We still haven’t had a considerable leak of a U.S.-bound Samsung Galaxy S II device and if you’re at all familiar with the world of smartphones, that’s actually very troubling, especially because we’re now in the middle of summer. And I think this could turn out to be disastrous for the Galaxy S II.
While I’m not disputing the fact that the Galaxy S II is a fantastic phone, I believe that Samsung is setting itself up to fail here if it doesn’t get this phone out here in the United States as soon as humanly or mechanically possible. Sure, it’ll sell, but I don’t think we’re going to see those amazing numbers that Samsung reported just a short time ago and here is why.
Samsung and the U.S. carriers are walking a very fine line here. The longer they wait, the closer we get to the fall. And the closer we get to the fall, the more people that jump off the Galaxy S II bandwagon in search of something else. And what is this something else? Well, there are quite a few something elses actually.
One, the current crop of awesome Android phones. I’ve heard from loyal Samsung customers that were waiting for the Galaxy S II, saw it announced it Canada, got fed up, and purchased an HTC EVO 3D or an HTC Sensation 4G.
Two, the Motorola Droid Bionic. It’s finally going to be out this summer and boy, if it’s good and Samsung doesn’t have a device or devices out to compete with it? That would be a shame.
Three, the longer Samsung waits, the closer we get to the holiday season. Guess what’s coming this holiday season? A new Nexus. With Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung doesn’t exactly have the greatest track recordwhen it comes to software updates and once Q3 rolls around, people that are on the fence (Galaxy S owners for instance) about dealing with OEMs are going to hop over to the Nexus’ side. I guarantee it.
And four, the iPhone 5. Apple is going to be releasing something in September and there is a possibility it will come to not only AT&T and Verizon but Sprint and T-Mobile as well. Yes, there have been rumors that the Galaxy S II might be getting a spec upgrade to do battle with the new iPhone but by then, I think it’s going to be too late and those who have been waiting and waiting for the device will have already given up on it.
I’m serious. I told numerous friends to wait for this device and all of them have either bought other phones already or have decided to wait for the iPhone 5 or the next Nexus device.
So overall, what I am saying here is this. Samsung is making a grave error making folks here in the U.S. wait for this device. Personally, I am shocked that it has taken this long and it could be Samsung’s fault but more likely, it’s the carriers that are holding things up. Either way, the fact that it hasn’t launched yet worries me. The lack of leaks worries me and I’m surprised that this hasn’t worried Samsung to the point of at least mentioning something about a U.S. release to its current and future customers.
The Galaxy S II needs to come out in the United States as soon as possible, otherwise, I don’t see it making the big splash that I originally expected it to make.
