Google Pixel and Pixel XL

kona786 said:
The service from EE was fantastic - the lady on the phone was very helpful too.
Click to expand...

I'd say you got a good deal Kona, more so as you are 33gigs with that contract. I called in to EE shop in town or at least one of them on Sunday after the O2 shop. Chaps in there was very helpful too. I've got a payg EE sim currently giving them a try and has improved in our rural area. They were telling me not to bother with OnePlus 3 and go either Galaxy S7 or Pixel when they come out :D Being new customer I doubt I'll get anything like a good deal. Not that it would stop me trying. Smaller Pixel or the S7 would suit me. I think I want to go smaller phone next time after Moto X Style. All comes down to money :rolleyes:
 
The billboards are filling up with Pixel adverts - saw a couple at St Paul's and Liverpool St has an advert on one of their LCD screens.
 
If anything, with the Note 7 debacle, it's this (the marketing) that Google should ramp up, not trying to bring forward the release.
 
Gigabit said:
And this is why I believe this phone will be far more successful than people think.
Click to expand...

In my view, it's about creating a 'need' for the phone among the general populace. Apple have done it exceptionally well, how exactly I'm not sure. I suppose they've ridden the wave of hype that they created with the first iPhones, and very successfully built upon on it (their marketing is excellent as we all know). Let's be honest, the latest iPhone doesn't really do anything new, it's nothing that special, but for a few days following the event it's the most spoken about thing on Earth...

Billboards and TV adverts will get the name out there, but there's something else you have to crack.

HTC for example are a fairly well known name - but nothing like Google themselves are. They've thrown fortunes at sponsoring the Champions League etc, the biggest annual sporting event in the world, and have run all sorts of campaigns, but demand has been comparatively low. Their phones have been decent too.

I'm interested to see what sort of strategy Google use, pricing your device directly against the most expensive iPhone (equivalent storage) is a brave move.
 
What is a bit different about this phone though is although they've only got EE at present, EE really seem to be promoting the hell out of it, more than the Samsung S7 was and probably the same as the iPhone 7.

HTC is completely ignored by the networks.
 
Yup HTC had some good marketing moves i.e. the championship league but when it came to phone shops, it was awful, their phones were slammed with all the other brands at the back of stores where as you have apple and Samsung with their own areas dedicated to a demonstration area, usually located at the entrance of the store, not to mention when you are looking at the unwanted phones at the back of the store, you then get some sales man/woman come over and try to persuade you to go with an apple/samsung device instead...

Google have certainly picked the right time to announce/release the pixel anyway considering the note 7 fiasco.
 
Gigabit said:
And this is why I believe this phone will be far more successful than people think.
Click to expand...


Generic Pixel ads sure. But isn't Google missing a trick by not highlighting Assistant on Pixel?

I believe Google should really highlight the benefits of Google Assistant with the Pixels. Already 20% of all search on mobiles is voice activated and this will only grow as Assistant, and its AI driven software learns to become more competent and able to be personal for you.

I believe Assistant makes it more personal: "OK Google, my wife's name is Sarah Jones" and Assistant responds with "OK, I'll remember that." You can use the command "Remember" to make Assistant your own source of handy info. You can say "Remember my bike combination is 567". Five years from now, you can ask Assistant what your bike combo is and it will tell you.

As I understand it, Assistant uses facts and info about you and uses the Knowledge Graph and Search to help you control things around your home---eg, your appliances or make your dinner reservation. Unlike Google Now (and Siri and Cortana), Assistant should be able to figure things out, even with a vague request. This will improve over time as Assistant learns your preferences.

And Assistant should be advertised as being context aware, esp with small decisions. So when you are in your car and you ask it to "Play Ebony and Ivory from the Beatles" it will play it through your car's sound system. But if you say the same thing at Home it will play through either your Home system or through your Chromecast device depending on which you prefer.

Assistant apparently gets even more contextual with a Pixel phone. Long pressing the home button while looking at a photo gives you search results based on the context of the photo---previously Google Now on Tap.

As Google opens Assistant to third party devs, conversation Actions will get built. Soon you can ask it an airline question such as "Which weekend in November has the cheapest price for flying to Rome?" The "bot" will give you answers and do things for you (such as book the tickets) and ask you questions to get more info to give you a better service. Already on Assistant are third parties such as news channels, music sites like Spotify, Open Table and home automation companies like SmartThings, some US only now.

I would be particularly interested to see Google take this AI into knowing the results I want and choosing or at least offering third party integrations for me. I understand Amazon Alexa does not do this.

I would like to see ads that bring out more about current and future Assistant features on the Pixel.
 
sesevans said:
Generic Pixel ads sure. But isn't Google missing a trick by not highlighting Assistant on Pixel?....
Click to expand...

Nope. Assistant in the UK is nothing more than a gimmick and will be for years to come.

Siri and the likes have been around for some time now, yet when sitting in a restaurant how many people have i seen speaking to their phone? None. This is the same whether i'm at home or at work, i just don't see people using them.

Advertising a phone based on this gimmick and expecting me to pay a premium price... no thanks.
 
BaldJedi said:
Nope. Assistant in the UK is nothing more than a gimmick and will be for years to come.
Click to expand...

He's just given a few examples above that aren't really location based, so you might need to justify your comment a little further. I do agree it will be interesting to see how well integrated it is to other services. In the US you can book at table for 4... can you in the UK for example?
 
BaldJedi said:
Siri and the likes have been around for some time now, yet when sitting in a restaurant how many people have i seen speaking to their phone? None. This is the same whether i'm at home or at work, i just don't see people using them.
Click to expand...

I talk to my phone/watch quite a lot. It's genuinely quicker for many things. Granted, I do it less (if at all) when other people are around, but I think that will change over time. The more fluid it can be, the more likely it is to work and you don't look an ass, the less silly you feel doing it.
 
AndyCr15 said:
I talk to my phone/watch quite a lot. It's genuinely quicker for many things. Granted, I do it less (if at all) when other people are around, but I think that will change over time. The more fluid it can be, the more likely it is to work and you don't look an ass, the less silly you feel doing it.
Click to expand...

Growing up I was (and still am) a devoted Star Wars fan! Watching these space pioneers talk to computers, with other people around, seemed quite natural to me. After all, humans are hard-wired to speak and converse!

I have always been surprised that computer OEMs have taken so long to migrate to a post-hardware world where with AI, voice activation becomes the accepted norm. That to me seems Google's end-game strategy. At the presentation on 4 October, Google CEO Pichai said this in effect when he said that they are betting the Company on AI. He sees CUI (conversational user interface) replacing search engines and apps for many users. That vision seems really exciting to geeks like me. I appreciate for non-geeks it will take longer but Google ads would help.

Of course there will be situations where a keyboard or touch screen will be needed but I see a world, aided by AI, where these will become the exception to the rule. Speech recognition, context awareness, machine learning, robotics and AI should hasten this Google vision. When Assistant is spread to other devices and software by Google (currently planned for Home and in Allo) and by third party devs, barriers I believe will start to fall more rapidly than most anticipate.

It is worth noting that Google Now, Siri, Alexa from Amazon and Cortana are virtual assistants, but not AI-virtual assistants. Assistant on the other hand is an AI-virtual assistant that becomes more competent and able to personalise interactions. This is the essential difference which users will learn about when Assistant is finally released to a wider audience.

This is why I believe advertising Assistant more broadly will put Pixel into the premium smartphone world currently occupied by Apple and Samsung, and soon Google.
 
sesevans said:
Pixel Camera

sharing some video taken on Pixel yesterday by a Reddit user:

https://vimeo.com/186494961

Anyone else agree with me that Google's EIS rather than OIS no big deal? Seems Google optimised their camera software with their self made hardware really well.
Click to expand...

Yes great stabilisation...finally.

Sony And Apple have already been doing this for years without OIS.

OIS would have been nice for even better low light shots, but no camera hump is a refreshing change.
 
I don't like the sharpness of each "cut" as the camera pans from left to right, it's too sudden instead of smooth. I think Sony did a better job here. We've all see that Sony Z5 video where the guy is in a damn jeep driving over rough terrain and the EIS handles it like it's a piece of cake.

EIS also means the frame has to crop in, OIS = No crop needed. Not a huge issue this on some modern flagships with extra wide angle lenses, as the crop is less noticeable compared to disabling EIS.
 
I would prefer to see Google advertise the Pixel phones with the Assistant feature front and centre but I notice with two new Pixel ads (somewhat strange ones in my view!), Google is first attempting to tell the world that they are more than a search company now with the Pixel phones. They seem to be taking a very human approach with a love theme and lots of music and balloons and hugging to reinforce. They are selling an "idea"! In just a week, Pixel phones have become among the most heavily marketed products ever by Google.

In these two ads, Google continues with its original ad theme prior to launch of a search bar changing into a phone. The first one, #Pixel: Crush by you is a 30 second spot and the second one, #Pixel: Together by you is a 1 minute spot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0yIO_FX608

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o9NmuZ8Qls
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom