back to article Googlephone sales off to a sluggish start?

A new report suggests that as few as 20,000 Google Nexus One smartphones were sold during its first week of availability. By comparison, 1.6 million iPhone 3GS units were snapped up in its first seven days on the planet. First the caveats. Then the dirt. The Android handset's debut was nothing like that of the iPhone 3GS. The …

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  1. AF
    FAIL

    Misleading report title - they're not sales...

    Given that their report states the Googlephone was released on the 5th, and this report was released on the 13th, how on earth can they claim it represents first week sales? It's first week DELIVERIES, surely? Since the gPhone is only available mailorder, and by all accounts hasn't managed to reach anyone outside the US yet, all they're able to track is the phones that have been delivered in the US. The other phones were available to take home right away from stores, so users would be able to get up and running with trackable apps much sooner.

  2. TeamEvil

    Sigh

    I ordered one on the 5th and it was delivered to the UK on the 7th.

    1. AF
      Coat

      Dangnabit

      Really? Nuts. All I've seen so far is lots of people complaining that they ordered it and have yet to get any idea of when they'll receive it. So I stand corrected, some phones have made it outside the US.

      Even so, I think it's still an unfair comparison.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    it's beacause .....

    that's because Bill Ray didn't write a prediction titled "why the Nexus One will fail and fail badly"

    come on el reg, bring some karma to Google with your flawless prediction!

  4. IR

    Network

    If was on Verizon, and therefore in all their stores (which outnumber T-Mobile by loads) then I'd consider it. Better to go for the Droid Eris, which is near identical, except that it seems to have sold out everywhere. Much cheaper too.

  5. Philip Nicholls Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Got mone

    I am in Hong Kong. I ordered mine first thing in the morning HK time within hours of the announcement. Then I watched the online sales site and the DHL tracking report do nothing for 6 days. The package moved (Indiana? Ohio?) finally and within 36 hours - voila - the package arrived in my office yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, 13th Jan

    Cheers

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    So is it any good?

    Some of us are waiting to here if it does what it says on the can, after all, it's a long way and probably not cheap to send it back (!)

    1. Mark Zip
      Boffin

      Re: So is it any good? A: Mixed

      @AC

      Pros:

      * Amazing screen, really gorgeous. Capacitive touch responds quickly and easily.

      * Speed. Fast, fast processor means no lag

      * Tight integration with Google services. Gmail app is excellent, Maps is good, Calendar is fine. Synch works flawlessly.

      * Voice enabled in all text fields. Yes, it's a bit odd to be talking into the phone all the time, but when it talks to the servers back at the Chocolate Factory the results are remarkable. And improving apace.

      * Google Voice: If you do not have a Google Voice account, you do now. Use it for voicemail or forwarding. Also texts or emails you when you have a new voicemail. I think this might be the real killer here. You can make it use google voice to make all calls, international calls only, etc.

      * "Open" . Easily rootable if that's the way you swing. Also highly customizable out of the box.

      *The famed multi-tasking.

      *There's an app for that.

      *Tethering. I think this has been more difficult to do this in America than in Europe, so this might be a bigger deal for us here on this side of the pond.

      Cons:

      *Idiot bifurcation of 3G signals in the US means that we can only use it on T-Mobile 3G here. It will, of course, talk to the ATT EDGE network when you are outside of the admittedly limited T-mo 3G coverage.

      *Flash Storage: Pitiful. Only 512 on board and it ships with a 4 gig card. Will address up to 32 gig card. But the N97 has 32 gig on board and can address a 16 gig card.

      *Speaker: Weak and can sound tinny at times.

      *Camera: not good enough. Not a patch on the N97 or even N95

      *Small UI issues with Android 2.1 Some people don;t like pressing buttons.

      *Screen has trouble in direct sunlight, of course. Also doesn't work too well in the cold when you are wearing gloves. ;-)

      *You need an app to use some of the MS Exchange calendar services.

      ====================

      Also: call quality is OK.

  7. Skrrp
    Thumb Down

    News article?

    Speculation .... dubious stats ... speculation ... admission that stats are dubious ... speculation ...

    I'm going to wait for mine to arrive and hook it up to USB before I make my judgement.

    So how about that article about its bluetooth keyboard compatibility rather than endless fluff?

  8. Jim 64
    Happy

    News?

    That's a pretty poor article. At least you acknowledge that even your source acknowledges that it is guesswork. Phone will be huge and the more disruptive the better. Staus quo is a disgrace, esp in some parts of the world (like Canada). The more it shakes things up the better for everyone. We can always go back to other stuff next time a the new extra competitive prices that the extra competition from a successful Googlephone provides.

    And so, I'll buy one as a matter of principle. We are all winners if this does well, even if it doesn't work out in the long run, supporting it in the short term will bring longer term benefits to mobile users. Should see some progress at last. Bring it on.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    blah...

    Google shouldn't be ashamed of this, it just means they don't attract brainless fanbois like Apple. (Although I'm sure they'd like to).

    1. Justin Clements

      even worse...

      ...we get brainless Google fanbois to contend with. not that the android fanbois weren't insufferable to start with.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yeah, it's strange

    Especially after all the marketing money Google's thrown at the 'phone.

    On a different note: What's with all these brightly coloured buttons? It's 1030 and I've only had one Pepsi so far, I really don't need it.

  11. Tech Hippy
    Alert

    Best explained?

    "An Android smartphone is a unfamiliar piece of kit to the average consumer, one that could best be explained by an actual flesh-and-blood human"

    Clearly you've never been to the average mobile phone store....

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Region block brings Region fail

    That's what you get for selling only to Singapore in the Asian region. Hundreds of Malaysians would have bought one, but when we visited the site we got a "phone is not available in your country" error.

    Like Apple, Google has the same narrow mindedness in that Malaysians are not 1337 enough for the phone. Good for them then. They only have themselves to blame for the phone ending off as a poor seller.

  13. Neur0mancer
    Unhappy

    I have one...

    ...And the geek prestige I have in my office is unparalleled. The phone is pretty gash though :-(

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Wait until other networks start selling it directly

    It's the first phone that's been sold primarily as an unsubsidised handset, and it's been largely unadvertised, so it's not surprising there's not a huge 1st-week sales run. E.g., once it crops up as a subsidised phone on Voda in the UK, sales here will shoot up.

    And besides, Google doesn't need to sell 2m units in the first 2 days to match the hype it's whipped up. This isn't Apple, after all. Google's strategy has always been 'slow and steady', without fanfares or trumpetting. I mean, Android numbers in general are beggining to be impressive, and that's without the pervasive advertising like the iPhone (apart from the Droid, Android handsets haven't been advertised on TV etc).

  15. Gulfie
    FAIL

    Apps...

    A couple of years ago, 10,000 apps for a phone would have been viewed as remarkable. Right now, 10,000 apps for Android is still very good and not to be sniffed at. Remember that a significant percentage of iPhone apps are either (a) crap or (b) 'lite'.

    The bigger problem is the post-launch news. I looked at ordering a Nexus One for development purposes the day after launch, and decided to wait until I could order something that ships from within the UK.

    However I've shelved that idea indefinitely because of two reasons: fragmentation of the OS makes developing software that works on all versions a nightmare, and problems with the firmware.

    This is a very public fail for Google and when you add in the internet-only availability and clear lack of timely customer support it would not be surprising if people ran a mile from the handset - or at least until all these problems are publicly acknowledged and clearly fixed.

    Makes the iPhone troubles look trivial by comparison.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      What cobblers

      Fragmentation is a worry, but it hasn't happened yet. If you write your app properly, it'll work on all platforms.

      And what 'firmware problems' are you referring to? If you mean the 3G/EDGE issue reported by some users, it's being investigated and will be fixed if there's a bug. It's no different to bugs that appear in any mobile firmware.

      If you want one, get one, and stop using inaccurate, spurious or irrelevant issues to cloud your opinions.

  16. Robert Grant

    @AF

    Surely with an online purchase, a delivery IS a sale?

  17. MarmiteToast

    Ugly

    Am I the only person who thinks the phone looks ugly?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Smarter than the average customer

    "Plus, the Nexus One is sold only online. An Android smartphone is a unfamiliar piece of kit to the average consumer, one that could best be explained by an actual flesh-and-blood human. Perhaps potential Nexus One purchasers who aren't thoroughgoing handset geeks are shying away from buying one without first poking and prodding it under the watchful gaze of an Android-trained salesperson"

    Heh. Fat chance of *anyone* working in a high street phone store knowing anything about smartphones. I applied for a job O2 in my darker hours and was able to explain my previous experience with smartphone technology (including some appearences on AllAboutSymbian and a couple of other tech sites). All the mindless drone with the manager badge was interested in was my ability to network with employees and how to present a customer friendly environment. Technical knowledge can clearly take a running jump.

  19. Nathan Askew
    Unhappy

    Apps Schnapps

    Why do all reports highlight the fact that there aren't as many apps on Android but fail to recognise that it is far better to have 1 decent, usable app rather than 10 fart apps.

    I thought the stats were that most iPhone apps get used on average between 3 & 4 times in total. There are no apps I have on my iPhone that I haven't been able to get similar on Android.

    So really it is not a point which is worth making.

    1. Olivier 2
      Black Helicopters

      not quantity but names

      I agree, but the android market is definitely lagging in big name apps.

      timeout just launched an iphone app there is a full page advert in the magazine about it. You don't get that on Android so much. Facebook took ages to take notice and the app is lacklustre on Android. Luckily, Spotify and other goodies are becoming more and more available but that will depend a lot on the awareness that google will manage to developp for the platform ...

  20. Olivier 2
    Black Helicopters

    Google is not into big launches and therefore can't expect massive initial sales

    The buzz they generated was only directed towards the phone and gadget 'enthusiast' public and can't compare to a traditional media launch.

    Not surprisingly, I've noticed that there is very little awareness of android around me, the only smartphones everybody knows are iPhones and Blackberries (the with keyboard variety). Certainly not a lot of people even know google launched a phone. We'll see if they do anything differently in the UK.

  21. Matt 6
    Pint

    Mine also turned up in the UK within 48hrs

    Although I was out and crappy DHL was shut all weekend so still had to wait till Tuesday to get my mitts on it.

    It is however a lovely phone, albeit my first touch screen too, but loving it so far. Couple of apps are a bit buggy, still looking for a good podcast app other than that haven't struggled to find good functional apps on the Android store.

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