At the NBR Chris Keall reports Samsung has sent notice of a product launch for March 2. He says there is an assumption the company will take the wraps of its Galaxy S6 smartphone. Geekzone’s*Mauricio Freitas also has an invitation.Samsung has not invited me.
That’s not as bad as it sounds. The last two Samsung product launches beamed into New Zealand live from the USA rate among some of the most excruciating and embarrassing product launches I’ve ever had to endure. Not sitting through that kind of torture is a blessing.
Samsung sells more smartphones than any other company. It makes nice hardware. The Galaxy S5 is one of the best Android phones you can buy. Samsung’s smartphones and tablets are fine. They should speak for themselves, but that’s not how*Samsung’s marketing works.
Instead the phone maker turns to*Broadway style tap-dancing, ham acting, outrageous sexual and racial stereotypes, and long-winded speeches about content deals that don’t apply outside of North America.
There’s other dodgy thinking. Samsung uses Android, but insists on overlaying the standard operating system with its own software, something that doesn’t make Android better but does make the phones a little less compatible with other Android devices and slow things down a tad.
Frankly the Galaxy S5 user interface is a horrible mess.
Samsung also loads up its phones with bloatware that no-one uses in the mistaken belief it is adding value.
Three statistics illustrate that the Samsung Galaxy S5 was not a success.
Filed under: Mobile Tagged: Samsung, smartphones
That’s not as bad as it sounds. The last two Samsung product launches beamed into New Zealand live from the USA rate among some of the most excruciating and embarrassing product launches I’ve ever had to endure. Not sitting through that kind of torture is a blessing.
Samsung sells more smartphones than any other company. It makes nice hardware. The Galaxy S5 is one of the best Android phones you can buy. Samsung’s smartphones and tablets are fine. They should speak for themselves, but that’s not how*Samsung’s marketing works.
Instead the phone maker turns to*Broadway style tap-dancing, ham acting, outrageous sexual and racial stereotypes, and long-winded speeches about content deals that don’t apply outside of North America.
There’s other dodgy thinking. Samsung uses Android, but insists on overlaying the standard operating system with its own software, something that doesn’t make Android better but does make the phones a little less compatible with other Android devices and slow things down a tad.
Frankly the Galaxy S5 user interface is a horrible mess.
Samsung also loads up its phones with bloatware that no-one uses in the mistaken belief it is adding value.
Three statistics illustrate that the Samsung Galaxy S5 was not a success.
- First, as Chris Keall says in his story, the Galaxy S5 fell 40 percent short of Samsung’s expectations. You can forgive a company for being a little optimistic, but being 40 percent off in a sales forecast is disastrous.
- Second, Samsung’s profits continue to drop. The company has told investors there’s a problem with increased competition in smartphones. Apple on the other hand is making increased profits from smartphones.
- Third, prices for the Galaxy S5 have fallen fast. When the phone first appeared less than a year ago the recommended retail price was NZ$1100. Today you can buy Samsung Galaxy S5 for NZ$650.
Filed under: Mobile Tagged: Samsung, smartphones