I honestly don't know where to start... there is so much to unpack.
I guess I'll just try it chronologically...
So, Fxtec sold us a smartphone with SD835 SoC, which would get Android security updates for at least another two years.
When using a community-driven OS like Lineage, security updates would even surpass this.
Shipping was supposed to take place in March.
The shipping cost was a flat fee of $40. This was supposed to include pre-paid customs, which was a key point for me, since custom rates are effing high here.
All of this at a somewhat steep price, considering the hardware's age (e.g. almost 4 year old SoC).
But the idea of having a (more or less) modern smartphone with a proper keyboard was just too tempting.
I opted in.
But I remained concerned about the SD835 and it's upcoming EOL.
I wasn't all too sure the advertised two years of Android updates would cover SoC firmware updates as well. (Android updates =/= firmware updates)
Without firmware updates it doesn't really matter which OS you are running, since you become vulnerable at the lowest software-level. Exploiting firmware vulnerabilities can allow for total control over the device. And no OS update (not even a community-driven one) could ever fix this.
When I asked questions about this in the campaign's comments, nothing happened at first. Although other questions got answered by Fxtec. I was being ignored.
After multiple comments and finally reaching out to them via email, I got an answer.
I was told not to worry, 'since the phone would get Android security updates for at least two years.'
Yeah...that's a wake-up call right there.
Following above explanation, anyone should be able to see why this answer is such borderline ingenious sh*t cake.
Anyway, I had already lost too much time asking questions to get a refund. And since none of the other backers seemed to be interested in a secure phone, I faced the facts and told myself that I'd just sell it (probably at a minor loss, due to the old hardware) once it arrived in March.
Oh! Look at that! It's March.
So I just went to check on the campaign to see, when my phone will arrive.
BAM! Huge campaign update.
The SoC hit EOL even before they could build the phones!! Their supplier can't provide the SD835 anymore!
If I wasn't affected myself, I'd be ROFLing all over the house right about now.
Instead of the SD835 everyone now gets a phone with an SD662.
>But fear not, at least this SoC still gets proper security updates, as 'SO MANY OF YOU' were concerned about that...<
>Oh, by the way, there might be a *slight *drop in performance<
>Oh, and we silently updated our FAQ. Now it mentions that the $40 shipping doesn't include customs anymore. It's because of Brexit. We specifically said Brexit wouldn't be an issue. But now it is.
Well, not our money that's gettin' p*ssed away.
Enjoy spending ~25% more than expected on your already expensive phone.<
...* nice, deep breaths --- in ... ... and out --- in ... ... and out *...
Ok. So. Let me get this straight.
Now I am forced to pay 25% more for an already expensive phone, that was already a little weak on the hardware.
Hardware that just got further downgraded from an old flagship-SoC to a new and ~20% slower mid-low range SoC.
... anything else?! Well, yeah, delivery has been postponed. New estimated shipping date is August.
But at this point: who gives a f*ck?!
What's my endgame/why am I writing all of this?!
To be honest, I simply HAD TO write this. If I hadn't, I would probably have smashed someones car or something.
Yes, I'm insanely furious. And I feel betrayed.
Needless to say I will never deal with Fxtec in any shape or form ever again.
And should the name ever come up again when I'm around -be it online or IRL-,
I will strongly -and with every fiber of my being- advise people against any kind of dealings with Fxtec.
Backing this company has been a huge mistake!
Shame on you, Fxtec. Shame on you!
And shame on XDA for partnering up with such a company!
NEVER.AGAIN.!!
A little late to respond, but 100% had the same feelings. I contacted them about a refund when the news hit, which they refused.
We're getting a worse phone, later in the year. We're getting a SoC that's available in 130 euro phones TODAY, in a 600+ euro package IN AUGUST AT BEST. And we get to pay additional import fees. They 100% had to know this was coming. If they didn't, their purchasing staff simply didn't do their job. The responsibility rests with them.
I was really on the fence when backing this phone, as it had an old SoC, and it was pretty expensive. But I like slider phones, and I'm pretty sure this was our last hurrah before they go away entirely - being stuck with an older phone seemed fine if they used a flagship CPU and promised long community support. I also thought "what could go wrong, it's an existing product, they've been selling these phones for a while now".
100% feeling ripped off. That keyboard would bettter end up being amazing. Never going to back a technology based crowdfunding again.
My guess is that F(x)tec is probably in financial trouble and unable to give out refunds for disgruntled backers. They'd rather take the reputation hit on the chin and postpone bankruptcy for a while. Though with one niche phone that didn't sell great, and this attempt at building a bigger community around their product backfiring massively, I doubt it will save them for very long.
What else is there to say? Apprehensive-jumped hit the nail on the head.
I too was on the fence,
Who's F(x)tec, I said.... But my love for, and loyalty to XDA and it's community made me believe, "it's XDA, they wouldn't partner to a relatively no name if they didn't do thorough research first, right?"... Christ all mighty....
To think now, that I would back a company, with $$ I should have kept in bank cause the pandemic destroyed my smart home business just weeks later, with the bull**** they have force fed their backs for what seems like an eternity.... Boils my blood doesn't quite fit the bill.
I will second that motion, so hopefully it carries... To EVERYONE'S ears, and well into the future: For shame F(x)tec, for shame.
I would flat out call you thieves in the night, if XDA wasn't attached to this.
(To be clear, I still, and always will, have faith and respect for XDA. I'm certain they did not know f(x)tec was selling snake oil....)
According to their latest update (November Pro1-X update | Nov 30, 2021 • 11:02AM)
"""
We are re-booking a manufacturing slot with the factory for the 5th January 2022. Due to the number of steps/complexity involved in the Pro1-X production line, it is difficult for us to book an assembly slot any sooner. For reference, we have 30+ individual procedures, compared to a generic smartphone which typically has around 10 steps).
We will manufacture some pre-production units from the 15th December 2021 to get familiar with the production line and all of the necessary steps required for mass manufacturing ahead of January 2022. These pre-production units will then be sent out to all of the OS developers to help us verify the production quality and functionality internally.
"""
Sound like some of these devices may actually begin to exist within the next few months. Who knows with shipping. I just accepted it as a loss and move on with my life. If a phone ever shows up, cool.
I don't think ill ever do crowdfunding any more, too many crappy kickstarters and indegogos out there its just not worth the risk.
too bad its so hard to find a phone with headphone jack and no stupid hole or notch in the screen these days.
0xDE57 said:
According to their latest update (November Pro1-X update | Nov 30, 2021 • 11:02AM)
"""
We are re-booking a manufacturing slot with the factory for the 5th January 2022. Due to the number of steps/complexity involved in the Pro1-X production line, it is difficult for us to book an assembly slot any sooner. For reference, we have 30+ individual procedures, compared to a generic smartphone which typically has around 10 steps).
We will manufacture some pre-production units from the 15th December 2021 to get familiar with the production line and all of the necessary steps required for mass manufacturing ahead of January 2022. These pre-production units will then be sent out to all of the OS developers to help us verify the production quality and functionality internally.
"""
Sound like some of these devices may actually begin to exist within the next few months. Who knows with shipping. I just accepted it as a loss and move on with my life. If a phone ever shows up, cool.
I don't think ill ever do crowdfunding any more, too many crappy kickstarters and indegogos out there its just not worth the risk.
too bad its so hard to find a phone with headphone jack and no stupid hole or notch in the screen these days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be nice if the XDA team would drop by one in a while to give us some hope, but my post at the beginning of the month has no replies but my own. At this point, even if we get the hardware I'm not sure the software will be maintained or updated by anybody. There's certainly no indication of XDA interest here. There are no ROM threads, no representation from Ubuntu Touch nor LineageOS.
Sure, I get it that until the hardware is out, there won't be anything to install, but someone somewhere must be working on it if there is intention to support it. I'm not seeing any evidence of that, though.
it's now april.
I still do not have this device. in fact this device is still not in production yet.
I backed this project strictly on the reputation of xda and I feel royally ripped off and cheated. in the time since the campaign ended I have purchased 2 devices both with better specs than this device. a "brand bew" device that will receive less than a year of security updates if it eventually comes out.
the thing that I am majorly disappointed in is that xda isn't or hasn't used its influence as an entity cosigned on this project to push fxtec to honor the backers that requested refunds due to the delays and spec downgrades that were initially promised. their reputation is also put into question here.
I'm saying right here and now that if this actually gets made and shipped that I'm not keeping it. I'm not interested in any 2017 midrange device that will barely be given updates in 2022 maybe and a gimmick like a physical keyboard isn't enough for me to have anymore interest in this massive money sink and disappointment.
ctkatz said:
it's now april.
I still do not have this device. in fact this device is still not in production yet.
I backed this project strictly on the reputation of xda and I feel royally ripped off and cheated. in the time since the campaign ended I have purchased 2 devices both with better specs than this device. a "brand bew" device that will receive less than a year of security updates if it eventually comes out.
the thing that I am majorly disappointed in is that xda isn't or hasn't used its influence as an entity cosigned on this project to push fxtec to honor the backers that requested refunds due to the delays and spec downgrades that were initially promised. their reputation is also put into question here.
I'm saying right here and now that if this actually gets made and shipped that I'm not keeping it. I'm not interested in any 2017 midrange device that will barely be given updates in 2022 maybe and a gimmick like a physical keyboard isn't enough for me to have anymore interest in this massive money sink and disappointment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said
Big thumbs up to your "why is XDA completely mute" part... They too have silently washed their hands of this grossly incompetent project...!??
Another great example of the pitfalls of crowdfunding - very difficult to truly protect yourself from people who take the money and run. Hard enough these days depending on what you are trying to fund to not have the crowdfunding service itself steal your money.
This phone did pique my interest when I first read about it the other day, but not anymore. Sad for the folks that got suckered.
EDIT: Also, another bad example of how people are being taken advantage of by a business model that puts unfinished products up for sale, increasingly dependent on software and of course the bugs that come with it. Cars, appliances, smartphones... We are giving them permission to do this to us by continuing to buy their dook.
Backing Indiegogo campaigns is gambling. There's been more than a quarter million failed Indiegogo campaigns. You're lucky if you get anything from backing one.
Mine arrived... with a defective screen!
The backlight on the keyboard is also disappointingly variant in brightness, and the letters are misaligned. The bottom of some letters are lower than the key right next to them.
i say avoid this company like the plague.
Welcome to 2023. Fxtec didn't do due diligence on their manufacturer's claims that the 662 could do hdmi out, so we get software video out. "But its not our fault," they say.
Meanwhile most backers haven't gotten their devices, while Expansys is selling them for HALF the price backers paid.
Backer 1977 here. Purchase date: Dec 7, 2020
So lets recap....
downgraded SOC. how did they not know it was EOL ~3 months before it went EOL? do they not read the spec sheets and documentation?
no hdmi out which was part of why i purchase
wait 3 years, now obsolete out of the box in combination with #1
sold on xpansys for LESS
absolute silence from XDA across multiple threads:
this one
Reproach to XDA
I find it depressing that you let them use your brand name (XDA) to promote this pseudo-scam. I have always considered this forum the top in the field of telephony and modding. I hope that your association will prosecute F (x) tech by giving a...
forum.xda-developers.com
Moderators: get XDA to start updating this forum!
The 3/2022 update from F(x)tec says it will be mere weeks to delivery, still nothing here! Moderators emailed me after my last rant in another section - to you, I cannot reply from that email because the service only receives. If there really...
forum.xda-developers.com
now I am willing to give a break on #3 due to supply chain issue industry wide, thats not on fxtec to be fair.... and manufacturing is not trivial. however that point is made complete moot by #4 which really rubs salt in the wound to pay more for a device thats now being sold for less on xpansys, and worse somehow those devices are delivered BEFORE backers from 3 f*****ing years ago? thats really icing on the cake. why did xpansys get devices? why not give backers the phones they sold to xpansys? how do xpansys phones exists but backers phones do not?
re #5: a simple "hey sorry, manufacturing is difficult" would suffice, but they seem to lack the integrity to even acknowledge it.
cool i guess.... cant wait for it to arrive so I can sell it immediately and MAYBE recoup half of the cost. i dont know if ill even bother opening it play with it cuz itll sell for a little more factory sealed.
wish i purchased a Pinephone instead. GrapheneOS is the only usable android these days anyways.
the comments section on the indiegogo is also a bit of a ride.... probably worth a yt video of its own
VelosterM14 said:
Another great example of the pitfalls of crowdfunding - very difficult to truly protect yourself from people who take the money and run. Hard enough these days depending on what you are trying to fund to not have the crowdfunding service itself steal your money.
This phone did pique my interest when I first read about it the other day, but not anymore. Sad for the folks that got suckered.
EDIT: Also, another bad example of how people are being taken advantage of by a business model that puts unfinished products up for sale, increasingly dependent on software and of course the bugs that come with it. Cars, appliances, smartphones... We are giving them permission to do this to us by continuing to buy their dook.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally I wouldnt have crowd funded but it was XDA's involvement that gave confidence, and the fact that they succefully deliver the previous model proving they could deliver.
As someone who wants to start up a crowdfunding campaign for making a phone, I hope I won't upset customers to the point of this....
AltFantasy said:
As someone who wants to start up a crowdfunding campaign for making a phone, I hope I won't upset customers to the point of this....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well...simply make sure you can deliver what you promise. use this as a case study of what NOT to do lol.
good luck with your project!
I have to say I am satisfied myself. It took longer, some specs changed, but fortunately those were not issue for me. I had time, and I prefer battery life over faster clock. It's now 3 months I am using. I haven't tried android, only LOS.
I want to be as fair as possible. I will reiterate that I am not upset at the wait, again I will not blame fxtec for the supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. I don't even mind a slower SoC at this point as long as it works. And I still like XDA.
The real reason I posted was when I discovered they were selling backers phones on expansys. This crosses the line from an unfortunate investment in to some sort of fraud (IMO, not a lawyer).
This image sums up how it feels:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
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}
It's currently listed as discontinued but luckily the wayback can tell us that as of Oct 5, 2022 they had at least 5 in stock:
F(x)tec Pro1 X Dual-SIM (6GB/128GB, Black, QWERTY Keyboard) - EXPANSYS Hong Kong
Buy the F(x)tec Pro1 X Dual-SIM for HK$2,249 with free shipping to Hong Kong & Taiwan. Also accessories, special offers, reviews, videos, specs, features and forums.
web.archive.org
And there is currently a review, proving that expansys delivered a phone BEFORE fxtec fulfilled backers:
PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG! I do not want to be spreading misinformation. But how is this fair?
----
Given that this device had an SD card slot (rare now a days) and was going to have HDMI over USB-C, one of my use cases was going to be loading up an SD with movies/shows and being able to have a mobile movie theater for movie nights or hotels / travel.
If not fraud, then at the very least false advertising given that they STILL list and sell "USB Type-C with HDMI support" on their site:
I want to like this phone. Really I do. But this is kinda silly at this point.
jan4321 said:
I have to say I am satisfied myself. It took longer, some specs changed, but fortunately those were not issue for me. I had time, and I prefer battery life over faster clock. It's now 3 months I am using. I haven't tried android, only LOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please test HDMI over USB-C? Is it really not supported? I want to be wrong.
Related
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/04/09/htc-posts-impressive-q1-earnings-report/
The company has just posted their 2008 Q1 earnings report, and things seem to be looking pretty good for the Taiwanese manufacturer. The company earned $1.08 billion in the first quarter of this year, which marks a 38.6% increase from the same period last year. Everything isn’t roses and chocolates, however, as they still saw a 16.2% decrease from Q4 of last year, but given the Holiday frenzy we’re inclined to give them a free pass on this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obligatory: Where are my drivers?!?!?!
by not wasting development time on drivers is how they keep their profits up
wow, you got that on the first try, so obvious to know LOL
Not developing drivers hasn't hit them in the pocket. There is no incentive to make any changes and won't be. We are too small a group to make a big enough difference.
Yeah, but I'm not going to buy another HTC device now when they're new, as I now know they will stitch customers up with not quite right stuff and not fix it.
This will cost them brand loyalty from more people than just me I think.
Probably still too small to impact a profit driven company but allows openings for customer service driven companies. Something that could well be important in the coming recession as people will not want to take expensive chances on their gadgets.
Joe
Am I the only one here thinking that it was part of google's plan to make it look like they sold a bunch of N4s in order to get the media's attention by bragging about how many they sold? Just Google: "nexus 4 sold out". You will find many websites reporting that nexus 4 are selling like hot cakes/or are sold out. I'm going to have to look at the next news paper, I bet we will see it in the headlines. This is wonderful news for Google. Great advertisement.
More over I would like to know what you guys think of this. Don't you think that such a rich company like Google would have for seen this?
Also the fact that the number of sold devices are not being reported, wouldn't that indicate that the amount of devices are actually not that much after all? (mentioning the # of sold units would discredit their bragging right? - Of course, only if it is not high)
Chances are they have a lot on stock but want to sell only a certain amount for the time being.
Now what would concern me is, if it actually is the truth that they ran out of supply. I mean, LG? There are few people who have faith in LG, their android update policy is enough to associate that company with incompetence.
Even with the nexus phone being an LG, they already managed to leave a bad impression in countries with no play store by announcing a price which could be nearly up to double the price of the nexus 4 in the play store.
What if LG is not able to keep up with demand? What is your say? What do you think is going on?
I visited a site that mentioned that Google has done this before, in order to see how high the demand is and to fulfill the needs a few days/weeks/month later. Was not following the galaxy nexus sale , anyone that experienced this here?
Hope this thread doesn't get closed, I could imagine some interesting discussion going on
no, just scumbags trying to make a profit by hogging all the stock
AznDud333 said:
no, just scumbags trying to make a profit by hogging all the stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it its engineered, why not Apple do it all the time
Naw, I mean, there really weren't any commercials over it or anything. Google has the money to spend on advertising for it, but they honestly didn't. I feel they just weren't too sure on when to do it themselves and that we were probably making more out of it than needed to be.
dahmmy said:
I think it its engineered, why not Apple do it all the time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
google's site never lags
it lagged today.
It's a big global conspiracy to ruin your day. Mission accomplished.
If this was Apple then, yes, I would believe it was intentional but honestly the server was crashing. What I saw you can't fake. It was like a DDoS attack. That server was basically brought to its knees. SERIOUSLY.
Sent from my Nexus 7
Ravynmagi said:
It's a big global conspiracy to ruin your day. Mission accomplished.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Illuminati. Yes! They are watching us!
@above: hmmm. I prefer Lg is incompetent
I think it may be a combination of Google's lack of concern about their customers combined with a poor working relationship with LG. I don't think Google wants publicity about this launch because they and LG won't come off looking too good. Google must have thought it was getting more units from LG because they had indicated they would sell the Nexus 4 via Playstore in the Netherlands and Belgium. Then at the last minute, they had to cancel those commitments because they didn't get enough units from LG. At the same time, non-US carriers selling the phone at a much higher price than Google got units ahead of launch time so their customers could physically have the phone today. Hence, you have a number of users posting threads here about problems with their brand new Nexus 4 phones, which they have in hand. So, LG shorted Google to send phones to vendors that sell the Nexus 4 at a higher price. I suspect the whole sales cycle of this phone may be marked by problems between Google and LG, resulting in supply shortages for the lower priced Google-sold phones. If consumers want the phone and don't want to wait for weeks at a time between LG's periodic shipment of a meager supply to Google, you may be forced to buy from other vendors at a higher price or, in the US, a contract commitment to T-Mobile. It looks like Google + LG= oil + water; they don't mix well.
mke1973 said:
I think it may be a combination of Google's lack of concern about their customers combined with a poor working relationship with LG. I don't think Google wants publicity about this launch because they and LG won't come off looking too good. Google must have thought it was getting more units from LG because they had indicated they would sell the Nexus 4 via Playstore in the Netherlands and Belgium. Then at the last minute, they had to cancel those commitments because they didn't get enough units from LG. At the same time, non-US carriers selling the phone at a much higher price than Google got units ahead of launch time so their customers could physically have the phone today. Hence, you have a number of users posting threads here about problems with their brand new Nexus 4 phones, which they have in hand. So, LG shorted Google to send phones to vendors that sell the Nexus 4 at a higher price. I suspect the whole sales cycle of this phone may be marked by problems between Google and LG, resulting in supply shortages for the lower priced Google-sold phones. If consumers want the phone and don't want to wait for weeks at a time between LG's periodic shipment of a meager supply to Google, you may be forced to buy from other vendors at a higher price or, in the US, a contract commitment to T-Mobile. It looks like Google + LG= oil + water; they don't mix well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.... Or maybe not. That's quite the stretch.
shadehh said:
Also the fact that the number of sold devices are not being reported, wouldn't that indicate that the amount of devices are actually not that much after all? (mentioning the # of sold units would discredit their bragging right? - Of course, only if it is not high)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is Google's policy not to release sales figures. So it indicates absolutely nothing. Asus released some Nexus 7 sales figures last month and apparently Google was not too happy.
This is what happens when things are under-priced. Whether mandated by law (price controls) or whether a company does it out of its own desire (Nexus 4). Selling something below its true value will lead to shortages because the demand will be too heavy. Combine that with Google probably trying to not overestimate the demand in order to not build too many, it should be no surprise that it sold out so quickly.
FallN said:
If this was Apple then, yes, I would believe it was intentional but honestly the server was crashing. What I saw you can't fake. It was like a DDoS attack. That server was basically brought to its knees. SERIOUSLY.
Sent from my Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very true... i had an N4 in my cart 8 times today (EIGHT freakin times) and each and every time i tried to proceed, i got that craptastic yellow banner telling me that something happened on the back end. their servers were absolutely hammered.
PincheKeith said:
This is what happens when things are under-priced. Whether mandated by law (price controls) or whether a company does it out of its own desire (Nexus 4). Selling something below its true value will lead to shortages because the demand will be too heavy. Combine that with Google probably trying to not overestimate the demand in order to not build too many, it should be no surprise that it sold out so quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy with the low price and even if I have to wait a year to get a nexus 4 I'm so happy Google set new standards. I don't find the price too cheap, they could have easily added 50 bucks more for all I care. But I'm glad they set new standards for great hardware all others phone manufacturers must now adjust
I waited all day, from 3:00 AM EST when it was SUPPOSED to launch, to 12:00 PM EST when the "second" launch time was "announced", resulting in two times in which the "Add to Cart" button popped up but didn't work after clicking through. The minute I step inside my house, I rush to my computer, and see a nice, red SOLD OUT sign.
It had to be either a) testing the waters in terms of demand for the device (highly unlikely), b) a publicity stunt in order to garner more (free) attention for the Nexus4 (as we say it, any publicity is good publicity), or c) as stated a shortage of devices as a result between miscommunication/communication breakdowns between LG and Google.
Thoroughly disappointed. I sold my phone (GNexus) in the hopes of upgrading for very little $, and now I'm stuck with no phone at all.
oceansaber said:
I waited all day, from 3:00 AM EST when it was SUPPOSED to launch, to 12:00 PM EST when the "second" launch time was "announced", resulting in two times in which the "Add to Cart" button popped up but didn't work after clicking through. The minute I step inside my house, I rush to my computer, and see a nice, red SOLD OUT sign.
It had to be either a) testing the waters in terms of demand for the device (highly unlikely), b) a publicity stunt in order to garner more (free) attention for the Nexus4 (as we say it, any publicity is good publicity), or c) as stated a shortage of devices as a result between miscommunication/communication breakdowns between LG and Google.
Thoroughly disappointed. I sold my phone (GNexus) in the hopes of upgrading for very little $, and now I'm stuck with no phone at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
man, i feel you. i sold my gnex and my backup (g2x) device in anticipation of the nexus 4. I'm old and tired. So, i'm just going to go to my tmobile store and pick up a note 2. I got one for my wife last week and she has been completely satisfied with it. I'll re-evaluate the state of android in a couple months, whereby I might sell the note 2 to finally get the nexus 4. we'll see.
If you believe that its all a conspiracy, put your aluminum foil hat back on and go sit in the corner.
PincheKeith said:
This is what happens when things are under-priced. Whether mandated by law (price controls) or whether a company does it out of its own desire (Nexus 4). Selling something below its true value will lead to shortages because the demand will be too heavy. Combine that with Google probably trying to not overestimate the demand in order to not build too many, it should be no surprise that it sold out so quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally someone who understand economics.
Put gas half price today. Guess what will happen. Even if gas stations prepared. EVERYONE will gas and you can't prepare for that. Supply is driven by how valuable it is to sell. Demand is determined by how much value you get. They released a 600$ phone at 300$. Take off your tinfoil hats and go to school.
There is no conspiracy. We are talking about about a relatively small cell phone player in LG and a device with a small profit margin. Considering that both these companies are banking on the same profit model, ie, google wants large volume sales for ads and LG wants large volume to compensate for smaller net profits per phone. With the next big phone literally always around the corner, to delay sales in any way is very bad for both companies.
shadehh said:
I don't find the price too cheap, they could have easily added 50 bucks more for all I care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then it is too cheap If people are willing to pay $400 or $450, and they sell it for $350, that's too cheap. That's why demand is (and should be!) so high.
I don't think they did this intentionally, they have a great device at a great price and it sold out.
Going to start by saying PLEASE DON"T TURN THIS INTO AN ATTEMPT AT A SHIPPING STATUS THREAD
OK - I've been silent enough and think now's the time when I weigh in. I'm a logistics guy that worked for a mobile device manufacturer for 14 years, and currently stuck in queue as part of the Nov 27th US sale date. I will summarize the likely scenarios for the uninitiated, and those that flat out haven't been following the saga on the previous million posts to the shipping info thread - good info there but getting buried in "mine shipped today" posts.
We have in US 4 parties in the Supply Chain: Google, LG, UPS Logistics and the angry mob of customers.
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So Google exists in the cloud - taking orders (sometimes), processing payments (haphazardly), communicating (ha!) status info to customers, creating individual shipments & associating those shipments into a consolidated manifest that they transmit to UPS, and dropping purchase orders to LG for devices. Basically looking like this:
What is unclear is:
Does Google have just one massive PO that LG is attempting to build and ship against, and thus may be the fundamental reason why we have no inclination at all about shipment dates?
If it is broken down, how closely is Google managing their PO schedule lines and why aren't they communicating information publicly?
Odds are Google owns the inventory as soon as it leaves LGs docks - knowing the way UPS logistics works, they likely have segregated inventory pools, and likely 2 separate pick/ship areas. Inventory pools are by use IE round 1 orders, round 2 orders and customer satisfaction/warranty. Pick/ship is broken into some attempt at FIFO sales order managed queue, and RMA/replacement device/pissed off customer satiating. Question here is who is controlling what shipments from LG go into what pool, Google? UPS? The guy on the forklift? Important implication for (4) below
Google is transmitting order info to UPS, tracking numbers get assigned, and whole groups of tracking numbers get assigned to a manifest to be wave picked and processed. Whether Google is doing this or UPS is doing this really just depends on how the contract was written. The speculation is coming from how manifested orders are getting assigned to those pools of inventory - is there really a pool/sale date tie, is it FIFO/LIFO in one big vat, or FIFO/LIFO by pool assignment?
IMO here's how things should be working - meaning Google should be directing how inventory gets into which bucket for processing and also what that processing order is:
And so here begins my open letter to Google:
Your purchasing department/buyers better be riding LG like a horse, managing those schedule lines. Not doing so is the quickest way to guarantee continued loss of customer faith in the backend. Me coming from a mobile device manufacturing arena - either you guys just totally blew the forecast, LG has totally overstated their manufacturing capacity (shame on Goog for not sending IEs in to verify it), or there is such a high manufacturing failure rate in final test.... The last one scares the hell out of me since I'm in the process of handing you $700. FIX IT. You own it.
Your group managing accessory fulfillment needs a 3 Stooges style realignment of attitude as well. You may as well just pull the bumpers off the website and say "we have no accessories at this time". We get kinda pissed when you dangle nice things in front of us and we can't have them. PS - where the hell are the orbs? YOUR MARGIN IN ACCESSORIES IS HUGE. There is no excuse - how long has the Nex4 been in your product roadmap? FIX IT. You own it.
Likewise the person that is liasing with UPS Logistics needs a stern talking to. Either there's no direction of the inbound inventory causing good inventory to go to pools out of order, bad communication of order management info to UPS, or UPS is just in the weeds doing the pick/ship. I'm inclined to believe it's the first - the implication is that if orders are transmitted to UPS in batches or manifests and assigned to a pool, they get picked shipped FIFO by pool only when inventory arrives and gets put in the rack (which seems to be what we are seeing). Somebody dumps inventory into pool 3, and December orders start shipping before November ones. FIX IT. You own it.
Oh yeah - given the price point of these items - can you please send everything signature required? I know your contract declared value per shipment is probably set at like $100, and you are playing the numbers game - what's your true device cost vs how many get lost. But it sucks for that ONE customer whose been waiting 7 weeks to get their tracking number, a delivery notification, and comes home to find an empty porch. I can't begin to describe the suckage that person feels. At most it will cost you $1 per shipment, and make us all very happy and our fault if we say "no go ahead, driver release it" and it disappears. Bad enough us UPS MyChoice people have to try and redirect shipments before the first attempt anyway...
Your project manager for this product launch and your IT service managers for both the Play store and Wallet either have their heads in the ground for what their true capacity for order management is, or you didn't give them the budget to make the systems & services robust enough to handle what happened. Twice. Not saying someone here needs to fry, but I personally tried to order first round, had devices fail getting into my cart 4 times, cart itself crashed twice, and Wallet just continually was vomiting. Second round devices went into cart smoother, but cart did crash twice. The Wallet handoff went ok this second time. However, there's an distinct lack of flexibility in being able to manage payment after order confirmation but before product shipment. Orders are taking so long that my credit card expired and I had to activate a replacement. Fine, I update payment methods, but it didn't flow through to the order. Your CSRs advice to me? Cancel your order and re-enter one. ARE YOU FRIGGIN KIDDING ME? Somebody needs to take a deeper look at the tier 1 call center scripts, and maybe take a harder look at allowing things to go to tier 2 a little more often. FIX IT. You own it.
Lastly, your relationship management with us is sucking balls at the moment. Lack of information to us allows us to fester and boil blood in environments like this - and causes people like me to come out of the woodwork. I'm not a Google hater, I think you are driving innovation further with every single product you unveil. I don't resent that you knocked my old employers private parts in the dirt - shame on them for not paying attention. I do hate that you also are falling in the trap that most in the mobile device arena do - know your end customers expectations and be there for us. We hate the carrier subsidy market as much as you do. We're willing to hand you their part of the margin so that we don't have to put up with their bloatware. We LOVE the open developer community you have built for us. We really want to show off our new phones and say eff you Apple fan boys, look what I got. We are trying to hand you our hard earned money. Please give us a Merry Christmas.
To the folks that may get a bit of a smackdown for anything I wrote above - sorry. But ya gotta scream and yell on our behalf, or we're going to scream and yell on our behalf. Keep fighting, learn from any mistakes made, and move forward - not just onward. I wish y'all continued prosperity and a Happy Holidays.
Now give me a tracking number.
I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you haven't received your Nexus yet?
---------- Post added at 11:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:46 AM ----------
In all seriousness it's an enormous logistical fail of epic proportions. LG and Google are pretty big names so it begs all sorts of "how" and "why" questions that could make one go crazy...Any excuses really are almost unfathomable. There isn't one good reason that things shouldn't have been brought back on track by now. Any big launch can have problems. But typically they're remedied fast enough to be forgotten about.
RealiZms said:
I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you haven't received your Nexus yet?
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:crying:
RealiZms said:
In all seriousness it's an enormous logistical fail of epic proportions. LG and Google are pretty big names so it begs all sorts of "how" and "why" questions that could make one go crazy...Any excuses really are almost unfathomable. There isn't one good reason that things shouldn't have been brought back on track by now. Any big launch can have problems. But typically they're remedied fast enough to be forgotten about.
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Agreed - typically. I guess that's the puzzling part for me, it's seemingly just not getting better. As a barometer, the pace of posts in the shipping thread has slowed a bit for sure, but lawdy it still grows, and new horror stories still being added. And non-US folks are showing it's a systemic issue. Very sad.
Well done,OP.
Ordered my Nexus 4 on the 13th. Still waiting.
Lifo fifo avco.
Well said OP. I hope someone at Google sees that.I have my N4 but my wife wants one too. I cant deliver cause Google can't Now she wants a iphone 5
I'd just like to add that here in the UK, we're in exactly the same situation; orders shipped randomly to people that ordered a couple of hours after the sales opened, and all but a handful of those who ordered within the first hours have received nothing.
Now, Google UK delegate their distribution to a company called 'Computer 2000', with TNT handling delivery. This isn't just an issue of 'UPS forklift driver hates your guts' or pick/ship allocations falling into a black hole, it's a worldwide failure of Google's logistics setup.
I pre ordered on the 1st November with my network here in Denmark. Expected delivery date has changed weekly and today was supposed to be the launch day here and I would receive my phone on Monday. Today they tell me that it will more than likely be at the end of January, possibly later because of LG.
I've purchased a dozen different kind of screen protectors, a few Qi chargers, cases, a bumper all in excitement of getting the nexus in my hands, and it's like I was a 12 year old child today who dropped their ice cream - I was extremely frustrated and I've reached a point where I've had enough of waiting.
I'm done. I cancelled my pre-order and will be looking for something else. Well done LG
I'll be back when the Nexus is given to someone more capable of handling a little demand.
well said , not sure why someone would rate it 1 star (a Google employee I guess)..just rated it 5..brings it to a decent 3 star
munchy_cool said:
well said , not sure why someone would rate it 1 star (a Google employee I guess)..just rated it 5..brings it to a decent 3 star
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I'm sure some [email protected] over at Google is getting a good laugh, while playing on his Nexus, refreshing this and the shipping thread
twistedh said:
I pre ordered on the 1st November with my network here in Denmark. Expected delivery date has changed weekly and today was supposed to be the launch day here and I would receive my phone on Monday. Today they tell me that it will more than likely be at the end of January, possibly later because of LG.
I've purchased a dozen different kind of screen protectors, a few Qi chargers, cases, a bumper all in excitement of getting the nexus in my hands, and it's like I was a 12 year old child today who dropped their ice cream - I was extremely frustrated and I've reached a point where I've had enough of waiting.
I'm done. I cancelled my pre-order and will be looking for something else. Well done LG
I'll be back when the Nexus is given to someone more capable of handling a little demand.
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Same here mate.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
That post was epic. To me this whole situation could of been avoided by one simple thing: Preorders! Why in gods name would they not take them? Seriously, not only do you assure everyone who wants one at launch gets one, but you get a good forcast on your demand and can properly supply enough product to meet everyone's needs.
It never made one bit of sense to me why they didn't take pre-orders. They didn't even really give anyone a clear idea when exactly the nexus 4 would be available for purchase on the 13th! As far as product launchers goes, this has to be the biggest joke in history
And yeah their silence is driving me nuts. Have a representative take 20 minutes to write a statement and send it to Engadget, Android Central, or another news site. Would it be that hard? 20 minutes just to give us an update on what's going on. Truth is none of us know whats going on, and all we can do is speculate because there is zero info out there!
Very well considered and informed post. They do seem to be managing or not so as the case may be some fairly large problems. With the shutdowns coming over Christmas this is likely to get a little worse before it gets better.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Cor-master said:
That post was epic. To me this whole situation could of been avoided by one simple thing: Preorders! Why in gods name would they not take them? Seriously, not only do you assure everyone who wants one at launch gets one, but you get a good forcast on your demand and can properly supply enough product to meet everyone's needs.
It never made one bit of sense to me why they didn't take pre-orders. They didn't even really give anyone a clear idea when exactly the nexus 4 would be available for purchase on the 13th! As far as product launchers goes, this has to be the biggest joke in history
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It is not so easy in reality unless you are an established player with a pretty much predictable customer base, like for example a certain well known fruit factory.
Otherwise given the finite production rate you will either be forced to close the preordering (would cause the same customer fuming as the current "sold out")
or will be forced to constantly push back date of availability causing equally severe fuming.
Their current "6-7 weeks" availability schedule is in fact nothing but preorders. But somehow everyone is still unhappy.
Which brings us to the root cause of this mess: LG production is unable to keep up with demand. And no logistical mumbo-jumbo can't do anything about that.
:thumbup:Well done OP well done...:thumbup:
Using Tapatalk 2
draugaz said:
Which brings us to the root cause of this mess: LG production is unable to keep up with demand. And no logistical mumbo-jumbo can't do anything about that.
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Yep, I think LG is having a hard time keeping up with demand and the proof was all over my Nexus 4. It looks like someone over the whatever sweatshop they are using to package the phones left nasty, greasy sweaty fingerprints all over my phone when they "factory sealed" it. QC issues like this plus other problems I've been hearing on this phone leads me to believe that they are shipping them out as they make them, greasy fingers and all.
Cor-master said:
It never made one bit of sense to me why they didn't take pre-orders. They didn't even really give anyone a clear idea when exactly the nexus 4 would be available for purchase on the 13th! As far as product launchers goes, this has to be the biggest joke in history
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I actually think this IS a pre-order situation, but some douche-in-a-suit was adamant about not calling it that publicly - in the mobile device industry for some reason pre-order had a negative connotation. That and product roadmaps never being on time.
draugaz said:
It is not so easy in reality unless you are an established player with a pretty much predictable customer base, like for example a certain well known fruit factory.
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Actually it is quite easy. We're talking exactly ONE distribution channel here = retail, direct sales. And by now with as long as the Play store has been online, they damn well know their customer base. Not to mention being able to log every IP that has visited the product info page. How much more demographic information do they need?
Globally Google has outsourced their distribution. That means it is infinitely scaleable. There's absolutely no excuse for this. It's evident from all the non-US issues, that this is a Google orchestration failure on all levels. Plain and simple. I hope Bill Gates sent the project manager a really nice box of cigars as a thank you. The G just boosted Windows phone users tremendously. At a minimum it's making a lot of us go hmmmm. I guess maybe Finland should send some cigars too - because suddenly the Lumia family doesn't look so bad.
| And I kind of swore never to look at another Nokia device again |
Thank you to all those that appreciated my OP.
I'm gonna take a guess here and say the OP worked for RIM.
Sent from my HTC Dream using xda app-developers app
wilsonlam97 said:
I'm gonna take a guess here and say the OP worked for RIM.
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BUZZZ. There's 2 lines in my above post. Read between them. :laugh:
cvfl said:
Actually it is quite easy. We're talking exactly ONE distribution channel here = retail, direct sales. And by now with as long as the Play store has been online, they damn well know their customer base. Not to mention being able to log every IP that has visited the product info page. How much more demographic information do they need?
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After reflection, and knowing there are really intelligent folks on here - I'll go aheaad and correct myself now. I know full well there's not one distribution channel. There was the potential to be, but there was a decision not to. I'll explain.
Let's take the US. We all know it's a subsidy market sure - sharing revenue, cocking up the software etc. There was a huge potential to thumb their nose at the carrier segment, and say guess what? We value our customers, and we're giving them a direct opportunity to buy from us. Sorry, your in store carrier offering is going to have to wait 6 months. So that would have meant only 1 distribution channel in column C, per country. Easy peasy. Not to mention the effect on margin to Google and protection of their core brand. But no, now we have a situation where not only the total demand for all of column C blew the forecast out of the water, but I'm sure every segment (each country level distribution channel) forecast blew up the farm.
Now what happens you might ask? Grab your popcorn kiddos. Allocation mode ensues. Each country manager now has a decision to make - send volume a) to the carrier - who is a guaranteed sale, is going to be taking future Google products, who will provide some marketing spend to give us prominent placement in holiday ads and shelf space; or b) cvfl - who just wants to hand us $660 for 2 8gb variants. And guess what? The carrier makes you screw up your manufacturing capacity, because now you have a viariant that has their SW, multiple colors, multiple accessory bundles, because all the carriers want to be "differentiated". So now there goes 250K volume from the direct channel, to TMOUS. How screwed up is that?
You had a chance fellas, and you blew it. And now all these outstanding people, NOT in an 'entry' product category, are pissed off and REALLY know how your business works. You country managers better start whipping up a plan to make things whole with us - like free Orbs or Bumpers, and bust out the customer satisfaction cost center. And start talking to us - because <insert deity here> bless the internet, we talk to each other.
This internet thing sure is a hoot.
And if someone in Mountain View actually does read this - I wonder if I haven't burned a bridge here, I wanted to let you know that me and my merry band of project folks are available to come in and let you know exactly how to make sure this NEVER happens again, or even how to dig yourself out now. I'll let you know now we have fairly standard level consulting fees - but the difference is we actually earn that hourly rate both in quality and speed. I say that because at this time most of us actually have other gigs (myself I started my own biz in a totally unrelated industry), so we'll have to gingerly plan how timing wise things could work. We're a very experienced team of PMP certified, SAP and other SCM software knowledgeable folks. You can even use your existing core IT teams - we play nice. Just remember I'm a no BS kinda guy - I speak my mind, and always wear jeans. I also have the ability to talk to board members, but remember that I have integrity so I don't lie on anyone's behalf.
Why do we have to endure weeks of waiting for the release of a new Samsung device when it has been announced? All those people at the unpacked event waving the Note 4 and Edge around on stage or within the experience stands make me jealous but also make me angry.
I never see why the phones/devices cannot be on the shelves within a week of an announcement for contract free purchases. I understand there might be negotiations with carriers but why stop those with the cash in their hands?
I also would love to know who decides on which country gets a certain device and when.
Samsung is particularly bad at this. They drag their heels with pricing, release dates and availability. Surely this can be all in place prior to their events.
It's not wrong, you're right!
Apple does very well
I know. How long does it take to mole the circuit board, etc?
Its potential for cash cow. People say Oct 5th for T-mobile. Thats 4 weeks too long.
This is one thing Apple actually does very well. Release date generally follows announcement by less than 2 weeks. Pre-orders start just a few days after the announcement.
It is very annoying. I wish they'd just wait to announce until they're closer to release. Who cares if it leaks during production? Samsung isn't as bad as LG tho, they are terrible.
This article is another reason why the wait is irritating. http://www.gsmarena.com/nvidia_files_a_patent_lawsuit_against_samsung_and_qualcomm-news-9564.php
Samsung is terrible at this. Apple has almost always released within earshot knowing the hypetrain is still there. By the time Note 4 arrives iPhone6 will be on shelves. Noone outside the geekworld is hyped about a Note 4. Even casuals know a new and bigger iPhone are coming. After the S5 dissaponting sales you'd think Samsung would pull out all stops.
Shame, they could be taking advantage of the earlier announcement over apple but they're going to just let apple rake in the earlier pre orders.
for one, it's pretty obvious they need time to produce hundreds of thousands of them first., on top of that, each carrier needs time to receive the units and to do their own testing and get samsung to load things on to them, firmware,modems,etc..
surely if they were available right after announced that would mean the device was already in productions many weeks prior and shipped/stocked at all retailers before hand.. this wouldn't make sense..
this is just standard on all electronic and if you ever bought any other piece of electronic in the past, you would have known this is normal practice to announce and then begin shipping out to retailers.
zergslayer69 said:
Shame, they could be taking advantage of the earlier announcement over apple but they're going to just let apple rake in the earlier pre orders.
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preorders are already open on the sprint website and have been for a couple days http://www.sprint.com/landings/samsung_note4/index.html?ECID=vanity:galaxynote4
blame the carrier if yours isn't available for preorder yet.
tft said:
for one, it's pretty obvious they need time to produce hundreds of thousands of them first., on top of that, each carrier needs time to receive the units and to do their own testing and get samsung to load things on to them, firmware,modems,etc..
surely if they were available right after announced that would mean the device was already in productions many weeks prior and shipped/stocked at all retailers before hand.. this wouldn't make sense..
this is just standard on all electronic and if you ever bought any other piece of electronic in the past, you would have known this is normal practice to announce and then begin shipping out to retailers.
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Well I already stated that I understood why there was a delay for carrier testing but I am talking about those who wish to buy outright. And if Apple and HTC can get their stock out shortly after announcements then why can't Samsung? Saying this is normal practice does not make it acceptable.
The devices shown at the launch were not prototypes, the production process has already begun and could have been stepped up prior to the launch.
Also, it still does not answer the question on pricing, release dates and country availability (for carrier free devices) these things need to be finalised before launch or very shortly after. In my opinion it's all just a tactic to build up some sort of hype
tft said:
blame the carrier if yours isn't available for preorder yet.
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Preorder is not the same thing. I only see registration for email alert. Same as T-mobile.
I find it strange that Cellphone carriers do not even concentrate in advertizing for the release of the Note 4.
This is why its nice not having carriers mess and install a bunch of bloat. I don't think carriers mess around with iPhones and install their software on it, so less time wasted on things you don't need or care about. Just get the product out and sell it.
Anyways, just poor planning really, a month is a long time in the tech world and consumer electronic hype wears off fairly fast when something else new and shiny comes out in between then.
apprentice said:
Saying this is normal practice does not make it acceptable.
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People love hyperbole I guess. If it is 'unacceptable' to you then buy an iPhone or HTC product.
Samsung can release its phone any dang time they feel like it - that's their business. If you don't like it, you can not buy it - that's your business.
JasonJoel said:
People love hyperbole I guess. If it is 'unacceptable' to you then buy an iPhone or HTC product.
Samsung can release its phone any dang time they feel like it - that's their business. If you don't like it, you can not buy it - that's your business.
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Well duh.. Thanks for explaining that, I feel so enlightened now.
My point of this post is for debate as to why it happens. We the consumers are entitled to complain. I am looking for logical answers not "If you don't like it buy something else" it's not bringing much to the table.
Thats why i am getting the Iphone 6 over the Note 4, it'll be available sooner and i need a high end phone bad. Good thing is ill be able to sell the iphone 6 at a great price and pick up the note 4 when its out.
apprentice said:
Well duh.. Thanks for explaining that, I feel so enlightened now.
My point of this post is for debate as to why it happens. We the consumers are entitled to complain. I am looking for logical answers not "If you don't like it buy something else" it's not bringing much to the table.
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There is no answer other than that is how samsung chooses to do it.
Could they hold the announcement closer to the physical release? Yes, of course they could. They just prefer to do it this way, for whatever marketing reason.
If the marketing people thought it was strategic to announce closer to physical release, they would. But clearly they don't.
If Samsung "should" copy something apple does, its their method of announcing and SHIPPING a product very quickly post launch. That is their only major issue. Why allow other OEM's to get product out the door and lose sales and yes they do lose sales and now that apple is going big and bigger on their phones next week with a launch before the Note 4 hits stores that is a big deal and some would be Note 4 buyers will get a 5.5" iphone instead, (dumb move, but it's their choice).
I fully agree with the OP and carriers are very likely the issue. Negotiations would likely have been done already, in the US anyways its likely more about last minute bloatware and who has a "bigger" tower than anything else.
I blame Verizon, for everything lol.
Apple has more control over the carriers.
Apple has more control over the carriers and the supply chain, that is why their rollouts are quicker.
iPhone 6 on the 19th
I thought this thread would be exploding with comments about how Apple can do it in less than 2 weeks.
Anything over 30 days is crazy. The battery life on my Note 2 fading away, I've been eligible for an upgrade for months.
Now that I know the specifics of the Note 4 it has given my a chance to look at other phones S5, G3, M8 or wait for Nexus X.
The longer I wait the less likely that I'll make an 'impulse buy' I'm still excited about the Note 4 but I'm weighting the cost vs features.
What's up with the pre order pages on Samsung.com and Sprint.com? Did I actually pretty order or was it just an email notification? I didn't even receive an email confirmation.
10 years ago HTC was a great company! Then after they reached great success, they started with range of dumb decisions. Today, nobody cares about HTC. Not sending phones any longer to developers, who are big part of this success story, is an arrogant and dumb OnePlus decision. In a long term, this will cost them way, way more, then what they'll save not shipping phones to developers. I hope I'm wrong.
Yesterday somebody said that those 20 smartphones they "giveaway" for developers is about 0,006% of total sales(3.000.000 so far) of the 6T so far. It's not. It's about 0,0006% of theyr sold phones.
For sure if it's true, I'll stop buying OP.
I doubt them stopping giving a few devices away is gonna harm them at all, Sure some devs will move to other brands but still OnePlus is shipping the sources fast and keeping the price cheaper than other devices, If all devs abandon them and the prices increase with more stupid decisions maybe the hype will die off.
Still their sales are increasing year on year so I doubt they'll flop like HTC did
guaranteed, this wont affect OnePlus's financial growth ONE BIT..
their success partnering with TMobile/Verizon, will boost their sales, and , I'm sure they couldn't care less about the 100 or the 1000 or even the 5000 people on XDA who wont buy their phones any more..
I think the price is the most appealing part of their devices. They could only fail if that changes, which I don't see. They will always undercut the Samsung's and Apples of the world.
yep, features/value for the buck, they are the current kings of that...that could change if they get too cocky/greedy, but if not, their growth will continue until someone comes out and knocks them out..
Not being root friendly was not the death of HTC. HTC would release 10 phones a year that were all the same, and then had weird advertising. Remember that pale-skinned red head that would say random things (I think it was for the Evo 3D)? Creepy. The Downey Jr ad campaign was entertaining at best, but mostly just weird. Then 3 years of the "ultra pixel" cameras when the entire market far surpassed HTC in the camera game. Plus, Samsung really stepped up their game, and Galaxy became a household name. Nexus phones came out, and became the go-to for the rom community. HTC became intertwined with Sprint, when everyone was leaving Sprint. WiMax? LOL
Now, not to say that OnePlus can't fail, but as long as they continue to make quality phones at great prices, they should continue to do well for quite some time. And with the love they have shown with software updates, it shows they stand behind their phones. If they stop becoming the value proposition, it will be easy for someone else to steal their market share.
tokuzumi said:
Not being root friendly was not the death of HTC. HTC would release 10 phones a year that were all the same, and then had weird advertising. Remember that pale-skinned red head that would say random things (I think it was for the Evo 3D)? Creepy. The Downey Jr ad campaign was entertaining at best, but mostly just weird. Then 3 years of the "ultra pixel" cameras when the entire market far surpassed HTC in the camera game. Plus, Samsung really stepped up their game, and Galaxy became a household name. Nexus phones came out, and became the go-to for the rom community. HTC became intertwined with Sprint, when everyone was leaving Sprint. WiMax? LOL
Now, not to say that OnePlus can't fail, but as long as they continue to make quality phones at great prices, they should continue to do well for quite some time. And with the love they have shown with software updates, it shows they stand behind their phones. If they stop becoming the value proposition, it will be easy for someone else to steal their market share.
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Well said :good:
They already start to be trash. Sending so much devices to YouTuber and stop sending few devices to developer is just a "why".
No 3.5mm anymore and already at 550€ (I can get s9+ for that price and for 600€ a Note 9).
The camera is still ~S7 and no dual speaker, no QI... I hope they will end like HTC.
OnePlus will restart seeding program per latest update. Anyway, no need to cut the program just to make it better.
Oneplus 6T is still a good choice for its value position. But agree, they put more focus on the Youtubers than developers, who can give them useful support and tech suggestion.
Not sure which way, but its not the same anymore.