Hindsight - should Glock have listened to its customers

The g43 initial excitement is waning and to be honest it doesn't add much to an already crowded segment.
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Waning? They are being snapped up as soon as they become available, often at stupidly inflated prices. The G42 didn't offer anything better than other .380s on the market, yet they sold (according to Mas Ayoob) 200,000 of them in the first year in spite of the numerous teething issues it had.

Glock won't be sorry, they will sell a boat load of them.
 
I'm pretty sure Glock will sell a boat load of just about anything they put out. I'm not a Glock fan at all but there's so many people on the bandwagon.
 
Why would I want Glock to change? I shot the Browning HiPower for decades, and never wished for a product improved version.
I love reading these whining glock threads. Meanwhile, my G26 just keeps shooting.
 
Glock is facing the same dilemma every established company does: how to keep growing without diluting its core brand and competencies. The G42 and G43 are great successes, even if they weren't the first one to market with them; it would have been a bigger mistake to either rush them into production and risk hurting their reputation for reliability, like with the Remington R51. At the same time, it would have been just as big mistake to stay away from the market, and coast on their reputation and fat LE contracts, like Colt did.

I think Glock's biggest issue right now is not the question of manual safeties, but the modular designs Sig and Beretta are working on. Glock's biggest asset in the LE market is probably the low maintenance/upkeep cost for armorers. All striker-fired pistols have that benefit to some degree, but Glock got their first, and being able to keep some degree of compatibility with parts/accessories helps them maintain that position. Switching weapons systems also means switching magazines, holsters, spare parts, etc; it's far easier for a local PD to just order new Glocks to replace the old ones.

The modular pistols, though, might offer enough of a benefit to armorers that it's worth the cost to switch. I don't know the economics of it, but it seems like a very realistic possibility, especially if the manufacturer is willing to take a loss to get their foot in the door.

Alternately, maybe there's a modular Gen 5 Glock in the works that we just don't know about.
 
Glock ergonomics leave a ton to be desired but I never worry about rust or reliability and the trigger is slick once you master the reset.
 
I find that Glock ergonomics provide better recoil control and faster follow-up shots. The grip angle forces you to tilt your wrist down a bit, which is less comfortable than other guns when you are just pointing it. However, that position helps absorb recoil because your wrist can flip up.

It's hard to explain, but my wrist has more articulation in the down direction than up. So by tilting it down to point the gun, creates some room to tilt up during recoil. Try it. Make a fist and hold your forearm parallel to the ground. Try tilting your wrist up and down...
 
I think of Glock as the Harley Davidson of guns. They have stayed with the same products with minor upgrades and they dominate the market because of loyal customers and name recognition. Why make drastic changes when you are very successful with what you do?
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Glock's core customer base is law enforcement, and they can keep that majority stake of the market by keeping the products just about unchanged. The rest of Glock's customer base is pretty much along for the ride dictated by the LEO market.

I always thought the Colt 1911 was the Harley Davidson of guns, their product line has a few models with the upgrades that new buyers want, but they produce the M1911A1 pattern guns to cater to their traditional customer base, who want to keep them as is, or do their own upgrades.
 
They are going to release 350,000+ for the initial runs (source: Michael Bane, Downrange Radio) for the largest initial release ever.

I will buy two once the design is debugged.
 
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I see no reason why they shouldn't get in on the trend of single stacks, since that is obviously what the market is demanding right now. They are in business to make money, after all, and it makes sense to get a share of the market.

As far as whether they are better or worse than any other competing model, that is really very subjective. Compare it to car shopping - if you have been driving one car for the last 10 years, anything you test drive, even if it is the new version of your old car, is going to feel strange at first. You will adapt, though, and soon enough it will be weird to go back to the old one.
 
For that matter, when you mention "catching up" that's sort of hilarious given in Apple's WWDC 2015 this past Monday they mentioned a number of "new" features. Essentially they copied the "snap" feature from Windows 8, Proactive Intelligence is their version of Google Now, Apple Maps is their version of Google Maps, Apple News App which is their version of Flipboard, iPad Multitasking was first seen on Windows, and the newest being Apple Music which is their version of Spotify. Apple is no longer the trend leader in many areas, very much like Glock.
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Takes like these are always hilarious. Without Apple there is no modern smartphone. Without Glock there is arguably no polymer pistol revolution after the dead end HK vp-70. Apple and Glock don't need to be "trend leaders" because they sell, rather than channel stuff, everything they make. They were both "stolen from" far more than they steal back.

Samsung is doing extremely well in the mobile phone market. They may not have the name and the image of Apple, but their sales are impressive. There are few companies out there that wouldn't want to be as successful as Samsung. Let's also not forget that Samsung makes a number of the hardware components in the iPhone.
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Samsung Mobile's bottom line is under severe stress. Just like shooters wouldn't buy a high end S&W Sigma, or whatever they call it now, Samsung cannot capture the top end market segment in any wealthy country. Meanwhile Samsung is also being squeezed at the low end by a host of "me too" Chinese Android builders in most markets because Android offers no meaningful device differentiation for OEMs.

Apple doesn't pitch any product to the low-end at all and walks off with most of the developed world's mobile telecom device profits and is really the only meaningful global player in tablets too. What's staid Glock's polymer pistol market like again?

Wanting a company to tell you what you want instead of being able to provide feedback is part of the reason I've chosen not to own an Apple product.
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Lol. You sound like the "Glock fan" who just wants a manual safety option "before you'll buy one." Apple doesn't miss your business. The market demos capture the fact that the bulk of Android users are merely cheapskates rather than the tech savvy non-conformists they declare themselves to be.

Enjoy your Sigma-like devices.
 
Takes like these are always hilarious. Without Apple there is no modern smartphone. Without Glock there is arguably no polymer pistol revolution after the dead end HK vp-70. Apple and Glock don't need to be "trend leaders" because they sell, rather than channel stuff, everything they make. They were both "stolen from" far more than they steal back.
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I don't disagree, but the company that started the trend can't afford to rest on its laurels. Remember that Beta came out before VHS, Laser disk came out before DVD, and HD DVD came out before Blu Ray. They all went the way of the dodo, though, because someone else used the same idea and responded better to what the market was looking for.

I don't think Glock or Apple are currently in any danger of that particular fate, but the point is still valid.
 
I'd buy a glock phone. Actually, a blued phone would be a neat product.
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Nice! A phone that can be submerged in water, run over with a car, frozen, baked, filled with jello, and blown up in a nuclear holocaust and still work? Sign me up!
 
Apple and Glock don't need to be "trend leaders" because they sell, rather than channel stuff, everything they make. They were both "stolen from" far more than they steal back.
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None of that changes the reality of what I said. They were leaders at one point and can likely survive for years or decades to come (which I already said), but they are borrowing more ideas than creating these days.

Samsung Mobile's bottom line is under severe stress. Just like shooters wouldn't buy a high end S&W Sigma, or whatever they call it now, Samsung cannot capture the top end market segment in any wealthy country. Meanwhile Samsung is also being squeezed at the low end by a host of "me too" Chinese Android builders in most markets because Android offers no meaningful device differentiation for OEMs.
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As best as I can tell no one has a definitive answer here. The articles range from great success to impending doom in just a month:
http://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-regains-smartphone-sales-crown-from-apple/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2015/04/15/samsung-galaxy-s6-edge-sold-out/
http://www.ibtimes.com/galaxy-s6-sales-estimates-top-70-million-units-samsung-closes-apple-1886684
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/29/samsung-worlds-biggest-smartphone-manufacturer

http://bgr.com/2015/05/18/iphone-6-vs-samsung-android-sales/
http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-china-sales-q1-apple-xiaomi-idc-plummet-2015-5
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04/29/samsung_q1_2015_results/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/samsung-profit-falls-on-slowing-smartphone-sales-1430266156
Lol. You sound like the "Glock fan" who just wants a manual safety option "before you'll buy one."
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I have absolutely zero idea how you came to this conclusion. I've been giving Glock credit in this thread, not attacking them.

Apple doesn't miss your business.
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When did I say they did?

The market demos capture the fact that the bulk of Android users are merely cheapskates rather than the tech savvy non-conformists they declare themselves to be.
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Are you just mad because I said I don't like Apple? Who knew that in all these years on this forum you were just as sensitive as the Glock fanboys you make fun of, just in your case it's phone products in the form of Apple.

Enjoy your Sigma-like devices.
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:confused: Where do you even get this stuff from? Are you a Glock fan now? Gats Italian is a Glock fan. Who knew :eek:?
 
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A company with the reputation such as Glock has the ability to do what they do. It is their business to be Glock. Not S&W, CZ, etc..... Not all Glocks are ergonomically bad to me and, that must be true for a lot of people. I disagree that ergonomics don't apply. I also agree that some pistols just shoot better regardless of ergonomics.

The G43 will sell. Because they are a Glock and carry with them the Glock reputation and function. They are going to work and work well. Like all Glock's. If they don't fit right don't buy them.

On the other hand, I see no earthly reason for a single stack 9mm. But, it appears a lot of people don't agree with me on that either. God Bless
 
I just did a comparison on their site between the G43, G26, and G19. The differences between the G43 and G26 size-wise, are miniscule except you lose 4 rounds capacity AND the ability to use the G19, G17, and G18 larger mags like you can in the G26

I'll keep the 26................
 
All I'm saying Glock is going down the route of Sig with this lineup...soon you can buy a rainbow tribal scorpion extreme g43
 
All I'm saying Glock is going down the route of Sig with this lineup...soon you can buy a rainbow tribal scorpion extreme g43
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Lol, I'm not sure manufacturing a single stack 9mm is the same as the rainbow finish, at least IMO.
 
Sorry for my thread drift in advance!

Hold a VP9, a PPQ or even an M&P and why would you buy a Glock? Ergonomics are soooo much better on the non-Glocks and reliability is as good. I would trust my life to a Glock, but I would trust it to any one of them. So why wouldn't I buy a gun that simply feels better in the hand?
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Far from a fanboy of any particular manufacturer, but here's my answer to your question, if it was hypothetically asked of me:

Not a VP9 but had a P30, had a PPQ, and have shot the M&P enough to know I'm not interested in owning one. Why? Because regardless of ergonomics or whatever feature is thrown in there that is supposed to make one pistol better than the others, at the end of the day, when we factor in the most important aspect of me as the individual shooter, all of the pistols I have (or had) exhibit nearly identical accuracy, and none of them have any noticeable advantage over each other when doing common tasks such as reloading, weak-hand firing, and I.A. drills.

Then, with the ease of availability and/or access to parts & accessories, it is impossible to deny Glock's current domination in that arena, though S&W isn't exactly lacking. Can't really say that concerning HK (or Walther). E.G.- it seems like a constant complaint about the lack of availability concerning VP9/P30 magazines, and when they can be found in-stock they're not exactly cheap.

Again, the Glock is a great gun...
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Agreed, which is why it is one of the few pistols actually remaining in my collection. It is currently my choice in the CCW rotation for striker-fire, as is the CZ P-07 for DA/SA hammer-fire, and true DAO is split between the CZ 100 and the Sig P250C (with a Compact Small frame). For a single stack 9mm, personally I'd get another Shield, as I've zero interest in the G43.

I just did a comparison on their site between the G43, G26, and G19. The differences between the G43 and G26 size-wise, are miniscule except you lose 4 rounds capacity AND the ability to use the G19, G17, and G18 larger mags like you can in the G26

I'll keep the 26................
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Can't disagree, as does a friend of mine (hopefully the link works).

Glock 43 Review?: http://youtu.be/OBVYXc0Nrak
 
I just did a comparison on their site between the G43, G26, and G19. The differences between the G43 and G26 size-wise, are miniscule except you lose 4 rounds capacity AND the ability to use the G19, G17, and G18 larger mags like you can in the G26
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Though there is little difference in overall dimensions, the G43 feels much different in the hand. The grip frame, front to back (trigger reach) is quite a bit shorter, and grip circumference is much smaller. For someone with medium to small hands, the G43 grip would be much better than the G26.

The thickness difference on paper also isn't that much, but would make pocket carry and draw from a pocket easier.
 
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