Why Samsung Is The Next Apple(techcrunch.com)
techcrunch.com
Why Samsung Is The Next Apple
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/11/why-samsung-is-the-next-apple/
12 comments
It could be a shot at Samsung, with regard to all the lawsuits between them and Apple.
That's about all I've got.
That's about all I've got.
Unfortunately, I think it is just crappy reporting and a link-bait title.
Seems like a case of mentioning Apple to get people reading. Samsung isn't as sexy so they ride the Apple story trend. It's fun to see reporting that mentions Apple evolve. First it was cool to say Apple is dead, then it was cool to root for them as the underdog, and now it's cool to try to tear them down again. There's never a middle ground. It's always about handing out heaping helpings of praise to a company or tearing them apart when it's a TC article.
I was in a big box store and I saw a Samsung blu-ray player that allowed control from your smart phone.
I don't know how well this works but if it works better than my current htpc + android + remote apps (which don't well together), I'd be super impressed.
Samsung already has a lot of integration nailed. Their products work well together. When I pop in a blu-ray, the tv turns on along with the sound bar. The remotes work well together (I can't speak to how well this works for other manufacturers like Sony).
If you throw a smart phone into the mix, that actually works as a remote for the TV and Blu-ray, I would be very impressed.
I don't know how well this works but if it works better than my current htpc + android + remote apps (which don't well together), I'd be super impressed.
Samsung already has a lot of integration nailed. Their products work well together. When I pop in a blu-ray, the tv turns on along with the sound bar. The remotes work well together (I can't speak to how well this works for other manufacturers like Sony).
If you throw a smart phone into the mix, that actually works as a remote for the TV and Blu-ray, I would be very impressed.
I have a Samsung TV and their iPhone app lets me control the TV. Handy for when I can't find the remote.
But their whole Smart TV system with apps and stuff really stinks. Very hard to understand the options, and the UI of the underlying apps is terrible. Just terrible.
But their whole Smart TV system with apps and stuff really stinks. Very hard to understand the options, and the UI of the underlying apps is terrible. Just terrible.
Seriously. The smart TVs are total crap. I disconnected mine from the internet because it was a waste of a LAN cable. The only thing that's kind of useful is the usb port. The software is going to need to get MUCH MUCH better before this becomes any kind force in entertainment, considering an apple tv is less than 100 bucks
I see Samsung as great reproducers but not necessarily innovators (at least not to the degree as a company like Apple). Their look&feel and marketing("Galaxy S2 Now In White!") snuggle up too close to Apple(in my opinion). On top of that, even though they make great individual products, I don't believe they have nailed a solid integration for syncing or updating between all them(Samsung Kies anyone?).
I see Apple making a huge dent in the TV market by providing stronger integration, unique look/feel, and some bells & siris (just like they did to the MP3 market and then the phone market). That is, if they do end up making a stand alone TV at all.
Who knows? I do agree it will be fun to watch.
I see Apple making a huge dent in the TV market by providing stronger integration, unique look/feel, and some bells & siris (just like they did to the MP3 market and then the phone market). That is, if they do end up making a stand alone TV at all.
Who knows? I do agree it will be fun to watch.
No need to compete for No 1 in the US, Apple has left plenty of room for a No 2 competitor to be dominant in pretty much all other markets outside of a select few. As long as Samsung sticks to hardware and works well with google's android os, they should be sitting pretty for quite awhile.
Samsung is mercenary. They’re happy to use anyone’s OS as long as it puts phones into boxes and boxes into shopping bags
I would argue that that is their problem, no passion for the product may be OK for the TV market but it is not working so well for the phone market, an their performance in the tablet market has been horrible at best. The simple fact that they cannot be bothered to upgrade their devices after it leaves the sales center is driving a lot of customers into other vendors arms after a single Samsung purchase. Just ask any early adopted of their tables who have not seen a single upgrade. The mercenary mentality may be good for common appliances but it is not a lasting strategy in the mobile market.
Add in some tablets, some washing machines, and some acceptable software and you have a real and vibrant ecosystem.
Apple succeeded because their software was more than acceptable and now the bar has been set. There is a lot I like about Android as an OS but as far as Samsung and Android the lifetime of the device support lasts only until the sale is made and it is not a winning strategy for even acceptable software. They have to address this huge issue if they want to maintain customers after their first Samsung device purchase.
they’ll be happy to plop down a few hundred for a TV that can evolve every year with the addition of an upgrade package that ups the processing power and adds features.
They will have to adopt a different strategy than their phone strategy if that is the case. So far Samsung has shown a reluctance to upgrade the OS due to fear that it will cannibalize new hardware sales.
I would argue that that is their problem, no passion for the product may be OK for the TV market but it is not working so well for the phone market, an their performance in the tablet market has been horrible at best. The simple fact that they cannot be bothered to upgrade their devices after it leaves the sales center is driving a lot of customers into other vendors arms after a single Samsung purchase. Just ask any early adopted of their tables who have not seen a single upgrade. The mercenary mentality may be good for common appliances but it is not a lasting strategy in the mobile market.
Add in some tablets, some washing machines, and some acceptable software and you have a real and vibrant ecosystem.
Apple succeeded because their software was more than acceptable and now the bar has been set. There is a lot I like about Android as an OS but as far as Samsung and Android the lifetime of the device support lasts only until the sale is made and it is not a winning strategy for even acceptable software. They have to address this huge issue if they want to maintain customers after their first Samsung device purchase.
they’ll be happy to plop down a few hundred for a TV that can evolve every year with the addition of an upgrade package that ups the processing power and adds features.
They will have to adopt a different strategy than their phone strategy if that is the case. So far Samsung has shown a reluctance to upgrade the OS due to fear that it will cannibalize new hardware sales.
Hi, i'm a Samsung Mobiler, please name me the one tablet that hasn't seen an update, i'm curious as i've got to update the devices of customers who aren't capable to do that themselves on the showfloor and can't remember a single device that hasn't seen atleast one important update. Especially since the 7inch Galaxy Tab, which was the first one, has received an Android 2.3.6 Update a few weeks ago.
I know that some phones in the US don't see updates, but that's in part because US Carriers always want their own branded version of the major phones and put themselves between Samsung and the Customers regarding updates.
I know that some phones in the US don't see updates, but that's in part because US Carriers always want their own branded version of the major phones and put themselves between Samsung and the Customers regarding updates.
Android 2.3.6 Update a few weeks ago
While there have been incremental updates to the major Android releases and my post may have not reflected them, the point I was getting at is that we are on Android 4, Honeycomb (Android 3) has been out for a while and the only effort to move that tablet over to it is via the home-brew market. Honeycomb is the first OS designed for tablets and yet the original 7 has not seen it. There are no technical limitations to the 7 that would preclude it from receiving the much needed Honeycomb update, but it has not seen it. Nor do I believe that it will see it. Further, there was just a big media blow up about the fact that the existing Samsung phone that is very similar to the Google sanctioned phone in specs, will not receive the Ice Cream Sandwich update. I am sorry but for me personally the 7 just now getting updated to 2.3.6 is a little to late. I bough one, and learned my lesson, If I had known that the end of life would have been in the 2.x branch of Android, I would have made a different purchasing decision. I expect my devices to become obsolete due to hardware limitations, with the device no longer being able to support the current OS and not by arbitrary limitations placed on it by a vendor. It's Samsung's prerogative if they want to handle their affairs in such a manner, but for me personal that is not the kind of vendor I want for my equipment. I like Android and have been contemplating a switch from my iPhone, but until I can find a vendor that will supply recent OS advancements, until my hardware is obsolete, I am forced to stick with Apple who has done a pretty good job of it. My 3GS still runs the most current OS sans Siri, which is due to hardware limitations.
While there have been incremental updates to the major Android releases and my post may have not reflected them, the point I was getting at is that we are on Android 4, Honeycomb (Android 3) has been out for a while and the only effort to move that tablet over to it is via the home-brew market. Honeycomb is the first OS designed for tablets and yet the original 7 has not seen it. There are no technical limitations to the 7 that would preclude it from receiving the much needed Honeycomb update, but it has not seen it. Nor do I believe that it will see it. Further, there was just a big media blow up about the fact that the existing Samsung phone that is very similar to the Google sanctioned phone in specs, will not receive the Ice Cream Sandwich update. I am sorry but for me personally the 7 just now getting updated to 2.3.6 is a little to late. I bough one, and learned my lesson, If I had known that the end of life would have been in the 2.x branch of Android, I would have made a different purchasing decision. I expect my devices to become obsolete due to hardware limitations, with the device no longer being able to support the current OS and not by arbitrary limitations placed on it by a vendor. It's Samsung's prerogative if they want to handle their affairs in such a manner, but for me personal that is not the kind of vendor I want for my equipment. I like Android and have been contemplating a switch from my iPhone, but until I can find a vendor that will supply recent OS advancements, until my hardware is obsolete, I am forced to stick with Apple who has done a pretty good job of it. My 3GS still runs the most current OS sans Siri, which is due to hardware limitations.
Where did you get the information that there is no ICS Update planned for the Galaxy Tab?
The Galaxy Tab 7 and the Galaxy S will get a special blend of ICS, with a special version of touchwiz that has a lighter footprint to compensate for their older processors.
It's basically all about touchwiz, in my own opinion Samsung would have no problem throwing a stock ICS on the Tab 7, but Samsung wants a smooth TouchWiz Launcher on it because the customers are accustomed to it and even demand it.
Compare this situation to MotoBlur or HTC Sense and you'll see that Samsung does the right thing in the end.
Buy a Galaxy Nexus if you want to make sure that you'll really get the updates asap.
It's basically all about touchwiz, in my own opinion Samsung would have no problem throwing a stock ICS on the Tab 7, but Samsung wants a smooth TouchWiz Launcher on it because the customers are accustomed to it and even demand it.
Compare this situation to MotoBlur or HTC Sense and you'll see that Samsung does the right thing in the end.
Buy a Galaxy Nexus if you want to make sure that you'll really get the updates asap.
I just found this post I think it sums up the sentiment pretty well: http://www.one37.net/blog/2012/1/11/why-samsung-is-the-next-...
"acceptable software" is the line that made me stop reading. That has to be the single largest problem I've encountered with Samsung products--buggy and slow interfaces (on their TVs, DVD players, and Blu-ray players). I'm more than happy to pay a little bit more for a TV set with an interface that actually works and works fast.
In my mind, this article has one big flaw: Apple's never been about competing on volume. So, doesn't the closing line about Apple having to catch up defy history?
At Apple's core (no pun intended) is an incredible user experience.
Anyone who has used Samsung products knows they focus 99% on hardware and 1% on user experience. Their phones have long been painful to use. Their hardware is usually top notch.
They seem positioned to leap past this issue with voice/gesture commands. Minimizing the ways the user interacts with their products could result in a huge success for them.
Anyone who has used Samsung products knows they focus 99% on hardware and 1% on user experience. Their phones have long been painful to use. Their hardware is usually top notch.
They seem positioned to leap past this issue with voice/gesture commands. Minimizing the ways the user interacts with their products could result in a huge success for them.
This seems unlikely to me for several reasons. First is Apple's "all-in" mentality, which I don't see in many other CE companies. It's the idea that Apple makes it easy to know which products support which features, because, with a few exceptions, all their products support the key features. Apple doesn't sell many low end products just to fill a niche, and those low end products are the ones that can't handle the banner feature like streaming or remote control.
Second, (and related) Apple provides UI consistancy, which is hard to do when you are 'mercenary' about OSs. And third, I simply don't see Samsung having the level of consumer trust that Apple has. People that follow these things may know a lot about Samsung, but most people I know don't care about the difference between Samsung, Vizio, or any of the other brands of TVs that line the walls of Best Buy. Sony once had a distinct advantage in consumer trust, but I don't know if they still do, having gone so long without standing out. Once upon a time, I wouldn't own a TV if it wasn't a Trinitron. Now? I just look at the specs and assume the manufacturer is fungible.
Second, (and related) Apple provides UI consistancy, which is hard to do when you are 'mercenary' about OSs. And third, I simply don't see Samsung having the level of consumer trust that Apple has. People that follow these things may know a lot about Samsung, but most people I know don't care about the difference between Samsung, Vizio, or any of the other brands of TVs that line the walls of Best Buy. Sony once had a distinct advantage in consumer trust, but I don't know if they still do, having gone so long without standing out. Once upon a time, I wouldn't own a TV if it wasn't a Trinitron. Now? I just look at the specs and assume the manufacturer is fungible.
Samsung is more likely to be the next Sony rather than the next Apple.
My Samsung Transform and I disagree. This phone should never have been for sale. It is under powered and just about unusable. They made money when I bought it, but I am now forever suspect of their products. The thing that Apple has that most other device makers do not is my trust that the device will work well.
More accurately, Samsung is currently what Sony used to be.
The day Samsung "becomes the next Apple", how will it be able to keep "innovating", as they'll have no one to copy anymore...?
* it says that Samsung controls a lot of appliances in the home. That's nothing like what Apple does. Apple does not make and has never made washing machines.
* it says Samsung is "happy to use anyone’s OS as long as it puts phones into boxes and boxes into shopping bags". This is nothing like Apple, which is obsessed with control over the entire user experience, and which is extremely vertically integrated.
* nowhere in this article is any kind of revolutionary product mentioned. A smarter TV is certainly not revolutionary in the way that iTunes, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad were revolutionary. This appears to be yet another difference between Samsung and Apple.
So really, I'm not understanding this comparison.