After seeing many angry customers shocked with the Google store stance, I decided to look deeper into the matter. Here is what I found:
I was browsing official and unofficial T-MO sources, trying to get to bottom of why limited eligibility and limited plan selection was chosen for the N1. It's like they were trying to sabotage their own success.
I was puzzled to find out why these unprecedented and sudden restrictions took place? Been with T-mobile for a while now, never heard that shit before.
It's only been 2 days since it's start up, but Google's store has already demonstrated what it's focused on: isolating carriers from the transaction, as strange as it may sound. While carriers seem to benefit from this new setup, they may not be completely at ease considering there is potential for miscues which could result in a poor customer experience.
The carrier, in this case, our beloved T-Mobile doesn't have (or maybe, doesn't get?) to carry the inventory, less cost. Doesn't have to train the staff for the device, also less cost. But less cost, in this case also means less input.
From Google's and HTC's perspective, the benefit is a higher profit per unit sold by direct distribution from the warehouse, to the customer. Also, by taking over the process, they have eliminated all additional discounts that could have applied to the phone. Corporate discounts, loyalty plan discounts and even the employee discounts, none apply any longer.
This situation reminds of my past job: My manager used to yell at my supervisor. Soon after that my supervisor would yell at us.
TMO didn't have a say in the sale process? But the sudden change in full discount restrictions, and a "1 plan only" arm twisting? That wasn't TMO before, is it the new TMO? I blame both parties involved. A week ago, I read an article about TMO wanting to break away from the "budget carrier" image. I couldn't find it again but I could swear I saw a link to it today at the xda forums.
As much as I like you TMO, it's time for a reality check. You are the budget carrier because you have been lagging behind competition, badly and for a long time. You want to play like others? Fine, TMO customers want you to be a major player in the market. But please get there first, with coverage and good phones.
Oh hey,HTC, how are you? Up until yesterday you were pushing creaking battery covers and uneven displays. Shoving poor CPU's down out throats, the kind of poor CPU's that struggled to pull down the notification bar. What's new?
Google was itching to do this and today during the presentation they insisted that they will keep doing it. Twice already have they teased with putting their name on a phone and now they did, but they couldn't have done it worse than they did.
If you want to scare Andy Rubin, just say 2 words: Multi touch. That sheepish squirming around, eye contact avoiding excuse of a "no comment" you pulled off during the Q&A section of the presentation? It doesn't fit your aggressive stance on the market, buddy! You were dictating stricter subsidy rules to T-Mobile yet you folded like a little bitch when they asked you a simple question about multi touch. I'm not a jerk but you have to handle that much, much better. Look at the Motorola CEO, handled his questions like a true business man.
What goes from now on? Will we ever get to see a HTC handset in a store? Maybe only unsubsidized ones?
CDMA version of the Nexus One is less than 3 moths away. Will Verizon want to play this game? Could their be enough incentive for carriers to stick with Google's sale model? It will be interesting to see what options Verizon customers will given, compared to us?
TMO customers were given the poorest selection of Android phones. As soon as a decent phone was presented, the rules have been changed. This arm twisting may work with the PDA crowd, we endure abuse for some reason. But TMO better not alienate the free flip phone crowd, Sprint is right around the corner.
This is not an emo outburst because I didn't get my full discount. I will get this phone, unless I see evidence that something better will hit the market real soon. I wish this turns out completely different and I have to eat my words. I'll get it unlocked, and even if I could miraculously get the full disco tomorrow, it would have still not been the party it could have been. Am I the only one under the impression that the not so distant future, US citizens we'll have to fight the tough times with unlocked phones that work an all GSM & CDMA frequencies?
Again, I hope I'm just overreacting but after 4 years of a steady ride with TMO, I notice a change in tempo.
While I was typing this out, I ran into this internal guide for tmo employees:
We just received some unofficial (official) information from a T-Mobile source related to their support of the Nexus One. I haven
I was browsing official and unofficial T-MO sources, trying to get to bottom of why limited eligibility and limited plan selection was chosen for the N1. It's like they were trying to sabotage their own success.
I was puzzled to find out why these unprecedented and sudden restrictions took place? Been with T-mobile for a while now, never heard that shit before.
It's only been 2 days since it's start up, but Google's store has already demonstrated what it's focused on: isolating carriers from the transaction, as strange as it may sound. While carriers seem to benefit from this new setup, they may not be completely at ease considering there is potential for miscues which could result in a poor customer experience.
The carrier, in this case, our beloved T-Mobile doesn't have (or maybe, doesn't get?) to carry the inventory, less cost. Doesn't have to train the staff for the device, also less cost. But less cost, in this case also means less input.
From Google's and HTC's perspective, the benefit is a higher profit per unit sold by direct distribution from the warehouse, to the customer. Also, by taking over the process, they have eliminated all additional discounts that could have applied to the phone. Corporate discounts, loyalty plan discounts and even the employee discounts, none apply any longer.
This situation reminds of my past job: My manager used to yell at my supervisor. Soon after that my supervisor would yell at us.
TMO didn't have a say in the sale process? But the sudden change in full discount restrictions, and a "1 plan only" arm twisting? That wasn't TMO before, is it the new TMO? I blame both parties involved. A week ago, I read an article about TMO wanting to break away from the "budget carrier" image. I couldn't find it again but I could swear I saw a link to it today at the xda forums.
As much as I like you TMO, it's time for a reality check. You are the budget carrier because you have been lagging behind competition, badly and for a long time. You want to play like others? Fine, TMO customers want you to be a major player in the market. But please get there first, with coverage and good phones.
Oh hey,HTC, how are you? Up until yesterday you were pushing creaking battery covers and uneven displays. Shoving poor CPU's down out throats, the kind of poor CPU's that struggled to pull down the notification bar. What's new?
Google was itching to do this and today during the presentation they insisted that they will keep doing it. Twice already have they teased with putting their name on a phone and now they did, but they couldn't have done it worse than they did.
If you want to scare Andy Rubin, just say 2 words: Multi touch. That sheepish squirming around, eye contact avoiding excuse of a "no comment" you pulled off during the Q&A section of the presentation? It doesn't fit your aggressive stance on the market, buddy! You were dictating stricter subsidy rules to T-Mobile yet you folded like a little bitch when they asked you a simple question about multi touch. I'm not a jerk but you have to handle that much, much better. Look at the Motorola CEO, handled his questions like a true business man.
What goes from now on? Will we ever get to see a HTC handset in a store? Maybe only unsubsidized ones?
CDMA version of the Nexus One is less than 3 moths away. Will Verizon want to play this game? Could their be enough incentive for carriers to stick with Google's sale model? It will be interesting to see what options Verizon customers will given, compared to us?
TMO customers were given the poorest selection of Android phones. As soon as a decent phone was presented, the rules have been changed. This arm twisting may work with the PDA crowd, we endure abuse for some reason. But TMO better not alienate the free flip phone crowd, Sprint is right around the corner.
This is not an emo outburst because I didn't get my full discount. I will get this phone, unless I see evidence that something better will hit the market real soon. I wish this turns out completely different and I have to eat my words. I'll get it unlocked, and even if I could miraculously get the full disco tomorrow, it would have still not been the party it could have been. Am I the only one under the impression that the not so distant future, US citizens we'll have to fight the tough times with unlocked phones that work an all GSM & CDMA frequencies?
Again, I hope I'm just overreacting but after 4 years of a steady ride with TMO, I notice a change in tempo.
While I was typing this out, I ran into this internal guide for tmo employees:
We just received some unofficial (official) information from a T-Mobile source related to their support of the Nexus One. I haven
