UNDER-FIRE Google Puts Nexus Q On Hold

In June at its annual developers’ conference, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) unveiled its brand-new streaming media device, Nexus Q, with much fanfare. However, just five weeks after, the company has indefinitely postponed shipment of the black ball. Google says it has done so in order to work on improving the device after criticism from early users.

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Attempting to provide competition to devices like the Apple TV, Boxee, and Roku, some thought the Nexus Q did not offer enough for its high $299 price tag. The orb was designed to play music and video from Google services, but could not access cloud-based media and had no speakers, auxiliary input jack, or remote control. The only way to control the device was through an app on an Android phone or tablet.

The company’s only statement about the delay came in a letter to customers who had ordered it. “[W]e have decided to postpone the consumer launch of Nexus Q while we work on making it even better,” Google said in the letter, according to New York Times. Customers who had already ordered the device will receive it at no charge.

Google’s reason behind the jump into hardware was, of course, to compete with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) over which television shows and movies users watch, which music they listen to, and, ultimately, which advertisements they receive.

“The battle for the TV is raging,” Forrester analyst James L. McQuivey told NYT. “If you’re Google and you know the future of advertising is going to encompass all the screens — the ones you’re strong on, the PC and mobile phone, but also TV — then you’ve got to nail that piece or you run the risk of hitting a ceiling with your revenue potential.”

While Google is known to introduce its new software products early in their development and eventually revising them, doing so as it gets into consumer electronics and hardware just won’t be possible, according to Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg.

“When you’re iterating like Google does with software, particularly when there’s no charge to use the software, you can do that,” Gartenberg told NYT. “But when it comes to consumer electronics, you can’t take that same approach. It’s a product that clearly needed more thought if it was going to sell to consumers.”

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