Samsung sets back smartphone launch for Steve J
Wrong time to praise a new Jesus Phone rival, apparently
Samsung has claimed it did indeed decide to delay the announcement of its next Googlephone, dubbed the Nexus Prime, out of respect for the late Steve Jobs.
"We decided it was not the right time to announce a new product while the world was expressing tribute to Steve Jobs' passing," a Samsung spokesman told the Reuters newsagency.
The company hasn't yet worked out when to announce the product, he added.
Under Jobs' watch, Apple launched a mass of lawsuits globally against Samsung. The iPhone maker accuses the South Korean giant of patent infringement and what is tantamount to design plagiarism, charges Samsung vehemently denies.
Court hearings are not being delayed because of Jobs' passing, Samsung said, so it seems very odd to us that the announcement of a handset it undoubtedly hopes will kick the iPhone into the long grass would be the delayed for out of sensitivity.
The next version, the iPhone 4S, is due out later this week. Carriers are already claiming to have sold out, thanks to keen consumers ordering the gadget in advance.
Samsung is trying to have the 4S banned in various countries.
Thanks to both Jobs' death and the debut of the iPhone 4S, the media spotlight is so set on Apple that Samsung and Google no doubt fear their launch will be lost in the glare. ®
COMMENTS
Respect, the new "don't do evil"
As title says.
In reality Google+Samsung learnt that Apple was about to release iOS 5 + iCloud just one day after (Wednesday) their own event. That plus the ongoing news of SJ's death would mean little coverage for them.
By delaying they have a chance of people actually paying attention, plus they even get brownie points from those who believe this "respect" PR bs.
Android has had voice actions since at least Android 2.1 but in Android 2.2 (released last summer) they got even better - just like Apple's new fancy voice assistant - Android 2.2 users can also:
Send an email, Send a text, Set an Alarm, Call Someone, Do a Google Search, Get driving instructions - all by speaking to their phone.
Here is a review of the system by pocketnow http://youtu.be/0L_IhqGcRM8?t=8m32s and just like the Apple system - most users will probably never use it.
I have already noticed a huge issue with the Apple system - in the advert for it it is all about how you can use it handsfree - but the reality is the more complicated stuff (getting share prices, finding a restaurant, looking up the weather, etc etc) only deliver the information you requested to the screen and is NOT read out by the TTS. - Android has this issue too.
unfair
It does seem rather unfair for Google to launch even more iPhone killers only a few days afterwards. iPhone owners are still in mourning and this would be even more distressing for them to see their underwhelming iPhone4s looking so naff compared to the latest and greatest Android 4.0 devices.
Respect or surprise?
I'm willing to bet both Google and Samsung were expecting a lot more than the iPhone 4S and when it was released they kinda went, "That's it?!" It may well be a step up from the iPhone 4 and earlier models but comparing it purely from a hardware point of view Android phones have had better specs for months already. The new Google phone was supposed to be something new and introduce ICS as well so perhaps they are taking extra time to do last minute checks of the software now that they don't have an iPhone 5 or similar to outdo.
That's my first thought, the second is that combined with a relatively lacklustre iPhone 4S they have a potentially far bigger fish to go after with Nokia supposedly announcing their first Windows Phone later in the month / early next month. Why waste time pounding on Apple and iOS when they can stick it to Windows Phone AND Nokia?
I suspect numerous downvotes are incoming now, just my thoughts.
Pay attention, Bond
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0A-zCis_A0
