Samsung hits iPhone 5 with cheeky attack video
ABOVE: Samsung's new iPhone 5 attack video.
Samsung goes on front foot with iPhone 5 attack ad
Sept 18: Samsung has gone on the front foot in the US with an iPhone 5 attack ad.
It's great stuff to see a company with the moxie to take on Apple head-on – even if sniping at Apple's proprietary connector is like hitting the side of a barn.
Not everything's a bullseye, however.
Whether you buy Samsung's bigger-is-better argument comes down to personal taste.
And with tap-and-go mobile payments forever six months away, I'm not sure anyone will miss NFC (in fact, the absence of NFC from the iPhone 5 could very well kill it off as a mobile phone payment technology – and we're talking real-world shops, right now kids, not a couple of show pony pilots).
(click to enlarge):
Also on the hardware front, it would be great if New Zealand Galaxy S3 customers got a choice beyond the entry-level 16GB option.
Storage does matter on mobiles in the world of apps and multimedia files and no-one actually shuffles micro-SD cards in and out to juggle space.
Likewise, I'm not sure if a removeable battery is an advantage. When was the last time you swapped out a cellphone battey? For me, it's just makes the phone less robust.
Still, there's no denying that coupled with Google's Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich, firmware upgradeable to Android 4.1, aka Jelly Bean), the S3 has some neat tricks the iPhone 5 doesn't.
Things like shake-to-update, or to change your mind and call someone you were going to txt simply by lifting the phone to your ear.
And while mobile shopping options are thin on the ground, the S3 has a nice deployment of wireless technology with its feature that lets you simply bump two phones together to transfer a photo.
Lastly, for all its aggression, Samsung's attack ad doesn't raise my key fear about the iPhone 5.
Hardware-wise, I think the Apple's new handset looks pretty tasty.
But I'm unsettled that it comes with iOS 6 (a free upgrade for older iPhones later this month).
It's option whether to upgrade an older model to iOS 6, but it's installed on the iPhone 5 by default. And I don't like the way Apple has used iOS 6 to push YouTube and Google Maps out of the magic circle.
As a Google Apps user, the increasing hostility between one-time partners Apple and Google gives me the willies.
Back to home
Back to top
Print
Latest
NBR SERVICES
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Sign up for NBR subscriber content or email alerts
Comments and questions8
Maybe Samsung could find a way to encourage their customers to use their smartphone - or are the numbers from IDC etc just guesses?
My NZ website mobile OS stats over the last 2.5 months (15% of all):
iPad 48%
iPhone 25%
Unknown 9%
Samsung 4.5%
iPod 2%
Other 11.5%
So Samsung users either don't know how to use their smartphones on the web, or are not interested or the numbers of phones are bloated?
A lot of android web browsers will emulate a linux desktop rather than mobile device. Which means the stats can be skewed.
@ CK - NFC is useful here and now... Snapper (& 2Degrees SIM) = Contactless payment of bus/taxi/dairy/Subway (food bar) here and now in Wlg with bus and Subway in Akl. Once the integrated ticketing system is rolled out, if it is indeed based upon the same tech as in Hong Kong, it will be NFC too and with a strong encouragement for dairies and Subway to support it.
Paywave in the US and here (Mastercard) is in pilot mode, however Visa's NFC card is in full swing in the UK...
>"Storage does matter on mobiles in the world of apps and multimedia files and no-one actually shuffles micro-SD cards in and out to juggle space."
The top iPhone comes with 64GB, which is really just a way of using price discrimination for the exact same phone. It's much cheaper to add a 64GB card to the base S3, if that's what you need...and given that still makes it 16GB larger than the largest iPhone option, the "shuffle micro-SD card" point becomes moot.
"Storage does matter on mobiles in the world of apps and multimedia files and no-one actually shuffles micro-SD cards in and out to juggle space." Yes agreed, it does matter but I'd rather have the option of inserting a larger capacity SD card than realising I'd brought the wrong sized iPhone or been forced to based on limited funds. I lmade that mistake with the iPod touch, having bought the 8GB first then replacing it a year later with the 64GB. Samsung Galaxy SIII all the way for me - it's fantastic.
Chris, an interchangeable battery is a huge benefit. For those 'out in the field', away from a charger, being able to simply swap batteries is brilliant, especially with the samsung (inexpensive) pack that provides a battery and dockstation to charge it independently.
All I know is that rabid iPhone owners are enough to put anyone off buying an iPhones.
Perhaps the fact that most iPhone owners are getting shafted by APple as their pockets. are emptied for things that are free on most other platforms. The iphone 5 is a shiny overhyped piece of marketing aimed at the gullible and ignorant. There are other better options in Android and the market reflects this.
I would much rather be able to walk into a shop and buy a new battery whem mine dies than have to send my phone back ot the factory. And I agree, tap to pay works brilliantly - most young people have their phone in hand anyway.