Adventures In Retail: Nexus S Price Already Reduced In UK

Google Nexus S

Is this another example of a retailer looking to catch attention in the holiday shopping rush, or a quick response to early sales indicators? Only days after Carphone Warehouse started to advertise the Nexus S, which it is selling exclusively in the UK, the device is already getting discounted. First launched as a preordered item for the princely sum of £550 ($853), the device is now being sold for £430 ($667).

This is the price when the device is purchased SIM-free. Users can also get the device at no charge if they sign up to a 24-month contract with Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), with plans starting at £30 per month. Other operators in the UK are expected to also start offering the Nexus S in due course.

Interestingly, the pricing in the UK is on the one hand cheaper, and on the other more expensive than the deals currently on offer in the U.S. In the U.S., Best Buy is selling the Nexus S for $199 if purchased with a two-year plan with T-Mobile. Bought SIM-free, the device costs $530.

The Nexus S, made by Samsung, is the first Android-based phone to run using the ‘Gingerbread’ version of the OS. It has some other notable features that set it apart from the rest of the devices on the market, Android or otherwise, such as NFC support and a curved screen — although the latter is more of a cosmetic effect rather than a technological breakthrough.

It’s not clear why CPW has discounted the Nexus S so early in the game. It may have been the retailer’s strategy all along to discount it early, in time to catch the eye of bargain-hunting holiday shoppers. Or it may be that even in these opening days of selling, CPW had seen a sluggish start and decided to give the Nexus S a little fillip.

The Nexus S has been met with mostly favorable reviews (such as this one by influential VC Fred Wilson, which he posted yesterday on his blog) since being announced last month.

But even with its much-lauded (by Google) “pure” Android experience, it may face a challenge competing against all those other Androids, and all the rest of the smartphones, on the market.

For Google (NSDQ: GOOG), any Android device sold is a good thing, although it would be an embarrassment if its own device didn’t pull ahead of the pack.

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