Google’s big potential problem: The ‘Galaxy’ brand is starting to beat the ‘Android’ brand

[ck_kent]

There’s no mystery that Google (GOOG) is collaborating with Motorola on the so-called “X Phone” at least in part to weaken Samsung’s (005930) hold on the Android ecosystem. And now Benedict Evans, a strategy consultant for Enders Analysis, points us to some charts showing why Google is so eager to contain Samsung: It seems that Samsung’s Galaxy brand may be overtaking Google’s Android brand in terms of consumer awareness.

Using a Google Trends graph, Evans shows how the Galaxy brand has been rising steadily for years in tandem with the Android brand in terms of web search volume, and for the first time briefly eclipsed Android in worldwide searches this past December. That’s obviously great news for Samsung but not such great news for Google, which has traditionally preferred that no one vendor dominate the sales of devices based its mobile operating system.

Source

[shought]

Nice article!

It's true that Samsung made a great move with its Galaxy line. They first released the Galaxy flagships (let's just face it, the Galaxy S was simply the best bang-for-buck (not saying it was cheap, but relatively) on the market and the same goes for the SII) and after that they made use of all the people talking/knowing about how good these Samsung Galaxy (note the missing S) phones were to introduce other Galaxy branded phones.

HTC had the opportunity to do the same, but they failed miserably. Whereas they should have continued their hugely popular Desire line (and focused development on a new Desire flagship) they made the mistake of introducing two flagships (One S and X). Only some time ago they continued the Desire line with the Desire X, but the Desire X should have been their new flagship instead of the One X (with the specs of the One X of course) and the One S should have been the Desire C (with specs that lie in between the Desire C and One S), positioned in a price range below the Galaxy SII.

If they had done this then they would not have had two flagships (which is a terrible idea, because now you have two competing phones of the same brand), they would not have broken the Desire-line, they would have (seriously) competed with the SIII (whereas it's really not a competition now, in my opinion) and they would have seriously competed with the SII.

It's a shame, I really like HTC phones.

[chlorophyll]

100000% agree withi shought.

i had the same thoughts in my mind.GALAXY created a revolution among android phones n even it became a INDIVIDUAL BRAND VALUE par with ANDROID even.

a day wil come when common think that GALAXY phones are different OS from ANDROID.

now they gonna launch s4.donno wat revolution this s4 gonna make in da ANDROID MARKET.

[chlorophyll]

@shought

may i know pls why u lik HTC?

GIVE ME your VIEWS PLS

coz in a few days am gonna take new android.

it could be s2/s3/htc one series.

the reason for asking your view is all u people high-tech guys.u have whole info regarding al mobiles etc ...so i wanna know from u

wat reasons u have t go for HTC?

THANK U

[shought]

I was considering the HTC One X, HTC One S, HTC Desire X and Samsung Galaxy SIII and SIII Mini.

I currently own a Desire and wanted a larger phone, the SIII Mini is only slightly larger and I handled it recently, it was still a little too small. The Desire X is about the same size and the specs aren't really that great. The SIII is much larger, too large, for me. The One X has the same problem so the One S is probably the phone I'm going to buy.

It all depends on your taste though, most high-end phones have proper specs for quite a lot of activities, but I just prefer HTC designs over Samsung.

Also I am of the opinion that a quad core is overkill for a mobile phone, the most cores any phone should need is 2+1 (2 high speed, 1 for sleep mode/energy saving/slow). Most desktop computers don't even make proper use of four cores yet (aside from when you unpack large files, Photoshop/image editing or movie editing/rendering).

[DKT27]

Nice article!

It's true that Samsung made a great move with its Galaxy line. They first released the Galaxy flagships (let's just face it, the Galaxy S was simply the best bang-for-buck (not saying it was cheap, but relatively) on the market and the same goes for the SII) and after that they made use of all the people talking/knowing about how good these Samsung Galaxy (note the missing S) phones were to introduce other Galaxy branded phones.

HTC had the opportunity to do the same, but they failed miserably. Whereas they should have continued their hugely popular Desire line (and focused development on a new Desire flagship) they made the mistake of introducing two flagships (One S and X). Only some time ago they continued the Desire line with the Desire X, but the Desire X should have been their new flagship instead of the One X (with the specs of the One X of course) and the One S should have been the Desire C (with specs that lie in between the Desire C and One S), positioned in a price range below the Galaxy SII.

If they had done this then they would not have had two flagships (which is a terrible idea, because now you have two competing phones of the same brand), they would not have broken the Desire-line, they would have (seriously) competed with the SIII (whereas it's really not a competition now, in my opinion) and they would have seriously competed with the SII.

It's a shame, I really like HTC phones.

Maybe names like HTC Desire One V, Desire One S, Desire One X. :)

[chlorophyll]

Nice article!

It's true that Samsung made a great move with its Galaxy line. They first released the Galaxy flagships (let's just face it, the Galaxy S was simply the best bang-for-buck (not saying it was cheap, but relatively) on the market and the same goes for the SII) and after that they made use of all the people talking/knowing about how good these Samsung Galaxy (note the missing S) phones were to introduce other Galaxy branded phones.

HTC had the opportunity to do the same, but they failed miserably. Whereas they should have continued their hugely popular Desire line (and focused development on a new Desire flagship) they made the mistake of introducing two flagships (One S and X). Only some time ago they continued the Desire line with the Desire X, but the Desire X should have been their new flagship instead of the One X (with the specs of the One X of course) and the One S should have been the Desire C (with specs that lie in between the Desire C and One S), positioned in a price range below the Galaxy SII.

If they had done this then they would not have had two flagships (which is a terrible idea, because now you have two competing phones of the same brand), they would not have broken the Desire-line, they would have (seriously) competed with the SIII (whereas it's really not a competition now, in my opinion) and they would have seriously competed with the SII.

It's a shame, I really like HTC phones.

Maybe names like HTC Desire One V, Desire One S, Desire One X. :)

s its ABSOLUTELY quite APT.

[ck_kent]

Maybe names like HTC Desire One V, Desire One S, Desire One X. :)

But it looks like HTC is dropping the Desire and One brand altogether in their next flagship phone - HTC M7. :o

Otherwise, aside from the February 19 event, previous M7 details have shown specs to include 4.7-inch 1080p display, quad-core 1.7GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 2300 mAh battery, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, 12 megapixel rear-facing camera and Jelly Bean with Sense 5.

http://androidcommunity.com/htc-m7-spotted-in-vodafone-and-carphone-warehouse-inventory-listings-20130204/

[DKT27]

Maybe names like HTC Desire One V, Desire One S, Desire One X. :)

But it looks like HTC is dropping the Desire and One brand altogether in their next flagship phone - HTC M7. :o

>>Otherwise, aside from the February 19 event, previous M7 details have shown specs to include 4.7-inch 1080p display, quad-core 1.7GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 2300 mAh battery, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, 12 megapixel rear-facing camera and Jelly Bean with Sense 5.

http://androidcommunity.com/htc-m7-spotted-in-vodafone-and-carphone-warehouse-inventory-listings-20130204/

True, true. Totally forgot about that. But some place recently, I read it's a codename, rather than a model name. Highly likely to be the model name though, lets see.

[calguyhunk]

You really need 3 phones in your Android line up IMO.

1. A quad core ~4.5" 1080p device @ $599 unlocked. (~$199 under contract with US carriers)

2. A dual core ~4.0" 720p device @ $299 unlocked. (Free/$50 under contract with US carriers)

3. And an (at least) 1Mhz single core 3.5" 640x360 device @ $150 specifically for the developing markets ;)

Make them and update them timely dammit! Rather than the current scenario of weird contraptions with confusing nomenclature that take eons to get updates - if at all :mad2:

Tell me if I'm being too simplistic :dunno:

[alanbrook]

Yes you are right. Now SAMSUNG is the top most mobile business in world. Samsung will slap the all brands of mobile items. And the main thing is Google is owned by Motorola. Tha'ts why all the features should be develop by Google..

[ffi]

I was considering the HTC One X, HTC One S, HTC Desire X and Samsung Galaxy SIII and SIII Mi

I currently own a Desire and wanted a larger phone, the SIII Mini is only slightly larger and I handled it recently, it was still a little too small. The Desire X is about the same size and the specs aren't really that great. The SIII is much larger, too large, for me. The One X has the same problem so the One S is probably the phone I'm going to buy.

It all depends on your taste though, most high-end phones have proper ipecs for quite a lot of activities, but I just prefer HTC designs over Samsung.

Also I am of the opinion that a quad core is overkill for a mobile phone, the most cores any phone should need is 2+1 (2 high speed, 1 for sleep mode/energy saving/slow). Most desktop computers don't even make proper use of four cores yet (aside from when you unpack large files, Photoshop/image editing or movie editing/rendering).

I got a one X and I think it is too small(and I started with wanting a phone just a little bit bigger than the DEsire), I hope the next gen phones will be around 5-6" (galaxy note size) with full HD screens

[shought]

I got a one X and I think it is too small(and I started with wanting a phone just a little bit bigger than the DEsire), I hope the next gen phones will be around 5-6" (galaxy note size) with full HD screens

Thanks for the heads up :) I really, really dislike big phones though so I think the One S will be just fine for me :)

[ffi]

I got a one X and I think it is too small(and I started with wanting a phone just a little bit bigger than the DEsire), I hope the next gen phones will be around 5-6" (galaxy note size) with full HD screens

Thanks for the heads up :) I really, really dislike big phones though so I think the One S will be just fine for me :)

My GF's got the One S, it's a good phone with amazing battery life(4 days easily with moderate use) but the pentile layout of the screen sucks even compared to my desire's screen (I had the slcd version) but she doesn't even notices it but if you get one be sure to get the S4 (with the newer krait processer) and not one with an overclocked S3. If you don't know which version you'll be getting I wouldn't buy it...

[shought]

Thanks for the heads up :) I really, really dislike big phones though so I think the One S will be just fine for me :)

My GF's got the One S, it's a good phone with amazing battery life(4 days easily with moderate use) but the pentile layout of the screen sucks even compared to my desire's screen (I had the slcd version) but she doesn't even notices it but if you get one be sure to get the S4 (with the newer krait processer) and not one with an overclocked S3. If you don't know which version you'll be getting I wouldn't buy it...

Yeah, I read about the screen and the processor. I'm definitely going to make sure I get the S4 (the performance difference is huge) :)

Most reviews state that side-by-side the pentile layout really does seem odd, but that it's not really noticeable or annoying in every-day use.

(We're going a bit of topic now though :P)

One more of these posts from me and I'll be sending myself a PM saying that I should stay on topic :rolleyes:

[ffi]

well one last off topic, the next gen phones are around the corner, so better wait a few weeks more

[LeetPirate]

Samsung won everything because they left the phone open for developers to do their thing. This is what contributed to the massive success of the Galaxy line. Everyone knows that if they want any chance of easy install custom rom and custom kernel and all the mods the best way is the Galaxy S/2/3 product line. Sure others phones can have custom roms too but the best and most supported are the Galaxy flagship phones. HTC fucked themselves with S-ON and S-OFF. HTC has the best UI compared to the rest but this was not enough to dethrone Samsung. Motorola sucked ass as usual because their Motoblur UI is ugly and epic fail.

Also the S1 is still a superior built phone than the S2, not faster but better quality. The Galaxy S2 uses Yamaha audio hardware, the original Galaxy S used Wolfson's WM8994 DAC. User feedback on Internet forums as well as an in-depth review at Clove have expressed the Yamaha chip's inferior sound quality compared to that of the Wolfson chip featured in the original Galaxy S. Also lots of failed wifi on the S2.

[ffi]

if you are an audiophile the sgs1 might be a better phone but on all other fronts the sgs2 is superior, it also got updated to android 4.1.2 and got a big touchwiz update too, it feels like a new phone...

btw I never heard about WiFi problems with the sgs2, whereas the sgs1 had a lot of documented problems with the GPS.

[Casper]

Yes you are right. Now SAMSUNG is the top most mobile business in world. Samsung will slap the all brands of mobile items. And the main thing is Google is owned by Motorola. Tha'ts why all the features should be develop by Google..

I believe you swapped the brands around: Motorola Mobility is owned by Google now.

Motorola will live again...I hope. Although they are practically abandoning South Africa :( . Just because the people here are stuck on Samsung and Blackberry, loyal customers like myself (10+ years of Motorola - V66, ROKR E398, RAZR V3x, MING A1200, ZINE ZN5, Milestone A853, RAZR MAXX XT910) are left to "suffer".

[calguyhunk]

Samsung won everything because they left the phone open for developers to do their thing. This is what contributed to the massive success of the Galaxy line.

That. A fully unlocked bootloader never hurts. :yes:

HTC has the best UI compared to the rest but this was not enough to dethrone Samsung.

It doesn't help if you're peddling lightweight hardware against Samsung's stellar hardware specs just 'cuz you have a better UI! People still gave Sensation somewhat of a shot against the S II, but with the One series, they shot themselves in the foot. Quite like MS with Windows 8, HTC decided - rather bewilderingly, if I may say so - that they needed to do away with the aesthetics of their UI in the name of being 'more responsive' :angry:

The 3D effects, amongst other visually and aesthetically pleasing features of the Sense UI, got the boot. :nono:

They ought to have realized that people who're preferring HTC over SS (in the largely geeky Android diaspora) are, to a large extent doing so because of their UI and doing away with their USP numero uno, isn't gonna sit well with their users :(