Nexus One in CNNs top 10 tech fails

[the co0kie]

The 10 biggest tech 'fails' of 2010 - CNN.com

The nexus one made the top 10 Tech Fails of 2010

4. Nexus One
Speaking of phones that failed ...
Google's Android phone operating system came into its own in 2010, actually outselling phones running Apple's system by the end of the year.
But Google's effort at making their own phone to run it, the Nexus One, fizzled fast.
And here's the thing -- just about everyone who tried out the Nexus One liked it. It had features to rival the iPhone's, and reviewers were kind.
But Google might have gone wrong by originally selling the phone only online. Apparently, folks like to get their hands on their gadgets before paying for them.

 

[razvan06]

and why is it a fail ? these jurnalists are idiots : "But Google might have gone wrong by originally selling the phone only online. Apparently, folks like to get their hands on their gadgets before paying for them."

..i got hands on one before i bought it ,and even if i couldn't ,i'd still buy it if given a second chance !

 

[Drhyde]

See the problem is, virtually everywhere I go there are dummy phones instead of real ones with the exception of finding your local corporate store. This makes it impossible to try them out so I rely on reviews on the web to make my decisions. Personally, the Nexus One has been one of the best pieces of tech I've ever owned. It's simply that useful. We now have the Nexus S and the 1 Ghz processor revolution to thank from the Nexus One. Financial and marketing failure: maybe. Impact on the cell phone market: revolutionary.

 

[Mostly Harmless]

I agree that the way google sold the phone failed pretty badly, but as the article states "And here's the thing -- just about everyone who tried out the Nexus One liked it. It had features to rival the iPhone's, and reviewers were kind." and it is right on the money, good phone, bad sales rep.

 

[snakeybidder]

Ye dont worry buddy, they mean the worst fail for marketing etc, not the phone.

 

[AnotherFatalEpic]

Eh. I still say the journalist is an idiot. I feel that the Nexus went exactly where Google wanted it. Once the Nexus was out, better Android phones followed.. and this was the plan as far as I know.

Maybe they sold less than they expected.. but they definitely were not expecting to top iPhone sales by strictly selling the phone online.

Nexus One was one of the best things that happened to me in 2010.

 

[phlojo]

They omit the most important fact: Google never meant to become a phone seller. Their intention was to kick start Android by providing a phone that:
a) is easily available to everyone (especially developers)
b) can be THE phone to be used for development, with tweaks to get things working on other pones
c) can be a benchmark (i.e. provide a good example) for hardware and how the SOFTWARE (i.e. Android) should work with it
d) shows that there's more than just IOS and Windows out there for mobile phones (we all know that Symbian is a joke)
...etc.

So yes, Google did not make an iPhone rival but it was because the intention was never to make a huge profit from the phone, but rather launch the Google OS as a serious (and kickass) alternative.

 

[snakeybidder]

Eh. I still say the journalist is an idiot. I feel that the Nexus went exactly where Google wanted it. Once the Nexus was out, better Android phones followed.. and this was the plan as far as I know.

Maybe they sold less than they expected.. but they definitely were not expecting to top iPhone sales by strictly selling the phone online.

Nexus One was one of the best things that happened to me in 2010.

Here here my man! Best phone ive ever had !! Fook all the haters, **** iphone!!! Woohooo

 

[dougdroid]

If they had said it failed because it didn't change the US market for how phones were purchased then that would be the only way the N1 could have made that list.

Because these journalists only see what is at the end of their noses, most of what they publish is for the general public who themselves are still massively naive as to what's going on around them in tech.

And who cares what this CNN report says, it's not going to change the phone we have. If anyone brings it up when you're using your N1 then give them a little education on what really went on. And hopefully it can be with a taste of gingerbread.

 

[Smersh]

Eh, I don't know, there might be some truth to that article. I think Google was hoping to sell more N1s than they did - they had the N1-specific desk and car docks, for example, and the development of an accessory lineup does not make much sense if you don't expect the central product to sell well. As Google is selling the Nexus S in a different manner - no accessories, different sales channels - I think it is not unreasonable to think that they were not entirely satisfied with how the N1 performed on the market.

That being said, they were relatively careful with the N1, apparently. It's not like they had produced millions which they could not sell afterwards; were that the case, then they would not have had to do the AMOLED-to-SLCD switch after a few months. Maybe they were a bit too careful in how they restricted their sales. I found it curious that they made a phone whose frequency bands have great coverage in most of the world except the USA, and then they sell it almost exclusively in the USA (yes, I know there were some more places). I had to import mine to Germany, and I ended up paying a substantial premium because Google would not sell to me directly.

Anyway, even if the N1 may not have fulfilled the expectations, I don't think Google suffered a lot from it, nor do they look like complete fools because of it. Maybe it was a "tech fail", but I don't think it was bad enough to fit into the top ten. It's not like they lost a precious prototype of it in some bar - now that would have been a blunder I would expect in such a list, but apparently nothing of that kind happened in 2010.

 

[dougdroid]

of course they were hoping to sell more and therefore prepared for that otherwise they would not have done anything but market it to the Android dev groups. Why I blasted the press on this was because they completely disregard the fact that previous to the N1, Android phones were underpowered and had underwhelming features. There's a huge anti-Google base along with most always pitting the iPhone vs Android as a one and only one winner. It's bogus and shallow reporting so when they look at only one aspect of the N1 product, that is the public would rather pay more over 2 years than pay upfront, and declare the product a failure it's not reporting the way I see it.

Using their methods, because many find fault with the N1 being on the list then the whole list is wrong. I'm just saying.

 

[macprv]

cnn's tech editors (most) are ilovers.. look at their articles most of them are about iphone, ipad, and their apps.. nexus one is not a fail, in fact i would say that is one of the (still) best phones out there.. google trying to sell phones is a fail but not the N1

 

[sdipaola]

It is silly to call the N1 a fail when, android phones have been a big win but they always mention in that win is the issue of different OSs; and carrier and manufacturer differences. So then the N1 was Google's way of showing what a ref phone and OS was. Yes million didn't by it but it represents the gold standard of a highly successful line of phones.

Also in my opinion ( and I have had an iphone) it is the best phone experience there is. I just wish the N2 was a variant of the Desire HD and not that plasticy NS.