- Nov 21, 2012
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(apologize for the tl;dr post)
I read a few things recently that got me concerned with the current state of the mobile industry.... First and foremost, yet another reminder at the dominance of both Apple and Samsung.... not only do they own biggest chunk of the global marketshare pie, they are also the only two marks that haul in profits. Everyone else is fighting over an increasingly smaller piece of the pie, and losing money in the process.
Apple? They've stopped innovating. Most of what I've seen about the upcoming iPhone 6 seems to just be catching up to the rest of the industry, rather than pushing forward. They are instead holding on to their place like a technological Gollum, lashing out at competition via litigation and making it painful for users foolish enough to choose to switch off their platform.
Samsung? When they released the Galaxy S3, it was the first Android phone that could stand toe to toe with Cupertino's finest... they've since swallowed up the lion's share of the Android market.... Now? It seems like they are just tossing stuff at users without caring much about their experience. The majority of smartphone users worldwide now see Android through Samsung's bloated, laggy mess of a platform. I was once a fan of their products and defended them at times. But what pushed me over the edge was this recent video (https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P9vDAY0U0A), showing quite clearly that a humble, bargain basement Moto E actually outperforms the top of the line S5 in those every day, menial tasks that dominate most of our use (coming out of the lock screen, going into Google+, launching the camera app or gallery). Samsung's Touchwiz is so heavy handed that the phone struggles to get moving. Add to that the persistent rumblings of Samsung's desire to cast Android aside and move to their own Tizen platform... well, a world where Samsung's software vision dominates will be a very sad and frustrating one indeed.
We need someone that can make a little noise.... Sony? Not sure what their issue is... they SHOULD be a dominant player, but it's like they walk into the party with a new phone, toss it on the desk, shrug and leave. HTC? They've seemed to embrace this sort of quasi-hipster hubris, taking a good phone, making relatively minor upgrades, then tossing insults at anyone who doesn't think it's the second coming. They don't want to be the top seller because they think that means they sold out.... or something equally foolish. Motorola? Their Moto line has a chance to inject some badly needed vigor into the lineup (re: that video), but they're struggling to hold their head above water.... There are some bit players mixed in, and it remains to be seen where they all go.
It's no wonder that Google seems to be rolling up its sleeves, using this upcoming Android Silver program like some digital Gunnery Sergeant Hartman for the platform.
So that leads me to May 27th as a date that might just be critical to the industry. That is the date that LG officially announces their new flagship, the G3. Now, most of you have probably already seen the 'leaks', which are obviously done with LG's blessing.... And it seems to be working... After the somewhat fizzle we saw with the S5 and M8, the G3 is actually building a little bit of excitement for the launch. No one's giving it the 'meh.... we waited for THIS?" treatment.... but it remains to be seen if the actual phone lives up to the building hype.
I hope it does. With the other major launches behind it, LG can send this out into the wild without distraction... People will see these in stores and not get pulled away by the shiny new toy from other major players.... Hopefully they'll gain some traction and sales build. We need another major player.... I really don't want to end up in a market where the only viable choice is between a closed off mobile Gulag and a gluttonous slob.
I read a few things recently that got me concerned with the current state of the mobile industry.... First and foremost, yet another reminder at the dominance of both Apple and Samsung.... not only do they own biggest chunk of the global marketshare pie, they are also the only two marks that haul in profits. Everyone else is fighting over an increasingly smaller piece of the pie, and losing money in the process.
Apple? They've stopped innovating. Most of what I've seen about the upcoming iPhone 6 seems to just be catching up to the rest of the industry, rather than pushing forward. They are instead holding on to their place like a technological Gollum, lashing out at competition via litigation and making it painful for users foolish enough to choose to switch off their platform.
Samsung? When they released the Galaxy S3, it was the first Android phone that could stand toe to toe with Cupertino's finest... they've since swallowed up the lion's share of the Android market.... Now? It seems like they are just tossing stuff at users without caring much about their experience. The majority of smartphone users worldwide now see Android through Samsung's bloated, laggy mess of a platform. I was once a fan of their products and defended them at times. But what pushed me over the edge was this recent video (https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P9vDAY0U0A), showing quite clearly that a humble, bargain basement Moto E actually outperforms the top of the line S5 in those every day, menial tasks that dominate most of our use (coming out of the lock screen, going into Google+, launching the camera app or gallery). Samsung's Touchwiz is so heavy handed that the phone struggles to get moving. Add to that the persistent rumblings of Samsung's desire to cast Android aside and move to their own Tizen platform... well, a world where Samsung's software vision dominates will be a very sad and frustrating one indeed.
We need someone that can make a little noise.... Sony? Not sure what their issue is... they SHOULD be a dominant player, but it's like they walk into the party with a new phone, toss it on the desk, shrug and leave. HTC? They've seemed to embrace this sort of quasi-hipster hubris, taking a good phone, making relatively minor upgrades, then tossing insults at anyone who doesn't think it's the second coming. They don't want to be the top seller because they think that means they sold out.... or something equally foolish. Motorola? Their Moto line has a chance to inject some badly needed vigor into the lineup (re: that video), but they're struggling to hold their head above water.... There are some bit players mixed in, and it remains to be seen where they all go.
It's no wonder that Google seems to be rolling up its sleeves, using this upcoming Android Silver program like some digital Gunnery Sergeant Hartman for the platform.
So that leads me to May 27th as a date that might just be critical to the industry. That is the date that LG officially announces their new flagship, the G3. Now, most of you have probably already seen the 'leaks', which are obviously done with LG's blessing.... And it seems to be working... After the somewhat fizzle we saw with the S5 and M8, the G3 is actually building a little bit of excitement for the launch. No one's giving it the 'meh.... we waited for THIS?" treatment.... but it remains to be seen if the actual phone lives up to the building hype.
I hope it does. With the other major launches behind it, LG can send this out into the wild without distraction... People will see these in stores and not get pulled away by the shiny new toy from other major players.... Hopefully they'll gain some traction and sales build. We need another major player.... I really don't want to end up in a market where the only viable choice is between a closed off mobile Gulag and a gluttonous slob.
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