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Topic: iPhone

Apple's dirty dozen: What it's really saying about Galaxy S4

Summary: Apple must see the Samsung 4S as a real threat as it sets its publicity machine in full blast to tell why the iPhone 5 is better than its new rival.

Andy Smith

By |

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The Samsung Galaxy S4 launched last week amid great hype about its features as compared to an iPhone 5. In response, Apple rolled out its publicity machine, which produced TV ads in the last few weeks showing off the iPhone and features, and on its "Why iPhone" page, gave 12 reasons why: "There's iPhone. Then there's everything else." Of course, Apple never mentions its rival. And some analysts already agree with Apple.

Liam Tung has the full story.

Apple's iPhone has received eight straight JD Power and Associates awards for customer satisfaction. Apple wants awards to show how well the iPhone has fared in contrast to the Galaxy 4S, which doesn't even exist yet. It is expected to be released in April.

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Topics: iPhone, Apple, Samsung, Smartphones

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74 comments
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  • Poor editing standards evident

    This article demonstrates appalling editing standards. Not only is Galaxy misspelt in the title, but the correct phone model is 'S4' - not '4S'. Come on ZDNet, lift your game!
    JaredThompson
    Reply 8 Votes

    • My first reaction as well.

      Come on, if you're a tech writer and can't keep your 4s's separated from your GS4's you have a lot of work to do.
      Oknarf
      Reply 6 Votes

      • Also my first reaction.

        Someone please read the last sentence of the article and explain what an 'explected' is.
        mervstar@...
        Reply 1 Vote

      • Wrong Asumption

        Writing a story for ZDNet hardly qualifies you as a tech writer
        sickntired44
        Reply 1 Vote

    • there's grey and then there's gray

      And you've misspelled misspelled.
      0853RV3R
      Reply 1 Vote

      • RE: there's grey and then there's gray

        No he hasn't. He clearly writes in English and not the b@stardised American form.
        cauleyflower
        Reply 2 Votes

        • Actually, if we want to get really technical

          mispelt is the past tense of misspelled, yet he's using it in the present -

          I believe it should have been -

          1) "Not only is Galaxy misspelled", (using 'is")
          or
          2) "Not only was Galaxy misspelt " (using "was")

          But enough of this...
          William Farrel
          Reply 2 Votes

        • Brit vs USA

          The British version is often a bit stilted. Let's get modern and eliminate "whilst," for example
          Steve Anson
          Reply 1 Vote

          • whilst

            Bugger off
            richard in norway
            Reply Vote

          • shouldn't one be...

            Shouldn't one be paid whilst one buggers off? One should hardly be expected to bugger off for free! Ya' know, just sayin'...
            michaellashinsky@...
            Reply Vote

    • Browsing through only three figures,

      I got bored by the epic licking (what anybody's guess) of the reporter. No wonder in his fantasy world, other than 4S and 5 nothing else exists. My observation does not mean that I personally like/love/pray the latest Samsung's offering, but just to highlight colossal disservice that is being done on regular basis by so many just because with technological advancements, anybody can write, report, and pretend to be a journalist/blogger with responsibility.
      ashwinipn
      Reply Vote

      • Not Really

        The author is not offering this as his opinion. He's just telling us what Apple has been saying in their advertising. As it says in the summary under the article title, "Apple must see the Samsung 4S as a real threat..." Sounds like he's placing the Samsung on at least equal par with Apple.
        DT2
        Reply Vote

  • "Gallaxy 4S" ?

    What is that?
    Smalahove
    Reply 4 Votes

  • Spec comparisons are useless.

    The vast majority of consumers don't compare specs on anything. They go into a Best Buy and buy what looks easiest and feels the best and fastest to them. The specs are a secondary consideration, if at all, because specs don't always reflect the user experience. For example, they walk into Best Buy. The salesperson tells them Galaxy S4 has a faster processor than iPhone. They fiddle with both and notice the menus appear faster and apps run quicker on the iPhone. Who do they believe? The salesperson or their own eyes?

    I'm just saying specs are becoming less and less meaningful to people. It started when they picked up an iPhone 1 that responded to their input far more quickly than their vastly more powerful desktop. It continued when they saw iPads doing many things their PC couldn't do. Now, more than any time in history, there is a huge disconnect between raw specs and user experience.
    BillDem
    Reply 5 Votes

    • Absolutely agree

      And kudos to MS for creating a mobile OS that radically improves upon the experience that apple offers.
      toddbottom3
      Reply 2 Votes

      • Warning MS Fool-boy alert

        Todd, please troll else where, adults are speaking here. MS is all but dead in the mobile market, look at their sales and adoption....DOA...sorry.

        Now on top those of us with an IQ about 10.

        I was a little let down by this article, it pointed out a number of good comparisons but added no real facts or discussion about them, not even an opinion. The quality of the article was just to point out what was already said without any additional meat. Why bother.

        I think both make an excellent phone and approach it from different views. Apple is all about user experience and does not cater to specs and it delivers. Often the Apple will have less powerful specs but delivers a superior product and performance. The Apple phone/OS is very polished, without a doubt the best in the industry and they don't have the Android fragmentation issue which means you will be getting OS updates throughout the life of your iPone. This probably will not happen with an Android. I speak from experience here.

        Android phones sell by the spec so more is better here. There are a lot of great Android phones out there and a lot of crap. It is more a buyer beware market. The Samsung is at the top of this food chain and sells an excellent alternative to a iPhone. The Samsung surpass Apple in some areas and if these areas are important to you the choice becomes a no brainier. I would be happy using either but it boils down to what is important to you.

        Samsung offers a bigger screen and other tech niceties over the iPhone but IMHO the iPhone still offers a better user experience, the OS is just better done. I have a Nexus 7 pad and an iPhone 5 and speak of the OS comparison based on this.

        At the end of the day both are excellent phone and light years ahead of the wannabees in the market (BB, MS, ect...) I just wish the writer of the article would have done a little work and put down some fresh info rather then just reprinting what is already available.
        KBabcock75
        Reply 4 Votes

    • Absolutely agree 2

      "They fiddle with both and notice the menus appear faster and apps run quicker on the iPhone."

      But it goes beyond that. They notice, for example, that it takes multiple taps on the iphone to accomplish what takes 1 tap or, in some cases, 0 taps with the S3 and Lumia.
      toddbottom3
      Reply 3 Votes

    • Absolutely agree 3

      They notice, for example, that they can pin notes to the front page of the WP8 phone while the iphone forces them to swipe to the app, tap it, and then swipe to the note.
      toddbottom3
      Reply 2 Votes

    • Absolutely agree 4

      - something about Office that simply won't make it past the spam filter -

      They notice that when they try to use the iphone with gloves on, they can't but that with the Lumia, this works just fine.

      These are all experiences that go far beyond pithy things like "menus open faster". Ultimately, the experience with the ios UI is NOT good, no matter how fast a menu might open.

      *edited to get past profanity filter - this is ridiculous ZDNet.
      toddbottom3
      Reply 1 Vote

      • who ya gonna call

        First of all, why do you feel the need to leave multiple replies like that. It's rather annoying. Second and foremost, If something happens to your samsung phone who do you call for help? Samsung? Google? Your Carrier?

        Now if something happens to your iPhone who do you call? Apple.
        bvirga0218@...
        Reply 7 Votes
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