- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
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Am I the only one surprised there were even that many in the first place?
I can’t believe you’ve never heard of Zoogle, Bokia, Pamsung, ACKOOO, ACKOOO2², Votorola…
Don’t forget uPhone, GRE, Hawaii, Mulberry, Lentuvo, and Hitsubishi.
Chinese companies love the ACKOOO type names. LPOWERB, SUPERQ, FKPHONE, that kind of thing.
FKPHONE
Who wouldn’t want to buy a Fuckphone?
With all the shitbrands on amazon and similar sites I was only half surprised but still 100% more surprised than I should have been.
The movement for free and open source software has not achieved a world in which most people use only FOSS. But it has achieved a world where there is a lot of diversity in technology, including many Android smartphone brands you haven’t heard of.
Most of them were not real manufacturers, but slapping their name on Chinese white brand phones.
Were they real or just shit novelty, scams, or rebadges and sister brands of those multi brand companies like BBK?
LG was the shit. Best DAC, first to the multi cam game, clean looks, innovative designs, pristine screens.
- I may add I’ve owned the V35, V40, V50 and V60. I’m a video specialist and the manual video control with audio levels have been a lifesaver more often than not.
I miss my fingerprint reader on the back 😭
Same, but on the Pixel series. The rear scanner was so perfectly placed. My finger fell right onto it and it read so much faster than the stupid in-screen one is.
With the swipe down gesture to notis 😪
V30, V35, V60, they put out world-beating designs without any of the shitware.
But fuck one goat (V20 bootloop)…
Yes.
sent from my V60
Still use mine constantly because of the headphones, still a top-tier phone even now.
LG and HTC. The Razor Phone 2 was also pretty cool but didn’t sell well so they didn’t make a third gen
I had a razor phone 2. It was trash. That’s why they didn’t make a third gen.
Within 6 months I was getting screeching from the speakers intermittently, even when nothing was supposed to play (known issue they wouldn’t cover), and at the year mark the charge port stopped working (also known issue they wouldn’t cover), so I had to use wireless charging from then on.
Apps also thought it was a tablet semi-frequently, I assume due to misconfigured android version settings or something. This caused the display scale to be too large to actually use. My thermostat app was one such so I could turn the heat up, but not down. The down button was cut off.
It’s a shame, because the Nextbit Robin was such a cool phone. In a market full of black glass slabs, they stood out and did something different. Every time I took out the Robin in public, people were wowed by it and asked me what phone it was.
Their community involvement and customer support was also a refreshing change compared to other big companies - like they worked closely with custom ROM developers, and were even quite active on Reddit, taking user feedback and implementing fixes quickly. Everyone was looking forward to a Robin 2, but unfortunately Razer bought then and ruined them forever.
That’s sort of what I was expecting when I bought it. A wow device from a company that makes gaming hardware. And for a while it was awesome. (I had no prior experience with razor products, and that soured me to ever considering them)
The sound on it was phenomenal, battery lasted decently, and the screen and refresh were great for games. Good weight, seemed like a nice phone.
It just fell apart super fast, and they covered none of it because they could find a way to blame you, certainly not worth the $400.
For example their reaction to the charge port issue was to say that if you ever used a third party charge cable, it wasn’t warranted anymore because it wasn’t OEM and they can’t guarantee the charge cable was within tolerance. And literally who hasn’t used a third party cable ever in a pinch?
But it was a known issue because their specs were ever so slightly different than standard; a standard cable apparently stretched out the metal port housing causing loose connection, which it turn resulted in uneven pressure on the connector chip, which unseated it from its board, causing charging to fail.
I still have one - though I don’t really use it much - and the only issue I ever ran across was a bit of sound feedback as well, but that was caused by the shitty Dolby software. Disabled that and it was fine
The only LG phone I ever had, it just randomly decided to not boot one day. Apparently it was a common issue, and they were not giving any refunds, at least when I asked. I swore off of LG then, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many other people did as well.
I think the phone was the LG G4: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_smartphone_bootloop_issues
Went from v10 to v20 to v60. Not sure what I’ll do when this dies.
I can settle for a Fairphone just because of the philosophy. Sony and Asus still listents to consumer feedback (I’m talking about that glorious headphone jack) on their flagships so maybe one by them.
I have no idea what I’m gonna do when my LG eventually dies. I went from the v30 to the v40 and now the v50. Not a single phone on the market offers what I want in a phone anymore
First really modular phone. But the conception and logic of LG was sometimes very disappointing like the humidity sensor on the mainboard blocking the touchscreen on the G5. That was betting against customers.
I’m running my V60 into the ground. Easily the best phone I’ve ever had and I’m really disappointed I won’t be able to get another LG when this one dies.
Same, I’ve replaced the screen twice and upgraded the battery. No sign of stopping anytime soon.
As the former owner of a G3, hard disagree.
Never experienced the G brand. GG I guess. 😅💅
I had a G6, it was a great phone.
G3 hardware was great for the time but I did not love the buttons on the back, heat would gather there too, especially if you were using a case.
Lot’s of crypto phones as well, who
scammedpromised users to return them the value of the phone by using it to mine some shitcoin.
HTC was truly a pioneer.
My first Android phone and it was amazing. Now I see that they make a “blockchain phone,” I hope it’s a fucking joke.
HTC is dead?
The HTC Evo 3D was a bad ass!
I still have a white HTC Dream, aka the G1. It’s still dope.
That’s capitalism, baby! Thanks for playing!
Well, yes, that’s how it works. What’s the problem? We should have 500 factories cranking out pollution and waste vs. the cream of the crop rising up?
That’s not really how it works. I would bet most of these companies were building their phones in the same factories as other small time brands. It’s not like they were all making their own chips and capacitors and assembling every last piece.
I’m mocking the fact that the articles are often written in such a way that I should feel sorry for the companies that die, like how we killed the Diamond industry and the fashion industry and gasp the napkin industry
“Millenials are ruining the market again”
Market has skill issues.
The avocado toasts are killing companies.
We are heading towards a future of Apple, Samsung, and Google, with even the latter two struggling to stay afloat.
And to be fair, Google deserves a lot of the blame for this happening.
How is Samsung struggling to stay afloat? Samsung has had the largest global market share for years.
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And are under the impression that what’s going on in the US is going on worldwide. Apple is doing fine worldwide, but isn’t nearly as dominant as in the US.
Yes. But I think most importantly, Samsung can spin out budget phones and actually sell it. No one’s buying cheap Apple product. Currently mostly it is a status symbol… as most-if-not-all high end phones. Don’t get me wrong, great devices but we all know what kind of personalities mostly go for Apple stuff.
I pretty much go for the se models when they have them, and buy every 4-5 generations. Most people want a device that works, and most smart people want a device that’s going to get more than a couple years of software support. So Apple.
Google should have just spread Android features to 2, 3 years instead of as soon as possible, to match feature set of iOS. Then most Android would be getting easy 10 years of support. But then again most Android phone manufacturers selling a device, Apple is selling services and side products. Giving the die size of A16 SOC and quality hardware, Apple probably giving you their phones at cost and keeping them up to date so you can buy their other products.
Apple is making a profit on every piece of hardware, make no mistake. But that’s only possible because of their scale and focus, which is hard for competitors to compensate for. They literally bought all the 3nm chips for the next year.
Looks like Samsung and Apple trade off on leader of global market share, but Samsung is second place when it isn’t first.
https://www.counterpointresearch.com/insights/global-smartphone-share/
Tell me you only live in an American bubble without telling me you live in an American bubble.
How much money do you think OEMs make off selling cheap Android phones?
Xiaomi making banks selling mid and low tier phones
Do you know any other manufacturers?
Google, sure. But Samsung has more marketshare than Apple.
https://www.counterpointresearch.com/insights/global-smartphone-share/
20% Samsung 17% Apple 12% Xiaomi 10% OPPO 8% Vivo
I’d doubt Samsung will be struggling to stay afloat. They’re so diversified they could pick one of their departments to throw money at and just run at a loss in perpetuity, if they felt like it. Apple makes phones, computers, and phone and computers accessories.
Samsung makes phones and computers. And appliances. And chips. And container ships.
And insurance, and healthcare, and construction, etc. They are involved in so many different industries it’s almost hard to believe.
When one of the owner family’s board members fell sick a few years ago they were monitored at a Samsung hospital in Korea if i’m not mistaken
Yea, was just talking about their phone lines, not them as a company.
Huawei and Honor can both survive purely on domestic sales before you even worry about ROW.
No idea why you think there are only three brands, or why you think the US is the only market that matters (it’s fairly obvious you are US based)
Absolutely nothing good came from them ending the Nexus program. I LOVED all the variety in Nexus. The Pixel phones are just shitty iPhone clones with barely better features.
what was their added value despite cutting down price with their poor hw and integration, shitty drivers?
I mean, FairPhone, Librem, PinePhone have real value and strategy, sure not perfect but this Vitamin (real chinese/french mark), LIPOq or VARK chinese knock-off phones, really, what did they expect?
those craps were like throwaway cameras in the 90’s.
But I loved my HTC 10. And let’s not forget about LG. Also, Sony, Motorola, Nokia are just a shadow of their former selves.
Today your main choices are Apple, Samsung or a Chinese brand (Oppo, Xiaomi etc). Sure, there are those niche phones like Pixels and Fairphones used mostly by nerds, but they are a tiny market.
Smartphones have reached a maturity level where upgrades aren’t really exciting. Sure there are the usual hardware power upgrades (and even those don’t really open up new applications), but in terms of features they’re not coming out with anything really novel. Last thing I could think of is bringing back folding which I do find appealing, but not for the cost or the reliability issues.
One of them has to do 3d camera sooner than later. It’s so close… just need another camera at the bottom back of the phone.
I had it, it was called the HTC Evo 3D. Used the same type of display as the 3ds. Wasn’t particularly well supported but it technically worked I guess.
I thought there were only 2 brands
I bet most people can name 6 or do.
But that’s about it.
For most people in the US at least they can only identify iPhone or non-iPhone.
For most people in the US at least they can only identify iPhone or non-iPhone.
Anyone paying for flagship phones has too much money and no need for a camera that great.
Blu and Moto phones all the way.
Moto?
Motorola lost my business when they sold me a phone and then provided a grand total of ONE OS upgrade its entire life (Moto G LTE, shipped with an outdated 4.4 build, and then got a single update to 5.1 before being abandoned forever).
There is no potential for brand loyalty when the brand themselves tell their own customers to fuck off.
No idea why you’re being downvoted but I agree. My non flagship android is more than adequate for my demands of it.
Yeah I have a midrange Samsung A31, its more than adequate for my needs
The difference between users on whatever instance you’re on lol. I’m showing myself at 8 and 0 in Kbin.
LG failed because for some stupid reason, they decided to sell 9 million different phones between countries.
I miss LG phones. They always tried weird shit with their flagships; curved phone?done. Modular phone? Yes. Two screens? Yup. Also their V-series was probably the best phones ever for those of us who value good audio higher than great cameras.
Edit: I used to work as a reviewer for a magazine and used the curved LG G4 for quite a while. I really liked it, though I never actually bought one.
Loved my dual screen v50. Wanted the V60, but it was never sold in Australia.
I didn’t even know there were that many.
I’ve been using motorolla android phones for like…16 years now.
I just remembered! I got a samsung recently.
I want a phone with a built in projector… and a bigger battery… and something else I haven’t thought of yet.
I miss new features and innovation.
Since we have neither, give me modularization to let me have ^
Phone makers: hmm this isn’t selling. Guess we’ll only make phones that look like and do the exact same things as every other phone.
RIP project ARA.
That was the Motorola Moto Z series for ya, had pins on the back for modules to be attached. Some modules were a battery pack, jbl speaker, a projector, and even a little printer to have the phone work like a polaroid
They all did the same, without innovation there won’t be another big smartphone brand.
Somebody pls come along and make a phone with headphone jack, micro sd slot, and fingerprint sensor.
If you make it all, and in a small frame, I’m buying right away.
I bought this a few days ago and it arrives next week: https://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_10_iv-11522.php.
It’s not iPhone or Zenfone small and it’s only midrange spec but it’s pretty compact. Plus SD card slot, 3.5mm jack…
Its a bit funny how I find that model to be too big. People like me have definitely been abandoned from the market.
But thanks for the recommendation. I ended up grabbing an older model that still works as a low end phone, but I wonder for how long I will be able to use older phones…
It’s definitely larger than I’d like but damned if the manufacturers haven’t heard our demands and realised that, once again, compactness is a premium feature. You can get an itty bitty iPhone or S23 but fuck all in the mid range. Thanks again, The Market!
Fairphone?
I thought the newest one ditched the headphone jack?
Yo, if they ditched the headphone jack, that’s wack.
They had to, I’m guessing. At this point nobody is manufacturing headphone jack hardware for smartphones.
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I’m pretty sure that DACs and 3.5mm jacks are still being manufactured
Then it’s likely cheaper to make a bluetooth headphones phone than include a 3.5mm jack? Or they could just be greedy, although I would hope FairPhone won’t turn to the dark side so soon.
Excuse me, this is meant to be an admin account for c/OpenTTD@lemmy.zip so I’ll have to return to whence I came.
Its good weak companies are getting thined out. Its sad but necessary
Uhhh
Why is that good
How is that good in any way
Who does that help
