I’m getting really annoyed with seeing at least one article every day with a title like “Why the Nexus One failed” or “Did the Nexus One really fail?” Not to mention a reference to this in countless other phone–, Google– or Apple–related articles throughout the day.
The worst part of it is that the articles are all the same. Nobody seems to have any original explanations. In addition, these explanations are all things people were talking about back when the phone was first released: it’s only available online; you can’t touch it before you buy it; it’s not being advertised; it’s expensive. Why is all this such a surprise to bloggers? Answer: I don’t think it is, but they’ve got to fill their daily quota.
The Nexus One was never destined to be a huge success. The only people who thought it was were analysts and we all know that analysts get over-excited about everything released by Google or Apple. When the thing was announced, Google predicted they’d sell about 150,000 units (which was a fairly accurate guess) but nobody remembers that prediction because some analysts predicted they’d sell 3 million.
I also think it’s about time we stop using the iPhone’s one million in 74 days record as a benchmark. The Nexus One didn’t beat it but circumstances were different. The Motorola Droid did beat it but circumstances were different (the Droid costs less; on the other hand, the iPhone had less competition).
Maybe the problem is just that we have too much news. If we had less, maybe it would be better quality. On that note, I apologize for the quality of this post. I’m writing it at two in the morning on my Nexus One.
