For about the last year, Google has been copying Oprah Winfrey by handing out free phones to attendees at certain events. At last year's Google I/O, the company handed out a few thousand HTC Hero handsets re-branded as the Google Ion. At the Sprint Developers Conference, Sprint and Google handed out 500 free units of the HTC Hero, And when the Mountain View firm introduced the Nexus One earlier this year, members of the press were given a free N-One to take home. On Tuesday, a tweet revealed that Google was at it again, giving away 70 free Nexus One handsets to those who came to the London Android Developers Lab. When you consider that each N-One costs hundreds of dollars, this is real money that is flowing out of Google's pockets. On the other hand, giving freebies to developers might help increase the number of apps in the Android Market and giving freebies to the press helps get coverage for Google. So while it might seem like a waste of money for Google, giving away phones most likely results in a positive cash flow for the company.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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