
Nexus 4 demand 10 times higher than Google expected - mtgx
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/nexus-4-demand-10-times-higher-than-google-expected-50010190/
======
conradfr
"LG says it takes about six weeks to increase the frequency of deliveries.
Happily, from mid-February, LG will ramp up production of the Nexus 4.
Finally!"

So ... if it's 6 weeks to increase production ... and it's on sale since
November 13th 2012 ... what are they doing ?

Bullshit.

~~~
untog
If my Nexus is any indication, they've been busying sending out replacements
for the defective devices they made.

~~~
hkmurakami
Which components were bad for you btw?

~~~
untog
The screen- it had yellow patches, and at various times (usually when hot-
which was another issue) it started flickering and distorting horribly.

~~~
hkmurakami
I've heard from others that they also had screen issues. This would definitely
be a potential reason for yield issues and a redesign need.

------
kristianp
Still no numbers on how many actually sold. Ten times an unknown number is
still an unknown number.

~~~
wmf
Is there any upside to releasing sales numbers? Even the high estimates are
far below the iPhone or Galaxy S3, so the numbers would just be used to
justify arguments that the Nexus is a failure.

~~~
drivebyacct2
Ugh, I'd selfishly hope they never release those numbers. I hope the Nexus
brand sticks around. I was so sad when they claimed they wouldn't make another
after Nexus One. Glad that didn't wind up being true.

Though, frankly, I don't expect them to give Verizon the time of day going
forward.

~~~
fpgeek
I expect Verizon will get tons of love from Google... right after they start
running VoLTE on that sweet, sweet open-access band.

------
martythemaniak
It's still hard to say who screwed up, but ultimate responsibly lies with
Google. The Nexus 4 has got to be one of the biggest launch screw-ups ever.

~~~
hkmurakami
Well, they did just have the Nexus Q just 6 months earlier...

~~~
thedrbrian
And all those google TVs that eric schmidt kept going on about.

------
homosaur
Google is ultimately the one who screwed up first, but they've had weeks to
fix this and LG does not show a lot of evidence of movement here. Both of
these companies will lose out on a a boatload of cash if they don't get this
solved yesterday, because this is Android, son. There will be a better phone
out next month. Google and LG have to fix this while the demand is still very
high.

~~~
ryanhuff
Its debatable whether Google or LG are losing out on anything. We just don't
know enough. For example, what if Google is selling the Nexus 4 at a loss?
Selling more means losing more money.

Whatever is the cause for the limited supply, there has been plenty of time to
address the problems, if the parties were truly motivated. At this point, I
can't help feeling that the supply constraints were intended.

~~~
tedunangst
There's a theory. Produce an awesome, unobtainable android phone. Hope people
will give up on the phone but not android and buy a different model that is
profitable.

~~~
ryanhuff
It wouldn't be the first time that Google releases something in very limited
quantities and very high demand. In fact, they do it every year (Google IO
tickets), and raise the stakes every time. In fact, the Nexus 4 release was
very reminiscent of Google IO ticket ordering. Google seems to love to tout
how quickly X sold out.

------
mahmud
I couldn't wait long enough, so I got a Huawei Ascend D1 Quad. It out specs
almost every phone in the market. The brand is virtually unknown, so they
threw everything on this quad-core 1.5GHz machine.

It upgraded itself Android 4.0.4, and it's jailbroken by default.

It bests the IPhone5 and Nexus on specs, and costs $200 less than either.

~~~
untog
It costs $200 less than the Nexus 4? Where can I buy it off-contract for $199?

~~~
mahmud
Nexus goes for $600+ in Australia, IPhone $750.

I bought my Ascend for $425 from JB Hifi

~~~
cheald
My Nexus 4 was $350 straight from Google, unlocked and unsubsidized.

 _shrug_

~~~
untog
There is where the dollar symbol is less than useful. USD != AUD.

~~~
cheald
$350 USD, sorry.

Current exchange rate is 1.00 AUD = 1.05045 USD, though, so the AUS price is
still wacky high.

------
Jhsto
It is worth pointing out that it is not only the people in UK and Germany ho
are ordering it. Where I live the 16GB model sells for 600€. This leads people
to order the phone trough middlemans in Google Store -countries, like Germany,
for roughly 400€.

------
b1n
Someone in a previous HN post suggested that companies sometimes release
limited stock in the first run so that they can then get a 'high demand' PR
boost for the second. Could this be what is happening here?

~~~
maxk42
A dollar today is more valuable than a dollar tomorrow.

~~~
craigyk
not if your dollar tomorrow can buy you more for less... it's all relative

------
enraged_camel
This is simply a massive failure on the part of Google's product managers, or
whoever conducts market research at Google. If a demand for a product is
within some percent of the estimate, that's normal. If it is an entire order
of magnitude greater, someone somewhere fucked up big time, costing Google a
lot of money in orders that cannot be fulfilled.

------
tron_carter
Once you go stock Android, you never go back. I love my Nexus 7 and the
frequent, direct OTA updates from Google. My AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 got an
update in the last month that turned it into a freezing, battery-draining,
glitchy machine with no patch to fix it in site. I will never buy a non-stock
Android phone again.

~~~
hkmurakami
This is exactly why the "you can buy another great Android device" argument
falls face first into the ground for me.

How long can I expect my (at the time) top of the line phone to continue
getting the latest OS updates? Additionally, how many (if any) phones get
thoroughly tested for OS compatibility and performance for new Android
updates? Do I really want to take an unnecessary roll of the dice?

~~~
cheald
I realize this isn't exactly what you're asking, but most all capable Android
devices end up being able to run far-future software via the custom ROM
community. My old HTC Sensation (launched May 19, 2011, running Android 2.3)
happily runs Android 4.2 thanks to the Android developer community. Even my
old underspecced Nexus 1 can run 4.2!

The OTA support may not be there, but that doesn't mean you're hard-stuck with
an older version of Android on the device.

------
BruceIV
I've got the Nexus 4 page bookmarked, and have been checking it so often that
it's hit my new tab page in Chrome ...

~~~
roto
I got mine a month or so ago and they announced both time so far before it
went on sale.

If you're just checking randomly you're unlikely to get it in time before it
sells out :(

~~~
BruceIV
Hope springs eternal ... and I've still got a couple months left on my
(terrible Canadian) 3-year contract - rocking the original Samsung Galaxy,
obsolete OS, broken headphone jack and all.

------
FuzzyDunlop
I really wanted to order a Nexus 4. I couldn't, so I got an iPhone 5 instead.

I'd consider that a failure on Google's part, for a total lack of
communication, and for seeming conflicts of interest when the same device is
offered subsidised by a network (defeating the point). It might as well be
vapourware.

~~~
mirsadm
Not really. Plenty of other Android phones that you could have ordered.

~~~
hkmurakami
No other Android phones would come with a virtual guarantee of timely Android
updates. iPhone5 is guaranteed to get timely iOS updates.

Also, other Android phones would come with the OS modified by the carrier.

------
jebblue
They are fun devices, enjoy it better than the Nexus One I'd been using. It
sux that they still don't include expandable storage, unlike Nexus One, I
wasn't going to upgrade but these were too cool for me to pass up.

