Google Is Considering Launching a Mid-Range Pixel Phone This Summer, Claims Report (arstechnica.com) 40
According to a report from The Economic Times, Google is developing a new mid-range Pixel smartphone. "The paper claims that 'Google's top brass shared details of its consumer products expansion plans in trade meetings held in Malaysia, the UK, and the U.S. last month." The story cites "four senior industry executives" that were present at the talks. Ars Technica reports: The Economic Times pegs "around July-August" for the launch date of this mid-range device, which the publication says will have a focus on "price-sensitive markets such as India." The phone would be part of Google Hardware's first push into India, which would involve bringing the Pixelbook, Google Home, and Google Home Mini to the country. The Indian paper did not say if the phone would launch in other countries, but it did say the phone would be launched in addition to the regular Pixel 3 flagship, which the report says is still due around October. It's good to hear Google is considering expanding the Pixel line to more countries (even if it's just one more country) as distribution is currently one of Google Hardware's biggest weak points. The Pixel 2 XL is only available in eight countries; by comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S9 is sold in 110 countries. If Google really wants to compete in the smartphone market, it will have to do a lot better than selling in eight countries.
price-sensitive markets (Score:5, Interesting)
So somehow they can only produce affordable phones for "price sensitive" countries.
Re: (Score:2)
The thing is, for the most part in price insensitive markets people will be more apt to buy the better phone and not Sacrifice quality or features on a substandard phone even if it is a better overall value.
Also competing on costs is usually a path toward doom. As each version gets cheaper in quality to be cheaper in price. Until we got to the point where people buy a more expensive product because the want a better device.
Gateway back in the early-mid 1990s was know for quality. Then they tried competin
Re: (Score:2)
There are some cost apple products that have came out.
the iPhone 5c, iPhone SE, iMac Mini, iPod mini, iPod shuffle normally come up as an Apple product for people who don't want to pay the for the premium product.
Companies can make sub $100 smart phones, it is just that people don't want them.
Re:price-sensitive markets (Score:4, Informative)
Depends on what they mean as "affordable". A $250-500 handset would definitely have a market in the US, especially a Pixel brand that has an unlocked/unlockable bootloader. Not everyone here in the US can shell out a grand or more for an iPhone X, especially when there are midrange to entry level Android devices which can do everything a person wants or needs.
Midrange phones can be decent. They may not have the latest, start of the art animoji or the latest gigapixel camera, but they will work just as well on a daily basis as a flagship phone, especially for most people who are not using it for extreme gaming.
As for "price sensitive" countries, I would say that the US is becoming that way, especially if one doesn't live in SF, Austin, Seattle, or NYC.
Seems well beyond the consideration phase (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
If the planned launch date is around July-August then they're probably already close to doing initial production runs.
They probably just received FCC approval.
Re:Don't care. (Score:4, Insightful)
Except you phone company. Who has a list of all the times you made a call, who you called and where you called how long you called for. If your texting they probably have the texts too.
Don’t assume obsolescence will make you safe from spying.
Re: (Score:2)
But hows the call quality with the tinfoil hat?
Re: (Score:3)
Launch :
http://www.dictionary.com/brow... [dictionary.com]
Notice there are 7 meanings for launch and only the very last one applies to this occurrence. Again I state this is a poor usage of that word, I did not say incorrect, but demonstrates poor grammar. I can launch a rock at someone which predates your ship reference and still more correct than what was used in the article.
Mid-Range (Score:2)
come on... (Score:5, Insightful)
just re-release the nexus 5x with updated internals (and same nexus 5x price)
the day google started charging iphone-like prices it all went downhill
Re: (Score:3)
As someone who purchased four Nexus 5x phones, each of which is now bricked due to the bootloop fault, I think Google would rather that phone be forgotten. Honestly it was an embarrassment the way in which Google knew of issues with that device and didn't stand behind their customers.
Re: (Score:2)
the nexus 5 was the same (mine fried). at least with the 5x LG replaced mine and it wasn't on warranty anymore. also, got a 32GB board instead of the 16GB i had.
My list of requirements for cell phones, version 2 (Score:5, Interesting)
(Slashdot doesn't allow easily readable formatting.)
> No abuse by suppliers of the OS or the hardware. There are areas in which Google (Now Alphabet, Inc.) is badly managed, in my opinion. No license provisions that give away important rights.
> No unwanted programs
> $1,000 or more is too much to pay. So, this list is focused on Android, not Apple phones.
> Support both the modern GSM and the original CDMA system [pcmag.com], all bands. You never know which provider you will need to use; some may have poor coverage where you happen to be. (In the U.S., only AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM.) That issue is complicated, as mentioned in the link provided.
Which phones can I use on both software technologies, CDMA and GSM? [whistleout.com]
> Dual SIM. When you travel, you may want to buy a pre-paid SIM card, so that you can give a local phone number to people you meet. That is especially useful when traveling internationally.
> Replaceable battery. If the battery isn't replaceable, the manufacturer has arranged eventual failure.
> Good battery life, infrequent charging
> Good antenna
> Latest version of Android, always upgradeable (Now, Apr 2, 2018, version 8.0.)
> MicroSD slot: Have more storage without having to pay huge prices.
> Headphone jack: Sometimes you want it. For example, sometimes 2 people want to listen to the same music.
> Full resolution display, 1920 x 1080.
> OLED display?
> 5 GHz WiFi -- All WiFi bands
> Waterproof
> Fast charging
> Camera:
1) Optical stabilization
2) Mechanical stabilization
3) Works well in dim light, strong LED flash.
> Qualcomm Snapdragon or other latest processor
> Screen protector: Gorilla glass screen?
> Good sound quality:
1) Good sound quality through the speaker
2) Good call sound quality
> USB type C ?
> Able to transfer apps to the SD card.
> Stays cool when running several programs.
> User interface? (Huawei uses EMUI.)
> Included case: Don't pay ridiculously high prices for small bits of plastic.
> Near-field communication [wikipedia.org] (NFC)
> Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) [wikipedia.org]
> Easily Transfer phone numbers to and from the phone [google.com].
> Android Auto [android.com]?
Please (Score:4, Interesting)
Will someone give me a nice 6 inch screen, a modern, update-able browser baked in, and that's it? No apps. No app-stores.
I need texts, calls, and interweb. Turns out there's a standard for that latter part that means we don't have to use apps and all that crap.
The Nexus model was fine (Score:4, Insightful)
...and they'll discontinue it next year. (Score:3)
Remember Nexus tablets? Or Chromebook Pixel? Or Google Glass?
This phone does not have a long life expectancy as a product.