Samsung Falls 6.2% On Lower Poor Sales Of S4....which Begs The Question Of How Bad Apple Sales Are?.

[koala_bear]

spoken to a few people who said S4 was outstripping demand for apple phones.

I know a few Iphone fans who are going to get S4s when their contracts are up, but that isn't for another few months - I suspect this is quite common given the traditional apple product launch dates.

[thecrashingisles]

spoken to a few people who said S4 was outstripping demand for apple phones.

Apple will be fine. They're going to sue for royalties from Granny Smith.

[zugzwang]

The new Blackberry looks nice. Unlike the imposters at Crapple those guys know a thing or two about ergomomics.

[interestrateripoff]

You can have large phone sales when you have 12 or 18 month contracts as standard.

When you only offer 18 month and 24 month contracts you then have a problem when you realise a new phone yearly as possible 50% of your user base can't upgrade for at least 12 months + which means they'll get the S5 instead.

There is also the point of if you have an S3 that's working perfectly why would you upgrade it might make more sense to upgrade every other release.

If they want big sales they need to alter the tariffs but then I'm guessing the phone isn't economical for the phone companies to do on a 12 month deal without it being ridiculously expensive.

[Guest eight]

You can have large phone sales when you have 12 or 18 month contracts as standard.

When you only offer 18 month and 24 month contracts you then have a problem when you realise a new phone yearly as possible 50% of your user base can't upgrade for at least 12 months + which means they'll get the S5 instead.

There is also the point of if you have an S3 that's working perfectly why would you upgrade it might make more sense to upgrade every other release.

If they want big sales they need to alter the tariffs but then I'm guessing the phone isn't economical for the phone companies to do on a 12 month deal without it being ridiculously expensive.

My wife is in exactly this position. Sort of wants an S4 but has about six months left on her current contract + it will be quite a big step up in cost for what benefit?

[doomed]

You can buy a nexus 4 sim free straight from google for £250. This phone easily matches anything Samsung or apple offer at less than half the price. No rip off contract to sign either as companies like giffgaff offer much better value anyway on pay as you go.

[The Masked Tulip]

The new Blackberry looks nice. Unlike the imposters at Crapple those guys know a thing or two about ergomomics.

Apparently the next Blackberry will have free calls to the two Blackberry users - both Blackberrys will be attached by a long piece of string.

[The Masked Tulip]

I was on contract with an S2, they offered me an S3 but I went sim-only instead. I can't think why I'd ever need anything more than the S2, I also have a spare (Orange shipped two by mistake) so I should be sorted for a while.

My son has the S3, it's good but not worth £20+ per month of my cash

I like the new S4 but my S2 does the job I want perfectly fine. If I had to replace it I would opt to buy a phone outright and stay with giffgaff I think. Fed up with 18 or 24 month rip-off contracts.

[doomed]

how long do the batteries last?

I can get 2 days but I am not a very heavy user and run juicedefender app.

[Guest eight]

Apparently the next Blackberry will have free calls to the two Blackberry users - both Blackberrys will be attached by a long piece of string.

I've got a Blackberry but I can't see how they can last. They're like the Saab of the phone world.

[Damik]

You can buy a nexus 4 sim free straight from google for £250. This phone easily matches anything Samsung or apple offer at less than half the price. No rip off contract to sign either as companies like giffgaff offer much better value anyway on pay as you go.

or you can buy a S3 clone on AlliExpress for about £120 ... for extra £10 they can put the "SAMSUNG" on it ...

[winkie]

I thought the new toy was a phonepad with optional removable keyboard that you can fold up and put in your pocket to go.

[The Masked Tulip]

At the end of the year there will be a new advance(?) in mobile phones as they begin including the smartcard chip in them - basically allowing you to swipe your phone to debit your account... if you think that is a good thing...

So at the moment mobiles are basically where they were a few years back before GPS chips became standard in them. You could buy a phone one week and get locked into a 36 month contract with no GPS chip and then, within weeks, you could have all the added functionality of GPS.

Basically, since the S2 there has been no real major technology must have upgrade - processors have got slightly faster, cameras slightly better but no WOW factor on any of the major mobiles.

[bendy]

I was going to get an S3 but didn't then an S4, but now Intel have released the Haswell processors I'll see where that goes instead (I reckon if Intel start throwing their weight then ARM will go down the pan).

I do like the look of the ASUS padfone though.

[interestrateripoff]

or you can buy a S3 clone on AlliExpress for about £120 ... for extra £10 they can put the "SAMSUNG" on it ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jiayu&sprefix=jiayu%2Caps%2C226

You mean something like this?

Have you got one of these, are they worth buying I'm not on a contract so something like this would be an improvement on my current phone if they are "work".

[winkie]

I was going to get an S3 but didn't then an S4, but now Intel have released the Haswell processors I'll see where that goes instead (I reckon if Intel start throwing their weight then ARM will go down the pan).

I do like the look of the ASUS padfone though.

Like this?.....three in one, no sooner has one thing been released something else comes out...forever catch up unless you still have the mobile you bought many years ago because it suits to job requirements so no reason to change it.

[CentrinoDuo]

You can buy a nexus 4 sim free straight from google for £250. This phone easily matches anything Samsung or apple offer at less than half the price. No rip off contract to sign either as companies like giffgaff offer much better value anyway on pay as you go.

Software is not as good though. Call me silly but I like what Samsung does with Android. I converted from S3 to Nexus 4. It's faster but S3 has better software, screen, and camera. I miss my S3, but Nexus 4 is good enough for me.

[I ♥ spreadsheets]

I personally feel that smartphones have advanced far enough now that there is no need to keep upgrading to the best model. I have been running sim only for two years now with an HTC Desire-s and it's saved me a fortune. I purchased a new phone a couple of months back on ebay for £120.00 (unwanted upgrade!)...an HTC Desire-x. Nice sharp screen, dual core, Beats Audio...does me fine, and I'm a geek.

BTW, do people not think these flagship phones are a bit, er, bulky? I prefer a smaller phone, I have a PC at home!

[mk1mini]

I personally feel that smartphones have advanced far enough now that there is no need to keep upgrading to the best model. I have been running sim only for two years now with an HTC Desire-s and it's saved me a fortune. I purchased a new phone a couple of months back on ebay for £120.00 (unwanted upgrade!)...an HTC Desire-x. Nice sharp screen, dual core, Beats Audio...does me fine, and I'm a geek.

BTW, do people not think these flagship phones are a bit, er, bulky? I prefer a smaller phone, I have a PC at home!

I am of the same opinion as you. I have the Huawei G300, it is a google phone with a big enough screen and power for my requirements. I bought it direct from Vodafone for £80 and I am on a £10.50 a month sim only plan. I've rooted it and put on a custom software I've downloaded and it does pretty much everything I need. At some point I might buy a new handset, but until 4G really kicks off I don't see the point.

[57percent]

I've had a lot of luck over the years with phones. For some reason, every year or two (depending on the phone) O2 give me a brand new one for free, despite paying about £10/month.

However, on my latest 'upgrade' they've offered nothing other than starting a new contract with a phone. Two shops have said the old upgrade process where you renew and get a free phone is gone.

I've never got on with Samsung stuff. Always seems poor, plus bad software compared to others. HTC stuff is way better in my opinion.

[fluffy666]

I have an Sone Xperia T.. excellent screen that's good enough for web pages in desktop mode, good camera (13Mp), plenty of app storage (which was a real problem on my HTC Desire). It's about as big as a phone can get and still be classed as a phone..

My wife is due for an upgrade soon. Might get a Samsung SIII mini, unless anyone has a good suggestion for that size of phone.

[The Masked Tulip]

I was going to get an S3 but didn't then an S4, but now Intel have released the Haswell processors I'll see where that goes instead (I reckon if Intel start throwing their weight then ARM will go down the pan).

I do like the look of the ASUS padfone though.

Yes ARM will go down the pan as soon as Google and Apple completely rewrite their operating systems to run on Intel Haswells and Intel dramatically drops the price of its CPUs. If Google and Apple start rewriting today they should be ready in about 18 months to use Intels.

[The Masked Tulip]

I have an Sone Xperia T.. excellent screen that's good enough for web pages in desktop mode, good camera (13Mp), plenty of app storage (which was a real problem on my HTC Desire). It's about as big as a phone can get and still be classed as a phone..

My wife is due for an upgrade soon. Might get a Samsung SIII mini, unless anyone has a good suggestion for that size of phone.

Women seem to love the Galaxy Note. If I carried a handbag I would get one as I do more surfing on my phone than call making these days.

[PaulParanoia]

At the end of the year there will be a new advance(?) in mobile phones as they begin including the smartcard chip in them - basically allowing you to swipe your phone to debit your account... if you think that is a good thing...

So at the moment mobiles are basically where they were a few years back before GPS chips became standard in them. You could buy a phone one week and get locked into a 36 month contract with no GPS chip and then, within weeks, you could have all the added functionality of GPS.

Basically, since the S2 there has been no real major technology must have upgrade - processors have got slightly faster, cameras slightly better but no WOW factor on any of the major mobiles.

Most high end phones have had NFC chips allowing 'tap to pay' for the last couple of years. What's different about this 'smartcard chip' you mention. How will it be different?

I upgraded from S2 to S4 and feel it was worth it. Camera, screen and battery life are all twice as good. I agree that going forward upgrades are going to be incremental rather than revolutionary. I can see myself sticking with the S4 for quite some time .... assuming it doesn't break after a couple of years.

[Turned Out Nice Again]

Software is not as good though. Call me silly but I like what Samsung does with Android. I converted from S3 to Nexus 4. It's faster but S3 has better software, screen, and camera. I miss my S3, but Nexus 4 is good enough for me.

the N4 software is as good as you want to make it. that's the point.

the nexus phones were conceived by google as reference android devices, that is, they come with none of the layers (cruft) than manufacturers generally put in on top, eg. samsung touchwwiz or htc sense. most nexus buyers (myself included) prefer this as we can customize the interface. or not, to our own (not Samsung's) taste.

you can even flash a whole new firmware if you like, given that they also come with unlocked bootloaders and there is a vibrant dev community supporting this.

re. the screen, i believe the s3 is amoled and higher contrast, which again is not to everybody's taste.

the camera IS better from what i've read, but the N4 is no slouch. Have you tried out the HDR mode?

the S4 looks like a nice device but i'm not seeing how it's worth £350+ quid over the price of my N4 (more than double!) -- perhaps that's why they aren't selling?

Edited June 7, 2013 by Turned Out Nice Again