No Verizon Partnership For Google's Nexus One 206
starglider29a writes with news that Google and Verizon Wireless have abandoned plans for a partnership that would bring the Nexus One to the carrier's network. "Without a Verizon partnership, Google loses access to the carrier's more than 90 million customers, potentially blocking the phone from gaining more widespread popularity. The breakdown of the deal signals Verizon may view Google as a competitor rather than a partner when it comes to Nexus One sales, which are probably at less than half a million since the phone's January debut, said BGC Partners's Colin Gillis." A Google spokesman said, "We won't be selling a Nexus One with Verizon and this is a reflection of the amazing innovation happening across the open Android ecosystem." In a brief blog post, Google recommends a similar, Android-based phone from HTC for customers who want Verizon service.
Re:No shock there... (Score:5, Informative)
There are only 2 things that you can argue that the Nexus is better than the Droid at. CPU speed, and Network. In every other realm, they are at best tied and at worst the Droid edges out the winner...
Re:A big flop (Score:3, Informative)
Google's idea was great, but it doesn't work in the current carrier-controlled (and I don't mean this in a conspiracy-theorist way) market. The phone is just too expensive up front to compare with carrier-sponsored models that get their price dilluted into your monthly service payments.
Their price isn't really that diluted. AT&T for example requires all phones with a full keyboard or that are otherwise considered a smart phone (e.g. iPhone, NexusOne, etc.) to have a data plan. You may be paying $199 for that iPhone up front, but you'll also be paying $30/month for 2 years. Now some phones you can cancel the data plan, but when varies from phone to phone. iPhone requires it at all times (so 2 years, 3 * 24 - $720 later). Some may be as little as 6 months, and may only require the $5/month texting plan (still a minimum of $30) but they're not going to nicely tell you or document your options on that front.
That said, I just ordered my Nexus One at full price ($529), and don't plan on adding any data plan whatsoever. AT&T will be not be informed I have a smart phone, and I have no intention of using the cell service for Internet. Wi-fi is good enough for me.
Re:A big flop (Score:3, Informative)
I'm not sure it was a flop. Did Google make money on it? Did they get new customers onto the Android bandwagon?
Then, there's the other perspective. I just got one, my dad got one, and my brother is considering one too. It's cheaper over the lifetime of a 2-year contract than a subsidized phone. I'm not tied into a contract with T-mobile, and the price is reasonable. The phone works well and synchs with my google contacts, mail, calendar... And if I want, I can change phones whenever I feel like upgrading. Heck, it even plays Ogg Vorbis! For me, at least, it's a great success.
Re:A big flop (Score:4, Informative)
That's not Google's idea. That is AT&T's idea.
If you buy a Nexus One and sign up with T-Mobile, you get a discount on your monthly rate since you're not subsidizing a phone.
This is why.... (Score:4, Informative)
...the iPhone is still not on Verizon, nor is it likely to be in the near future. Verizon, like Apple, is all about control. Verizon didn't like that Google wanted too much control over the Nexus One, so they canned it. Verizon initially didn't like Apple's terms for the iPhone, so they nixed that. Their position is unlikely to change anytime soon. Apple is going to want a king's ransom for the iPhone to be on Verizon, and Verizon will simply point to their increasingly successful Android lineup and tell Apple to try again next time.
This is a PR blow for Google, but a small one. Verizon is the leading carrier for Android phones, and the Droid Incridible is quite an impressive flagship device, just as the Motorola Droid was last year. Since HTC manufactures both the Nexus One and the Incredible, the deal failing is no skin off their back. Either way google wins, 'cos more Android smartphones will be sold either way.
Re:half a million? (Score:3, Informative)
That's a good counter argument, but nothing more.
Well, shit, what more should I have been going for, exactly?
Apple is #1, android is gaining. Apple recognises it has competition, its negative statements about the android market reflect that. If you want to characterise that as quaking or not is a semantic argument best left to marketing types.
No, it's not semantics, it's downright false. You're correct that Apple faces competition from Android, but the notion that Steve Jobs is "Steve Jobs has been quaking like a motherfucker" is completely nonsensical, even with granting abundant leeway in the semantics of that phrase.
Now, what will the future hold? I don't know. You don't know. Apple and Google doesn't know.
I was talking about the present, and specifically how you can't simply extrapolate into the future.
If you tried arguing with some one back in 1991 that Apple was going to end up on the brink of bankruptcy in six years and would have to rely on Microsoft to prop them up
Apple was never close to bankruptcy, and MS never "propped them up". Apple had billions in the bank when MS invested $150 million in Apple stock, as part of their agreement for Apple to drop their lawsuit against them. The only part of that agreement that really helped Apple in the short term was MS's agreement to continue selling Office for the Mac for a period of time (5 years?). That agreement was never about MS actually pulling Mac Office, since that was extremely unlikely, but to prevent them from being able to use that as a bargaining chip against Apple (which they had done in the past).
Re:Open? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:A big flop (Score:3, Informative)
Be careful, I got an unlocked Nexus One (before the AT&T model was available) and used it with my previously existing AT&T plan, and they were able to detect right away that I was using a smartphone and I was informed via SMS that I needed to pay for the data plan.
You may or may not be able to actually stop the phone from trying to access mobile data - there isn't an option in the settings to disable it. I'm sure there is away around that, but it probably won't be simple and probably will require rooting it, not that you won't be doing that anyway (I rooted it, but there still isn't an easy option to disable mobile data as far as I can tell - didn't look too hard, to be fair).
I'm assuming you did your research to determine that this would be possible, but in case you didn't, let me be your warning that you might not be able to get away with it. I'm not a great data point because I was planning on getting the data plan anyway so I didn't try too hard to hide it from AT&T, but I did try to use it for about a day without the data plan, and as I said they detected it right away. Pretty sleazy on their part, I think, especially since I have the non-AT&T (who use 900 Mhz as opposed to everyone else's 850 Mhz) model and so am limited to 2G speed, but what do you expect.
In case you're wondering, though I sort of regret jumping the gun and getting it before the AT&T version was announced, the 850 Mhz frequency is much more useful to me than 900 Mhz if I travel (I'm spending most of the rest of the year in Thailand where 850 Mhz is used for 3G from the provider I already have a number with there), and someone else pays for my AT&T plan ;)