
Google to Sell Tablets on Its Own This Year - Slimy
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702303404704577312043639469540-lMyQjAxMTAyMDIwOTEyNDkyWj.html
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Zikes
After my experience with the Nexus S, any benefits regarding the "pure Google
experience" and "first-in-line updates" will be taken with more than a few
grains of salt.

It's hard to describe the frustration of putting my trust in them and then
watching so many other devices coming out with and being upgraded to Android
4.0 all around me, while I'm left in the dark.

Google, phone manufacturers, and carriers all seem to have a distinct "fire
and forget" mindset regarding phones. As soon as it's on the market they move
on to the next one, and those of us locked into a 1 or 2 year contract are
left in the dust.

~~~
ajross
Solid contender for most-unfortunately-timed post of the week. Factory images
for the 4.0.4 went up for the Nexus S not 5 minutes ago.

[https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/android-b...](https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/android-
building/b50nY_onbP4)

~~~
Zikes
I have the Nexus S 4G, specifically. Still waiting :)

~~~
robotdongs
I believe that's a sprint issue, not a google one.

~~~
potatolicious
That may be true - but that's little comfort to the end consumer, and earns
you no points next time they find themselves in a store picking out a new
phone.

I don't understand why Google doesn't support offline/non-OTA patches. Apple
achieved phenomenal adoption speed for new releases pre-OTA, there's no reason
Google can't do the same. The fact that Google needs a carrier's blessing to
patch phones is a non sequitor.

~~~
ajross
These are non-OTA updates, so I'm not sure that analysis holds. Note that the
Verizon CDMA Galaxy Nexus ("toro") is in a similar position, but that JBQ
promised an image would be coming soon.

I think a stronger case can be made that Google lacks an architecture like the
desktop distros have where they can update packages independently. Why should,
e.g., UI improvements to the shell or bug fixes to the settings app be held
back by driver validation for an LTE modem?

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peterfschaadt
As the owner of a Nexus One I've had some frustrating experiences with
Google's customer services. They frustrated a lot of users [1] and it was
obvious they were unprepared to handle support issues and angry customers. HTC
and Apple both offer exemplary customer service and Google will have a lot of
work to do to match them in customer satisfaction.

[1]
[http://www.pcworld.com/article/186399/google_faces_deluge_of...](http://www.pcworld.com/article/186399/google_faces_deluge_of_nexus_one_complaints.html)

~~~
cageface
Support is Google's greatest weakness. If they want to be a successful
consumer electronics company they need to step it up fast. Apple is leagues
ahead of them in this.

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jeffool
How did the Chromebooks do?

I don't ask with snark, but with genuine curiosity. I heard lots of people
happy they got the free ones... But didn't hear about many people buying them.

I actually think they WOULD do better off if they made it themselves. Or at
least just let Motorola do an exclusive Google-branded model akin to the
Nexus.

~~~
Zikes
I have one of the original Chromebooks, from their pilot program.

It's a great device for what it is, and the built-in 3G has actually saved my
bacon on a couple of occasions. It made a great loaner device for when my
girlfriend's parents had to drive halfway across the country with just a
candybar pay-as-you-go phone.

Google's failing was twofold, in my opinion:

1) They initially said the device would sell cheaply, in the $200-300 range.
Instead, the two launch devices were $500+, a price range which encroached on
territory already covered by other, more powerful, and more featureful
devices.

2) Lack of proper marketing. The Chromebook may have been less powerful, but
it had a battery life like you wouldn't believe. I used mine daily, taking it
to meetings at work to take notes on, browsing the web on breaks, yet I only
had to charge it every few days, sometimes just once or twice a week. And that
SSD! Every time I showed it to my coworkers, the first thing I did was close
the lid to put it into hibernation, then re-open it and show how it was
instantly back at its previous state. It truly behaved as though it remained
powered on throughout the process, despite going into a low-power state that
could last for weeks. Unfortunately, these and other great features were
unknown to the average consumer.

As far as updates, however, their setup is top-notch. It automatically
downloads and installs updates just like the Chrome browser does, and they
update fairly often. I only wish they could do the same with their phones.

~~~
harisenbon
I never got one of the Chromebooks (I don't believe they're even available in
my country), but I can understand why they failed at that price point and
feature set.

If they were $200-300, then they not only are a great value for a laptop, but
would provide fair competition against tablets, which many people want just as
a cheap laptop.

But when you get to the $500 price point, you lose any advantage over the
ipad, and start to encroach on the $900 price point of the macbook air, who's
ssd and battery life is just as amazing as the chromebook, with better support
and better specs.

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jinushaun
Unlike phones, tablets shouldn't need carrier approval—at least not to the
same extent. Google should have an easier time selling tablets than the ill-
fated Nexus One.

~~~
cageface
They have to walk a very fine line here though. If they push their own
hardware too hard they risk driving the other vendors into the arms of
Microsoft. If they're too timid then the current excesses of the vendors go
unchecked.

Personally I think they're going to have to bite the bullet and become a real
consumer electronics company but that's going to be a very painful transition.

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ZeroGravitas
How exactly is this different from the Xoom (and the Nexus phones)? The
implicit frame for this news is "Google copying Apple due to failure" but I
don't seem to find any information beyond that.

