in Search
Untitled Page

ARCHIVED FORUM -- April 2007 to March 2012
READ ONLY FORUM

This is the first Archived Forum which was active between 17th April 2007 and 1st March February 2012

 

Latest post 03-03-2008 5:14 AM by soundproof. 20 replies.
Page 1 of 1 (21 items)
Sort Posts: Previous Next
  • 10-10-2007 8:35 AM

    Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    Well, it looks like the collaboration between the 2 has allowed Samsung to make continued use of B&O technology and design.  While ICEpower amps have been used in Samsung mobiles before, it does look like Samsung was allowed to share more extensively with B&O for their now officially announced SGH-i450.  Check out some details from the announcement here:

    http://www.engadgetmobile.com/tag/sgh-i450/

    While it will be interesting to see just how well it is implemented, the report indicates that the phone indeed does use B&O's ICEpower amps with a slide out speaker design that is all too reminiscent of the Serenata.  While not looking as stylish as the Serenata, it does offer a camera, a microSD slot, runs Symbian and has an FM radio.  I wonder if they were allowed to integrate the EQ as well to prevent high volume level distortion.  It will be interesting to see just how good this unit sounds.  Anyone up for a side-by-side test?  Smile

    Jeff 

  • 10-10-2007 9:04 AM In reply to

    • PL212
    • Top 200 Contributor
    • Joined on 02-14-2007
    • Moderator - Seattle
    • Posts 318
    • Bronze Member

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    Interesting... wonder if this means Serenata is running (well-hidden) Symbian OS underneath as well?

    But in general, this just goes to show the short-term thinking behind branding the Serenata as "SAMSUNG". Since Samsung is getting nearly all of the audio innovations anyway, why not keep the Serenata as a one-brand phone? It would help justify the exorbitant price.

  • 10-10-2007 9:48 AM In reply to

    • jonnyb
    • Top 500 Contributor
    • Joined on 04-06-2007
    • London, UK
    • Posts 123
    • Bronze Member

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    It's annoying that the Samsung supports AAC while the B&O does not
  • 10-10-2007 10:20 AM In reply to

    • Puncher
    • Top 10 Contributor
      Male
    • Joined on 03-27-2007
    • Nr. Durham, NE England.
    • Posts 9,588
    • Founder

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    jonnyb:
    It's annoying that the Samsung supports AAC while the B&O does not

    The B&O does (but not the DRM variety)

    Generally speaking, you aren't learning much if your lips are moving.

  • 10-10-2007 10:23 AM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    As far as I know, the Serenata can playback AAC files, as well as WMA and MP3.

    I wonder how naive B&O can be if they thought Samsung would not make a lower  priced twin model for the Serenata, and with more features..(reminds me of a BeoSound 6 and a.....sorry, that's the other way 'round!)

    Reunion Island is greeting you!

  • 10-10-2007 10:47 AM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    If I had to guess, I'd say that B&O knows exactly what Samsung had plans to do and not do.  That kind of thing is almost certainly explicitly spelled out in their partnership.  This is a difficult area for B&O and frankly, for me, a puzzling one for them to delve into with their own branded handsets.  They obviously know the complexities of mobile design are a bit more than they care to tackle themselves.  So, a partnership with a handset maker does make sense. 

    However, I do agree that you have to wonder how they see the market.  They obviously don't consider top end phone features a priority - that's obvious both from what the Serenata lacks and their management's comments on what was important to them in the interview here and on Bright.nl.  The partnership is almost certainly more about leveraging their technology to Samsung vs working with Samsung to help them get into teh mobile market.  The volume Samsung can move in the market probably represents a good revenue stream for them as they likely are making money on every Samsung unit sold that contains ICEpower.  In the Bright.nl interview, they state that the Serene volume is less than 100,000 units, which even they know is a tiny fraction of the worldwide market.  That would all be fine, except for teh fact that these 2 units are rolling out at the exact same time.  There's no opportunity for the Serenata to retain the sole spotlight with a unique feature that no other unit has.  This seems poorly planned as they were certainly involved in helping Samsung develop the SGH-i450.  But, given the low volume expectations, maybe they don't care all that much, especially if they don't plan on introducing the next model for 2 years.  You can't help but think though that, other than as a status symbol, why someone would buy the much higher priced, less feature filled model?  The partnership with Samsung to sell their tech I can completely understand and I can even understand reciprocation to make their own handsets, but why allow the 2 models to come out at exactly the same time?

    The one caveat here is performance.  We don't know how the SGH-i450 sounds.  With a focus more on an all around quality phone than just a music device, Samsung may not have incorporated (or was allowed to incorporate) all of the Serenata's musical benefits.  I wonder how that wheel embedded in the speaker area of the SGH-i450 will impact sound.  And again, there's the EQ question.  That by itself could be the difference between it sounding great for a speaker its size to just like every other ultraportable speaker out there.  I'd very much like to hear what people have to say after getting their hands on the SGH-i450.

    Jeff
     

  • 10-10-2007 11:58 AM In reply to

    • gridinoc
    • Not Ranked
    • Joined on 05-10-2007
    • Milton Keynes
    • Posts 17
    • Founder

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    I always wondered why B&O did co-brand with someone else… When I see "B&O | Samsung" it hurts more than when I would see "Apple | Samsung" on an iPhone.

    Can I dream of an phone "B&O | Apple"? Apple got the aluminium + black thingie now, it would be a good match, Imagine BeoPlayer on an future iPhone which would have Serenata-class speakers... 

    [BeoMaster 1900, CD 50, Beovox S25 S35 S50, BeoSound 2, BeoVision MX 1500, Form 2, LC 2, A8, A9]
  • 10-10-2007 2:48 PM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    I had some back and forth emails with B&O customer support in the last week regarding the Serenata.  After seeing the info on the SGH-i450 announcement, I wrote back asking if they had information on how much the Samsung SGH-i450 shared with the Serenata - specifically if it was using the same amp, speakers and EQ.  Now, I doubt I will get anything useful back, but I figured I'd ask anyway.  I say that because they could be bound by contractual agreements with Samsung not to disclose exactly what they have shared.  It's also possible and perhaps likely that B&O themselves as an internal policy may not want the extent of what they have shared revealed.  Of course, it's also likely that no one but high level level designers might even know the answer to that.  I think the answers would be interesting if we could find out, but a side-by-side may tell us all we need to know.

    Jeff

  • 10-10-2007 6:47 PM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    rgbyhkr:

    If I had to guess, I'd say that B&O knows exactly what Samsung had plans to do and not do.  That kind of thing is almost certainly explicitly spelled out in their partnership.  This is a difficult area for B&O and frankly, for me, a puzzling one for them to delve into with their own branded handsets.  They obviously know the complexities of mobile design are a bit more than they care to tackle themselves.  So, a partnership with a handset maker does make sense. 

    However, I do agree that you have to wonder how they see the market.  They obviously don't consider top end phone features a priority - that's obvious both from what the Serenata lacks and their management's comments on what was important to them in the interview here and on Bright.nl.  The partnership is almost certainly more about leveraging their technology to Samsung vs working with Samsung to help them get into teh mobile market.  The volume Samsung can move in the market probably represents a good revenue stream for them as they likely are making money on every Samsung unit sold that contains ICEpower.  In the Bright.nl interview, they state that the Serene volume is less than 100,000 units, which even they know is a tiny fraction of the worldwide market.  That would all be fine, except for teh fact that these 2 units are rolling out at the exact same time.  There's no opportunity for the Serenata to retain the sole spotlight with a unique feature that no other unit has.  This seems poorly planned as they were certainly involved in helping Samsung develop the SGH-i450.  But, given the low volume expectations, maybe they don't care all that much, especially if they don't plan on introducing the next model for 2 years.  You can't help but think though that, other than as a status symbol, why someone would buy the much higher priced, less feature filled model?  The partnership with Samsung to sell their tech I can completely understand and I can even understand reciprocation to make their own handsets, but why allow the 2 models to come out at exactly the same time?

    The one caveat here is performance.  We don't know how the SGH-i450 sounds.  With a focus more on an all around quality phone than just a music device, Samsung may not have incorporated (or was allowed to incorporate) all of the Serenata's musical benefits.  I wonder how that wheel embedded in the speaker area of the SGH-i450 will impact sound.  And again, there's the EQ question.  That by itself could be the difference between it sounding great for a speaker its size to just like every other ultraportable speaker out there.  I'd very much like to hear what people have to say after getting their hands on the SGH-i450.

    Jeff
     

    I am also somewhat puzzled by the close relationship B&O is forming with Samsung. However, I suspect that it has more to do with the Samsung panels they source for use in their BeoVisions than it does with mobile phone technology. At the end of the day, business is business and its about keeping people 'sweet' isn't it? This is not the road I wanted to see B&O pursue, but one I regrettably understand given today's commerical and competitive arena.

    Simon.

    "We can rebuild him. We have the technology." 7-40, 7-2, 9000, BS3, BC2, LC2, BC6000, Beo5
  • 10-11-2007 6:01 AM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    gridinoc:

    Can I dream of an phone "B&O | Apple"? Apple got the aluminium + black thingie now, it would be a good match, Imagine BeoPlayer on an future iPhone which would have Serenata-class speakers... 

     

    Okay, *that* is something I'd buy.  Especially if they encased it in alu.  I wouldn't touch the Serenata (no features worth a damn other than the speakers/amp, although the integration with the main sound system is pretty cool) and I wouldn't touch a Samsung cell phone (just yuck).  While I'm offending people, the Serene looks like my folding travel alarm with a glorified push button version of a rotary dial on it.  Sorry, but I've been wanting to get that off my chest for weeks now.

  • 10-12-2007 10:01 PM In reply to

    • Ryan
    • Not Ranked
    • Joined on 04-16-2007
    • Toronto
    • Posts 29
    • Bronze Member

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    Maybe they will release a 'beyonce' version of the serenata as well.

    http://uk.gizmodo.com/2007/10/12/beyonce_belts_outs_bphone_mobi.html
  • 10-13-2007 3:13 AM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    dilznik:
    gridinoc:

    Can I dream of an phone "B&O | Apple"? Apple got the aluminium + black thingie now, it would be a good match, Imagine BeoPlayer on an future iPhone which would have Serenata-class speakers... 

     

    Okay, *that* is something I'd buy.  Especially if they encased it in alu.  I wouldn't touch the Serenata (no features worth a damn other than the speakers/amp, although the integration with the main sound system is pretty cool) and I wouldn't touch a Samsung cell phone (just yuck).  While I'm offending people, the Serene looks like my folding travel alarm with a glorified push button version of a rotary dial on it.  Sorry, but I've been wanting to get that off my chest for weeks now.

    I think your view is perfectly valid. However I would say that the Serenata is actually much nicer in the flesh that you would think. It is very tactile and the sound quality through the headphones is fantastic. The dialing and texting grows upon you and I certainly found it as quick as any other method (but I am slow!!). Laughing

    There again, I have just bought another Samsung phone - the D900i - for my wife. Very slim, lots of features and a throw a way price! Will work with her current SIM so will be almost nothing a month.

    I do like Nokias but the present range don't capture my imagination. The Serenata stops traffic though! And the quality of materials makes it stand out.(Except for the battery cover!) 

  • 10-17-2007 3:15 PM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    You have to love the power of the internet.  Obviously, for one, it allows for conversation to take place amongst folks spread all over the world - like this forum.  In a couple of instances, it's also allowed me to reach out for and get assistance from other folks with the same interests who were getting a chance to see in person the latest and greatest of whatever that I was geographically unable to see myself.  In a few cases, I've been in touch with journalists or bloggers to get this kind of help.  The same has happened again in the last few days.

    Some of you following Serenata news may have noticed (if you're a weirdo product stalker like me, you use Google alerts to send you the latest postings from the net on whatever I can't get enough info on) that Samsung has been holding an open house of sorts for journalists from all over to come in and see their new handheld wares.  One of these was of course the Serenata and another was the SGH-i450.  When I saw the first of these stories start appearing, I figured I'd take a shot at getting in touch with one of them to get some side-by-side impressions of the sound quality for both units.  I had email contact with the senior editor from infoSync World, Philip Berne and he emailed me back saying that he would make specific mention of it in his upcoming posting about the SGH-i450.  Here's a quote from his post today about day 3 of his Samsung visit:

    "In the next couple of days, I'll be leaving Samsung, but I still have plenty to write about. I'll be posting my hands-on experiences with the SGH-i450, as well as the plethora of cool phones I saw at the AnyCall store and E-Mart shopping center. I'll also be diving into a reader's question about the difference in sound quality between the i450 and the new Serenata phone, both of which use some B&O tech for sound."

    http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/8456.html

    So, it looks like this will be the first side-by-side comparison we get.  He already has posted his impressions of the Serenata with a heavy emphasis on the music functionality.  You can read that post here:

    http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/8441.html

    I'll post the link to his article here as soon as I see it.  Sometimes I really do love technology...

    Jeff
     

     

  • 10-19-2007 8:47 AM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    To be quite frank, I thought the Samsung would be for me, because I can't get used to the long dialing/texting process of Serenata..but then I looked at the Samsung pictures, and the phone is quite ...boring, designwise! To say the least...So I won't buy it either, I'll keep my Nokia!

    Reunion Island is greeting you!

  • 10-20-2007 9:59 AM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    Here's the article with impressions of the i450 with comparisons to the Serenata:

    http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/8465.html 

    Looks like the Serenata's speaker is better, but the i450 is pretty competitive.  Interesting.

    Jeff
     

  • 03-02-2008 7:42 AM In reply to

    • OKF
    • Top 500 Contributor
    • Joined on 02-22-2008
    • Posts 204
    • Bronze Member

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    some more info from Samsung: http://www.samsungmobile.com/promotion/yourmusic/i450/

    and some in depth review: http://www.mobile-review.com/review/samsung-i450-en.shtml

     

    Does anybody know whther the Serenata Headphone links to the Samsung port on the i450?

    Best regards Oliver

  • 03-02-2008 1:45 PM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    -

  • 03-02-2008 3:13 PM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    Correct me if I 'm wrong, but I believe that B&O will likely end-of-life the Serene and the Serenate in the not to distant future. When Torben was dipped into the alligator pit there was a statement that B&O would get back to their core products, which seemed to put moblie phones, portable mp3 players, and even car audio in the firing line.

    I think it would make sense to do away with co-branded products. They seem to have done very little for Samsung and been a terrible drag on Bang & Olufsen's prestige. Though I really do like the Serene, it is admittedly out of its element in an iPhone world.

    I've always fantasized about B&O liscencing speaker technology to Apple (like the built in speakers in the iMac or packaging A8s with special edition iPods), but I've heard it on good authority that, whatever Steve's personal taste may be, that Apple is not interested in a partnership beyond letting them sell their little goodies in their stores.

    A real shame, becuase Apple & B&O is about the only mutually beneficial partnership I could see B&O in.    

    There is scarcely anything in this world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey. - John Ruskin

  • 03-02-2008 3:28 PM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    -

  • 03-03-2008 4:06 AM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    apple won't license os-x , that's the basic problem for bno

    so they either use some dross from windoze or attempt at making their own software , which ain't as easy as it looks

    what we really need is steve wozniak ( the co founder of apple and a guy who's not only loaded but a big investor in businesses that interest him ) to buy bang & olufsen

    he is after all a big fan as he uses the seranata himself 

    popgear is grate™

  • 03-03-2008 5:14 AM In reply to

    Re: Samsung's variation of the Serenata: SGH-i450

    B&O has assured its automotive partners that its work with car audio will continue.

    You'll need to brush up your Danish, of course:

    http://www.business.dk/article/20080218/ittele/80218022/ 

Page 1 of 1 (21 items)