Samsung crushing the Android competition even more so

[PollyK]

I honestly have no idea how Samsung is the only one making a profit with Android outside of Google. What exactly is it that they are doing that is absolutely crushing the rest of the Android OEMs. All you hear from tech forums and so called tech blogs is that Touchwiz is so horrible. Yet a whopping 63% of the android base has chosen a Samsung device. It just goes to show you as users, most of us never see the bigger picture. Their niche device, the Note line, sells better than anything outside the Galaxy S line, that includes the mainstream sized HTC One. It has to be discouraging to other OEMs that such a niche product can sell better than their mainstream sized devices. It also shows how little all the online tech reviewers know about what products are worth buying. An overwhelming number of them scoffed and laughed at the Note. The is why I stopped putting any weight towards any review when choosing to buy a device. Nobody can tell you what device is best for you except yourself.

Source

 

[2298754]

I'm not surprised at all. Samsung has been a streak of making high quality phones that work really well. They are well-rounded devices. Something that can't be said for the HTC or LG competition. For example, the G2 lacks an SD, whereas the HTC One is pretty damn good, but it suffers from poor RF, poor battery life, shoddy build quality (NOT MATERIALS QUALITY)

The fact that the more expensive Note line outsells everyone else is just pathetic for the other OEMs. They need to get their **** together.

 

[MacNut]

I'm not surprised at all. Samsung has been a streak of making high quality phones that work really well. They are well-rounded devices. Something that can't be said for the HTC or LG competition. For example, the G2 lacks an SD, whereas the HTC One is pretty damn good, but it suffers from poor RF, poor battery life, shoddy build quality (NOT MATERIALS QUALITY)

The fact that the more expensive Note line outsells everyone else is just pathetic for the other OEMs. They need to get their **** together.

This has nothing to do with the Samsung marketing machine?

 

[Technarchy]

This state of affairs is a perfect reason why Nokia went with Microsoft.

 

[zbarvian]

I think Samsung got the leg up with marketing early on, before LG was even a real player. Also, what's really important is brand recognition. People have heard about Samsung, maybe even own a Samsung product (be it TV, refrigerator) before they bought a Galaxy or Note. The same can't be said about HTC, who lacks brand awareness and a wide hardware ambit, and LG who was associated with cheap feature phones.

 

[Oohara]

If I'd pick one deciding factor that makes them stick out from the competition, it would definitely be their marketing. For the past year now I keep running into all these "Samsung centers" in malls, general tech/appliance stores, and even train stations - where they have staff working pretty much 24/7 and all of their latest devices on display. It's quite impressive, really.

They're pushing their brand quite aggressively to say the least. And it seems to be paying off - almost every time I hear people discussing a smartphone choice, it's between an iPhone or "a Galaxy".

 

[2298754]

This has nothing to do with the Samsung marketing machine?

Does Apple's success only have to do with marketing?

Samsung is listening to its customers and has built a reputation for making high-quality products. The Galaxy S2 was the first good Android phone IMO. Good build quality, non-laggy software, and great screen. The S3 built upon this rep and solidified their Android dominance.

Something that can't be said about HTC, LG, etc. Great example of this is all the issues LG screens are having in various Apple products. The Samsung ones are clearly superior.

My S4 is my fifth straight Samsung device in a row. (S2, Skyrocket, S3, GN2, and now S4). I will be picking up a GN3 soon and will buy the S5. There is no reason to try any other Android maker these days. It is Samsung "pushing the bar" these days.

 

[sviato]

I honestly have no idea how Samsung is the only one making a profit with Android outside of Google.

In 2010 HTC was doing very well and was recording record profits each quarter. Shortly after, the Galaxy S2 was released and Samsung spent $3 billion on marketing compared to Apple's and Google's $1 billion each. Samsung is a huge company so it was able to keep pumping money into marketing that other Android sellers couldn't afford to. It was really that year that Galaxy devices took off with the S3 becoming very popular.

Also Microsoft is making profit from Android too, around $2bil iirc

 

[SlCKB0Y]

This state of affairs is a perfect reason why Nokia went with Microsoft.

Except it wasn't at the time. They announced their alliance with Microsoft in feb 2011 (and presumably had been negotiating this for months prior).

This is how it looked in Jan 2011:
http://androidandme.com/2011/03/devices/android’s-market-share-depicted-with-a-whole-lot-of-colors/

Android market was pretty open at this time it's just that Nokia made a huge error (in my opinion) with restricting themselves to just Windows.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Those who spend too much of their time reading forums and blogs might think Touchwiz being terrible is a general opinion.

Actually it's the opposite.

In the REAL world where people are not obsessed with benchmarks or 0.0009 seconds of lag every once in a while, Touchwiz does it's job well and is probably the most user friendly launcher, especially for those coming from an iPhone.

And as far as the features go. Whether you think their gimmicks or not, it's working for Samsung.

Also, Samsung seems to be listening to the consumers wants. How many of the non-Samsung flagship smartphones have an SD slot nowadays? They have also been the leader in the screen size game, and also been good with increasing screen size without increasing model size.

Add all this together with the marketing and it's not hard to see why they are on top.

No I'm not a fanboy and there are some things I don't like about Samsung. But give credit where it's due.

 

[2298754]

This state of affairs is a perfect reason why Nokia went with Microsoft.

There is no reason to believe that Nokia couldn't have become a great OEM for Android. While Nokia was screwing around with MeeGo and Symbian, Samsung (and Apple) took over. Nokia messing around is the reason for their dominance. There was a period where Nokia could have been back on top.

I would own a Nokia Android phone if they sold it.

 

[b166er]

As a Samsung user, I find this surprising. TouchWiz is garbage. And even when you install Nova or another launcher, the device still lags. The camera is total garbage compared to anything Apple or Nokia has done lately. The screen isn't as good as Apple and Nokia's latest either. The phone itself creeks all the time to the point where I'm afraid it's going to snap, and I'm pretty gentle with my gadgets. I don't really see the advantages the S4 has to some other Android phones. Admittedly I bought in to the hype, and 5 months later I'm not very impressed.

I don't think I'll be buying another Samsung any time soon, and I'm probably going to sell my current one sooner than later.

 

[dkersten]

Those who spend too much of their time reading forums and blogs might think...

Also, Samsung seems to be listening to the consumers wants. How many of the non-Samsung flagship smartphones have an SD slot nowadays?...

Add all this together with the marketing and it's not hard to see why they are on top.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about a lack of SD card on any phone other than on forums. Those millions of people on iPhones don't seem to have a problem, nor do any other Android phone users. Hell, I bet most (not all, and certainly not people on tech forums) the people who own Samsung phones have even used these bells and whistles, which I will lump an SD card into.

All decent phones from any manufacturer has evolved to the point where it is perfectly fine for 95% of users. It all comes down to Samsung's marketing and therefore brand recognition. You hit the nail on the head when you alluded to marketing. Sure the features don't hinder sales, and definitely appease power users but they're not the reason for Samsung's market position.

 

[daveathall]

Those who spend too much of their time reading forums and blogs might think Touchwiz being terrible is a general opinion.

Actually it's the opposite.

In the REAL world where people are not obsessed with benchmarks or 0.0009 seconds of lag every once in a while, Touchwiz does it's job well and is probably the most user friendly launcher, especially for those coming from an iPhone.

I totally agree with this, my friends at work don't even know what a launcher is, never mind using one, they use their Android (including some Samsung models) as they came and enjoy the experience. I am the exception to the group rather than the norm. Most of them can't understand why I mess around with my phone. In short, they think I am a geek.

As for marketing, TBH, i don't see a great deal of Samsung advertisements in the UK, it does exist but IMHO, in equal measures to the other manufacturers.

 

[Technarchy]

There is no reason to believe that Nokia couldn't have become a great OEM for Android. While Nokia was screwing around with MeeGo and Symbian, Samsung (and Apple) took over. Nokia messing around is the reason for their dominance. There was a period where Nokia could have been back on top.

I would own a Nokia Android phone if they sold it.

Nokia would have been another android also-ran and would have gotten rolled by Samsung just like everyone else only they wouldn't have Microsoft bucks working in the background had they gone with android.

 

[The Game 161]

samsung make amazing products thats why. They also spend good time on marketing.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about a lack of SD card on any phone other than on forums. Those millions of people on iPhones don't seem to have a problem, nor do any other Android phone users. Hell, I bet most (not all, and certainly not people on tech forums) the people who own Samsung phones have even used these bells and whistles, which I will lump an SD card into.

It's not necessarily about complaining. It about people knowing what's out there from seeing their friends phones, word of mouth, and advertisements.

Many of those millions of iPhone users see what can be done on other phones. But iPhone users wasn't the basis of my post. Those who are looking at Android (whether for the first time or not) can be swayed in a direction by certain options/specs/features. For example: I personally would have gave the HTC One a try over the S4 if it had an SD slot. As good as both phones are, it's always some type of missing option or spec on a non-Samsung phone that helps Samsung to stay winning.

All decent phones from any manufacturer has evolved to the point where it is perfectly fine for 95% of users. It all comes down to Samsung's marketing and therefore brand recognition. You hit the nail on the head when you alluded to marketing. Sure the features don't hinder sales, and definitely appease power users but they're not the reason for Samsung's market position.

Samsung's user loyalty is no where close to that of Apple's. Samsung doesn't have that luxury of going at it's own pace and dictating what users need. Samsung's game is to give the users everything it can. So when potential consumers shop for a phone, they really can't say that any Samsung flagship phone is missing something. They really didn't start to advertise heavy until the S3, which they was already established in the Android market. It wasn't just marketing that made Samsung the leader of Android smartphones.

 

[Krimsonmyst]

I've held an opinion for a while and feel it is apt to talk about in this thread.

All over this forum and many others, you hear petiole complaining about how touchwiz is garbage, color palette is awful, is laggy etc.

However, all these complaints are coming from tech minded folk. Even as a tech head and IT worker myself, I understand what goes into software development, and understand the benefits outweigh the negatives. Also, if we're being realistic, what all of you often refer to as 'a horrible laggy mess' is, in reality, a stutter here and there.

As for the color palette and icons that I hear complained about so much... Apple's new OS update is just as bright and colourful, and the reception to it seems to be generally positive.

I really don't see why it surprises you that touchwiz is doing well. Those that don't care about microstutters and the like will use it how it is, and those that do care will know enough to mod it.

 

[Gav2k]

It's all to do with saturating the marketplace with every size of phone you can think of.

Good for the consumer but bad for business.

 

[PollyK]

Good for the consumer but bad for business.

Say what? Bad for who's business? Please explain.

 

[Gav2k]

Say what? Bad for who's business? Please explain.

Unsold devices

 

[rhinosrcool]

It's all to do with saturating the marketplace with every size of phone you can think of.

Good for the consumer but bad for business.

Last quarter, Samsung's net income was greater than $9 billion!

 

[Krimsonmyst]

It's all to do with saturating the marketplace with every size of phone you can think of.

Good for the consumer but bad for business.

I'd like to see numbers for this statement. I'd bet that the majority of Samsung's sales are still coming from flagship devices.

 

[JaySoul]

They make good, solid all-round devices. They generally get the hardware spot on.

The software is a bit "throw everything in" but that's an ok concession.

And they market the ********** out of it.

All power to them, I think it's great. The World Is Yours.