Can eminent companies dance to our tune? A little about the main disadvantage HTC One M9, another hint of a revolution from Samsung , the alleged design of the Sony Xperia Z4 and a smartphone with 4GB of RAM from Asus.
The price of facts
– But is it a fact?
– No, this is not a fact.
– This is not a fact ?!
– No, this is not a fact. This is much more than a fact.
And so it really was.The same Munchausen
They say that words have power. In many ways, this is true. This is the real magic, which is available to almost anyone, but which few people can use.
And it's not just about art – in business, politics and even the development and production of technology, words play an equally important role. Someone will say that words are just words and no matter how much you shake the air, the facts will not change from this. Alas, this is not so – often invented or well-manipulated facts turn out to be much more convincing for people than objectively existing reality. The main thing is to convince the listeners that everything is exactly as you say, and do not even allow them to think that this is just your personal view of the problem, a subjective vision of the situation, and not at all the ultimate truth.
Objectivity is an abstraction that does not exist in nature. Instead, there are a bunch of subjective opinions, each of which is necessarily the only true one for someone. What's the difference how many “parrots” this or that phone has typed in the synthetic test, if I can see with the naked eye how, when scrolling through the list, it stably jerks for a hundredth of a second? What do I care about UK research if I see the grain of a 2K Amoled screen with PenTile technology? Why do I need a long list of incomprehensible characteristics, if it is already clear that the products of brand A are innovations in their pure form, and devices of brand B are cheap, assembled at (just think!) A Chinese factory?
You will say that a person is unable to assess the speed of rendering a list by eye, which takes hundredths of a second, that the size of a subpixel on a 2K screen cannot be seen even with a magnifying glass, and smartphones A and B are assembled by the same Chinese workers at the same factory? Say what you want, but I'm used to trusting my eyes. And if I see a problem, then there is one. At least for me. This is reality, given to me in sensations, and let philosophers reason about its objectivity or subjectivity.
Zombie side effect
Any coin has two sides. We are accustomed to thinking that marketers of large companies turn an unlucky buyer as they want, and at the same time he firmly believes that the purchase of this or that device is exclusively his own choice. In fact, any well-known manufacturer depends on this very 'unlucky buyer' even more than the buyer depends on him. People's expectations are a scary thing that few people can ignore. Someone yields to the desires of a faceless crowd of buyers at once, someone tries to act in their own way – in most cases the result is still the same. The same casual customers that many 'effective' businessmen are used to treating with a little contempt will still turn things around. Even if for this they have to turn the facts inside out or convince themselves that white is black.
Samsung can copy iPhone, or they can release devices with an original design, like the same SGS3 – the users' verdict is known in advance and is not subject to appeal. Copied, period. Chinese companies can come up with amazing devices time after time at attractive prices – users in most of the rest of the world will have no doubt that this is a useless cheap stuff anyway. Apple can produce devices with a screen diagonal of 3.5 or 5 inches – it's still the only convenient size, everything else is from the crafty one. Motorola can create the world's first smartphone with artificial intelligence and a weather control panel – the mass consumer will still not fall for these cheap tricks and buy an innovative Galaxy or iPhone.
In recent years, there are no companies on the market that could break out of this vicious circle. Each step only tightens the bonds of other people's expectations, which they have long been entwined from head to toe. It was Alice who could shout: 'Who are you afraid of? You are just a deck of cards! ', And managers of large companies are afraid to take such risks.
Sony Xperia Z4
Rumors about the technical characteristics of the Sony Xperia Z4 began to walk on the network even before MWC, but no more or less reliable information among them comes across. This is not so much about leaks as about fortune telling on a chamomile, when each expert considers it his duty to say at least something on a sore subject.
Design is much easier. It seems to me that no one even really thinks about how the new Sony flagship will look like – it is clear to everyone. This should be another clone of the latest Xperia devices, the likelihood of a different outcome of events is not generally taken seriously by anyone.
It would seem that the expectations of users do not oblige the company to anything. You never know who there thinks that the design will be developed by their engineers, not forum fighters. Especially now, when the mobile division of the company is going through hard times, Sony is desperate for a breath of fresh air. After all, it is already clear that the old path has led somewhere in the wrong place and something urgently needs to be changed.
Judging by the photo posted by the insider @OnLeaks, the company could not dare to leave the beaten track even one step. It's scary to argue with the expectations of the crowd, because the company simply may not have the time and money to recover from the fall. What's the point of investing heavily in design when it’s the good old SonyStyle in the eyes of buyers anyway? And to come up with something that does not fit into the usual framework at all is even worse – what if people decide that this is not the 'same' Sony and refuse to pay a substantial sum for updating last year's flagship?
Link to news
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
Everyone already knows that iPhone bends. Thank God, not everyone takes this seriously – but, one way or another, most people still remember this fact. For example, the thought that it is possible to accidentally break some HTC One does not even occur to anyone – although outwardly these devices are in many ways similar. Nobody just thinks about it and they will definitely not buy a special bumper for this.
iPhone It is unlikely that they can boast of such confidence in their own strength – and manufacturers of all kinds of protective accessories are happy about this like no other. Many packages of such bumpers and covers began to specifically indicate that they protect not only from falling, but also from bending the smartphone. But few manufacturers think that the 'curse iPhone' can very easily spread to the accessory itself, and in the eyes of users, it will instantly turn from a high-quality, respectable thing into a fragile craft.
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Lewis Hilsenteger, the author of the original bent iPhone video, released a video about how he flexes the same smartphone with a special protective bumper. Stupid? Maybe. But the same could be said about the first video, after which all this mass hysteria on the network began. I am sure that despite all the absurdity of the situation, many potential buyers of bumpers will trust them much less. And the stories about how such protective accessories literally crumbled into dust right in the hands of a deceived buyer, we will see more than once or twice.
Link to news
Samsung
Another piece of news on the subject of bending smartphones. Samsung has patented yet another foldable device concept, this time a phone. In theory, such a project is of noticeable interest – it is really a revolution, after which all those devices that we have seen more than once in science fiction films will become reality.
In practice, every day interest in such a 'folding' device falls. The company has been drawing pictures of unimaginable devices in front of us for so long that users have gotten used to them. For them it has already become something commonplace, almost familiar. I am sure that looking at the first actually working such a device, the majority will say only one thing: “Ugh, you can't even fold it three times … but I thought …”. Here is what iPhone in the protective bumper bends – this is an event. And Samsung smartphones are plagiarism common for this company.
It is not for nothing that Apple have always tried not to allow any leaks about their products and reduced the time between the announcement and the start of sales of new devices to a minimum. And they never shared their plans with a wide audience. Samsung is not yet able to do this, starting to 'eat up' the dividends from the product even before it was even born.
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Google and Android
The traditional Google I / O 2015 conference is scheduled for the end of May. What exactly will be demonstrated in the company is not yet clear, but there are practically no chances for some kind of revolutionary announcement.
Most likely, we are waiting for several functions that have long been familiar from other smartphones, such as the same multi-window mode. I know that many Samsung owners praise it very much, saying that it is it that makes it possible to squeeze the maximum benefit from the big screen.
I don’t know, this feature has always seemed overkill to me. On tablets, it probably really can make sense – but why it might be needed on a smartphone, I never managed to understand for myself. In any case, Google has no choice – the multi-window mode in Android has been waiting for a long time, and, first of all, those who do not need it for nothing. For those buyers who generally take the trouble to think about such things, this is primarily an indicator of 'coolness', a kind of sign of OS maturation. The search giant is unlikely to dare to disappoint them, and it will not want to show its imaginary weakness to its competitors all the more. So think after that who dictates the requirements and to whom in the mobile world.
Link to news
Asus
What is the most technologically advanced and innovative smartphone? There are two 'correct' answers – either iPhone, or Galaxy S. In extreme cases, Galaxy Note. Everything else is not suitable for them, and at once in all respects. With the light hand of buyers, this has become as natural as the rising of the sun or the change of seasons, and no one cares about what is there and how it really is.
Does Asus have a chance to prove that their smartphones are no less good and even outperform flagships Apple and Samsung in some points? To be honest, I doubt it very much. The referee, who is to make a verdict, has long been rooting for the other team and has already decided everything for himself before the start of the trial.
For example, Zenfone 2 in the top configuration (ZE551ML) will receive as much as 4 GB of RAM, and its cost will be only $ 318. According to this parameter, the smartphone surpasses the flagship devices of other famous companies, but which of the buyers will believe it? This fact will simply go past the consciousness of most people, although if you released Apple a new one iPhone with this size of 'RAM', the whole world would be talking about it.
Depending on our expectations from a particular company, one and the same fact can become both boring information that is interesting only to 'geeks', and a new fashion law that everyone who is not lazy will talk about.
Link to news
HTC One M9
Both Apple and HTC follow a similar path in many ways. Instead of thinking about each step for a long time and analyzing the consequences for a long time, they just do as they see fit. As a result, the devices of both companies always have a lot of 'buts' that cannot be explained by anything. So a brilliant, albeit slightly insane, impressionist artist is in no hurry to prove his point to critics in a wordy way, but will limit himself to one single argument, 'I see it that way'.
It is interesting that any decisions Apple are considered the only correct ones a priori, but from HTC, on the contrary, users expect this very 'but'. If no problem or oddity in the smartphone can be detected even during the presentation, then the audience begins to get nervous and think what and where might be wrong. But as soon as the fans find some controversial moment, they immediately calm down and with the words 'I will not leave you anyway, because you are good' without much hesitation they buy this smartphone for themselves.
What do you say, battery life is low? Nothing, I'll take two at once. What, a bad camera? Well, nothing, but the design is awesome.
This time, the problem was not found for a long time. It seems that the battery is no worse than before, the camera is (finally!) Normal. The design is at least as good as that year. There must be a catch – but what is it? ..
I am glad to please the fans of the brand – painful doubts are now a thing of the past. And all thanks to one single picture, which in a week managed to fly around the entire Twitter and light up almost on every profile resource.
Everything, the main problem of the new HTC One is found, you can relax and sleep well.
Link to news
Instead of an afterword
Advertising is a double-edged weapon. A random mask, put on for the sake of momentary profit, can become a face at any time. And getting rid of the invented image then will not be easier than Mikhail Boyarsky from the mustache and hat.
Those who are familiar with the novel The Master and Margarita may remember one knight who at one time made a very unfortunate joke. His pun on light and dark wasn't very good. And he had to do it much longer than he wanted. As if his sad path did not have to be repeated once, and some brands familiar to us who played with what they themselves do not fully understand.
Links to past issues:
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News digest №43. Freedom of thought |
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News digest №42. Major events of the MWC |
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News digest №41. What could be easier than time? |
