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That makes sense. If you were thinking about getting a GS3 in late September, you might as well wait to see what Apple was coming out with. If it were known t

by mdasen 14y ago

That makes sense. If you were thinking about getting a GS3 in late September, you might as well wait to see what Apple was coming out with. If it were known that Samsung would be introducing a new flagship phone 2 weeks after the iPhone, I think a lot of people would have waited to make their decision. Then once they saw both, they would pull the trigger to buy the one they wanted. I bought an iPhone 5, but was definitely interested in the Lumia 920 announcement. If it was going to be announced a week after the iPhone, I certainly would have waited to see what it was. It makes sense that people would delay their purchase decision for a few weeks if they know a competitor is just about to announce something - if for no other reason than to confirm that the original device actually is the one they wanted.

Steko 14y ago
"Then once they saw both, they would pull the trigger to buy the one they wanted." What's far more common would be more or less uninformed people walked in to buy an iphone 5, and were told it was out of stock for weeks and the salesman (who gets a significantly better commission on Samsung phones) tries his best to sell them the GS3 and sometimes does. I know this is a common story because I've actually seen the exact scenario play out several times in the course of an hour I spent with my wife in the Sprint store activating her phone.
- CWIZO 14y ago
  You and mdasen both have a valid theory. Unfortunately it's just that, a theory.
  - stephengillie 14y ago
    If mdasen is correct, sales for all phones should rise following the unveiling. If Steko is correct, only the Galaxy S III would spike, and other phones would probably dip in sales. Both theories are probable enough that they likely happened in tandem - with some people waiting to see Apple's phone before pulling the trigger, others heading for Apple and being sold a Samsung. We could probably figure the quantity of each by comparing sales variations by brand and model.
    - arrrg 14y ago
      No, not all phones. iPhone-class phones, of which the Galaxy S III is most certainly the most successful and hardest pushed. When someone comes in the store asking for an iPhone 5, the salesperson is not going to push some cheap crap on them. They will push the best, most expensive alternative. As far as I can see the Galaxy S III is pretty much the only phone marketed on eye level with the iPhone by carriers.
  - klinquist 14y ago
    If Steko saw it play out, then it is more than a theory. It is a contributing factor.
    - sliverstorm 14y ago
      Well, it's also purely anecdotal at that point.
  - blinkingled 14y ago
    Parent assumes however that everyone walking into the store looking for a phone wants or deserves the iPhone but is sold an (implicitly) inferior one because iPhone is not in stock and / or the salesman gets more commission to sell the S3. The S3 is actually a great phone and I find it hard to believe people don't know the iPhone and accept something they don't like. At the least they consider both and go with the S3 because they like it and partially because they can't buy the iPhone anyways. Remember Microsoft / Nokia paying more commission to sales people hasn't taken WP anywhere. Tangentially is Apple losing their acclaimed grip on the supply chain if they can't make enough iPhones but Samsung can make and sell double that after paying sales people more and still making 7.4B in profit?
    - mdasen 14y ago
      So, my theory isn't that someone is accepting an inferior device. Rather, that if you think the GS3 is awesome and are thinking of buying it a week before Apple is set to introduce a new iPhone, it's prudent to wait to make sure Apple doesn't have something amazing up its sleeve. Similarly, if Samsung had a press event a week after Apple introduced the iPhone, it would be prudent to wait and see if Samsung had something amazing that they were introducing.
      - blinkingled 14y ago
        Yeah, sorry I kind of misraead your post and mixed it up with the reply below. Your theory is credible though - as in it has a supporting data point in its favor - Amazon announced that Kindle Fire sales after iPad mini announcement went up 3 times normal.
      - zmmmmm 14y ago
        Your theory should be testable by showing a dip (or some kind of deviation at least) in the sales of the GS3 just prior to the iPhone announcement. However I believe (and I'm sorry, I'm going purely from memory here) that sales were accelerating then too. Personally I think there was just a giant ad spend on all sides that caused a lot of consumers to decide to get a new phone. What phone they chose was down to what they liked when they walked in the store.
  - Tsts 14y ago
    Unfortunately some people use words, without knowing their meaning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothesis
ernestipark 14y ago
This is exactly what I'm doing. I've had iPhones for 4 years, but have been underwhelmed by the innovation in iOS. After iOS6 and iPhone 5 didn't present much of anything new, I've decided to go with the S3 or Note II.

by mdasen 14y ago

Steko 14y ago

"Then once they saw both, they would pull the trigger to buy the one they wanted." What's far more common would be more or less uninformed people walked in to buy an iphone 5, and were told it was out of stock for weeks and the salesman (who gets a significantly better commission on Samsung phones) tries his best to sell them the GS3 and sometimes does. I know this is a common story because I've actually seen the exact scenario play out several times in the course of an hour I spent with my wife in the Sprint store activating her phone.

CWIZO 14y ago
You and mdasen both have a valid theory. Unfortunately it's just that, a theory.
- stephengillie 14y ago
  If mdasen is correct, sales for all phones should rise following the unveiling. If Steko is correct, only the Galaxy S III would spike, and other phones would probably dip in sales. Both theories are probable enough that they likely happened in tandem - with some people waiting to see Apple's phone before pulling the trigger, others heading for Apple and being sold a Samsung. We could probably figure the quantity of each by comparing sales variations by brand and model.
  - arrrg 14y ago
    No, not all phones. iPhone-class phones, of which the Galaxy S III is most certainly the most successful and hardest pushed. When someone comes in the store asking for an iPhone 5, the salesperson is not going to push some cheap crap on them. They will push the best, most expensive alternative. As far as I can see the Galaxy S III is pretty much the only phone marketed on eye level with the iPhone by carriers.
- klinquist 14y ago
  If Steko saw it play out, then it is more than a theory. It is a contributing factor.
  - sliverstorm 14y ago
    Well, it's also purely anecdotal at that point.
- blinkingled 14y ago
  Parent assumes however that everyone walking into the store looking for a phone wants or deserves the iPhone but is sold an (implicitly) inferior one because iPhone is not in stock and / or the salesman gets more commission to sell the S3. The S3 is actually a great phone and I find it hard to believe people don't know the iPhone and accept something they don't like. At the least they consider both and go with the S3 because they like it and partially because they can't buy the iPhone anyways. Remember Microsoft / Nokia paying more commission to sales people hasn't taken WP anywhere. Tangentially is Apple losing their acclaimed grip on the supply chain if they can't make enough iPhones but Samsung can make and sell double that after paying sales people more and still making 7.4B in profit?
  - mdasen 14y ago
    So, my theory isn't that someone is accepting an inferior device. Rather, that if you think the GS3 is awesome and are thinking of buying it a week before Apple is set to introduce a new iPhone, it's prudent to wait to make sure Apple doesn't have something amazing up its sleeve. Similarly, if Samsung had a press event a week after Apple introduced the iPhone, it would be prudent to wait and see if Samsung had something amazing that they were introducing.
    - blinkingled 14y ago
      Yeah, sorry I kind of misraead your post and mixed it up with the reply below. Your theory is credible though - as in it has a supporting data point in its favor - Amazon announced that Kindle Fire sales after iPad mini announcement went up 3 times normal.
    - zmmmmm 14y ago
      Your theory should be testable by showing a dip (or some kind of deviation at least) in the sales of the GS3 just prior to the iPhone announcement. However I believe (and I'm sorry, I'm going purely from memory here) that sales were accelerating then too. Personally I think there was just a giant ad spend on all sides that caused a lot of consumers to decide to get a new phone. What phone they chose was down to what they liked when they walked in the store.
- Tsts 14y ago
  Unfortunately some people use words, without knowing their meaning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothesis

ernestipark 14y ago

This is exactly what I'm doing. I've had iPhones for 4 years, but have been underwhelmed by the innovation in iOS. After iOS6 and iPhone 5 didn't present much of anything new, I've decided to go with the S3 or Note II.