[Discuss] Google's Nexus 7

[richard.pieri at gmail.com (Richard Pieri)]

On 7/10/2012 9:19 PM, Bill Bogstad wrote:
> You know that Google just completed their acquisition of Motorola in
> late May of this year?  And Google already builds (or at least
> designs) their own servers and networking hardware.   This would seem
> to at least hold out the possibility of Google doing full
> tablet/cellphone designs (hardware + software) entirely in house.

It's not just design.  It's understanding the fickle nature of the 
consumer marketplace.  Neither Google nor Motorola Mobility grok that 
the way Apple does, and putting the two companies together won't 
magically give them that understanding.


> In addition, everybody talks about how well Apple is doing in
> smartphones (and they are certainly the largest manufacturer), but on
> the OS level Android is double iOS. (I've seen 50% vs. 25% numbers).

I'm not sure that the numbers are accurate but the gist of it is.  The 
Steve was livid that Android ripped off iPhone (his statement) and was 
doing better than his own toy.  That was a couple of years ago.  When 
you factor iPad into it then iOS dominates the mobile space.


Don't get me wrong.  I don't think that Nexus 7 is a mistake per se.  At 
least I don't think that the idea is a mistake.  The mistake is trying 
to compete with iPad head-on.  Xoom failed.  Tab 10 failed.  Transformer 
is getting by.  Nobody is going to beat iPad at its own game any time soon.

So don't try.  Google needs to Think Different.  Take what they have, 
what they know.  Turn it on its ear, inside out, upside down.  Make 
something so insanely cool that everyone will want to have one, and 
everyone else will try to copy it.  Easier said than done.

Nexus 7 is a first step.  It gets the idea of affordable, reliable, 
Google-branded devices into public awareness.  The second step, however, 
isn't a bigger Nexus 7.  I don't know what that second step is; if I did 
then I'd have already sold it to Google for a small fortune.  What I do 
know is that it needs to be something different, something or some 
combination of things or some variation that the mainstream hasn't seen yet.

-- 
Rich P.