All posts by Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Unknown's avatar

About Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

President, CEO & Editor of https://gavinsgadgets.com Reviews & News of Technology

The iPhone Cash Cow – has it ended?

I have being reading all the news regarding new android handsets at CES. You can now buy a top performing phone for a fraction of the iPhone cost of ownership.

With the market forces changing so rapidly, can Apple continue its profit margin model. I am not so sure it can, as phone companies will start to push back. In all honesty, if Apple makes money on the AppStore does it need vast profits on the hardware.

With Google and Amazon fighting hard in the wings, Apple really has it work cut out. Of course, if it releases a start of the art, innovative phone that nobody can copy for 5 years, then it is relatively safe.

Has Apple stopped Innovating?

Everyday I read an article about how iOS 6 and the iPhone hasn’t changed much and how it has not innovated and gone stale. I read articles about how great the Samsung S3 or Nexus 4 is , and how these people who were hardened Apple users, come out the closet and state how much better android is now.

Last January, I got frustrated with my 4S. I had had the 4 previously. So in essence I was looking at the same shape for nearly 2.5 years. In geek land that’s a lifetime. So I moved to a Samsung Note. I wrote tons about how amazing it was. Then on the S3’s first day of release I did a great deal with Carphonewarehouse and moved to this phone. I was so convinced the S3 was better than any iPhone. It did more, it specification was magical. And then the iPhone 5 arrived. I had both side by side, and in that instance I was decided to sell the S3 and keep the iPhone 5. I used the iPhone 5 for a week first just to make sure. You see the iPhone 5 was stunning to look at, and the S3 bland. Anyway, it’s has been 3 months plus with the 5 and it actually feels like I am doing tasks faster and quicker. The audio and camera quality are superior too. The S3 has more features, no question about that, but the 5 with Apple’s infrastructure, its a win for me at the moment.

So what’s my theory. Well there is nothing wrong with the iPhone. It’s brilliant. Except it feels boring. It so good. But since 2007 it still looks the same. And has a similar interface. Android has evolved. It has all sorts of tweaks and options and hardware. It has the novelty factor but also it has improved leaps and bounds. For some reliability is everything. But for others change is needed. In reality iOS has improved dramatically, but it looks the same. Some might say that’s important as people don’t get frightened by change.

And that’s Apple’s problem. Everything works great but for some it’s not enough even though it performs well. That plus competing phones are adding the glitz.

Confirmed – Apple To Release Smaller Cheaper iPhone

The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Apple is working on a cheaper iPhone. While Apple has explored such a device for years, the plan has been progressing and a less expensive version of its flagship device could launch as soon as later this year.

The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body, one of the people said. One possibility Apple has considered is lowering the cost of the device by using a different shell made of polycarbonate plastic; in contrast, the iPhone 5 currently has an aluminum housing. Many other parts could remain the same or be recycled from older iPhone models.

Who knows, you could see the iPhone 4, low resolution camera in a plastic multi coloured finish. Strangely, at least it won’t break as easy of dropped unlike glass.

Samsung Profits & Sales Rocket

With successful devices like the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2 and 30 plus other handset derivatives, it is no surprise that Samsung is producing such stellar results as below. They are selling a massive 500 handsets per minute in the last quarter of 2012 alone.

The consolidated operating profit is expected to be $8.28 billion. Consolidated sales for the third quarter of 2012 are at $49.10 billion, while operating profit is recorded at $7.58 billion U.S. dollars.

Revenues for fiscal 2012 are estimated at $189.18 billion on consolidated basis, and operating profit is expected to be $27.29 billion.

Staggering figures. The challenge will be to maintain these results. But with Samsung releasing refrigerators with Evernote integration anything is possible.

20130108-121231.jpg

Blackberry 10 – Missing in Action – The Home Button

In a few weeks time, the first Blackberry 10 handsets will be released. One interesting aspect of the new operating system, is the omission of the home button.

Blackberry believe their new flow process is far more intuitive and that having a home button is so yesterday.

I suppose they are trying to differentiate from the iPhone concept. Real use of the phone will naturally determine whether this was genius of disaster. And I wonder if this is patented, otherwise the whole world will copy.

The ZTE Grand S – the thinnest phone

Below is the 5-inch HD (1,920 x 1,080) display of the Grand S, powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro which will debut this quarter in China with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It’s has a 13-megapixel auto-focus camera on the rear and a 2-megapixel camera on the front which are capable of recording video in 1080p. The Grand S boasts 2GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, and despite its super thin 6.9mm enclosure, it features a microSD card slot. Disappointingly it appears that ZTE sacrificed battery capacity to meet the size constraints of the Grand S, as a 1,780mAh battery is sealed within the phone’s unibody enclosure. With LTE on board, this phone is likely to need to be very close to a charger.

20130108-230426.jpg

Marketing Budgets

Peter Chou of HTC made a point recently that they didn’t have nor spend as vast amounts on Marketing as Samsung or Apple.

So lets look at the amounts. Lets take Coca Cola. Last year it spent $3bn. That’s huge but we all know what Coca Cola is. How about Apple? Apple spent $1bn which still seems huge. But these amounts are nothing compared to Samsung who spent $11bn. That’s nearly 4 times the marketing spend of Coca Cola.

I cannot see how any company, even HTC compete against such a strong marketing budget and campaign.

Sony Experia Z & ZL – The Design Differences – Which is Best?

It’s great to see Sony back in the game with 2 decent handsets but don’t they listen or learn from others.

I will be doing a bigger piece on Friday, but here is my first views.

The Sony Experia Z – it’s thin at 7mm but only had a 2300mah battery. Seriously Sony on a 5 inch screen. Sony say the have a power management tool that turns off apps in standby. Big deal. Run time will still be poor. For the sake a thinness a bigger battery is needed. I like the look, the decent camera and the waterproof and dust proof aspects. However, it’s very angular in design , meaning sharp corners and edges, meaning uncomfortable in the hand. The back is glass, gorilla glass. Who said Apple was mad using glass in the iPhone 4/4S!

The Sony Experia ZL – this is smaller in footprint and but has the same screen. In other words it is all screen practically. But it is not dust and waterproof. However, it does have rounded edges and curves, meaning it feels very comfortable in the hand. However it is slightly thicker too. It also loses the glass back for a more traditional plastic.

So the Z was angular as it needed to have flaps to conceal all the ports and slots to help it retain its dust and waterproof aspects. This is a good idea but sadly it does make it not as comfortable to hold. I am concerned about the battery. The Samsung Note has a much larger battery. But the Z is ultra thin. To make the ZL have a smaller front, the thickness was increased.

As you can see design compromises or design features impact the end result.

Which would you choose?