Google launches a 1080p, Snapdragon 800 phone at $349.

AngryNil

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So here's a thing.

Nokia's had its success in offer low-cost devices like the 520. It's great value, and its not often you don't have something on the Android side of things that will rival a Windows Phone. But this quickly changes as things trickle up. Just take the shiny new budget offering from Nokia, the 1320. It has a Snapdragon 400, 720p screen, middling camera at $340, which actually got some people in the Microsoft world excited. While this isn't a direct 1:1 comparison as the 1320 is a phablet, the Nexus 5 is a better device in just about every way, at $9 more. It easily rivals the 1520, which is offered at $750. Nokia is now on the receiving end of price disparity.

Windows Phone flagships have traditionally failed to garner much sales. Should Microsoft be pursuing flagships at a low price, at least while Windows Phone still needs to grow substantially? It might not have to reach Nexus pricing, but if off-contract pricing drops by $200 and on-contract pricing starts at $99 (? la Lumia 900), we might see some sales.
 

lippidp

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I wouldn't use a Google phone if it was free. Putting my own preference aside, it would seem you are doing a paper comparison. Maybe the thing in real life is a hunk of ****.
 

bjbaylor

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Apples and oranges in my opinion. I like the phone and was considering getting it, but expandable storage and battery life are important to me so it's a no go for me personally. I could see why people are excited though.

The Mega and HTC One (giant phone) are more apt comparisons for the 1320 as they're all giant phones with lower end specs.
 

AngryNil

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Putting my own preference aside, it would seem you are doing a paper comparison. Maybe the thing in real life is a hunk of ****.
You're clearly not putting your own preference aside. Did you also expect the iPhone 5S to be worse than the iPhone 5, the 920 to be worse than the 900?

Apples and oranges in my opinion. I like the phone and was considering getting it, but expandable storage and battery life are important to me so it's a no go for me personally. I could see why people are excited though.
I'm not drawing a direct comparison, I am pointing out that Google is launching a device with flagship specs at $349, undercutting Nokia by $400. Nokia has found success on the other side of the equation. As far as I can tell their flagships do not sell in any meaningful quantity, offering disruptive price points could change that.
 

Satchef1

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Nokia milk early SIM-free customers. Always has, always will. It's industry-standard practice, with Nokia and Sony being the worst culprits (in terms of initial mark-up). They release phones at the ?600 mark, then gradually drop them to the ?400 mark over the initial two to three months. Google are merely bucking this trend, starting the phone at the 'destination price'. For what is on offer, ?299-?339 is a realistic 'destination price' for the Nexus 5. It is 'top tier' spec, but sacrifices have been made elsewhere to hit this price (particularly around build quality, although I'm waiting for camera reviews with some interest...). Once the price for devices like the Z1 and 1520 settle down (a process that will be accelerated by the Nexus 5), the price difference is likely to be more like ?100-?150, a much more realistic representation of the difference between the devices.

The Nexus offers phenomenal value. Based solely on spec, it looks like a market-breaking device. This won't be the reality. Reviews will be along the same lines as the Nexus 4 - great value for money. At price parity with the 'top tier' devices, the Nexus wouldn't sell.

This is all fairly pointless though. The vast majority of handsets are sold on-contract. Once we start talking about on-contract pricing the price difference between the Nexus 5 and other high-end devices will appear to reduce dramatically (in the UK at least). We'll be talking about single digit ???'s per month, which doesn't sway consumers anything like as much as a ?100-?150 difference in RRP.

The Nexus 4 did more damage to the mid-range than the high-end. At ?239 SIM Free, it made competing in the ?200+ PAYG market very difficult. I can see the Nexus 5 doing similar things for devices like the S4 Mini, One Mini and 1320. It's difficult to argue in favour of the other devices when the same money can buy a 5" 1080p phone with the latest quad-core chip.
 
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squire777

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I wouldn't be surprised if Google is heavily subsidizing the cost of the phone. With the amount of money they have they can afford to do that. Other OEMs don't have that luxury.
 

cckgz4

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Nokia put out a phone for $100 that is about as consistent as this $349 device (before all of the enthusiasts come swooping in, yes I know there is a CONSIDERABLE difference in performance, but everyday use it's almost as consistent aside from a few laggy moments). Nokia is also about to put out a 5" device at this price point with nice specs, not top of the line like this, but we've never been "leading" the spec race
 

AngryNil

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I wouldn't be surprised if Google is heavily subsidizing the cost of the phone. With the amount of money they have they can afford to do that. Other OEMs don't have that luxury.
While I understand that the part cost estimates aren't exactly a science, think about them for a second. The iPhone 5S supposedly costs $200 to manufacture and Apple will charge you $800. I fully believe that Google makes money on the Nexus 5. Nokia is ripping you off by charging $750 for a Lumia 1520, make no mistake.

Microsoft is buying Nokia. I'm saying whether that should be its play on the high-end, since it has failed to garner any traction there.

The Nexus 4 did more damage to the mid-range than the high-end. At ?239 SIM Free, it made competing in the ?200+ PAYG market very difficult. I can see the Nexus 5 doing similar things for devices like the S4 Mini, One Mini and 1320. It's difficult to argue in favour of the other devices when the same money can buy a 5" 1080p phone with the latest quad-core chip.
I think if Microsoft's "high-end" (which, traditionally, has been behind Android simply due to its more restrict nature) ends up supplanting the mid-end of the overall market, that's a perfectly fine end result. It will mean that people will still be buying into the latest and greatest that the platform offers, which is as important as saturating the low end of the market. Flagships are good for mind share and perception.

Nokia is also about to put out a 5" device at this price point with nice specs, not top of the line like this, but we've never been "leading" the spec race
Windows Phone doesn't need to lead the specs race, but it needs to compete and ideally better the competition in bang-for-your-buck.
 

Daylife

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WP8 doesn't really need a super fast CPU fyi. Android on the other hand needs as much CPU just to keep the OS running smooth. Look at the S4 and the lag issues.
 

z33dev33l

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Nokia put out a phone for $100 that is about as consistent as this $349 device (before all of the enthusiasts come swooping in, yes I know there is a CONSIDERABLE difference in performance, but everyday use it's almost as consistent aside from a few laggy moments). Nokia is also about to put out a 5" device at this price point with nice specs, not top of the line like this, but we've never been "leading" the spec race

A bit of lag on the android end? because it's more likely on that "flagship" phone than the Lumia 520
 

rubenwidjaja

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what would you think if there's a phone with price $350 come up with 1080p, snapdragon 800, gorilla glass 3?
If it's me I would be scare!!!
How could that cheap??? Maybe if it used for 1 month then it broke? No quality check so the price so cheap?

you guys must be know if buying something, if the price too low but it offering something "wow", that's mean there's something wrong with it
I don't know what's wrong with Nexus but I'm scared.
 

ag1986

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what would you think if there's a phone with price $350 come up with 1080p, snapdragon 800, gorilla glass 3?
If it's me I would be scare!!!
How could that cheap??? Maybe if it used for 1 month then it broke? No quality check so the price so cheap?

you guys must be know if buying something, if the price too low but it offering something "wow", that's mean there's something wrong with it
I don't know what's wrong with Nexus but I'm scared.

I've owned every Nexus phone since the HTC Nexus One, and not one of them have given me any sort of quality issue. It's just that Google is not taking the insane profits that Apple et al get (e.g. iPhone costs $200 to manufacture).
 

BitPusher2600

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Indeed OP, several others here have it correct. For those of us who don't want anything to do with Google or Android (whether their opinions seem sound or not), no, its not a great deal because why would it be to that person? I do agree with you that spec wise it definitely blows the low end Lumias and the like out of the water. That thing outspecs my Ativ S Neo in every category and is way cheaper to boot, so yeah, that sucker will sale.

It is however lacking one crucial thing: Windows Phone ;)
 

broar94

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what would you think if there's a phone with price $350 come up with 1080p, snapdragon 800, gorilla glass 3?
If it's me I would be scare!!!
How could that cheap??? Maybe if it used for 1 month then it broke? No quality check so the price so cheap?

you guys must be know if buying something, if the price too low but it offering something "wow", that's mean there's something wrong with it
I don't know what's wrong with Nexus but I'm scared.

Really? Then I guess you are also scared of using low-end lumias since they are cheap as well, right? I know nokias hardware can be trusted but really, there is nothing wrong with the subsidised google nexus. N5 is based on lg masterpiece- the lg g2 , should be very similar except for the camera and the hardware buttons. Pricing don't mean a thing with nexus, you are getting a solid android package and android updates come first to nexus(like apple iOS) devices.
 

scottcraft

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WP8 doesn't really need a super fast CPU fyi. Android on the other hand needs as much CPU just to keep the OS running smooth. Look at the S4 and the lag issues.

That's due to Samsung's touchwiz. The HTC One and the developer edition of the S4 are smoother on the same processor.
 

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