Well, at least part of the answer appears to be that Google is sharing advertising revenues with carriers that use Android, according to multiple sources who are familiar with the deals.
via Android’s Secret Sauce? Google’s Advertising Rev-Share Deals With Carriers | mocoNews.
This must be why AT&T replaced Google search with Bing on its Android phone and gutted all Google services as well.
We previously estimated that Google might sell 3.5 mn Nexus One units in 2010. Initial data-points were disappointing, possibly due to limited marketing and customer service challenges. Flurry estimated (based on mobile traffic) that Google sold 20,000 in the first week, and 80,000 in the first month, both annualizing to 1.0 mn. We forecast that Google sells 1.0 mn Nexus One units in FY2010, benefiting from US carriers other than T-Mobile, and non-US carriers such as Vodafone, promoting the device too, but suffering from limited marketing activity. We assume that Google rolls out a second Nexus handset, markets it more aggressively, and makes it available offline, and therefore forecast that Google sells 2 mn handsets per year in 2011 and future years.
link: Goldman: We Were Too Rosy on Google Smartphone Unit Sales - MarketBeat - WSJ
First they get excited over Palm then fawn over Nexus One. Then they take it all back. Give us a break.
Read my takes here:
Google the Shopkeeper
Nexus One: 80k units in first month -Flurry Android vs. Google
Obviously, not everyone is on the cluetrain...
Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin :
“Our analysis suggests that Apple will eventually sell the device at all carriers; however, there is a much greater probability that AT&T keeps exclusivity for another 12-18 months than investors realize,” he writes. “We think this has profound impacts for Apple, the carriers and the other handset OEMs.”
The iPhone on Verizon: The April Fool’s Joke That Works Every Day.
(footnote: Sorry about the graphic but I could not bear putting up the world’s worst logo).