why do people always talk about phones that aren't even out yet?

[rudeguy]

Any time a thread is posted about hardware here, there are always people who post, "You should wait for X phone to come out." Even if that phone doesn't have a launch date or any huge improvements over the other phones on the market.

Why do this?

 

[shortylickens]

American nature to look to the next cool gadget. Most of us have become hype addicts, whether its movies, music, tv, video games, but especially toys.
I guess dreaming about the perfect toy probably starts with the toddler years and it just gets worse as we grow older, cuz we have more money but the toys cost more.

Maybe theres some seratonin or something going on as well, I dunno.

 

[smartpatrol]

- Gadgets are all about the novelty factor.
- Smartphones are advancing so quickly, it's hard to recommend one when there's something significantly better coming out in a couple months
- Most people are signing a 2-year contract when they get a new smartphone. It would suck to get stuck with an inferior phone for that long.

 

[rudeguy]

- Gadgets are all about the novelty factor.
- Smartphones are advancing so quickly, it's hard to recommend one when there's something significantly better coming out in a couple months
- Most people are signing a 2-year contract when they get a new smartphone. It would suck to get stuck with an inferior phone for that long.

that's exactly what I'm talking about. Every phone is inferior to phones that will be out in 2 years, 1 year or even six months. Its almost like electronics fearmongering.

 

[Mopetar]

that's exactly what I'm talking about. Every phone is inferior to phones that will be out in 2 years, 1 year or even six months. Its almost like electronics fearmongering.

But they're not all equally inferior. If, for example, you knew that in six months there would be better 4G radios and baseband chips that didn't absolutely destroy the battery life when using 4G, would you wait until one of those new phones came out?

 

[rudeguy]

But they're not all equally inferior. If, for example, you knew that in six months there would be better 4G radios and baseband chips that didn't absolutely destroy the battery life when using 4G, would you wait until one of those new phones came out?

no

I buy what is currently available. If something better comes along later (which it will...ALWAYS) then I can upgrade then if its truly worth it. No one says you have to keep the same phone for 2 years.

 

[lothar]

no

I buy what is currently available. If something better comes along later (which it will...ALWAYS) then I can upgrade then if its truly worth it. No one says you have to keep the same phone for 2 years.

So you're the type of person that would still buy a P4 Prescott or Athlon 64 chip when you've seen a sneak peak performance improvement of 40-50% in all apps of an Intel Conroe chip that would be landing on the market in 2-3 months? You'd still go ahead and buy the old chips anyway?

I don't advocate waiting a year as that is pretty much speculation, but there is nothing wrong with waiting 2 months if there is an advance in technology that is worth it.

 

[soulcougher73]

So you're the type of person that would still buy a P4 Prescott or Athlon 64 chip when you've seen a sneak peak performance improvement of 40-50% in all apps of an Intel Conroe chip that would be landing on the market in 2-3 months? You'd still go ahead and buy the old chips anyway?

I don't advocate waiting a year as that is pretty much speculation, but there is nothing wrong with waiting 2 months if there is an advance in technology that is worth it.

I think his point is that cell tech advances so fast right now when you get that new phone you just talked about in 2 months there will be something else you will want in another 2 months. Eventaully you will never buy a new phone because you just keep playing the waiting game. Most of the new tech doesnt really interest me right now. Ill give it time to mature and not drain the battery like crazy

 

[ponyo]

I'm disappointed at the slow improvements in the smartphone sector. I thought we would see much bigger advances than we're currently seeing. Segment is moving at mature rate when it should be moving at breathtaking pace. I'm losing interest.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

So you're the type of person that would still buy a P4 Prescott or Athlon 64 chip when you've seen a sneak peak performance improvement of 40-50% in all apps of an Intel Conroe chip that would be landing on the market in 2-3 months? You'd still go ahead and buy the old chips anyway?

I don't advocate waiting a year as that is pretty much speculation, but there is nothing wrong with waiting 2 months if there is an advance in technology that is worth it.

He has money to burn. Most other people do not, but he can't understand that apparently.

 

[MrX8503]

This is why I always recommend people to buy a smartphone close to when it was released. I think this alleviates the "Always waiting for the next best thing" cycle. I don't get people who buy year old smartphones then complain that the next Android phone came out. It's their fault for buying an old phone.

 

[Mopetar]

I'm disappointed at the slow improvements in the smartphone sector. I thought we would see much bigger advances than we're currently seeing. Segment is moving at mature rate when it should be moving at breathtaking pace. I'm losing interest.

What exactly is it that you're expecting to see? Things have constantly been getting better and the platforms we're talking about are mostly less than five years old.

 

[rudeguy]

So you're the type of person that would still buy a P4 Prescott or Athlon 64 chip when you've seen a sneak peak performance improvement of 40-50% in all apps of an Intel Conroe chip that would be landing on the market in 2-3 months? You'd still go ahead and buy the old chips anyway?

I don't advocate waiting a year as that is pretty much speculation, but there is nothing wrong with waiting 2 months if there is an advance in technology that is worth it.

You are talking about CPU's and I'm talking about cell phones. Two completely different things.

Read any cell phone blog right now and you will see:

1. Phones that are out and still very much current
2. Phones that are set to be released (these usually offer some small advancement)
3. Phones that "will" be coming out (these may or may not have release dates and actual specs)
4. Phones that are rumored.

So at any given time you could wait two months and then X phone will be out. That's if its release date doesn't get pushed back. That's also assuming that it will work right when its first launched. But by the end of those two months, the phones that were just rumors will now have a release date and there will be new phones rumored. At what point do you say enough is enough and just buy a darn phone?

 

[rudeguy]

This is why I always recommend people to buy a smartphone close to when it was released. I think this alleviates the "Always waiting for the next best thing" cycle. I don't get people who buy year old smartphones then complain that the next Android phone came out. It's their fault for buying an old phone.

what?

With all the bugs that brand new models have, it would be terrible advice to tell someone to always buy right when it comes out.

Sigh...

 

[RedRooster]

I notice it most with Android owners/lovers. They're always looking for something newer and better. Not too sure what that says, good or bad.
iPhone guys are just whatever, they're loving their phone and can live with it until the next year's update comes out.
And us WP7 guys are off in our own oblivious world, enjoying the hell out of the completely outdated thing!

 

[CVSiN]

what?

With all the bugs that brand new models have, it would be terrible advice to tell someone to always buy right when it comes out.

Sigh...

Myself with HUGE new improvements like Dual Core chips coming out within months then yes I agree..
if its just a same gen phone with a few better or improved features then no..

Right now big things are fixen to happen to both Android and Iphones with the next gen that is fixen to be released.
Not worth buying a new phone right now till those are out.

 

[shortylickens]

what?

With all the bugs that brand new models have, it would be terrible advice to tell someone to always buy right when it comes out.

Sigh...

If you get a phone on contract you can return it within two weeks. Over the past 3 years I've played with and cancelled about a dozen phones. Mostly from Tmobile cuz they have the selection I like (Nokias).

 

[smartpatrol]

I notice it most with Android owners/lovers. They're always looking for something newer and better. Not too sure what that says, good or bad.
iPhone guys are just whatever, they're loving their phone and can live with it until the next year's update comes out.
And us WP7 guys are off in our own oblivious world, enjoying the hell out of the completely outdated thing!

It's true!

I guess part of it is that Android sometimes feels like it's asking too much of its hardware. I don't get that feeling with iOS or WP7.

 

[MrX8503]

what?

With all the bugs that brand new models have, it would be terrible advice to tell someone to always buy right when it comes out.

Sigh...

AFAIK, a bugless device doesn't exist. How many versions of the iPhone do we have and it still has problems? Even the second revision of the iPad has CDMA problems. All you can do is hope for the best that the manufacturer fixes the problem within it's lifecycle. Regardless of those issues, I'd rather accept it and enjoy the device rather than wait or buy a yr old device like some people do.

The perception of a perfect time to buy is a fantasy. I just think my plan of buying early upon release is the best route because I can live with a phone that's 2yrs old, but not 3yrs if I would have gotten the iPhone 4 today.

 

[purbeast0]

that's exactly what I'm talking about. Every phone is inferior to phones that will be out in 2 years, 1 year or even six months. Its almost like electronics fearmongering.

it was pretty amusing hearing people try to convince me to not get the ip4 at release on verizon, since it was a "7 month old phone" although it had never been out on verizon. then everyone said to at least wait for the ip5, which as of now, is vaporware.

i took my chances heh.

 

[hanoverphist]

This is why I always recommend people to buy a smartphone close to when it was released. I think this alleviates the "Always waiting for the next best thing" cycle. I don't get people who buy year old smartphones then complain that the next Android phone came out. It's their fault for buying an old phone.

not everyone is a slave to the next toy.

ill wait about 6 months to see which phone ends up being supported well, holds up to time and is still a decent toy before i make a decision. i dont get a new phone when the latest and greatest pops out, i tend to get one every 2 years or so. i waited from nov to feb to see if vzw would drop a wp7 phone and they didnt, so i did some searching and decided on the dX instead. it is much cheaper than the thunderbolts my boss and his wife got, and after setting them up for them and getting their battery use under control im still happy with my decision. it doesnt bother me in the least to see newer, better phones coming out, and in a couple years ill likely do the same thing i just did. watch and see what is a decent purchase at the time and go for it.

 

[hanoverphist]

it was pretty amusing hearing people try to convince me to not get the ip4 at release on verizon, since it was a "7 month old phone" although it had never been out on verizon. then everyone said to at least wait for the ip5, which as of now, is vaporware.

i took my chances heh.

not vaporware at all. i just wish i could get my friend to crack and slip a few secrets my way, but he wont.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I notice it most with Android owners/lovers. They're always looking for something newer and better. Not too sure what that says, good or bad.
iPhone guys are just whatever, they're loving their phone and can live with it until the next year's update comes out.

I think that says Android is an active market, with many new phones a year that try to stand out from each other (nicer skins, 3D, larger screens, etc). Meanwhile with the iPhone the only option is what Steve determines you are going to get once a year. Not as exciting.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I notice it most with Android owners/lovers. They're always looking for something newer and better. Not too sure what that says, good or bad.
iPhone guys are just whatever, they're loving their phone and can live with it until the next year's update comes out.
And us WP7 guys are off in our own oblivious world, enjoying the hell out of the completely outdated thing!

It's because Android is slow as shit from the beginning. People used to wait for features like a better camera, FM radio, the inclusion of a wifi antenna, front camera, 720p recording, xenon flash. And honestly I think that's what people using WP7 and iOS are still waiting for. They're waiting for PHONE features.

Meanwhile people on Android are so busy doing Quadrant benchmarks and worrying when the next CPU upgrade is. I mean it's a smartphone. You're supposed to do stuff on it. I don't know. I honestly just think it has to do with the fact that Android isn't a 100% smooth and hiccup free experience yet.

 

[MrX8503]

not everyone is a slave to the next toy.

ill wait about 6 months to see which phone ends up being supported well, holds up to time and is still a decent toy before i make a decision. i dont get a new phone when the latest and greatest pops out, i tend to get one every 2 years or so. i waited from nov to feb to see if vzw would drop a wp7 phone and they didnt, so i did some searching and decided on the dX instead. it is much cheaper than the thunderbolts my boss and his wife got, and after setting them up for them and getting their battery use under control im still happy with my decision. it doesnt bother me in the least to see newer, better phones coming out, and in a couple years ill likely do the same thing i just did. watch and see what is a decent purchase at the time and go for it.

That's fine if it works for you. I was referring to the people who buys old phones and complain that there's something new out.