Google vs. the wireless industry
Does Google's new phone store for the Nexus One threaten the current wireless industry business model? Well, it's certainly got potential to be a game changer -- but whether it is or not is going to solely depend on the success of Android, and how successful they are at wooing manufacturers and carriers into buying into their plan.
What is happening here is that Google has basically opened up their own wireless store -- just like thousands of other brick and mortar businesses that sell phones and plans for carriers on commission. Google is so big though that they have leverage over carriers that none of their competition could possibly have.
If executed well, they will basically become a "mega dealer" that will sell phones and plans from any carrier. Now, back to reality. Executing on a plan like this is going to be virtually impossible. A purely online store for mobile phones simply will not work because consumers (for the most part) want to touch and play with devices before they choose to make a big investment like this. At best, Google's store will be only an option for consumers.
What do you think? Let's hear it in the TalkBack!