Google October 4th Event

[Nexus18]

http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/

Stock Android doesn't matter, what does is the google brand. Its the 2nd strongest in the world behind Apple and its growing fast, while Samsung is in the decline. The S7 is a great phone, and Samsung has solid phone brand but I think if Google markets enough their brand will help them. I don't expect anything close to iPhone sales, or even S7 sales but I expect it to do well, better then most anything else in Android if they do well with the marketing.

Samsung have certainly got it a lot easier than most of the other android manufacturers given how big they are across more or less every market in the world unlike HTC whose only market are phones/tablets and now the vive...

And Apple, well what can I say, as much as I didn't like Steve Jobs, you got to give it to him for what he did, he created a whole new religion

 

[unwashed potato!]

"kona786
Quote:

see what i just did there sesevans? i used the quote button. please look for it and use it from now on. i'm sure whatever it is you're saying in the wall of text is useful but it's not going to get read when you post the way that you do. no one wants to decipher what are your words and what are others.

 

[sesevans]

see what i just did there sesevans? i used the quote button. please look for it and use it from now on. i'm sure whatever it is you're saying in the wall of text is useful but it's not going to get read when you post the way that you do. no one wants to decipher what are your words and what are others.

Thanks for the advice and all noted.

By the way, the deterioration in the Pound Sterling is continuing tonite. I mentioned in an earlier post that as of this morning we had seen the Pound depreciate by 16% against the US Dollar since June---from $ 1.50 to $ 1.26. Overnight, the Pound traded as low as $ 1.185 although it is now better at $ 1.23. A more than 20% devaluation of Sterling means that a device that would have been priced at £ 600 before June would likely be priced now at £ 720.

I expect this to be reflected in other new phone launches besides Pixel.

 

[AndyCr15]

PS next time you quote me don't cut out what I actually said just to make it more sensationalist - that's tabloid journalism 101 right there...

Of course I will. Tbh it rather annoys me when people quote a whole post when they are only asking about a specific part of it (like if I'd done it just now).

I stand by that post and that quote. I was asking specifically about you saying you could switch to iOS. The comment on waiting to see what 2017 wasn't particularly relevant to my question. How every likely it is, I was asking/stating surely iOS is a polar opposite, so it seemed a strange option.

 

[AndyCr15]

Put it this way.... Out of say 100 people I know, not one of them would buy a Pixel phone. This is people ranging from low income all they way to 6 figures.

Of all the people I know, I think only one of them has a Nexus. I think the chances Google's version of an iPhone is more likely to be bought by the people I know IRL than a Nexus.

 

[BMox81]

Of all the people I know, I think only one of them has a Nexus. I think the chances Google's version of an iPhone is more likely to be bought by the people I know IRL than a Nexus.

Google has the brand recognition-no doubts about that.

I think the main issue or problem Google are going to have, as someone else mentioned, is to get rid of that stigma of talking to your phone.

He's spot on in that most people who have Siri see it as a fad and never use it.

I was showing the wife a few videos about the Pixel and what the Google Assistant can do and even she was impressed at the speed of it just finding what it was asked. But then she said "How do you stop people from just tapping the app and just writing in what they need when that's what they've been "trained" to do for years...?" And I have to agree with her.

And then I see people seemingly have no issue or problems wailing their arms about using their Samsung (and soon to be PS) VR headsets slapped across their heads and wonder what's worse...

So it has potential, but Google do have their work cut out for them.

 

[DiCe!]

I love the idea of google home, but i wont use it on a phone as much, its always while driving that i use the voice assist.
At no point will i stand in the street and say "google what am i doing tonight" when I can just open the calendar app.....

 

[stoosh]

Spoiler

QUOTE=AndyCr15;30079773]Of course I will. Tbh it rather annoys me when people quote a whole post when they are only asking about a specific part of it (like if I'd done it just now).

I stand by that post and that quote. I was asking specifically about you saying you could switch to iOS. The comment on waiting to see what 2017 wasn't particularly relevant to my question. How every likely it is, I was asking/stating surely iOS is a polar opposite, so it seemed a strange option.[/QUOTE]

It rather annoys me that people cut the most pertinent and relevant part of the post just to make their point.

Anyway you stand by your opinion and I'll stand by mine. Should I switch to another operating system so what if it is polar opposite? That's the precise reason for wanting to have a go.

Some people like changes in life no matter how small it is...try it sometime otherwise life will no doubt become stale

 

[Adrianr]

I think the main issue or problem Google are going to have, as someone else mentioned, is to get rid of that stigma of talking to your phone.

He's spot on in that most people who have Siri see it as a fad and never use it.

I was showing the wife a few videos about the Pixel and what the Google Assistant can do and even she was impressed at the speed of it just finding what it was asked. But then she said "How do you stop people from just tapping the app and just writing in what they need when that's what they've been "trained" to do for years...?" And I have to agree with her.

Sorry, post chop alert, but further to this good point, it's not even just a matter of training, it's basically advertising to everyone what you're thinking - I'm not sure at what point we'll decide we've given up enough privacy, and of course lots of people willingly give this info (albeit very selectively) via twitter and instagram etc, but there's still quite a disconnect there between you and your audience. There will always things people don't want others to know, and we won't all be willing to go somewhere private just to google search something potentially embarrassing.

 

[AndyCr15]

It rather annoys me that people cut the most pertinent and relevant part of the post just to make their point.

Anyway you stand by your opinion and I'll stand by mine. Should I switch to another operating system so what if it is polar opposite? That's the precise reason for wanting to have a go.

Some people like changes in life no matter how small it is...try it sometime otherwise life will no doubt become stale

Again, to me it wasn't an important part. Like you're quote of mine, why did you both with the top few lines, they had nothing to do with it. Lazy posting to me and can sometimes confuse things, so I try not to do it.

More importantly, I wasn't making a point was I? I asked a question, which you have finally now answered. Thanks.

 

[Father Ted]

If Google want their assistant to be used widely, and I assume they do, then it needs to be on the thing that people interact with nost which will be their mobile phone. From that point of view keeping as a permanently exclusive Google Pixel feature makes no sense. Even if the phones sell well rhe percentage of android users using it will still be small. It would make sense to have it as an initially Pixel only exclusive to drive initial sales of the phones but then roll it out at a later date to other models. I seem to remember them doing something similar with the launch of the Nexus 5 and it's exclusive use of the Google Now launcher.

 

[AndyCr15]

I'd be very surprised if it doesn't roll out to other phones in time. If it doesn't it's a pretty huge change for Google who generally just want all their 'stuff' on everyone's device, no matter the manufacturer or even the OS. It'll probably get to iOS eventually, but then again, iOS might not let it integrate enough to be any use.

 

[unwashed potato!]

there is 100% no way google would not put assistant on all phones that can support it. now on tap is useless and i would be interested to see the real statistics of how much it gets used. i imagine it's incredibly low, with many only knowing it's there by accidentally holding the home button too long.

google now is ok, but i never go directly to it. i just let it notify me when it's relevant.

ok google is the only feature i use regularly.

Google assistant seems to be the next natural step to put all these 3 together to make something that's actually really useful.

 

[Father Ted]

Data is one of the main resources for Google. the more people that use their products the more data they harvest. They're going to want as many users as possible to be fully onboard with their ecosystem, Assistant seems to be at the heart of most of it. It's logical that they would want the maximum usage they can achieve for it, they're not going to do that by limiting it to just a couple of high end phones.

 

[sesevans]

I'd be very surprised if it doesn't roll out to other phones in time. If it doesn't it's a pretty huge change for Google who generally just want all their 'stuff' on everyone's device, no matter the manufacturer or even the OS. It'll probably get to iOS eventually, but then again, iOS might not let it integrate enough to be any use.

Completely agree but while Assistant is exclusive to Pixel and Home and fully integrated into them activated by either the home button or by voice, Google will be able to control its use tightly, benefit by completely owning the data and improving the performance/tweak the software. Google will be able to accomplish all this in a controlled environment while silently updating the device in the background solving its huge problems with fragmentation and updates on other devices.

Think of it this way: Google has folded Now on Tap into Assistant such that it has contextual awareness of whatever the user is doing on the device, whether the service is owned by Google or not. In my humble opinion, this is sheer Google brilliance because it can collect the user data on services it does not own and improve the user experience at the same time.

The exclusive Pixel distribution agreements with EE, Verizon, Telstra, Rogers and Deutsche Telecom should ensure that volumes are significantly higher than those of former Nexus devices but at a price point that enters the Apple and Samsung worlds.

Once Google has optimised Assistant and got the third party services on it humming (how long this takes is anyone's guess), then it can push Assistant out to the Android ecosystem and claim it should occupy pride of place not only because it is part of the OEM contract with Google but because of it being a superior product to anything else out there.