Unfortunately, there’s a lot that goes into selling a mobile phone. (Or anything, for that matter.) And the truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter how fantastic your device may be; if you don’t try to sell the thing, it’s not going to sell. We’ve seen the same results from other companies and other devices, but it’s a big shock to us here at SlashPhone to see a device like the Nexus One doing so poorly. There’s several reasons why it’s happening, but still, it leaves us leaving a little queasy.
A report from Flurry, an analytics company that’s provided us with previous Nexus One information, states that the initial 74-day sales of the Nexus One have been next to abysmal, especially when compared to the original Apple iPhone and the Motorola Droid. That 135,000 may seem like a big number to a lot of people, especially in just 74 days, but the iPhone did 1 million units sold in 74 days. And the Droid? The other Android-powered handset, which is currently offered up by the Verizon Wireless network, sold a shocking 1.05 million handsets in 74 days. So, you see, Google has missed the mark with the Nexus One, and in the biggest way possible: marketing.
When compared to the marketing barrage that occurred with the original iPhone, and especially with the Droid, there’s no surprise that the Nexus One is failing in this regard. Here at SlashPhone, we can’t even honestly say that we’ve ever seen a Nexus One commercial on the TV. (It’s true, though, that we don’t watch much TV.) Yes, there are a lot of Google-centric Nexus One advertisements while you surf the Internet, but that’s not enough for the average consumer to purchase the device. And while many would paint the exclusive launch deal with T-Mobile USA another contributor of this failure, we’re not of the same mind. It would have helped them to have sold the device in T-Mobile USA stores, and that’s the bottom line.
On one last point, we have to play the Devil’s advocate with this. While we agree with everyone else in saying that 135,000 units sold in 74 days isn’t good at all, we’re also going to point out that Google didn’t market the Google Phone. In fact, it seems that Google was more interested in marketing their digital phone store, rather than the phone itself. So, yes, sales aren’t as high as the two most advertised devices in recent memory, but is that really shocking? Marketing vs no marketing has a distinct, clear winner, and that’s not a mystery to anyone.
[via Android Community]
