Smartphone Thunderdome (Samsung vs. Apple vs. Google etc.)

[photon]

Neither because neither are hatchbacks anymore!! BOO!

[MrMastodonFarm]

When people start making all these car comparisons to phones my eyes glaze over.

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by photon

If only. It's more about moral superiority over others because of what bothers each other about each type of phone.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by photon

And that doesn't answer the question, which is why it bothers you.

It bothers me, because if you look at the iPhone from a technical standpoint, it shouldn't be priced as freakin' high as it is. It should be closer to $500 or $600. But not $1000.

I have buddies that barely get by. Pay cheque, to pay cheque. Barely eat during the week. But when a new iPhone comes out, there they are...camping out and putting it on credit. "I'll make payments." Oh, ok...enjoy your interest payments. They're just like all these other people you see on the news. Seriously? Camping out for a phone?

Originally Posted by photon

And who's saying "It's the best"?

Many, many Apple users. I don't think I've ever seen Apple advertise "it's the best", but we've all heard "it's the best iPhone to date." "It's the best user experience." "Pixels, pixels, pixels!" Serious, how many times did they say pixels during the key-note?

I look at phones from a technical standpoint first, and then user experience. I guess that's why we look at it differently.

For me, the Android system offers the best value for what I need. Price point, customization, apps and technical specs.

But can you honestly say you're (and all Apple users) OK with paying such an exorbitant price for a phone? Again, I get how it all works together, syncs, etc, etc. But at what price point do you take a step back and say "OK Apple, this is ridiculous." ???

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

When people start making all these car comparisons to phones my eyes glaze over.

i can't believe you lasted this long.......some people are too serious.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

Agreed.



It bothers me, because if you look at the iPhone from a technical standpoint, it shouldn't be priced as freakin' high as it is. It should be closer to $500 or $600. But not $1000.

I have buddies that barely get by. Pay cheque, to pay cheque. Barely eat during the week. But when a new iPhone comes out, there they are...camping out and putting it on credit. "I'll make payments." Oh, ok...enjoy your interest payments. They're just like all these other people you see on the news. Seriously? Camping out for a phone?




Many, many Apple users. I don't think I've ever seen Apple advertise "it's the best", but we've all heard "it's the best iPhone to date." "It's the best user experience." "Pixels, pixels, pixels!" Serious, how many times did they say pixels during the key-note?

I look at phones from a technical standpoint first, and then user experience. I guess that's why we look at it differently.

For me, the Android system offers the best value for what I need. Price point, customization, apps and technical specs.

But can you honestly say you're (and all Apple users) OK with paying such an exorbitant price for a phone? Again, I get how it all works together, syncs, etc, etc. But at what price point do you take a step back and say "OK Apple, this is ridiculous." ???

Apple's superior customer service alone is worth the premium for me. I use my phone for my business and it's nice to know if something goes wrong I can get it fixed or replaced within a day. I find the iPhone to be the best telephone too, mostly because it handles Bluetooth flawlessly. I can't get visual voice mail on my Android phone but it's built into the iPhone. For me, it's a workhorse and pays for itself.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

i can't believe you lasted this long.......some people are too serious.

im not much of a car guy......so i am not good with all the car comparisons...............

[Wormius]

With the Apple experience, you're not just paying for the technical aspects, but a higher level of service as well.

With my HTC, I am dead in the water now. Sure I can root and play around with it. HTC and Google do not care about my user experience anymore. When I discovered (a well known bug) with the stock email app, HTC and Google weren't interested in fixing it. For one thing, the user base is dwindling for my particular phone and the version of the OS.. With Apple there is definitely incentive to fix bugs. A huge user base like that would riot (eg antenna and maps debacles that were resolved).

Apple also has the clout to push developers to create better apps. I think a lot of the apps that Android has are poorly tested on all platforms (how can they be?) and give wildly different experiences. Personally I am at a point where I want things to work properly and consistently and not glitch out because apps aren't playing nicely with each other, or with the hardware/OS that's on my phone / tablet.

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

But can you honestly say you're (and all Apple users) OK with paying such an exorbitant price for a phone? Again, I get how it all works together, syncs, etc, etc. But at what price point do you take a step back and say "OK Apple, this is ridiculous." ???

I've never spent more than $200 on an iPhone because I wait for my cellular plan to offer me an upgrade. I'm not that tech-savvy. I use an iPhone because that's what I started with when they first came out. I know how to use it and I have a ton of music in iTunes that I don't want to have to transfer to a new system.

My brother has been trying to convince me to go to an Android for a couple years now, but the way I see it: I have a phone that does absolutely everything I need it to do & more...why would I change to something else?

[FlameOn]

Battery life on the new iPhones tests are out. Not great apparently.



http://www.phonearena.com/news/Our-i...tition_id60920

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Why would anyone buy a 2015 Audi S3 when the specs say a 2015 WRX STI is cheaper has 10 more HP, a bigger engine and weighs less? Despite its disadvantages in specifications the Audi is faster in a straight line and on a track, gets better fuel mileage, much quieter inside, and doesn't have the interior of a $20k economy car. Raw specifications of anything rarely tell the whole story.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

It bothers me, because if you look at the iPhone from a technical standpoint, it shouldn't be priced as freakin' high as it is. It should be closer to $500 or $600. But not $1000.

Price is determined by the market, not by the specs. You can by a house that's way better than what you are living in now for far less in Detroit I bet.

(And purchase price is only one factor, I sold my original iPad 1 recently for quite a bit, bringing my TCO down.)

Not having access to Apple's or anyone else's books it's difficult to say what a company "should" be charging, Apple certainly puts more effort into some aspects of their devices compared to others which costs a lot of money. What does "should" mean anyway? That a company only be allowed to mark up their hardware by a certain amount?

I paid $100 out of pocket for my iPhone BTW.

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I have buddies that barely get by. Pay cheque, to pay cheque. Barely eat during the week. But when a new iPhone comes out, there they are...camping out and putting it on credit. "I'll make payments." Oh, ok...enjoy your interest payments. They're just like all these other people you see on the news. Seriously? Camping out for a phone?

Your buddies make poor decisions therefore the price of the iPhone is bothersome?

People camp out for things that make them excited, so what. Consoles, Harry Potter books, Pokemon games...

These are different now than your original reason for being bothered.

Are you bothered by human nature maybe? Because people are what make these decisions.

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

Many, many Apple users.

Sure and many Android/Xbox/Playstation/Ford/Henckles/Nike/etc users say the same thing about their product. Why is that bothersome? Half of it is because people actually like their products, half of it is a cognitive bias where people justify expending resources, and half of it is tribalism. This is a Flames fan forum for goodness sakes, being a fan of a sports team should be orders of magnitude more bothersome!

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I don't think I've ever seen Apple advertise "it's the best", but we've all heard "it's the best iPhone to date." "It's the best user experience." "Pixels, pixels, pixels!" Serious, how many times did they say pixels during the key-note?

Again what is a marketing material supposed to say? "It's crap but buy it maybe?" Samsung from their commercials "Filled with innovations". "The best screen we've ever created". "Snaps photos of twice the resolution of the iPhone". "First ever built in heart rate monitor". "Ahead of its time". "The company’s 5th generation Galaxy S redefines how technology innovation enhances our lives."

Marketing is spin and hyperbole, so what? Why is that bothersome? Watch the launch of a console, it's the same thing.

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I look at phones from a technical standpoint first, and then user experience. I guess that's why we look at it differently.

For me, the Android system offers the best value for what I need. Price point, customization, apps and technical specs.

That's fine, that's the best value for you. Other people have different values being bothered by that certainly doesn't seem reasonable.

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

But can you honestly say you're (and all Apple users) OK with paying such an exorbitant price for a phone? Again, I get how it all works together, syncs, etc, etc. But at what price point do you take a step back and say "OK Apple, this is ridiculous." ???

Loaded question is loaded.

The price isn't exorbitant IMO. You may think so, as you said you have what makes a phone good value for you. Others have different things that make the phone good value for them. Don't be bothered when the two aren't the same.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by pylon

It perpetuates the myth that every iPhone user is a Kool-Aid drinking cultist that blindly follows their dear leader company. They almost look like North Korean propaganda photos.

There is not one thing ground breaking about this new phone. Like many Android users have pointed out, everything is a re-hash of something Android has already done. But these people are acting like they just discovered plutonium, by accident. It's embarrassing.

This is the only real problem I have with the Apple fandom phenomenon. There are no more big leaps in the smartphone world, there are just one or two neat new features that one manufacturer will do on a new phone that the rest will copy. The only real advancements to be made IMO is still with the biggest weakness of smartphones since their inception, battery life. Yet even when a company makes a point of focusing on that and sets a record (http://www.phonearena.com/news/All-b...y-life_id60922) it hardly gets a mention in the media because the iPhone now has widgets

[cam_wmh]

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo, with huge fanfare Blackberry launched the Passport today.



...



...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle20718050/

[Igster]

Originally Posted by Wormius

With the Apple experience, you're not just paying for the technical aspects, but a higher level of service as well.

With my HTC, I am dead in the water now. Sure I can root and play around with it. HTC and Google do not care about my user experience anymore. When I discovered (a well known bug) with the stock email app, HTC and Google weren't interested in fixing it. For one thing, the user base is dwindling for my particular phone and the version of the OS.. With Apple there is definitely incentive to fix bugs. A huge user base like that would riot (eg antenna and maps debacles that were resolved).

Apple also has the clout to push developers to create better apps. I think a lot of the apps that Android has are poorly tested on all platforms (how can they be?) and give wildly different experiences. Personally I am at a point where I want things to work properly and consistently and not glitch out because apps aren't playing nicely with each other, or with the hardware/OS that's on my phone / tablet.

This is a well thought out response. This is a very good point. One of the reasons why I bought a Nexus is the fact I get Android updates straight from Google for a year and a half. No waiting for developers at HTC, Samsung and carriers like Rogers, etc. to release them.

The fact that iOS 8 is available to iPad 2 owners still, says a lot. I don't really like Apple or iOS, but I get why this experience is so important to some.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo, with huge fanfare Blackberry launched the Passport today.



...



...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle20718050/

WTF is that supposed to be?

[photon]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Battery life on the new iPhones tests are out. Not great apparently.

A few other ones (posted the anandtech one in the iPhone 6 thread):

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/iphone-6...ews-19591.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8559/i...minary-results

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

WTF is that supposed to be?

lolinorite

[photon]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Yet even when a company makes a point of focusing on that and sets a record (http://www.phonearena.com/news/All-b...y-life_id60922) it hardly gets a mention in the media because the iPhone now has widgets

I feel bad for Sony, they keep making great phones but hardly ever seem to get the recognition they deserve.

[undercoverbrother]

Please explain these "widgets"

[cam_wmh]

Fantastical thought of the day

"I wish apple made a windows phone."