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Oh Google — how did it come to this? The Google Nexus 4 has turned from triumph to disaster in less than half an hour.
That’s how long the Nexus 4 took to sell out on Google Play, leaving some very angry potential customers struggling with a broken website and an empty shopping basket. But even if you were one of the lucky few who managed to bag a Nexus 4, your troubles ain’t over…
“Thank you for your recent purchase on Google Play,” Google emailed successful customers. “Due to overwhelming demand, your Nexus 4 is on backorder and is expected to ship within three weeks. We’ll send you a notification when your order has shipped and will credit the shipping charges.”
Three weeks?! Seriously, Google? What kind of company comes up with a flagship phone for the bargain-basement price of £239 and is then taken by surprise that loads of people want to buy it? Let’s hope the keyword here is “within”.
When we first saw the Nexus 4’s price tag, we wondered if it was too good to be true. Turns out it is. This shambles is terrible for Google: the goodwill generated by the Nexus 4’s astonishing price has evaporated in the face of incompetence in actually getting the phone into people’s hands.
I hope this supply SNAFU doesn’t drive phone fans to spend over the odds buying a Nexus 4 from elsewhere. Phone networks are charging much more for the phone and the privilege of locking you into a lengthy contract, which defeats the whole point of the affordable and liberated Nexus 4. Meanwhile, plenty of punters who picked up a Nexus 4 are pimping them on eBay for a hundred quid or more over the odds.
You can check where your order’s up to at your Google Wallet transactions page. If you can’t wait three weeks you can cancel your order: get your order number from the transactions page and paste it into Google’s cancellation page.
Did you manage to bag a Nexus 4? Have you turned to another network — or changed your mind completely about buying one? Has Google blown it? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
