[Android] Music Lovers, here's an Android phone just for you, Wolfson WM8281 Audio Hub processor

Music Lovers, here's an Android phone just for you!

http://www.mobilechoiceuk.com/News/36480/music-lovers-heres-an-android-phone-just-for-you.aspx

John.

 

Wow, utter joke of a spec sheet for a $600 smartphone. Oh but look it has a Wolfson DAC for your 24-bit 192kHz FLACs.

Only the people dumb enough to buy Beats will fall for this snake oil. No thanks.

 

I doubt would be 600 USD price, probably 300-400 USD. Snapdragon 410 are found in entry/mid range devices, so honestly I could see 250-300 unlocked.

 

What's the point of putting such a great DAC with such low end phone hardware???

Seriously!!! Getting my hopes up for nothing.

 

It's not even a guarantee of good audio quality, and realistically the BOM cost of the Wolfson chip is probably like $2

 

I'll leave discussion of the audio quality issues to more knowledgeable people. I will say it's handsome hardware for a midrange phone, but the price is one or two Benjamins too high.

 

Full Spec

https://marshallamps.com/live-for-music/news/introducing-marshall-london/

John.

 

I have been using my old Samsung S3 for years for mp3 only in airplane mode it has an wolfson dac and sound good enough for me.

John.

 

Doesn't need to be a guarantee of good audio quality. But better than the no name pulse module DACs they put in some phones nowadays.

 

Well look at it this way. This piece of crap has the same specs as a Moto G at 4x the price. There are any number of superior Android phones way cheaper than it. For $600 I could almost get an unlocked iPhone 6, probably a 6+ once the 6S and 6S+ come out.

You're paying almost flagship price for an entry level/midrange "audiophile" (*snark*) smartphone.

 

Oh yeah, that I agree is nuts.

I think this is an audio manufacturer's attempt to peddle a low level device under the guise of superior audio hardware quality.

 

I don't know, both specs and interior-wise looks much better than an iPhone 6 to me, and if Apple does get away with ridiculous prices, why shouldn't others try? I strongly dislike the lack of MHL/HDMI, though.

 

A Snapdragon 410 looks better than an A8 to you?

Because those that try, die? Because Android users, unlike iOS users, can cross-shop multiple OEMs and thus tend to be much less forgiving about premium pricing?

 

mitlov, sufficient CPU performance, 2GB vs 1GB RAM, + microSD + (supposedly) superior audio quality, am I missing something? Oh, and with such a price tag it'd be a truely rare device, unlike easily recognizable iPhones every second Hipster Joe carries.

 

Yeah you are missing something. It can't even compete with the iPhone 6, Apple tax and all, let alone other Android flagships. And unless someone actually measures the headphone output and objectively proves it has superior audio quality to an iPhone, I'm calling BS on that too.

The Amazon Fire is a truly rare device too. Because it's a piece of crap.

 

octiceps, I don't see why it shouldn't exist and sell, anyway. I believe consumers will buy whatever **** is thrown at them - if it is marketed properly. Moreover that, I fail to notice any flaws regarding devices hardware, it's quite good from my point of view.

 

Never said it shouldn't exist, but it won't sell well and their marketing sucks. Audiophiles can see through the BS and few old-schoolers who recognize the Marshall name will be upgrading their flip phones to this. Phone enthusiasts will be getting Android flagships or budget kings like the Motos/1+1/Nexus. Beats crowd will buy iPhones.

Hardware is garbage for the price. The extra "audiophile" features are snake oil until proven otherwise. You can find the same hardware in $150 phones and there are $250-$300 models that run circles around it.

 

Well it's best to get an actual review from an audiophile but yes I think its way overpriced to begin with. Likely if they sell it at that price, it will drop fast.

 

If being the emphasized word. I can't see any carriers wanting this phone. Even they can't sell it at a profitable price for those specs.

 

It could be worse, anybody want to buy an Sony NWZ-ZX1

John.

 

If it's heavily overpriced to begin with, I can see like AT&T or T-Mobile at least giving it a try. If they don't sell too many, they'd drop it anyway.

 

Ahhh...this thing will crash and burn like the Fire phone.

 

There is no brand recognition among majority of smartphone user base. Ppl will be like "who dafuq is Marshall?", Google them and see they make guitar amps, balk at the price and specs of the London phone, and promptly ignore and forget about it.

 

The Amazon Fire phone was fundamentally flawed from the getgo. It was basically a platform for Amazon to sell you more %@#$. And I thought some of the features were kind of gimmicky. Same issues as the Facebook phone.

It's all about marketing. Beats was unknown until they pumped 60% of cost towards marketing. Anything can be somewhat successful with a successful and heavy marketing spin.

 

Beats' success story is not just about marketing. Beats commoditized headphones. Before Beats, it was a very niche market catering to the older generation home hi-fi audiophile crowd, then the iPod revolution happened and Beats jumped on that leading to their domination. Smartphones are ubiquitous and the market is already very saturated, competition is cutthroat, barriers to entry very high. That's why so many things like the Amazon Fire, Facebook Phone, Ubuntu Phone, etc. have crashed and burned or never gotten off the ground.

 

And I see the same obvious flaws in this music phone. They will push this phone solely on the Wolfson DAC, which they will heavily augment with music oriented bloatware. Everything else will be considered the extra hardware necessary to classify the device as a phone...

 

If you want the best audio quality in a phone, get an iPhone 6. If you must have an Android phone, then there really doesn't seem to be anything super special.