Google Nexus One sales weak compared to Droid, iPhone

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Google's so called "super phone" has flopped compared to sales of competing devices, according to data from market researcher Flurry. The outfit estimates that in the first 74 days of availability, Google has shipped around 135,000 Nexus One smartphones -- a fraction of the 1.05 million Droids and 1 million first-gen iPhones sold in the same duration. For further comparison, analysts speculate that the heavily ridiculed iPad has sold well over 150,000 units in the first few days.

Despite its weak performance, Flurry notes that the Nexus One is still the most advanced Android handset to date. It's worth noting that these device comparisons are mostly apples to oranges. For instance, the Droid sold for only $200 during the holidays and was backed by heavy marketing, while the iPhone was popularized for offering a new style when it launched for $600 in 2007.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/38253-google-nexus-one-sales-weak-compared-to-droid-iphone.html

 

[Renegeek]

I think the sales are low do to advertising. i'v seen so may with droid, but none for Nexus.

 

[TomSEA]

I don't know squat about these phones - I'm not a phone guy at all and I barely use the Crackberry my work issued me as is.

However, I do get a big kick out of watching users bark at each other over which phone is best. They're worse than the XBox vs. PS3 people. In more than one IT meeting, I've seen users of these phones almost come to blows over which one is better.

Pretty funny - and they're all welcome to these overpriced, communication overload devices as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Erm... Of COURSE the sales were low, they launched on one of the smallest of the major wireless providers, with some of the most spotty 3G coverage. At least the other 2 in the comparison were on the 2 largest wireless companies, so they had a massive pool of potential customers already in place. That, and the hype for those 2 phones - the Nexus One kinda slipped in, not nearly as much blanketing of the media.

Of course, I just saw that the unlocked Nexus One is now available to purchase directly for use on the AT&T and Rogers 3G networks. And it's about to be launched on the Verizon network. Let's see how the numbers look once it has some large and effective services behind it.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Another fantastic point, Vrmithrax.

 

[rskapadia2294]

vrmithrax is rite!
and another reason is due to low advertising!
there r tons of iphone ads on tv!
i think google should come up with a few marketing techniques! lol

 

[TorturedChaos]

renegeek said:
I think the sales are low do to advertising. i'v seen so may with droid, but none for Nexus.

I agree. Don't know if I have seen an add for the Nexus at all, but just watching a bit of shows after work I usually see 2-4 adds for the Droid.

 

[jasonk1229]

Advertising is huge I havent seen nearly as many ads as I have for the latter of the 3

 

[pgbsamurai]

It seems to be a combination of poor marketing, small carrier and I think everyone has gotten sick of hearing about the next iPhone killer. It is like the boy who cried wolf. There has just been so much disappointment with claims of the next iPhone killer that no one wants to be disappointed again. (Don't get me wrong, I think iPhone can definitely be improved on. Especially with Apple's increasingly draconian control of the app store.)

 

[rajmond]

The only failure for Google till now. But Google isn't Microsoft or somebody like that...They will improve their selves in this aspect and if they decide to lunch another DEVICE in the FUTURE, then it's going really to be the FUTURE DEVICE

 

[jjbeard926]

I think many of you have touched on good points, but have missed the largest one. Yes, it's the boy who cried wolf, yes, advertising has been weak for it and yes, many interested in the device were turned off by the chosen carrier.

But really, the Android market wasn't ready for yet another phone. It came out . . . 2 months . . . . maybe 4 after the Droid came out? The majority of the Android phone market had just upgraded. They'd tapped that well, it wasn't time to drop another line in it. The fact of the matter is that there are only so many smart phone customers out there. You have the dedicated iPhone folks, you have those stuck on Blackberry, now you have a group that loves Android, then there is everyone else that just doesn't care.

You have to market to your fanbois (yes, fanboys is misspelled, google it) and you need to grab some of that "other" market share. When the Droid came out the majority of the Android fanboi crowd bought it and were locked into long term contracts. Only the most devoted jumped ship on those contracts to buy the NexusOne. It's a simple case of poor planning and bad timing.

 

[Guest]

I've had a nexus one for 3 weeks now and I only heard of it through a friend so advertising is clearly something that was lacking because I'm usually up on these things. Also the only way to get it is to upgrade on tmobile or buy it flat out like i did for 560 bucks. there are no in store demos where u cansee the phone and interact with it like u could the droid and iphone. In addition to that its on tmobile. I hear a lot of people complain about tmobile but Ive been a customer for 5 years and never had a problem with them and the price for their plans are the best. It all depends where u live at though. Im very pleased with the nexus one. Had the mytouch but it really wasnt me and instead of getting an unlocked iphone where i couldnt have 3g and couldnt stand cydia or insure my phone it was worth it to me and so far I have no complaints. Minus the fact that the battery goes fairly quick when you get to playing around with it and the browser is crazy fast. I hope they come out with a way to get that sense UI on it tho. That looks amazing.

 

[slh28]

Being a Google phone, I would have expected a lot more fanfare... or maybe this was just a taster of what's to come? Rarely does a 1st gen phone do well on launch, even the original iPhone was a bit of a flop.

 

[SNGX1275]

I think everyone has pretty valid points, I too would like to mention advertising. The very first time I heard about it was when I saw a Digg about some dude making a centrifuge in his living room and using a Nexus One for monitoring what G forces were obtained. Lots of people in the comments thread thought it was an iPhone..

 

[megrawab]

It's Google's product so soon, it would surely hit the market. Almost every people use Google so they will see the phone in most ads... Even chrome was not that hit the moment it was released... This is how I trust Google's capabilities.

 

[drasho]

now that u guys point it out... the only reason i know about this phone is because of techspot... they hasnt been much add... but this phone look pretty good... I dont know anybody that has one tough

 

[alexandrionel]

@megrawab
You can imagine that Nexus One and Google can't wait an entire year to increase sales, right?
For sure in the next year a lot of other smart phones will appear from all big companies including Google.

 

[Thompson]

I agree with the first comment, what IS a Nexus?

 

[Yoda8232]

It's all marketing that's why the sales were low for the Android, plus the Nexus One I believe was only available in the US when it first came out.

 

[EduardsN]

Without techspot I wouldnt know there was a phone called nexus, they did lack advertising

 

[Serag]

lol @ the number of comments wondering what's a Nexus
I don't have a smart phone and I never had one, but if I'm to have one it would be Nexus One o.o

 

[Vrmithrax]

Honestly, I think the T-Mobile launch of the Nexus One was the equivalent of Google dipping its toe in the water first... With AT&T and Verizon getting their versions now, they are ready to actually dive into the pool.

If there weren't still a few minor issues with email on the Android platform, our entire company would be jumping ship off the BlackBerries and snagging N1s as soon as they hit Verizon. *sigh*

 

[Deso]

I bet Windows phone 7 will do way batter then nexus

 

[rufio]

Yoda8232 said:
It's all marketing that's why the sales were low for the Android, plus the Nexus One I believe was only available in the US when it first came out.

agreed. honestly, i've heard almost nothing about nexus since it's been released.