Why The Samsung Galaxy S II Could Fail in The U.S.
It seems like every day there is news about the Samsung Galaxy S II’s successes in another country or its launch in another. But there is another side to that story, one that I see every single day. That story, of course, is the plight of folks in the United States who have had to sit back and watch Samsung release what many consider to be the best Android phone available in markets around the world.
We still haven’t had a considerable leak of a U.S.-bound Samsung Galaxy S II device and if you’re at all familiar with the world of smartphones, that’s actually very troubling, especially because we’re now in the middle of summer. And I think this could turn out to be disastrous for the Galaxy S II.
While I’m not disputing the fact that the Galaxy S II is a fantastic phone, I believe that Samsung is setting itself up to fail here if it doesn’t get this phone out here in the United States as soon as humanly or mechanically possible. Sure, it’ll sell, but I don’t think we’re going to see those amazing numbers that Samsung reported just a short time ago and here is why.
Samsung and the U.S. carriers are walking a very fine line here. The longer they wait, the closer we get to the fall. And the closer we get to the fall, the more people that jump off the Galaxy S II bandwagon in search of something else. And what is this something else? Well, there are quite a few something elses actually.
One, the current crop of awesome Android phones. I’ve heard from loyal Samsung customers that were waiting for the Galaxy S II, saw it announced it Canada, got fed up, and purchased an HTC EVO 3D or an HTC Sensation 4G.
Two, the Motorola Droid Bionic. It’s finally going to be out this summer and boy, if it’s good and Samsung doesn’t have a device or devices out to compete with it? That would be a shame.
Three, the longer Samsung waits, the closer we get to the holiday season. Guess what’s coming this holiday season? A new Nexus. With Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung doesn’t exactly have the greatest track record when it comes to software updates and once Q3 rolls around, people that are on the fence (Galaxy S owners for instance) about dealing with OEMs are going to hop over to the Nexus’ side. I guarantee it.
And four, the iPhone 5. Apple is going to be releasing something in September and there is a possibility it will come to not only AT&T and Verizon but Sprint and T-Mobile as well. Yes, there have been rumors that the Galaxy S II might be getting a spec upgrade to do battle with the new iPhone but by then, I think it’s going to be too late and those who have been waiting and waiting for the device will have already given up on it.
I’m serious. I told numerous friends to wait for this device and all of them have either bought other phones already or have decided to wait for the iPhone 5 or the next Nexus device.
So overall, what I am saying here is this. Samsung is making a grave error making folks here in the U.S. wait for this device. Personally, I am shocked that it has taken this long and it could be Samsung’s fault but more likely, it’s the carriers that are holding things up. Either way, the fact that it hasn’t launched yet worries me. The lack of leaks worries me and I’m surprised that this hasn’t worried Samsung to the point of at least mentioning something about a U.S. release to its current and future customers.
The Galaxy S II needs to come out in the United States as soon as possible, otherwise, I don’t see it making the big splash that I originally expected it to make.
(Thanks to a reader named Zarcheck, a loyal Samsung customer, for the inspiration for this post.)
Great article but sort of a “no duh!” Sammy has a golden opportunity here to bag millions of customers with what everyone has dubbed the smart phone of the year. Dropping the ball is going to cost them huge if this thing isn’t announced and out by month’s end!!
The author appears to be one real angry homo. I guess no butt fudge made him angry.
i’ve been complaining about this for months. while i’m elated that i’m not alone, it’s becoming more and more likely at this point i’ll go iphone5. biggest blunder ever. when you have a phone that’s been hailed as THE iphone killer/best of the year/sold the fastest amount of units/etc, what you do not do is wait this long. capital F-A-I-L
After reading in more detail about the back and forth punching Samsung and Apple are doing to each other I can understand why there’s a delay. I’d really like to believe that’s all there is to it. Business is business and both companies are angling, but they absolutely need to keep the customers front and center before it’s too late and both end up losing in a big way. I truly believe that I’ll have this one of a kind of creation before the end of the month. A few more weeks isn’t gonna kill me.
hit the nail on the coffin right there. my contract expires in december with verizon and if i dont see gs2 by then im going with either droid bionic or the nexus prime. definitely not the iphone however. i despise ios on a phone, however for ipod its perfect
To the editor (Adam): Thank you!
Finally to hear there are others out there who share my frustrations, it’s nice to know I’m not being unreasonable. What is Samsung thinking? I wrote to the President of Public Relations as an owner of numerous Samsung products (mobile & household) and I didn’t receive any response whatsoever. Adam is the first reporter with some guts to call out Samsung for thier risky business practices and overall lack of communication where all others continue to write rave reviews of the product.
I think we all know the Galaxy SII is a terrific and innovative product but who cares if we can’t get our hands on it, meaning it’s no longer unique in this tech market that moves at light speed. Like many of those who replied here, I’m done with Samsung and will wait for the next generation Google phone with Ice Cream Sandwich and no longer have to wait like a slave to the OEM for their Android updates typically six months or later.
What phone will you pickup because the Galaxy SII is not available or will you wait for this phone’s release?
[...] we’re pretty sure that the Galaxy S II will indeed be coming to the United States but the question now is whether it’s going to be too late? Motorola is preparing to release the 4G LTE enabled Motorola Droid Bionic and Apple is going to be [...]
[...] timing for a launch in the U.S. is about as horrible as it could get. I touched on this before but I’ll touch on it again. Carriers are probably having a very hard time fitting this phone [...]
[...] United States and I’ve also touched on why it might fail even if it &…. I’ve been giving it some [...]
I am the customer Adam describes as slipping out of Samsung’s hands. Unfortunately, I’ll be slipping right back in. I’ve been eligible for an update for months, and have been waiting for just the right device. I thought it was going to be the Galaxy SII, but now am reading all the rumors about the Nexus Prime, or even a Galaxy SIII. So, in the end, it looks like I’ll end up with a Samsung product anyway.
Well they said they are releasing on 29 august or 28 not sure, read it on facebook