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Why do Nexus devices not sell better?
- Thread starter PollyK
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It's more than a little but it is a lot more over time. But there are reasons
1. There's no 4G on any prepaid so far
2. Most people can't see the sense in budgeting 650 for a phone.
3. If you're going to stick with a carrier (let's say at&t gives the best coverage where you need it) and have no plan or incentive to change, why not sign a contract and get that subsidized pricing? You weren't going to leave anyway
Same with t mobile, they break up the subsidy from the service and the plans are the same as their prepaid so you can see that 20 per month coming off.
Verizon unfortunately charges the same so if you go the contract route, make sure you upgrade as soon as possible lol otherwise you're making subsidy payments even after its paid off
For me,regardless of the materials used, i dont mind the polycarbonate plastic and i can actually change the back of it if i want which i have done with my GS3, i can use my MicroSD card, the screen is bigger and when laying down on its back and touching the screen , the GS4 is flatter and wont rock around, and the camera on the GS4 blows away the HTC One camera.
I also like the extra features of the GS4 has that teh One doesnt like ability to use it as a remote and the gestures without touching the screen.
The only real thing i like more on the One is the front speakers. Its a nice looking device but it isnt all one peice. I saw a drop test on the One and the top and bottom speaker covers all seperate pieces and one of them fell off on the very first drop. HTC also has a bad rep with battery life though i have no idea how well the battery lats on the One.
I always use a case...well most of the time and when i dont, the aluminum back is just too slippery for me. Im always dropping my Wifes aluminum back HTC phone though it is in the house as i dont take it anywhere with me.
Oh and let me ask, since the HTC One is all metal, does if have NFC? I assume it does but since it wont work with metal , im curious where they put the sensor.
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This is true! I have also seen some developers complain that the Nexus line should only be released to them and they dont like that it is getting popular.
The nexus line was never that much. Not to mention there is 4g on multiple prepaid devices( no lte yet, but sprint has some 4g wimax devices, etc)
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I agree, the whole plastic argument to me doesn't really matter. I don't have to put a case on those plastic phones because I am not worried about it breaking if dropped or it is a lot easier and cheaper to fix unlike the metal/glass on some phones( iphone, htc one) And with most putting a case on their device anyway, the materials really don't matter.
The HTC One also has an IR Blaster along with a remote app. The NFC sensor is located just below the camera, and I have no trouble having it read my cards-even with a case on!
The battery lasts pretty long with the One. Coming from a Nexus 4, I have no worries of getting through a day or night without needing to recharge.
For me, I really enjoy the HTC One. It's like the perfect size and is beautiful. Coming from an iPhone 5, I really did miss the feel of aluminum. It really makes the phone feel premium
I can understand why people would choose the S4 over the One (especially for the expandable memory and removable battery) so it all comes down to personal preference. Both are great devices and are undoubtedly selling well on their own regards
People forget the most important factor.
Currently there are 325-350 million mobile subscribers in the USA.
http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/aid/10323
That's the last stat I can remember. What does that mean? Well some people like me carry 2-3 lines by myself.
But th bigger picture is of the post paid carriers. I am just estimating numbers. But both att and verizon combined have over 200 million. Plus sprint and tmobile (formerly post paid but switching to essentially prepaid)
So 280 million or so people are on post paid. Of that 280 million 60% are on family plans. Many are on 4-5 lines.
So full price Nexus devices do not make sense for many of them even at the ridiculously low $299 price for the 8gb nexus 4.
Many Americans want "free or close to free" phones on contract.
So the real reason nexus 4 do not sell well in the USA
1. Too many post paid customers on family plans. I know prepaid customers are growing. Some estimate the number of prepaid customers at 100 million if u believe those stats
2. Uninformed customers. There is more incentive for wireless agents to up sell and push customers towards lucrative post paid contracts.
Currently there are 325-350 million mobile subscribers in the USA.
http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/aid/10323
That's the last stat I can remember. What does that mean? Well some people like me carry 2-3 lines by myself.
But th bigger picture is of the post paid carriers. I am just estimating numbers. But both att and verizon combined have over 200 million. Plus sprint and tmobile (formerly post paid but switching to essentially prepaid)
So 280 million or so people are on post paid. Of that 280 million 60% are on family plans. Many are on 4-5 lines.
So full price Nexus devices do not make sense for many of them even at the ridiculously low $299 price for the 8gb nexus 4.
Many Americans want "free or close to free" phones on contract.
So the real reason nexus 4 do not sell well in the USA
1. Too many post paid customers on family plans. I know prepaid customers are growing. Some estimate the number of prepaid customers at 100 million if u believe those stats
2. Uninformed customers. There is more incentive for wireless agents to up sell and push customers towards lucrative post paid contracts.
Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 was on Sprint, GN was on Verizon...
They just don't appeal to the masses, The GN had a much better design than the GS2 but the gs2 sold better for Sprint.
Nexus is more aimed towards technical and it's not newbie friendly, also the features are pretty much hidden where non technical people would have a tough time working with them.
It's not a phone for the common consumer.... I see techies use them and that's it.
They just don't appeal to the masses, The GN had a much better design than the GS2 but the gs2 sold better for Sprint.
Nexus is more aimed towards technical and it's not newbie friendly, also the features are pretty much hidden where non technical people would have a tough time working with them.
It's not a phone for the common consumer.... I see techies use them and that's it.
Pricing on the verizon galaxy nexus for 2 year contract was a ridiculous $299. Very hard to compete with the same 2 year contract iPhone 4S at that time.
Sprint had zero chance since they still wanted $199 for a phone that has been out 6 plus months.
Put the S4 for $299 on contract and try to sell it with a similar HTC One or iPhone for $199 on contract. The S4 would have zero chance with that pricing strategy.
It's just the USA culture.
I agree with the second point, but not your first point. I am on an AT&T Family plan and I got a Nexus 4. I did that so I could upgrade my phone without extending my contract, as my contract was not up at the time and I was not eligible for an upgrade. Plus even now I would pick the Nexus 4 over just about any contract phone out there. I love pure Android.
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/lg...ealForAll=false&colourCode=&modelName=Nexus 4
We have options.
http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Devices/Google/Nexus_4?s_search=prodsearch
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mo...ealForAll=false&colourCode=&modelName=Nexus 4
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/lg/nexus-4/
http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_contract_details.asp?ItemKey=659987
Things aren't as bad in some countries.
True. But Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U are out of stock and getting the phone outside of the Play Store cost substantially more. Not a complete win in terms of availability.
Have to agree this is a huge turn off. I don't get why Google doesn't just allow more sizes at higher prices. Silly.
True, Nexus wasn't as much but still not as cheap as a subsidized phone.
Also wimax is a weak version of 4G.
I can't really consider that 4G
2 big things, Samsung's marketing (you can't go looking for a smartphone w/o being peppered w/ Galaxy S marketing) and it simply doesn't have the reach that other popular phones do. Besides being available at carriers and retail outlets, Apple and Samsung were the only two companies to extend their flagship devices to both GSM and CDMA, LTE and HSPA+ customers. HTC wised up and did that w/ the One, instead of releasing several different devices (Droid DNA, smh).
See below b/c even though the world doesn't revolve around the US, people outside the US somehow don't seem to understand why contracts are so popular here:
See below b/c even though the world doesn't revolve around the US, people outside the US somehow don't seem to understand why contracts are so popular here:
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I had 2 Galaxy Nexus phones on Sprint and they had such horrible battery life that Sprint offered a free upgraded battery if the consumer bothered to call to complain, but even that had little improvement to offer. I returned both of them and replaced with an iPhone 4S and a Samsung GS2.
Subjective, just like I think the other way around in my opinion too.
I have played with it a few times, a friend recently HUPed and also went to stores to check out for an hour every time I go, the phone simply looks like a slightly improved gs3 with a slightly brighter screen. Nothing made me "wow". And touchwiz was vomit inducing as always.
Looking at the htc one though, I was immediately impressed, and after checking out sense 5, I actually want one now. I was pretty big on the s3 last year and thought Samsung has killed all in mobile arena, bad sadly this time htc one impresses me way more.
Oh and, build quality is not where I based my decision by the way, I don't care about plastic or metal, but I also never use SD cards (rather get a 64gb local storage) or remove my battery. It was the other things, screen, software, no physical home button (I hate pressing it in my iPhone, and hated it on gs3) etc.
didn't the iPhone 4s and 4 come out months after att and Verizon was already released.?
it still sold a couple million a quarter on sprint which is still quite impressive.
why did the gn fail? it was a pretty hypedbupbphone running is?
the gs4 would still outsell the one even if it was 100 more.
This. Plus, Samsung have become just as good at marketing what their product does as Apple. The S4 graduation BBQ commercial and new commercial taking out the photo bomber are excellent examples. These are things the general public wants, things tech nerds call gimmicks. I use palm swipe to capture photos on my Note 2 several times a day as well as plenty of other TouchWiz "gimmick" features. I find many very useful. The general public care FAR more about these software features with gestures and TONS of great camera software than if they get updated to 4.2.2 the day it comes out. The majority of people with S4s have no clue what version of Android its running and really dont care. The Nexus line of phones are pretty much for developers and tech people who want to tinker and flash ROMs and launchers every other week, not for the general public.
T-mobile only has 4G in 7 markets and I didn't know they were letting their prepaid use it
Well i did say that was my opinion. The One isnt bad at all, just to me it is inferior to the GS4. And a 64GB Microcard is only $50 now. 32GB is only $20. Im using a 32GB now.
I absolutely love having that option. I have all my music and videos and pictures on it and the occasional app.
And if you like using the camera, the GS4 is far better and it isn't close.
Oops. I guess I wrote that the wrong way. I was agreeing w/ you
Merely restating that some people don't get it that in the US you only get 3G w/ prepaid. Unless of course you get T-Mo, but some customers, like me, gladly pay the Verizon premium for better coverage, i.e. contracts make sense b/c there is no suitable alternative.
It's been said many times, but I think the largest reason, by far above all else is marketing. In Boston you see ads for SGS at bus stops, sides of buses, sides of trains, inside trains, in the subway, sides of buildings, inside malls hanging from ceiling banners, and if course in television and online. Its pretty tough for me to go anywhere and not see some sort of SGS ad. I have seen ads for the nexus exactly NEVER.
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Afaik their $30 prepaid plan allows use of LTE. Not certain.
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Oops. I guess I wrote that the wrong way. I was agreeing w/ you
Afaik their $30 prepaid plan allows use of LTE. Not certain.
In my opinion it is because they do not put any effort into marketing Nexus devices and the overall product design is fairly dull. You hear the wonderful stories on here of people who have done wonderful things to make the phones perform better than when released but the truth is most consumers haven't heard of a Nexus. I've never seen a Nexus ad in the UK and never seen the likes of Carphone Warehouse and such like marketing them.
No. Sprint got the 4s same time as att and verizon.
$299 vs $199 is a major factor. Price the s4 at $299 base 16gb contract price. It will not sell well.
Verizon is only carrier to try to jack up phone prices on contract. The only exception is Note 2 which all carriers had for $299 on contract. Note 2 is more of a niche product and its sales are much lower than the S3 cause its more expensive.