As has been seen from Samsung’s latest devices, the Korean manufacturer is not one to shy away from competition even with a failing year such as 2014. Samsung’s return to stellar fashion with last Thursday’s announcement is nothing short of spectacular. The company’s devices, once shied away from because of their plastic build, are now being embraced by all sorts of consumers – even diehard Google Nexus fans.
But, there’s one consumer subset that Samsung is gunning for – Apple. It makes sense that Samsung would: after all, Apple is the only thing standing in the way between Samsung and billions of dollars. Apple is, in fact, the only significant rival that Samsung has. It has already dominated and overtaken Android, and conquered Android. And, even with the microSD card and removable battery controversy, Samsung will still dominate the Android consumer base. The company is unmatched in Google’s OS territory.
And yet, its major opponent, Apple, has won millions of consumers. In fact, Apple continues to grow its opening weekend sales with each passing year. It was 10 million sales in the first 3 days in 2014; what’ll it be this year?
Samsung has said that its difficulty concerns the mindshare, not marketshare – and mindshare belongs to Apple, overwhelmingly. So, the best way the company sees to capture “mindshare” is to entice iPhone users to “the dark side” by giving them a test drive with either the Galaxy Note 5 or the Galaxy S6 edge+, get this – for $1. That’s right: for $1, Samsung will provide a SIM card with either new smartphone and allow the users to make calls, send texts, and surf the Web with LTE data (another big surprise, huh?).
What’s the catch, you ask? Well, there’s always a catch with any offer that sounds too good to be true, but the “catch” isn’t really much of one here. To take advantage of the Galaxy Note 5 or S6 edge+ test drive program, you need only promise to allow Samsung to call you during your trial run with the program (which is 30 days max, by the way), provide a valid credit card upon signing up for the test drive, be willing to undergo at least two surveys during your trial run, and be willing to pay for major damages if you incur them.
The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ damage fees are as follows: $0 if there’s minor damage such as small scratches, and you don’t have to return the accessories such as the ear buds, charger, and charging cord. If you return the device and there’s water damage, the camera or speaker doesn’t work, and screen cracks, missing buttons, or the device won’t charge, then be prepared to pony up $100. If the device is not returned or severely damaged beyond repair, then you’re looking at the full replacement cost for the device in question; in the case of the Galaxy Note 5, expect to pay $720, and $820 for the Galaxy S6 edge+.
This deal seems fair enough: provide some feedback to Samsung in exchange for a month with the best handsets on the market. At the same time, however, be prepared to either protect the phone you receive or pay something toward repair. So, there’s good and bad with this deal as with everything in life.
Samsung announced its Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ ahead of Apple by releasing them one month earlier than usual. While some have said Samsung did it to get ahead of Apple and steal customers, but it may be the case that Samsung announced the devices ahead of schedule in order to conduct this type of trial run to cause some upset before the launch of the iPhone 6s in a few weeks. No, the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ are not the iPhone 6 or the upcoming iPhone 6s (which is a good thing), but they are the finest devices to ever grace the market. iPhone users that have been content with Apple all these years can’t help but want to try one of Samsung’s latest. After all, you have to admit, the “shiny” gold iPhone really looks antiquated alongside of the Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note 5.
Design is no longer an issue, so what say you, Apple fans? Ready to cross over to the “dark side”?
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