Triple Threat

I’ve done the deed. I’ve pre-ordered my Zenfone 9!!!!! I’ve done a pay in 3 on PayPal for it.

Delivery is “Est end of August” – whatever that means. The site (ASUS’ own) also says “In stock”, which is a little baffling as to how they can’t just send me it then, if it really is sat there in stock.

I’ve ignored every single ‘review’ and every single YouTube “hands on” and “Zenfone 9 after 1 week”. I couldn’t give a fucking shit what your experience is after a week, pal. One thing I did notice was that these YouTube videos are getting MASSIVE views – 92,000 here, 42,000 there. Clearly the interest is there. It’s just such a pity this never translates into big sales for ASUS. Well it can’t, when the media only use their phone releases for filler stories while the Samsung/Apple bungs have dried up for the year.

If you think that’s me being ASUS fanboy here, or my imagination, just look at how they build up to the next Samsung/Apple release, how hard they get over it when it launches, and how doe-eyed they get once it’s out, and run follow ups as well. Just doesn’t happen with Zenfones.

And yes you could say “well that’s because they know what sells”. But a phone as underwhelming as an iPhone or a Samsung does not sell on its own technical merits – because they don’t have many to shout about. The batteries are frequently absolute shite and all they’re releasing now are incremental upgrades, plus the odd massive megapixel jump every 5 years. That is no innovation. It isn’t even trying. It’s knowing that the “tech journalists” you’ve paid have already done most of the selling legwork for you in advance, so you can just coast. Coupled with the fact that if you look carefully at the way they word reviews, if it’s a Zenfone with a bigger battery than a Samsung (usually the case) they’ll say “big battery, but the screen isn’t as good as a Samsung”. But if it’s a Samsung with a weak battery they’ll say “the battery is less than some but the rest of the hardware and solid build quality more than make up for this”. The whole “this Samsung has a lesser this but it’s still a Samsung”, versus “Yes this other phone is good but it isn’t a Samsung” ethos means any other phone is already trampled on in advance – and it really doesn’t matter what they do.

I really do not want to live in a world where all we have to choose from is Apple, Samsung or Chinese Government phones with pre-installed spyware.

ROLL ON END OF AUGUST!!!