Originally Posted by swordman:
“Doesn't really make the z2 any less of a phone though does it, only the ability to say I have a top of the range phone.”
Of course, but my views (and they aren't that unique) is that Sony is quite possibly losing sales on account of a lot of people not wanting to sign up to a 2 year contract on a phone that will have had 2-3 new releases by the time of renewal.
If only for the fact that the Z2 was announced in late February, but for the most part has only really begun shipping in volume since the start of May. It's fairly well known that the Z3, which will have a new chipset and quite possibly a new design and camera, will be announced in September, possibly on sale soon after (bar any delays).
So if you know that, and given the way tech sites report rumours all the time, soon many people looking for info online about the latest phones will, you'll have it in the back of your mind that if you sign up to a contract with the Z2 in June, July or August, you're just one or two months away from an all-new model. Do you say 'Well, the Z2 does what I want' or wait? Or play safe and buy the HTC or something else?
Apple considers that people will buy a phone, skip the next revision, and buy the next (seems to be a fair assumption based on everyone I know with an iPhone).
Some people will of course buy the outgoing model to save money and still get an excellent experience, so there's perhaps one advantage to regular model updates - but I doubt it makes financial sense for Sony in terms of the extra R&D, manufacturing and marketing required and the reduced shelf life that must annoy operators, distributors and retailers alike.
What's more, we don't really need so many updates. Consumers aren't so bothered about upgrading their smartphones. The excitement of getting a new phone is nothing compared to downloading interesting and exciting new apps and games. Who wants to replace their computer or TV every six months, or get a new washing machine every year?
Tech nerds like us, sure, but not the average person - yet I bet everyone still likes to feel that their new purchase has a reasonable life, with the assumption that it will get better support than something that is replaced so quickly. That's another side effect of regular updates; the risk of some of the models that aren't even a year old getting pushed down the list of phones getting timely software updates and other new features.