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Google pulls plug on Nexus One

zdnet.com

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Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#141

Post by ZeroGravitas »

btilly wrote: post #67
shalinmangar wrote: post #30

I don't think it was Google's intention to sell a lot of Nexus One units. I believe that they wanted to set a standard for Android phones over which other manufacturers could improve. Android phones before Nexus One were not good enough and they wanted to tell people that this is how an Android phone should be.

This. Google never wanted to try to cut out the middle-men. Google didn't want to push the phone too much. They just wanted to put it out there to be able to let them know, "Here, look, this is what you can do with this technology at this price point." As was pointed out at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1529657 , Google achieved its aims. The Nexus One was a success. It can go away now. If you pay attention, yo…

It's the same strategy as Chrome. They could just have made another browser and pushed it via tie-ins, lock-ins and millions of dollars in advertising. Instead they rebuilt the browser from the ground up for speed and security. This prompted everyone else in the browser space to up their game too.

Google is betting that they benefit more from a lot of competitive browsers, than from having an iron grip on a single browser. Conversely, they can't allow someone else with an iron grip to hold the browser market back to benefit themselves. The same is true of the phone market.

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#142

Post by buro9 »

jrockway wrote: post #128
lwhi wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently bought an HTC Desire - there's no "with Google" stamp. I don't think your statement is correct.

Indeed. The "with Google" mark carries meaning; it means you are getting AOSP (the consistent version of Android that is actually usable), instead of the handset's bastardized version of Android. (HTC Nonsense, Moto-durrr, etc.)

Unless you're in the UK where Vodafone have delayed the OTA update so that they can fiddle with it first.

It turns out that the Google mark really is meaningless.

Myself and most of my friends who I recommended the Nexus One to on the basis of first updates and vanilla software, we are now all running CM6.

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#143

Post by SandB0x »

jrockway wrote: post #128
lwhi wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently bought an HTC Desire - there's no "with Google" stamp. I don't think your statement is correct.

Indeed. The "with Google" mark carries meaning; it means you are getting AOSP (the consistent version of Android that is actually usable), instead of the handset's bastardized version of Android. (HTC Nonsense, Moto-durrr, etc.)

This isn't quite true. For example, the fairly new HTC Droid Incredible has Sense and the "with Google" stamp. Also the Motorola Droid X.

Maybe it's not the majority of phones then, but my point still stands that the stamp is fairly meaningless.

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#144

Post by eli »

illumin8 wrote: post #100
eli wrote: post #10

I blame Google for letting people build the Nexus One up so much (remember the crazy pre-launch rumors about how it was going to change the world?) It's not that Americans are stupid and the rest of the world is smart. The problem is that you typically pay the same monthly service fee whether you take a subsidized phone or not. To go buy your own phone at full retail price is leaving hundreds of dollars on the table.…

If you want to use an unlocked phone and maximize your revenue as a customer, simply get an iPhone 4 on contract with AT&T, put the SIM in $GENERIC_SMARTPHONE, unlock it, and sell it on eBay for around $750. Maximum profit as a consumer as the $750 spread over the 24 month contract gives you an effective $31.25 a month discount. Plus, you get it up front so you can invest it or do whatever you want with the money. My…

That's likely what I'll do next time my contract is up... but it would really be easier and better for everyone involved if the carriers would just charge you less or pay you a cash bonus at the end of your contract (etc).

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#145

Post by statictype »

zamfi wrote: post #139
WildUtah wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's corporate side-load program requires you to prove that you have 250 employees. Running a local service company with 120 employees? Sorry, you're too small to qualify for side-loading. Build your custom competitive advantage apps and load them into the iTunes store for everyone or go without.

I couldn't believe this when I read your post, but it turns out there is a minimum employee count requirement, and it's now 500 employees. Just wow. Now, to be fair, the non-enterprise developer program lets you distribute your app to 100 devices too, but you need to pre-enter those devices's IDs beforehand. There's no way to hit between 100-500 devices.

If you want to install on more than 100 devices, it might be cheap to just buy a second SDK license. But yeah, beyond that its probably less painful to just submit your app to the app store.

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#146

Post by protomyth »

martingordon wrote: post #81

The lack of retail stores wouldn't have been such a big deal if Google offered a similar, if not better, return policy than phones you could hold in your hand before buying. A 14 day/$45 restocking fee policy is pretty bad. When it's for a $500 device you can't play with anywhere before purchasing, it's abysmal.

Having retail stores (or at least a space in retail stores staffed by your company) has really helped Apple sell a lot of product. There is no real substitute for being able to play with a device and see how good it really is. I think Google didn't get those type of buyers and Googles trouble with people calling them to resolve issues didn't help.

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#147

Post by protomyth »

zyb09 wrote: post #42
grandalf wrote: post #26

Looking forward to Google buying t-Mobile and calling it g-mobile.

I know this is a joke, but I don't think they could afford it. T-Mobile is just a small division of a very big company.

But there have been persistent rumors that the US T-Mobile operation has been up for sale.

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#148

Post by tjogin »

zmmmmm wrote: post #130
tjogin wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think that it would have been disappointing to Google if Nexus One had sold like hotcakes?

Actually I think they might have seen it as a problem. I genuinely believe they wanted to target the N1 at only developers and sophisticated users who generally self-serve as far as support goes. They wanted to seed the evangelist and developer communities with a top notch, completely open phone so that they would then develop for and recommend Android to their followers. Had grandma and joe sixpack started using it…

So if everything went according to plan, why are they canceling it?

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#149

Post by btilly »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #141
btilly wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. Google never wanted to try to cut out the middle-men. Google didn't want to push the phone too much. They just wanted to put it out there to be able to let them know, "Here, look, this is what you can do with this technology at this price point." As was pointed out at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1529657 , Google achieved its aims. The Nexus One was a success. It can go away now. If you pay attention, yo…

It's the same strategy as Chrome. They could just have made another browser and pushed it via tie-ins, lock-ins and millions of dollars in advertising. Instead they rebuilt the browser from the ground up for speed and security. This prompted everyone else in the browser space to up their game too. Google is betting that they benefit more from a lot of competitive browsers, than from having an iron grip on a single br…

Well Chrome is a somewhat different strategy. Sure, Chrome tried to raise the bar. But Google has a lot of other uses for that browser technology. It is used internally, it shows up in Android, the JavaScript engine is usable in a stand-alone environment, it will be used in ChromeOS, etc. Google didn't just release it, say, "We've made our point" and then stop.

Google's strategy with the Nexus One strategy is an occasional strategy. If you're not planning to go into a line of business, it is a lot of money to spend for uncertain reward. That said, I'm quite sure that Google would not be adverse to using it again if they found a good reason to do so.

Re: Google pulls plug on Nexus One

#150

Post by kissickas »

kyleslattery wrote: post #122
bretthoerner wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They still sell the 3G. And that's kind of a tautology. You're tied to one manufacturer and one carrier. I can walk into the Verizon store and purchase the most expensive HTC phone and I know that I have the latest HTC on Verizon just like you know you have the latest Apple device on AT&T. A lack of choice doesn't mean you automatically have something better in your hands.

Sorry, I should have been clearer: you can't buy an iPhone that isn't running iOS 4. Yes, it may be older hardware, but you're guaranteed to have the newest version of the software.

Which, ironically, completely crashes my iPhone 3. Thankfully, downgrading is still an option.
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