Why did Google delay the Nexus Q?
(Read article summary)Hint: It probably has something to do with the $299 price-tag. Moreover, the Nexus Q doesn't neatly fit into any existing hardware category.
Back in late June, Google unveiled a spherical gizmo called the Nexus Q – essentially a conduit for all sorts of streaming multimedia.
Hook the Nexus Q up to your television set or home entertainment system, and you can access content purchased from Google Play or share music and friends with friends via the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas. The thing certainly looked pretty cool, like a robot head missing the rest of its body. Engadget called it "mysterious." David Pogue of the Times, taking a somewhat more skeptical approach, called the $299 device "baffling."
Now we can all call it "delayed." In an email to folks who had already pre-ordered the Q, Google said that "the industrial design and hardware [of the Q] were met with great enthusiasm. We also heard initial feedback from users that they want Nexus Q to do even more than it does today. In response, we have decided to postpone the consumer launch of Nexus Q while we work on making it even better."
