Hacker News Reader

I don't think consumers will see it as being cheaper than free. I think they'll see it as something that's part of the phone (service) they pay for.

View on HN

I think by 'less than free' the writer of the article meant 'subsidized by Google searches' - that is, not only Google gives away Android for free, it also pays a share on the income on Google ads clicked on the devices to carriers.

I was reacting to the last paragraph:

> Another perhaps even more important factor is that when a product is completely free, consumer expectations are low and consumer patience is high. Customers seem to really like free as a price point. I suspect they will love “less than free.”

I don't see how customers will see stuff from Google on their Google phone as "less than free".

The carriers will get subsidies, but they're not the ones who will need "patience".

So I don't see how the writer can justify that last paragraph. Am I missing something?

By "less than free" he meant that Google is actually giving away money to phone producers, if they decide to build an Android based phone.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com