This could be true.
Curiosity, was there something in specific you were thinking of?
Just felt that way traditionally, and probably as you said is mostly due to HTC's inability to really resist their demands. Was disappointed this year when HTC tried to simplify their lineup and got forced to make more carrier branded devices for Verizon. Mostly my feeling that HTC gets pushed around by Verizon too much goes back to wanting a Nexus One back in the day, and having it get delayed on Verizon then never released with HTC getting forced to retool it as the Incredible instead.
So that is what happened to Verizon's Nexus... I would also like to point out that even Sprint even made HTC brand their One X as the Evo LTE. Personally I wish carriers would but out on the phone marketing and spend the money on beefing the networks. Or, get this, stop charging us an arm and a leg. Anyway, if Verizon choose to hold back the GN2, then I stand by my speculations.
I don't think Verizon is "punishing" Samsung for anything. There's a far more obvious, and business-oriented answer. When it comes to Android devices, Verizon likes to advertise their Droid line over non-Droid branded devices. With the Note 2, like the Galaxy S III, the device isn't a part of the Droid line, and more importantly it's not a Verizon exclusive. The Note 2, like the S III, is available (or will be available) on all major U.S. carriers. Verizon would rather market exclusive devices, because by marketing those, they're also marketing the fact that you have to be a Verizon customer. The same doesn't hold true if they heavily advertise or put a lot of emphasis behind devices that are available on every carrier.
Seems logical as since it is a 'exclusive' device I'm guessing they pay some sort of premium too, so my bet is they try harder to make sure these devices are profitable.
Your right, it is good business sense for Verizon to push their advertised Droids. I am not drawing my conclusions on Samsung being punished from this one incident. I believe this was Verizon's move in a power war between carriers and manufacturers. Like you said, the Droids are Verizon exclusives. Samsung started to build their brand with the Galaxy line and Verizon does not need competition to their exclusive. Since Verizon was not able to twist the widely popular GSIII to their liking, they choose to send Samsung a message through a popular but not "make you or break you" phone.
I actually know plenty of people at my old job who let their kids draw on the device to keep them occupied. While I don't know which demographic would generate higher sales, I can say that their target exists.
Meh, it was more of a hit against getting an A-list celebrity to endorse the phone rather than show off the features of the phone. From the commercial all you really get is you can draw on pictures (who knows if this is an app or built-in? <-- saying from a potential viewer who has NO idea what the Note 2 is), it has a stylus, you can watch videos on it, and take phone calls. I really thought nothing of the Note 2 until I saw the review on youtube and features like multiwindow, etc. I think Samsung did great with the S3 commercials in comparison, that really took a hit at Apple and spouted off their features such as s-beam. I don't think you need A-list celebrities for these phones, rather just show off the features and why they are superior to other phones on the market, such as iP5. Like I said, I just think it shows how off marketing companies can be sometimes.
Ah, gotcha. I do know that the SIII commercials worked because I heard people actually talk about them. Which I can't say that about Apple.
Yeah, they should advertise how the phone won't dim when you are looking at it, and stuff like that. I got sold on the features... or the fact that is quite literally the fastest phone on the market with a huge battery. Maybe this type of marketing will work on a few people, but I think people are into this phone are going to buy it for the features and not because LeBron has the phone. This isn't a "cutesy" phone that someone like Justin Bieber will use and all the teens will buy because of that,
That is my bet why we had to wait so long. All people who buy this phone will be able to dunk like LeBron.
Depending on how the logos are printed on the device, you might be able to use a pasty sugar water mix to gently remove the logos. The thought of using a razor blade on plastic kind of scares me.
