Note 8

[RogueProeliator]

Did anyone else see the Samsung unveiling today? I know a lot of you don't care about Android, but you should watch the first 2 or 3 minutes of the unveiling to check out the bad@ss stage that they setup. The entire stage, along with two huge panels behind it were screens that produced some awesome 3D-illusions.

For Android fans - anyone picking one up? It looks like a damn nice device but not all that differentiated from the S8+. Still a few nice improvements -- I like the 2x zoom with OIS but I still think the two cameras portraits are a gimmick.

(BTW, free Domotics Pad license to anyone sending me one! )

[jay (support)]

anyone picking one up?

I already have a heater in my house and car, so I think I'll pass...

[RogueProeliator]

I already have a heater in my house and car, so I think I'll pass...

Meh, everyone screws up sometimes - that was a royal job, but not much different than some of the #$Q*%-ups that vehicle manufacturers do. To be honest, I've never been a big fan of Samsung's devices and never owned one, though my wife had one a few years back. But they do look like great devices now (assuming the new ones can't be used in place of flint & steel at our cub scout camp outs, of course).

One thing that his annoying me even more now that the Note 8 is out is certain tech blogs propensity to do all these "10 Things the Note 8 Does That the iPhone Can't" and "10 Features of the iPhone that the Note Can't Replicate". It seems to me that the majority of people are tied to one ecosystem and honestly couldn't give a flip about the other - yes, there are a handful of people who may be on the fence and thinking of switching... but the hardware is actually quite a small part of your decision in that regards until you are already in a particular ecosystem. WTH can't people appreciate individual phones for their own strengths? /rant

Incidentally, outside of those cool display screens, I find most of these launch events - Apple included - pretty mundane these days. Nobody can ever replicate Jobs' presentations in terms of engagement and charisma.

[durosity]

No.. no one can match him. Even Elon Musk with all his charm just can’t hold a candle to the old Stevenotes. I can only recall one event he did that just didn’t work.. I think it was Mac Expo Paris 2002 or something.. it was all software based.. minor improvements to iTunes.. kept playing loveshack over and over again.. and the one more thing was a round of applause for the developers. I think he must’ve forgot his Reality Distortion Field that day...

As for the note itself... meh.. nothing it does seems to be particularly interesting. It’s more of a note 7.1. The s8 certainly had more wow factor.

And as for Samsung’s screwup.. yeah all manufactures do.. but Samsung’s response was diabolical. The delays they had coulda killed people. The insane relaunch saying ‘nowts wrong’ could have killed people. It also really annoys me how the tech community didn’t absolutely rip them apart.. if that’d been Apple the outcry would have been beyond imagination.


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[RogueProeliator]

As for the note itself... meh.. nothing it does seems to be particularly interesting. It’s more of a note 7.1. The s8 certainly had more wow factor.

Just because it's design came first -- I kind of see the Note line morphing from their absolute, premier flagship to more of a "Galaxy with Stylus" line. They may bump a few specs here and there, but I think we are to the point of them all being familiar and in the same family.

I'm not in the market for it, and wouldn't be really anyway due to price, but two things were a disappointment to me -- we knew it was coming but that fingerprint sensor is TERRIBLE. No way you can grab that out of your pocket and have it unlocked in one motion before you get it out like you can with other Android flagships. Second, it doesn't sound like they did anything to the main camera - not even better post processing enhancements. The zoom with OIS is cool, but isn't your normal shooter that you use all the time.

And as for Samsung’s screwup.. yeah all manufactures do.. but Samsung’s response was diabolical. The delays they had coulda killed people.

I could name others just as bad that had a similar response; perhaps not in the tech world but Ford's exploding gas tank a few years back comes to mind. I'm not a Samsung fan boy by any means (I think I have one, old Samsung TV and that is it) but I'm satisfied with the result.

if that’d been Apple the outcry would have been beyond imagination.

All tech companies seem to have what people bash them for... Samsung gets accused of copying Apple even when they bring out the technology first, for instance. For Apple, any technical flaw at all is bashed - hell, people seem to imagine technical flaws sometimes just for the sake of it. I don't think it is fair in the least, but I also think it is a testament to Apple's quality -- they have made such good hardware for so long, people basically demand perfection.

[durosity]

Yeah fords exploding cars weren’t exactly a high point for them.. I seem to recall the issue was when a leaked memo appeared saying it’d cost more to do a recall than to just settle when people died. Pretty cold huh? :/

[neilk]

I think mud sticks though. I was shopping for a new dishwasher yesterday and a couple were looking at a Fridge and the husband said "We cannot have one of those, they blow up". I know they had a problem in the US with washing machines but not here in the U.K.

[jay (support)]

I've had very poor luck with Samsung stuff: older plasma had dead pixels and a power supply issue, the afore mentioned exploding washing machine, the ice maker has gone out twice in my fridge which is just a year old. I've sworn off Samsung products completely.

[RogueProeliator]

I've had very poor luck with Samsung stuff: older plasma had dead pixels and a power supply issue, the afore mentioned exploding washing machine, the ice maker has gone out twice in my fridge which is just a year old. I've sworn off Samsung products completely.

Please tell me you bought the fridge with the big honking screen in it so I can laugh at you? In general, seems like all appliances over all brands that I have purchased in the last 5 years are awful... and these aren't like the cheapest brands or models either. Just when I feel I've found a good brand or quality manufacturer, they seem to disappoint me.

[durosity]

With the exception of Apple I’ve never really tied myself to a brand. Brand loyalty just doesn’t pay anymore.. manufacturers will improve quality to get a name for themselves then once they hit a certain mark they’ll throttle back to improve margins. Same for cars, banks.. even supermarkets.

[DaveL17]

once they hit a certain mark they’ll throttle back to improve margins.

I am not a fan of "unlocking shareholder value."

I don't believe that it's a long-term path to prosperity to adapt every company's business model to value profit over all else. Customers aren't loyal to companies that value profits over quality. I feel that Jobsian Apple (they're not alone in this, but an example) always focused on making the best product they knew how to make--"painting the other side of the fence." They didn't always hit the mark, but they became one of the most successful companies in history for the effort. I fear for Apple's future because when you get to be worth THAT MUCH MONEY, the pharma-bros come in and screw everything up.

[durosity]

I truly hate “shareholder value”.. particularly when it’s legally obligated. I could rant for the next week about it but I don’t want to start an anti capitalist movement

[jay (support)]

Customer support is most often the first thing to go IMO. Apple does better in this respect than any large company I know of. You can't believe the NIGHTMARE it was to get Samsung to deal with the afore mentioned issues we've had. Multiple phone calls, disconnections, "lost records", fail to show service calls - the list just goes on and on.

I've delt with 5 small companies over the past month or for a variety of failed devices and all of them have been good to work with - most replacing the device no questions asked. Small companies get it. Big companies seem to forget it for some reason, and I think that's the first thing that brings down company loyalty. Problems happen, I totally agree. It's what you do about them that determines if someone is going to stick with you in the future.

[jay (support)]

Please tell me you bought the fridge with the big honking screen in it so I can laugh at you?

Definitely not - it's running Android right? Don't want malware adding further to the list of potential refrigerator issues...

[roussell]

I have the previous version of that fridge, smaller screen and no cameras. It was $3,200 several years ago truly terrible. It's an awful tablet and a worse refrigerator. Food spoils a few days before the expiration date because it doesn't cool enough and takes forever to make the smallest quantities of ice. Service/support has been nonexistent. Worst purchase ever, and it alone ruined me for any Samsung purchase.

As to the OS, I think it's qnx, or tiezen or similar. Only one OS update ever, and while it has a few pre-installed "apps", they're totally useless.


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