U.S. Samsung Galaxy S2 event on August 29!

[The_Chief]

No, that seems simple and reasonable, actually. I just can't believe that Motorola still would have exclusivity for X number of months as a result of their HUGE delays on the Bionic.

The only problem your explanation presents is how we'd be able to expect two phones from Samsung (SGSII and Prime) within such a short period of time. Unless the SGSII is not 4G and the Prime is. That would probably target two different sections of the customer base, making it possible that they would release during a short period of time.

Verizon owes Motorola BIG TIME for the whole Droid franchise that made both companies gazillions of dollars. Motorola is still Big Red's preferred OEM, so they get exclusivity even after months of delay...er, I mean "enhancements"

Samsung releases multiple phones all the time, targeted to different demographics. But this will be the first time (that I know of) that they've released TWO competing phones aimed at the same market segment. I hope you're wrong about the SGS2 being a 3G phone. Or a slider. Maybe the Prime will come out at an even higher price point, or the SGS2 subsidized and the Prime full retail. At any rate, it's fun to speculate about all this stuff in advance of the 29th

 

[HanSolo]

Verizon owes Motorola BIG TIME for the whole Droid franchise that made both companies gazillions of dollars. Motorola is still Big Red's preferred OEM, so they get exclusivity even after months of delay...er, I mean "enhancements"

Samsung releases multiple phones all the time, targeted to different demographics. But this will be the first time (that I know of) that they've released TWO competing phones aimed at the same market segment. I hope you're wrong about the SGS2 being a 3G phone. Or a slider. Maybe the Prime will come out at an even higher price point, or the SGS2 subsidized and the Prime full retail. At any rate, it's fun to speculate about all this stuff in advance of the 29th

I agree that a lot of Verizon's smartphone success is due to the Droid franchise, but Verizon also happens to be the biggest, most reliable network in the world supposedly, which gives it a lot of leverage, and let's not forget that business is simply business.

If the deal was for Moto to release the Bionic in say, April or May like it was originally supposed to happen, then Moto would've gotten the whole stinking summer to be exclusive, and Sammy would've gotten the fall. Moto probably would've come out with the Targa (Bionic II?) in the Christmas shopping season after Samsung, and all would've been well. But I strongly suspect that Moto's marbles fell off and they ditched the original Bionic and instead focused on rushing the Targa, which is now the original Bionic.

Like I said, business is business. Verizon isn't going to go to Samsung and say, "Sorry there, mate, but Moto dropped the ball and now they have to release in the Fall. Would you mind losing a few million dollars and putting off your release?"

Doubtful. Samsung is going ahead with a major announcement in exactly one week, and then another one in Berlin on September 1. (If the Berlin one is to announce SGS3 exclusively for Europe, I'll be pissed; I don't want to get sloppy seconds. Although I suspect it might be the Prime. Still, those promo shots look like they're all taking place in Europe, so I'm a bit worried.)

I highly doubt that, with all the hoopla surrounding Samsung during this end of August/beginning of September period, Verizon will be shut out of the Sammy goodness.

Again, Moto has only itself to blame, in my opinion.

 

[The_Chief]

Well, prepare to get pissed, Bluefire, because whatever they're announcing in Berlin is likely to be released everywhere BUT the United States for at least 6 months... just like the SGS2.

I would love nothing better than for the Stratosphere to be a mid-range phone, the REAL SGS2 a top-tier phone in September against Bionic; then Prime to be another top-tier phone against iPhone in October/November; then Dinara in December (not interested in that one) against NOTHING... again, giving Motorola an exclusive sales window opportunity.

 

[HanSolo]

Well, prepare to get pissed, Bluefire, because whatever they're announcing in Berlin is likely to be released everywhere BUT the United States for at least 6 months

I'm seriously considering just waiting for the Prime. A rumored display around 4.65 inches with Super AMOLED HD makes up for the wait. If it happens that it doesn't come to Verizon (which would contradict the evidence up to this point), then I can always fall back on the Bionic.

I've never had a Samsung, but I hear great things about their phones, and those displays are just gorgeous. Why settle for quarter HD, when full HD might come in just another month or so?

And that will be the end of my wait. Prime or no Prime, I'm getting a phone in October. Anything over 720p won't tempt me, because 1080p takes too long to decode and the files are way too big. And I know I won't need anything over 2 cores, despite the quad-core rumor mill, because I can't fathom that there will be anything actually using all 4 cores for at least 2 to 3 years.

(As you can tell, display is of primary importance to me. 4G connectivity is second.)

Samsung's GT-I9250 to be Google's Nexus Prime

 

[Sandroidfan]

Sammy seems to be gearing up for major onslaught of super-phones this Fall. SGS2, SGS2 plus and Nexus Prime. Celox seems to be 4G SGS2 for Verizon from recent reports. I get my fingers crossed on it next Monday! And I think the Berlin event is probably about SGS2 plus (HD version of SGS2), and/or Prime.

As for delays on Sammy phones to US, I think the biggest reason is their watching Apple's move on iPhone5. So hopefully what they show in Berlin wouldn't take too long for US.

 

[HanSolo]

Sammy seems to be gearing up for major onslaught of super-phones this Fall. SGS2, SGS2 plus and Nexus Prime. Celox seems to be 4G SGS2 for Verizon from recent reports. I get my fingers crossed on it next Monday! And I think the Berlin event is probably about SGS2 plus (HD version of SGS2), and/or Prime.

As for delays on Sammy phones to US, I think the biggest reason is their watching Apple's move on iPhone5. So hopefully what they show in Berlin wouldn't take too long for US.

I agree. Also, given that the Prime will be a Google phone, not a "samsung experience" phone with TouchWiz, etc., I doubt that it will be only in Europe to start off.

Hopefully the Berlin announcement will be about the Prime (their tagline is "Something big is coming"), with a release date in October (in the US, of course!)

But, the fact that the announcement is in Europe is somewhat scary.

 

[inssane]

Well, I picture my OG's processor as an old man trying to run on a treadmill, beard and all.

I can't say I will get the Bionic if the SG2 doesn't drop or there is still no ETA - but I will say that if it's a slider they can F themselves.

Why are they not giving us hard facts and twitter teasing on occaision? To create a buzz, which they are successfully accomplishing.

For me it's SG2 (the candybar) or BUST. If it doesn't drop at all and they do a slider, then IDK what I will do.
My upgrade is here, like most others, but remember...no early upgrades anymore, so I need to make this count.

 

[inssane]

But, the fact that the announcement is in Europe is somewhat scary.

Sometimes I wonder why I don't go GSM and just drop coin on nice imported phones since they are always ahead of the curve.
I speak German, so what the hell

 

[HanSolo]

Sometimes I wonder why I don't go GSM and just drop coin on nice imported phones since they are always ahead of the curve.
I speak German, so what the hell

I thought the same thing, but then you wouldn't have true 4G speeds.

It's a no-win situation.

 

[The_Chief]

AMEN... I had it in the back of my mind but thanks for reminding us that this is the LAST NE2 and early upgrade for Verizon. Sucks, but at least we have some boss phones coming out to choose from.

Now if they'll just get on about the business of actually releasing them

 

[BlueBiker]

If the deal was for Moto to release the Bionic in say, April or May like it was originally supposed to happen, then Moto would've gotten the whole stinking summer to be exclusive, and Sammy would've gotten the fall.
...
Like I said, business is business. Verizon isn't going to go to Samsung and say, "Sorry there, mate, but Moto dropped the ball and now they have to release in the Fall. Would you mind losing a few million dollars and putting off your release?"

That sounds right to me. I wouldn't ordinarily expect two superphones to be released close to each other on the same carrier, but it doesn't seem reasonable that Moto's long delay should negatively affect Samsung -- quite the opposite, really.

 

[Sandroidfan]

I read from some medias saying that Samsung's Berlin event will be mainly about their new Wave 3 phone using BADA 2.0 OS. This makes me a little worried. Hopefully that's not all they announce there.

 

[cereal killer]

I read from some medias saying that Samsung's Berlin event will be mainly about their new Wave 3 phone using BADA 2.0 OS. This makes me a little worried. Hopefully that's not all they announce there.

I think the Berlin event will probably be their version of our event on August 29th.

 

[cereal killer]

but it doesn't seem reasonable that Moto's long delay should negatively affect Samsung -- quite the opposite, really.

all bets are off since the Etna was canceled and the Bionic release delayed. They are not going to hold up a release schedule for one phone. The Galaxy SII is the most highly anticipated handset across all carriers right now. It sold 6 million units in the Europe, thats got somebody's attention. Verizon would be stupid to delay it and would probably be in breach of contract for doing so.

Like I said earlier, it's not their ideal release but it is what it is. The Bionic was delayed and they have no choice.

 

[jinwons]

I was really hoping for LTE SGSII on Verizon to have Exynos. But as of late, it seems like dual core snapdragon as seen in Celox. Since dual snapdragon is cortex A8 based, it needs to be at higher 1.5Ghz clock to match 1.2Ghz performance of exynos. I wonder why they couldn't marry Exynos with LTE when they could pair tegra2 with LTE in Tab 10.1. So I envy AT&T folks for their earlier SGSII release and Exynos processor.

 

[kyler13]

No, that seems simple and reasonable, actually. I just can't believe that Motorola still would have exclusivity for X number of months as a result of their HUGE delays on the Bionic.

Exactly. They should have lost that privilege, and I think they might have if the SGSII comes out within a week of the Bionic. For all we know, Verizon may be contractually obligated to get Samsung's offering out the door so it's a "too bad, Motorola" situation.

The only problem your explanation presents is how we'd be able to expect two phones from Samsung (SGSII and Prime) within such a short period of time. Unless the SGSII is not 4G and the Prime is. That would probably target two different sections of the customer base, making it possible that they would release during a short period of time.

IMO, we aren't getting the Nexus Prime in early October. I would think more likely Thanksgiving time or December. Maybe the Prime will hit someone like T-Mobile in October, but not likely Verizon. Would love it if it did, though!

 

[kyler13]

Samsung releases multiple phones all the time, targeted to different demographics. But this will be the first time (that I know of) that they've released TWO competing phones aimed at the same market segment. I hope you're wrong about the SGS2 being a 3G phone. Or a slider. Maybe the Prime will come out at an even higher price point, or the SGS2 subsidized and the Prime full retail. At any rate, it's fun to speculate about all this stuff in advance of the 29th

It's a long shot, but maybe the Nexus Prime will end up as a sell-through device. If Google fronts the inventory costs rather than the carriers, that would at least ease the planning needs from an accounting standpoint. If that were the case, releasing a second top tier phone 4-6 weeks after the SGSII would be of little impact. Plus, Google would be advertising the phone, not Verizon so it would be more of a pure profit sale without any need for cost recovery through a minimum sale of X units.

 

[HanSolo]

It's a long shot, but maybe the Nexus Prime will end up as a sell-through device. If Google fronts the inventory costs rather than the carriers, that would at least ease the planning needs from an accounting standpoint. If that were the case, releasing a second top tier phone 4-6 weeks after the SGSII would be of little impact. Plus, Google would be advertising the phone, not Verizon so it would be more of a pure profit sale without any need for cost recovery through a minimum sale of X units.

If this was the case, and Google decided to make it a sell-through device as you say, would they build it so that it's useable on all 4 major networks? I would seriously doubt they'd build a CDMA device unless they contracted to sell directly through Verizon. They've never done that before.

 

[chanop]

Samsung just dropped a commercial for stateside SGSII. Nothing carrier specific.

Samsung Galaxy S II - It's Big - YouTube

 

[HanSolo]

I read from some medias saying that Samsung's Berlin event will be mainly about their new Wave 3 phone using BADA 2.0 OS. This makes me a little worried. Hopefully that's not all they announce there.

Well hopefully they will include other handsets that were mentioned in the same leaked roadmap that had the BADA phones in it. Yes, Samsung came out and said that the details were not accurate in the leak, but the fact that they've never come out to address a leak before tells me that there is more than a grain of truth in it. Among the phones mentioned in the roadmap is the I9250, which is rumored to be the Prime since it has a huge screen and is running Ice Cream Sandwich.

Edit: I'm positive that the Wave 3 phone will be unveiled, now that I think about it, since the promo has a shot of ocean waves in it. I just hope that it's not the ONLY thing. . .

I think the Berlin event will probably be their version of our event on August 29th.

I doubt it. The 29th event will be, I'm sure, exclusively SGSII related, given that the invitation has a galaxy in the background and the "II" on the bottom half of the page. There's no reason to hold an SGSII event in a continent where it's been available since the Spring. The tagline for the Berlin event is "Something BIG is coming". It might be wishful thinking, but hopefully they are talking about the big screen on the Prime, or whatever I9250 turns out to be. Whatever it is, it's going to be a phone, judging by their ad with people walking around holding giant golden-lighted things up to their ears.

IMO, we aren't getting the Nexus Prime in early October. I would think more likely Thanksgiving time or December. Maybe the Prime will hit someone like T-Mobile in October, but not likely Verizon. Would love it if it did, though!

I'm worried about this, too. But the fact that ICS has been long-rumored to be coming in October, that means SOMETHING good is coming in around that time frame. Google wouldn't release 4.0 on an existing device. The easiest thing to imagine is that they would release it on their own, pure-android handset so that they can show it off as it's supposed to be. Prime fits the bill. The only thing, in my opinion, that derails an October launch of Prime is if the ICS rumors of October release are false, which they might very well be. Still, I can't see it delaying past Black Friday.

The biggest question, of course, is whether or not it's coming to Verizon. I think it's 50/50, although the sightings of a huge Samsung phone at Verizon HQ is very promising, and I can't imagine why Google wouldn't want to release an LTE phone, especially if it hopes to go head to head against iPhone, which is most likely coming out in October.

It all adds up. But it's a house of cards.

 

[HanSolo]

Samsung just dropped a commercial for stateside SGSII. Nothing carrier specific.

Nice to see that the style is mostly the same as in Europe, minus the Apple button.

But they're claiming that the US version is super thin as well. This strongly suggests that it won't be 4G.

I feel bad for The_Chief.

 

[The_Chief]

Weep not for me, Bluefire. Well, maybe a little bit

If it's a 3G only device (REALLY hope it's not), then I'll still pick it up and use it till the next big thing comes out... be it Prime or Dinara. Then pass SGS2 on to daughter and use her upgrade for myself (heh heh heh)

If it's a QWERTY slider (REALLY hope it's not), then I'll pass completely.

Six more days and all will be revealed.

 

[HanSolo]

This is a weird video. . . ..the phone the guy has in his hands probably isn't the Prime, but can anyone tell what it is?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SlYGlYKDDPU

 

[jinwons]

This is a weird video. . . ..the phone the guy has in his hands probably isn't the Prime, but can anyone tell what it is?

Google Nexus Prime 10?????iPhone 5 - YouTube

That video clip is from Nexus S introduction video last year. They just mixed it with some iPhone5 leaked photos.

 

[The_Chief]

A transparent phone would be wicked cool (unless you're trying to watch a movie or something) but I never see it happening until there are transparent batteries. Or displays that charge themselves:

Next-Gen Electronics Charge Themselves With Energy-Harvesting LCD Screens | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Now THAT would be a game changer.