When Google unveiled its Nexus Q streaming media player at this year’s Google I/O conference, it claims the device’s spherical form factor was met with positive reviews but that many felt the functionality of the device was lacking. Based on this feedback, Google has decided to postpone the Nexus Q’s launch indefinitely while it works to add to the device's functionality. But it’s not all bad news for the early adopters who pre-ordered the device, as they’ll be getting one of the original models for free.
The biggest criticism leveled at the Nexus Q was the limited range of content the device can actually stream – namely music and video from Google play and videos from YouTube. Compare this to more feature-rich and at the same time cheaper Android-based media streamers, such as the Sony NSZ-GS7 Internet Player and Vizio Co-Star, not to mention competing devices, such as Apple TV and Roku HD, and it perhaps isn’t surprising to see Google head back to the drawing board.
The company has sent out an email to anyone who has already pre-ordered the Nexus Q, saying that it has “decided to postpone the consumer launch of Nexus Q while we work on making it better.” Google will also be sending them the existing model Nexus Q at no cost. The company presumably already has enough in the pipeline to fill the number of pre-orders.
There’s no time-frame on when the updated model will be released, but we’d expect the current spherical form factor to remain and would be surprised not to see the device get some app support. It will also be interesting to see whether the revised model will sell for the same US$299 price slated for the original.
