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Onward to Nexus 2 ((article about N1 no actual info on N2))

http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/rehashplus/post.htm?id=63019568&scid=rvhm_ms
Gen 3 (Nexus One) came out mere weeks after the Milestone, using state-of-the-art technology not proven in the market. A shock to Motorola, certainly a shock to me, and I bought the Nexus One immediately when the specs were confirmed. How did it leapfrog Motorola's efforts? Probably because whoever made the Nexus One did not need to justify anything, project profits, etc. The only thing they needed to do was to make the Nexus COOL and to make it the bee's knees.
By all estimates, the Nexus One was a failure. Just because it had small sales numbers, limited distribution by telcos. But anyone who wanted it can buy it. For most people outside of the US, it's expensive like hell because it has none of the telco subsidy bull****. But it has no locks, no telco overlays, no badly customized custom user interfaces, it's easy to root, to hack, and to make it the phone of your dreams. It's the best handset I ever owned. Ever. Speaking of today, of course.
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The bolded really hit home.
I sincerely hope Google doesnt flat out give up on it. That they do have a sequel that will be available to all carriers. Nexus One pushed everything forward and back to back with the Droid legitimized Android as a premiere (and to many) THE premiere mobile OS. The amount of powerful handsets that have been dropped the last 7 months is ridiculous and only due to Android. Otherwise we'd still be stuck on Winmo 6.5 , an iPhone with no retina display or multitasking ,or a dead WebOS. Regardless of sales figures the Nexus one was the most important handset to drop this year.
Sadly because of those low sales figures Im not sure if we'll actually see a pure Google Nexus 2.
All these phones without colored trackballs have me worried too =-O.
p.s leave some comments...I tend to support bloggers/writers who can write without gross bias. This guy also happens to love N1.

Generally agree, except for the part of "By all estimates, the Nexus One was a failure". Low sales number don't equal failure. Look at PS3, they just broke even on that thing, and they sold A LOT.
Besides, google never planned to make money on phones. They are not htc. They don't make phones. They plan to make money on the OS and partnerships with manufacturers who want to run Android (+ google ads).
People forget that Nexus One, although branded as google phone, is actually an htc headset.

DarkDvr said:
Generally agree, except for the part of "By all estimates, the Nexus One was a failure". Low sales number don't equal failure. Look at PS3, they just broke even on that thing, and they sold A LOT.
Besides, google never planned to make money on phones. They are not htc. They don't make phones. They plan to make money on the OS and partnerships with manufacturers who want to run Android (+ google ads).
People forget that Nexus One, although branded as google phone, is actually an htc headset.
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It didnt shake anything up.
Most people have no Fn clue wth a Nexus One is.
Sales figures were laughable.
Thats what people will measure it by.
As a piece of technology it was massive success. Considering the BRUTAL bias and flat out bogus reviews it received , the 3g, wonky soft buttons , and MT problems you'd expect it to be a total dud.It was anything but.

xManMythLegend said:
It didnt shake anything up.
Most people have no Fn clue wth a Nexus One is.
Sales figures were laughable.
Thats what people will measure it by.
As a piece of technology it was massive success. Considering the BRUTAL bias and flat out bogus reviews it received , the 3g, wonky soft buttons , and MT problems you'd expect it to be a total dud.It was anything but.
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True, but I think we have to understand that goal was never to sell millions of Nexus Ones and make tons of money. N1 is kinda like a Android demo phone. Something that manufacturers and interested developers/users can try and see where Android is going, what it really is. That's the real goal, not to sell it as a regular money-making gizmo.
I think in that sense, N1 was a huge success. Think about it. Manuf. and developers tried it out, and loved it. Proof is that immediately manufacturers like htc, motorola and samsung (not even mentioning logitech, gm, cisco...) jumped on the bandwagon, seeing the potential in it.
I think the real hardware "money makers" were always intended to be Evo 4G, Galaxy S, some lower-end android phones that AT&T is launching.. Those are your standard gizmos whos success you can measure in sales numbers.
G1 -> Nexus One are special, their success is not to be measured in sales, but in exposure and future developments.

I have yet to handle any phone that feels as solid and expensive as my Nexus One.

I'd love to get my hands on a Nexus Two.
It doesn't even have spec rumors yet and I want it. I love the openness of it and that it's the one that gets Googles focus. Love it!

There won't be a nexus two.
Google is sitting on a pile of Nexus Ones and is trying to unload them anyway they can. It's painfully obvious retail hardware is not a business they want to further pursue.
Your best bet for another phone as open as the nexus will be the next developer phone, or something from Nokia's brand.

Google, give me a Nexus Two with the following:
4.3" Screen (720p-ish resolution)
Next-gen processor (hummingbird? or one of those duel-core cpus?)
768+ MB of RAM/ROM
Front Facing camera (VGA is fine)
8+ MP regular camera
Optical trackpad (see blackberry)
Hardware back, menu, home, search buttons
HDMI out
8GB internal storage (16 would be nice too )

Google have never actually said that the Nexus One was a failure right? They said that the Web Store is a failure as it didn't meet their expectations. The Nexus One not selling so many units is because it was only available on a failing web store. When Google announced they were closing the web store they said that Nexus One's will be sold in retail stores, they didn't say they are discontinuing the product like how Microsoft have with the Kin phones.
And Google have said that the reason the Nexus One didn't appear on Verizon and Sprint was because Google changed the sales model early on (choosing to close the web store but announcing it much later) and as the networks were going to get equivalent phones to the Nexus One, Google and the networks decided to pull out. I reckon the reason why the Nexus One was delayed so much on the Vodafone network was due to the fact that Google were changing their sales model.
However the Nexus One did achieve a goal of pushing manufactures to produce high quality phones. The Nexus One specs are now like a minimum for all future smartphones.

The nexus one was being produced at the same time as all the other HTC lineup, it's actually the lower end of HTC current snapdragon line.
Had google not bid on this specific model, we would proably be seeing this exact phone Labeled T-Mobile MyTouch HD or something without and unlockable bootloader.

do you guys honestly think google expected to sell millions of nexus one's when all they did is throw up a few ads on a few websites? they didnt do any primetime TV ads, nothing. you honestly think that google didnt do that on purpose? no way would they have expected huge sales with that kind of marketing platform (or lack thereof). they wanted a develper phone, and that's what they got. of course if they bought primetime TV space like apple does, then they would have sold a lot more. i dont see how people fail to see this logic.

JCopernicus said:
There won't be a nexus two.
Google is sitting on a pile of Nexus Ones and is trying to unload them anyway they can. It's painfully obvious retail hardware is not a business they want to further pursue.
Your best bet for another phone as open as the nexus will be the next developer phone, or something from Nokia's brand.
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If that'd be true in any way, u'd see discounted prices and specials for N1.
Do you? Cause if you find one, I'd love to be proven wrong (my friend wants nothing but N1 now).

DarkDvr said:
If that'd be true in any way, u'd see discounted prices and specials for N1.
Do you? Cause if you find one, I'd love to be proven wrong (my friend wants nothing but N1 now).
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They still have an investment in them, they're not going to willingly lose that money.
My comment was directed at their current strategy of selling them in "retail stores all over the place".

RogerPodacter said:
do you guys honestly think google expected to sell millions of nexus one's when all they did is throw up a few ads on a few websites? they didnt do any primetime TV ads, nothing. you honestly think that google didnt do that on purpose? no way would they have expected huge sales with that kind of marketing platform (or lack thereof). they wanted a develper phone, and that's what they got. of course if they bought primetime TV space like apple does, then they would have sold a lot more. i dont see how people fail to see this logic.
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EXACTLY. You guys are jumping on a bandwagon of "N1 was a fail". It's completely wrong. Stop believing stuff that some trolls write on a forum.
It's extremelly shallow to think that all things that are released are released to sell as many as possible. Or that pure "items sold" would give you an idea of how successfull item was.
There are many, many cases of special edition cars, stereo systems, you name it. Some items are designed and sold for a different purpose. To increase awareness, to hit a small portion of the market. To create a sense of "rarity" or "urgency", etc etc.
Want proof? Ok. Remember the GMAIL model. First year or two you could ONLY get gmail by INVITE. If you didn't know, google wrote a book on "Virus Marketing". Creating a sense of rareness, coolness and priviledge towards a certain item. It works, they're not idiots. They are doing the same thing with N1. Just enough marketing to sell them, but not enough to sate people with the idea. Think about it.
In a way, you're holding a rare (or soon to be), barely advertised, special edition Android 2 phone. Don't complain that not everyone bought one. It was never meant to be.
Besides.. don't be naive. If google (one of biggest web advertisers in the world) would want to REALLY advertise their phone... Trust you me, they'd advertise the BEJESUS out of it. They'd sell millions worldwide. That's just not their goal.

JCopernicus said:
They still have an investment in them, they're not going to willingly lose that money.
My comment was directed at their current strategy of selling them in "retail stores all over the place".
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Changing from online sales to store sales does NOT equal failed product.
Even if google indeed got dissapointed with online sale model, it doesn't mean that N1 is an epic fail, as quote from first post states.

I never said it was a failed product, they've already turned a profit on it.
Changing your primary business model shows your product wasn't a great success.

JCopernicus said:
I never said it was a failed product, they've already turned a profit on it.
Changing your primary business model shows your product wasn't a great success.
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Correct but the product that wasn't a success is the Google Web Store, not the Nexus One.
The Web Store failed, the Nexus One didn't.

Sarg92 said:
Correct but the product that wasn't a success is the Google Web Store, not the Nexus One.
The Web Store failed, the Nexus One didn't.
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This is more in general, and not directed specifically at you, Sarg, but at some of the similar comments along the same lines.
I'm pretty sure Google was aware of these things prior to selling the N1:
1 - Most people in the states buy phones subsidized from the carriers
2 - Most people don't want to shell out almost $600 for a phone
3 - The economy kinda sucks
Why would they proceed, knowing the above, if they intended the N1 to be as successful as the iPhone?
Perhaps, just perhaps, Google is aware of a small but serious community of people who love technology and want the latest and greatest. Perhaps Google's goal all along was to target a select few and push the development of the OS, the apps, and the general market for Android devices.
To me, the N1 is really like phase 2 or 3 in a lengthy strategic plan that is, in all aspects, going rather well.
1 - Secure an OS (Purchase of Android)
2 - Develop and market and OS (Release of G1)
3 - Grow the base
a - Advertise Android​b - Put out more Android devices​c - Release a killer device to spur OS, app, and marketshare development​4 - Drop more serious Android devices (and we're seeing a ton now)
5 - World domination
The indent feature on 3a, b, and c didn't work quite like planned, but c'est la vie. You get the idea.

th0r615 said:
Google, give me a Nexus Two with the following:
4.3" Screen (720p-ish resolution)
Next-gen processor (hummingbird? or one of those duel-core cpus?)
768+ MB of RAM/ROM
Front Facing camera (VGA is fine)
8+ MP regular camera
Optical trackpad (see blackberry)
Hardware back, menu, home, search buttons
HDMI out
8GB internal storage (16 would be nice too )
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Click to collapse
I could imagine with Gingerbread coming in October, and the fact that the Dev 2 phone (myTouch) doesn't fit any of the requirements, that we'll see a pretty updated Dev 3 phone designed specifically for Gingerbread.
That's would make logical sense to me anyway.

I wish nexus one had more storage (4GB or higher) because it can't rely on memory card as it may fail. In addition, more storage can let me store more music on the phone itself and free the memory card for video.
Generally I am happy with nexus one and I think the migration from WM is a right decision.

Why I think Google went to Samsung

Alright, I don't know how many threads there are on this, but I'm here just give my 2 cents. I don't own an Nexus S (but am hoping to buy one next week!).
Why Google went to Samsung for this phone:
Most importantly the screen. Obviously Android's main competitor here is Apple and the iPhone. Right now, the only 2 displays that really stand out in the market are the Retina Display, and the sAMOLED from Samsung. Samsung already has the technology and resources to create their competitive Super AMOLED screen, making them perfect for Google's need to compete with the RD.
The GPUs Samsung uses. Another reason why Apple is doing so well is because of the Appstore, and more specifically, the vast amount of games available on it. Gingerbread makes game-developing for android devs more extensive, and with the extremely capable GPUs Samsung is pumping out (GPUs better than that of the iPhone), it makes it a great manufacturer for Google to partner with to show their commitment to gaming.
Samsung's use of the Hummingbird. Google understands that it is more efficient than the Snapdragons, and is showing all manufacturers that Android will start to be shaped around the Hummingbird.
To show its diversity with manufacturers.
I don't think HTC was particularly interested in doing another "Nexus" phone.
Recognize Samsung for its commitment to Android
At the core though, it is all about competing with Apple. Google really needed to put something out there to compete with the iPhone 4 (with the FFC, processor, smoother OS, and gaming), a phone that won't be upgraded for 7-8 months. Yeah there were a lot of facepalms about this device (lack of the microSD slot, no HD recording, etc.), but other than that, this is the best Google can really do at this point. Google has released 2 Nexus phones within one year, so we can be sure that another one will be seen soon, to counter the iPhone 5.

nearblack said:
Alright, I don't know how many threads there are on this, but I'm here just give my 2 cents. I don't own an Nexus S (but am hoping to buy one next week!).
Why Google went to Samsung for this phone:
Most importantly the screen. Obviously Android's main competitor here is Apple and the iPhone. Right now, the only 2 displays that really stand out in the market are the Retina Display, and the sAMOLED from Samsung. Samsung already has the technology and resources to create their competitive Super AMOLED screen, making them perfect for Google's need to compete with the RD.
The GPUs Samsung uses. Another reason why Apple is doing so well is because of the Appstore, and more specifically, the vast amount of games available on it. Gingerbread makes game-developing for android devs more extensive, and with the extremely capable GPUs Samsung is pumping out (GPUs better than that of the iPhone), it makes it a great manufacturer for Google to partner with to show their commitment to gaming.
Samsung's use of the Hummingbird. Google understands that it is more efficient than the Snapdragons, and is showing all manufacturers that Android will start to be shaped around the Hummingbird.
To show its diversity.
I don't think HTC was particularly interested in doing another "Nexus" phone.
Recognize Samsung for its commitment to Android
At the core though, it is all about competing with Apple. Google really needed to put something out there to compete with the iPhone 4 (with the FFC, processor, smoother OS, and gaming), a phone that won't be upgraded for 7-8 months. Yeah there were a lot of facepalms about this device (lack of the microSD slot, no HD recording, etc.), but other than that, this is the best Google can really do at this point. Google has released 2 Nexus phones within one year, so we can be sure that another one will be seen soon, to counter the iPhone 5.
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I dont think its about competing with apple as much as it is showcasing the latest and greatest of the Android OS

slowz3r said:
I dont think its about competing with apple as much as it is showcasing the latest and greatest of the Android OS
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it's always about competing with Apple. They showcasing the latest and greatest of Android, to show consumers why they should buy Android phones over other phones (such as the iPhone).

Thank for opening a brand new thread for things being discussed time n time again since last couple of months You observations are warm heartedly welcomed

nearblack said:
it's always about competing with Apple. They showcasing the latest and greatest of Android, to show consumers why they should buy Android phones over other phones (such as the iPhone).
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if it truly was about competition Google would pull all the google apps off the Appstore

slowz3r said:
if it truly was about competition Google would pull all the google apps off the Appstore
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it's all about the bottom line. they put their apps on the appstore to spread their brand name. and, the google apps on the appstore don't have all the features that they do on android, and always get updated later.

nearblack said:
it's all about the bottom line. they put their apps on the appstore to spread their brand name. and, the google apps on the appstore don't have all the features that they do on android, and always get updated later.
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i think to truly compete with apple google needs to brand their own hardware, and what i mean by that is Not have any type of other company branding, no Samsung, no HTC none of that just Google Nexus

slowz3r said:
i think to truly compete with apple google needs to brand their own hardware, and what i mean by that is Not have any type of other company branding, no Samsung, no HTC none of that just Google Nexus
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agreed. But I don't think Google plans on doing that anytime soon

nearblack said:
agreed. But I don't think Google plans on doing that anytime soon
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ya sadly
Also there needs to be more exposure of the Android brand, people know Android as "droid" thanks to damn people at verizon

Who says Samsung didn't approach Google?

slowz3r said:
i think to truly compete with apple google needs to brand their own hardware, and what i mean by that is Not have any type of other company branding, no Samsung, no HTC none of that just Google Nexus
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Well if they just made it Google Nexus than i don't think Samsung or HTC or any other manufacturers would want their hardware in it, meaning Google would have to invest millions in factories to produce Google branded hardware. Even if they did all this to produce an actual 'pure (and not just the software)' Nexus it would still sell less than the iPhone because most people going for Android will get something on their current provider because a phone on contract is cheaper than a unlocked phone, whereas iOS seekers only have 1 current phone to go for.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

slowz3r said:
if it truly was about competition Google would pull all the google apps off the Appstore
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Lolwut?
You're forgetting where Google makes the majority of it's money.
Oh yeah, advertising. Lol. Just because Apple is a competitor to "Google Mobile" doesn't make it a competitor to "Google Search". I use Chrome on my Macbook Air. Are you saying Google should stop supporting OS X as well?

Anderdroid said:
Lolwut?
You're forgetting where Google makes the majority of it's money.
Oh yeah, advertising. Lol. Just because Apple is a competitor to "Google Mobile" doesn't make it a competitor to "Google Search". I use Chrome on my Macbook Air. Are you saying Google should stop supporting OS X as well?
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no, i didnt say anything close to that, what his argument was that Google and Apple are in competition, my response to that was if it was truly a competition why offer some of the hallmarks of Android on an iOS device

slowz3r said:
ya sadly
Also there needs to be more exposure of the Android brand, people know Android as "droid" thanks to damn people at verizon
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****, I know! Its so annoying!
Dumbass: "Well howdy do? You using a Droid phone right there"
Me: "No, its an Android phone"
Dumbass: "oh, like them robots they send into space?"
Me: "-_- really?"
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

hansmrtn said:
****, I know! Its so annoying!
Dumbass: "Well howdy do? You using a Droid phone right there"
Me: "No, its an Android phone"
Dumbass: "oh, like them robots they send into space?"
Me: "-_- really?"
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Click to collapse
First commercial to that i saw with "Andy the Android" was the Evo commercial

slowz3r said:
ya sadly
Also there needs to be more exposure of the Android brand, people know Android as "droid" thanks to damn people at verizon
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Click to collapse
I agree. As an example, I have a not-so-knowledgeable friend who has an iPhone. He was envying the Vibrant I had at the time while *****ing about Apple/AT&T. I told him he should just make the switch to Android and his response was that he "couldn't get a Droid because it is only on Verizon."
It took several minutes to explain that Droid is a brand, Android is an OS, and he could in fact switch to an Android powered device without switching carriers.
So many people still see phones like the Captivate, for example, as being an isolated feature-phone instead of being a full-featured smartphone that is part of the Android ecosystem.
It would be nearly impossible to get device manufacturers and carriers to change their advertising game but I really think Google would benefit greatly from a few solid ad campaigns.
As another example, I absolutely blew my aunts mind when I explained that having 4 completely different phones from different manufacturers in the past 2 years was really not a logistical problem because they all run the same OS and all of my apps/settings/messages/etc could easily be moved from one to the other.
Granted, neophytes and morons are always going to be just that, but there are so many people out there who just don't know any better and think that Apple not only invented the smartphone, but that it's a mobile landscape where it's Apple vs. 1000 little guys and some of them happen to be "powered by Google"
</rant> and I apologize for going so far off topic.

I agree with more mass advertising. besides the droid commercials, I havent really seen any manufacturers advertise the Android OS, just their hardware (screen size, 4g)

slowz3r said:
i think to truly compete with apple google needs to brand their own hardware, and what i mean by that is Not have any type of other company branding, no Samsung, no HTC none of that just Google Nexus
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I don't think there's too much wrong with a manufacturer's name on a product as long as it doesn't take center stage. On the front of the Nexus S, there is no carrier logo. That's the biggest and most recognizable branding you'll find on a phone nowadays. The only typed-out words we see are on the back cover, and still it only says Google and Samsung in roughly the same font. I think they did a nice job with keeping the phone "plain" in that regard. Also since Google is square in the middle of the cover, I think most peoples eyes will go to that first.

They chose Samsung for profit ! Look at the quantity of Galaxy S that Samsung sold. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Google acquires Motorola Mobility

http://investor.google.com/releases/2011/0815.html
Game changer? Thoughts as to what it means for us xoomers?

I was coming to post this as well.. Friggin sweet... The true Google device..

dubsjw27 said:
http://investor.google.com/releases/2011/0815.html
Game changer? Thoughts as to what it means for us xoomers?
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Wow. This one is being reported all across the interwebs at the moment.
First of all if I were HTC and Samsung I would be LIVID right now. Both companies have stacked a lot of chips on Android and may now be seeing that as not as sure a bet as they thought. It would make sense for Google to now keep its flagship devices "in house" and have them made by Moto Mobile. This is going to freeze both companies out of the plum position of producing the concept devices for each new version of Android.
What does this foretell for the future? First of all I would not be surprised to see both HTC and Samsung trying to repair connections with Microsoft, and looking again at making a larger commitment to Windows Phone 7.
For we Xoom users, it heavily improves the odds of us seeing an official ICS release by the end of the year. That was already likely since the Xoom was being used to demo the software, but now will be even more so.
Interesting days ahead.

It gives me a little more confidence that the xoom won't be left behind as quickly as we all thought it would be.

Great move for all Android partners
If anything, this protects HTC and Samsung's Android business from patents claims against them. Google will use it's new patent muscle as a deterrent. Google stated Motorola will be a licensee just like the others. I'm sure all new GED's will be Moto but I doubt the influence will extend much beyond that.

Well, I want this:
Motorola has a lot of patents on mobile / smartphone technology.
So, I want Google to use those patents to protect Android!
I don't know how ... but I dreamed this to shut up that Apple patent troll.
Probably, Google intention was mainly for Motorola patents.

linuxdood said:
If anything, this protects HTC and Samsung's Android business from patents claims against them. Google will use it's new patent muscle as a deterrent. Google stated Motorola will be a licensee just like the others. I'm sure all new GED's will be Moto but I doubt the influence will extend much beyond that.
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I agree that this is a good move in the long-term for Android as a platform...but I think you underestimate the influence that being the sole source of GEDs will give Moto. They will be the glass of fashion.
Google will continue to provide the software to all it's partners, sure...but I think we are coming up very swiftly on a new synthesis of hardware and software...basically the Apple model accepted as the norm. Apple vs Google/Moto vs Microsoft/Nokia.
My question now is...who buys RIM. My guess is Microsoft.

Well, my day just got better.

Google has been outspoken about unlockable bootloaders. Could this mean all upcoming Google/Motorola devices will be fully unlockable?

Moto blur is now officially killed
How sweet ...

UPDATE:
So, the purchase is to defend Android ...
Update: More quotes from Android partners after the break.
Peter Chou, CEO, HTC:
We welcome the news of today's acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem.
Bert Nordberg, President & CEO, Sony Ericsson:
I welcome Google's commitment to defending Android and its partners.
Jong-Seok Park, President & CEO, LG:
We welcome Google's commitment to defending Android and its partners.
Click to expand...
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Maybe they will purchase htc, samsung, etc.....

I expect this kind of news in the future:
GOOGLE is suing Apple for some (Motorola) patents infringement.
Then in negotiation:
Apple: So, what's now? How do we settle?
Google: Easy, drop all your lousy law suits on Android manufacturers
That would be epic!

armychris28210 said:
Maybe they will purchase htc, samsung, etc.....
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Yes! And then they will concentrate on one phone, to make it perfect with all their new know how. To enhance the security they get rid of the open source ****, and make it perfectly usable and easy by integrating it to Google Music as the only way to put music on the device. It will be called the GPhone and it will...ohhh...wait...

gogol said:
UPDATE:
So, the purchase is to defend Android ...
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Well it certainly is, at least partially. Patents are the big deal these days.
However, as for the parts of the deal that are about getting an in house hardware maker being downplayed...what else are the brass of HTC, Sony Ericsson and LG going to say?
It reminds me of the losers on The Bachelor "He totally like made the right choice...I really think this is for the best and hope they will be very happy...."
We will see how they really feel if the announcements of additional WM7 phones start picking up speed.

>First of all if I were HTC and Samsung I would be LIVID right now.
Co-opetition is the nature of business (and a lot of other areas). Things are always more complicated than the black-or-white, friend-or-foe picture people try to paint. MS is in with Nokia, but other co's are still making WP7 phones. It all depends on what makes sense (read: profit).
That the deal happens is not because of Moto Mobo's hardware capability, but for its patent portfolio.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903392904576509953821437960.html
>It would make sense for Google to now keep its flagship devices "in house" and have them made by Moto Mobile.
No, it doesn't. That would go against everything that it has built Android to be, which is an "open", device- (and vendor-) agnostic OS. If it wants to destroy Android, that would be the surest way to go about it.
>For we Xoom users, it heavily improves the odds of us seeing an official ICS release by the end of the year.
I don't see it changes the picture any wrt the Xoom. As a GED device (for US model), the odds were always in favor of Xoom getting official ICS--and for most Teg2 tabs from major vendors, for that matter.
The acquisition will take place over some months, long after the Xoom has come and gone. I don't see Moto getting any "nicer" with supporting the Xoom just because it will be part of Goog. The Xoom is just one of many Moto products, and its replacements are already in the pipe.

e.mote said:
No, it doesn't. That would go against everything that it has built Android to be, which is an "open", device- (and vendor-) agnostic OS. If it wants to destroy Android, that would be the surest way to go about it.
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That is not completely accurate. Google has always selected one vendor for each version to develop the flagship GED device. The vendors have competed heavily to get those contracts since they involved a lot of interaction with the software design team and a leg up on smooth integration.
Now, it will make sense for Moto to have those prototype devices, as it means that Google will be able to control the process even further.
Android is vendor-agnostic, but each version has always had one vendor who was first amongst equals...and that will now be Moto.

RonnieFoxxx said:
Google has been outspoken about unlockable bootloaders. Could this mean all upcoming Google/Motorola devices will be fully unlockable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlocked, not unlockable!

>Now, it will make sense for Moto to have those prototype devices, as it means that Google will be able to control the process even further.
I don't see this as a big deal. Having the Xoom released first didn't help Moto any wrt to sales, nor was having a GED a benefit to the user experience. Xoom users do get updates a bit faster, but other devices have value-added functionality (eg SD card, Splashtop, etc) that the Xoom lacks, OOB.
As far as "controlling the experience," that remains to be seen. It's hard to say with this 1st-gen as a gauge, as HC has been an ongoing beta for ICS. We'll have to see what Goog will do with its newly acquired hardware arm. I think it should be emphasized that the acquisition is more to shore up its patent stash than to "control the Android experience." Goog's failed 6.5B attempt to acquire Nortel's patents is indicative of its need in this area.

rschenck said:
Wow. This one is being reported all across the interwebs at the moment.
First of all if I were HTC and Samsung I would be LIVID right now. Both companies have stacked a lot of chips on Android and may now be seeing that as not as sure a bet as they thought. It would make sense for Google to now keep its flagship devices "in house" and have them made by Moto Mobile. This is going to freeze both companies out of the plum position of producing the concept devices for each new version of Android.
What does this foretell for the future? First of all I would not be surprised to see both HTC and Samsung trying to repair connections with Microsoft, and looking again at making a larger commitment to Windows Phone 7.
For we Xoom users, it heavily improves the odds of us seeing an official ICS release by the end of the year. That was already likely since the Xoom was being used to demo the software, but now will be even more so.
Interesting days ahead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't be silly, android is an open source project device manufacturers will still be able to put their customizations out and will still be shipping phones with old versions of android. This deal will have no impact on android device manufacturers other then patent protection
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

Is the end of Nexus inevitable? Silver Line to come soon..... Discussion

Hi there
We all must be hearing a lot of rumors about the end of Nexus Line by Google and Launch of Silver in upcoming year, by 2015 according to sources!
Well, according to my knowledge, the Nexus was introduced to increase the number of phones/tablets running Android in fast growing market which was dominated by Ipad/Iphone. As Google earns its 97% of profit due to advertisements, it was inevitable that if Google can increase the number of devices used, it would certainly mean more profit due to coaxing more users to its services and advertisement. This meant that although Google made some profit on Nexus devices but its main aim was to increase the android devices using Google Services like Youtube, Gmail, Google+.
Also, it was a way to provide "pure android experience" to the users free from all freezing which was mostly due to customization of android by different manufacturers.
Devices in the Nexus line do not have manufacturer or wireless carrier modifications to Android (such as custom graphical user interfaces), and have an unlockable bootloader to allow further development and end-user modification.Nexus devices are the first Android devices to receive updates to the operating system and recommended by the Android Open Source Project for Android software development.
PROJECT SILVER
Silver line basically is a way to control Samsung influence by Google. The concept is that if a device fulfills certain hardware and software criterias, they would be labelled as SILVER. The Google would ensure that these devices are first to be updated as Google would itself provide the expertise required in development of the android software. Not just that, Google would also give some subsidies which would ensure that if a developer wants a device to be silver, it would be earning more profit than a non silver device. The silver devices would also be kept in special cases in shops to attract more customers. It would also mean that any manufacturer around the world can take part in Silver project and the domination of Samsung, Sony, LG, HTC, Motorola and other big manufacturers would be directly challenged by Google.
This means we would be seeing phones which would be top-notch from small manufactures like MI (XIAOMI), OPPO.
In this regard, Google would also ensure that its services are kept while custom services provided by the manufacturer are kept to minimum!
Now the Google already has a big share in the market by Android's influence and thus it can still earn its profits by advertisement which is about 97%. Thus it does not need to put more nexus devices out there as it is directly challenged by Samsung. Now the competition has begun within Android itself which was with other OS before. The introduction of TIZEN by Samsung is a direct challenge to Android. Tizen's biggest strength in my opinion is that if you programme an app in tizen, you can use the same app in IOS , android and other platforms by just changing very little code!
The only thing I am not sure about is the price of Silver Devices. I am sure there would a tough competition but would that mean we would get the devices as cheap as Nexus line. We can not be sure as it could happen. Suppose the latest Oppo phone is labelled as silver and is selling for 300$, other manufacturers would be forced to keep their price down as nothing separates two Silver devices but we can not be sure as i mentioned before!
WHY I PREFER A NEXUS
I prefer Nexus devices over all others, not due to their development friendly nature but also they provide quick updates, top notch specifications at a very reasonable price.
Plus, Nexus devices are certain to get all CUSTOM ROMS and development is very quick compared to many other devices!
They also keep manufacturers to keep their price in check and they give you a pure android experience which I am not sure Project Silver can promise.
I just hope the Nexus line is always kept by Google. If they can keep on releasing one phone (4.7 inch) and two tablets ( 8 and 10) every year at least with their Silver Project and see if more consumers prefer Silver or Nexus and leave the choice to the consumers!
What do you prefer and give your reasons why you think it would be a good thing or a bad thing if Google gives up Nexus and starts Silver Project?
Update: Nexus is going to stay!! Hip Hip Hooray!
http://www.phonearena.com/news/The-...ay-but-Android-Silver-is-in-the-works_id57593

If affordability isn't hit I find no problem with silver program. But I don't think it wouldn't.
At least we will have motorola.

I don't know what others think but Nexus, Samsung and Apple is ending for me, Mipad (Xiaomi) is winning my heart.

This is good since the Nexus line isn't priced fairly world wide. A 16GB Nexus 5 cost like 550 USD in my country (Indonesia) and there's no 32GB version avaliable.
However, the Silver Line shouldn't just apply to high end phones, it should apply to all Android device if this project is to be fair.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

maidangisme said:
I don't know what others think but Nexus, Samsung and Apple is ending for me, Mipad (Xiaomi) is winning my heart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All MI products is taking my breath away with its awesome UI, price and hardware !

For now I'm not sure. Not all details about the silver platform are known. I wouldn't have a problem with GPE like devices sold as the Silver line. The downfall will come with the, probably, increased prices of the Silver devices. At least that would be a huge let down for me.
Hopefully companies as Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo and Motorola can fill the gap for high performance devices with a attractive price tag.

RichJo86 said:
Hopefully companies as Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo and Motorola can fill the gap for high performance devices with a attractive price tag.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xiaomi already did : Phone -MI2 and MI3, up coming Mipad.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

AnyRom said:
Xiaomi already did : Phone -MI2 and MI3, up coming Mipad.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but if the devices are not in stock... hopefully they can find a way to keep up with the demand.
The Mi3 64GB is only recently in stock if I'm correct, only the 16GB version was sold it small batches.

My problem with this silver program is that price will surely not be nexus levels and I doubt these silver edition phones will have the freedom that nexuses have. Just like Dev editions.... most of which still have restrictions you don't see on a nexus. Example, flashing any bootloader you want, no matter what version.
So I'm not very excited about this potential new direction.
Also, it will split up the current nexus community over multiple devices.

I see silver as mostly good and I am hoping this could put pressure on OEMS to update their phones in a truly timely manner. If this happens I would jump right back on the note bandwagon. I mostly curse touchwiz but they did integrate TW very nicely with the note series...I miss my spen
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I doubt the line will change much, likely just a branding change to help morons who think the Droid phone is the benchmark android phone.

Some kind of new standards are needed because of new device types. Nexus was fine for Android, but now there are Chromecast, Thermostats, and who knows what is next. I think something new like Silver does not necessarily mean dropping Nexus style devices.
So far I'm pretty pleased with Google sponsored devices, both Nexus and Play Edition. I am interested in a tablet larger than Nexus 7 (2013) and I think a new Nexus-or-Play Edition phone on Verizon is needed too.
But, wait and see.:good:

Bob Smith42 said:
Some kind of new standards are needed because of new device types. Nexus was fine for Android, but now there are Chromecast, Thermostats, and who knows what is next. I think something new like Silver does not necessarily mean dropping Nexus style devices.
So far I'm pretty pleased with Google sponsored devices, both Nexus and Play Edition. I am interested in a tablet larger than Nexus 7 (2013) and I think a new Nexus-or-Play Edition phone on Verizon is needed too.
But, wait and see.:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well for most of us in Europe/ US , we usually take up contracts ! Like I can get an S5 with 2 year contract with free phone/calls/texts/Data for about £45 a month! Usually this is not a case for many others around the world, they have to pay in FULL which makes Nexus price more attractive than Play Editions!
Moreover, the price difference between Nexus and Play Edition is about 150-250 dollars which is a lot . . .

I want new a 10" tablet. Whether it's the silver program or final nexus tablet before silver program
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Free mobile app

Duffmantp said:
I want new a 10" tablet. Whether it's the silver program or final nexus tablet before silver program
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We might get one. It is rumoured in upcoming Google I/O 2014
Source phonearena
http://www.phonearena.com/news/You-...-showing-the-Nexus-10-not-the-Nexus-8_id56512
Update
phonearena edited the post and dismissed a new nexus 10.

Hnk1 said:
We might get one. It is rumoured in upcoming Google I/O 2014
Source phonearena
http://www.phonearena.com/news/You-...-showing-the-Nexus-10-not-the-Nexus-8_id56512
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They were talking about the old nexus 10 in the photo, not a new one.

madbat99 said:
They were talking about the old nexus 10 in the photo, not a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers for the correction, there were so many rumours involving a Google nexus 8 and 10 that I'm still confused

I'm still hoping for a nexus 8. My niece would love my n7 2013 and a n8 would be the perfect excuse for me to pass it to her and get one.

ultramancool said:
I doubt the line will change much, likely just a branding change to help morons who think the Droid phone is the benchmark android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same :/

Maybe not a very exciting answer, but where tech is concerned (and all the rumours that precede any new product) I am a "I'll wait and see" kind of guy. Also, I see no real reason to rush out and buy the latest and greatest all the time what I have is serving its purpose

Pixel Prediction (6 months from now 10/5/16-4/5/17)

I've been talking a lot with my friends about this who are also Android users. I know there are a lot of opinions about the Pixel, so I thought it would be interesting to make a thread to check back on in 6 months from launch to see how things panned out. At the end of the day either Google is correct with this phone, or the community was right in predicting the change. I figured 6 months is enough time to get the phone in the pipeline and where a price cut would be susceptible if one were to occur.
Here's my analysis:
Existing problems:
1. Pixel phone contains basic vanilla Android at the same price as an iPhone and Samsung with feature filled software skins.
2. Apple and Samsung both have established their product in the marketplace, unlike the Pixel. Samsung didn't get any real traction until the Galaxy S3/Note 3.........three generations in.....this is Pixel's first.
3. The biggest competitor (Galaxy/Note 7), both have expandable SD card storage and water resistance that the Pixel does not.
4. Only exclusive on Verizon, which allows only a small population to get it subsidized. (Both Apple/Samsung sell contract subsidized phones for BOTH Verizon and Sprint which creates a lower barrier to entry).
5. Google assistant which is one of its selling points, I don't see a huge immediate use for it unlike a better camera, or water resistance. There is a variant of this type of technology already out. It's called "SIRI" for iPhone and "S-Voice" for Samsung. It's been out for years and I don't know anyone personally who uses either on a daily basis. (or at all)
6. There are no "frills" to this phone. I keep saying that, however; the typically buyer of iPhone/Samsung do not know anything about the internals or the hardware. (How else would Apple get people to buy $3,000 laptops ? It's not the hardware they are buying). The phone is just too plain for mainstream appeal. Next time you see someone with a Samsung ask them if their bootloader is locked........then ask it in Japanese....you'll get the same response.
Pixel is taking aim at "mainstream", yet offering very little in terms of "frills" that mainstream typically likes yet charging flagship pricing. There is already a significant conflict in this strategy.
It's obvious based on the chart I uploaded Google's competency is not hardware unlike Apple......which would explain a lot. While I love Android, it's a small revenue of their overall revenue. Most likely, they are looking to diversify from just search and add to the bottom line as well from the smartphone market. It's very bold to try and compete against Apple that gets 53% of their overall revenue from iPhone alone, when Google has very little experience in that area (hardware).
Prediction:
In 6 months (or less), the Pixel phones will get price cuts to the same price as the 5x ($379) and 6p ($499). The phone won't be a flop and Google will keep it, but the price point was set too high. I don't think the phone is a total bust, but I do think with 99% certainty that this was priced too high to be competitive........Google just doesn't know it yet
Google right now can't even manage a proper messenger app (messenger, hangouts, allo.....seriously which one am I supposed to use Google ?), canceled Project Ara, canceled Google Glass, etc.......there's a lack of direction with the company needless to say.
Edit: Google search for Pixel compared to iPhone and Galaxy S7 (I left out Note 7 due to exploding battery interest) which has fallen off a cliff since the Pixel debut.

great post =) I agree with you

Well written. Very clear.
For me there is also a design problem.
The material design is too white and hurts my eyes especially in the evening. A dark theme is needed. So I am using Aquamail and not Gmail and apps with a dark theme. And black layers.
Maybe the Chinese will produce a better and cheaper phone. Who knows.
Maybe G is heading to a closed system ?

Or it could be the repeat of Google Pixel C with temporary "developer" discounts before the price goes back to list price. They don't seem to be too bothered about shifting stock.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA-Developers mobile app

According to The Verge websites interview with Google's hardware chief, Google knows the first generation Pixel phone won't sale in volumes and expects to gain little market share, apparently there is long term strategy behind the scenes with the release of these first Pixel phones. Here's a quote from that article.
"We certainly arent going to have enormous volumes out of this product. This is very first innings for us." Googles metric of success for Pixel wont be whether it picks up significant market share, but whether it can garner customer satisfaction and form retail and carrier partnerships that Google can leverage for years to come."
http://www.theverge.com/a/google-pixel-phone-new-hardware-interview-2016
As for the cancellation of Google Glass and other Google hardware, that was done by the recently hired Google hardware chief so he could bring all the hardware teams together to focus on same objectives, so it appears Google now has a sense of direction, thanks to this new hardware chief aka ex-Motorola president. Here's a quote from another interview, just for reference.
"When Osterloh, 44, came on board in mid-April, he brought Google hardware groups into one division, shuttering projects he didn't see contributing to Googles future. Now the engineers and designers from Google Glass, Chromecast and Pixel all work together. Keeping them separate, he says, made it hard to drive toward the goal of portfolio strategy and focus."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-google-s-first-real-threat-to-apple-s-iphone

In order to gain customer satisfaction they need to have customers, and the feedback everywhere I look is that they've already caused dissatisfaction with their prices and therefore won't have a solid customer base - especially after alienating so many Nexus owners with the ludicrous six-week Nougat delay and the dropping of the Nexus line.

dahawthorne said:
In order to gain customer satisfaction they need to have customers, and the feedback everywhere I look is that they've already caused dissatisfaction with their prices and therefore won't have a solid customer base - especially after alienating so many Nexus owners with the ludicrous six-week Nougat delay and the dropping of the Nexus line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As much as I love the Nexus and it's contributing users, they probably don't make up enough market share for Google to care. Most Nexus owners are phone enthusiasts, who make up a very small percentage of the smartphone market.
Some Pixel phones are already sold out in the Google Store, so people are buying them. It remains to be seen if it will be enough for their "Customer Satisfaction" goal but from their interview, they don't seem to feel the need to sell a whole lot in order to make that goal, at least initially.

mikeprius said:
I've been talking a lot with my friends about this who are also Android users. I know there are a lot of opinions about the Pixel, so I thought it would be interesting to make a thread to check back on in 6 months from launch to see how things panned out. At the end of the day either Google is correct with this phone, or the community was right in predicting the change. I figured 6 months is enough time to get the phone in the pipeline and where a price cut would be susceptible if one were to occur.
Here's my analysis:
Existing problems:
1. Pixel phone contains basic vanilla Android at the same price as an iPhone and Samsung with feature filled software skins.
This is called Bloat to me basic vanilla Android is a huge plus
2. Apple and Samsung both have established their product in the marketplace, unlike the Pixel. Samsung didn't get any real traction until the Galaxy S3/Note 3.........three generations in.....this is Pixel's first.
Even though Samsungs are some of the most bloated locked down devices and iPhones are not Android devices Google with Pixel branding I just a continuation. I do agree more Samsung Devices and iPhones will be sold but so what?
3. The biggest competitor (Galaxy/Note 7), both have expandable SD card storage and water resistance that the Pixel does not.
My new phone will have 128Gig do I really need more, unlimited cloud storage for photos will help too
4. Only exclusive on Verizon, which allows only a small population to get it subsidized. (Both Apple/Samsung sell contract subsidized phones for BOTH Verizon and Sprint which creates a lower barrier to entry).
I am not American but they do sell SIM unlocked devices in the States do they not?
5. Google assistant which is one of its selling points, I don't see a huge immediate use for it unlike a better camera, or water resistance. There is a variant of this type of technology already out. It's called "SIRI" for iPhone and "S-Voice" for Samsung. It's been out for years and I don't know anyone personally who uses either on a daily basis. (or at all)
I owned 16 smartphones since the iPhone and not once did lack of water resistance bother me and I had zero devices with water damage. Google Assist can not see me using it often but only time will tell
6. There are no "frills" to this phone. I keep saying that, however; the typically buyer of iPhone/Samsung do not know anything about the internals or the hardware. (How else would Apple get people to buy $3,000 laptops ? It's not the hardware they are buying). The phone is just too plain for mainstream appeal. Next time you see someone with a Samsung ask them if their bootloader is locked........then ask it in Japanese....you'll get the same response.
First to get Android updates, first device with Qualcomm 821, first with official daydream support, and yes at least some say this will have the best camera
Pixel is taking aim at "mainstream", yet offering very little in terms of "frills" that mainstream typically likes yet charging flagship pricing. There is already a significant conflict in this strategy.
Why do you think they are gearing this for the mainstream, they never had in the past?
It's obvious based on the chart I uploaded Google's competency is not hardware unlike Apple......which would explain a lot. While I love Android, it's a small revenue of their overall revenue. Most likely, they are looking to diversify from just search and add to the bottom line as well from the smartphone market. It's very bold to try and compete against Apple that gets 53% of their overall revenue from iPhone alone, when Google has very little experience in that area (hardware).
Google builds nothing they are contracting HTC to build the Pixel, Pixel XL. Nobody expects them every to sell more of the current Pixel phones than Apple sells
Prediction:
In 6 months (or less), the Pixel phones will get price cuts to the same price as the 5x ($379) and 6p ($499). The phone won't be a flop and Google will keep it, but the price point was set too high. I don't think the phone is a total bust, but I do think with 99% certainty that this was priced too high to be competitive........Google just doesn't know it yet
Google right now can't even manage a proper messenger app (messenger, hangouts, allo.....seriously which one am I supposed to use Google ?), canceled Project Ara, canceled Google Glass, etc.......there's a lack of direction with the company needless to say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who knows about the price I do know the 32 Gig Nexus 6p was selling for $600 Canadian (I do not know what American pay) and in 6 months I can not see Google pricing the Pixel XL 32Gig lower. Sell more than Samsung and Apple no not believes this will every happen but different people by Samsung and Apple. People that generally never visit XDA and they are happy with whatever bloat Samsung and Apple gives them.

Maybe they are trying to create the equivalent of surface devices like Microsoft? I have no clue how that helps either of the companies. Maybe the idea is to just create a premium brand Google running Android even if every device sold loses money. Kind of like what Acura has to do with the NSX. It's an attempt to push the brand into a premium device discussion.
However, I definitely don't see anything that premium in the device. I don't see anything that premium in an iPhone either except that the lemmings have decided it is a premium product so like the unreliable Mercedes Benz cars out there, they retain resale value. At some point it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
To achieve a perception of being a premium product like Apple products, Google probably has to fire most of the tech guys running the hardware division and hire a real marketing team. The Oct 4 presentation was astonishingly lackluster. Same amount of glamour as a BlackBerry presentation. Bunch of geeks thinking just because they have a search engine cash cow, they must know everything else there is to know about the business world.
Honestly what the Nexus/pixel and allo/duo/messenger/hangouts mess should teach us is that these guys like going back to the drawing board way too often. This is not a mature company and will abandon loyal customers without hesitation if someone decides that's the cool thing to do. Project Fi customers, you will be next.
So in a nutshell don't over analyze Google, it's just a bunch of high school kids doing experiments in a Chemistry Lab. At some point there will be purple foam and a few explosions.
And there is no point hitching yourself to this wagon. Don't buy anything Google tries to market as premium. They don't have the discipline to maintain a message. Eventually everything they sell will be priced like a commodity.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA-Developers mobile app

might want to modify the thread title's date. It's currently "10/5/16-4/5/16"; I'm pretty sure you meant "10/5/16-4/5/17"

First device with SD821? Not.

Google/Nexus phones were successful, because they targeted a specific niche that no one else did; devs/enthusiasts/folks who wanted to tinker and modify their phones completely and without restrictions.
Pixel phones have NOTHING that is "niche" driven; they are just like Apple/Samsung/who ever, with nothing really unique(S Pen, etc) to attract anyone really..
Sure, they will get the curious newbie/Iphone/Samsung lovers, but, those folks already have alot of choices, and those choices have alot more "features" that those folks want.
So, I cant fathom how this device will be anything more than a novelty, especially at that ridiculous price point..

mikeprius said:
I've been talking a lot with my friends about this who are also Android users. I know there are a lot of opinions about the Pixel, so I thought it would be interesting to make a thread to check back on in 6 months from launch to see how things panned out. At the end of the day either Google is correct with this phone, or the community was right in predicting the change. I figured 6 months is enough time to get the phone in the pipeline and where a price cut would be susceptible if one were to occur.
Yadda, yadda, yadda............................................[emoji23]
.
Google right now can't even manage a proper messenger app (messenger, hangouts, allo.....seriously which one am I supposed to use Google ?), canceled Project Ara, canceled Google Glass, etc.......there's a lack of direction with the company needless to say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great post! Lots of info there. [SARCASM] You might have a bit too much time on your hands though. [emoji1] [/SARCASM]
khanam said:
Honestly what the Nexus/pixel and allo/duo/messenger/hangouts mess should teach us is that these guys like going back to the drawing board way too often. This is not a mature company and will abandon loyal customers without hesitation if someone decides that's the cool thing to do. Project Fi customers, you will be next.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMO, Nexus/Pixel is not a mess, they are simply trying to gain market share other than the developer/techie community. I would bet that they will end up partnering with all of the major carriers to sell the phones subsidized, Verizon just got the nod for release day because it is the biggest. The pixels will also come down in price from the play store as well.
As far as the Duo/allo/hangouts/messenger thing, from what I've been reading they are trying to market hangouts to the enterprise side of the mobile market. I never really used it for anything other than video calls now and again. Duo is much more convenient for video calls, although I wish they would have just incorporated it into the dialer kind of how FaceTime is on iphone. I don't know what to think about allo. It doesn't handle sms, and it doesn't do anything that other already established apps do as good or better.
I'm just going to wait it out to see if the price comes down, or if my carrier gets it. If not, oh well, I will explore other options at that time. After all I'm still paying for my N6 through January...
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

mikeprius said:
1. Pixel phone contains basic vanilla Android at the same price as an iPhone and Samsung with feature filled software skins.
2. Apple and Samsung both have established their product in the marketplace, unlike the Pixel. Samsung didn't get any real traction until the Galaxy S3/Note 3.........three generations in.....this is Pixel's first.
3. The biggest competitor (Galaxy/Note 7), both have expandable SD card storage and water resistance that the Pixel does not.
4. Only exclusive on Verizon, which allows only a small population to get it subsidized. (Both Apple/Samsung sell contract subsidized phones for BOTH Verizon and Sprint which creates a lower barrier to entry).
5. Google assistant which is one of its selling points, I don't see a huge immediate use for it unlike a better camera, or water resistance. There is a variant of this type of technology already out. It's called "SIRI" for iPhone and "S-Voice" for Samsung. It's been out for years and I don't know anyone personally who uses either on a daily basis. (or at all)
6. There are no "frills" to this phone. I keep saying that, however; the typically buyer of iPhone/Samsung do not know anything about the internals or the hardware. (How else would Apple get people to buy $3,000 laptops ? It's not the hardware they are buying). The phone is just too plain for mainstream appeal. Next time you see someone with a Samsung ask them if their bootloader is locked........then ask it in Japanese....you'll get the same response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. If you asked a user what was the difference between Touchwiz and vanilla Android, until Material Design the only thing they said was: Samsung looks nicer. Because Holo was ugly. But Material design changed that, so now basic Android is not ugly anymore. As for the gimmicks, a casual user will only use a fraction of the TouchWiz "features", and a vanilla Android user will not be missing any of those "features".
Pixel ha nice round icons, and a praised camera. You can consider it sold.
2. From the above linked interview this is the first step to establish Pixel as a product for the masses and not just for the techies. The are planning to sell 3-4 million units (good look with that). But even that's at least one order or magnitude below of the quantity Samsung and Apple sell. Google never bragged how many units they sold, you can't find official statistics, but it's obviously "not a damn lot", that's for sure.
3. And the iPhone does not have an SD card slot. The Galaxy S6 was a mistake for Samsung in every aspect, because they took away three things in one step: SD card, removable battery and custom roms. So there was a huge uproar, much bigger if they only played with these feature one at a time.
I too prefer an SD card, coming from Samsung phones, it was given, yet after one year using a mere 32GB phone I still live. So it's not a make/brake condition for me when buying a new phone.
5. It's a gimmick like Samsung's air gestures, keep awake when reading, knock twice on top to scroll to the top. You use it once then forget it. I bet for a week or two everybody will play with the assistant then forget it.
Compared to that Google Now cards are very useful, I use the Time to work, Time home card every day, and it helps avoiding the construction that kills the city, and to decide when it's totally beyond reason to leave home.
6. There are no real "frills". There are only those that some marketing think tank succeeds in convincing you that you actually need it. The camera is a frill enough to sell it, so it's the speed. Having the hardware from the start Google could optimize it a little to be better than the other manufacturers.

It is a mess. I compare it to the failures Apple had right after the Lisa, nonsense sales prediction with a exorbitant price point.
They can partner with as many carriers as they want over there (America, the world isn't just that) or try to subsidise phones.
Worldwide subsidisation of phones is impractical. And outside America the prices are even worse.

Highway 55 said:
IMO, Nexus/Pixel is not a mess, they are simply trying to gain market share other than the developer/techie community. I would bet that they will end up partnering with all of the major carriers to sell the phones subsidized, Verizon just got the nod for release day because it is the biggest. The pixels will also come down in price from the play store as well.
As far as the Duo/allo/hangouts/messenger thing, from what I've been reading they are trying to market hangouts to the enterprise side of the mobile market. I never really used it for anything other than video calls now and again. Duo is much more convenient for video calls, although I wish they would have just incorporated it into the dialer kind of how FaceTime is on iphone. I don't know what to think about allo. It doesn't handle sms, and it doesn't do anything that other already established apps do as good or better.
I'm just going to wait it out to see if the price comes down, or if my carrier gets it. If not, oh well, I will explore other options at that time. After all I'm still paying for my N6 through January...
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
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I am not sure why they abandoned hangouts for consumers - it was quite an all encompassing product for most of us between everything it handled - it just needed some tightening and polish but we finally had SMS, Voicemail, Video calling, IM, IP Calling all in 1. Now i have too many apps - when i instead want to simplify my life. No one likes to have something they were finding useful suddenly lose features - that just reeks of big brotherism - someone else deciding whats best for me instead of considering my own inputs.
On the pixel/nexus thing though - the way they should have done it is kept the nexus line alive and added a pixel or 2 phones with slightly more premium features but at a slightly higher price, then next generation a little higher price and so on.
That would have given all of us time to adjust and experiment. You do not just increase prices and abandon the nexus line without warning. That feels like them deciding what is best for us - like apple does. Give consumers choice, price products appropriately and allow them to cross bridges on price, features etc.
This abandoning nexus and replacing it with a non vanilla high priced pixel move is too sudden. That is why it feels like they do not listen to consumers and instead impose their vision on us. Who would like that? I chose to abandon iOS to have freedom - but the more they take those away from me - the more i look at Google and say, well this is not what i wanted. Locked bootloaders - does that not go against the very foundation of Android?
Another point - this AI push through Allo/Assistant is slowly going to convert you into a data contribution toward an engine - do you actually need to pay extra to lose your privacy - should that not happen in such a way that you get a discount on other products (i.e. your phone for example) which act as the conduit for your revealing your choices to the central database/skynet?

unfortunately, the mopes who sit in the production/sales meeting, only care about looking good to their bosses/making their bosses look good, and raise profits for shareholders..
They talk about how much Apple/Samsung charge for their phones, and sell 20 times more than Google does, so they figure, hey, lets just copy their business model, and we will look like heros.
Customers needs/wants get pushed to the back of the list, and market share/greater profits are all that matters..
And yeah, it sucks that we can now pay more for another "me too" phone, and, at the same time, surrender even more of our privacy, while paying through the nose for another Apple Clone..
No thanks, never a Pixel phone for me, at ANY price..

mixedguy said:
As much as I love the Nexus and it's contributing users, they probably don't make up enough market share for Google to care. Most Nexus owners are phone enthusiasts, who make up a very small percentage of the smartphone market.
Some Pixel phones are already sold out in the Google Store, so people are buying them. It remains to be seen if it will be enough for their "Customer Satisfaction" goal but from their interview, they don't seem to feel the need to sell a whole lot in order to make that goal, at least initially.
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Nexus no..it's a small segment. Android as a whole for Google is a very small amount of their revenue. Clearly the release of the Pixel is designed to make it a more considerable source of revenue for Google. They are not very diversified at the moment. All their money is in search.
AstroDigital said:
Who knows about the price I do know the 32 Gig Nexus 6p was selling for $600 Canadian (I do not know what American pay) and in 6 months I can not see Google pricing the Pixel XL 32Gig lower. Sell more than Samsung and Apple no not believes this will every happen but different people by Samsung and Apple. People that generally never visit XDA and they are happy with whatever bloat Samsung and Apple gives them.
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The United States there are 4 primary carriers (there are others, but the big 4 are AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile). Before all 4 carriers did this, but 2 still do and that is offer 24 month contracts to be signed for a subsidized phone. So for example a $800 iPhone can be bought at Verizon or Sprint for $200-$300 depending on the model, current or past, etc, etc. That's how iPhone was able to be made available in mass. There's no way the people in the US could buy these phones outright at their current cost in large populations. It's outside many people's affordability.
All these products full price are out of the affordability for nearly everyone, so either they use the contract or use payments. With exclusive Verizon, everyone will do payments or buy outright (smaller population)......many people still use the contract that I know, taking this off the table for one carrier reduces accessibility.
Also, 2 of the 4 carriers in the US are CMDA technology not GSM so unlocked phones are limited. My carrier is CMDA so I cannot buy Xperia, One plus 3, or Axon 7. If I could, I'd have bought the One plus 3. Instead I'm stuck with the Nexus or some "whitelisted" device.

istperson said:
1. If you asked a user what was the difference between Touchwiz and vanilla Android, until Material Design the only thing they said was: Samsung looks nicer. Because Holo was ugly. But Material design changed that, so now basic Android is not ugly anymore. As for the gimmicks, a casual user will only use a fraction of the TouchWiz "features", and a vanilla Android user will not be missing any of those "features".
Pixel ha nice round icons, and a praised camera. You can consider it sold.
2. From the above linked interview this is the first step to establish Pixel as a product for the masses and not just for the techies. The are planning to sell 3-4 million units (good look with that). But even that's at least one order or magnitude below of the quantity Samsung and Apple sell. Google never bragged how many units they sold, you can't find official statistics, but it's obviously "not a damn lot", that's for sure.
3. And the iPhone does not have an SD card slot. The Galaxy S6 was a mistake for Samsung in every aspect, because they took away three things in one step: SD card, removable battery and custom roms. So there was a huge uproar, much bigger if they only played with these feature one at a time.
I too prefer an SD card, coming from Samsung phones, it was given, yet after one year using a mere 32GB phone I still live. So it's not a make/brake condition for me when buying a new phone.
5. It's a gimmick like Samsung's air gestures, keep awake when reading, knock twice on top to scroll to the top. You use it once then forget it. I bet for a week or two everybody will play with the assistant then forget it.
Compared to that Google Now cards are very useful, I use the Time to work, Time home card every day, and it helps avoiding the construction that kills the city, and to decide when it's totally beyond reason to leave home.
6. There are no real "frills". There are only those that some marketing think tank succeeds in convincing you that you actually need it. The camera is a frill enough to sell it, so it's the speed. Having the hardware from the start Google could optimize it a little to be better than the other manufacturers.
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While I can laugh at most people who become enamored with gimmicks, that's what sells. The stupid air gestures, and whatever toggles Samsung has that people flock to. They have no idea what chip is in their phone. Same goes for iPhone.
Everything else you are saying are your own personal preferences, not what mainstream people want. Majority of society is easily distracted by shiny gimmicks, engages in herd mentality buying decisions, and want instant gratification........these people are not "astute buyers" by any means, but they are the people who open their wallets and purses to buy these products.............it's pathetic but that's how the market is. Samsung and iPhone meet all these "needs". Pixel does not.

mixedguy said:
According to The Verge websites interview with Google's hardware chief, Google knows the first generation Pixel phone won't sale in volumes and expects to gain little market share, apparently there is long term strategy behind the scenes with the release of these first Pixel phones. Here's a quote from that article.
"We certainly arent going to have enormous volumes out of this product. This is very first innings for us." Googles metric of success for Pixel wont be whether it picks up significant market share, but whether it can garner customer satisfaction and form retail and carrier partnerships that Google can leverage for years to come."
http://www.theverge.com/a/google-pixel-phone-new-hardware-interview-2016
As for the cancellation of Google Glass and other Google hardware, that was done by the recently hired Google hardware chief so he could bring all the hardware teams together to focus on same objectives, so it appears Google now has a sense of direction, thanks to this new hardware chief aka ex-Motorola president. Here's a quote from another interview, just for reference.
"When Osterloh, 44, came on board in mid-April, he brought Google hardware groups into one division, shuttering projects he didn't see contributing to Googles future. Now the engineers and designers from Google Glass, Chromecast and Pixel all work together. Keeping them separate, he says, made it hard to drive toward the goal of portfolio strategy and focus."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-google-s-first-real-threat-to-apple-s-iphone
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The Google glass and other hardware that they were experimenting with does make sense b/c it was untested and they were looking at pioneering a new potential product. There's no existing prior benchmark. That has more leeway including cancellation which I understand. I think long-term it is a good idea Google has more control over the hardware and not just software because there has been too much fragmentation across the board in devices and with other Google products.
With that said, smartphones have been out for many years now, with the saturation really beginning to take hold in 2009 and forward (where more and more people were rapidly buying smartphones). There's enough data they could have made a more intelligent analysis on how to price the product (which I suspect is way too high).