Google is refuting rumors that it plans to open retail outlets similar to those operated by chief competitors Apple and Microsoft.
“Google has no plans and we have nothing to announce,” Android chief Andy Rubin told reporters today at Mobile World Congress, according to AllThingsD.
Googl’e Nexus 4
Rubin said consumers no longer feel the need for a hands-on experience to decide if they wish to purchase a device. Online reviews and talking to acquaintances who use the device they are interested in is usually enough for most consumers to make a decision.
“They don’t have to go in the store and feel it anymore,” Rubin said.
The rumors began to circulate in earnest earlier this month after 9to5Google, citing “an extremely reliable source,” reported the technology giant was in the process of constructing stand-alone stores in major metropolitan areas that were slated to open in time for Christmas.
The report also indicated the stores would give Google the chance to demonstrate the Nexus and Chromebooks to prospective customers.
Rubin, however, said Google is still in the initial stages of its hardware efforts.
“For Nexus, I don’t think the program is far enough along to think about the necessity of having these things in a retail store,” he said, adding there are no store plans for any of Google’s divisions.
Rubins’ remarks confirm what Google Shopping head Sameer Samat told All Things D in December.
“We aren’t planning on being a retailer,” he said. “We don’t view being a retailer right now as the right decision.”
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Yes, definitely true that online reviews and talking to acquaintances who uses the item actually enough for most consumers like us to make a decision.