"Marshall London" Smartphone from the Amp Company

[fusion_power]

Normaly, I'm not interested in anything that has to do with SmartPhones but this here got my curiosity and then my attention:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/16/8976561/marshall-london-smartphone-images

https://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_us_en/london-phone

As a son of a musician I like Music of course and as better it sounds as better I feel.  Marshall, the legendary Guitar Amp Company suddenly decided to make a Smartphone with including their long time experience in High Quality Audio hardware, that was... unexpected, at least for me.  And it indeed has some unique features that got my attention:

• dual headphone jacks
• dual Mic
• dual speakers that are described as: "LOUD"
• "scroll wheel" volume control
• one button access to your music/Equalizer
• "global" equalizer through all music programs
• Phone comes with various music/DJ/audio apps
• special audio hardware "Cirrus Logic WM8281 Audio Hub" (Wolfson)
• comes with Ear phones
• IPS Display with Gorilla glass
• removable battery (!)

...and I even like the design.

However, what I don't like is the price of over €500. Rest of the hardware is not that top notch I guess: 720p, 2GB of RAM, Snapdragon 410 processor, 16GB mass storage, Micro SD card slot. At least you may get one extra pair of Big Headphones  worth 199$ for free if you order  the phone online.  What do you think? Worth a try that kind of phone or are there better options out there for audiophile users?

 

[benoitb]

Wait for honnest reviews. This may be a good phone or not.

Otherwise a Samsung i9000, i9300 or i9305 have really good sound if they are rooted with Voodoo Sound or Boeffla Sound.

 

[fusion_power]

Sure, nothing goes over real reviews, the "London" will be available end of September. Like I sayed, I'm not really into Smart Phones, this one here just got my attention because it was rather unexpected.   No clue about (normal) Samsung Smartphones, I hope they build better phones than TV's, my Samsung flat screen TV sucks balls. XD

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

First the commodore phone and now marshall.


Unexpected stuff.

 

[elw3]

Well its a music company, they wont put their names on something that sounds like a trash bin.

Looks pretty good.

 

[fusion_power]

First the commodore phone and now marshall.


Unexpected stuff.

AFAIK, this Commodore Phone was nothing more than a generic re-labled "china-phone" with some emulators in it.  It seems Marshall made their phone from scratch at least, including special Audio hardware. ^^

 

[Nintendo]

This phone look awesome and I'm definitely interested!

 

[ekianjo]

Android phone though - I can't wait for better choices for smartphones OS out there. Android basically means "disposable" since most of the time you can't even update the OS yourself because of manufacturer lock in. 

 

[Nintendo]

^ Yeah, Android is pretty shit in that regard

 

[ekianjo]

^ Yeah, Android is pretty shit in that regard

I hope Ubuntu phones get some moderate support at least so that we have a Linux option on the table in the future.

 

[fusion_power]

Android phone though - I can't wait for better choices for smartphones OS out there. Android basically means "disposable" since most of the time you can't even update the OS yourself because of manufacturer lock in.

Still better than iOS, right? Well, at least they include the newest Android 5.something which also should have less issues with audio issues.

 

[moxie]

Is it just me, or is this a crap idea? I mean, Marshall don't do phones. So, either they haven't in any way been involved in making this phone, meaning they basically have a whatnot noname phone with tolex, brass and an extra headphone socket bolted on in an attempt to just fool people with the brand...

...or they actually tried to create a phone. In which case it'll be horrible, because they don't know how to do that.

And yes, I have the same misgivings about that "Commodore" phone. Or that "Apple" phone. But I digress...

 

[Nintendo]

^ Apple phone? As in iPhone?

 

[ekianjo]

Android phone though - I can't wait for better choices for smartphones OS out there. Android basically means "disposable" since most of the time you can't even update the OS yourself because of manufacturer lock in.

Still better than iOS, right?
Well, at least they include the newest Android 5.something which also should have less issues with audio issues.

Actually Apple is way better in providing updates to their phones... in case you havent noticed.

 

[moxie]

^ Apple phone? As in iPhone?

Yep. Hideous crap, fueled by religious brand fervour, that one.

 

[Nintendo]

Ahahahahahahahaha, I wholeheartedly agree with you there, mate

 

[ekianjo]

Hideous crap, fueled by religious brand fervour, that one.

I totally agree with the religious fervour.


As to the "hideous" comment - meh. Some of it looks OK. I would not say it's for me, but there are way uglier pieces of hardware out there. At least they have some design consistency.  

 

[gadgetoid]

The irony of the cultish gravity and close-mindedness of anti-iPhone sentiment is clearly lost on you! I'm sorry to burst your bubble- but iPhones are popular because they're good.


I suspect Marshall had close to zero input into the making of that phone. You can probably find a "Wolfson" DAC in half the phones out there too- it doesn't really mean anything. They've just had a reference design tweaked and slapped in a gaudy case to exploit the fringes of the fashion headphone market.


But hey- it might have a valve inside to warm up the sound and enrich the mid tones, then we'd be talking!

 

[_jr_]

All cases of i-product infestation I've seen so far can be easily explained with a combination of 1) being susceptible to hype and 2) having more money than brains and 3) liking the design style. Technical considerations were relevant in not even a single case. IMO the second is the most important, because that's the market segment apple worked hard to create (which is a true achievement, but not very impressive from a technical perspective), and that's also why you see so many management types equipped with these products.

 

[moxie]

It should be noted that 1) I strongly dislike anything that is based only on touch control, no matter who made it, 2) I'm a grumpy old git, and 3) sometimes I exaggerate for humorous effect