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Talon

Member
I'd agree, but I need to see what the iPhone 5 brings.

It was easy with the iPhone 4 because it basically was the exact same thing as the 4S just older in most people's minds. I'll be interested to see how the 4S does at $99 if the iPhone 5 seems like a bigger step up.
iPhone 4 is going to murder at $0 on contract. Absolutely murder.
 
That new RAZR phone brings up a good point I think.


If it's not a flagship phone, should we even care?

I mean

Galaxy Nexus (Insanely Great Stock Android)
RAZR MAXX (Insane Battery)
HTC One X (Insane Screen)
Samsung Galaxy SIII (Insane Everything Else)


BOOM, only phones to care about in Android ever (until the next flagships)


I mean there are some insanely great deals from Amazon, Walmart, Radioshack, etc...



Why do I care about qHD 4.3 inch Razr M? I dunno, with the good deals i feel like there shouldn't even be a mid-market.

Only low end (read: free w/ contract) and Flagship, that's it.

indeed, for contract peeps, only free w/ contract and high end should matter. seriously, who are these people that get $29-149 w/ contract devices?






That thing is basically the Atrix HD, and it's coming out later. Plus the Atrix HD launched at $99 already anyways.

At this point I just don't see the reasoning behind it.

PS: One thing that Sammy gets right is they don't fuck around with a ton of phones. They just create one phone, and then release that on all carriers. They learned that's better with the GS2 verses different things with the GS1. Most companies need to follow suit, and have just 1 phone or 2 (if they want a high and a low) and just have the same thing across all carriers.

Samsung creates a lot of low end and mid-range phones! just this week the Stratosphere II news dropped!






I have said it before, right now your mid/low range phones doesn't matter. All it matter is your halo flapship phone. If you don't bring you A game and load it up in your halo phone, the rest of your line up won't sale.

LG and Sony still don't get this. Motorola probably get this, but they are in transition so I will cut they so slack. They didn't even bother to make a flagship phone this year.

mid i'd agree, but low DEFINITELY matters. #1 selling Samsung phone = Galaxy Prevail, free w/ contract, $199->99 prepaid





Apple has the right idea of make only one phone model a year and drop the price when next year's model is out.

when they sell more phones than Samsung without the aid of injunctions, maybe i'll agree... wait, no, i still won't. not when they continue to make phones with no HWKB.





This has always been the case, hasn't it? Nokia and sony ericsson of olden times always had flagships to get people looking at the brand even if those were the consumers who purchased lower end phones. The problem with low margin low end phones now is it's too difficult to compete with Chinese companies that can offer dual sim models at half the price.

Bootlegsnackz, you may think that none of these non-flagship phones matter, but the biggest selling galaxy phone so far in the states was a prepaid variant, wasn't it?

As far as Samsung releasing the same GS3 on all carriers, it has less to do with Samsung "learning" that it would be more successful than it does earning the ability to do so from the carriers. American carriers always have to stick their hands in any phone that releases on their network, and I guess samsung's line was successful enough that it's finally getting marketed on its own terms rather than as the "sprint hyper epic galaxy S3 touch" it truly is a milestone for them though in terms of brand identity here.

what's funny is the Sprint super long name versions of the GS1 and GS2 sold the best!
 

rozay

Banned
Faceless, you're absolutely right that picking the mid-tier phones on american contract prices is a waste, especially when the high end phones will appear on sale after some time. My at&t contract is only worth it for buying the phone with the highest resell value (the iphone of course) and flipping it.
 
The Optimus G looks damn good:

lP0gH.jpg


http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/28/lg-optimus-g-quad-core-lte/
 
It's still an LG though. Until they make the commitment to keep their phones updated in some kind of timely fashion their phones aren't worth bothering with.

Not only that but it is using the APQ version of the Snapdragon S4 processor which means it is going to be very battery hungry when paired with a radio/modem. There is a reason why both HTC and Sony are not releasing phones with the APQ8064. Who wants a phone which can be used for less than 4 hours before it needs charging?

The most balanced phones this holiday season are going to be the Galaxy S3, Xperia T, iPhone 5 and One X which combine battery life with a decent enough spec sheet. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple make the jump from A9 to A15 instead of quad core to save their battery life, they won't have as much internal space for a large battery like the One X and Galaxy S3, so quad core will come at a large cost for Apple.
 
Has any phone been released with this SoC previously?

The Xiaomi M2 has been announced with it, but so far nothing that has released to consumers. That HTC and Sony (Qualcomm's largest customers for fully integrated SoCs) have stayed away does not bode well for phones that have taken the plunge.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Apple has the right idea of make only one phone model a year and drop the price when next year's model is out.

I prefer Google's idea of releasing one model per year, steadily dropping the price of that model throughout the year, stop selling that model when next year's model is out and yet still giving the old model all the software features and updates available afterwards.

Are there any software features available on the Galaxy Nexus and artificially crippled on the Nexus? Can't think of any.

Apple, on the other hand, feels pressurized to reserved particular software features for the new model to differentiate it from the old model that's sold at a reduced price.

There have been suggestions that Google will keep selling the Galaxy Nexus after they introduce new models later this year. If that does happen I'll be curious to see if they handle it differently from Apple.

(NB: this is from the consumer perspective. I'm not particularly arsed on which company makes the most money by either strategy)
 

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
Um:

gsmarena_001.jpg


Samsung has released yet another edition of its Galaxy S II former flagship. A special crystal-studded version is aiming to attract some more female customers to the Samsung camp.

The new edition is set to feature white leather back panel covered in exactly 129 Swarovski crystals.

Besides the added bling, the Crystal Edition is the same Galaxy S II we’re all familiar with, featuring a 4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus screen, dual-core 1.2Ghz Exynos chipset, and an 8MP camera capable of shooting 1080p video.

The device will be shown off at the IFA trade show in a couple of days, and is set to be available starting in October at €599.

http://www.sammobile.com/2012/08/28/the-galaxy-s-ii-crystal-edition/
 

Donos

Member
Are you saying it looks like an iPhone?

I don't care about who copied what and i don't like the shape of the SGII (but i guess as Apple has the "black rectengular slab" under lock, everybody else should start making triangular phones :) ).
For me the back of the LG has a similar "structured" surface as the SGII.
lP0gH.jpg
3Sw6H.jpg

The small corners of the Optimus look more similar to the SGII than IP4 (since they are both bigger). They are both still to angular for my taste.
But hey it's just my impression. We also had a lenghty thread here (or engadget had an article about it, don't remember anymore) how there's not really much room left for smartphone shapes.
Sony and to an extend Nokia are showing that you can still design different sexy phones.

For me, Galaxy Nexus and One S are still the best in terms of look and feel (while holding) for me.



I just got back from a shopping center where they have a stand where you could make this for 15€ (while you shop). That 599€ is a good joke.
 

Futureman

Member
So if my phone is locked and I get a Google voice text, when I pull the notification shade down from the lockscreen the notification disappears and I need to unlock to go to G-Voice. This doesn't happen with Gmail. Any idea? GNex 4.04.

Also, Weather Eye hasn't been able to update my weather for the past few days? Known issue?
 

cube444

Member
The Adreno 320 is over three times faster than the Adreno 225 found in previous Snapdragon processors, giving gamers an enhanced experience with faster frame rates, smoother play and support for higher HD resolution displays.

That LG Optimus has some balls.
 

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
game-pad.jpg


Archos already has its hands in the kiddie-tablet market, with its 7-inch Arnova Child Pad, and it's taking on the productivity-minded crowd with its keyboard-toting 101 XS. Now the company is going after another niche segment with the just-announced GamePad. The 7-inch slate runs Android 4.0 with a dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz and a quad-core Mali 400 MP GPU, and it sports physical gaming controls in addition to the standard touchscreen. Archos includes its own "game recognition and mapping tools," which ensure that the physical buttons are compatible with Android games that use virtual controls (some 1,000 titles are apparently compatible with the GamePad at this point). Of course, this is an internet-enabled device as well, and it will include full access to the Play market and WiFi connectivity when it goes on sale at the end of October. Other specs include 8GB of internal storage, plus a microSD card slot that adds up to 64GB. There's also a mini-HDMI connection for outputting content to your TV. For now, Archos is only announcing pricing as "less than €150", and the device will drop in the US and Europe at the same time. For now, the below-the-break press release will have to satisfy your curiosity.

Show full PR text

it looks like something
 

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
Tablet S announced:

xperiatablets02frontrightwatchnowscreencropped.jpg


Looks like those leaked slides showing Sony's Xperia-branded tablet were right about pretty much everything. (Well, everything except the price, anyway). The company just formally announced the Xperia Tablet S and, as rumored, it features a Tegra 3 chip, Android 4.0 and up to 64GB of built-in storage. Like last year's Tablet S, it has that distinctive folded-over magazine shape, except this go-round it's made of metal, and measures between .35 and .47 inches thick (the weight, too, has dropped to 1.26 pounds, down from 1.31). Sony also kept the Tablet S' IR emitter, which allows the tablet to double as a universal remote, and this time you can program shortcuts to do things like watch sports. Rounding out the spec sheet, there's a full-size SD slot, a 1,280 x 800 IPS screen and a 6,000mAH battery promising ten hours of runtime.

As we mentioned, the tablet will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, but Sony is promising an upgrade to Jelly Bean as soon as it can optimize all its custom apps. And indeed, there are quite a few specialized applications here. For starters, there's a new Watch Now app that allows for live TV-viewing (cable subscription required), with the option to "check into" shows and share comments on Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, Sony added a Guest Mode that lets you create custom user profiles, forbidding the use of certain apps -- a handy parental control tool, we say. Naturally, Sony also threw in Music and Video Unlimited, where you can buy content from Sony's vast movie and song catalogs. Finally, the tablet comes with 5GB of space in PlayMemories, Sony's new cloud storage service.

The tablet will be available September 7th, though Sony is accepting pre-orders starting today. It will start at $400 for the 16GB model, with the 32GB going for $500 and the 64GB for $600. And yes, as those leaked slides indicated, there will most certainly be accessories. For starters, there's that optional keyboard we heard about, priced at $100. There's also a three-position stand, with HDMI output and a USB adapter for a charging. That, too, costs $100. Sony is also selling a charging cradle ($40), a plain-Jane stand ($25), a dock speaker ($130) and a carrying case, priced at either $51 or $80, depending on whether or not you get it in leather. We very much expect to get some hands-on time at IFA, so stay tuned for first-hand impressions.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
So I forgot Firefox for Android also updated with the desktop version this week. (Google why aren't you doing this WTF). 15 seems to finally add in copy and paste as well as some other functions. Plus it has a new Tablet UI.

IDK... If Mozilla keeps updating FF and Google does shit to Chrome I might switch.
 

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
note2c.jpg


Thanks to a tipster, we’ve been handed the official press release for the Galaxy Note II, which is expected to be announced at IFA 2012 in just a few hours. The display of the Galaxy Note II will be 5.5″ and 1280×720 resolution (granting it a true 16:9 aspect ratio, but with lesser resolution than the original Galaxy Note which had 1280×800 pixels). Like the original Note, the display will be an HD Super AMOLED panel. The device will feature a 1.6GHz quad-core CPU (the type is not specified, but we’ll put our money on the Exynos) with 2GB of RAM and an 8MP camera on the rear and a 1.9MP camera on the front. It’ll be powered by an even-larger 3,100mAh battery (the original Note was 2,500mAh). Despite the larger battery, the Note II will be slightly thinner than the original at 9.4mm versus 9.65mm, but it’ll be heavier by 2 grams. It’ll be available in 16, 32, and 64 GB configurations and will have microSD expansion. In terms of wireless connectivity, the Note II will feature HSPA+ 21mbps, plus 4G LTE depending on model. It will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. In terms of availability, the Note II ships in October in Europe. It will be available in Marble White or Titanium Gray. No word on pricing or US availability.

Beyond the specs, the Note II brings some new functionality to the table in terms of the S-Pen feature. To start, the new S-Pen is longer, thicker, and features an improved design to be more ergonomic. There is a new feature called Air View that “allows users to hover with the S-Pen over an email, image gallery, or video to preview the content without having to open it.” And, just like Popup Play which lets you watch a video while doing another task, Popup Note lets you keep a note on the screen while using another application. There’s also a new feature called Quick Command that is accessed with an upward swipe with the S-Pen; doing so will reveal a menu of quick commands to send someone an email, make a call, or do a search. Finally, the Note II has a Screen Recorder function that lets a user record a demonstration of how to use an application, for instance.


(Gigantic pic for emphasis)
 

Kiraly

Member
The new Xperia V looks good. The J is automatically worthless because of the single-core (One V mistake), at least for me.

Might even go for the SL because of the fantastic sytling and Krait-core.
 

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
The new Xperia V looks good. The J is automatically worthless because of the single-core (One V mistake), at least for me.

Might even go for the SL because of the fantastic sytling and Krait-core.

Why does the V have a better processor than the flagship T?

Sony logic

It took me a while to figure this out:

Xperia TX= Arco S
Xperia T = Mint
 
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