Samsung Fires First Shot In Galaxy S III, iPhone 5 Smartphone War

I love Samsung, they make some of the best Android smartphones on the market, but I’m a little on the fence with this advertisement. It’s easy for us to say that the Galaxy S III is more feature rich than the iPhone 5, most of you would not only agree with me, but put up little argument. Still, this list is mostly just contrived features most people don’t care about, will never notice and will never bother to learn. The idea that Samsung’s phone is better because it’s got a longer list of features is the wrong approach. Samsung should be saying “our phone is better because when it comes to a feature vs feature comparison, ours works better.”

The Galaxy S III is, in our estimation, the superior device, but claiming it’s because it has “Palm Touch Mute” isn’t why we think so. Still, Samsung clearly isn’t backing down from Apple after losing to them in court, if anything Samsung is digging in and preparing for the longer fight.

Samsung’s print ad will start running tomorrow in national and regional newspapers.

Tags: Galaxy S III, iPhone 5, marketing, Samsung

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Monkey$$ 5 pts

Some people honestly believe that the only true smartphone is the iPhone because it has apps and all these cool stuff that they can do. Many think "Droid" is a dummy wanna be phone. Can't really blame them up until S3 and Nexus 7 Google or its Android OEM's did not properly advertise its products. As much as i hate Apple i have to give their marketing people mad props for creating their public media.

Samsung how about you run Ads that shows what S3 can do instead of all these extra features that many do not know. Not a lot know what NFC, S-beam, Palm swipe capture, palm touch mute pause etc. mean. Look at iPhone commercials "it can take a photo, it can take voice commands, it can browse internet, you can browse your bank etc..". People can relate to that and buy a phone they KNOW that will work for them. Believe me thats all Apple CAN DO, because they lack several features that ICS and Jelly bean have. Use your commercials to compare iPhone and S3: Widgets, voice actions(i prefer you show voice actions vs S-beam), live wallpaper, customizable home screen, face unlock etc....

I am not even a marketing major. and it doesn't take a Genius!

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JBLmobileG1 24 pts

While I think it is a good advertisement from Samsung, I can see where some say it's too much. Most features many could care less for, leaving one in question to what that feature actually is or does. Personally the list that Samsung compared to Apple shows better specs, screen resolution, battery life etc. I think the rest is just like, cool it has that? Although what is it?, type of features. At the very end, the removable battery, that to me is something that stands out. To anyone who is familiar with cells phones or even just the iphone, knows this. All in all while I like my devices to have the best specs it all comes down to o/s and which phone can handle the software the best. Personally I find the new iphone a dud but I am sure it will sell millions the first day... I will stick with Android though and my S3.

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ArkaBhattacharjee 5 pts

My dear fandroids & Apple Fanboys. I was actually sleeping early in the morning but suddenly this kind of updated banged in my mobile and I started reading …ok ok ..Good..ummm bad..OK ok good..so my facial expressions was like “What Samsung is doing? They are going nuts and loosing their temper or what? Then I recalled ohh I see freshly wounded Samsung is trying hard to get over apple regarding the lawsuit thing..

==================== Disclaimer: I am not writing this post to hurt any S3 user or iPhone user. I am not doing this debate thing that is going on here.

I just need to clarify something about this War going on and the points I noted –

1. Android users are more concerned with hardware and they are less concerned with features coupled with functionality where as apple are more concerned with what they are using and how they are using and not so much with hardware

2. NFC not being in iPhone 5 – The reason being the cover of the phone aluminium case will prevent such transmission.

3. iPhone 5 has 3D maps does S3 has that too, S3 owners please confirm that.

4. Apple had the courage to drop Adobe(Flash) & Google (I am talking of maps) and adore completely two different technology that is currenlty turning into a trend in the history – HTML5 & 3D Maps. All mobile manufacturers are certainly following that. Even Google confirmed they are not going to show flash content in Jellybean. See right google is following there and is moving into that HTML5 thing. Also Google bought Sketch Up 3D, the maps in 3D just to stay competitive in the market in Maps as it is one of Google’s major products

5. Siri & SVoice – This two are very very similar apps but when it comes to being fast & quick I have seen Siri answers are more probably FAST & CORRECT as compared to SVoice. A simple example when I am asking Siri about Michael Jackson it is Quickly giving me the CORRECT answer but SVoice SLOWLY gives me the CORRECT answer. Another example when I asked SIRI “Which is the most Dangerous Airport in the world?” Siri was FAST enough & gave me the CORRECT answer whereas SVoice was FAST but gave me the wrong answer.

6. I also found that apple for ages is having it’s own phone and it’s own OS. It was same in case of PC tablets as well. I can’t find any reason why a company like Samsung, HTC, Motorola cannot built their own os. Why borrow from Google? Same goes with Nokia, they certainly had their own OS but I dodn’t find any reason they dropped (or is dropping) their current OS and is releasing Windows OS. Good I am not complaining at that. But my question to Samsung HTC Motorola is “Why don’t these companies this BIG is incapable of building their own OS?

7. Apple is now world’s Most valuable company in the world whose valuation reached $621.64 billion 20th August Monday morning, making it the most valuable company in history. The company’s stock reached an all-time high of $664.65 per share early Monday afternoon, following strong sales projections for its as-yet-unannounced next-generation iPhone device, the iPhone 5. No doubt that it is has crossed the COMBINED assets of Google, Microsoft, Facebook. Trust me from here – http://8.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2012_08_22_Apple.jpg

8. Only one good point I found on Samsung part is that sold more million units as compared to Apple iPhones. The whole world is going to watch now whether iPhone 5 sales goes high or stays low.

9. I found Apple never posted pictures or videos or things like this bringing to the public look how we are better than Samsung or HTC or Nokia or any smartphone manufacturer. Punch me in the face if I am wrong. Show me any such ads where Apple showed that look how we are better compared to them. I remember this saying goes head to head with Apple — When somebody tries to pull you down to their level, it certainly confirms that you are above them.

10. I agree apple products are overpriced as compared to other mobile or PC devices. You can’t blame them for that. They way they are building technology, innovations is taking a huge effort, time, latest technology. If they choose to use cheap devices to built apple gadgets it is way way obvious that that would result in making CHEAP devices. So? What is stopping you? If you can afford it DON’t buy it. PERIOD. I find that you are only complaining when you are eager to buy it but cannot do it for the price “Then you start complaining”. Remember the old story Grapes are sour.

Personal feeling towards Apple & Samsung & HTC: The above content I know is in favor of Apple and not any other devices. I have used all the devices -> 4S, S3, 1X. But you at the end of the day I feel yes using an iPhone 4S is an experience of a life time. Just for a note I actually clapped and felt good when my colleague bought an iPhone 4S after used it and I don’t know why I didn’t feel a single thing when my other colleagues bought S3 and the other bought One X. It is a feel good thing in the hands when you are using Apple iPhone but not so much so that in case of S3 or One X or may be anyone. Trust me I am NOT an apple user I use Nokia C6.

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TheOneandOnlyAnonymouse 36 pts

ArkaBhattacharjee I suddenly feel dumber for reading that. I want my two minutes of life and twenty IQ points back now.

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mbcls

ArkaBhattacharjee 5 pts

TheOneandOnlyAnonymouse You were till now kept in dark and even after reading this post you want your IQs back? Did you had any?

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RaduTanasescu 32 pts

ArkaBhattacharjee Don't read this post. IT'S A TRAAAP!

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ArkaBhattacharjee

kanoneyez 72 pts

Ok, when you get past the dimensions, battery life and memory, all of which seem to favor the S3, the rest of the list is what is in question:

NFC: Admittedly a new technology and like all technologies it will take time for the public to accept it. I was surprised to read that Dvorak felt NFC was a big threat to personal security. So the jury is still out on that one.

Smart Stay: Yet another new technology not widely implemented on Samsung devices nor, to my knowledge has it been incorporated in any other competing OEM device. Its new. That's the attraction. But to argue that consumers "will never notice and will never bother to learn," seems a bit premature. Same goes for most of the rest of the list except for the following:

S-Beam. Yup, I'll be using it when I get the device. (As soon as I find another user with one of Samsung's new phones that uses it.)

Removable Battery: This is a big one for me. It is one of the main reasons that, although I usually stick to finding fault with Apple Corporation, this is one big reason I would never get an iPhone.

So are the other features "gimmicks" in my impression? Yeah, they are, but they're fun enough that people will want them. I can pretty much guarantee that the first time I flip my phone over to silence it, the phone will sell itself to the person/people I am with. I have been in countless business meetings and conferences around tables where phones sitting on the table rang and the owners scurried to clumsily silence them. When they see that merely flipping the phone over does the trick, they'll want one.

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JQuest81 94 pts

kanoneyez Good points.. There have been times where I needed to silence my phone in meetings and they were impressed by that turn to mute feature. It even works when you flip the face downward in your hand! That feature alone I've sold some people to the S III. To add to the validity of some of the "gimmicks":

I use most of the voice commands, except for the music controls.. I like being able to tell my phone to reject a call.. it's particularly handy when maybe your arms are full or it's just stiiting on the table during lunch or something.. or maybe I just want to answer my phone and I got BBQ sauce all on my fingers or something.. LOL.

My phone is also my alarm and let me tell you, it's nifty that all you have to do is tell it to snooze or stop.. that way when you're jolted out of your sleep, you don't have to squint in the dark waiting for your eyes to adjust to the bright screen and then like I mentioned below, the voice activated camera feature... you don't have to worry about messing up the shot because your hand wasn't stable enough or if you want to take a self pic.. it's a god send for phones without a physical shutter button. It makes you wonder why no one thought of it before.

I love the palm swipe to capture a screen. Much better than trying to hit two buttons simultaneously.

I get good use out of the smart alert and direct call features.

Picture in Picture is awesome. I use it every chance I get. It would be a killer feature if could be used with more than the native media player.

Another thing that I noticed after the maintenance update is that when I browse my media there's a one touch option to mirror it to my Xbox, PS3 or other device that's connected to the network I happen to be on...

I've used S-Beam once and it was pretty awesome.. I do have friends that have Android Beam, so thankfully that's an option in the settings where I can turn it on and use it for my friends that don't have an S III.

So I'm pretty much using my phone to the fullest for the most part...

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RaduTanasescu 32 pts

kanoneyez The ancient and low powered Nokia 5230 had the "flip to silence" feature. And indeed it made people want it.

But I think any Android device can get the feature. And I gather the iPhone doesn't have it because the display is very exposed and flipping it to silence it would scratch it at some point.

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jhernandez4688 15 pts

Oh my God!, this is Samsung advertising their phone. They can do it anyway they want. There is nothing wrong with this ad. It probably is the first of many. They will do various ads, different ads. Remember, they are advertising for power users, knowledgeable users, and people who don't have a clue how to use a can opener, not to mention either one of this phones. Sit back and relax. There is more to come.

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mbcls 18 pts

jhernandez4688 i have a few coworkers asked me, which is better iphone or android. all i have to say is android got bigger screen! who want that tiny 4 inches! wait, that' my penis. never mind.. haha

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AnthonyTat 5 pts

"they can do it anyway they want" and "there is nothing wrong with this ad" are two completely different comments. they are free to express whatever they want in their own ads, but that doesn't mean they're doing it right. for example, you said "they are advertising for power users, knowledgeable users, and people who don't have a clue how to use a can opener." no offence, but that's stupid... an ad that show's off minute features such as "palm touch mute pause" is not marketed towards the same users. electronic idiots and power users are completely different markets, and the bottom half of this ad only attracts one of them... obviously we know there is more to come. that part is true, but saying nothing is wrong with this ad is false. it is shitty advertising if you are in the "knowledgeable" or "power" market. but then again, most of us already know why the s3 is FUCKING BEAST and dont need stupid ads

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AnthonyTat 5 pts

yeah there are tons of irrelevant iphone features that could be added to this list. this ad would only attract the ignorant. the s3 is better for many other reasons

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Zricon15 6 pts

I don't know how bad it is. I mean, Samsung does come out and list all of the main specs clearly besides the Lightning port. Sure, Samsung can list all of the gimmicks but the iPhone 5 still has the iPhone name and that's one that consumers know (though the Galaxy name is finally starting to gain traction in the mainstream). Both are great phones and most people would be happy with either one.

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RaduTanasescu 32 pts

Samsung hasn't seen the iPhone 5 and neider have we. Apple was bragging about the battery life on LTE browsing, there's nothing about this on the comparison chart. And to US customers it actually matters.Samsung also listed the gimmick features of the SIII but none of the gimmick features of the iPhone 5. So people are going to get excited by the add, but in time, they will learn, from friends and from the internet that iPhones have a lot more features then that. Which will make Samsung look... not as good.As the article says, I think the SIII has a lot to brag about, they could have done that instead of trying to make the rival device look bad.

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mbcls 18 pts

RaduTanasescu what gimmick does iphone5 have? siri?

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RaduTanasescu 32 pts

mbcls iMessage, Facetime, iBooks, iCloud, Newsstand are some of the more obvious. There's also going to be some kind of app for tickets and vouchers though it's probably only going to work in the US and so on and so forth.The ones I really like are: sounds for message sent, email sent and lock phone, yeah, it sounds silly (pardon the pun) but I got so used to hearing the email sent sound that without it I feel the need to check the sent folder to see if the email actually got sent.Not that gimmicks matter, the only features that matter are the ones that you actually use. And most that are lacking from eider device can be replaced by apps.

But yeah, the iPhone has a lot of gimmicks that help in every day use. I'm guessing the SIII has too.

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DavidRon 7 pts

It does kind of look like the top 13 are a feature-by-feature comparison to me. Those 13 show in Samsung's favor or tied except primarily the weight which is in the iPhone's favor.

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JQuest81 94 pts

Well in Samsung's defense, they did list the major features first, followed by all the "gimmick" stuff (depending on your point of view, as I use most of them) It's just the icing on the cake. Though the one feature that no one ever really talks about is the voice activated camera... it's super handy for self-portraits... LOL

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mbcls 18 pts

i wish samsung would make some ads showing off nfc google wallet in stores! this will put idiotPhone to shame cus idiotPhone is too stupid to know what nfc is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEwHMk4qFTs

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JQuest81 94 pts

@mbcls The only problem with that is that unless you root your phone.. Google Wallet is only going to work on Sprint's version of the phone... if other carriers activated that feature, then I could see them advertising that. Though I could be wrong and David can correct me, isn't that what Apple's Passbook is supposed to be? I'm not an Apple guy per se, but I can see Apple's Passbook doing well and becoming the "standard" just because Apple did it.

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