Android
Dear, Google: Please adopt a more traditional method to sell phones
May 11, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Google Android
Next week, Google will host thousands of Android developers and enthusiasts at its annual Google I/O conference in San Francisco. In anticipation of this, Androinica.com hopes to give some totally unauthorized, completely unnecessary, but wholly-constructive criticism about how they can improve the operating system we all love so much.
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Hello, Android team. My name is Andrew and I’m the Managing Editor of Androinica.com, a website dedicated to Google Android news.
As you can imagine, people often ask me to recommend the best Android phone. Since January, I’ve pressed “Ctrl+V” to say the Nexus One. Until a few weeks ago, nothing running Android could rival the Nexus One’s slick hardware and amazing software; it easily should have been my next phone.
And there’s the rub, Google. The Nexus One should have been my third Android purchase, but I never bought it because of your unique phone model. T-Mobile won’t let me apply my upgrade to a Nexus, AT&T won’t subsidize it at all, and I won’t pay full asking price if I’ll still be chained to one network. As a result, my eyes are focused on other pastures, and the best Android phone will sadly not be included in my arsenal of gadgets.
Google, I think it’s time you become a real phone company. I know you say that your goal is just to show “what Android is capable of,” but the best way to do that is to put the best product in the most hands. I don’t think you can do that under your current model.
PROBLEM #1 – Access
It takes a great leap of faith to purchase a phone sight unseen. The Nexus One’s online-only distribution method is severely limiting because it reduces the pool of potential consumers. Not everyone follows gadget blogs or wants to purchase a $500 phone they can’t hold in a store. Heck, the majority of Americans don’t shop online for anything. Sadly, even some Sprint and Verizon customers willing to take that leap are unable to because for whatever reason, those carriers backed out on the promised CDMA Nexus One.
People want to touch something before they buy it. Despite what any early adopter tells you, people buy phones based on what’s best at their carrier. That’s why smartphones don’t outsell feature phones yet, and it’s precisely why the Nexus One’s sales charts don’t reflect the phone’s virtues.
Every time I walk into T-Mobile to pay my bill, there’s a customer looking to upgrade asking, “What’s a good phone that you have here?” The Nexus One is never mentioned. Phones are sold by salespeople, yet your current model has created a policy in which salespeople do not acknowledge your product’s existence unless the customer prompts them. I know you didn’t intend for the Nexus One to be the best-selling phone on the market, but you should at least give it a shot at outselling the myTouch or Cliq XT.
PROBLEM #2 – Price
I don’t know the inner-workings of your deal with carriers, but I can tell you that it’s a big roadblock in purchasing your phones. The American consumer has been spoiled by a system that rewards loyalty with deals on expensive phones. Your current method for selling phones asks for loyalty with no rewards.
It’s time to work out the same kind of deals HTC, Motorola, and Samsung have with carriers. Provide the inventory and let them sell it in-store at a sensible price. Many customers balk at paying $529 for an AT&T-compatible Nexus One. Why wouldn’t they when an iPhone can be had for half that price on a new contract? I’m sure having a manufacturing partner complicates matters, but find a way. I’d love to give you some of my money but I just can’t give you all of it.
If all you care about is giving something cool for early adopters to play with, you’re doing a hell of a job. Maybe that’s really all you care about. But if your end game is to promote the OS and your services, attracting regular folks is what will trigger more Android adoption. Put your products in stores, and I’m sure you’ll see them in more people’s possession.
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![The Nexus One is not a “flop”, it is an experiment [OPINION]](/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/nexus-one.jpg)
The biggest plus the Nexus One has over any other Android device is updates. Since it comes straight from Google, us N1 owners will be enjoying 2.2 while other phones are still being updated with 2.1.
I'm really happy with my N1 even with the Incredible hitting the market and the EVO around the corner – I have no carrier standing in the way of a pure Android experience and updates as soon as they are available.
I was waiting for the N1 on Sprint. Now, I feel like there's no phone for me to get. EVO won't get updates, Sense UI is a pain, and Cyanogen won't ever get ported to it. So what do I do? It's a bad situation to be in. I also don't care for the Nexus Two, or whatever, if it has a keyboard. I want a CDMA N1.
Sorry, I completely disagree with this post. The point of the Nexus One is to try and change the way Americans buy mobile service.
The fact of the matter is, you SHOULDN'T be buying "subsidized" phones, because they aren't subsidized, they are financed. You pay and extra $25 a month over 2 years to save $300 on a phone. That is not a good deal at all. And yeah, you have to pay what the phone costs up front, but getting the N1 and TMobile service without a "subsidized" price saved you almost $1500 over the life of the phone.
Good on Google for trying to break Americans of their stupid short term economics. Maybe they can do the same at the national level.
I hope Google continues to sell device online, and not through the carriers. The updates coming from Google and the lack of a bolt on UI (Sense) make me very willing to spend a little extra to get a lot more.
Vanilla Android for Life!
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I don't disagree with many of your points, but I personally like the model. While it might not single handedly rewrite the rules of the cellular industry in one fell swoop, it does obviously serve a certain demographic. It's like the iphone vs android vs RIM wars – why does google *have* to 'win' that war? As long as they're successful(they seem to be), keep up support(hopefully unlike the early adoption android users, this is more of a decent baseline to keep up for longer) and keep releasing awesome stuff(they do), then is it inherently wrong that they're trying something different that wasn't a hit out of the park on day one? This industry, like most tech industries, behave like TV and film execs – they want a HIT. They want it NOW. No time for allowing something to grow!
You are missing the point. With paying full price for the phone, you are able to get the cheaper plan (save 20 bucks per month) and come out ahead after 24 months. It actually saves you 120 in the long run…
Not really. The US model doesn't draw a difference between monthly plans for subsidized and unsubsidized phones. Even if I pay full price for the phone, I'm still going to get the same phone I'd normally get. There's no savings there.
So well put I couldn't add anything if i wanted to. All I want to do is upgrade on my family plan is that too much to ask? I like the form factor (even the soft buttons at the bottom) LOVE the hardware and software / os.
my only problem is if i go spend 529 on the nexus one and they come out with the new one tomorrow i will b pissed so i stuck waiting for the legend to come out for att to hold me over till the nexus two comes out
@kebernet
Your assuming that the money you spend now will be worth the same two years from now which isn't true. As you said, the true cost of the phone is spread over the life of a plan. Each payment is made with money that is worth less then the previous payment due to inflation. So in the long run you'll most likely end up with the same true cost as if you had paid for the phone in full up front. It makes it a littler easier on the wallet for people on a tighter budget.
But thats also ignoring the fact that you might want to upgrade to a new phone before you contract is up, which most of us want to do…often….
Back to your original statement, It makes more sense for people who are trying to save money to get the 'subsidized' plan and spread the cost out over the 2 years but it makes more sense for people with a lot of phone envy to pay in full so they can upgrade more often and at a lower cost (if they can afford paying in full each time)
Let's just look at GSM carriers in the USA (T-mobile, AT&T). Let's say you already have an older phone with a data plan. You now want a Nexus One because it will receive Google's OS updates quickly. Being able to buy directly from Google allows you not to cancel your old contract. You just swap your SIM card from your old phone to the Nexus One. I'm sure that must be helpful to quite a few people. Now, I do not know if Google has already developed and made CDMA Nexus 1 phones that work on Verizon and Sprint, but assuming they have, I don't see anything stopping GOogle from offering them on their own site.
Too many Android phones… And software upgrades are manufacturer dependent. While some phones will have the most recent upgrade, others will have old versions of the software. This is not a big issue for techfreaks, who can install unofficial hacked and upgraded versions of the OS on every Android phone.
However, for the average user, this could be a big issue and draw major disappointments over the Android platform…
Maybe everyone should stick with Google Phones only, which receives upgrades first, but this would be defeating the whole open source philosophy of this platform and turn into an iPhone-like business model.
Just a thought…
Nice work. Google announced they are closing their online store selling the NexusOne. You ruined it for us!