| Samsung S-series appear to have an actually quality edge. Camera -- particular to me; screen; etc. As for the others... yes. I have concern with China re backdoors, but otherwise, I'm done with the U.S. market and carrier channels, except for Nexus. I just bought a Xiaomi fitness band directly from Shenzhen. Shipping was a bit ridiculous, percentage-wise, but the band itself was so inexpensive compared to U.S. competition, and it shipped the day it was release to the domestic Chinese market. Based on that experience, I have no concern with returning to that Shenzhen retailer for a phone, tablet, or whatever else I may want from the Chinese domestic market. And with those items, the air freight cost will be a reasonable percentage of the total purchase cost. U.S. big business is benefiting from Chinese production costs. Why shouldn't I cut them out of the loop and do so directly, myself? I don't need their useless mark-up. Nor, in the case of phones and U.S. carriers, their mostly useless and problematic skinning. |