Subsidize me, Common on Google

January 7, 2010 - 9:42 am | 8 views

Technology.am (Jan 07, 2010) — The price of Google’s new Nexus One is $529 and admittedly a small price to shell out for the eternal enjoyment promised by its backers. For $179, one can get the similar device through T-Mobile, because the wireless carrier expects to charge $79.99 per month for at least two years.

If T-Mobile is ready to subsidize the price of the Nexus One in return for a services contract, why can’t Google subsidize the gadget, given that it’s efficiently a one-way trip into Google Land and each and every one of its services?

Tom Foremsky correctly notes that “Nexus phone does nothing to confront the power of the telcos,” given that it leaves them in the place to order what customers can do with their phones.

He goes on to disagree that Google must purchase a telco and thus emphasize control over the entire customer experience.

It’s a good consideration, though totally out of keeping with Google’s business model of leveraging others’ infrastructure, however Google could get much of the way there, by just subsidizing the phone itself, thus cutting into the telcos’ influence over their customers.

That’s what the unlocked $529 version does, after all. It positions the customer to be one SIM card swap away from a latest telco. It makes wireless ready for action again.

Further Reading