Nexus One’s slow sales blamed on online-only strategy
mobile.venturebeat.com
mobile.venturebeat.com
But we're a pretty small portion of the market. If the wanted big commercial success, they had to market to people who weren't like them.
When Google starts advertising and the price goes down to $99, and it doesn't sell then, then you should be worried. But right now, Google is doing everything possible to prevent people from even knowing about this thing -- and it's still selling well. When Google starts putting Android billboards on every open space in a major city (as Apple does with iPhone advertising), then you can start comparing it to the iPhone. But right now, this is an ultra-niche product that normal people don't even know about.
If you did a real survey asking what 'Android' or 'Nexus One' are, I'd be curious to know how many knew (I'm guessing about 10%)
The thing with Customer Service is that when you don't need it, sure everything is fine. When you do need it, you want to be sure it's there. My problem is, with Google you can't be sure. And that could be problems with ordering the phone, warranty service, or whatever other unforeseen problem comes about.
Look at Google's history, and with whatever product they offer, be it Gmail, Apps, AdSense, Adwords, and you easily find the Customer Service complaints. For buying a phone, I have a choice. For Adsense/Adwords, not so much.
No I didn't, I replied.
a) "Sorry, the Nexus One phone is not available in your contry or region" message at google.com/phone,
and b) when it is available, it is €599 or (€199 + €45/mo for two years). When I saw the ad, my first thought was "great, you get to keep it for yourself". Outside of enthusiasts, no one is going to get phone for 600 euros.
And the Droid doesn't have this problem?
no one is going to get phone for 600 euros
Except all the people that do? The original iPhone was this expensive and didn't even have 3G. And yet people bought them in droves.
Yes, it does. But it is still more available than N1.
> Except all the people that do? The original iPhone was this expensive and didn't even have 3G. And yet people bought them in droves.
Original iPhone was $399 and $499. €599 is north of $800, thats more than 1/3 more expensive. And I also remember that the original iPhone was met with collective yawn on this side of pond and almost nobody bought unsubsidized.
On the other hand, if you buy the N1 at full price, Tmobile in the US has a set of unsubsidized plans (called "Even More Plus") that are a lot cheaper than the normal subsidized plans that they, and the other US carriers, usually offer.
If a lack of in-store sales is the primary culprit that means that hundreds of thousands of people show up at the store having never heard of the iPhone/Droid/N1 and end up buying it. I highly doubt that's the case. People go to the store to try/buy a smartphone they've already heard of elsewhere. If Google had spent more money marketing the N1 their sales would've been better. Also, their timing was awful.
I could also try the phone in the store before buying it, to make sure I liked it enough to warrant a 30-day trial.
The N1 will never do as well as the in-store phones. Eventually, google will understand this and release it to the stores. Until then, it will sell very slowly.
Right, and they may not care. The main purpose of the N1 may be a warning to carriers that they can't cripple their phones too much because there will always be an open alternative.