Mobile phones & tablets thread

[Mark]

What apps do you need? Just out of curiosity why is strava a must have over Endomondo?

Because of the segments, give it a try

[Jag_Warrior]

BlackBerry shares just halted on the NASDAQ pending a news announcement. Looks like the company is heading the same route as Nokia and Palm, and is about to be acquired prior to sinking totally.

[Malbec]

I don't think Apple need a cheap model personally.

They need one now, and it needs to be cheaper than the one they just brought out.

The market Apple need to be really worried about is China. They've played hardball with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network which has basically told them to offer iPhones at a discount or f' off from the very beginning. Apple had thought that not being able to offer iPhones on their network would bring China Mobile to their knees but no such luck. Several years later CM are telling Apple that they are not going to pay the usual subsidies for iPhones, Apple has to offer them at a discount or lose out on the biggest single market in the world.

As a result Apple is losing sales hand over fist there and is trying to clinch a deal with CM and also get more sales through other networks. The problem here is that their iPhones sell for $900 due to taxes while Android equivalents are several times cheaper. Apple therefore needs a much more affordable model now to get market penetration there before its too late and their new model isn't cheap enough IMO.

Its not much better for Google in China BTW, the government forces Android to be shipped entirely without Google apps like the App shop, Gmail and maps so they don't make any money from China at all.

[Malbec]

Whereas the Galaxy S4 is completely different.

Seriously, don't just blindly go for the Samsung. Take a look at the HTC and Sony equivalents. The former is a work of art whilst the latter is better built than the Samsung and water/dustproof to boot. I think both have far less bloatware too so are less laggy than the Samsung out of the box.

[henners88]

I don't think Apple need a cheap model personally.

They need one now, and it needs to be cheaper than the one they just brought out.

The market Apple need to be really worried about is China. They've played hardball with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network which has basically told them to offer iPhones at a discount or f' off from the very beginning. Apple had thought that not being able to offer iPhones on their network would bring China Mobile to their knees but no such luck. Several years later CM are telling Apple that they are not going to pay the usual subsidies for iPhones, Apple has to offer them at a discount or lose out on the biggest single market in the world.

As a result Apple is losing sales hand over fist there and is trying to clinch a deal with CM and also get more sales through other networks. The problem here is that their iPhones sell for $900 due to taxes while Android equivalents are several times cheaper. Apple therefore needs a much more affordable model now to get market penetration there before its too late and their new model isn't cheap enough IMO.

Its not much better for Google in China BTW, the government forces Android to be shipped entirely without Google apps like the App shop, Gmail and maps so they don't make any money from China at all.

Time will tell. A lot of scaremongering came last week after the launches and with sales healthy and the brand being voted coolest in the UK, I hope Apple know what they are doing. If market tactics are obvious to some, let's hope Apples marketing department keep an eye on the internet.


Sent from my ?

[Jag_Warrior]

In seeking to recapture marketshare in China and other developing markets, if they go the route of offering phones that are perceived as "down market", Apple has to finely balance the benefits of increased sales with the risk of margin shrink and damage to the brand. This is precisely the point that Steve Jobs was making when he said that Mercedes and BMW don't obsess about marketshare as much as brand preservation. But still, BMW and Mercedes do play at the lower end of the luxury market. IMO, this is what Apple has to figure out. I'm not sure that they can continue to do as well as they have if they just focus on premium priced tech gadgets.

I think the China Mobile deal will happen sooner than later. They do need that. From what I've read, China Mobile has already began work on an advertising campaign.

[henners88]

Those concerned about Apple and market share might want to read this:

http://m.tuaw.com/2013/09/24/why-smartp ... es-top-pr/

If Apple wanted to secure a majority of the market share, they could simply produce cheap, crap phones. They have the brand that sells after all. I think the article explains the reasons why they don't take the easy route.

[donKey jote]

https://twitter.com/sweenz001/status/381774979672846337

@sweenz001 What a fucking donk you are

( http://news.sky.com/story/1145439/water ... ers-fooled )

[SGWilko]

( http://news.sky.com/story/1145439/water ... ers-fooled )

More morons than you can shake a stick at! I mean, really????

[BleAivano]

So if cheap phones will hurt your image and thus result in fewer sales, then why is Samsung doing so well?
They have both simpler and cheaper models as well as their flagship the S4, still they have the largest market share.

Regarding Apple and Iphone they're aren't really that "exclusive" as they think it is, expensive yes but overpriced
when there's S4's and HTC One's that are both better and cheaper.