IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

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Winnow
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

After crowning Samsung as Apple's heir, analysts now rethinking their math

June 17th, 2013

Sales of Samsung's flagship Galaxy S4 are falling short of initial estimates as much as 30 percent, causing an implosion of $20 billion of the firm's market value as analysts reconsider their formerly rosy expectations.

A report by Reuters described cuts by a flurry of analysts in the face of "industry data pointing to a fast-saturating segment," the same concerns that battered Apple's share price last fall.

The report cited Byun Hanjoon, an analyst covering Samsung for KB Investment & Securities, as saying "I'd say most forecasters including myself had this conviction that they'll outperform again - because it's Samsung. They had beaten expectations before, which led many to believe they are bound to excel again with the S4."

Samsung announced having shipped a record ten million units of the new S4 to its global partners, beating its shipments of last year's S3 model with a number that was also compared to Apple's Initial sales of 5 million iPhone 5 units.

A report by Reuters described cuts by a flurry of analysts in the face of "industry data pointing to a fast-saturating segment," the same concerns that battered Apple's share price last fall.

The report cited Byun Hanjoon, an analyst covering Samsung for KB Investment & Securities, as saying "I'd say most forecasters including myself had this conviction that they'll outperform again - because it's Samsung. They had beaten expectations before, which led many to believe they are bound to excel again with the S4."

Samsung announced having shipped a record ten million units of the new S4 to its global partners, beating its shipments of last year's S3 model with a number that was also compared to Apple's Initial sales of 5 million iPhone 5 units.
Lackluster sales prospects going forward

The difference was that Apple actually sold 5 million units in its first three days across just 9 launch countries. Samsung's larger number related only to carrier shipments, not end user sales, and included 60 launch countries, with Korea, China and India among that number, all major markets Apple didn't reach with the iPhone 5 in its initial launch weekend.

Reuters incorrectly reported that Samsung sold those 10 million phones in its first month. Analysts caught up in the hysteria of the S4 launch initially predicted blockbuster sales of the device and continued momentum of sales, but are now backpedaling as actual sales data becomes available.""The S4, in reality, also lacks any real wow factor.""

The report cited analysts as pointing to "lacklustre prospects in Europe and [Samsung's home territory of] South Korea in particular," adding that "the S4, in reality, also lacks any real wow factor."

It cited a report by Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Bang, who wrote, "The Street, including Goldman Sachs, admittedly extrapolated the first-quarter earnings momentum through the year. This resulted in very optimistic earnings expectations."

Sales estimates by Bank of America Merrill Lynch have been cut by 5 million throughout 2013, but Reuters noted that "most analysts have reduced their estimates for S4 shipments to around 7 million units a month from their previous average expectation of 10 million."

Even the loss of 5 million units would equate to a drop in $1 billion in operating profits, the report cited analysts as stating.
Seeing what sticks as the buzz fades

In contrast, Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones in the most recent Q2 ending in March, beating Wall Street's institutional consensus of 35.86 million.

Samsung has been trying to prop up sales of the S4 by experimenting with a flurry of models sporting smaller screens, even larger screens, ruggedized coatings and a fancier camera.

The S4 is also accompanied by the Note phablet series and flanked by a wide range of low end models, many of which still run very outdated versions of Android. The more models Samsung produces, however, the more work it will assume in optimizing its designs and support across all of those produces.""I don't think there'll be as much buzz surrounding new product launches as it used to be.""

The company tried to warn analysts earlier in the year that it knew that easy sales in the smartphone market were drying up and that competition was getting tighter.

"The furious growth spurt seen in the global smartphone market last year is expected to be pacified by intensifying price competition, compounded by a slew of new products," the Telegraph UK wrote in January, citing a Samsung report that cautioned, "demand for smartphones in developed countries is expected to decelerate."

Going forward, analysts expect that "conservative forecasts will prevail," Reuters noted.

"Expectations for innovation have been lowered," Hanjoon observed, "and I don't think there'll be as much buzz surrounding new product launches as it used to be."
Next target for smartphones: the middle

Apple has so far focused almost entirely at the high end of the market, only ever offering one flagship model of iPhone and selling previous years' models as its entry level options. That positions Apple very similar to the point it was when it only sold one version of the iPod, just prior to releasing the iPod mini and nano models that rapidly ate up the lower end of the MP3 market.

Apple is widely expected to release a new lower priced iPhone model later this year, aimed directly at eating into the middle tier of smartphone sales.

Reuters noted that "mid-tier models," currently "aggressively" targeted by "Chinese rivals" is "a segment in which Samsung has relatively weak positioning," noting that the mid-tier segment "accounted for less than 15 percent of Samsung's total shipments last year."

Samsung also faces the threat of a broad U.S. import ban over multiple patent infringements, and two U.S. patent cases that involve monetary damages still being determined.

iOS 7 will force Samsung to redesign its software or look as old as last year's iOS.

Apple's significant new redesign of iOS 7 will also force Samsung to either come up with its own parallel refresh or end up looking dated with a variety of features and app designs and its an overall appearance taken directly from previous versions of Apple's iOS.
Oops, so much for that massive marketing Samsung dished out.

That 20B in market cap Samsung lost is Sony's entire market cap for comparison.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Kluden »

I still stick by the GS4 being a hell of a device. Its way more than 90% of the people out there would ever need in a phone. Mine is from work, otherwise I'd have rooted it already and made it that much better. But just stock with Verizon bloat, its still amazingly quick for a smart phone. The antennas and all that have amazing reception compared to other/older devices.

I also stand by that my GS3 rooted personal phone would not be worth upgrading to the GS4, either.

It probably also doesn't help Samsung that HTC launched their phone slightly ahead of the GS4, and by all accounts, its also an amazing device too.

As an aside, I will never feel bad for samsung/apple/sony/etc for failing at something, spending too much on marketing, etc etc...cause fuck them all, I don't really care, and have no brand loyalty. The only thing good about all this is how much it drives these companies to make better product for us consumers. We benefit more by all these companies doing well.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Chidoro »

Winnow wrote:
After crowning Samsung as Apple's heir, analysts now rethinking their math

June 17th, 2013

drivel and hyperbole from some appleinsider retard
Oops, so much for that massive marketing Samsung dished out.

That 20B in market cap Samsung lost is Sony's entire market cap for comparison.
that was a truly pieced together hunk of garbage article.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Apple’s iPhone has better quality than Samsung’s Galaxy

According to a consumer survey of 44,168 people, iPhone is the best smartphone. While that result’s likely to be a controversial among Android users, it’s probably not surprising to iPhone fans.
ho hum,..nothing we don't already know...except this part is interesting:
the survey was in Korea, the homeland of bitter Apple rival Samsung.

iPhones have few failures, Korean respondents said, with only 17 percent having any issue with their Apple smartphone, while 31 percent reported issues with Android-based Samsung phones. Samsung phones reportedly had significant battery charging problems and screen quality issues, while Apple’s troubles were related to touch or button malfunctions.
Cheap...plastic creaky goodness! Gotta love those Samsungs! Even the Koreans know better.

http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/02/iphon ... umers-say/
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Animalor »

I have a feeling the problems are more Android than Samsung. My Samsung Ativ S (Widows Phone 8) works great.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Funkmasterr »

I still have zero complaints about my HTC One for the record, wouldn't go back to an iPhone over this for anything.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Adding to Korea's love of the iPhone news above:
iPad Earns the Highest Consumer Satisfaction Rank for Tablets in South Korea Once Again

Apple’s iPad has earned the highest consumer satisfaction rank for tablets in South Korea’s National Customer Satisfaction Index, coming out ahead of Samsung and LG in their home territory. The rankings were reported by Kim Tae Woo of BetaNews. The NCSI started ranking products in the tablet sector in 2010 and Apple has ranked in first place for three consecutive years in a row since. This year, Apple’s ranking improved by 1.4 points or nearly 2%.
Koreans like iPhones and their liking of iPads is growing, not shrinking.


Add to that this bit of news:
July 5, 2013 SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd missed already modest expectations for its quarterly earnings guidance on Friday, deepening worries that its smartphone business may have peaked, as growth in sales of its blockbuster Galaxy phones begins to wane and new rivals emerge to eat away at its market share.
Guess outspending Apple by 4X on marketing isn't helping too much!

Add to that this bit of news:
Apple has an 'army' of new devices lined up for launch this Autumn, according to reports
Apple's been dormant for awhile now. New iPhone(s), new iPads and possibly other new products are on the way in a couple months along with iOS 7.

It looks like Apple has weathered the creaky plastic monster screen Android invasion quite well.

There's a concept iPhone out there that manages to increase the iPhone screen to 4.5 inches while still keeping the same form factor as the current iPhone...hmmm from 3.5 inches to 4 inches to 4.5 inches without having to make monster phones like Android? Add to that a much better hardware quality phone, and of course the better apps and solid iOS 7...sounds like something worth sticking with.

Image

If they manage to do something like that with next year's 6 release (not the 5s presumably releasing this fall), it would be great. I really like the size of my iPhone 5. So small and light yet built solid as a rock. There's been talk of an edge to edge screen for awhile.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Leonaerd »

I'm impressed with that picture. I will probably upgrade to i6 from my i4.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Funkmasterr wrote:I still have zero complaints about my HTC One for the record, wouldn't go back to an iPhone over this for anything.
Only 15 months in and support is already being cut on the HTC One S. It will not receive any more updates. Shit like that puts me off switching form ios, big time.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Funkmasterr »

I don't believe that will be the case with this phone, and as long as I get support for two years, I'm happy. I might not get another HTC phone after this, but I definitely won't go back to an iPhone.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Animalor »

Leonaerd wrote:I'm impressed with that picture. I will probably upgrade to i6 from my i4.
I'm fairly sure that's a fanboy mockup and won't come to pass in Sept 2013 or Sept 2014.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Boogahz »

Fairweather Pure wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:I still have zero complaints about my HTC One for the record, wouldn't go back to an iPhone over this for anything.
Only 15 months in and support is already being cut on the HTC One S. It will not receive any more updates. Shit like that puts me off switching form ios, big time.
iOS devices "cap out" too, but you don't notice because you're in the front of the line to upgrade to each new version
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Animalor wrote:
Leonaerd wrote:I'm impressed with that picture. I will probably upgrade to i6 from my i4.
I'm fairly sure that's a fanboy mockup and won't come to pass in Sept 2013 or Sept 2014.
It's definitely just a concept. Apple has done a good job improving the iPhone every major release 3, 4, 5 (every two years). They seem immune to pressure to make a larger phone. If they do eventually release a much larger footprint phone, they will have taken their time about it as common folk, analysts, sea monkeys etc were predicting the end of the world for Apple unless the iPhone 5 had a mega screen yet Apple made the lightest phone yet with outstanding build quality and it's sold at the normal insanely fast pace all of their other phones have.

The concept phone above is my personal wish as I really don't want a larger footprint phone if it can be helped. I've had enough time with the iPhone 5 to prefer it over the monster phones. Edge to Edge screens aren't a fantasy (either are the bendable screens Samsung has been working on) Apple has another year to get it done as the iPhone "5s" should look like the 5 if history repeats itself with a faster processor and some feature like Siri (probably finger print recognition) to separate it slightly from the 5.

There's really no rush to pump out a larger phone as iPhones still hold all of the advantages (best "Appmosphere", highest quality build, most reliable, highest user satisfaction, highest consumer retention, highest "oh shit, Android blows, I'm going back to iOS".

I'd like to see that edge to edge 4.5 inch screen with the iPhone 6 in a year. Bigger is better when it comes to screen size, not phone dimensions.

I don't have brand loyalty. I have "best product" loyalty. I equally pimp Microsoft and Apple for various reasons but it breaks down pretty simply to Microsoft Desktop World/Consoles, Apple Mobile World. I'm not rocking a Win8 Phone and hate my iMac that sits near me mostly as a 4th monitor for Netflix, iTune updates and other secondary crap.

Google now > Siri. I used to pimp Creative MP3 players as being much better than iPods. ATi/AMD used to be better than nVidia. Republican presidents have always been better. No government involvement in any marriage rituals and allowing civil unions between two...three or twently people that want them has always made sense with special laws for protecting kids. FoH was made up mostly of egotistical Ass-Hats while CT was where the actual fun was. OG was mostly drama (can't function with a super weak Leader) OG guild leader is like Obama...we're going to negotiate...do a deal...then we go home! CT was more like Bush (take your pick)...insignificant guild X is selling Ykesha's too high in North Freeport therefore we are justified in steamrolling them and taking all of their oil/dragon's loot. Russia/FoH tried to help them but just added bodies to the corpse pile and then bolted to leave the country/guild to rebuild/res itself.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Zaelath »

So you're just going to ignore the small issue of non-existant tech to achieve edge to edge screen and blather on regardless?

This is what marketing fucktards call an edge to edge screen: http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/k_n/Motorola-RAZR-i.jpg

What you have there is a festival of wank, might as well show me the unicorn that shits it out too.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Boogahz wrote:
Fairweather Pure wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:I still have zero complaints about my HTC One for the record, wouldn't go back to an iPhone over this for anything.
Only 15 months in and support is already being cut on the HTC One S. It will not receive any more updates. Shit like that puts me off switching form ios, big time.
iOS devices "cap out" too, but you don't notice because you're in the front of the line to upgrade to each new version
My iphone 3 from 5 years ago still gets updates. So does my ipad 1. Pulling support after 15 months is something Apple has never done with it's iphones, that is my point.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Zaelath wrote:So you're just going to ignore the small issue of non-existant tech to achieve edge to edge screen and blather on regardless?
Heyoooooooooo!

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget-s ... en-no-edge

Here are some shady pics (the dirt and old workbench surface they're on make them legit!)

Image

Image


from an Apple patent:

Image

Not sure what to think of a convex screen. The rounded back might work well for holding/gripping but I'd have to actually see the screen in person to determine if it would work. Probably one of several protoypes they're working on. While Apple is more concerned than other companies about appearance, they typically make functional devices. That said, Apple also is the company that was stuck on the "single button" mouse for way too long and infuriated me with their OS due to idiotic window resizing (could only drag the bottom right corner to resize, maximizing a screen did not maximized it, etc) It took them forever to implement ease of use features with OSX...and they STILL force you to go to the upper left corner of the screen to access app menus. That's Mac stuff though. They've been pretty balls on with iPhone hardware/software.

Apple has megabucks to invest in research so I wouldn't put anything past them.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Animalor »

The only problem with that faked up demo unit is that there isn't a home button. iOS 7 may be radically different but there is still no way to navigate the OS without it.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

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Animalor wrote:The only problem with that faked up demo unit is that there isn't a home button. iOS 7 may be radically different but there is still no way to navigate the OS without it.
Well the article says iPhone 6 using iOS 8 so it would be for next year, not the current iOS7 and 5s pending release.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Aslanna »

Animalor wrote:The only problem with that faked up demo unit is that there isn't a home button. iOS 7 may be radically different but there is still no way to navigate the OS without it.
iOS needs a Home button like Windows needs a Start button. It doesn't!
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Zaelath »

Here's another recent Apple patent article, which discusses a very familiar Apple patent (though they thought it was new when they wrote the story)

http://mashable.com/2013/03/28/apple-patents-smart-pen/

It's funny too, there's a LOT of articles with that curved image claiming to be from an Apple patent, a LOT, but no patent number. Very strange.... you know, like this one for the pen http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Par ... N/RE44,103

Curiouser and curiouser.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Aabidano »

Going further on the trend of being the platform with the highest rate of customer complaints! Looks cool! Doesn't work!
(admittedly from our local news that has shifted from obnoxious, rabid schilling of Apple in every newscast to what would seem like pushing Android by contrast)
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Fairweather Pure »

I'm eyeing a Lumia 1020 for my phone upgrade in the fall.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Spang »

My current plan is 500 anytime minutes and unlimited everything else for $40 a month. It's currently compatible with the iPhone 4s, according to Sprint.com. If the iPhone 5 is compatible after the 5s is released, I'll get an iPhone 5 at that time. If not, I'll get the 4s for free.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

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Verizon May Owe Apple $14B Over iPhone Sales Shortfall

The nation's largest wireless operator may owe Apple an astounding amount of money due to a pretty dramatic iPhone sales shortfall.

According to an investment research firm’s analysis of SEC filings, two out of every five smartphones sold in the U.S. this spring were iPhones. But that may still be insufficient to save Verizon from having to shell out a large sum of money to Apple for not selling an adequate number of devices to prevent the anticipated sales shortfall.

Verizon must sell $23.5 billion worth of iPhones this year to meet a commitment the carrier made to Apple three years ago.
That's awesome. Apple has the phone companies by the balls. 14B is how much dept Sony has while it's just a drop in the bucket of cash that Apple already has stockpiled, and Verizon can't ditch the iPhone or they'd be screwed as they still sell a ton of them.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Aabidano »

Expensive phone, even with a contract that requires an expensive data plan? No thanks!

Apple has done a simply amazing marketing job.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Aabidano wrote:Expensive phone, even with a contract that requires an expensive data plan? No thanks!

Apple has done a simply amazing marketing job.
I agree with the amazing marketing job but the phone is of excellent quality. It's expensive but it's not junk. As for data plans, I don't care. I pay 79/month for unlimited on AT&T but I think Sprint and T-Mobile are starting to offer some lower unlimited data rates if that's a factor.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Funkmasterr »

I have unlimited everything with sprint and after tax/fees/insurance/etc my bill is about 100/month. Now that Softbank bought Sprint - I'm willing to bet within a couple of years Sprint is going to be the best option by a long shot.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Animalor »

Winnow wrote:
Verizon May Owe Apple $14B Over iPhone Sales Shortfall

The nation's largest wireless operator may owe Apple an astounding amount of money due to a pretty dramatic iPhone sales shortfall.

According to an investment research firm’s analysis of SEC filings, two out of every five smartphones sold in the U.S. this spring were iPhones. But that may still be insufficient to save Verizon from having to shell out a large sum of money to Apple for not selling an adequate number of devices to prevent the anticipated sales shortfall.

Verizon must sell $23.5 billion worth of iPhones this year to meet a commitment the carrier made to Apple three years ago.
That's awesome. Apple has the phone companies by the balls. 14B is how much dept Sony has while it's just a drop in the bucket of cash that Apple already has stockpiled, and Verizon can't ditch the iPhone or they'd be screwed as they still sell a ton of them.
Except that eventually the carriers will drop the iPhone as it makes 0 sense for their bottom line to shell out this much money. The largest operator in Russia (MTS) has already done so and is instead pushing Android and Windows Phone instead.

I have no doubt that Apple will be changing these agreements to something less ridiculous if a lot of carriers are getting burned this badly.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Samsung has a history of consuming more storage than anyone else on their phones and tablets, but the Galaxy S5 is a whole new world of bloat. If you purchase a 16GB Galaxy S5, you’ll start off with just 7.86GB of free space.
Wow. That's out of control bloatware.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Kluden »

Yikes! But that's the reason to root these darn things.

My GS4 is stock since its my company phone, and the battery life is unbeatable. I can only imagine how nice it would be rooted. I'll probably pick one up for my personal phone once the GS5 comes out and knocks the prices down on the GS4.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Animalor »

Installing CyanogenMod on these phones is so damned easy now that they're an official Google partner now too. Download a client for your computer, one for your phone, a couple of clicks and you're done. No more ClockworkMod, no more SDK downloads. All one neat, easy package. And Samsung Kies makes it really simple to re-flash back if you need to get the stock image back on the phone.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Kluden »

So true! and on top of that Cyanogenmod has an update feature, so you can keep updating your versions and not have to wipe/install every time. Sadly, though, that has necessitated a slower release rate from CM. But like you said, they're so legit now, their "product" has to be professional. Its crazy.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Spang »

Spang wrote:My current plan is 500 anytime minutes and unlimited everything else for $40 a month. It's currently compatible with the iPhone 4s, according to Sprint.com. If the iPhone 5 is compatible after the 5s is released, I'll get an iPhone 5 at that time. If not, I'll get the 4s for free.
A year later and I've finally upgraded my six-year old Blackberry. Got the iPhone 5s and I got to keep my plan.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Fairweather Pure »

We have the 4S and we're comping at the bit for the upgrade this fall.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

I actually like the size of my iPhone 5 with it's 4" screen but my aging eyes don't agree with the rest of me.

Sounds like the 4.7" iPhone will be out a month of two before the 5.5" version. I'm thinking I might wait for the 5.5.

Presbyopia sucks ass (everyone will get it!). Anyone under 40 should be fine with the smaller versions of the iPhone.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Aslanna »

Back in 2011, Verizon started throttling 3G data speeds for the 5% of its smartphone customers who used the most data every month, even if those customers had so-called “unlimited” data plans. The company then killed off unlimited data in 2012, but existing plans were conditionally grandfathered in. In what appears to be an attempt to weed out the few remaining unlimited plans, Big V will soon start throttling 4G LTE data speeds for that top 5% of users.

As of now, users with unlimited plans and devices LTE-capable devices didn’t have to worry about being throttled, but the folks at Droid Life recently posted leaked information from Verizon Wireless indicating that this throttling plan would go into effect in Oct. 1.
Be aware, data hogs!
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Funkmasterr »

Yeah, I'm glad I left Verizon. I use probably 5+ GB per month, most of that just being streaming music. We've got these phones that do all this shit, but if you really start to use it the carriers want to charge you into the ground. Total bullshit.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Aslanna »

How about that awesome iCloud?
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Aslanna wrote:How about that awesome iCloud?
Dunno but Jennifer Lawrence is hotter than I thought. Typically celeb leaks are pretty boring but she holds up well to pr0n treatment. At least when iCloud gets hacked we get something interesting to look at!
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Animalor »

A few weeks ago I got pissed off with my Samsung WP8 device. Mostly around a few things that wern't working anymore under the developer preview and Samsung not mentionning anything at all about putting out an official update of the software.

I ended up buying a Lumia 635 outright. You can get it for approx 100-120$ in the US. A low end phone with specs that are not particularly great in paper. However, the thing has been fantastic. The screen of very nice and bright but the resolution isn't great at 854*480.

The phone is powered by a Quad Core Snapdragon 400 and 512 MB of ram but the phone doesn't studder or really skip a beat that I've seen.

The on-board storage is only 8GB however you can put in and SD card up to 128 GB for storage. Windows Phone 8.1 allows you to put almost all apps, music, videos, podcasts, photos and downloads on the SD card by default. The card becomes your phone's storage.

The phone has LTE and does wireless and bluetooth tethering. It also does Bluetooth LE, which is great for me as I can now sync my fitbit. The speaker is loud and clear and the build quality is solid and the phone is nice and non-bendy.

The only real weak point that I notice on this thing is the cameras. It doesn't have a front-facing camera and the rear camera is only 5MP and has no flash. Daylight photos are servicable, nighttime photos are grainy. I never bothered with selfies or video calls on my phone so that doesn't bother me as much.

All in all, it's a really solid device if you're looking for a phone on a budget or want to avoid crazy, long term contracts.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Microsoft sues Samsung over the interest on billion-dollar patent payments

Microsoft had over a billion reasons (per year) to pursue a patent licensing deal with Samsung back in 2011 over the latter's use of Android. That fact is laid bare by a lawsuit today over the interest on payments (based on the number of Android devices sold) that are supposed to flow from Korea to Redmond. Re/code posted the unsealed lawsuit this evening, showing how despite the existing deal, Microsoft's purchase of Nokia last year lead to Samsung holding up its payment for the second fiscal year of the deal, and then refusing to pay interest on it. All of that is according to Microsoft, which also claims Samsung is threatening to hold off on paying its end for the third year of the seven-year deal. The documents reveal Microsoft's patent licenses cover some 80 percent of the Android phones sold in the US (up from 70 percent in 2012), and that the deal includes provisions for Samsung to lower the amount owed by developing and marketing Windows phones and tablets, and for Microsoft's use of Samsung patents. The amount in question? A paltry $6.9 million, although a decision on whether the deal will remain in force going forward is clearly worth more than that.
While Samsung has terrible sales quarters and continues to bash Apple in childish Galaxy Note commercials, Microsoft is absolutely raping Samsung and 80% of all Android phones sellers in patent payments while Apple sells iPhone 6+'s faster than it can make them.

Life is good for the mega American tech companies! Microsoft could sell nothing and still make billions a year.

It'd be great if Microsoft pulled their patent deal due to breach and fucked Samsung over. I'm sure Apple wouldn't mind and would maybe slip them a billion or two to do it.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Kluden »

I gave up on my Samsung Galaxy S3 this weekend (not the phones fault, actually) because Sprint is the worst service known to man. But since I couldn't take that phone over to Tmobile/AT&T (fuck verizon), I had to buy a new phone.

Not wanting to pay apple/samsung/LG off contract prices, I went with a OnePlus One. I've been running Cyanogen on my SG3 since the day I got it, so I'm a big fan of Root/CM ROMs.

Its a big phone, but what sold me on it was actually the iphone 6+. Its the same size as the oneplusone, so after fondling the flimsy apple model, and was cool with the 5.5" screen and phone size, I went with an android counterpart that wasn't $600 to $900. OnePlusOne cost me $350 for a 64gb model...can't fkn beat it for an off contract unlocked GSM phone. Was looking at the Nexus 5 as well, but with the new nexus coming out, and it looking to be 6", I didn't want to wait any longer.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Kluden wrote:so after fondling the flimsy apple model, and was cool with the 5.5" screen and phone size
Just curious, what did you find "flimsy" about it?
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Kluden »

Winnow wrote:
Kluden wrote:so after fondling the flimsy apple model, and was cool with the 5.5" screen and phone size
Just curious, what did you find "flimsy" about it?
Just a jab at bendgate :) I can see how it bends easily in a back pocket or something and you sit on it accidentally, etc. Its basically "too thin"...but that, in my mind, helps because I put cases on my phones, and a super thin phone is just normal size once in a case.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Funkmasterr »

To me, that's stupid. I didn't buy a ridiculously expensive, great looking phone to hide it inside of a massive case. I haven't used one at all for my One, I've dropped it quite a few times, and there are a couple of really small spots where it's nicked, but not even noticeable unless you're looking for it.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Winnow »

Funkmasterr wrote:To me, that's stupid. I didn't buy a ridiculously expensive, great looking phone to hide it inside of a massive case. I haven't used one at all for my One, I've dropped it quite a few times, and there are a couple of really small spots where it's nicked, but not even noticeable unless you're looking for it.
There's a benefit to cases with Apple products as you get good money for them after a few years of use. I got a hassle free $200 for my iPad 1 and $200 for the my iPad 2 and $200 for my iPhone 4. All of which I would have just let rot and eventually thrown away. I can't do that with my iPhone 5 since I dropped it without a case.

I ended up getting my iPad Air for $400 less by turning a few iPads. Other companies like Microsoft offer deals for iOS products as well since they are desperate.

On the iPad 6+, a leather case makes for a better grip and looks fine.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Kluden »

and I work in construction. Cases are a must. Drops occur frequently. So yeah, its stupid, but for some of us, necessary. I would prefer to just use my phone too as is.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Leonaerd »

The case I'm getting:

Image

Leather, world map, spine.

It doesn't ship until the 18th. I'm excited!
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Kluden »

So, funny thing happened Tuesday. Dropped my SG3 for like the 999th time...and apparently 999 drops is the limit for that phone. The digitizer busted on the fall. Not the end of the world, as I was dropping that phone and crappy sprint service when my new phone arrived...problem was didn't have the new phone yet.

So I went full ghetto. I am now an owner of a lumia windows phone on Cricket while I wait for my oneplusone.

Its not too bad, windows phone OS. I can't figure out how to make Cortana talk like in the commercial, but its really smooth operating system. I prefer android still to it for flipping between apps etc, but for what it is, I would say its a very nice OS. Just as simple as iOS.

Anyone else on cricket or straight talk, or one of the other pay as you go AT&T tower serviced companies? I'm thinking of just sticking with Cricket for my new phone and throwing the sim card in it when it gets here next week.
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Re: IPhone 5, Galaxy SIII or Other?

Post by Canelek »

Windows Phone OS is fine. I liked it. My only gripe is that there are just not many good apps available. Sure, there are a ton of knockoffs like Google Maps that are riddled with banners and donation screens. If MS can get a market share and folks actually want to develop official apps, they will be doing well.
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