We have been following the rumors and reports about Google’s intention of selling its own devices on its own online store. What came as a surprise for us is the fact that The Big G offers the first batch of unlocked Galaxy Nexus on Google Play Store because we were expecting that the company will launch a separate online store for its devices. However, it seems like that’s not the case as Galaxy Nexus is now priced at $399.00 from Google Play Store. While there is reason to get excited with the price of the device offering, we are more anxious to learn whether Google is actually prepared to do this stuff…again.
This is not the first time that Google will sell it’s own devices. The fact is, Google already tried it and failed. About two years ago, the company started selling its Nexus One directly from Google.com domain but it was never prepared for it. The first concern it has faced that time was the customer support; there was no 24/7 support for people who bought the device from the company. This time, however, Google Play Store offers support all year ’round and thus, it is the perfect place for the company to reboot its failed scheme.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first device offered by Google under the devices section of the Google Play Store. This device was released late last year and recently received a bump to Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). The once that the company is currently offering comes with ICS already installed and mirror the same specs as the one released several months ago. Previous rumors and reports indicated that when an online store goes live for the company this year, the prices of the devices offered will be subsidized considering carriers’ additional price will be bypassed. It seems to be true as Galaxy Nexus is currently being offered for $450 at Newegg.
In a blog posted today by Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content, it is apparent that Google is extensively promoting its newly-launched finance service known as Google Wallet as it offers free $10 credit for anyone who purchased Galaxy Nexus from Google Play Store and use the service. Other things Rubin specified were the features like Android Beam and Google+ mobile hangouts. Basically, we can expect that tons of features promoting Google services will be pushed into the devices offered from the Play Store. Also, we are anxious to know how Google will handle the logistics or if the company can send the products to its customers on time. This is among the fields where the company failed the first time it offered smart phones online for sale.
Currently, the devices section under the Play Store is available only in the United States and so shipment is still focused on one country. However, we are expecting that Google will start accepting online orders from other countries in the next few months to widen its audience but we still have to see about that because there are no information about that yet. The Galaxy Nexus from Google is open for both AT&T and T-Mobile in the US so anyone who wishes to order from Google don’t have to worry about the operator to get service from.
