[Motorola Photon 4G] flipper12:
Amen to that. There's a long discussion on another Android forum that I responded to about this same topic. And I'm pasting my post there here since it's on topic and I feel that strongly about this question (and for those of you who do like Samsung, my apologies ahead of time if my post below offends or insults you in any way, shape or form. Please understand that my views are my views alone and are solely my own personal opinion based on my personal experiences).

Scr*w Samsung!!

Based on my experience with Samsung, I'll never buy another Samsung phone again. Yeah, the Epic II 4G Touch looks nice with its specs and one hell of a beautiful screen but considering the number of times that Samsung's dropped the ball in supporting their products after releasing them with timely fixes and maintenance releases, endless delays for upgrading to the latest Android platform, not to mention being notorious for having a GPS that functions intermittently, at best, I'm a bit surprised that anyone is considering one of their phones as a viable option.

If you don't believe me, ask people who bought the Samsung Moment how much they like their phone and the support Samsung gave them. Or better yet, hop on the Epic forum and ask them about Gingerbread. While every other manufacturer was getting Gingerbread on their phones, it took you how long? And considering that this was supposed to be Samsung's flagship device and this is the kind of support they gave it? Even better yet, ask ANY Samsung phone owner how well their GPS functions and I'll bet you that you'll find many that have had issues since day one with their GPS.

In my experience, company's that are either suffering (like Motorola previously was) or are small but growing (like HTC previously was), are hungry for your business. They understand that they have to do a lot more to earn customers' business than companies that are resting at the top of the heap. They know they have to bend over backwards and exceed customer expectations to earn your business and trust, and more importantly, keep your business and earn your loyalty. They also understand that their brand is their identity. Some companies get it, while others don't. And there's a reason behind that.

I found that big companies and corporations, especially those that have a multitude of product offerings, like Samsung, appear to care less about pleasing one tiny segment of their consumer market who happens to be upset about a few glitches on their phone. Do you think Samsung really cares about responding to Joe Blow in Dayton, Ohio, reporting issues or having questions about when Samsung plans to release an update to fix his failing GPS. Nah, not when they have their TV and Camera, home appliances (washer/dryer, microwaves, refrigerators, etc.), digital camera, computer business to keep them afloat? (SAMSUNG) So, who cares if one of their phones has a few bugs. The masses know our reputation and name recognition alone will carry our business in that industry when we release the next iteration of Galaxy "I don't give a sh*t" phone or whatever we call it at the time, because we make damn good TVs and the screens on our phones are beautiful, like our TVs, and the tech reviewers and others will focus in on it and remember that.

Sure, Motorola had its glory days with the early flip phones and Razor but got left standing alone when they made a few missteps a few years back and suffered dearly for it. But recently, they've crawled back, slowly but surely, hungry for our business and responded well, beginning with their Android offerings on the carriers. Unlike most of us, they learned from their mistakes, and in my opinion, did it right with this product. More importantly, they understand that if they please their customers and respond to their customers concerns, those same customers may become their biggest advocates and tell others about them. They also understand if they fail or don't meet their customers' expectations again, those same customers will become their biggest critics, by telling others about their lousy experiences with their brand, and warn others to stay the hell away from their products (like I am and many others on this board and other forums are saying about Samsung's phones).

Am I a Motorola fan boy? By no means, no. I was previously loyal to HTC after jumping ship from Samsung. But I have been impressed with Motorola so far in how quickly they've released fixes to address issues with their phones. Take a look at their company's website and product support forum. They even have an employee who's sole job function is to monitor that forum in order to identify possible issues customers are reporting, provide possible solutions, and more importantly, respond to customers' questions and/or concerns. In fact, part of the reason the Photon's source code was released was due to endless requests submitted to their forum SUPPORT manager ("Mark"). Motorola understands that the customer experience goes a long way in ensuring their brand's reputation isn't tarnished.

So in the end, if you want a phone that you can show to your friends how the screen looks as nice as your big screen at home, go on ahead. But for me and other past Samsung customers, no thanks Samsung. Although I agree that you make one nice television, I really don't care to have a nice screen on my phone if you can't support them after making them.

As G W would say,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMKkQx_dTC4

Okay, I'm stepping off of my soapbox. I apologize for the long post but that's how strongly I feel about this. And I don't want anyone else to make the mistake of buying a Samsung phone.