Nexus phones in SA

Bl1zz4rd

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Hi all.

Does anyone know the actual reason we don't get Nexus phones from cellular providers in SA? Is it just because they're not perceived to bring in as high sales volumes as Galaxy phones or iPhones?

There are supposedly two new Nexus phones launching on the 29th of this month, and I'm able to upgrade my contract phone at present, but I see little point in waiting to see what releases if South Africa isn't going to get the devices.

I'd rather have a new Nexus phone over a Galaxy S6 because of the vanilla Android experience on the former.

I am aware that I can buy Nexus phones from Orange, or import them from overseas, but I don't want to purchase the device upfront, but rather have it provided to me on a contract.

It's such a shame that we don't get the phones here, as they're really good.
 
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Mobile operators in SA... Actually majority of consumer electronics in SA is... Yea Best i can think of is welcome to SA
 
Mobile operators in SA... Actually majority of consumer electronics in SA is... Yea Best i can think of is welcome to SA

I spoke to some staff in cellular stores and they said they don't understand it either, since they get numerous requests. The more people who ask about it, the greater the chance will be of the providers realizing the demand.

I've e-mailed people in procurement at Cell C, Vodacom, and MTN, asking for a reason. I'll post the replies here.
 
I spoke to some staff in cellular stores and they said they don't understand it either, since they get numerous requests. The more people who ask about it, the greater the chance will be of the providers realizing the demand.

I've e-mailed people in procurement at Cell C, Vodacom, and MTN, asking for a reason. I'll post the replies here.


If there's a fault who is going to fix it?
 
If orange can sell them so can they.



This is not Orange Store, there needs to be logistics in place. Previously Asus used to handle repairs on the Nexus 7 I think but because the manufactures vary and some brands don't have official repair centers they just have companies that do it on their behalf it making things harder.
 
Hi all.

Does anyone know the actual reason we don't get Nexus phones from cellular providers in SA? Is it just because they're not perceived to bring in as high sales volumes as Galaxy phones or iPhones?

There are supposedly two new Nexus phones launching on the 29th of this month, and I'm able to upgrade my contract phone at present, but I see little point in waiting to see what releases if South Africa isn't going to get the devices.

I'd rather have a new Nexus phone over a Galaxy S6 because of the vanilla Android experience on the former.

I am aware that I can buy Nexus phones from Orange, or import them from overseas, but I don't want to purchase the device upfront, but rather have it provided to me on a contract.

It's such a shame that we don't get the phones here, as they're really good.

They brought in the first few Nexus phones and they didn't sell one.

Unfortunately the general public doesn't know what a Nexus is. Everyone knows what a Galaxy or Xperia is though,
 
Samsung brought the Galaxy Nexus in. Reason is, Nexus phones have been manufactured by the smaller brands, and Nexus is an even small subset of the phones they have on offer. It just doesnt make sense to bring them up as the sales will not justify it.
 
Samsung brought the Galaxy Nexus in. Reason is, Nexus phones have been manufactured by the smaller brands, and Nexus is an even small subset of the phones they have on offer. It just doesnt make sense to bring them up as the sales will not justify it.

Isn't Google nexus Motorola? By no means a small brand.
 
Motorolas sales are hardly existent in SA. Networks push handsets with marketing budgets.
 
Motorolas sales are hardly existent in SA. Networks push handsets with marketing budgets.

They brought in the first few Nexus phones and they didn't sell one.

Unfortunately the general public doesn't know what a Nexus is. Everyone knows what a Galaxy or Xperia is though,

LG is a well-known brand, and their phones sell pretty well in South Africa. LG manufactured the Nexus 5, which was a great phone that was never offered in SA. LG is rumored to be making what is being called the 5X, releasing later this month.

Nexus phones have improved over the years and have become better known around the world. Perhaps bringing them in again now will prove to be a profitable decision. Consumers here may respond differently to the way they did in the past.

If there's a fault who is going to fix it?

Fair point. I'm not sure how the channels work, but I'll ask about that.

Thus far, only Cell C has replied, and stated that the company's "Device Management team [is currently] in discussions with Google on the types of devices that are authorized for South Africa".

There's a petition on Change.org to show demand for future Nexus phones in SA here.
And a Facebook page here.

I'll hopefully hear back from the other providers soon.
 
Isn't Google nexus Motorola? By no means a small brand.

The Nexus 6 is made by Motorola. The Nexus 5 was made by LG, the Nexus 9 was made by HTC etc. Huawei are supposedly making one of the 2015 Nexus devices. All Google have to do is finally open up the full Play Store in South Africa and sell music, devices etc.
 
They brought in the first few Nexus phones and they didn't sell one.

Unfortunately the general public doesn't know what a Nexus is. Everyone knows what a Galaxy or Xperia is though,

Well, they sold at least one... To me. Galaxy Nexus. Currently on loan to a buddy of mine, but still going strong.
I'm also in the market, but I'd like to buy cash, if I can afford it.
It's time for another Nexus in my life...
 
Well, they sold at least one... To me. Galaxy Nexus. Currently on loan to a buddy of mine, but still going strong.
I'm also in the market, but I'd like to buy cash, if I can afford it.
It's time for another Nexus in my life...

Did Samsung add any of its bloatware to the Galaxy Nexus?

Go and sign the petition so we can both buy one of the new ones at the end of the year :)
 
Did Samsung add any of its bloatware to the Galaxy Nexus?

No. It ran stock Android and also supported Ubuntu Touch for a while. It was the first phone that Mark Shuttleworth used to demo Ubuntu Touch. Google sold versions of the HTC One and Galaxy S4 that had stock Android as well via the Play Store but that didn't last long.
 
No. It ran stock Android and also supported Ubuntu Touch for a while. It was the first phone that Mark Shuttleworth used to demo Ubuntu Touch. Google sold versions of the HTC One and Galaxy S4 that had stock Android as well via the Play Store but that didn't last long.

Awesome. It's a shame that more people didn't get the stock versions to boost the popularity of those kinds of phones.

I wonder why it is that more people aren't racing to get Nexus phones like they do Galaxy phones or iPhones. The person I spoke to at Cell C today was of the opinion that Nexus phones tend to attract early adopters and those who are passionate about technology. I think it may, to a substantial degree, be as a result of good marketing by competing brands and a history of people being used to owning their phones, and therefore not wanting to switch.
 
Did Samsung add any of its bloatware to the Galaxy Nexus?

Go and sign the petition so we can both buy one of the new ones at the end of the year :)

Nope. Pure Android. Nothing else.
Where's this petition? I'll sommer sign twice :D
 
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