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by nemik 4126 days ago
"There's a widespread belief that an Android device without Google services (really, this means Maps and the app store) is unsaleable outside China (I'm not entirely sure about this, as I wrote here)"

Like you said in that link, Amazon has tried this and I'm not seeing it really working out all that well for them. I think the only reason phones without Google Services work in China is because the entire country blocks them and gives their domestics an artificial advantage. Amazon might be there too but only because they're too small to even worry about. Not so with Google and its Android services.
5 comments
jusben1369 4126 days ago
The failure of Amazon's phone is largely attributable to the fact they designed a phone _for Amazon_ and not for end users. They became too enthralled with the buy from Amazon experience. Anyway I don't think anything Amazon did is useful in terms of this discussion.
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adevine 4126 days ago
Not just looking at the phone, though, even the tablets (kindle fire) are crippled because FireOS is subpar to stock Android in virtually every way that matters.
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prapam2 4126 days ago
Xiaomi mobiles sold in India does contain Google apps(and its so much smoother then some mid-budget mobiles and comes with better specs). Nokia still has good reputation in India and still they were not able to gain any significant marketshare with wp.
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mercurial 4126 days ago
Jolla has an Android compatibility layer but no Google services (AFAIK). I don't know how well they are selling, though.
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hga 4126 days ago
But Amazon offered expensive phone, right? I gather with features that didn't really live up to the price even if you don't count Google Services.
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__xtrimsky 4126 days ago
They lowered the price to 200$ with no contract only a couple of months after it came out. That is extremely cheap for the hardware. Nonetheless I don't know anyone with a Firephone, and it didn't really pick up steam afterwards either.
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pavlov 4126 days ago
The Nokia X platform is (was) a recent attempt at creating an Android device without Google for markets other than China:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_X

X might have gone somewhere, but by the time it shipped, Nokia's phone division had been acquired by Microsoft.

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