Google’s Andy Rubin shoots down rumors of their own retail stores

Sadness! Recently we’ve been hearing a flurry of reports and rumors that good old Google will be opening up their own retail stores to compete with the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft in the real world. Reports suggested Google had multiple plans and they’d be opening retail stores before the end of 2013 for their devices, and Project Glass.

Google’s chief Andy Rubin didn’t just deny the rumors, he went as far as to say that Google actually doesn’t even need a retail presence. Claiming that the power of the internet, word of mouth, and of course their Play Store is plenty. While we’d agree word of mouth with Android is a strong force, I think some still want to be able to touch and test devices. He thinks otherwise.

“For Nexus, I don’t think the program is far enough along to think about the necessity of having these things in a retail store.”

My first reaction was “these things, these things” they are the bread and butter of Android, although mainly just for us enthusiasts, but if more people were able to use them in the real world it certainly wouldn’t hurt. I know everyone that tries my stock Nexus devices usually enjoys it over their TouchWiz and Senseified smartphones. It’s not just about phones either, it’s the entire Google experience. Sadly I guess that retail presence isn’t needed yet.

Could we still see storefronts? Absolutely! When asked directly regarding actual retail stores Rubin stated that they had “no plans, and nothing to announce.” Original rumors suggested it was to help get Google’s Project Glass in the wild and let people try and use something they’ll actually be wearing on their faces. For now we’ll just have to wait and see. My dream of walking into colorful Google retail stores and playing ping pong with old Android tablets will have to wait a little longer.

[via AllthingsD]