Google unveils Nexus 9, Nexus 6, Lollipop and more

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

No.
Discounting is when the retailer chooses whether to drop the price, not the publisher dropping the list price.

That difference is what the current cat fight is about.

Yes.

Let's say some book has a list price of $20 and is typically discounted to $10.

If the ability to discount is removed and the list price is set to $15, from the consumer POV, the price has been increased $5, not reduced $5. I am only changing to list price in this example to emphasize that it is the direction of the selling price (to the end user) that matters.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Nexus 5 won't add enough to my nexus 4.

I want a large screen, the other decent alternative is the Galaxy Note.
I wouldn't mind less pure power, just give me a large screen and a fluid OS.

Might as well go with the Note 4 - nearly identical specs hardware wise, unsubsidized price of 699 at Verizon for 32gb (where I preordered mine). You get a stylus and sd-card slot. Nexus 6 price might as well be identical to Note 4. Who knows when Verizon finally allows non CDMA phones - maybe never.

Edit: mhh, they did put cdma in the nexus 6 and Verizon will sell it.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Nexus 5 won't add enough to my nexus 4.

I want a large screen, the other decent alternative is the Galaxy Note.
I wouldn't mind less pure power, just give me a large screen and a fluid OS.

Gotcha. I prefer the other direction. I have a Nexus 4 and the screen is too large for my tastes. Shave a half inch off and I'd like it better.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Gotcha. I prefer the other direction. I have a Nexus 4 and the screen is too large for my tastes. Shave a half inch off and I'd like it better.

Same here. I have a Nexus 4 and a Note 2, and they are both too large for my taste. I'm with Duckietigger: if I wanted a large phone, I'd get the Note 4 for a little bit more, and it's even smaller than the Nexus 6.

I was really hoping Google would announce new wearables today, primarily some Android alternative to the Samsung Gear S phonewatch.

I may get the Nexus 9, because of its 3:4 screen ration, if I can get over the unexpected price.

And maybe the Nexus player, if it runs any android app: do you guys know if it does, or do apps need to be Android TV optimized? If I can install VPN apps on it, or directly access the VPN settings, I'll get it.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by xendula

Same here. I have a Nexus 4 and a Note 2, and they are both too large for my taste. I'm with Duckietigger: if I wanted a large phone, I'd get the Note 4 for a little bit more, and it's even smaller than the Nexus 6.

I'm gonna get me a 6" phablet -- Fire HD6 with Skype

The good news is that Lollipop is coming to the Nexus 4. That'll keep it going for a few more years in terms of app support with updates. After that, I'm not sure what I'll do for a shirt pocket-sized tablet.

[EowynCarter]

That was expected for the nexus 4.
Big surprise is the nexus 7 2012.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Might as well go with the Note 4 - nearly identical specs hardware wise, unsubsidized price of 699 at Verizon for 32gb (where I preordered mine). You get a stylus and sd-card slot. Nexus 6 price might as well be identical to Note 4. Who knows when Verizon finally allows non CDMA phones - maybe never.

I don't buy subsidized phone.
Sd card, the way google screwed it up...
I would love the stylus, but, touchwiz..At least the nexus, I know google will support it and I can keep it a while.
My previous experiences with non nexus phones was a disappointment.
I mean, my nexus 4 is still in perfect order, it's just me wanting a larger screen.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

That was expected for the nexus 4.
Big surprise is the nexus 7 2012.

Except at first, the N4 was left off the list and created a bit of chatter. Then Google popped in and said it was a mistake and placed it back.

As long as the hardware will support it, devices should get the OS upgrades. Failing to get it is the kiss of death, because developers eventually stop app support for older OS versions.

[afv011]

Although the price is in line with similar spec'ed smartphones, I think this price will turn quite a few people off. I expected it to be higher than the Nexus 5, but not nearly doubling it (you can still buy a 16GB/32GB N5 for $349/$399, whereas the N6 starts at $749 and goes up to $799 - all Canadian $).

I was set on getting one before the price was announced, I'll sit it out for a while and consider my options.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

As long as the hardware will support it, devices should get the OS upgrades. Failing to get it is the kiss of death, because developers eventually stop app support for older OS versions.

This is much less of a problem now. As long as you're on 4.0 or above, you should be OK - and this is nearly 90% of Android devices now. Developing for anything prior to 4.0 adds an additional burden to the developer, but if you target 4.0 as your minimum API level, it's all that much simpler.

[Barty]

Finally a 4:3 largish nexus tablet. I think HTC is better than Asus right? If only it had OLED screen. I can now get a Samsung 10.5 tab with OLED for $429 from Costco. I want that OLED screen! I just have to wait for a cyanogenmod rom to get rid of the Samsung bloat ware.

[HarryT]

Do we know what - if any - additional "lockdown" Android L imposes on the user? K drastically reduced the usefulness of external SD cards; does L take anything else away?

[din155]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Do we know what - if any - additional "lockdown" Android L imposes on the user? K drastically reduced the usefulness of external SD cards; does L take anything else away?

This was one thing that I also wanted to know. Couldn’t find any mention in the change log. Hopefully it will get clear when the SDK is released on 17th.

[Prestidigitweeze]

If the $600 price range is a fait accompli for unlocked high-end smartphones, then why does China now favor smartphones with comparable specs for half the price? I've had the chance to compare my $349 OnePlus One with an unlocked S5 and am still glad to have opted for a cheaper phone with the same processor. The quality of the OPO's camera is the only real drawback; the lack of bloatware and privacy shredding is liberating.

Besides, why is everyone talking about the price of the Nexus 6? Personally, I'm more interested in the Nexus 9, which is far less expensive than the N6 despite its size (though the screen dimensions seem odd).

Besides which, HTC versions of the Nexus line are going to be fun to play with whether you actually want to buy them or not. The speakers will be clearer and the sound more cinematic than the N7 and N10's. Besides, we might see a significant price drop on the N6 in sixteen months.

Judging from their excellent work on the G3, it looks as though LG learned a lot from their collaboration with Google. I'm hoping that HTC will, too, and will be able to recover from their losses. I've always liked that company's approach.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

If the $600 price range is a fait accompli for unlocked high-end smartphones, then why does China now favor smartphones with comparable specs for half the price?

Maybe because price is decided by traditions and what people are willing to pay?

We in Europe normally have to pay 1.5-2 times the price in the US. So from our perspective you are complaining about a price that still is lower than what we have to pay for phones.

I paid $630 for my unlocked Nexus 4 for example. And that was on the cheapre side for high-end phones. Over $800 is not uncommon.