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This is what the Google IO attendees received on their way out of the keynote.

by rburhum 12y ago

joezydeco 12y ago
That's a huge cutback from everyone getting laptops or phones.
- TarpitCarnivore 12y ago
  They also get a choice of LG or Samsung Android wear device, as well as everyone will get a Moto360 when they ship.
  - arrrg 12y ago
    I don’t really understand why they do that. Isn’t there more than enough demand? They don’t have to create weird incentives to attract the wrong people! They want people to attend who will actually get the most benefit (knowledge about making things on various Google platforms) from it and benefit Google in turn, not anyone else.
    - moistgorilla 12y ago
      It breeds good will. People will be going to google io, spending a couple of days only thinking about google and leave feeling happy with their new toys. Also, if there is anyone there not in the android ecosystem they will sure as hell give it a try once they leave with their new top of the line phone.
    - jrockway 12y ago
      From this comment thread, it appears that giving away free stuff can't please everyone. One comment complains that some cardboard isn't good enough, while yours bemoans Google giving away stuff that's too good. I think the idea is to get devices in the hands of developers; people that will play with it and report bugs or blog about it, people that will code up a little app to see how it works on a watch, and so on. It does create incentives for people that just want free stuff to go to I/O, but it's probably a lot simpler and cheaper for them to just buy it when it's released. If you're not a developer, is a smart watch with no third-party apps that useful to you? Probably not. Being an early adopter is rarely sunshine and rainbows.
      - wuliwong 12y ago
        hahah, I was thinking the same thing. :)
      - pyre 12y ago
        I wouldn't say that this: > That's a huge cutback from everyone getting laptops or phones. is a complaint that "some cardboard isn't good enough." Google has been giving away things like phones and laptops at Google I/O for a few years. I think it's reasonable to say that giving away "only some cardboard" is a huge cutback, without commenting on whether that's a good or bad thing.
    - pavanky 12y ago
      > I don’t really understand why they do that. Isn’t there more than enough demand? There is. But they also want developers to work on their products. What better way to get them started than to give them away at a developer conference.
    - dragonwriter 12y ago
      Its not designed as an incentive to attend, is designed to get devices in the hands of the kinds of people who will attend I/O so that they can develop for them and act as product evangelists.
    - jfoster 12y ago
      As long as they keep the value of the devices lower than the cost of attending, that incentive ought to be minimized. I think they may have done giveaways in the past that were worth more than the ticket price, though.
    - blisterpeanuts 12y ago
      There was some HN discussion about this a few weeks ago. It was mentioned that the freebies attract opportunists who just want to acquire gadgets to flip them on ebay. Legitimate developers are crowded out of the conference as a result. In my opinion, the solution is to put the gadgets in generic packaging and, maybe, if there's enough time, key them to an attendee's badge. Then, the flippers will have to market them as "open box" and "like new".
- tluyben2 12y ago
  The also get 2 smart watches I think.
- thelonelygod 12y ago
  Everyone also got 2 google watches.
- dm2 12y ago
  They need to randomly not give out freebies that are worth a lot so that people will stop going to these conferences just for the freebies. It would be neat to have a requirement for going to the conferences, either press or verified developer.
jobu 12y ago
I kinda thought this was a joke at first... something about thinking outside the box. Has anyone tried it?
dzhiurgis 12y ago
Relevant illustration http://explosm.net/comics/2696/ http://explosm.net/comics/2696/

This is what the Google IO attendees received on their way out of the keynote.

by rburhum 12y ago

This is what the Google IO attendees received on their way out of the keynote.

joezydeco 12y ago

That's a huge cutback from everyone getting laptops or phones.

TarpitCarnivore 12y ago
They also get a choice of LG or Samsung Android wear device, as well as everyone will get a Moto360 when they ship.
- arrrg 12y ago
  I don’t really understand why they do that. Isn’t there more than enough demand? They don’t have to create weird incentives to attract the wrong people! They want people to attend who will actually get the most benefit (knowledge about making things on various Google platforms) from it and benefit Google in turn, not anyone else.
  - moistgorilla 12y ago
    It breeds good will. People will be going to google io, spending a couple of days only thinking about google and leave feeling happy with their new toys. Also, if there is anyone there not in the android ecosystem they will sure as hell give it a try once they leave with their new top of the line phone.
  - jrockway 12y ago
    From this comment thread, it appears that giving away free stuff can't please everyone. One comment complains that some cardboard isn't good enough, while yours bemoans Google giving away stuff that's too good. I think the idea is to get devices in the hands of developers; people that will play with it and report bugs or blog about it, people that will code up a little app to see how it works on a watch, and so on. It does create incentives for people that just want free stuff to go to I/O, but it's probably a lot simpler and cheaper for them to just buy it when it's released. If you're not a developer, is a smart watch with no third-party apps that useful to you? Probably not. Being an early adopter is rarely sunshine and rainbows.
    - wuliwong 12y ago
      hahah, I was thinking the same thing. :)
    - pyre 12y ago
      I wouldn't say that this: > That's a huge cutback from everyone getting laptops or phones. is a complaint that "some cardboard isn't good enough." Google has been giving away things like phones and laptops at Google I/O for a few years. I think it's reasonable to say that giving away "only some cardboard" is a huge cutback, without commenting on whether that's a good or bad thing.
  - pavanky 12y ago
    > I don’t really understand why they do that. Isn’t there more than enough demand? There is. But they also want developers to work on their products. What better way to get them started than to give them away at a developer conference.
  - dragonwriter 12y ago
    Its not designed as an incentive to attend, is designed to get devices in the hands of the kinds of people who will attend I/O so that they can develop for them and act as product evangelists.
  - jfoster 12y ago
    As long as they keep the value of the devices lower than the cost of attending, that incentive ought to be minimized. I think they may have done giveaways in the past that were worth more than the ticket price, though.
  - blisterpeanuts 12y ago
    There was some HN discussion about this a few weeks ago. It was mentioned that the freebies attract opportunists who just want to acquire gadgets to flip them on ebay. Legitimate developers are crowded out of the conference as a result. In my opinion, the solution is to put the gadgets in generic packaging and, maybe, if there's enough time, key them to an attendee's badge. Then, the flippers will have to market them as "open box" and "like new".
tluyben2 12y ago
The also get 2 smart watches I think.
thelonelygod 12y ago
Everyone also got 2 google watches.
dm2 12y ago
They need to randomly not give out freebies that are worth a lot so that people will stop going to these conferences just for the freebies. It would be neat to have a requirement for going to the conferences, either press or verified developer.

jobu 12y ago

I kinda thought this was a joke at first... something about thinking outside the box. Has anyone tried it?

dzhiurgis 12y ago

Relevant illustration http://explosm.net/comics/2696/ http://explosm.net/comics/2696/