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Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nokia Lumia 900 is a fair comparison

Publié: avril 4, 2012, 9:47pm CEST par Joe Wilcox
Discussion Counterpoint. Colleague Tim Conneally and I got into a heated debate about smartphone comparisons this morning. He has the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone for review (and I -- whaaaaa -- don't). I suggested Tim do a comparison with Google-branded Galaxy Nexus, which we both have. He refused. Tim was quite adamant about it, too. His out-and-out refusal clearly taps into strong feelings about how products are compared.

We bantered back and forth over group chat, with neither of our positions changing. "Buyers make these product comparisons all the time", I expressed late in our debate. "I can see we won't agree. If I had the Lumia 900, I would compare them". But I don't, and Tim won't. So I suggested: "Let's ask the readers...something like: 'Would you like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nokia Lumia 900 compared?'"

I had planned on one story with both our perspectives, but Tim smartly wrote something longer -- hence we have a separate point and counterpoint. Please read his "Stop comparing unlike objects. RIGHT. NOW." Tim makes the case for why we shouldn't write a post/review comparing the two smartphones, while I advocate such comparison. Your feedback is vital to resolving our debate but also illuminating something else: How products are compared. There are lots of dumb comparisons out there, particularly tech products. Would this be one of them?

It's Our Job

Reporters aren't analysts or marketers. Our job isn't to divide the products we write about into tidy little demographic groups. So what if grandmas living on social security in Cleveland are more likely to get free iPhone 3GS, while their grandchildren soaking up sunny Malibu cough up $399 for 64GB iPhone 4S.

Market researchers live for this crap. We aren't Mad Men. We're the last visage of the Fourth Estate, before the Huffington Posts of the world extinguish our breed forever. We write for our readers, who love gadgets and compare many different products by measures that defy demographic modeling. Aggregators and marketers present varnished perspectives. We present the raw wood, with no blemishes covered (so that someone can better put one over the other to sell something).

Helicopters and Motorcycles

Tim contends that from the demographic perspective, the two smartphones aren't comparable -- that they appeal to different people. "Comparing them would be like comparing a
helicopter to a motorcycle because they both run on gasoline", he writes. Price is one reason ($299.99 for Galaxy Nexus and $99.99 for Lumia 900) and segmentation another (the Android handset appeals to bleeding-edge enthusiasts and the Windows Phone to the mass-market). That reasoning is a bunch of Android apologist horse poo-poo.

Galaxy Nexus and Lumia 900 is a fair comparison, because many BetaNews readers will do so in choosing one over the other. Google "Galaxy Nexus vs Lumia 900" or "Which is better Galaxy Nexus or Lumia 900?" There are comparisons out there already and for a reason. People want them, which is good enough for me.

Tim contends that in part because of price Galaxy Nexus "was not --and is still not-- a mass market device". Really? So what, Google, Samsung and Verizon partnered to sell the smartphone to 100 people? This is Google's flagship phone -- of course, the goal is to sell many of them.

By Any Other Name a Smartphone

Galaxy Nexus isn't a helicopter and Lumia 900 a motorcycle. They are LTE smartphones sold nearby one another in stores like Best Buy. They would be in a carrier's store if AT&T or Verizon sold both. Falling back to hollow out the market position thing, the segment that matters most here is smartphone -- people shopping for one and making decisions on lots of similar criteria: Battery life, brand, camera, carrier, data speed, ease of use, operating system and size, among many similar attributes.

Best Buy also sells many different televisions alongside one another. By the no-comparison reasoning, no budget shopper would ever consider the $1,200 big-screen TV over a $500 model. People make product decisions every day based on all kinds of different criteria. A friend of mine recently compared the Fuji X10 and X100 digital cameras. The X10 sells for around $600 and the X100 for $1,200. One is an advanced point-and-shoot camera, while the costlier model is more for amateurs and pros. Their target segments are different, yet there is much overlap in features and appearance. By Tim's reasoning, my friend would never have compared them.

My other reasons for comparing the phones have little to do with product segmentation or buyer demographics:
- Pitting flagship phones -- Google's and Nokia's -- against one another
- Platform vs platform -- Ice Cream Sandwich, Windows Phone 7.5 Commercial Release 2
- Nokia vs Samsung -- the old smartphone market share leader takes on the rising upstart
- Google vs Microsoft, which offer radically different philosophies on mobile digital lifestyles
Those are enough reasons for now. But are they reason enough? I say Galaxy Nexus and Lumia 900 is a fair comparison. Tim disagrees. What do you say?
Stop comparing unlike objects. RIGHT. NOW.

Publié: avril 4, 2012, 9:29pm CEST par Tim Conneally

Discussion Point. Joe Wilcox asked me to write an article comparing the Nokia Lumia 900 to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. I refused. Here is why. Read Joe's response.

Anyone who knows about marketing should readily understand market segmentation: it is a way of isolating customers/users/consumers by type. It could be geographically, it could be demographically, it could be psychographically, or it could be through some other defining characteristic.

By now, the United States smartphone market is mature, and there are no fewer than a dozen smartphone segments. You've got enterprise users, high volume texters, Web searchers, app store gamers, camera snappers, music streamers, music collectors, fashion accessorizers, and more. Each of these segments can be broken up by buying power, by location on the tech adoption curve, by age, gender, race, and so on, ad infinitesimum.

With that in mind, I don't think the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Nokia Lumia 900 should be compared because their segments don't line up closely enough. Yes, they're both LTE smartphones, but in my book, that's not enough. Comparing them would be like comparing a helicopter to a motorcycle because they both run on gasoline.

The Galaxy Nexus was the first Ice Cream Sandwich device in an exlusive line of "with Google" smartphones, clearly targeting early adopters above all else by offering a whole bunch of new, relatively untested features to poke around with, as well as a totally new UI that hybridized two previous Android versions.

Furthermore, the Galaxy Nexus launched at the upmarket price of $299.99.

It was not --and is still not-- a mass market device.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is priced to be accessible to a wider swath of consumers, its hardware and storage features suggest it favors the "picture snapper" type of user, and the design/color options suggest a younger audience. These are not Galaxy Nexus users.

Product comparisons are fine, but don't let the urge to compare two things blind you to the obvious differences between them.

Photo Credit: North Fond du Lac Police Department
iPhone to appear on three more regional carriers April 20

Publié: avril 4, 2012, 8:00pm CEST par Ed Oswald

Where can you get the iPhone other than AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint? Plenty of places, as long as you're not on T-Mobile.

A host of regional wireless carriers announced Wednesday that they will carry the iPhone in a move that may surprise some industry watchers. This includes Waynesboro, Va.-based nTelos, Green Bay, Wisc.-based Cellcom, and Anchorage, Alaska's Alaska Communications. The regionals will offer the iPhone 4 and 4S at a $50 discount to the major carriers, and join southern US regional carrier C Spire, who has offered the iPhone since October of last year.

The 16GB 4S will sell for $150, the 32GB for $250, and the 64GB for $350, and the iPhone 4 for $50. On all three carriers, the phone debuts on April 20. Apple typically holds strict control over pricing, so the discount strategy is surprising.

nTelos is a regional carrier that has about 400,000 subscribers across Virginia, West
Virginia and portions of Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. nTelos offers an unlimited smartphone plan with voice, text, and data for $90 per month, and an unlimited family plan for two lines for $10 more. Additional lines are $30 each.

Cellcom provides service to subscribers across Michigan and Wisconsin. It offers an individual unlimited calling plan for $70 per month, with additional lines available for $50 per month. The carrier offers a bundle of unlimited texting and data allotments of 75MB, 300MB, 2GB, and 5GB for $15, $30, $40, and $65; for family plans it's either 2GB or 5GB for $40 and $120 for up to four lines.

Finally, Alaska Communications is the smallest operator of the three, serving less than 100,000 customers across Alaska. Its Nationwide Unlimited plan (without texting) includes 2GB of data for $90 per month: for $11 more you get 5GB of data and unlimited texting.

The regional carrier's ability to offer the iPhone $50 cheaper now may signal an impending price cut across the majors as well. If this happens, such a move would be unprecedented in Apple's history. The Cupertino, Calif. company adjusts prices upon the debut of a new model, not midstream.

On the other hand, the mobile phone sector is extremely competitive and Apple's stick-to-your-guns strategy isn't as effective here. Manufacturers and carriers always play with price to keep sales up. This could be the first signs of a change at Apple with Cook at the helm: willing to play on the same turf its competitors have been doing for years: price.

Still missing is any plans on when or if the iPhone will come to T-Mobile: the nation's fourth largest carrier is left out in the cold once again. Much of this is the carrier's fault itself as it uses the AWS bands for its 3G/4G service, a setup uncommon in worldwide cellular deployments. That will be remedied soon.

The company has announced that as part of its rollout of LTE services next year, and the spectrum gained from the failed merger with AT&T, T-Mobile USA will begin to reassign 3G spectrum to the common frequency bands used by AT&T and others. LTE would then use the AWS spectrum. This will allow the carrier to fully support the iPhone, as well as many other popular devices.

Until then, T-Mobile is forced to continue to wait while customers of smaller carriers eat its lunch. For executives of a company that needs a shot in the behind, it has got to be maddening.
Uh-oh, iPhone fanboys

Publié: avril 4, 2012, 6:43pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

iPhone Idolators, please meet the Android Army. Now retreat! Android's share of the US smartphone market topped 50 percent in February, according to comScore. iOS gained share but trails considerably -- by like 20 points. You can have your iPhone, but many more Americans take Android. I'm waiting. What's your smarty-pants response to that, Apple apologists?

The findings butt against those from Nielsen -- a life raft of apology for those insisting iPhone will rule the world. Last week, Nielsen reported a huge surge in the number of new purchasers choosing iPhones compared to Android. For the three months ending in February, 48 percent of Americans who recently bought a smartphone, chose Android -- 43 percent iPhone, according to Nielsen. A year earlier, 27 percent of new acquirers chose Android versus 10 percent for iPhone.

comScore reports share for overall market, not new purchasers. During the three months ending in February, Android share was 50.1 percent among smartphone subscribers 13 and older -- that's up 3.2 points. iOS: 30.2 percent, up 5 points year over year and 1.5 points three months earlier. Those numbers are fairly consistent with Nielsen's: 48 percent for Android and 32 percent for iOS.

Fifty percent is a big number and puts iPhone in potentially perennial second place -- unless Android suddenly loses share. There's nothing in comScore, Nielsen or any other analyst data that remotely suggests a reversal. Android's dramatic growth slowed following the release of iPhone 4S in October, but there's no reversal in growth or share gains.

Something else: Where Android and iOS gains come from. Microsoft and Research in Motion mobile operating systems lost share (again), 1.3 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively -- or nearly what Android and iOS gained. BlackBerry's downward trend seems unstoppable. Windows Phone is uncertain, given the arrival of hot, new LTE models, led by the Nokia Lumia 900. RIM can't give up share forever.

Where Apple apologists can find solace is the one-against-many argument -- iPhone alone shows tremendous gains against dozens of Androids. Among them, Samsung is smartphone leader, with 25.6 percent share, which is flat over three months. Second-ranked LG lost 1.1 points to 19.4 percent share, while Apple gained 2.3 points to 13.5 percent share. Apple gains pushed Motorola to fourth place, with 12.8 percent share.

But nothing gets past Android's 50 percent, which comes as the US smartphone market approaches its saturation point and growth gains slow down for the leaders. Over three months, the number of Americans owning a smartphone rose 14 percent -- to 104 million, or 44 percent of all handset owners. iPhone would need to make dramatic gains against Android for all of 2012 to close the distance. At the current smartphone adoption rate, saturation is perhaps coming within 18 months.

Considering that major carriers require two-year contractual agreements and more people will have recently purchased new smartphones then not, saturation is on track to lock in share for the major competitors sometime next year. If Windows Phone is to gain anything, new LTE models coming now must bring it while BlackBerry can still give up share. There's nothing in comScore, Nielsen or any other analyst data to suggest Androids or iPhone will relinquish anything.

Apple apologists can dance on BlackBerry's grave and laugh at (what they consider to be) Windows Phone dorks. But Android rules the world -- well, at least these United States.
Some proof as to why I think the Nokia Lumia 900 camera is 'special' [slideshow]

Publié: avril 4, 2012, 6:13pm CEST par Tim Conneally

Probably my favorite picture with the Lumia 900 so far, the reds are reproduced faithfully here.

Colored Pencils to illustrate accuracy and depth of color

Taken to show crispness of detail, filtered with Nokia's Creative Studio app

Macro mode in low light. This statuette is only 4" tall. Only edit is cropping and rotation.

Taken to show focus depth.

Set to ISO 400, flash on, no other lights on in the room.

Generic outdoor shot in overcast lighting conditions, auto ISO and white balance

Ginny is black with a brown/brindle undercoat. The real-life shade often doesn't show up in pictures

chosen for shiny packages, bright colors, vanishing point

One of the qualities of the Nokia Lumia 900 that I singled out in my favorable review of the device was its camera, which I described as "special." In the slideshow above, I've included the photos I snapped that helped me arrive at that conclusion.

The most impressive features of the camera sensor are its depth of color and its macro mode, which are reproduced in several of the slides above.

As I said in the review, I am an unabashedly awful photographer, and the fact that these pictures turned out looking as good as they did is remarkable. The picture of the dead tree was literally the first picture I took with the Lumia 900's rear camera.
Recompose photos with Seam Carving GUI

Publié: avril 4, 2012, 4:15pm CEST par Mike Williams

If you’re unhappy with the composition of a photo then your first instinct may be to crop it, removing areas without important visual content to help the viewer concentrate on whatever is left. But this can only go so far. And if there’s plenty of content at the edge of the photo then you may hardly be able to crop the image at all.

Content-aware image resizing (CAIR) provides another, more intelligent way to reframe your shot. Essentially it allows you to define content you’d like to remove from a photo, wherever it might be, and can then strip it out (hopefully without leaving any trace). And as a result the image will shrink in size, sometimes dramatically, but you still retain the core content. (If you’re not sure what we mean then the relevant Wikipedia page has some sample images which should make everything clear.)

Unfortunately, while standard linear image resizing is very simple to implement, CAIR is much more challenging, which is why you’ll generally only find the technology in high-end tools such as Photoshop. But if you’d like to try it out for yourself then the open source Seam Carving GUI will give you a basic idea at no cost.

Once you’ve opened your sample images then the program allows you to mark areas you’d like to keep, and areas that really must go, simply by painting over them. The interface makes this more awkward than it should be, but zooming in and adjusting the brush size will help you to precisely define the areas you’re working with.

You can then enter the new dimensions for your image, if you’ve a target size in mind. But if that doesn’t matter, simply click Remove and the program will immediately resize the photo to strip out your unwanted content.

The results can be, well, variable. Resizing a beach photo didn’t work at all, for instance, as image artefacts in the sea made our tweaking very clear. But with simpler backgrounds -- sand, grass -- the final image was much better, and we also had success in more surprising areas (removing a few people from a party photo, for instance).

And if you explore the program then there are tweaks you can make to improve results, such as working with masks or trying different edge detectors.

Seam Carving GUI still doesn’t get close to achieving the quality of results you’ll get from Photoshop and other high-end editors, which is no great surprise. It can work well sometimes, though, depending on your source material, and if you don’t have anything else capable of content-aware image resizing then you may find the program useful.

Photo Credit: Laborant/Shutterstock
How do you rate Larry Page's first year as Google CEO?

Publié: avril 4, 2012, 6:01am CEST par Joe Wilcox
On April 4, 2011, Larry Page returned as Google's chief executive after a decade's repast. In his first year back on the job, Google has dramatically changed. I planned to write a massive reflective story, but thought it'd be better if you did. A story with your assessment of Page and Google will be more interesting, and revealing, about the company and perceptions about it. I'll collect your comments here and put them together into a follow-up post. To get you started, I'll do a quickie review of Google over the last 12 months and call out a few highlights.

At the start of 2011, I called it the "year of Google", and it was. Much credit belongs to Page as he axed services not core to the Google lifestyle, acquired Motorola Mobility and refocused the company on rapid iteration. Just look how far Android and Chrome advanced over the last 12 months or how quickly Google+ went from conception to 100 million-plus users. If 2011 wasn't the year of Larry Page, 2012 will be. But will you like it, or what he has done to Google?

Below I've gathered some Google highlights to remind you what a year it has been. The list is by no means inclusive, but covers a wide range of events.

June 2011
- Acer and Samsung Chromebooks go up for sale.
- Google+ debutes as invite-only social network.
- Google defends its monopoly position, in response to a Federal Trade Commission investigation. Many of the arguments remind of Microsoft in the late 1990s.
July 2011
- Google releases first tools that allow users to extract their data from its services, in an affront to Facebook.
- Google+ reaches 20 million users.
- Google Labs closes.
- Logitech loses $30 million on Google TV. Cuts price of Revue set-top box to $99 and takes massive charge.
August 2011
- Google buys Motorola Mobility.
- Justice Department finds Google knowingly permitted Canadian pharmacies to peddle cheap drugs through AdWords. The search giant is fined $500 million.
September 2011
- Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt testifies before Congress. Legislators are concerned about the search giant's monopoly position.
October 2011
- Los Angeles seeks refund on $7.25 million Google Apps deal.
- Google unveils "Ice Cream Sandwich" Android 4 and Galaxy Nexus smartphone.
November 2011
- Logitech abandons Google TV.
- Google Music launches. Stream music anywhere, as long as you're willing to upload tracks first.
December 2011
- Schmidt says Google will release branded tablet within six months.
- Google "Currents" e-zine launches. It's slow and buggy.
- Google Nexus arrives in the United States, finally, on Verizon.
January 2012
- Google reduces Chrome page rank after video ads violate terms of service.
- Google Plus Your World launches. The personalized, social search function raises antitrust concerns, in part because of Google's aggressive, cross-integration of features.
- Electronic Privacy Information Center urges the FTC to investigate Google privacy violations.
February 2012
- Chrome loses usage share after 11 straight months of gains, after Google reduces the browser's page rank.
- Google+ tops 100 million users.
- Chrome for Android 4.x enters beta.
- Google bypasses Safari privacy settings, setting off more controversy about "doing evil".
- Google adds collaboration to Docs for Android -- a feature that should have been there from the start.
March 2012
- Google adopts controversial privacy policy. Information sharing across Google services puts some governments' regulatory agencies and end users in a row.
- FTC asks Apple to provide information about Google services integration into iOS.
- Google Go programming language reaches version 1.
One reason I chose not to write a retrospective today is this analysis from last week, which more or less is one looking at the increased cross-integration of products and services since Page returned as CEO.

So how would you rate Page's first year? At the least, please use a 1-to-5 scale, with the higher number being more satisfactorily. Better: Offer your quick assessment of Google and what it means to you -- or doesn't -- and, of course, Larry Page.
Review: Nokia Lumia 900 unquestionably raises Windows Phone to a higher level

Publié: avril 4, 2012, 3:00am CEST par Tim Conneally

This could be the easiest review I've ever written: The Nokia Lumia 900 is absolutely top-notch hardware at an affordable price, and it has everything it takes to be a giant success.

Last week, we established that 60% of BetaNews readers want this phone, and you know what? After one week with this device, I can conclusively say that our readers' desire to own the Lumia 900 is completely warranted.

Here are my four main reasons:

It is rock solid- The Gorilla Glass front, and the one-piece chassis of the Lumia 900 may result in a slight increase in weight and thickness as you can see in the photograph to the left, but the tradeoff is a body that feels like it can take a ton of abuse. For a $99 mass market device, this is an amazing feat. As an Android user, I have dealt with a large number of devices with cheap-feeling chassis. Often this is done by manufacturers to save money, other times it's to shave down the overall weight of their device. It is clear that this device is not kidding around. Part of me wanted to take it to the firing range and see how it could stand up to a rifle round.

The still camera is something special-- Check out the pictures I took with the Lumia 900, and bear in mind that I am the world's worst photographer. Seriously, I make everything look terrible. The proof is all over BetaNews. Look at an article with a bad picture, and the chances are good that I took it. But the Lumia 900's 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-LED flash somehow manages to make my zero-skill photos look sharp and vivid. Its 720p video capture didn't knock my socks off as much as the still camera, but it does a decent job in adequate light, and lets you record with the dual LED lamp turned on in situations where light may be less than ideal.

It actually works as a phone!-- Though the role of the good old voice phonecall is gradually diminishing, the Lumia 900 is capable of nice, clear voice calls. Though the earpiece is mounted on the front of the phone, it is aimed slightly upward, so you will have to hold the phone a little lower than you might be used to (depending, of course, upon what device you're currently using.)

Windows Phone is smooth and responsive-- Here is where we encounter the Lumia's contentious bone. Maybe you don't like the Windows Phone interface, maybe you do. I can certainly agree with complaints that the Metro UI has received, at least in terms of utilization of screen real estate, customization, and overall aesthetic. However, it runs smoothly and is instantly responsive to touch, it is easily navigable, and there isn't the action lag you sometimes get with cheaper smartphones. I do find myself wishing that this phone came with an Android option, but that's just my personal bias. For the mainstream consumer and first-time smartphone user, the Windows Phone experience is going to impress on this device...it just needs a few more amazing platform-defining applications to mitigate user complaint. One has to wonder how differently Windows Phone would be perceived today if it had launched with a device like the Lumia 900 back in 2010 instead of 10 forgettable, selfsame HTC, Samsung, and LG smartphones (Dell Venue Pro notwithstanding.)

Conclusion: I feel I must reiterate that this is NOT AN UPMARKET DEVICE! By pricing the Lumia 900 at just $99, Nokia is targeting the mass market consumer. Yet with a solid body, solid camera, nice screen, and 4G connectivity, the hardware value is unquestionably through the roof. The mass market is getting an impressively well-rounded device. Whether or not the software backs up that value is up to the individual user and what he needs his phone and related Web services to do. For me, those qualities pass too, despite my love for the little green robot.