Saturday, September 22, 2012

IPhone5 vs the Samsung Galaxy S3

The eternal market illusion fight...for some reason WWF just popped in my mind.
There is a reason for me not writing "The eternal battle". The reason is that there is no fight if, instead of placing a fighter against each other inside a ring under controlled environment, you just place them in front of a TV screeen and brag their strong point off at one another.
In a true fight, each fighter has to be in the same weight class and age class or it would be an annihilation instead of a fight. Today's iPhone vs Samsung Galaxy is a fight as such. It's unbalanced as it was back when apple launched the iPhone. It's just inverted it's way through time...and it's all apple's fault.

iPhone 5 = iPhone 4s = iPhone4 = iPhone 3 = iPhone 2 = iPhone
And the 4 to 4s "evolution" is so stupid that they might just drop their act and call today's phone the iPhone sssss!

The first iPhone WAS a clear evolution to all smartphones and I'm grateful for Apple cause they kicked off the actual smartphone revolution. But that's just about it. The phone was good for being able to gather in on package several good ideas that weren't even developed by apple, but they had the vision to pick and integrate in a good product. This is an important part.

A lot of people talk about the apple better and unique design...sure-thing

Still on the Design, the iPhone was a copy of Samsung F700, launched a full half year earlier than the first iPhone.


And a lot more talk about the grid-like icons...that Nokia also had years before the iPhone and ERICSSON with the M610i, Pli and p700.
And more will say that the IOS is the thing... well, IOS is the cut-down version of famous MacOSx. Now the OSx is a brilliant concept. Apple decided to cut down hardware and software production costs in able to free resources for the concept team. So they done a very bad thing (they switched to the crappy intel platform) abandoning the mighty RISK architecture, but an excellent thing developing the MacOSx on top of the UNIX FreeBSD Kernel. So while Microsoft was making a "crusade against" opensource, apple went right the opposite way. Apple realized that what they were actually good at, was the Graphical User Interface and the conceptual Look&Feel thing. So they grabbed a robust and efficient Kernel (the FreeBSD) and built on top of it. Brilliant, but ultimately an improved copy of something that wasn't made by them.
Still on the IOs subject, the slide menu navigation that make the user love-it so, was present in the very first AndroidOS preview 1...and that was released 3years earlier.
Some will say that the "Slide to answer" is an apple improvement, but 2 years earlier than the iPhone, any device running Microsoft Windows CE platform would do that :S. You see, apple designs good GUI's, but Microsoft conquered the world precisely by building good GUI's. And in mean time, even managed to save apple from bankruptcy.
This goes on and on... The SIRI? Ever wondered why the IRIS was so fast to surge against it in the Android market? Well, because the code was already present in the XIAOI BOT android app...since 2010!?

Conclusion: Apple is excellent copying separate ideas from others and integrating them into a full winning product.


So back to the text:
From that point in history forward, the iPhone is just something with no place. As time passed, apple developed it into progressively smaller steps and maintained or increased the cost.
Today, it costs twice as much as it should and delivers half as much as it should... so in comparison with the android rivals, the iPhone is a merely 1/4th of what others are offering.

Is the S3 perfect?
No. There is a big problem with Samsung High end phones: they are over priced. Not twice the price as they are worth in hardware (like anything from apple), but still a good 20 to 30% over price. It's getting trendy and the market trends are a stupid reason to make necessary profit.
Back in the iPhone 4S vs Galaxy S2 war, I used to advise people to buy the LG Maximus X2. It has the right price for the hardware.

So S3 vs iPhone? yup that's right... the question is also the answer. There is no iPhone5, it is just a repacked, overpriced iPhone.
It's got no chance against the pinnacle of android phones evolution to date.


So why does the iPhone sells? Because human beings are in their majority strangely illogical.
Why does Gucci shoes sell? you can buy a set of Nike for 1/100000000th of the price. You would run better, walk better, feel better and your bank account would be infinitely better.
Gucci sells because it's Gucci and for some reason some hollywood star told everyone that they look better and cost millions more because they are exquisite.
Period!
The iPhone sells because the same Hollywood star uses an iPhone. The latest Samsung movie draws this fact in evidence.... the iPhone fans are pictured as futile, dumb and un-knowledgeable people (just like the typical Hollywood stereotype)...while the Samsung users are sensible, self-aware and intelligent people.

As any add its an exaggeration, but sadly this does represent over 50% apple fans. Still Samsung should watch their own sales department and cut their phones at least 15 to 20% in price if they don't want to get into what I call the "Apple zone" - too expensive for the offer.


6 comments:

  1. Everything is a remix - Apple builds off and is inspired by older designs, which is what makes it awesome. The whole "OMG YOU'RE A DESIGN THIEF" case that you make is very naïve.

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  2. I'm sorry that, either you understood it that way, or I evidenced it in that way,"OMG YOU'RE A DESIGN THIEF".
    That was not the intention, but rather respond to the claims I've heard from the very beginning that Apple's design is unique and exquisite. It's not! It's good and based on BRAUN 90% of the time...and maybe 10% of time it's their own design (back in the day they built real computers like the Classic and the LC, they HAD unique and beautiful designs).
    The purpose is not to "expose" a design copy, but rather counter the claims that Apple has made the design that Samsung now copies...hence the "A lot of people talk about the better and unique design...".
    I'm all for copying good designs. We see that in the automotive industry all the time and I like that.
    I rather go around town and look at streets filled with beautiful cars that all look a bit alike, than an endless show of freak designs. The post targets claims from "Apple fanboy's" rather than Apple choice it self.

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  3. An android user's honest opinion why iPhone Sells:
    iPod established a quality product line. Though overpriced it was a very good player. So people were drawn to iPhone. And it delivered. Overpriced as usual But iPhone was actually better any phones of its era. Only real competitor was Blackberry, with Symbian showing its old age.. Blackberry interface felt and still feels old and outdated, though under the hood it was good. And iPhone was built sturdy and easy to use (Blackberry OS is very hard to understand especially settings part. Its complicated as hell for a new Blackberry user. Even for a techie person) And the touch experience it provided is still the best. No wonder it got popular in no time. Android on other hand is for more tech savvy people who can understand the technical bits. For them its not hard. But early androids were slow mainly due to it had more functionality under the hood. But normal people do not understand that. And the touchscreen experience is still not that great. Though in Jelly Bean its been addressed. Also the fragmentation and variety of devices it runs on, the updates and apps are not easy to push. But as people learn the power of android they are turning to it very fast. My honest opinion is that instead of making a dozen of different android phones industry should agree upon a standard of 4-5 models with screen resolutions which will be updated every year. That will make updates very much faster.

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    Replies
    1. I agree with you mostly... still I believe that price tag is a Quality point and being very technical, price vs technology is even higher quality point for me... so the ONLY good iphone is the 1st one, as the excessive price is justified by the necessity to create and leap forward.
      About the Android fragmentation: i think that it's already starting to clear. You'll see 4 to 5 brands of high end devices in the future battling for the PAD, tablet, phone-pad, pad-phone and high end phone market with the absolute latest releases of android; while some of these brands (or possible re-brands to make things clear) with lower end specs and older android releases.
      The "mess" we have today is what I call the "penetration strategy" and it is working. From the moment that the market asks for Android instead of IOS on, you'll probably see some "scaterization" of these market fragments into clusters as I've described.

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  4. If you want a great quality then you have to pay more amount specially when its about a cool and amazing gadgets.

    iPhone 5 Screen Protectors

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    Replies
    1. Cristyn,
      I'll start by thanking you for your comment. I love comments and debates :)

      I'm a Project Manager (with engineering background). To my brain, having the client pay more because it's "cool and amazing" makes no sense. I honestly can't compute!!! Am I wrong? Am I right? It's arguable...but I think that unless you are talking about having 1million euro parked at the bank without usage, then overpaying is always senseless.

      Is the IPhone design better than the GS3? Tricky point as it's actually a personal thing... some people like the Porshe panamera and I personally think it's horrible.
      So TO ME the Iphone is no better than a Nokia N78 with 5 years design evolution on top of it. Clearly not brilliant. Not bad, but I thing the GS3 is far better.

      Is the IPhone assembled in a better way than the GS3? No! I suggest you go to your local FNAC or Virgin shop and try them both.

      Is the IPhone more crash resistant than the GS3? don't know. I've seen lot's of Iphone cracking the screen with small drops, in the same way I've seen them resist a staircase drop. I guess it depends on the angle of impact finding some design flaw. Still a friend that fixes phones for living complains a lot more about not having GS2 or GS3 to repair and it completely adores the Iphone as it's a guaranteed business for repair shops.
      Is this last part conclusive? no... the simple fact that you probably have more IPhones than GS2 and GS3 together makes the statistics go up in both success and failures.

      The cool thing is too undefined to discuss! To me, spending too much money on a gadget...just because lots of people did is everything but cool.
      Please mind that both my sister and my brother brought Iphones (against my advise) because they are producer and actor, so "it's cool".
      My only comment was: remember those "dumb actor stereotypes" you keep trying to distance from? Try harder cause you've just made the stereotype when you brought the worse cost/quality smartphone on the market!

      So my conclusion is that I totally agree the first 50% of your comment IF you place-it 5 or 6 years ago and apply-it to the 1st Iphone.
      The 2nd 50% of your comment is something I can't compute. I'd guess it's a natural inability as my own father considers-me the most logical and less philosophical person he has ever known.
      The Amazing part... is something that doesn't fit the IPhone UNLESS, again, you place-it on the first one. The rest is everything but amazing...I'd actually consider it a deception.

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