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Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

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Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#51

Post by allenbrunson »

xenadu02 wrote: post #37
allenbrunson wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What is iPhone bad at? ecosystem lock-in, not allowing un-vetted apps to run, walled-garden approach to everything. based on comments i see here, some people are mad enough about this to avoid iPhones altogether. that's where i'd start, if i were trying to launch a smartphone platform today.

And when someone's phone ends up with spyware, bitcoin miners, and they're signed up for 12 different $10/month "premium" SMS text services do you believe they'll be happy to be outside the walled garden? I consider myself a nerd and I find it amazing that some of my fellow nerds learned absolutely nothing from IE and ActiveX: Users will always click Yes/OK/Install/Please_own_me. Providing an "Allow side-loading" che…

i could not possibly be more invested than i am in the apple universe. i've used nothing but macs since 2001. i've never owned a smartphone that didn't have an apple logo on it. i make my living writing ios apps. i am mostly pretty happy with apple's choices.

having said that, i think apple goes too far. they could make things safe for the average grandma while also allowing more latitude for tinkerers. they should allow you to hook up your phone to different backend services other than their own icloud. they should not be trying to take 30 percent from every transaction that happens in ios apps. they should allow you to buy music and movies from places other than their store that works just as seamlessly for the end user, with no friction. and so on.

android, on the other hand, goes too far in the other direction. google is so hands-off that they let device manufacturers get away with murder, at the expense of their users.

there is a happy place in the middle that somebody with deep pockets could occupy, if they wanted to.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#52

Post by as1mov »

imustbeevil wrote: post #35
lawrenceyan wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you ever heard of the concept of niche targeting? I definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't. :)

Niche targeting is how you end up selling 5,000 phones.

To be fair, Essential didn't know who their niche target was (headphone jack haters maybe?). At least Librem 5 has very distinguishing features.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#53

Post by dmitriid »

allenbrunson wrote: post #25
khazhoux wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Palm got upended because their product was not actually that great. It solved a need, for sure, but the core quality was not there. What is iPhone bad at? Where's the entry point for a disruptor?

> What is iPhone bad at? ecosystem lock-in, not allowing un-vetted apps to run, walled-garden approach to everything. based on comments i see here, some people are mad enough about this to avoid iPhones altogether. that's where i'd start, if i were trying to launch a smartphone platform today.

A very wrong and a very short-sighted approach. Other comments have already pointed this out.

Two things:

- ease of use

- privacy

These two may sell the product even if it lacks certain features.

- ecosystem (as in "do I have an app for that?")

This is essential (pun intended), but Essential is already running Android, so they are covered there.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#54

Post by svachalek »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #3

I wonder if the name also hurts. When I see the word "Essential" I think "basic/stripped-down". When I see the price of $699 for an "Essential phone", I think that I might as well get an Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, or Google Pixel.

It's also at odds with the gadgety stick-on camera. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use an add-on camera lens with their phone, much less the black sweater crowd they seem to be calling out with the "Essential" name.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#55

Post by gumby »

blensor wrote: post #22
jakef wrote: post #14

Who would buy this thing? The phone doesn't look to be anything special, the name makes it sound low-end, there's zero brand recognition. The magnetic wireless accessory thing is irrelevant to vast majority of consumers, especially since Bluetooth has already solved that problem and works with any device. I can't imagine a scenario where someone is looking to buy a phone in the ~$700 range and chooses this.

I'm not sure we are talking about the same bluetooth here. I have yet to see a bluetooth device that just works (I am a non apple user, so I can't speak for IOS devices). The worst example are my wireless headphones. When I get into the car the car radio tries to connect to my phone, so it stops the wireless headphone output. I then have to scroll through the menu and disconnect the car radio, which tries to reconnec…

> I have yet to see a bluetooth device that just works (I am a non apple user, so I can't speak for IOS devices).

Indeed, if you go all-in on Apple they really do "just work", and come pretty close when you use a non-Apple BT headset with Apple gear. I can't say if this is because the standards are inadequate and Apple does some extra work, or if the BT implementations on cheap hardware are simply terrible. I kinda lean to the latter, but really either could be true.

> When I get into the car the car radio tries to connect to my phone, so it stops the wireless headphone output.

BTW if you are in California it's a crime to have an earbud in both ears or cup headset covering both ears. You're unlikely to be stopped for that specifically, but if you get stopped for erratic driving, speeding, or have an accident the cops are quite willing to load that one on too, and in the case of an accident your insurance company may not cover you. So your car may have a crappy implementation (see my comment above) or it might be attempting to do the right thing.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#56

Post by toomuchtodo »

blensor wrote: post #22
jakef wrote: post #14

Who would buy this thing? The phone doesn't look to be anything special, the name makes it sound low-end, there's zero brand recognition. The magnetic wireless accessory thing is irrelevant to vast majority of consumers, especially since Bluetooth has already solved that problem and works with any device. I can't imagine a scenario where someone is looking to buy a phone in the ~$700 range and chooses this.

I'm not sure we are talking about the same bluetooth here. I have yet to see a bluetooth device that just works (I am a non apple user, so I can't speak for IOS devices). The worst example are my wireless headphones. When I get into the car the car radio tries to connect to my phone, so it stops the wireless headphone output. I then have to scroll through the menu and disconnect the car radio, which tries to reconnec…

> I'm not sure we are talking about the same bluetooth here. I have yet to see a bluetooth device that just works (I am a non apple user, so I can't speak for IOS devices).

I have a 2008 Toyota Tundra pickup with no bluetooth. I bought a $20 bluetooth adapter [1]. It has worked flawlessly with my iPhone 5S/6/7 phones; I step into the vehicle, and as soon as the cigarette power adapters are powered up, it pairs without any intervention on my part (after the initial pairing). I consume vast quantities of Spotify while driving around Central Florida with this setup.

I still rely on the Apple corded headphones, as I prefer their UX to wireless headphones.

It is regretful if it does not work for your specific use case, but it does seem to work in certain scenarios without issue.

[1] https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJFGE3W/

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#57

Post by [deleted] »

xenadu02 wrote: post #37
allenbrunson wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What is iPhone bad at? ecosystem lock-in, not allowing un-vetted apps to run, walled-garden approach to everything. based on comments i see here, some people are mad enough about this to avoid iPhones altogether. that's where i'd start, if i were trying to launch a smartphone platform today.

And when someone's phone ends up with spyware, bitcoin miners, and they're signed up for 12 different $10/month "premium" SMS text services do you believe they'll be happy to be outside the walled garden? I consider myself a nerd and I find it amazing that some of my fellow nerds learned absolutely nothing from IE and ActiveX: Users will always click Yes/OK/Install/Please_own_me. Providing an "Allow side-loading" che…

[deleted]

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#58

Post by bm1362 »

allenbrunson wrote: post #25
khazhoux wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Palm got upended because their product was not actually that great. It solved a need, for sure, but the core quality was not there. What is iPhone bad at? Where's the entry point for a disruptor?

> What is iPhone bad at? ecosystem lock-in, not allowing un-vetted apps to run, walled-garden approach to everything. based on comments i see here, some people are mad enough about this to avoid iPhones altogether. that's where i'd start, if i were trying to launch a smartphone platform today.

These things allow iOS to remain relatively secure for end-users while Android continues to be a wasteland of exploits.

I'd argue I want my phone to be as secure as possible, more so than my laptop, since it is my authenticator for most of my services.

Most end users are satisfied with their iOS devices and don't try and use it as a ssh machine or toolkit. They install Candy Crush and some Google apps at most.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#59

Post by kentt »

blensor wrote: post #22
jakef wrote: post #14

Who would buy this thing? The phone doesn't look to be anything special, the name makes it sound low-end, there's zero brand recognition. The magnetic wireless accessory thing is irrelevant to vast majority of consumers, especially since Bluetooth has already solved that problem and works with any device. I can't imagine a scenario where someone is looking to buy a phone in the ~$700 range and chooses this.

I'm not sure we are talking about the same bluetooth here. I have yet to see a bluetooth device that just works (I am a non apple user, so I can't speak for IOS devices). The worst example are my wireless headphones. When I get into the car the car radio tries to connect to my phone, so it stops the wireless headphone output. I then have to scroll through the menu and disconnect the car radio, which tries to reconnec…

I'm just so baffled by this. I've been using bluetooth happily for over a decade. With some minor hiccups, I'd say it works near flawlessly every time. However, everyone seems to hate bt, it never works for anyone, manufacturers put it in everything, people continually switch to bt devices. Nothing adds up.

Re: Essential has sold just 5,000 phones since launch

#60

Post by sp332 »

blensor wrote: post #22
jakef wrote: post #14

Who would buy this thing? The phone doesn't look to be anything special, the name makes it sound low-end, there's zero brand recognition. The magnetic wireless accessory thing is irrelevant to vast majority of consumers, especially since Bluetooth has already solved that problem and works with any device. I can't imagine a scenario where someone is looking to buy a phone in the ~$700 range and chooses this.

I'm not sure we are talking about the same bluetooth here. I have yet to see a bluetooth device that just works (I am a non apple user, so I can't speak for IOS devices). The worst example are my wireless headphones. When I get into the car the car radio tries to connect to my phone, so it stops the wireless headphone output. I then have to scroll through the menu and disconnect the car radio, which tries to reconnec…

If you don't want it to connect to your car, why did you pair them?
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