Related
http://www.retail-digital.com/secto...-offer-nfc-payments-2012-olympic-games-london
Samsung are set to manufacture a special phone in time for the Olympics.
The Samsung Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile handset will use Near-Field Communications (NFC), an emerging technology that lets people send payments by phone directly from their bank accounts to special terminals.
The device, and any other NFC-capable phone, will be able to pay for purchases at over 60,000 locations in London.
This growing trend in wallet-free purchasing means that you can wave your phone at any NFC reader to pay for food or Olympic tat, making it even easier to purchase goods quickly.
Other companies, like Nokia, have tried to further the use of NFC in the past and faced challenges.
Samsung and Visa may well suffer the same fate. For instance, to use the payment technology, consumers will have to buy a special phone with a Visa-enabled SIM card.
They will then need to find a store with a reader device that accepts payments from the phones. Whatever the problems, London 2012 organisers believe it will play a significant part in the games.
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nfc payments are on their way in uk, and samsung are finally doing it. speculation on the handset that is going to be for the olympics? an s2, revamped s2 or even an s3?
I was thinking about it and its one of 2 things imo. I think they are using the extra bucks for the future LTE expansion, building towers and whatnot. But most likely they are a bunch of grubby pricks that want to nickel and dime us
Sent from my HTC Sensation using XDA
I've read through a lot of the huge thread, and a lot of people were saying that t-mobile tends to offer the new, hip device for an outrageous cost for the first few weeks.
If you are a current customer you might have luck calling customer service and passively threatening to switch carriers. Many people here have had luck getting $200 off the phone and a few other perks. The last 10 pages of so of the big thread are full of those stories.
I bought the phone outright. The value plan I'm on is sweet- I'm saving $450 over 2 years.
Lets hope for the first and realize this phone is actually a phone that I might keep for the 2 years for a 1st haha. There is no real reason I don't think except the fact that T-Mobile has the cheaper of the plans when it comes to the competing 3, so the 80$ more that I have to spend to get the phone compared to the 25-50$ a month I save (comparing to my friends who have Verizon and At&t I'm okay with the difference... But still wish it wasn't the case.
I'm rocking the Motorola Cliq. This phone is going to seem so amazingly quick. If I can get 2 1/2 years out of a pos phone like the Cliq I can get 2 years out of this sexy phone.
I'm just happy that I am still out of contract.
mhuckins said:
I'm rocking the Motorola Cliq. This phone is going to seem so amazingly quick. If I can get 2 1/2 years out of a pos phone like the Cliq I can get 2 years out of this sexy phone.
I'm just happy that I am still out of contract.
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GOOOooo should've went to the G1 haha.
mt3g said:
GOOOooo should've went to the G1 haha.
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I almost did! I didn't want to move away from the qwerty keyboard. I've spent so much time on the computer in the last year I couldn't justify another partial upgrade. I was so close to buying an iPhone (they get upgrades, my cliq is like 1.8 or some lousy shiat) and then the SGSIII came along. I haven't slept in weeks. It's like the raspberry pi all over again.
MacTheRipperr said:
I was thinking about it and its one of 2 things imo. I think they are using the extra bucks for the future LTE expansion, building towers and whatnot. But most likely they are a bunch of grubby pricks that want to nickel and dime us
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Click to collapse
Spit-balling...
T-Mobile's Value plan is supposed to encourage customer's to avoid the recent spate of aggressive phone upgrades, and they are realizing that smartphone users are unaffected by the economic argument as the situation stands.
The phones actually are more expensive than we tend to think, and even "no-commitment" pricing has been subsidized.
The worldwide currency shifts have affected the cost of phones, and most carriers have been reluctant to reflect reality in a highly competitive market.
High demand and low supply resulted in either a money-grab or an attempt to prevent people from buying up the limited supply and selling on eBay (the latter being, admittedly, unlikely given the nature of the mobile market).
Executives have started to notice that the "free phone" weekends have been eating into profits and T-Mobile is attempting to capitalize on eager buyers that clearly aren't willing to wait until the inevitable deal comes along.
The unusual modem and/or overall lower volume of T-Mobile's sales meant that they weren't able to negotiate a deal as aggressive as the larger players.
T-Mobile has an interest in seeing HTC succeed and are attempting to subtly curb the Goliath that is Samsung in an attempt to keep their leverage going.
Pricing is not related to anything other than an attempt to place devices into tiers (with the S2 at $550, the One S at $600, and the S3 as the perceived-best phone), and they didn't expect a backlash against the better phones costing more money.
T-Mobile is attempting to expand its image as the "value" service by leaving room for negotiation so that bargain-conscious customers talk them up.
Don't take any of the above too seriously. It is kind of late, I haven't put much thought into it, and I've had a lot to drink.
In any case, relative value is relative value. I don't care that Redbox is losing money renting to me for $0.70, it makes me unwilling to pay for Blockbuster Express at $3. I don't care that an album costs $7 at my preferred service of Amazon MP3, I am unwilling to buy because Google Music has it $4. At the end of the day, the (vocal) minority of us that hang it forums like this will sweat the price difference because we spend all of our time comparing like items.
It isn't even remotely fair to T-Mobile (or whomever), but it is human.
Voltage Spike said:
Spit-balling...
T-Mobile's Value plan is supposed to encourage customer's to avoid the recent spate of aggressive phone upgrades, and they are realizing that smartphone users are unaffected by the economic argument as the situation stands.
The phones actually are more expensive than we tend to think, and even "no-commitment" pricing has been subsidized.
The worldwide currency shifts have affected the cost of phones, and most carriers have been reluctant to reflect reality in a highly competitive market.
High demand and low supply resulted in either a money-grab or an attempt to prevent people from buying up the limited supply and selling on eBay (the latter being, admittedly, unlikely given the nature of the mobile market).
Executives have started to notice that the "free phone" weekends have been eating into profits and T-Mobile is attempting to capitalize on eager buyers that clearly aren't willing to wait until the inevitable deal comes along.
The unusual modem and/or overall lower volume of T-Mobile's sales meant that they weren't able to negotiate a deal as aggressive as the larger players.
T-Mobile has an interest in seeing HTC succeed and are attempting to subtly curb the Goliath that is Samsung in an attempt to keep their leverage going.
Pricing is not related to anything other than an attempt to place devices into tiers (with the S2 at $550, the One S at $600, and the S3 as the perceived-best phone), and they didn't expect a backlash against the better phones costing more money.
T-Mobile is attempting to expand its image as the "value" service by leaving room for negotiation so that bargain-conscious customers talk them up.
Don't take any of the above too seriously. It is kind of late, I haven't put much thought into it, and I've had a lot to drink.
In any case, relative value is relative value. I don't care that Redbox is losing money renting to me for $0.70, it makes me unwilling to pay for Blockbuster Express at $3. I don't care that an album costs $7 at my preferred service of Amazon MP3, I am unwilling to buy because Google Music has it $4. At the end of the day, the (vocal) minority of us that hang it forums like this will sweat the price difference because we spend all of our time comparing like items.
It isn't even remotely fair to T-Mobile (or whomever), but it is human.
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I wish I could write so eloquently when drunk. What's your fark handle?
It's sort of amazing to see people complaining about the "high" price without factoring in the total price of the contract or looking at the ETF. Worrisome.
Last year the GS2 and Amaze 4G were priced in the mid $200s so this seems pretty normal for T-mobile. T-mobile has also mused about contract pricing and how it is affecting their competitiveness and bottomline. Since the phone is untouched mostly there were probably other concessions that T-mobile wanted with Samsung on pricing. Then of course this phone is even more feature packed than the last, and you can't remove components once you place it in your previous flagship model (the GS2) so they are getting more and more expensive.
I don't think ETF factors much, unless you are some crazy person who likes to break contracts all the time and can't wait out the 2 years. T-mobile contract prices are lower, sure, but not by much.
Why doesn't anyone incorporate how much the plans cost prior to complaining about the cost of the phone?
I remember reading somewhere that stated studies show customers are more prone to sign with a carrier based on the price of the phone instead of the rate plan.
Let's wise up, fellas. Don't be a poor consumer.
tmobile is the only company selling the phone at this point, and in limited markets at that. I am wondering if they're selling the phone at such a high price in the beggining because they know they can. Look at the overwhelming demand coupled with such a limited supply. It's an easy cash cow. Im wondering if I should wait out and see if the price will go down in the next few weeks. ATT and Sprint are both selling 32gb at 600 and tmobile is selling them at 670 but like I said before Tmobile is the only one selling them at this point and they're pretty much done in Manhattan (i called a bunch of stores already).
ttngu234 said:
Why doesn't anyone incorporate how much the plans cost prior to complaining about the cost of the phone?
I remember reading somewhere that stated studies show customers are more prone to sign with a carrier based on the price of the phone instead of the rate plan.
Let's wise up, fellas. Don't be a poor consumer.
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The purchase of the phone is the only time they have to fork out a bunch of money so it makes sense that the cost will drive many consumers. For the most part, the rate plan costs are similar across the market. Yes, Verizon is the most expensive but they have a reputation for offering the best network and that allows them to charge a premium.
Sergent D said:
The purchase of the phone is the only time they have to fork out a bunch of money so it makes sense that the cost will drive many consumers. For the most part, the rate plan costs are similar across the market. Yes, Verizon is the most expensive but they have a reputation for offering the best network and that allows them to charge a premium.
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Not really. AT&T and Verizon are both equally expensive, and while Sprint is a bit cheaper (comparable unlimited talk/text plans closest to T-Mobile's 5GB web/tethering in this case), you're still paying a substantially bigger amount over the 2 years even with a cheaper phone.
Had to share this one:
Boosted by One, HTC grows its sales by 26% in April. Up 71% since February, with more growth ahead
HTC bet big on its new smartphone called the HTC One. In fact, HTC was so confident in its new smartphone that it promised a turnaround for Q2 of 2013 once the device gained traction.
Early indications and that HTC is in fact gaining traction thanks to the popularity of its One smartphone. HTC recently reported that revenue for April 2013 was up by 23% unaudited compared to March. The numbers HTC is throwing around for April 2013 are $664 million in revenue.
Sources: Slashgear & Unwired
April of this year was down 37% from last year. January through April of this year is down the same 37% from last year which means April didn't improve the four-month average. Looking ahead, Q2 last year HTC generated $3B USD in revenue. With full production of the One they are projecting Q2 this year at $2.3B USD which is 23% below last year. And Q2 2012 was 57% below Q2 2011. So if they make Q2's numbers (which they have provided) they'll be 30% below last year by mid-year 2013. And while April 2013 was 26% better than March 2013, March 2013 was a 48% drop from March 2012 making this year's rosy month-over-month comparative rather misleading. March this year was dismal because of parts shortages so one would expect April to be an improvement. So far, with the One, HTC’s projecting to be down 30% in revenue by mid-year 2013 as compared to last year. The One won’t be “new” anymore by July when the second half of the year starts and new phones from Apple, Motorola, and LG will be out as well as the Note 3 being expected in Q3. With all the effort HTC’s put in to the One if they can’t even match last year’s revenue numbers that’s going to be viewed pretty negatively by analysts and investors. If something as dramatic as the One can’t reverse HTC’s decline, what will?
HTC on Monday reported its revenue performance for the month of April, which continued the company’s downward trend as it struggles against rivals Samsung and Apple. HTC’s sales totaled NT$19.6 billion in April 2013, or roughly $645 million, and cumulative sales for the first four months of 2013 have now reached NT$62.4 billion. April’s performance was down 37% from April 2012, when HTC reported sales totaling NT$31 billion. HTC also saw cumulative revenue reach NT$99 billion by the end of April last year. While the company’s April 2012 sales continued a downward trend that has some industry watchers questioning whether or not HTC should begin hunting for a new CEO, there is one positive sign: As the HTC One began to roll out around the world in April, HTC’s revenue was up 26% over March.http://news.yahoo.com/htc-revenue-dives-again-april-one-shows-signs-120022279.html
O/T, but the yahoo article you linked to had a link back to BGR showing leaked pictures of google's so-called "X phone".
http://bgr.com/2013/05/03/x-phone-photos-specs-leak/
HTC may be shrinking, but their phones look somewhat novel.
If those pictures are real, the X phone is the most boring uninspired uncreative design possible. It's like someone said let's make it look like the average appearance of a high end 2011 smartphone. It better have a 64-core processor with terabytes of RAM because people won't be buying it for its looks..
Then again google will probably be around in five years to try again. HTC, not so sure. Let's hope they find a niche ("android phones with up-to-date specs and a higher-quality look and feel than Samsung" ) and fill it profitably, even if they have to shrink a little to do it.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda app-developers app
As most news of HTC's demise are exaggarated, this sort of stuff is exaggarated too. They have been making so little money lately, any increase is going to seem big.
aydc said:
As most news of HTC's demise are exaggarated, this sort of stuff is exaggarated too. They have been making so little money lately, any increase is going to seem big.
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Increase is an increase is an increase which is positive
Is better than going down which they were. Period
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
androidindian said:
Increase is an increase is an increase which is positive
Is better than going down which they were. Period.
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They generated 37% less revenue this April than last April. How is that an increase or positive? For HTC to prove their viability they need to stop the declines (revenue, profit, margin, market share) that they've been experiencing every quarter since 2010. Even if they hit their Q2 numbers they will still be 30% off of last year which is yet another in a series of YOY declines. Not only that, smartphones as a percentage of handsets sold has increased which means that even selling the same number of devices as last year is actually a decline because the size of the market (and HTC's competitors sales) have actually grown.
They've lost market share in every market except the U.S. where they achieved a 0.7% gain. And that gain was on the back of the DNA which was the first 1080P smartphone in the world being sold on America's largest wireless carrier with no new phones on the market that it was competing against. Verizon (the largest carrier in the U.S.) isn't selling the One. Samsung's set up "experience" stores within the largest electronics retailer in the U.S. to push the SGS4 which is available on seven U.S. carriers while the One's available on three. So with the rest of the world slipping in market share any chance of gains in the U.S. are pretty hard to imagine based on the limited distribution of the One and Samsung's bigger reach and marketing budget. HTC has said its future rides on two things: 1) the success of the One, and 2) penetrating China. Both (based on numbers released by HTC) are underperforming expectations. So in spite of the One HTC will be down YOY in 2013 in revenue, profit, margin, and market share. What does it mean? Who knows. HTC's been performing the same way (consistent declines in all metrics) since 2010 and they're still here.
Taiwan's HTC Corp. maintained a 3.1 percent share of the global smartphone market in the first quarter, as its share gains in North America were offset by losses in other regions, according to U.S. brokerage Morgan Stanley. The brokerage firm said HTC's market share rose slightly to 4.2 percent in the quarter in North America from 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, thanks to the launch of the 5-inch HTC Droid DNA phone, which went on sale in November through U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless. But the company was not able to drive up its global market share, given ongoing share losses in the European, the Middle East and African (EMEA) markets and slow progress in the Asia-Pacific region -- especially in China, Morgan Stanley said in a report dated May 3. The report detailed how HTC's market share in the EMEA markets fell to 3.7 percent from 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter, with market share in the Asia-Pacific region shrinking to 2.7 percent from 3 percent. http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aall/201305050014.aspx
androidindian said:
Increase is an increase is an increase which is positive
Is better than going down which they were. Period
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If they made 1 $ last month and they make 1.000 $ this month, they'll get a 1.000 % increase, but they'll still go bankrupt. Percentages mean nothing.
aydc said:
If they made 1 $ last month and they make 1.000 $ this month, they'll get a 1.000 % increase, but they'll still go bankrupt. Percentages mean nothing.
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Here goes another multi billion dollar xda member.......
I never have ever thought earning millions nowadays is leading to bankruptcy.
Ugh! Maybe south pole is now at the top of the planet.
Went down to a local Samsung official store today.
Saw only wifi model available. Asked the sales about LTE model.
Sales replied LTE model had sold out and would not be restocked.
Noted $100 off offering for the wifi model (presumably to clear stock out)
Conclusion: the tablet will either be discontinued or a new model is coming. :victory:
Let's wait for CES 2015.
Samsung has the annoying tendency, just like Asus, to temporarily cease sales of their high-priced products during the classic discount periods like Christmas.
The Note 4 is also suddenly not in stock. Ditto on the Note 2014, Tab S and the TabPro.
All are still available for order on the Samsung webshop, for full price. With a 'discount' that is still more expensive than the shops. That in itself says enough.
Another perfect example of this principle is how I spend 3 days travelling half the country to get my hands on a copy of Dragon Age Inquisition. Not a single shop had it in stock or available on order. The game's only been out 3 weeks, and it's a #1 bestseller. What, suddenly it's 'out of stock, not available for restock' everywhere? (why is it still not on Steam? Steam sale, that's why.)
Origin store had it for 20 quid more than the physical copy, and I wanted it in the 25% discount that the shops were offering. Funny how none of them could stock it.
Because of course everyone believes that it is purely a coincidence and has nothing to do with the companies not wanting to loose profits on the christmas sale price cuts... Yes, companies believe we're that dumb. I've worked in retail, this is real. It happens, everywhere.
I wouldn't take it too seriously. They always do these things this time of year.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2
Though such marketing tactics exist (I had an unpleasant experience buying my note 2 due to this),
there are other factors that stop me from buying one now and wait for CES 2015.
1. Samsung Store actually delisted the LTE model. The tag besides the demo unit no longer list P905.
2. Salesperson told me it would not be restocked (as in never will). Not temporary.
3. Abnormal discount.
Little background story here, I live in Hong Kong where Christmas Sales usually offer none ~ 20% discounts.
The samsung store I visited only offer discount on selected product if pay by credit card monthly instalment.
However, the discount on P900 is a 129USD special cash discount offered by staff (not printed on any sign).
4. Other small electronics stores (not officially authorised) are suddenly getting large bulk of stock and dropping prices like crazy.
This is the biggest red flag IMO.
Again, this needs a little bit explaining.
Big stores and carrier don't sell below the official price here. (Agreement with manufacturer and get a better profit margin)
This often create unsold stock for them before a product's EOL.
Small shops partner with carriers and big stores to create a channel for moving old inventory.
They get their stock from big stores and sell it for a much lower price. In this case <500USD (still dropping).
The catch is, these units, although legitimate, are not eligible for warranty from Samsung because they are not bought from authorised resellers.
If it turns out they are not refreshing the model, I'll just buy a P905 from small shops
In Italy Note Pro Lte is still present on samsung's site and available for e-selling.
Best Buy in US has a sale on LTE model, 699.00 (save 150.00)
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung...lack/7276013.p?id=1219262036059&skuId=7276013
Not really a close out price IMO
isheepnano said:
Went down to a local Samsung official store today.
Saw only wifi model available. Asked the sales about LTE model.
Sales replied LTE model had sold out and would not be restocked.
Noted $100 off offering for the wifi model (presumably to clear stock out)
Conclusion: the tablet will either be discontinued or a new model is coming. :victory:
Let's wait for CES 2015.
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Click to collapse
New Egg was selling NEW SM-P9000ZKVXAR 32GB for 449.99
Wow:
http://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-xl-bill-of-materials-724542/
CC
As much as I want to say, wow that is so cheap for materials compared to profit I can't. R&D is probably just as expensive and if you think you could source and make this phone yourself you sure could put Google out of money. That is a pretty big profit margin though!
If you think Google is greedy, check out apple: http://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-much-the-iphone-7-costs-to-make/
It costs less for an iPhone than pixel at base parts cost
Yep I'm okay with this... Maybe it will knock apple down a bit as this phone is solid AF.. My problem is the fact that Google or alphabet is absolutely dilusional if they think they can compete with Samsung or apple by going Verizon exlusive. Not bashing Verizon but this was decision had to have been made by a Walmart greeter or a fox news broadcaster based off "facts"
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
Those components are cheap as hell. 50 for a SD 821 wowowow.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
cost
amcolash said:
As much as I want to say, wow that is so cheap for materials compared to profit I can't. R&D is probably just as expensive and if you think you could source and make this phone yourself you sure could put Google out of money. That is a pretty big profit margin though!
If you think Google is greedy, check out apple: http://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-much-the-iphone-7-costs-to-make/
It costs less for an iPhone than pixel at base parts cost
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Yes I agree Apple is just as greedy! When will this come to an end. It used to be that we could get a good quality phone from Google (Nexus line) at a great price. Now everyone is a pig on profits. Who loses, we do.
CC
And yet I trust Google more than a lot of the cheaper Chinese phones that might have similar specs because of brands
These bills of materials are only a fraction of the cost of the phone to the manufacturer. First off, those totals represent the cost to build for HTC and Foxconn, not what Google and Apple pay them to be the ODM. R&D is a huge budget, advertising is a huge budget, setting up things with banks and insurance companies for financing and protection plans is expensive. I'm sure the uBreakiFix partnership is expensive, but nothing compared to the network of retail stores Apple has. Apple spends a ton on software exclusive to their devices. If Google really keeps Assistant exclusive to the Pixel line, then their most expensive software is also dependent on device sales. Then you have to throw in the payroll and benefits of the thousands of high paid employees that worked on these phones. Carrier partnerships. Network licensing. The list goes on and on. Materials are but a fraction.
joshm.1219 said:
These bills of materials are only a fraction of the cost of the phone to the manufacturer. First off, those totals represent the cost to build for HTC and Foxconn, not what Google and Apple pay them to be the ODM. R&D is a huge budget, advertising is a huge budget, setting up things with banks and insurance companies for financing and protection plans is expensive. I'm sure the uBreakiFix partnership is expensive, but nothing compared to the network of retail stores Apple has. Apple spends a ton on software exclusive to their devices. If Google really keeps Assistant exclusive to the Pixel line, then their most expensive software is also dependent on device sales. Then you have to throw in the payroll and benefits of the thousands of high paid employees that worked on these phones. Carrier partnerships. Network licensing. The list goes on and on. Materials are but a fraction.
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Click to collapse
Plus support costs, customer service, product management, testing, manufacturing support, etc.
amcolash said:
And yet I trust Google more than a lot of the cheaper Chinese phones that might have similar specs because of brands
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC is from Taiwan.
That teardown is amazing!!!!!!
This means that the compass is not the same we had in the 5X and the 6P? (Bosch BMM150). That could finally solve the issues I had with three nexus 5X with the compass losing the calibration in a few hours or just getting crazy at some places!!
According to the teardown, the Pixel compass is: AK09915
This could partially solve my question about how good is the compass in the Pixel, at least I won't expect same terrible behavior as in 5X and 6P.
This is the part people don't understand. They say "oh it only cost 250-300 dollars to make... The phone is over priced, google is ****ing greedy!"
Bill of materials is a fraction of the cost. Customer service, research and development, advertising, supply chain management, employee salaries and benefits, etc. That's all budgeted out before they even determine a price which in turn determines the price... It's called business and economics which the general population doesn't understand...