Do you remember the Google Nexus Q? No? That’s okay, even Google seems to have forgotten they ever made it. Just as a refresher, the Nexus Q was supposed to be this black ball that would stream movies, music and pictures onto a big screen. The content would be courtesy of Play Store and Youtube. Oh, it also cost about $300 right off the bat.
So, what made this device any better than a laptop or a very well endowed smartphone? Well, nothing as a matter of act. Since it relies on WI-FI, cellular and ethernet connections to be of any use, it is pretty much just a smart device that can only stream media from Google’s servers, and has no screen.
And god forbid if anything ever happens to the internet while the device is in use, because it will be Game Over until the net comes back.
Where is the infamous Nexus Q ball that Google made such a massive hype over at its 2012 I/O Conference now? Turns out the product was such a flop that the company has simply opted to “indefinitely postpone shipment” until they’ve managed to improve it.
Although most analysts predicted that the product would receive a lukewarm reception, very few of them realized what a super powered flop the product would be.
Now that the big G is busy hammering out the Nexus Q all over again, what’ll happen to customers who have already pre-ordered the device? Google said in a private letter to them, that they would receive the revamped, super improved version of the device at no extra cost.
There is one rather far fetched, but interesting theory that has been floating around since the Q went south, and it goes something like this; Google made a device designed to fail from the very start, so that they could fix whatever short comings it had in perception and function. Once they managed to produce a second, presumably perfect version, they would release it for real and makes tons of money.
Although the theory sounds a bit far fetched, and is very unfair towards consumers if it turns out to be true, it just maybe the truth behind the Nexus Q’s odd concept, release and then subsequent shutdown.
Either way, what do you think about the whole issue? Sound off in the comments!
Mohseen Lala
Mohseen is the native Yeti of Geek Insider, specializing in consoles, Apple tutorials, reviews and anything that's fun, geeky and worth writing about.
