Samsung giving Apple iPhone users a free run with Galaxy

[lopri]

I get this..

 

[lopri]

I tried all 4 carriers, btw. ^^

 

[Zaap]

So let me get this straight... a company offers the use of a fairly expensive device for a month... free service...for nada, no strings attached...


...and before long they run out of said devices?

Never would'a figured!

BTW I wish LG would do the same thing.

 

[lopri]

To be fair, I did not know such a promo existed until I saw this thread.

 

[Ns1]

got waitlisted for note5 as well

 

[glenn1]

I use both daily, and honestly, it's becoming more and more of a PITA, the Android apps still are just not as good, although they're very good now, and navigating Android is just aquward and less intuitive. Have been considering just going all iOS lately to reduce the frustration and hassle.

Honestly, it seems like more of Samsung's pipe dreams.

I disagree totally with the awkward and less intuitive. TouchWiz is far easier for the novice user IMHO. You might prefer iOS based on aesthetics or other considerations, but in terms of User Centered Design it's not even close.

 

[theeedude]

Don't have an iPhone, so Samsung doesn't want my business?

 

[Commodus]

Don't have an iPhone, so Samsung doesn't want my business?

Samsung has been wearing its Apple envy on its sleeve since 2010... I don't think it'll completely shake that so long as Apple is its main rival.

 

[mnewsham]

Don't have an iPhone, so Samsung doesn't want my business?

Not enough to offer you a free device.


Not all marketing campaigns can be targeted specifically at you, sorry.

 

[theeedude]

Not enough to offer you a free device.
Not all marketing campaigns can be targeted specifically at you, sorry.

OK, then they'll have to offer a big discount instead to get me interested. But also, they are implicitly admitting that they have nothing special to show to other Android phone users, which is to say, they are a commodity.

 

[mnewsham]

OK, then they'll have to offer a big discount instead to get me interested. But also, they are implicitly admitting that they have nothing special to show to other Android phone users, which is to say, they are a commodity.

they aren't "implicitly admitting" anything, that's just your takeaway from this, and a biased one at that, as you seem a bit upset you cant get a free device.


Also, the note5/S6 are still the top dogs in terms of hardware specs for android, so they obviously ARE something special. The S6 was the top dog from April 2015 until August, and the only reason it stopped in august is because samsung released the Note5. Which is the current spec leader (along with the S6 edge+)

 

[glenn1]

OK, then they'll have to offer a big discount instead to get me interested. But also, they are implicitly admitting that they have nothing special to show to other Android phone users, which is to say, they are a commodity.

Or they are reasonably certain that other Android users are at least aware of the Samsung value proposition and opted for/against them after consideration. Whereas many iPhone users may be blissfully unaware of any products outside the Jobs reality-distortion field and once they see how using a smartphone doesn't have to be a painful and overpriced experience they'd consider switching to a more compelling product.

 

[Beer4Me]

Or they are reasonably certain that other Android users are at least aware of the Samsung value proposition and opted for/against them after consideration. Whereas many iPhone users may be blissfully unaware of any products outside the Jobs reality-distortion field and once they see how using a smartphone doesn't have to be a painful and overpriced experience they'd consider switching to a more compelling product.

You're funny. I was with Android since 2.0.x. Owned every iteration of Samsung Galaxy up until the 4. Owned a few HTC devices along the way too, some unlocked even. Got tired of task management, constant reboots, and GPS failures. Came back to iPhone, and I've never been happier.

 

[mnewsham]

You're funny. I was with Android since 2.0.x. Owned every iteration of Samsung Galaxy up until the 4. Owned a few HTC devices along the way too, some unlocked even. Got tired of task management, constant reboots, and GPS failures. Came back to iPhone, and I've never been happier.

and i could give you horror stories of my shitty iphone 4s and it being the reason I switched back to android 3 years ago.

Its all personal experience

 

[Ns1]

n/m

 

[Commodus]

and i could give you horror stories of my shitty iphone 4s and it being the reason I switched back to android 3 years ago.

Its all personal experience

That's the point, really. Glenn1 is exhibiting that classic super-fan mentality: that the only reason anyone uses anything besides his platform of choice is because they haven't been 'enlightened' yet... as if using that one platform was inevitable. I've seen supporters of all operating systems do it. Heck, Steve Ballmer practically based Microsoft's strategy around his misguided "everyone always prefers Windows" mindset.

The toughest thing to do as a fan is to accept that people using a product you don't may have genuine reasons they need or like to use it. It's an admission that a lot of this is relative, and that a lot of the hot-blooded talk of Reality Distortion Fields and Fandroids is pointless.

 

[lopri]

A lot of lay persons prefer Touchwiz to the so-called "Stock Android." That is for sure. I have tried and failed to convert some of my friends to Nexuses, and they all preferred Touchwiz. (Don't ask me)

That is prior to Marshmallow and the Nexus 5X/6P.

 

[glenn1]

That's the point, really. Glenn1 is exhibiting that classic super-fan mentality: that the only reason anyone uses anything besides his platform of choice is because they haven't been 'enlightened' yet... as if using that one platform was inevitable. I've seen supporters of all operating systems do it. Heck, Steve Ballmer practically based Microsoft's strategy around his misguided "everyone always prefers Windows" mindset.

The toughest thing to do as a fan is to accept that people using a product you don't may have genuine reasons they need or like to use it. It's an admission that a lot of this is relative, and that a lot of the hot-blooded talk of Reality Distortion Fields and Fandroids is pointless.

It's not my platform of choice - I have a Nexus 5 for my personal phone and an iPhone 6 from work so I'm fully familiar with both platforms. There are however plenty of people who have never owned anything but an iPhone, likely vastly more than the universe of people who have only ever owned an Android phone and are completely unexposed to the iPhone. Thus it makes sense for Samsung to try to familiarize them with the platform with a marketing campaign like this. Whereas Apple has little need to do so, since they're making the bulk of the profits in the sector already thus don't have the same incentive for steal market share.

That being said, I think the TouchWiz interface is demonstrably more user-friendly for novice users exactly because it compromises aesthetics and "dumbs down" things for the end user much more than Apple. Sure a huge honking icon smacking you in the face isn't elegant, but it's also far more idiot proof than iOS's understated approach of "oh shit, where did the navigation buttons go, time to call my son to help me get back to that Pinterest page I wanted to print." The stock Android experience is also likewise less than desirable for the same reasons, it presumes a (normally tech illiterate) person can figure out how to do something the way the developer thought they should rather than spoon feeding it to the user.

 

[gorcorps]

A lot of lay persons prefer Touchwiz to the so-called "Stock Android." That is for sure. I have tried and failed to convert some of my friends to Nexuses, and they all preferred Touchwiz. (Don't ask me)

That is prior to Marshmallow and the Nexus 5X/6P.

Eh, for a while there I couldn't really blame them. I had a Nexus 7 and really didn't care for the stock experience. It didn't look that great to begin with, and for some reason had some performance issues. The roms I tried looked and performed much better.

 

[Zaap]

Here we go again, knock-around Galaxy S6 Edge + for the next month.

This time AT&T cause... why not.

So far, same things I didn't like about the S6 I hate about the S6+, mainly the ultra-dumb glass back. It makes the damn thing tend to want to slide of anything you set it on. Heaven forbid you have headphones plugged into it and set it on the bed or something- slightest pull of the cord and off it goes.

Glass is really stupid smartphone body material.