But internally, Android One was seen as an attempt to avoid another China, where Android is popular but comes without Google’s services. It was also a hedge against the rising power of Facebook, which is becoming, in many parts of the developing world, the gateway to the Web.
So far, it has done neither. And the audacious hardware program has been anything but.
I live in the Eastern Europe and could use a new smartphone, still the options are either very expensive or very crappy. In theory, Android One could be a perfect choice, but Google don’t want to sell it to me, like they don’t want my money.
There is also the problem with partnering with local OEMs. People living in the “developing world” learned over the years devices manufactured *for* their country are subpar. Now, some gear from the same OEMs but with a Google label on it turned from shit to gold? Unlikely.
Have you considered a Windows phone? Even the lowest range models are very capable.
Al long as they still run Windows, I am not interested
In those countries, the Moto E is popular, because of its price and endurance.
Edited 2015-06-12 21:54 UTC
I can tell you, in Eastern Europe (which is part of the so called “developing world”) Motorola is practically inexistent
Well, there are different parts in the “developing world” (like India, Brazil, Mexico), although vendors like Amazon may be checked to see what they can sell in some countries, e.g.
get someone to ship you a nexus 5 or lg g2. phones kind of stopped getting better after that
they do sell Nexus 5 around here, but the price is not in the same league with Android One devices.
you can get moto g 2 for very good price and if you are smart, you can also get galaxy s4 for crazy low prices and put there latest cyanogenmod, you will get better hardware than most android one devices