So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon...

[MowDownJoe]

So, as we all know, Verizon's cramming a ...small amount of bloatware onto the Galaxy Nexus (just Backup Assistant and My Verizon, thankfully). And Phil mentioned in a locked thread that he made that one of the reasons for the hold-up was a bit of this bloatware. This got me thinking: why the Galaxy Nexus and not the Galaxy S2?

Hear me out: by going with the Galaxy Nexus, they are limited in the amount of bloat they can put on there. Google is not going to deal with the headache of updating Let's Golf, NFL, and City ID. The Verizon specific stuff at least exists on their market. And Verizon is being very meek about hyping the Galaxy Nexus because they aren't going to make any money off of bloatware deals. If they had gone with the Galaxy S2, Verizon wouldn't have these limitations. They could cram all their usual bloat on there.

...So, why did they make the exclusivity deal for the Galaxy Nexus? Honestly, I don't know. As one guy on the outside looking in, maybe they were thinking of all the people who, like me, are upgrading from the OG Droid who have been crying for "vanilla Android", which is a completely foreign phrase for Verizon. Maybe they were worried that if they didn't get another phone with this mythical "vanilla Android", Xperia Play excluded, they'd lose that portion of their audience. But even then, I'm surprised they didn't say "Screw this" and just ask for the Galaxy S2 once they were made aware of what restriction "vanilla" would bring them.

But yeah, this is just one man's ranting. And honestly, I waiting for the Galaxy S2 before I was waiting for the Nexus.

 

[JoeUserTX]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

It's probably because they couldn't cram the LTE radio into S2 efficiently, hence a GSM phone for the other carriers.

Who knows.

 

[qnet]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

That's a good question. I'm glad (sort of) Verizon got the Nexus phone but, it doen't fit their mo IMO.

 

[nemov]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

I'm sure Samsung liked the idea of having the Nexus on Verizon and then selling the GS2 on the other carriers. That would keep the two phones from competing against each other directly. I'm sure they didn't bank on the phone coming out in December. Initially the target for this release was late October or early November.

They should have know Big Red would botch things. They always do.

 

[FishPharm]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

I think its simply because Verizon had 3 big phones planned for the holiday season .... Bionic, Razr and Rezound and they knew that the GN would sway a lot of people away from these big 3 because of ICS. So I feel they went ahead and acquired the rights to sell it exclusively for a period of time with the intention of delaying its availability from the market which would bump up the other "big 3" phone sales they have. They knew this constant delay would create a huge buzz (which it has). I don't feel they were really interested in the phone in itself. They just wanted to keep it off the market during the busiest shopping weekend of the year. They also knew that if they let another carrier have this phone then it would also take sales from them so in their best interest they got it and are now holding it. I really don't believe there are any problems with the phone, I think its just Verizon holding it back. The problem that they are going to have though is people are already becoming disinterested in the GN and going with other options or just staying with their current carrier. I think Verizon saw this along with the lackluster sales of their "big 3" and decided to advertise double the data. When I ordered my Razr last night the sales guy told me that he would have to check to see if its available because its a new "hot phone"....when he came back on the line he told me they had plenty and i should have it by Wednesday. So this tells me that their big3 aren't selling like they want them too.

 

[Mac58]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

I think its simply because Verizon had 3 big phones planned for the holiday season .... Bionic, Razr and Rezound and they knew that the GN would sway a lot of people away from these big 3 because of ICS. So I feel they went ahead and acquired the rights to sell it exclusively for a period of time with the intention of delaying its availability from the market which would bump up the other "big 3" phone sales they have. They knew this constant delay would create a huge buzz (which it has). I don't feel they were really interested in the phone in itself. They just wanted to keep it off the market during the busiest shopping weekend of the year. They also knew that if they let another carrier have this phone then it would also take sales from them so in their best interest they got it and are now holding it. I really don't believe there are any problems with the phone, I think its just Verizon holding it back. The problem that they are going to have though is people are already becoming disinterested in the GN and going with other options or just staying with their current carrier. I think Verizon saw this along with the lackluster sales of their "big 3" and decided to advertise double the data. When I ordered my Razr last night the sales guy told me that he would have to check to see if its available because its a new "hot phone"....when he came back on the line he told me they had plenty and i should have it by Wednesday. So this tells me that their big3 aren't selling like they want them too.

You make some very good points and I have to say they could very well be valid. I myself have wondered why Verizon decided to not go with a gs2 after this debacle. I really can see no other reasoning besides just wanting to keep as much money coming their way as possible. Its sad but definitely could be true.

 

[Kmcferrin]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

I think Verizon saw this along with the lackluster sales of their "big 3" and decided to advertise double the data. When I ordered my Razr last night the sales guy told me that he would have to check to see if its available because its a new "hot phone"....when he came back on the line he told me they had plenty and i should have it by Wednesday. So this tells me that their big3 aren't selling like they want them too.

That's very interesting. When the Droid X and Droid 2 launched they were on backorder for weeks. Same with many of their other hot phones. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't moving as many units of these handsets. Of course, that could just as easily be because so many people who were ready to jump on a new LTE handset went with the Bionic without knowing that the other devices were coming out in just a couple of weeks. When you're launching a new #1 handset every 3-4 weeks, you'll get a lot of people sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what happens next.

 

[solido888]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

It's probably because they couldn't cram the LTE radio into S2 efficiently, hence a GSM phone for the other carriers.

Who knows.

Pretty sure there is an LTE GS2 in Korea.

 

[PJnc284]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

Skyrocket on AT&T is also LTE

 

[Cigar-Junkie]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

I think its simply because Verizon had 3 big phones planned for the holiday season .... Bionic, Razr and Rezound

Bionic was DOA, I do think that you could insert the iPhone 4S in its place and have a valid point.

 

[JoeUserTX]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

Pretty sure there is an LTE GS2 in Korea.

Really? Learn something new every day. Hell, if VZW offered the SG2 here in the states I would've probably used my upgrade and snagged one, it's a really nice phone (bloatware aside).

 

[Mac58]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

I just did a quick google search and found this
Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE announced in Korea with 316ppi | The Verge
Seems as if there is a LTE SGS2 in Korea

 

[FishPharm]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

Bionic was DOA, I do think that you could insert the iPhone 4S in its place and have a valid point.

I thought about the iphone 4s but my guess is they probably make close to what they would with the GN...this is just a guess though. I heard that they are more invested with the phones they are able to bloat. So my guess is their interest in the iphone is simply to convert people to verizon or keeping current people with Verizon. I don't think Verizon knew the Bionic was DOA but I know they still try and pimp it...

 

[Premium1]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

I thought about the iphone 4s but my guess is they probably make close to what they would with the GN...this is just a guess though. I heard that they are more invested with the phones they are able to bloat. So my guess is their interest in the iphone is simply to convert people to verizon or keeping current people with Verizon. I don't think Verizon knew the Bionic was DOA but I know they still try and pimp it...

I think verizon knew it was DOA but had contractual obligation with moto to sell it so that is why they just sold it rather than scrapping it altogether.

 

[humpagardengnome]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

Pretty sure there is an LTE GS2 in Korea.

Unfortunately, the downside being, those LTE capable Galaxy phones are incompatible w/ Verizons network.

 

[Premium1]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

Unfortunately, the downside being, those LTE capable Galaxy phones are incompatible w/ Verizons network.

Same reason we can't import a gsm nexus. Too bad we are stuck with cdma/lte and do not have the option to import from overseas.

 

[SoulWeaponry]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

I think its simply because Verizon had 3 big phones planned for the holiday season .... Bionic, Razr and Rezound and they knew that the GN would sway a lot of people away from these big 3

1) I hate to speak on behalf of people, but i feel pretty sure about this: most people don't know what the ice cream sandwich update is all about. You'd be surprised how dumb customers are. Someone asked me what "launcher was the nexus using cause it looks cool". Another person thought it was updated touchwiz since it was a samsung phone. The main force for everyday customers that walk into the store is how it looks when they try it out. lag/display/size. They could see the display on the nexus next to the razr and say "wowww that's very hd-ish" and then put a point in the razr's favor because it's thin and they like moto products. As dumb as it sounds to us, the onscreen buttons might confuse some people too.

2) if sales was the issue and driving customers to pick certain phones, why was the razr and rezound released within a week of each other?

Really, when it comes down to customers, they get what they want. If all 3 phones (razr nexus and rezound) were in the store, some would still choose the rezound or razr. So i don't think verizon is holding back just to spark sales with a couple different phones for what, 2-3 weeks? When these phones will be on shelves for close to a year maybe? In the grand scheme of things, a couple weeks isn't long at all.

My gut tells me there are bugs/incompatibility issues that verizon may have seen early on and thought they could overlook for awhile and just provide an update after the phone came out. Then they did more testing and saw it was more serious than they thought and halted the launch. Would explain why briefing materials and accessories have already been sent to stores yet the phone isn't out yet.

 

[humpagardengnome]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

Same reason we can't import a gsm nexus. Too bad we are stuck with cdma/lte and do not have the option to import from overseas.

True but once you experience LTE speed in a good coverage area. Pondering a swap to gsm is almost unthinkable, unless you're fed up or really PO'd.

 

[Premium1]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

True but once you experience LTE speed in a good coverage area. Pondering a swap to gsm is almost unthinkable, unless you're fed up or really PO'd.

Well if you were on gsm you would have never experienced lte. But I agree lte is blazing fast. So supposedly the revolution 2 with 4.5 inch true ips hd screen is going to be revealed on dec 1st wonder if that has anything to do with the nexus getting the shaft? @TeamAndIRC ✔ jcase
LG Will be announcing the LG Revolution 2 for Verizon with a 4.5inch screen at the Dec 1st event

Looks like a beast of a phone with an amazing screen+ huge dev following since it wont be locked down. I know it is seriously going to get a look from me if does come out around nexus.

 

[humpagardengnome]

Re: So, I had a random thought about the canned GS2 for Verizon..

Well if you were on gsm you would have never experienced lte. But I agree lte is blazing fast. So supposedly the revolution 2 with 4.5 inch true ips hd screen is going to be revealed on dec 1st wonder if that has anything to do with the nexus getting the shaft? @TeamAndIRC ✔ jcase
LG Will be announcing the LG Revolution 2 for Verizon with a 4.5inch screen at the Dec 1st event

Looks like a beast of a phone with an amazing screen+ huge dev following since it wont be locked down. I know it is seriously going to get a look from me if does come out around nexus.

LG Revolutions ain't exactly flying off shelves at VzW, so I doubt it will have an impact on the debut of Googles first ICS device. I'll be shocked if VzW puts that on the shopping block in 2011. Don't think they'd want to add another device to the "rental" list. Specs look like a winner, though. Can't wait to see some hands on videos.