You need a real Android enthusiast and technology lover to write reviews, not the mundane garbage

[previous2pre]

I've been a long time Android user and lover, going back to the Froyo days with the Samsung Moment, and been rocking every device since. I love all gadgets, and even have the iPhone 6 plus (just because I like to know what the competition is doing).

I have to say, I was shocked and highly disappointed to read the Android Central review on the Note Edge, by Andrew Martonik.

I have the Note 4, and I was very interested in the Note Edge. I read reviews from PC Magazine, ZDNet, CNET, and watched reviews like Mobile Tech Review (Lisa there does an incredible job reviewing all devices, not just Android), and these folks all love the Note Edge and the innovation it offers, and enthusiastically endorse the device.

I even went to the store and played with the Note Edge for an hour, comparing it to my Note 4 and other devices, and fell in love with the Note Edge. It just is so useful and innovative, not to mention just plain cool!

Imagine my shock when I read the Android fan site review here, and find that the author pans the Note Edge, calling it a gimmick and predicting it will fail...my jaw just dropped.

The author says nothing about the Edge is useful or adds anything to the experience (something clearly contradicted by actual Note Edge owners in the comments of the review), and the author has the audacity to even say (I quote here exactly) "You can revisit this review in 6 months and the ergonomics are still going to be a problem. And I can guarantee there will be no new edge screen panels worth writing home about. Time isnt going to change the issues with the Note Edge."

Wow... I had to double check the website URL to make sure I wasn't reading some Apple fan site by mistake...

Seriously guys, your reviews and writing need to improve!! This garbage can't be allowed to exist on this site. Of all the sites, the worst review and the most negative bias I read was on Android Central?? WTH??

You guys really need a real Android enthusiast and someone who really loves technology to be writing reviews, not people who copy iSheep and put one boring reviews like another day at the office.

Very sad.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Hi there. Thanks for your input. We always love getting feedback from our readers, even when we disagree with it. It's OK to disagree with a review. I don't always agree with everything our own reviewers write. That's part of the fun of reviewing things. We're all allowed to have our own opinions about things.

I'll address a few of your points here.

Imagine my shock when I read the Android fan site review here, and find that the author pans the Note Edge, calling it a gimmick and predicting it will fail...my jaw just dropped.

I don't see anywhere in the review where Andrew used the words "gimmick" or "fail." (I do see them a number of times in the comments, though, including where you tried to make this same unfounded point there.)

The author says nothing about the Edge is useful or adds anything to the experience (something clearly contradicted by actual Note Edge owners in the comments of the review), and the author has the audacity to even say (I quote here exactly) "You can revisit this review in 6 months and the ergonomics are still going to be a problem. And I can guarantee there will be no new edge screen panels worth writing home about. Time isnt going to change the issues with the Note Edge."

That was Andrew in the comments, not him writing in the review. Those are two very different spaces that you fail to mention. And he's probably not incorrect. Will the Note Edge as it stands today be more useful for folks who hold phones in their left hand in six months? Probably not, at least if you want any shot of one-handing it. The edge is where it is. I would, however, like to see how he'll guarantee there won't be any more Edge panels to write home about. It wouldn't surprise me if he's right — I just don't know how he'll guarantee it. Perhaps I don't want to know.

You guys really need a real Android enthusiast and someone who really loves technology to be writing reviews, not people who copy iSheep and put one boring reviews like another day at the office.

I can absolutely tell you without a single doubt that that's exactly what we have in Andrew, particularly since I was with him in the initial sleepless nights when we first got our hands on the Note Edge. And that's also exactly what we have in Jerry. And in Alex. And in Richard. And in myself.

Andrew has some real reservations about the Note Edge. And I think he expressed them pretty well. That doesn't mean you can't disagree with him. That certainly doesn't mean you and others can't buy the phone and enjoy the hell out of it. I hope you do. I hope others do as well. And I like that Samsung (and others) try new things, even if we don't think they work. This isn't binary. Someone always likes things we don't. Not the first time. Won't be the last. And maybe we're flat-out wrong and the thing will sell like hotcakes. Time will tell.

But that's not even the point here. I read great content — in the tech space and otherwise — that I disagree with every day. That doesn't mean it's bad. It just means I disagree with it. And I'm generally a mature-enough reader to make that distinction, especially when it comes to what's in a review versus what's in the comments.

 

[previous2pre]

Thanks for the reply Phil. In reading Andrew's review, it certainly did not feel that he is a technology enthusiast.

Smartphone development at this stage is all but dead, as device makers are merely making larger screens and not doing anything innovative, and calling it "good". The iPhone 6 plus gets rave reviews simply because it's larger, but no real extra innovation over the standard.

People ooohhh and aahhh over the metal HTC M8, but no real innovation there either.

It's nice to see Samsung taking a risk (once again) with an innovation that few dare. Sure the edge apps will be sparse to begin with, but with time that will grow and mature into apps and features that could prove to be really useful.

For a technologist to pan the first real innovation in smartphone in a year or more, is a real disappointment. Could it be improved? sure, what product version 1.0 can't? But it has real potential, instead of seeing everyone copycat maker introduce basically the same square phone with a square screen in a slightly bigger body and call that innovation.

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Thanks for the reply Phil. In reading Andrew's review, it certainly did not feel that he is a technology enthusiast.

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. But I tell ya, dude can go on and on about some technology.

Smartphone development at this stage is all but dead, as device makers are merely making larger screens and not doing anything innovative, and calling it "good". The iPhone 6 plus gets rave reviews simply because it's larger, but no real extra innovation over the standard.

People ooohhh and aahhh over the metal HTC M8, but no real innovation there either.

That's pretty much the laziest thing I've heard this year. If all you see is larger screens — and remember that I'm not a fan of "bigger has to be better because bigger" — then you're absolutely missing the point, and frankly not actually reading anyone's reviews.

It's nice to see Samsung taking a risk (once again) with an innovation that few dare. Sure the edge apps will be sparse to begin with, but with time that will grow and mature into apps and features that could prove to be really useful.

I agree it's nice to see Samsung taking a risk. But you're also making the same assumption that Andrew is, just in the opposite direction. The difference is I pay him to make a call. Maybe he'll be right. Maybe not. Being wrong doesn't make him a bad reviewer, or not a fan of technology in general. By the same token, simply disagreeing with you doesn't make him either of those things, either.

 

[Golfdriver97]

It all comes down to opinion. The dual cameras on the back of the M8 can be considered innovative. Last year with the idea of front facing stereo speakers is innovative. The G2 and the buttons on the rear the G3 with the laser aided focus, Motorola and the Always Listening....I could go on and on. Innovation isn't limited to hardware. I recently held the Edge, and didn't really care for it. I am actually inclined to agree with Andrew. The size is a turnoff for me, just like the Note line. Does that mean that they are horrible? No. Just not a device that I would get. However, since larger devices are obviously selling, they are onto something.

From an AOSP M8