late for Microsoft.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't speak for HTC but Microsoft is going absolutely no where. It's ridiculous to even compare Microsoft's situation to HTC's. With that, frankly, I don't believe HTC is going anywhere either. They are on a better road right now.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
I feel like the ad campaign for the One was quite lacking, especially compared to recent Samsung and Nokia commercials. The One is an amazing device, but (for the average consumer) if they haven't heard their friends talking about it, they're not likely to get it.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app
This actually makes me kind of sad.
I mean, I really really dont understand why the One is not getting the love by the consumers that it does by all the award titles.
What do the phone sellers do anyway? Shov the S4 up the buyer's throat and make them buy it?
Don't people read reviews on the internet before they head over to the store to buy a device?
The family of my girl is also the typical S4 buyer, where already 3 of them did.
Her brother got the S4 and had craploads of problems with it, he could have bought the S3 for that matter, he said.
I came in with my HTC One and showed all of them my device was superiour in every freakin way.
Four months later, the mother AND the sister are walking around with the S4 too...
I mean, WHAT THE HELL? Dont they listen?
Ah well, as long as HTC does not fall and the support for the device stops, I'm happy with it.
I've had the S2 for two years, and I were pretty satisfied. But every time I pick up my One, I get this "wow" factor.
I find myself just holding and watching the device, being amazed about the build quality, it just has no competitors in those terms.
Things will get worse before they get better in anything!
Beleive me I have given up smoking and my lungs feel worse than when i was smoking lol! They will however get better!
the One is a great basis to start on and if they keep churning out iphone killers like this, they will be going in the right direction eventually but it takes time! :good:
I wonder if things would be different if they added a physical home button.
knightblaze said:
The HTC One was a success
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Click to collapse
Sadly, it wasn't. Success is measured in sales and it grossly underperformed HTC's own estimates as measured by them reporting earnings below their own guidance in both Q2 and Q3; the two quarters where the One should have made a difference. They botched the One's launch and have also botched the Mini's launch. Because of production problems with the latter's casing they can only produce 200K per month. So now comes the Max which is selling for more than the N3 in China where HTC appears to be launching it first. It's got a .2" larger display and appears to be huge and heavy in comparison. HTC's finally starting to attack merging markets (which they should have done two years ago) but price is the biggest driver in those markets and HTC's components costs are now higher than their competitors due to their erosion in volume. Analysts' have a target price on their stock of NTD 100 which is shamefully low. When the stock nears that price someone will acquire HTC; most likely one of the Chinese phone makers.
The One was their last chance for a self-driven turnaround and in spite of it being a fabulous phone, HTC's best to-date, it was too little too late.
HTC has never advertised their products on TV enough in the US market, Samsung is on TV all the time. Also their reps get all the best in-store display space and have signs all over the stores. Advertisements sell the products.
Most mobile customers have never even heard of HTC.
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC ONE
jbh00jh said:
HTC has never advertised their products on TV enough in the US market, Samsung is on TV all the time. Also their reps get all the best in-store display space and have signs all over the stores. Advertisements sell the products.
Most mobile customers have never even heard of HTC.
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC ONE
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Click to collapse
The simple fact of the matter is that Samsung outspend them on marketing 10-1, not just this year but last. It is a matter of Samsung having so many irons in the fire. They are so diversified in so many areas that with slack in one area of their businesses they can push in another area. HTC have never had the resources to compete in the area of "mind share". They are singularly focused which is a bad thing. They grew exponentially but when Samsung got serious they simply outspent HTC, coupled with HTC missteps. Heavens, Samsung outspend Apple 3-1.
I really like my HTC One - the best phone I have had by a big margin. However, I do not see how they can arrest the attrition in their business without much bigger money behind them. As it stands, their margins are shrinking drastically. The only real hope for HTC is I believe with a "merger" (polite for takeover) by probably another Asian company. There is no such thing in this business as a "niche" cell phone manufacturer. R&D, marketing etc cost money and without economies of scale it is almost impossible to make good money and have good products.
I have been using HTC phones since VZW started selling them and feel that the One and DNA were the two best phones they ever made and neither ever got the advertising they deserved. I really hate to see them
fold up but I realize they don't have the resources to continue much longer. They can't fill the orders for the One or the One Mini. Ran out of the metal housings.
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC ONE
i read an article about HTC being aproached by microsoft. if that happens im turning oppo for sure
Windows phones are not selling now so that wouldn't help HTC.
They need to be bought out by a company with deep pockets that knows how to advertise.
Sent from my 4G LTE HTC ONE
Enjoy your last HTC device guys. lol
on a side note i was already thinking of switching to Apple iphone. Yeepee. So excited.
Poor production volumn, too high pricing, too late release date are the reasons.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/6/8351785/sony-xperia-z3-t-mobile-discontinued
Uh oh, Sony is now going to have a much harder time in the US unless it decides to do the Z4 on all carriers when it releases. I have the Verizon variant and I'm loving it but I'm shocked T-Mobile quickly decides to discontinue the Z3. I hope Verizon doesn't do the same although they're selling the Z3v for 99 cents on contract.
What do you guys think? Is there still hope the Z4 will invade the US market?
Does this mean no lollipop for D6616?
To be honest, no I don't think the Z4 will sell well in the US either even though it will probably be a great device. Even when I bought the Z3 I did not think it would really sell. It's not that it's a bad device, it's just that more people associate Android phones with HTC/Samsung/LG. Sony has not done much advertising and so not many people even know it exists. Everything I just said pertains more to the US than other countries, where Sony has a bigger footprint.
Just look at the HTC Butterfly how many people bought it? Even though it was higher end device than the M7 and also had a better camera. I loved it but it wasn't really advertised as much as the M7.
honestly, i'm not surprised. you can gauge how well a product is doing based on how many other companies want to piggyback on its success. When talking about phones, this usually means accessories, and if you compare it to the other smartphones on the market of the same price range, the adoption of the Z3 in the States was abysmal. You can't even go out a buy a nice case for it, even at T-Mo stores..
I agree with wprpalmeida and abhinav.tella. The whole branding for Sony smartphone is lacking in the US to the fullest. You will hear a lot about the new Samsung Galaxy, iPhone, HTC, etc. in the commercials. Everyone is familiar with these brands. I had Samsung Galaxy S5 or iPhone 6 users compliment on my Z3, but had no idea it was a Sony phone. Let me just say that if Samsung or Apple had done the branding and advertisement for Sony, Sony would be in way better shape.
Not only in US... Situation EU countries is similar.
I'm trying to find case for Z3 and there's nothing in Tmobile or other stores...
When I remember Z, Z1.... even Z2, stores were full of gadgets, cases and screen protectors.
You could buy many things on EBay and on stores but Z3 is very poor with accessories for this device...
Sony is losing this battle.... Unfortunately.
I really like Xperia devices but changes on Z3 and Z4 just aren't good enough.
New SoC, cool...but where's other things?
They are just moving speakers and hardware buttons around device...
I had Z1, Z2 and Z3 and I always had to look closely to make sure I took device I want...
Now I have only Z1 and Z3, I bought Note4 and it's exciting new thing for me...
It's not better then Z3, it's same as Z3 but it's something new for me...
But lets not spit only on Sony, all manufacturers are doing the same thing...
I guess we reached the point where we don't need more cpu power or memory..
We need better OS and battery...
Better battery we probably won't see but we could get faster updates and better firmware / software...
If Apple has hardware from Note4 or Z3 powered by iOS they would show what we actually have under the hood...
It's ridiculous to have more power in phones then in notebooks and see that notebooks are faster then phones.
And still they are on Windows?! [emoji14]
I'm thinking... We are probably close to see Android we'll have to pay and devices that are same for years...
Something just have to change..
"Batteries are getting worse" (ridiculously strong and fast SoC are killing them), screens are going into XXXXHD resolutions...
We need better OS, at least better optimised OS...not more power in cpu and gpu... God...I need smartphone, not GameBoy..
Manufacturers have to realised that or Sony won't be the only one who got shoe in the ass...
If that was reason (slow updates and same devices for a years) for Tmobile to cans Sony and their Z1 copies then I salute to Tmobile..
Z3 powered by Tapatalk
no good for me now buy sony z3
Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Free mobile app
Oh for MOD EDIT Rule 2 @gregbradley sake! Now with this news how in the hell are we gonna get the D6616 lollipop update now? At first I thought the Sony Xperia Z3 was a great phone and now with all this delays, discontinuations, no support for root, I'm never gonna buy a Sony phone again. The only reason why I bought this phone was because it had 3GB RAM and SD card and 20MP camera.
If I were to switch to another brand, every other one is crap too. HTC already failed to make a great camera on its M9. Samsung Edge and S6 have no support for SD card and is a copy of iPhone 6. Motorola doesn't make phones with the latest specs and an SD card. Sony is a complete joke, so who's left? The only one to make me happy is LG but that 5.5 inch is just overkill but its the only phone that has everything I want. There's no phone thats perfect for my needs.
Very sad, but can't really blame T-Mobile. 1st couple of batches on TMO were defective (spontaneous back glass cracks, fitment issues, etc.), then Sony themselves offer zero advertisement to move units. Word of mouth only goes so far. Every person I have shown this phone to (and its capabilities) is very impressed, but they always say "Xperia what?" They have already annouced support for 5.0 on TMO, so I'd be really suprised if they back out now.
hanime said:
Let me just say that if Samsung or Apple had done the branding and advertisement for Sony, Sony would be in way better shape.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung and Apple spend obscene amounts of money in their marketing campaigns. Even when the Z series could be a better product by objective standards, Sony just doesn't have the muscle power (the money) to let people know. Also Not sure how is elsewhere, but getting in bed with the carriers is crucial to sell your phone in the USA, only Apple is able to escape this fate.
abhinav.tella said:
To be honest, no I don't think the Z4 will sell well in the US either even though it will probably be a great device. Even when I bought the Z3 I did not think it would really sell. It's not that it's a bad device, it's just that more people associate Android phones with HTC/Samsung/LG. Sony has not done much advertising and so not many people even know it exists. Everything I just said pertains more to the US than other countries, where Sony has a bigger footprint.
Just look at the HTC Butterfly how many people bought it? Even though it was higher end device than the M7 and also had a better camera. I loved it but it wasn't really advertised as much as the M7.
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Americans are brainwashed by advertising, and so we know only what we have been programmed to believe.
danishdish said:
Americans are brainwashed by advertising, and so we know only what we have been programmed to believe.
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Brainwashed or not, if you want to sell a product in large quantities you have to cut through the noise. As mentioned, there is no incentive for sales staff to sell a product with little consumer knowledge when they have a more widely known alternative available. I believe that informed consumers will always be relative minority.
Yes, you are correct, which leads me to my other criticism of American retail. Many large retail chains employ people at low wages and provide very little training on their products. You couple an uneducated store clerk and uneducated consumer and you get a marriage of ignorance and misunderstanding of the product that the customer is purchasing. T-mobile, in my view, is selling the data plan, over the phone. That's their produc: the data plan. They couldn't care as much about the hardware. The feign ignorance so that you believe you need a new phone. Sheisters!
A said:
Brainwashed or not, if you want to sell a product in large quantities you have to cut through the noise. As mentioned, there is no incentive for sales staff to sell a product with little consumer knowledge when they have a more widely known alternative available. I believe that informed consumers will always be relative minority.
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Well to be fair, at least the store near me where I went for 3 exchanges (Z3) told me there were many others coming in for replacements as well due to defects cosmetic (gaps) or camera, apparently they received a bad batch/es... so low sales and high return rates generally call for a phase out or TMO will also be at the receiving end.
abhinav.tella said:
Well to be fair, at least the store near me where I went for 3 exchanges (Z3) told me there were many others coming in for replacements as well due to defects cosmetic (gaps) or camera, apparently they received a bad batch/es... so low sales and high return rates generally call for a phase out or TMO will also be at the receiving end.
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The store I went to touted the Z3. I wound up getting it by calling t-mobile and throwing the "I've been with you guys for thirteen years" flag, and they took $100 off. My Z3 hasn't given me any troubles... Yet. We'll see.
Did you buy it at launch? Some of the stores apparently got bad batches at launch, they stripped 10+ boxes in my 3 visits to TMO store, my current one is good though. Then again apparently even the iPhone 6 had many warranty returns at TMO lol, they told me that it would take time to process refund from my first Z3 exchange, because they were backlogged with returned iPhone 6s lol.
No root (and locked bootloader) killed the phone.
The latest update makes Galaxy-compatible headset works 100% with volume +-.
Frankly, I want to stay away from Samsh_t as far as possible, and though I am happy with LG G3, lacking band 12 may make me move on. No root makes me hesitant to get this phone because I need root to fix write to SD problem.
abhinav.tella said:
Did you buy it at launch? Some of the stores apparently got bad batches at launch, they stripped 10+ boxes in my 3 visits to TMO store, my current one is good though. Then again apparently even the iPhone 6 had many warranty returns at TMO lol, they told me that it would take time to process refund from my first Z3 exchange, because they were backlogged with returned iPhone 6s lol.
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What was bad about them? I'm curious.
Nathan-NL said:
What was bad about them? I'm curious.
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Well the first two had big gaps between screen and frame with glue missing / bits of glue visible (i think) and massive light bleed from there, one had a pink camera (mild), the 4th one is perfect (current one).
The electronic buying habit of the american public blows me away. Don't people research anything anymore? It's like we've become incapable of doing anything outside of the norm. Apple is making a killing selling a technologically inferior product because it's the cool thing to own now. It makes me feel like my fellow countrymen are just plain stupid most of the time. Plus you would think Apple invented big screens and NFC payments. Ugh....
And, most think Samsung is the only non Apple alternative.
---------- Post added at 08:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:21 PM ----------
danishdish said:
Americans are brainwashed by advertising, and so we know only what we have been programmed to believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
danishdish said:
Yes, you are correct, which leads me to my other criticism of American retail. Many large retail chains employ people at low wages and provide very little training on their products. You couple an uneducated store clerk and uneducated consumer and you get a marriage of ignorance and misunderstanding of the product that the customer is purchasing. T-mobile, in my view, is selling the data plan, over the phone. That's their produc: the data plan. They couldn't care as much about the hardware. The feign ignorance so that you believe you need a new phone. Sheisters!
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Click to collapse
It's borderline anti trust going on at the mobile phone companies. I'd like to see them completely removed from the phone buying experience. They have way too much influence. Seems we did this once in the old days when you had to buy your land line phone from ATT. You should be able to buy an American phone that covers all bands and then choose your carrier.