New Droid User/How long will Droid be on top?

[b00mb00mchuck]

In that case you'd better come to terms with having an "obsolete" phone because physical keyboards are virtually certain to disappear in the next few years.

Physical keyboards (a) add weight, (b) are costly to engineer and manufacture, and (c) break because they're mechanical. All of that adds up to less profit for phone manufacturers and the carriers who so kindly subsidize your purchase.



The development of alternatives in the form of "swiping" rather than "tapping" input methods is already obvious and that trend will only accelerate. And the fact that there is virtually no manufacturing cost for a virtual keyboard makes the trend irresistible.

You bring up some good points. I better enjoy it while I have it, but you're right, the physical keyboard will probably get phased out within the next few cycles. Thin/lightweight/touch is the trend now, and will only continue to be so.

Don't listen to jsh1120 ... his "facts" are all opinions with no basis...

In "fact"... based on the sales numbers from droid and devour and now backflip... other manufacturers are looking at increasing they're physical keyboard models to compete .... HTC and LG have already talked about it in their buisness forums...

Keyboards are mechanical... they wear out quicker... the sooner you can get the consumer to wear out their phone, after the 1yr warranty, sells more phones = makes more profit


It's called planned obselesence... it's a buisness model that's been used for 40 years... and yeah I probly spelled it wrong

 

[wuyanks]

the droid will hold most people over until 4g is more mainstream (1h 2011, IMO)... but you can't deny that newer phones over the next few months will blow the Droid out of the water with its hardware capabilities (Check out the samsung galaxy s... Arm Cortex A8 @1ghz, and PowerVR SGX540 GPU that's much faster than the Droid's, IPhone's, and Nexus1's GPU)

 

[iPirate]

More than 2 years and in 2 years most people will upgrade anyways.

 

[dman91]

I'm not gonna be one of those people who get sucked into buying every new phone that releases. I don't care about having the best phone out, more so I care about having a phone that works great for me. I will keep my Droid until at least January 2011 when my annual upgrade arrives (if I want a new phone by then).

 

[LordKastle]

virtual keyboards as jsh1120 is talking about are just as primitive. [as they are today]

 

[takeshi]

My question is how long do you guys/gals think it will be until the Droid is obsolete? It always seems like I buy a new phone and then another much better phone comes out almost immediately and I'm stuck with a second place phone for a couple years. Let's face it the Droid is the best phone out there and I want it to stay that way!!!

No telling. No device is going to remain "at the top". Why worry about it? Focus on enjoying the Droid itself.

The current top device really depends on a mix of technology and marketing. If you buy heavily into the latter then whatever you currently own is already obsolete. If you go by your actual needs then obsolescence will probably take a bit longer to reach.

Don't listen to jsh1120 ... his "facts" are all opinions with no basis...

Keyboards are mechanical... they wear out quicker... the sooner you can get the consumer to wear out their phone, after the 1yr warranty, sells more phones = makes more profit

What's the basis for this fact (theory, actually)? I've owned a number of BB's with keyboards and I'm a very heavy email user. Each model was used for years without any keyboard failures.

 

[mrragamufin773]

well the iphone has been out for a while now and there is still a high demand for it. why? because it has newer generations of the phone. that is how its been able to stay on top for this long. Now that the droid is here and sellin more than the iphone 1st gen did i believe there will be droid 2nd and 3rd gens. But until then The droid is here to stay.

 

[jsh1120]

In that case you'd better come to terms with having an "obsolete" phone because physical keyboards are virtually certain to disappear in the next few years.

Physical keyboards (a) add weight, (b) are costly to engineer and manufacture, and (c) break because they're mechanical. All of that adds up to less profit for phone manufacturers and the carriers who so kindly subsidize your purchase.



The development of alternatives in the form of "swiping" rather than "tapping" input methods is already obvious and that trend will only accelerate. And the fact that there is virtually no manufacturing cost for a virtual keyboard makes the trend irresistible.

You bring up some good points. I better enjoy it while I have it, but you're right, the physical keyboard will probably get phased out within the next few cycles. Thin/lightweight/touch is the trend now, and will only continue to be so.

Don't listen to jsh1120 ... his "facts" are all opinions with no basis...

In "fact"... based on the sales numbers from droid and devour and now backflip... other manufacturers are looking at increasing they're physical keyboard models to compete .... HTC and LG have already talked about it in their buisness forums...

Keyboards are mechanical... they wear out quicker... the sooner you can get the consumer to wear out their phone, after the 1yr warranty, sells more phones = makes more profit


It's called planned obselesence... it's a buisness model that's been used for 40 years... and yeah I probly spelled it wrong

Oh really? The Devour and Backflip are setting sales records, are they? ROFL. You don't seem to understand how the wireless market in the US works. When you purchase a phone from Verizon, they're taking a loss on the phone they purchase from the manufacturer. They lock you into a one or two year contract specifically to recoup the money they've fronted to you.

If the phone fails during the warranty period, they're even further in the hole. And if it fails outside the warranty period you (or your insurance carrier) is still only breaking even on the phone.

Thus, the cheaper the phone is to manufacture and the less chance it will break down during your contract period, the better off the vendor is.

I never cease to be amazed by the prevalence of Lucy Ricardo economic reasoning out there. In one episode of I Love Lucy she and Ethel open a dress shop. Not seeing enough business, Lucy tells Ethel that they should sell the dresses below cost. When Ethel objects, Lucy assures her that while they'll lose money on every dress they sell, they'll make it up in volume.

 

[Brokn68]

I say less than 2 years from the time it was launched, because of all the new phones that constantly coming out. It's similar to any tech, you are only the 'best' for so long.