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Call it a little summer cleaning or whatever you like, but it seems Google is finally ready to call it quits on a few of the Google Play edition devices listed in the Play Store. Let’s all bid a fond farewell to the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play edition, Sony Z Ultra Google Play edition, and HTC One (2013) Google Play edition — all of which have been officially removed, not only from the Google Play edition landing page, but Google’s support page as well.
Guess that’s a pretty good indication these devices wont be coming back anytime soon and while we don’t have any official numbers, something tells us these items were never selling very well to begin with. With rumors of Android Silver looming on the horizon, it’s possible the few devices that remain — HTC One M8, Motorola Moto G, and Samsung Galaxy S4 — we’ll see them joined by a few new comers (or the Google Play edition scrapped entirely).
Which reminds us, just where the heck is the Samsung Galaxy S5 Google Play edition?
Wow, didn’t see that coming. The HTC One M7 makes sense, since it’s been there just a hair over a full year and its successor is in the Play Store. But the Z Ultra and G Pad are the most recent additions (aside from M8 and Moto G). Also, the G-Pad was the only GPE tablet.
Looks like Google might be winding it down in preparation of silver. We’ll see.
Sony Z ultra was just too big..6.4 inches..and that’s just the screen…I believe it was the cheapest of all smart phones..I think the last time checked.. It was discounted down to $450….but still too big…
Moto G GPE was cheaper, but yea, the Z Ultra was the steepest discounted. I think the One M7 was $499, last I checked.
I guess that one is a smartphone….I was talking about the big boys…but hey..aren’t all phones smart phones? Lol
no.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/New_Zealand_Rotary_Telephone.jpg
I think the GPE model is just critically flawed. They literally put devices with lower specs at double the price point or higher then Nexus devices with better specs and support. I don’t see GPE edition lasting out this year. They need to stick to the nexus model and abandon this GPE nonsense completely. If the Death of nexus ends up being true that is gonna be a huge blow to hard-core vanilla enthusiasts. I simply don’t buy the rumors though.
Ian, have you ever used a GPE?
“They literally put devices with lower specs at double the price point”
At the time of the Galaxy S4 GPE’s release, the current Nexus was the N4. You could either get a 16GB N4 for $349, or you could get the S4 GPE for $649. The S4 offered many features that the N4 didn’t, such as faster CPU (Krait 300), faster GPU (Adreno 320 Gen, and overclocked 50mhz), LTE, larger display, 1080p display, MicroSD expansion, IR Blaster, and many other perks. Bottom line is that the Nexus was the lower-specced version. Now, it was up to the customer to decide if the S4’s perks warranted an extra $300. While the Neus 5 did improve on this 5 months later, the N5 didn’t exist at the time that most people considered getting the S4 GPE.
” then Nexus devices with better specs and support.”
Not only do the GPE devices offer better specs than their comparable-generation Nexus counterparts, but support is about the same. Typically, GPE devices get their software OTA rollout the same day or within a week of the Nexus devices. The worst rollout was Android 4.3, which took 8 days to begin after the Nexus 4 rollout. We got 4.4 and 4.4.3 before some Nexus devices as well. But on average, rollouts begin within 24 hours of the Nexus.
GPE is essentially a Nexus in a different form factor, allowing the user to determine if the extra bells and whistles are worth the raised cost. But your statements of the GPE having inferior specs and lesser support are blatantly false.
Your making a nearly 2 year old 1 off comparison. The devices that were just removed were all lower specs then the N5 and around twice as much respectively. Is the M8 higher spec’d then the N5? Yes but the M8 was just released and the N5 is getting close to a year old. it’s spec differences are not nearly as significant as the previous example you made. I stand by my original statement. The GPE edition model is critically flawed and that’s probably exactly why you’re seeing devices drop like flies and Samsung not participating with the S5
I don’t get why people were whining so much about the GPE prices, buying unlocked is cheaper in the long run with carriers you’re not getting a phone for $200, you’re paying in installments basically.
Because you still have to plop down $600 down front. A lot of people don’t want to do that for a phone they don’t exactly need.
If they don’t really need it the shouldn’t buy it at all that’s how you get yourself into bad financial situations.
No one really needs expensive top of the line phones.
Dude, I *need* my own Island and a supermodel staff to tell the think tank what they missed.
What I can afford is somehow less.
Doesn’t change what I need though.
:D
I know you know the difference between want and need. Shoo Shoo
That’s a silly generalization. You get into bad financial situations when you spend more or equal to what you make.
No one NEEDS a $600 phone. Everyone with the gs5/m8/g2/iphone5s could buy a moto E, instead but by your assertion everyone with one of those phones are in risk of financial troubles and shouldnt have bought their device because a cheaper option exists?
People have budgets and income that exist beyond their bills. and saving.
Not really. You get into bad financial situations when you have no self control. If you can’t save for a smart phone you probably have no self control and I doubt you will have self control when it comes to buying a car or house. It’s part of the reason America is in this state. People were offered loans for more than they could afford to pay back and instead of having self control they took them.
That’s true however i never said anything about people not being able to AFFORD a $600 phone. I said people not feeling like dropping $600 on a phone. There’s a huge difference.
Sure i can afford to take a cab to work tomorrow, but I don’t feel like spending $20 to do so.
If I have $600 in my play money fund sure I could buy a $600 phone…. or I could spend $25 a month on a phone and still have left over to go out drinking and partying and still have money saved up just in case something special catches my eye.
Nobody who can afford furniture is going to rent it from Rent-A-Center. You end up paying double. That $600 phone just cost you $1100. The only time someone who can afford something and wouldn’t buy it out right is when their money can make more money than what they pay in interest.
Would you like to inform me on how much interest one pays through T-Mobile?
Not really sure how to do interest rates. I would guess more than 100% since you are borrowing $400 and paying them $900. They’re not going to come right out and tell you that your paying interest. I know what you’re talking about with T-Mobile. You found the exception to the rule but that has only happened in the past couple of months and is the only carrier to do so and your phone is locked into T-mobile. Also not everyone can use T-mobile. Network coverage is only about half of what Verizon and AT&T are.
Yes but Verizon’s coverage is irrelevant anyway since these devices don’t work on Verizon. And I’m pretty sure ATT has the same financing system as T-Mobile now.
Also interest rates often times offer 0% interest if paid by a certain time (many times its within a 1 year period).
So I’m not really sure how its the exception if it is the only interest rate pertantant to the conversation.
Hahaha. I have to give you an “A” for effort. The only way you can buy the devices above is through Google because they are a special edition. Which makes your argument about T-Mobile irrelevant since T-Mobile doesn’t sell them. If you want to stick to the original topic of buying v.s. financing your last statement is irrelevant because I’m pretty sure you have both options at Verizon. Your move!
But that wasn’t the original topic. Lol. The original original topic was why do people whine about the GPE edition devices. And I said people whine because there is no interest free financing options or contract options through their carrier like other phones. That was it. Then people started calling people poor and the conversation got side tracked.
Well technically….. Lol. The conversation started off with what phones were going to replace the phones that were getting cut. I joined in after Medion brought up buying v.s. finacing.
Because most people are short sighted. At the time of the first GPEs, you could choose between the One M7 ($599) or the S4 ($649). I had to run the math by a friend. At the time AT&T was offering a plan that was basically $90/mo for unlimited talk/text w/2GB data for his one line, with the S4/One M7 both being $199 on contract. Straight Talk was $45/mo for the same, but 2.5GB of data before throttling (no overages). So he could either pay an extra $400 up front (repaid in 9 months) or $45 (10 months). Then, he could do it all over again. And on top of that, he wasn’t limited to the GPE. He could get the Sense/TW variants full price as well, of he so chose.
But people don’t grasp this. They just see the up front price. My friend, when confronted with this, STILL insisted the $199 up front was cheaper in the long run.
I pay the exact same amount on my bill whether I paid full price or got the phone subsidized. That’s pretty much everything in the US.
Well, no. There are plenty of smaller providers with much less expensive monthly rates. Cricket, H2o, Straight Talk, Net10, Ting, Virgin Mobile and Page Plus all have smartphone plans for less than $45 per month. They all rent networks from larger providers, so you’re essentially getting the same thing for less money.
New Xperia device inbound?
I’d bust a nut if the Sony Xperia Z2 Google Play edition popped up in the Play Store.
Your comment is waiting moderation Chris
You and me both. Specially if I would be able to use it on Sprint.
z1c compact just dropped in the sony store maybe that will pop up
I’d take that too :D
Glad I got my ultra when I did
Eagerly awaiting G5