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Samsung Galaxy Fold
- Thread starter Zwhaler
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The front screen... lol
Basically it's a cool device with a neat screen but serious materials concerns.
Basically it's a cool device with a neat screen but serious materials concerns.
I don’t know who that reporter is & have never read anything by her.
But isn’t not reviewing the Fold the best thing for consumers? Shouldn’t we be getting reviews on completed products so we can make the best informed decision to buy it?
All the ‘mini’ reviews/hands on vids I’ve seen can’t recommend the Fold in its current form. The negatives outweigh the positives. It has to be that way.
Really, it serves no purpose to Samsung nor the consumer to do a “review” at this stage.
In saying that, I really do appreciate the snippets of info we’ve had via the hands on videos. We just can’t take them with much confidence right now.
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Ok, watching now - a good summation is the “this is a folding tablet, not a folding phone” line.
& this is where I’m at odds with the Fold - I want a phone that folds into a tablet, so the smaller screen needs to be the foundation. It needs to match the size of my current smartphone screen, & then expand to something bigger.
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Yeah, see 3:37 of above vid I quoted from Achillias post...
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But Samsung live off those YT reviewers to promote their Galaxy S and Note phones. These youtubers will crave for new things for clicks that they are the perfect medium for Samsung to dump feature after feature so they can talk about it.
And this is short term anyway. The Note 10 is coming, and by then all these youtubers will be drooling and bending over for Samsung to give them free review units. These youtubers are easy, easy to complain but easy to please.
Despite the issues every other reviewer was able to formulate some impressions, even those directly effected by the issues. She didn’t bother.
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I know this isn’t a popular opinion but I see it as a phone which opens into a tablet. Daniel Bader from android central shares the same view. However I think eventually Samsung will make a folding device with a bigger outside display and even a bigger screen when unfolded.
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This was quite a balanced review. He didn’t gloss over the issues and short comings of the device but he was also able to speak about some of the positives.
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Because the product quality is so bad it's not worth reviewing. She had a lot planned but the product isn't close to ready. She did Samsung a favor. A 4 out of 10 on the WSJ would destroy the product's appeal to the enterprise market.
I don't think the Fold is for the enterprise market. The enterprise market is very slow to adopt a new product. Very rarely does any large enterprise company ever adopt a new first gen product.
A $2000 device which folds out into a screen size appropriate for wider screen mail, viewing graphics and charts, or reading PDF files isn't for the enterprise market? The price tag alone is screaming for enterprise application.
She did the most intellectually honest thing and said "I had all these plans to review this product, but it turns out the product isn't ready". In reality, all the reviews of the product are irrelevant. The product, in its current iteration, is truly too broken to be reviewable. It's like reviewing an alpha product. Literally everything about should be changed structurally.
And Samsung is delaying the product because of reviews like the WSJ which literally say "I have opinions of the product, but in the current state it is irrelevant because the product is too broken to recommend". And on day one of re-reviews of this product, the WSJ is going to be one of the first publications to get a fixed Galaxy Fold
Read my post again......the fold would be great in an enterprise environment.
But very rarely does any enterprise adopt a first gen product and distribute it in a very large environment.
Testing a new product to work in a enterprise business environment takes months.
Demo units have to be provided to be tested.
The use cases have to be presented to the business to fund the purchase.
What is the total cost to implement this change? Why make the change? Where is the short term and long term cost savings to make this change?
Very rarely does an IT department initiate changes like this. IT departments are funded by the business part of an enterprise corporation.
Very....very rarely is this done for a FIRST GENERATION product.
There are too many variables.... to consider
1) Training for support personnel
2) Use case for the business. We might see the use cases but that doesn't mean business users who are slow to change what works will see it that way.
3) Scalable channel to push updates and manage software in timely manner
4) Have the apps the business enterprise uses been updated to work on this device?
So many balanced reviews have been posted in this thread. Reviews that didn't just talk about the positives, but also the negatives. But here you are, clinging to the one negative and closed minded review. Hell, you even projected your own review and score for her. Nope, you don't have a narrative. Lol
Galaxy Fold will be a line of products. You had better believe if Samsung screws up Gen 1, enterprise will take notice. After all, the note explosions affected the perception of both the Galaxy note line and the Galaxy S7.
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Okay new dude, here's what's going on
- I believe that a review of a broken product is not necessary because the product needs to be heavily revised before it actually gets into consumers' hands
- @Shanghaichica has a problem with someone not reviewing a broken product
- @jamezr and I are on a side debate about whether or not the WSJ/Enterprise customer care about the fold (they absolutely do) and whether or not Samsung is catering to the Enterprise market with this device
Don't go telling me there are balanced reviews. Once the quality issues were uncovered (days after review units went out), everything changed. The reviews are simply horrible. Any review that is positive about the Fold
- Has not been updated to reflect the horrible quality of the device
- Makes a note that reliability is a problem and reflects their scores as such (Dieter Bohn at the Verge loves the device but gives it a 4/10 because it's simply not ready)
- Says "It's not worth reviewing this right now because it's just not ready", which is equally as valid. It's not ready. In the quality world, we would not approve something like this for release for this very reason.
Samsung yanked a teardown of the Galaxy Fold as it became clear that the folding phone's launch was direly premature. Why flub things like this? Panic.
The good news is, this won't kill folding phones. That being said, I would be surprised if we see a ton more of these come out in the next 12 months as rival companies back off and learn from Samsung's early misstep.
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Thou doth protest too much, methinks.
I have to agree with you here. Grumpydad works for a different company now doing different things, but not long ago he was involved in the purchase of the technology for his company for nearly 20 years. He actually was the primary decision-maker for about 15 of those years.
If he were still doing the same job, something like the Fold would have been on his radar eventually. But there’s no way he would have considered investing the company’s money in such new technology, this year or next year or even the year after. But he wouldn’t have ruled it out for the extended future, based on the troubles seen in the reviews today, either.
The situation at hand for the Fold is pretty meaningless for enterprise decisions that will be made when this form factor attains maturity. And I do believe it will attain maturity, if not under Samsung, then under some other company because, yes, the concept has merit in enterprise usage. But the execution has not produced a viable product, yet.
Enterprise decisions are based on tech that is viable at the point when the decision needs to be made. Volume purchase discount opportunities are part of the consideration, and we aren’t even remotely close to seeing such a thing for foldables yet.
In addition to what you stated, there’s a lot that goes into the decision making process that I’m really lacking the energy to discuss here and now. Suffice it to say your post lines up with what I’ve seen in action.
While I understand @AustinIllini having a justifiable disdain for the messy execution of a foldable that we just witnessed, I can’t quite understand the extreme pessimism and negativity I’m seeing.
And no enterprise manager worth their pay is going to base their decisions solely on anything Joanna Stern (or any one reviewer) has to say. Frankly, my husband and I discussed the possibility she diminished her credibility somewhat with the silly hotdog bun stunt. A lot of his colleagues were dismayed.
People did/do pay attention to Walt Mossberg. Joanna Stern hasn’t attained the same level of gravitas and frankly won’t if she keeps turning review units into lunch.
Yup, she was trusted with a device with one the most exciting form factors in a decade. Cutting edge tech to see us into the future, and what did she do? She showed how disrespectful and unprofessional she is with that hotdog stunt. I hope Samsung doesn't give her another unit.
In that situation though, when the device isn't ready for review but you know you still have millions of viewers waiting to hear what you'll say next, what do you use that opportunity for? Joanna Stern used up her whole spot trying to be cool with a cheap burn. Meanwhile, others like MKBHD took the time to actually really test the device and share their considered thoughts about the concept as such. He manages to do his fair share of ripping on the device too, and he clearly states that it isn't ready for anyone to buy. But he does it while sharing a lot of information with all of us who haven't had the chance to test one of these, as well as bringing up an interesting discussion about the future.
Or as he himself puts it in the video: To everyone hitting on the Galaxy Fold: I get it! It's so easy. [...] And I know it's been tough to find real, big flaws with phones lately. So when you see something like this... Oh, you gotta dive in. This is your time to shine. This is the one to hate on. But for those of us who actually get excited by new technology, this is one of the truly new form factors and new first-gen concepts in a long time. And for it to have this much promise, this early, is actually pretty exciting.
So I guess yeah you can use your media space for three minutes of cheap jokes. But MKBHD and others (even Casey Neistadt, although he's lighter on the info) have shown that there actually is an interesting discussion to be had about this device, regardless if Samsung rushed it to the market. Now, which of those routes would I expect a big player like the WSJ to take? Honestly not the former one. And somehow I'm guessing that Walt Mossberg feels the same.
Or put it this way: Which of these presentations makes me want to come back for more information in the future, when the Fold actually is ready for prime time? You know, I'm not sure I'm going to bother with hearing what Joanna Stern has to say then.
But I think that was her point? The device was not ready to be reviewed, or the review would have been extremely negative. She is saving her review until Samsung delivers a device that works reliably and she can give fair and honest opinions.
It's not about what she said, it's about how she said it. Unprofessional and disrespectful. Every other reviewer showed the respect and professionalism one would expect from someone wanting to be taken as a professional.
My take was she was very unprofessional. Others were able to write reviews without issue.
She wasn’t the only one.
In comparison, hers wasnt that bad.
Maybe she felt Samsung was unprofessional for having to ask her to review an unfinished/defective product.
Certainly was entertaining and unexpected.
Look at the closest match you’ve found for Joanna Stern. She is in the enviable position of having the opportunity to be the next Walt Mossberg. Instead, she’s acting like...that. If I want entertainment I don’t seek it from WSJ.She wasn’t the only one.
![0f1740c9384bbaf7f8b5607a0e929d5f.jpg]()
In comparison, hers wasnt that bad.
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Maybe she felt Samsung was unprofessional for having to ask her to review an unfinished/defective product.
Certainly was entertaining and unexpected.
Nothing to do with me, these are the reviewers Samsung hand picked to review the fold, they decided to mock it instead. That’s on Samsung.
Walt mossberg is a person not a position, he has been writing about tech since the 90s. if Joanna wants to be compared to him she is missing a couple of decades from her resume.
It was entertaining and unexpected, and she did it for the sake of her readers and the wsj. It’s a defective product hence the shipping delay, the recalled reviewer units and asking to have ifixit remove their tear down.
She warned subscribers about a product that wasn’t even fit for review let alone shipping until Samsung fixes what needs to be fixed.
She did her job.
If your were in finance you would find WSJ very entertaining and informative. I enjoy the economist as well but that is a very dry read.
It is not on Samsung if a reviewer takes it upon them self to to be an arse.
After stunts like that she is looking for clickbait....not respectability...that is what she is missing.....
Look at Forbes...very informative site. Lots of good information there....except for the reviews of Gordon Kelly......who tends like clickbait journalism over anything real...such as this article....
Apple's Ugly New iPhone Is A Crazy Design Decision
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordon...e-date-iphone-xs-max-xr-upgrade/#2568d62c606c
That is one example of a respectable site that has a dumb reviewer....
Have you guys read a lot of her stuff? She's always kind of had that "I am reviewing this like your best friend or family might", rather than trying to be real technical. She often keeps it very light, uses props/jokes and tries to keep it at a fairly basic level. If you read her MacBook keyboard review, you might understand what I am referring to.
Agreed.
I'm a tech enthusiast... so I watched nearly all the Youtube tech review videos of the Galaxy Fold. Lew, Marques, etc.
But is Joanna and the Wall Street Journal the only "normal" news publication that received the Galaxy Fold? Of course she's gonna make her review geared towards a non-tech audience. That's her beat.
And when there is a product that is clearly NOT ready for release... she's gonna have fun with the situation.
I bet if the Galaxy Fold didn't have a bunch of problems... and it was scheduled for release as promised... her opinion would have been different.
But that didn't happen. Her piece couldn't be a review.
So instead she made lemonade out of lemons. I like Joanna's style.
It's funny how people are slamming her for being "unprofessional"
Well... the Galaxy Fold wasn't ready and had to be recalled literally days before launch...
Shouldn't we be slamming Samsung for believing this product was ready to go out to thousands of paying customers?
It didn't even survive 20 reviewers.