Google has quietly postponed the rollout of its $300 media player.
Dubbed Nexus Q, the slick Android Jelly Bean device allows users to stream music and video from Google Play, Google Drive, tablets and smartphones.
”When we announced Nexus Q at Google I/O, we gave away devices to attendees for an early preview. The industrial design and hardware were met with great enthusiasm,” Google wrote in an official email to those who pre-ordered the media player.
“We also heard initial feedback from users that they want Nexus Q to do even more than it does today. In response, we have decided to postpone the consumer launch of Nexus Q while we work on making it even better.”
To make up for the delay, Mountain View announced that it will be sending a free unit to Nexus Q pre-order customers.
As Dante D’Orazio of The Verge notes, the $300 Nexus was widely criticized by analysts and journalists alike for its premium price tag and relatively minimal feature set.
“Its $300 price-point was due to its highly-publicized US-based manufacture. We haven’t received any details from Google clueing us in as to how it will alter the device, but the email sent to pre-order customers suggests that the changes will primarily come on the software side,” D’Orazio explained.
“Currently, the Nexus Q can only play back content from Android devices, and lacks its own user interface. If we had to guess, we’d say that Google will address that issue before it commits to a re-release.”
