Official Release Date Rumor Thread

[RajCaj]

I can't agree more on this. We really need to get out of subsidized pricing model for phones. But then we are looking at laptop, tablet like prices for phones. Many folks would have hard time paying that much when they got used to paying less than 200 for phone.

Here is another idea to go along with that.....stop canibalizing your own market by releasing several versions of the phones throught the year....and within each of the markets.

I understand competition drives all these itterations of hardware in effort to stay ahead....but it just creates a confusing and expensive situation for the consumers.

Life would be much simpler if each of the manufactures released 1-2 phones a year...(High End - Low End model) It's bad enough that we have to miss out on a whole generation of phones because of the 2 year contract....let alone having to deal with your top grade phone being left in the dust just months after making the purchase.

The Samsung Infuse released in May for $200. I just heard about it, and picked it up last week. This week I learn that Samsung is releasing a slightly smaller version of my phone in dual core, more memory, and upgraded Android + TouchWiz software....that will probably release @ $200. AND, I'm hearing about a potentail Galaxy S II Plus release, which sports a minor hardware upgrade + Android Ice Cream Sandwhich....to rival the impending iPhone 5. Well when is that coming out? November?

Should I just wait till then? Very fustrating indeed....

 

[Sandroidfan]

It doesn't make sense to me that Samsung would release the Infuse in May, only to trump it 2 months later with no changes other than a dual core + more memory + upgraded software. AND THEN now I'm also reading information on a potential release of a Galaxy IIS Plus that bumps from 1.2 dual core to a 1.4 dual core....and again, upgraded droid software.

I think it depends on what you do with phone. no changes other than a dual core + more memory + upgraded software? To me that looks like very significant bump in spec and what more can be asked for? But Infuse may be just fine for most stuffs that people do with smart-phones I guess.

 

[RajCaj]

I think it depends on what you do with phone. no changes other than a dual core + more memory + upgraded software? To me that looks like very significant bump in spec and what more can be asked for? But Infuse may be just fine for most stuffs that people do with smart-phones I guess.

What I do with my phone helps me determine which Grade phone I want.

High Features = A Grade
Med Features = B Grade
Low Features = C Grade

I do a lot of multi-media & gaming on my phone so I want something top of the line....I'm looking for an A Grade phone.

I walk into Best Buy in May and ask the worker...I want to see your top of the line AT&T Phones.....at which point he shows me the brand new Samsung Infuse.....also sporting the top of the line price.

4 months later, Samsung releases a new A-Grade phone to AT&T....effectively doubling the processor speed & RAM, in addition to offering the latest editions of Android & TouchWiz.

Guess what....I'm still in the market for an A Grade phone. Sure, I probably won't notice a HUGE difference in performance between the phones....but I just paid full price for a phone JUST RELEASED 4 months prior as a top of the line phone.

In addition to that...I'm also hearing that there are rumors that a NEW A Grade phone from Samsung will be released later that year....which will sport a whopping .2 GHz increase in processor speed + new version of Android.

You can release 3 phones in a year.....you CANNOT release 3 phones that effectively replace eachother in the same year when the phones cost $200-300 on a contract that locks you in for 2 years....or $600-$800 with no strings attached. And don't even get me started on the whole crap with cell phone manufactures calling their phones different names, depending on the carrier they are with. It makes it sound like there are a thousand Droid phones out there as viable options.

This sort of uneasyness volatility in the market will drive users in droves to a more stable and predictable platform.

 

[maerlim]

You can release 3 phones in a year.....you CANNOT release 3 phones that effectively replace eachother in the same year when the phones cost $200-300 on a contract that locks you in for 2 years....or $600-$800 with no strings attached. And don't even get me started on the whole crap with cell phone manufactures calling their phones different names, depending on the carrier they are with. It makes it sound like there are a thousand Droid phones out there as viable options.

Absolutely you can. That's how the Android business has been since the original Droid came out. That being said, the Infuse is an unusual beast. It's a Captivate with a bigger, better screen. The Attain will be an Infuse with a slightly smaller screen and a dual-core processor. By the time the Attain is out, the Infuse will be $149 or less, and will find its niche as the "cheaper" alternative. Phones don't stay at that top-of-the-line price point very long, I'm afraid.

Oh, and by the way, if you walk into a Best Buy and ask for the "best phone" for any given carrier, you will likely be given the "most expensive phone", regardless of quality.

 

[jinwons]

What I do with my phone helps me determine which Grade phone I want.

High Features = A Grade
Med Features = B Grade
Low Features = C Grade

I do a lot of multi-media & gaming on my phone so I want something top of the line....I'm looking for an A Grade phone.

I walk into Best Buy in May and ask the worker...I want to see your top of the line AT&T Phones.....at which point he shows me the brand new Samsung Infuse.....also sporting the top of the line price.

4 months later, Samsung releases a new A-Grade phone to AT&T....effectively doubling the processor speed & RAM, in addition to offering the latest editions of Android & TouchWiz.

Guess what....I'm still in the market for an A Grade phone. Sure, I probably won't notice a HUGE difference in performance between the phones....but I just paid full price for a phone JUST RELEASED 4 months prior as a top of the line phone.

In addition to that...I'm also hearing that there are rumors that a NEW A Grade phone from Samsung will be released later that year....which will sport a whopping .2 GHz increase in processor speed + new version of Android.

You can release 3 phones in a year.....you CANNOT release 3 phones that effectively replace eachother in the same year when the phones cost $200-300 on a contract that locks you in for 2 years....or $600-$800 with no strings attached. And don't even get me started on the whole crap with cell phone manufactures calling their phones different names, depending on the carrier they are with. It makes it sound like there are a thousand Droid phones out there as viable options.

This sort of uneasyness volatility in the market will drive users in droves to a more stable and predictable platform.

I understand how you feel. But didn't you know SGSII is coming soon when you got Infuse and now complaining on SGSII coming? Also SGSII plus with 1.4Ghz is still kind of rumor and we don't know if it's coming to U.S within this year at all. Even so, it's small step forward from SGSII, not like giant step from Infuse to SGSII.

Your last sentence seems to be referring to iPhone. I would rather have phone progressing fast in technology than the one stuck to last year's technology for long.

 

[Puddin422]

I can't speak for everyone, but Infuse is too damn big for me, so its existance is moot. It's not even on my radar for phone choices with AT&T. That thing is HUGE.

 

[Sandroidfan]

I can't speak for everyone, but Infuse is too damn big for me, so its existance is moot. It's not even on my radar for phone choices with AT&T. That thing is HUGE.

Yeah, 4.5" phones like Infuse seems just too huge for me. It looks like Droid Bionic will also be huge 4.5" phone. I will probably pass on it.

 

[Croco4]

I can't speak for everyone, but Infuse is too damn big for me, so its existance is moot. It's not even on my radar for phone choices with AT&T. That thing is HUGE.

Thats true. Plus, with the cloud of the Samsung Attain ever looming I just can't bring myself to get the Infuse knowing that there is something much better coming less than a month away(hopefully). However, early-august is my absolute last deadline, and if it hasn't come then its the Infuse for me.

 

[Molliey18]

So I have been watching these forums for awhile now awaiting the release of the Galaxy S II. I finally decided to join and I am not going to lie mostly just to vent to people who are in the same boat, so here it goes.

I have been waiting for this phone to come out since like December 2010. My contract with AT&T was ready for an upgrade back in May. I am getting very antsy. I found it easier to wait when we were actually getting some news once in awhile. But then everything went dead. Now I am sitting waiting for a phone with no real news of when it is going to come to the U.S. It's come to the point that I just don't know what to do. I am stuck with the Samsung Impression, which I am sure you all know does nothing.

Idk, I just found out that if you buy phones at Costco they give you 90 days to exchange the phone. I think I might just go there and get the HTC Inspire since it is only $50 and then that gives the SGSII three months to come out and if it hasn't come out by then, I might just switch it out for the Infuse. My only problem with the Infuse (other than it being a crappier version of the GSII) is that is is so huge. I am a girl with very small hands and I am just not sure that I could comfortably handle a giant phone like that.

Any suggestions on what I should do?

 

[RajCaj]

Absolutely you can. That's how the Android business has been since the original Droid came out.

I don't know...I just don't see how that benefits the average smart phone consumer. I know there will always be those early tech adopters that WILL buy that $600 phone 4 months after spending top dollar on a top of the line phone.

Maybe my expectations (as a former iPhone user) are skewed. I felt comfortable only being one generation phone behind once my 2 year contract was up. Potentially being 4-5 generations behind at the end of a 2 year contract just seems like it would create an uncomfortable situation for consumers....where they are forced to pay full price (+$600) for an out of contract upgrade to keep up, or forced to watch smartphones lap them in specs while they wait for their contract to run up.

That being said, the Infuse is an unusual beast. It's a Captivate with a bigger, better screen. The Attain will be an Infuse with a slightly smaller screen and a dual-core processor. By the time the Attain is out, the Infuse will be $149 or less, and will find its niche as the "cheaper" alternative. Phones don't stay at that top-of-the-line price point very long, I'm afraid.

Oh, and by the way, if you walk into a Best Buy and ask for the "best phone" for any given carrier, you will likely be given the "most expensive phone", regardless of quality.

Again, not being familiar with the Droid scene, I looked up the release date and specs of the Captivate. So Samsung waited almost a year to release a year old phone with a half inch bigger screen and new version of Android....only then to release a trump phone 4 months later?

Which would be okay, if this information was given to consumers so that they can make those educated decisions....like waiting out on the Infuse because we know for certain that a better phone will be releasing later.

And as for it finding a niche as the cheaper alternative....man, there are so many droid phones offered between all the carriers that exist anywhere between $50-$150. If your spending $150 on an attain, you'd be an idiot for not spending the extra $50 for the dual core, double memory, and new software.

I don't know....I just think the droid market could benefit from a bit more coordination between the competing manufactures.

 

[RajCaj]

I understand how you feel. But didn't you know SGSII is coming soon when you got Infuse and now complaining on SGSII coming? Also SGSII plus with 1.4Ghz is still kind of rumor and we don't know if it's coming to U.S within this year at all. Even so, it's small step forward from SGSII, not like giant step from Infuse to SGSII.

Your last sentence seems to be referring to iPhone. I would rather have phone progressing fast in technology than the one stuck to last year's technology for long.

I had no idea what has been happening in the Droid scene up until I made the commitment to finally jump in and pick up a phone. After the information I found on the upcoming iPhone 5 came up lackluster, then considered an android platform phone.

I did see that Samsung released the Galaxy IIS internationally, but found NO concrete information about a "for sure" release to the US market. As a matter of fact, the only reason I decided to pull the trigger on the Infuse was because all the info I could find on the Galaxy IIS was that politics with the service carriers was going to keep this phone from reach the states. Literally a week after I purchase the Infuse, I start reading about the US release called the Attain...well maybe.

Had I NOT done my homework and found that Samsung was releasing a new "top dog" just 4 months after releasing the Infuse, the 30 days would have lapsed on my return policy and I would have been stuck with an Infuse 4G while there is a dual core, double RAM, upgraded OS version of my phone out that I just paid the SAME price for. Samsung would have had an upset customer.

On the iPhone thing...yes, i was refering to the iOS (or any other emerging manufacture that develops a consistant & predictable release schedule)

This is literally my 4th or 5th post on these forums so I'm sure the debate has been made countless times over on advantages vs disadvantages of the strategy the Droid market seems to be taking over the Apple market.

For me, however, this is all brand new and very interesting. Having a business background, I just don't see how it benefits the average userbase to have a situation where phone manufactures are constantly cutting eachothers feet out from under them.....and in some cases, canibilizing their own market share by releasing replacements too soon.

I understand early adopters (like yourself) want that .2 more MHz & 256MB more of RAM as the hardware becomes available as soon as it becomes available, but how does that market strategy work when it's industry standard to lock people down in contracts for 2 years!

So end your contract early...

Okay, so how does that market strategy work when it's industry standard to sell the phones for $600-$800 out of contract?

Anyhow, I digress....I'm getting a little too far off topic. At the end of the day, as a consumer, I would just appreciate more "consideration" from the hardware manufactures in the way of giving the consumers a longer lead time on information if your going to be in the practice 4-6 month product cycles. It could have potentially saved me from making a bad consumer choice between the Infuse & Attain.

And as a consumer in a highly competitive industry, I appreciate companies that help me make better decisions.

 

[RajCaj]

Yeah, 4.5" phones like Infuse seems just too huge for me. It looks like Droid Bionic will also be huge 4.5" phone. I will probably pass on it.

Fortunately for me, I'm a tall guy with big hands. Maybe the Infuse was just a pilot phone for the 4.5" screen market (because its certianly a niche market)?

Anyhow, if your hand can manage the screen size....its a dream when it comes to consuming internet, movies, and gaming content. BUT, I think the 4.3" (while not all that significant) might be just the right size for me.

 

[jinwons]

I had no idea what has been happening in the Droid scene up until I made the commitment to finally jump in and pick up a phone. After the information I found on the upcoming iPhone 5 came up lackluster, then considered an android platform phone.

I did see that Samsung released the Galaxy IIS internationally, but found NO concrete information about a "for sure" release to the US market. As a matter of fact, the only reason I decided to pull the trigger on the Infuse was because all the info I could find on the Galaxy IIS was that politics with the service carriers was going to keep this phone from reach the states. Literally a week after I purchase the Infuse, I start reading about the US release called the Attain...well maybe.

Had I NOT done my homework and found that Samsung was releasing a new "top dog" just 4 months after releasing the Infuse, the 30 days would have lapsed on my return policy and I would have been stuck with an Infuse 4G while there is a dual core, double RAM, upgraded OS version of my phone out that I just paid the SAME price for. Samsung would have had an upset customer.

On the iPhone thing...yes, i was refering to the iOS (or any other emerging manufacture that develops a consistant & predictable release schedule)

This is literally my 4th or 5th post on these forums so I'm sure the debate has been made countless times over on advantages vs disadvantages of the strategy the Droid market seems to be taking over the Apple market.

For me, however, this is all brand new and very interesting. Having a business background, I just don't see how it benefits the average userbase to have a situation where phone manufactures are constantly cutting eachothers feet out from under them.....and in some cases, canibilizing their own market share by releasing replacements too soon.

I understand early adopters (like yourself) want that .2 more MHz & 256MB more of RAM as the hardware becomes available as soon as it becomes available, but how does that market strategy work when it's industry standard to lock people down in contracts for 2 years!

So end your contract early...

Okay, so how does that market strategy work when it's industry standard to sell the phones for $600-$800 out of contract?

Anyhow, I digress....I'm getting a little too far off topic. At the end of the day, as a consumer, I would just appreciate more "consideration" from the hardware manufactures in the way of giving the consumers a longer lead time on information if your going to be in the practice 4-6 month product cycles. It could have potentially saved me from making a bad consumer choice between the Infuse & Attain.

And as a consumer in a highly competitive industry, I appreciate companies that help me make better decisions.

It looks as if you got used to Apple's way. One company releasing a single device once a year. That's simply not possible in Androids. There are many manufacturers (Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG to name just major ones) and each is trying differentiate from others with better hardware, feature and UI. It's like Mac to PC situation. This might be looking like chaos compared to what apple is doing. But the benefit is that you have more choices on what fits to you better. Large screen vs small screen, keyboard vs no keyboard, 3G or 4G, single core vs dual core, etc. iPhone is designed by one company with their own OS, softwares. So it's inheretly more consistent, stable. But downside is there is no choice for different hardwares, iOS is more stable but also simpler and has less features than Android. But as Android progresses toward Ice Cream, it will catch up stability, smoothness of iOS pretty soon.

Actually if you look closely at the flagship device line of each Android manufacturer, they are also following Apple's way to some extent. Galaxy S from Samsung came out summer last year. Its sequel SGSII came out in about 10 months oversea, but not yet here US. It's more or less one year cycle. Their other devices are mostly mid-range or low end phones. Evo 4G from HTC came out July last year and its sequel Evo 3D came out just a few week ago too. In case of Motorola, Droid X was their flagship last year that came out on July. Its real successor is Droid Bionic and it looks like coming on August, roughly one year cycle again. Since you are new to Androids, it's probably not so obvious to figure out that trend. But you will soon get familiar to that.

 

[maerlim]

Again, not being familiar with the Droid scene, I looked up the release date and specs of the Captivate. So Samsung waited almost a year to release a year old phone with a half inch bigger screen and new version of Android....only then to release a trump phone 4 months later?

What I forgot to mention was that AT&T needed some phones they could call "4G" to compete with T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon's "4G" phones. I think the Infuse's existence is more about the "4G" than anything else. Remember the Infuse came out right about the same time as the Thunderbolt.

 

[RajCaj]

It looks as if you got used to Apple's way. One company releasing a single device once a year. That's simply not possible in Androids. There are many manufacturers (Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG to name just major ones) and each is trying differentiate from others with better hardware, feature and UI. It's like Mac to PC situation. This might be looking like chaos compared to what apple is doing. But the benefit is that you have more choices on what fits to you better. Large screen vs small screen, keyboard vs no keyboard, 3G or 4G, single core vs dual core, etc. iPhone is designed by one company with their own OS, softwares. So it's inheretly more consistent, stable. But downside is there is no choice for different hardwares, iOS is more stable but also simpler and has less features than Android. But as Android progresses toward Ice Cream, it will catch up stability, smoothness of iOS pretty soon.

Actually if you look closely at the flagship device line of each Android manufacturer, they are also following Apple's way to some extent. Galaxy S from Samsung came out summer last year. Its sequel SGSII came out in about 10 months oversea, but not yet here US. It's more or less one year cycle. Their other devices are mostly mid-range or low end phones. Evo 4G from HTC came out July last year and its sequel Evo 3D came out just a few week ago too. In case of Motorola, Droid X was their flagship last year that came out on July. Its real successor is Droid Bionic and it looks like coming on August, roughly one year cycle again. Since you are new to Androids, it's probably not so obvious to figure out that trend. But you will soon get familiar to that.

I appreciate the information. I did some more research yesterday and found that the one of the MAIN drivers for Google's release of Ice Cream Sandwhich was to help stabalize the Android market and get everyone on the same page. I like the direction they are moving in.

 

[RajCaj]

What I forgot to mention was that AT&T needed some phones they could call "4G" to compete with T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon's "4G" phones. I think the Infuse's existence is more about the "4G" than anything else. Remember the Infuse came out right about the same time as the Thunderbolt.

Good point, I also think that since the Infuse had a 4.5" screen on it....it may have been a pilot for 4.5" screen phones to test the market.

Never the less.....consumers shouldn't have to review Federal Communications Commission documents for information when a phone is releasing to market, or have a degree in business to understand the business reasoning for releasing 2-3 top tier phones in the same year.

 

[Sandroidfan]

Good point, I also think that since the Infuse had a 4.5" screen on it....it may have been a pilot for 4.5" screen phones to test the market.

Never the less.....consumers shouldn't have to review Federal Communications Commission documents for information when a phone is releasing to market, or have a degree in business to understand the business reasoning for releasing 2-3 top tier phones in the same year.

The Infuse you got is not this year's Samsung android flagship no matter how AT&T sales person told you. It's more like refreshed Galaxy S from last year.

 

[jinwons]

The Infuse you got is not this year's Samsung android flagship no matter how AT&T sales person told you. It's more like refreshed Galaxy S from last year.

Thanks. That was my point. If you look closely at Android offerings from any major manufacturer on any carrier, they release their top device just once a year like Apple does. Of course, they make and release more phones than that. But everything else is refresh of major top device or mid-range devices.

 

[RajCaj]

Thanks. That was my point. If you look closely at Android offerings from any major manufacturer on any carrier, they release their top device just once a year like Apple does. Of course, they make and release more phones than that. But everything else is refresh of major top device or mid-range devices.

Ultimately, I should have done the research on the FCC records, and not taken first first or two information sources for granted.

With that said, I don't feel like Samsung (or Best Buy, or AT&T) did a real good job at helping make an educated decision. I don't see ANY value whatsoever (as a consumer) in Samsung / AT&T giving 4 different names for the Galaxy S II, and most other android phones.

I wan't to make it clear, I love the Android OS. It's beautiful, user friendly, and still gives you more power and features than what iOS 5 will offer.

But from a former iPhone user's perspective, the fragmentation just smacks you in the face as soon as you enter the Android arena. It looks like Google recognizes this as well and is making steps in the right direction with Ice Cream Sandwhich. After reading up on that, I don't plan on looking back at iOS. I just see a lot more opprotunity from a consumer standpoint if we are able to get to a point where most current smartphone users will be on the same platform, and new phones will be releasing with the latest OS available.

 

[jinwons]

Ultimately, I should have done the research on the FCC records, and not taken first first or two information sources for granted.

With that said, I don't feel like Samsung (or Best Buy, or AT&T) did a real good job at helping make an educated decision. I don't see ANY value whatsoever (as a consumer) in Samsung / AT&T giving 4 different names for the Galaxy S II, and most other android phones.

I wan't to make it clear, I love the Android OS. It's beautiful, user friendly, and still gives you more power and features than what iOS 5 will offer.

But from a former iPhone user's perspective, the fragmentation just smacks you in the face as soon as you enter the Android arena. It looks like Google recognizes this as well and is making steps in the right direction with Ice Cream Sandwhich. After reading up on that, I don't plan on looking back at iOS. I just see a lot more opprotunity from a consumer standpoint if we are able to get to a point where most current smartphone users will be on the same platform, and new phones will be releasing with the latest OS available.

I understand your discomfort on the fragmentation of android OS update. That's mainly due to it being ported to several hardwares, processors unlike single hardware platform of iPhone and each vendor is trying to differentiate theirs with unique UI overlay. But as you noted, Google will remedy this situation with Ice Cream.

I don't know where you heard Samsung/AT&T made four different SGSII names. Maybe you were referring to four different names of Galaxy S last year for four US carriers? That's mainly due to US carriers favoring unique name for them. But most android fans recognize it as Galaxy S phone with slight modifications for different wireless standards. Probably Samsung didn't want it but they don't have power like Apple can force to carriers. But oversea the new flagship SGSII is just called as it is no matter what carrrier it's on. Their next flagship SGSIII will come on Q2 next year in one year cycle and everything in between will be minor refreshes, mid-ranges. Android manufacturers can't make just single device each year as they must sell to larger customer base than Apple.

 

[archittech7]

It looks like Canda is going to be getting it on the 21st:

http://www.att-phones.org/when-samsung-galaxy-s-ii-attain-will-arrive-at-att-in-us.html
Samsung Galaxy S II 4G will be available at Best Buy Canada for $149.99 on July 21 | DroidMatters.com

I can only hope that means the Attain for AT&T in the States is not too far behind.

 

[archittech7]

nm

 

[Sandroidfan]

It looks like Canda is going to be getting it on the 21st:

When Samsung galaxy s ii Attain will arrive at AT&T in US | AT&T cell phones|AT&T Phones
Samsung Galaxy S II 4G will be available at Best Buy Canada for $149.99 on July 21 | DroidMatters.com

I can only hope that means the Attain for AT&T in the States is not too far behind.

You were so excited at this news to post it twice? I saw that before too.
That's real low pricing, only 149.99? If that's Canadian dollars, it makes even lower price!

 

[archittech7]

You were so excited at this news to post it twice? I saw that before too.
That's real low pricing, only 149.99? If that's Canadian dollars, it makes even lower price!

Heh, browswer issues. All the more reason for this phone to hurry up and get here.
That might be a low price, but that's because it comes with a nice 3 year contract though.

 

[jinwons]

..