It's hard for me to read this article without thinking...

[HeyCori]

How Samsung broke my heart | The Verge

The only thing I partially give him credit for is this portion:

Vlad Savov:
Once you buy a Samsung phone, you're pretty much on your own. Did your Galaxy S ship with a dysfunctional GPS unit? Tough. Did you hope for timely software updates to your US variant of the same phone? Tougher still.

Reminds me of the lock-up issue that Focus Flash owners have been dealing with since the phone's release. Samsung hasn't said a single word about whether or not they're going to fix it. Still, the specs on the Galaxy SIII are amazing. Being upset that an amazing device isn't amazing enough seems a bit silly. If anything that shows just how much we take technology for granted. Smartphones have reached the point where they're basically full blown desktops in our pockets. How is that not impressive?!?

Everythings Amazing & Nobodys Happy - YouTube

 

[anon(5335877)]

I think some of us just think that Samsung pulled an Apple. It's like, yes the specs improved, but there isn't a huge reason to go and upgrade our phones.

And I'm sure there were people who decided to pass on the One X because they thought that the SGSIII was going to be SO much better, but it's not. Plus, some of us thing the design of the latest Galaxy sucks compared to the One X.

Also, I think many of us were expecting a HD SuperAMOLED Plus display (no Pentile), but we got the same display that was on the Galaxy Nexus six months ago.

I suppose the problem is we've been spoiled by past product launches, we bought into a lot of the rumors and hype, and as a result, we've set ourselves up for disappointment.

 

[cluberti]

Had a launch focus with a crap GPS, wife's Focus had no issues. Ended up having it replaced by AT&T only to get a second one with a "broken" (aka really really slow) GPS - had to get a 3rd device to get one that worked within 20 minutes of asking for a GPS signal.

Honestly, it was enough for me to consider the Lumia today over the Focus S - the wife's Focus S is, frankly, quite nice (again, no issues - maybe she's just lucky? ). However, Samsung's AMOLED screens are crap for outdoors use in bright light, something I run into frequently. Way back when, the Nokia's were always the cream of the crop, and the L900 got my vote. Not having any issues with it other than the "purple haze" under low brightness, but that's more a feature of an RGBRGB AMOLED display not doing well with light colors (like white or gray) at lowest brightness. Have had other phones with this problem too, so I simply disable the auto brightness (as I did with the original Focus) and set it to medium, and I'm good.

I'll give the Samsung devices I've used over the last few years credit - they might feel "plasticky", but they're built well and (when they work) they work well. If they don't, though, you're on your own in getting a fix or working around it, and that really leaves a bad taste in my mouth for a device that expensive. Also, no one has ever asked me about any Samsung's I've ever owned (WP or otherwise), and my white L900 has gotten 3 questions today since I picked it up. You can't really go wrong with a Samsung device, but especially in the WP space, the design and apps are more important than the relative specifications - since I don't really take many pics without a real camera, I don't care about the camera much. Samsung really needs to do some work in that space to compete with the HTC's and Nokia's in the WP space, in my opinion. Also, repurposing their Android designs for each successive model (for both OSes) isn't doing them any favors in the looks department.

 

[Reflexx]

When Samsung went against the grain and included an SD card slot in the original Focus, against MS's recommendation... then chose NOT to support it, that pretty much told me that I wasn't getting another Samsung unless they cleaned up their act.

They do make good products. I just don't think they really give a crap about you once you've already given them your money.

 

[selfcreation]

wow i feel like i wasted 10min of my life reading that article...

he basically takes 3 pages to tell you something that could have been said in 1 line.

*Samsung is not innovative enough any more, and they are doing like Apple and just adding one new spec per update.. ( like dual-core from single-core and slapping a 3 on it.instead of a 1 or a 2)*

thanks for coming out.

When Samsung went against the grain and included an SD card slot in the original Focus, against MS's recommendation... then chose NOT to support it, that pretty much told me that I wasn't getting another Samsung unless they cleaned up their act.

They do make good products. I just don't think they really give a crap about you once you've already given them your money.

that's cause they CANT support it ,, cause of the OS not the phone(MS is fault so dont hate on Samsung ) . the fact that Samsung went against MS and tried to make it different to give us more options is what KEEPS me to Samsung. Im laughing at every one with my 40G WP haha


regarding them caring , once you buy a Phone from a carrier the carrier is 100% responsible for your phone , not Samsung... when u send it out for repair it doesn't go to Samsung it goes to a local repair center!!!! the ONLY company that actually fixes their own phone is APPLE.

not allot of people know that. trying calling Samsung to buy a WP from them , they gona laugh at you and tell you to call a local Cellphone carrier. same thing with HTC , LG , even RIM now ( they where like apple before , you just got a new phone lol )

 

[chrisz5z]

Regarding them caring , once you buy a Phone from a carrier the carrier is 100% responsible for your phone , not Samsung... when u send it out for repair it doesn't go to Samsung it goes to a local repair center!!!! the ONLY company that actually fixes their own phone is APPLE.

not allot of people know that. trying calling Samsung to buy a WP from them , they gona laugh at you and tell you to call a local Cellphone carrier. same thing with HTC , LG , even RIM now ( they where like apple before , you just got a new phone lol )

Wrong. I had a Samsung Captivate that got bricked by an AT&T OTA update. Called up Samsung and they had me send it to them to be fixed for free.

 

[selfcreation]

Wrong. I had a Samsung Captivate that got bricked by an AT&T OTA update. Called up Samsung and they had me send it to them to be fixed for free.

ill guaranty an exception was done for this. normally they refer you to your carrier , unless this happened over 1 or 2 years ago. or that Samsung US works differently from the rest of the world..

 

[Reflexx]

that's cause they CANT support it ,, cause of the OS not the phone(MS is fault so dont hate on Samsung ) . the fact that Samsung went against MS and tried to make it different to give us more options is what KEEPS me to Samsung. Im laughing at every one with my 40G WP haha

I disagree with you here. Samsung could very well support it. MS is not telling OEMs that they cannot support their own products. However, MS is saying that if they include expandable memory, it's their problem to support. MS won't.

Also, not sure why you're laughing. A bunch of Samsung Focus customers spent a lot of money on 32 GB cards just to find out that they wouldn't work. Not exactly very funny.

It's not like there is some magic behind making the SD cards work. The problem for consumers is that there are no consumer ratings for Random Read/Write speeds, only Sequential speeds.

However, manufacturers do have the ability to measure and identify cards that will work. That is why some manufacturers are able to use SD cards for their storage instead of regular NAND.

I spoke to a rep that specifically told me that OEMs do have the ability to determine which cards will or won't work. However, there is currently no process for making those available for consumers.

Samsung is also a semiconductor company. So it's not like they have to rely on someone else to make their SD cards.

They could support their product by making working SD cards availble, but it would be expensive to do so, so they won't do it.

regarding them caring , once you buy a Phone from a carrier the carrier is 100% responsible for your phone , not Samsung... when u send it out for repair it doesn't go to Samsung it goes to a local repair center!!!! the ONLY company that actually fixes their own phone is APPLE.

And Nokia made sure people who bought their early Lumia 900s got a $100 credit. Sure sounds like they care about customer service.

not allot of people know that. trying calling Samsung to buy a WP from them , they gona laugh at you and tell you to call a local Cellphone carrier. same thing with HTC , LG , even RIM now ( they where like apple before , you just got a new phone lol )

So that relieves them of any responsibility towards supporting their product? Put an SD card slot in there and then not support it at all?

Sorry, but that excuse doesn't fly.

 

[selfcreation]

Samsung couldn't support it cause WP OS doesn't support it meaning they cant support what they have ZERO control over.

BUT I agree that if you cant support it then DONT PUT IT IN!! lol .. but they did any ways.

regarding people BUYING SD cards that dint work .. 2 things..

1. research before you buy. (I Did! ) if you dont its like shooting a GUN with a blindfold if you miss blame your self not the GUN! allot of sites have lists of SD cards that work. I even posted one in the : GETTING STARTED thread.

2. they could of returned it when they saw it dint work...

that's why im still laughing. lol

NOKIA is also an exception to the RULE they are VERY good at supporting their own products!!! like apple.

 

[Reflexx]

Samsung couldn't support it cause WP OS doesn't support it meaning they cant support what they have ZERO control over.

Technically, WP7 does support SD cards. A few of the HTC devices use SD cards as their storage. But these SD cards are specifically tested for fast Random Read/Write speeds.

Samsung, being a semiconductor company that makes its own chips, has a much easier time testing for this than companies like HTC, who buy their chips.

BUT I agree that if you cant support it then DONT PUT IT IN!! lol .. but they did any ways.

regarding people BUYING SD cards that dint work .. 2 things..

1. research before you buy. (I Did! ) if you dont its like shooting a GUN with a blindfold if you miss blame your self not the GUN! allot of sites have lists of SD cards that work. I even posted one in the : GETTING STARTED thread.

If someone was a very early adopter, there wasn't much indication that there would be a problem. Nobody really knew for sure yet.

Also, is it really unreasonable for a consumer to expect that a manufacturer would support their product? So if someone believed that Samsung is a good company that stands behind their products, then wouldn't it make sense for them to believe that if Samsung were to include an SD card slot they would support it? The problems were originally thought to just be a bug that would be a addressed, not something that would be swept under the table and ignored.

2. they could of returned it when they saw it dint work...

that's why im still laughing. lol

Return a card that has been SECURELY formatted?

NOKIA is also an exception to the RULE they are VERY good at supporting their own products!!! like apple.

In the eyes of this consumer, the RULE is proper customer service.

 

[scottcraft]

I think those guys at the Verge are underestimating the SG3. I've read some reviews and it looks like it's quite a step up from the SG2. If I was interested in Android I would be very interested.

 

[selfcreation]

some WP might use SD cards as storage, SD cards them self arnt 100% the problem.

When you add a SD card to your WP , the SD card becomes a part of the TOTAL memory. it doesn't just add a second memory like on other phones.
meaning: on a normal phone it would be a 8G main memory , + 32G side memory , on WP is make it 40Gig total not 2 different memory like on other phones.

if you add a SD card or remove a SD card you NEED to format your WP AND the SD card or both wont work! ( according to MS ) because an app/game or saved files can be saved split between main memory and the SD card. so if you remove it it corrupts your file. Id say that's the #1 reason for lack of support on it.

and regarding good or BAD SD cards... i got a WP the day WP came out ( 2 and half years ago ) with in 1month of that we had list and list , not to mention this site was flooded with people talking about witch cards worked or dint work..

not to mention when you buy a WP there is a BIG sticker that says

DO NO USE SD CARD!

on the SD card slot.. haha .. i mean come on .. try at your own risk maybe?

ANY WAYS! im pretty sure WP8 will support SD cards any ways , so w/e.:happy:

 

[Reflexx]

some WP might use SD cards as storage, SD cards them self arnt 100% the problem.

When you add a SD card to your WP , the SD card becomes a part of the TOTAL memory. it doesn't just add a second memory like on other phones.
meaning: on a normal phone it would be a 8G main memory , + 32G side memory , on WP is make it 40Gig total not 2 different memory like on other phones.

if you add a SD card or remove a SD card you NEED to format your WP AND the SD card or both wont work! ( according to MS ) because an app/game or saved files can be saved split between main memory and the SD card. so if you remove it it corrupts your file. Id say that's the #1 reason for lack of support on it.

and regarding good or BAD SD cards... i got a WP the day WP came out ( 2 and half years ago ) with in 1month of that we had list and list , not to mention this site was flooded with people talking about witch cards worked or dint work..

not to mention when you buy a WP there is a BIG sticker that says

DO NO USE SD CARD!

on the SD card slot.. haha .. i mean come on .. try at your own risk maybe?

ANY WAYS! im pretty sure WP8 will support SD cards any ways , so w/e.:happy:

Yes. I'm aware of all that. I personally am pretty happy with my Focus, even though the SD card thing didn't pan out for me. I chose not to risk wiping my data for something that might not work.

I do recall BenThePCGuy making a tweet a few weeks back about testing an SD card in an older Windows Phone. I figure it has to be the Focus. And I think the test was probably related to WP8 on older devices, or at least some comparable upgrade.