Daily Tech Snippet: Tuesday, March 7

• Google may have missed a big chance to become a major smartphone maker: Since its October launch, Google's Pixel phone has received rave reviews, and Google recently confirmed to the Android-focused publication Android Pit that it will release a new Pixel this year. Yet despite these successes, it seems the phone may be experiencing some trouble on the sales front and may have missed an opportunity to capitalize on competitors' missteps. While Google doesn't break out its numbers for Pixel units sold, analysts estimate that customers bought around 552,000 Pixel phones by the end of 2016, according to USA Today. In comparison, Apple sold 78 million iPhones between late September and December. Samsung sold 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones between its mid-August launch and its October discontinuation. To put that in perspective, Google's market share for smartphones shipped is now less than one percent worldwide — as compared to Samsung's 18 percent and Apple's 18.2 percent — said Ramon Llamas, a research manager for the analysis firm International Data Corporation. On paper, it seemed like it should have been a slam dunk for Google given the Pixel's Google branding, Samsung's Note 7 problems, and criticism of Apple's latest iPhones not being that revolutionary. The Pixel is a solid phone thanks to its quality construction, pure version of Android and special Google features such as the voice-controlled Assistant. The big problem for Pixel is that only one carrier, Verizon, sells the phone, said Jeff Moore of research firm Wave7 Research. While users can get it directly from Google for full price of $649 — and take it to another carrier if they want — that's not an option that a majority of wireless customers think about. Compounding the availability issue, Moore said, is that stores are having trouble keeping the phones in stock. That's a good sign for Google in terms of demand, but also a bad sign for the company in terms of being able to capitalize on that demand, he said.

• Snap slumps 12 percent, closes at lowest since IPO: Shares of Snap Inc (SNAP.N) slumped 12 percent on Monday and closed at their lowest level of the three sessions since the Snapchat owner's soaring market debut last week. The $3.4-billion listing last Thursday was the hottest technology offering in three years, but the loss-making company's lofty valuation and slowing user growth have raised eyebrows on Wall Street. In its market debut last Thursday, Snap surged 44 percent from its $17 IPO price to close at $24.48. After jumping another 11 percent on Friday, the stock on Monday reversed course and fell 12.25 percent to close at $23.77. "It's not necessarily because there's something wrong with it. It's because it probably moved way too far, way too fast," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York. History suggests investors shut out of IPOs are better off waiting instead of rushing to buy them immediately after their debuts. Globally, shares of most of the 25 largest technology IPOs have languished in their first 12 months on the public market, with 16 of them notching a hefty decline from their debut day closing price, according to a Reuters analysis of market performance.