Essential Phone, available now • Hacker News Board

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#291

Post by baybal2 » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:33 PM UTC

foobaw wrote: post #43

As someone who worked in a large OEM company releasing tons of smartphones, I'm actually impressed it only took 100 people to getting this out. I presume there was an incredible amount of sleepless nights, as this is no easy task. To be fair though, Sprint is one of the easier carriers to work with after T-Mobile. I can't imagine them releasing a phone on AT&T or Verizon, as their process is grueling. I guess since t…

>I'm actually impressed it only took 100 people to getting this out. I presume there was an incredible amount of sleepless nights, as this is no easy task.

There are 10 man companies in China making custom phones from reference designs. On my own memory, there was a company that managed to make a phone in under 3 month in 2011

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#292

Post by drewmol » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:33 PM UTC

as1mov wrote: post #248

feld wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - And physical keyboards. Something for SSH'ing with. There is no market for this product. Nobody wants it except a tiny fraction of the market who work in IT.

Not really. Manufacturers just stopped making phones with PKB because since Apple wasn't making them, they weren't worth it. It hard to estimate the demand for PKB phones when no one is making them. I'd buy one in heartbeat if one launched with low-mid end specs and less than $400. We've constantly chosen form over functionality. Larger sized phones, fragile build materials(glass over plastic), lesser battery just so…

I want an email client, talk, text, gps, music streaming app, dual sim, wifi, 4G Bluetooth, eBook/PDF, voice to text on an e-ink screen. Would settle for email client talk text and wifi on e-ink.

Edit: forgot tracking cookies, telemetry, and an animated paperclip assistant thing

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#293

Post by fredsir » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:33 PM UTC

ksk wrote: post #58

jordanlev wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's kind of funny what they follow that up with: > Essential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years, so your phone will always be secure and have the latest features. I do not think the word "always" means what they think it means :)

If we go one level up the abstraction, always doesn't mean always either. The universe's life is finite. :)

You can't fool me. The universe doesn't exist.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#294

Post by Philipp__ » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:33 PM UTC

balls187 wrote: post #290

I found it off-putting that on the home page, the 2nd section about the phone was an interview with the founder with exposition on his intentions. Seems unnecessarily narcissistic--tell me about the phone and it's features first and sell me on your product.

I got the same impression. It's kinda lame. I mean, phone looks good, real, good product, but to me it seems it's biggest selling point is the man himself behind it.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#295

Post by jdmichal » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:35 PM UTC

nkkollaw wrote: post #275

A little expensive IMHO. I've dropped the iPhone a little more than a year ago. I got a Y6II for $179. Perfect performance, but didn't like Huawei's tweaks to Android. I just got a Moto G5 Plus with nearly-stock Android and it's the best phone I've ever owned, and I paid only EUR 280 for it.

There's also the Nokia 6 playing in that same space. But let's not pretend that those are in the same "flagship" league as the specs on this phone. Screen is higher resolution, processor and GPU are faster, more storage and memory, dual cameras with more MP, USB-C... I mean, almost every spec point worth caring about is obviously better.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#296

Post by falcolas » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:37 PM UTC

_jal wrote: post #109

feocco wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair. But, it seems to me that having to choose between Android, iOS, or any other OS is an expression of who you are. For others, there are more properties that express them. /shrug

So, do tell. What does my choice of an iPhone express about who I am? People seem to believe they can infer a very weird amount from a smidgen more than 1 bit of information.

That you make enough money to afford a smartphone plan, plus anywhere from $30 to $50 a month to pay for the phone itself, either up front or as part of the contract.

That you likely don't just own an iPhone, but also an mac laptop (or desktop), as well as at least one Apple TV. (i-devices don't integrate well with non-Apple ecosystems)

It's also likely that you have tens to hundreds of dollars invested in the iTunes and App stores.

In short, it says you have money. A commitment to around $100 a month on a phone, plus the implied other devices and digital purchases, is not a trivial outlay if you're making less than your average individual.

It's also entirely possible that you simply value projecting the impression of money to others enough to justify the outlay of money for the iPhone, but that still relies on the impression of money.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#297

Post by epicide » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:39 PM UTC

jancsika wrote: post #288

epicide wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Decent specs, niche audience, cheap. Pick two.

That applies for niche audience laptops-- for example the gluglug laptop serves a small free-software fanbase but doesn't have decent specs. But for cellphones, lots of values of "niche audience" end up with, "pick zero." Here are some examples: 1. Hook up a keyboard to ssh into the device. 2. Hardware switch to turn off the baseband OS. 3. Software toggle to turn off the baseband OS. 4. Sandboxed baseband OS that is…

It's not an analysis of what's available on the market. It is a statement about constraints in manufacturing/production.

Also, you're missing #8.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#298

Post by Thorncorona » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:41 PM UTC

nradov wrote: post #226

ProAm wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Batteries don't last that long still, last I heard you get about 1000 charges before you need to do serious maintenance to a phone, in which case you'll probably want the latest and greatest anyhow.

This is just another example of consumer hostile planned obsolescence. Rechargeable batteries are consumables. Most cell phones used to have removable batteries so when it wouldn't hold a charge any more you could easily replace. Now most phones have integrated batteries which can only be replaced with an expensive and inconvenient visit to a repair center.

You're niche. Most people don't care as long as their phone is fast and they can use their phone all day. By the time a phone's battery becomes unusably short (my iPhone 4s still holds a charge for about a full day), most people agree their phone is ready for replacement.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#299

Post by throwaway613834 » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:41 PM UTC

colordrops wrote: post #279

aianus wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> considering they'd have to start from scratch with channels like carrier partnerships, retail presence, and advertising OnePlus has none of these and seems very successful.

Meh, I bought my first OnePlus phone a few months ago and while the phone itself is great, I've been thoroughly unimpressed with their support and unavailability of most accessories, both from OnePlus and 3rd parties. It's a huge turn off and I won't buy another one.

What kind of support do you need for a smartphone? I've literally never even thought "maybe I should contact support" for a phone problem.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#300

Post by mixedCase » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 7:42 PM UTC

soperj wrote: post #83

ProAm wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Batteries don't last that long still, last I heard you get about 1000 charges before you need to do serious maintenance to a phone, in which case you'll probably want the latest and greatest anyhow.

I'm still using a Galaxy S3(2012) with no battery problems. I use it every day, and I don't even plug it in every night.

Amen to that. I just took this screenshot using an extended battery on my S3:

https://i.imgur.com/9dnRrA0.jpg

When I bought the extended battery kit it lasted from 3-5 days. 3 major Android releases later it is rivaling some dumbphones.

Not having to worry ever about battery life has been life-changing and I'm not going back.