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Friday, May 7, 2010

Google Nexus One: quarterback or cheerleader?

Mark Bridge writes:

Four months ago, Google unveiled a new way for consumers to buy an Android mobile phone. In fact, that’s pretty much what the first line of the press release said. The phone was the Nexus One and it was being sold online by Google.

You could buy it SIM-free or you could buy it with a contract – but you’d be buying it from Google’s online shop. You couldn’t buy it on a real high street.

But now that’s all changed. First came the announcement that Vodafone UK would be selling the phone themselves from the end of April – and now from today Phones 4U is also selling the Nexus One.

Google isn’t describing this as any kind of turnaround or failure. When it’s talked about the situation it’s said it’s doing this to get more Nexus One phones to more people more quickly. Which, of course, you might think it could have done by working more closely with those channels in the first place.

So what’s happened?  Is this all about shifting more devices?  Well, Google’s never said the Nexus One was going to be a big seller, which is just as well because reports suggest that Google is still a long way off hitting a million units. Goldman Sachs said in March it now estimated 1 million units for this year, having previously anticipated 3½ million.

Okay – so is it an admission that networks know best?  They’ve got the end-to-end infrastructure in place, which is a pretty big contrast with the online-only customer service offered when the Nexus One was launched. That didn’t go down well with quite a few buyers.

Is it part of a realisation that Google really doesn’t want to be seen as a rival to mobile manufacturers and networks? As CEO Eric Schmidt said at Mobile World Congress, it wants to work with them.

Or is it none of these – and is it instead a genuine success as an ambassador for the Android operating system?  Google says the Nexus One has been profitable – and since it went on sale, Android’s share of the US and UK smartphone markets has picked up pretty dramatically.

Over here, GfK Retail and Technology says the proportion of Android phones sold on pay monthly contracts rose from 3% to over 12% during a recent four week period. Okay, that’s just four weeks – but it could be a sign that the Nexus One isn’t what we thought it was. Perhaps (to use an analogy from American Football) it was never going to be a star quarterback. Perhaps it was only ever intended to be a cheerleader.

 

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1 comments on article "Google Nexus One: quarterback or cheerleader?"

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James Rosewell

5/10/2010 7:24 AM

Google want to have a "best practice" reference implementation of the Android operating system that they're in control of in order to showcase their services. Against this objective the Nexus One has been very good. It's a shame they've not updated it with some of the new services the HTC Desire Android implementation has such as an Activesync enabled calendar and scrolling wallpaper.

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Opinion Articles

‘The Eyes Have It’ at Mobile World Congress

James Rosewell writes:

DoCoMo are one of many network operators and handset manufacturers demonstrating innovative new products as Mobile World Congress. Our eye was caught by the employee demonstrating “Eye Controlled Earphones”. It’s a good job the ladies from the CBOSS stand weren’t walking past at the time.

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'Mobile Money Monday' at Mobile World Congress

James Rosewell writes:

Monday’s Mobile World Congress conference agenda dedicated one of 4 streams to Mobile Money - Transfers, Transactions and Technology allowing all stakeholders to share experiences and debate the future of Mobile and Money.

Two types of service dominated presentations and panel discussions; Near Field Communication (NFC) technology enabling payment at traditional Point of Sale (PoS), and the Mobile Wallet replacing plastic or cash.

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‘Innovation Corner’ at Mobile World Congress

James Rosewell writes:

Here’s my pick of the 3 most innovative companies I’ve uncovered at the 2010 Mobile World Congress.

Cootek.com win the prize for simplest innovation... an accurate touch screen keyboard. They’re a few months away from being ready to release the software to handset manufacturers, but the demo handsets worked very well. The keyboard assumes the user is not going to press the intended key, but in fact might miss and press another key in the same area. Based on this knowledge and an extensive dictionary of words and language context, it’s able to determine the intended word with surprising accuracy. I sincerely hope their technology will be made available for the Nexus One in the not too distant future.

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Google “Mobile First” from Eric Schmidt’s Key Note at Mobile World Congress

James Rosewell writes:

Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, presented a compelling vision of a mobile centric future. The phone has become the “high value end point” for Google services enabled by a combination of increasing handset power, mobile data networks and cloud computing. By far the scarcest resource is the bandwidth available through the mobile data networks. Google appear committed to work with Mobile Network Operators (MNO) to maximise bandwidth usage, although several audience questions suggested scepticism from the main stream mobile industry. Eric expressed a need to maintain a harmonious relationship with MNOs stating Google could not operate its service on mobile devices without their co-operation.

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The great Windows Mobile 7 conspiracy theory

Mark Bridge writes:

I like a good conspiracy theory. A good one, mind you. None of this “Funny thing happened on the way to Mars” nonsense. Oh no, not me. And, despite occasionally mirroring Jerry Fletcher by balancing a bottle on the door handle, I’ve never been inclined to publish such a theory. Until now.

You see, it’s Mobile World Congress in a fortnight’s time. Which is when the great and the good of the mobile industry – along with their mates and hangers-on – head for Barcelona. Microsoft will be there. They’re holding a press briefing on Monday afternoon. And there’s a lot of talk about Windows Mobile 7 being (unofficially) on the agenda. But where’s the evidence?

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