ottscay
Well-known member
I'd like to discuss the price of the Nexus 5 and its consequences. Here are some topics off the top of my head:
Here's my take:
1. How have other companies reacted to the Nexus 5's price?
They can't, actually. Carriers want prices high in order to make on-contract pricing attractive, and they generally set both on-contract and off-contract pricing when they agree to carry a phone. To buck that would be to lose marketing dollars and potentially shelf-space for an OEM. The closest thing to a reaction is what Motorola is doing with the Moto X off-contract price cut (and the online customization, which makes the whole idea much more interesting), but of course that's really Google too.
2. If Google offered a more expensive model, what would change?
Do you mean exclusive to the current price point, or in addition to it? Raising the price (even with better features or build quality) at the expense of current pricing would probably hurt sales (I would have grabbed an onsale Moto X for myself in that case), but adding a second model, maybe a phablet-sized one with a premium build and camera might sell well, especially if they were willing to also play the on-contract pricing charade.
3. Under what conditions could Google offer a free Nexus 5 without a contract?
None in my opinion. Despite the above argument that there is no monopoly issue here (which is technically true) it would lead to a TON of complaints from OEMs, and Apple and Microsoft would use it as lobbying point numero uno. In essence, Google would be opening itself to a ton of additional oversight scrutiny which could end up hurting their core business. More interesting would be if they could somehow manage to dramatically drive down the cost of a quality entry-level device that also encouraged people to notice prepaid pricing options. You know, something like this.
Feel free to discuss these topics or suggest other price-related ones.
Sure - the short version is that Google hurts itself if it upsets the applecart too dramatically. Having Samsung drop them would lead to a fierce market share battle - one I think Google would ultimately win, but at a much greater expense. Instead they are trying to quietly nibble at various consumer pain points and expand the market instead of stealing market share from existing Android OEMs. That's why the Nexus line continues to be a steal to those in the know, but not so obviously to non-techies. That's why the Moto X attempts to expand in a way that appeals more to iPhonesque users that prefer user experience over specs, and why the Moto G is an attempt to redefine the lowend. They are truly trying to "turbocharge" the Android market, without pissing off other manufacturers. Time will tell if they can walk that tightrope, but if push ever comes to shove they could certainly make a quality loss-leader phone at an even lower cost if they need to.