“In a disappointing move, Google announced that a 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet, built by Asus, would ship in July,” Gene Steinberg writes for Tech Night Owl. “Disappointing? Well, you have to wonder whether it’s a mark of foolishness or desperation, and what sort of message Google is sending to their Android licensees.”
“Certainly the Nexus 7 comes across as a rush job. How do I know? Well, that foolish admission from Google’s Andy Rubin that it took four months to develop (Apple worked years to bring the iPad to fruition),” Steinberg writes. “Worse, at a list price of $199, industry estimates have it that Google and Asus will be making exactly zero profit. Clearly, they’ve followed the Amazon Kindle Fire playback, which is to depend on the sale of apps, movies and TV shows via Google Play to generate profits. Of course, the real origins of this marketing scheme go back the original Gillette razor concept. You got the razors real cheap, or even free, but paid and paid and paid yet again for the blades.”
Steinberg writes, “Kindle Fire, which is similar to the Nexus 7 in some respects, only registered good sales during the 2011 holiday season, and essentially tanked after that. So why does Google, with no proven reputation as an online retailer, expect to do any better? Or were they desperate to come up with something, anything, in time to present at this week’s Google I/O conference in San Francisco.”
Much more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Spec Shootout: Apple iPad vs. Google Nexus 7 vs. Amazon Kindle Fire vs. Microsoft Surface – June 28, 2012
Analyst: Google Nexus 7 threatens Microsoft Surface, Amazon Kindle Fire, not Apple’s iPad – June 28, 2012
Analyst: Amazon, not Apple, should worry about Google’s tiny screen Nexus 7 tablet – June 27, 2012
Google sells tiny screen tablet aimed at Amazon’s tiny screen Kindle Fire – June 27, 2012
Google ‘Nexus 7′ tablet ships in July with Tegra 3, 7-inch display, $199 for 8GB, $249 for 16GB (with video) – June 27, 2012
Apple’s revolutionary iPad widens lead as tablet sales surge – June 15, 2012
Apple’s massive domination of tablet market unabated as Amazon’s tiny screen Kindle Fire demand tumbles – June 5, 2012
Apple’s iPad remains dominant in Q112 while Amazon’s tiny screen Kindle Fire fizzles – June 4, 2012
Amazon’s tiny screen Kindle Fire shipments have dropped off a cliff – May 9, 2012
Amazon’s Kindle Fire shipments fizzle to anemic 4% market share – May 4, 2012
