Google's Nexus One Phone Launches 568
The press conference at the Googleplex is over and Google's Nexus One phone has launched (official Google blog announcement). The NY Times confirms the bare details: manufactured by HTC; $529 unlocked, $179 with 2-year T-Mobile contract; coming to Verizon in the US, and Vodaphone in Europe, in "Spring 2010." The Times notes one desirable feature: "[Google] has also voice-enabled all text boxes in the device, so a user can speak into the device to, for instance, compose an e-mail, rather than type the text of the email." Walt Mossberg points out one limitation: "On the Nexus One, only 190 megabytes of its total 4.5 gigabytes of memory is allowed for storing apps. On the $199 iPhone, nearly all of the 16 gigabytes of memory can be used for apps." No answers yet to the obvious questions: can it tether on T-Mobile? Will it allow VoIP?
So what's the difference? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
does anyone know what really sets this thing apart from the Droid\G1\etc???
It's from GOOGLE! It's got to be good...
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Verizon does not use SIM cards. T-mobile and ATT do
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:4, Informative)
Also, the 500 minute plan from T-Mo is $40/mo if you're not getting a Nexus but should you decide to grab the phone and the accompanying plan, you'll be paying $80/mo. What is the logic here?
Re: (Score:2)
Unfortunately the only plan available has but 500 anytime minutes.
You could just buy it & run it on any plan with a SIM card, if you don't want the subsidized phone+plan deal.
Also, the 500 minute plan from T-Mo is $40/mo if you're not getting a Nexus but should you decide to grab the phone and the accompanying plan, you'll be paying $80/mo. What is the logic here?
I'd guess you're paying $40 for data.
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:5, Informative)
$30 "unlimited" data, $10 unlimited messaging. Standard T-Mobile rates.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
just use google voice along with their myfave plan. every call comes through on your myfave #, both inbound and outbound, thus = unlimited minutes.
Remember that tmobile lets you change plans anytime. You can sign on with a 2 year contract at a set plan, and change the plan right away.
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:4, Interesting)
The point is for you to use Google Voice and have only a voice plan as a backup.
That only worked on T-Mo if you had MyFaves. You would put your assigned Google Voice number and the outgoing number that GV calls when you dial through it into MyFaves. Then your calls would be free. Against your TOS, though, and I believe that T-Mobile has since gotten rid of the MyFaves option. Not sure about that. I still have MyFaves on my contract (it runs out in about 18 months) so until then I'll enjoy free calling. Although, oddly enough, while I only have the 300 minutes/month voice plan, I've never gone over since I started using my G1. Between Google Voice voice mail transcripts and IMAP email, I don't actually make or take that many calls anymore.
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:5, Informative)
The most significant ones to me are:
TTS
1GHz Snapdragon processor
Android 2.1
5MP camera
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I thought Droid had at least the processor and camera? And I hear the pics the Droid takes with that camera are pretty uninspiring.
Honestly this looks like YAAP (yet another android phone).
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The droid uses TI's OMAP 3430 system, which uses a 550MHz ARM cortex-A8 proc.
Snapdragon is similar (ARM arch built by Qualcomm), but faster.
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:4, Informative)
To be really fair, quality of these pictures are getting close to the first 2-3MP cameras. Sure, you don't have a (real) flash nor a zoom, but you carry it around everywhere.
While these camera phones were just a gadget a couple of years ago, they can now take pretty nice shots. Not in the dark of course.
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:5, Informative)
This Engadget review addresses Nexus vs. Droid in some depth:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/nexus-one-review/ [engadget.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:5, Informative)
-Faster CPU
-Better integrated with Google apps and services (ie: no using Bing when the Google Search is better integrated with the phone)
-Runs on something other than Verizon (unlike the Droid), namely ATT & TMo.
-More storage space
-(for those who dont like em or the added bulkiness) it doesnt have a physical keyboard (for me, that's a drawback)
-Android 2.1
-Cheaper overall plans from TMo (since the Droid only runs on Verizon, I think it's a valid comparison point)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
-Faster CPU
True, and that's plenty for me, but there's always going to be a "fastest" phone and that has nothing to do with Google.
-Better integrated with Google apps and services (ie: no using Bing when the Google Search is better integrated with the phone)
You're making this up.
-Runs on something other than Verizon (unlike the Droid), namely ATT & TMo.
Again, hardly unique to Google, but this is probably as close as it gets. Also,
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:4, Insightful)
I think the OP's point was, what makes this a Google phone?
No, he specifically asked how it was better than the Droid/G1. The G1 end of things should be obvious, it being ancient by G1 phone standards.
-Faster CPU
True, and that's plenty for me, but there's always going to be a "fastest" phone and that has nothing to do with Google.
-Better integrated with Google apps and services (ie: no using Bing when the Google Search is better integrated with the phone)
You're making this up.
No, I am not, as an AC pointed out below...
Actually, no he's not. Verizon recently signed a partnership with Microsoft for search. Shortly afterwards, search done on the Droid phone was handled by Bing instead of Google.
One of the big advantages of the integrated Google Search in Android 2.x is that it is integrated across the whole phone (not just the web) and integrated better with the rest of (plethora of?) Google/Android Apps that come with or run on the phone such as Contacts, Maps, web, calendar and the OS itself.
-Runs on something other than Verizon (unlike the Droid), namely ATT & TMo.
Again, hardly unique to Google, but this is probably as close as it gets. Also,
It is unique when comparing to the Droid though.
I specifically did not compare it to the G1 as better phones have come out since then (at least hardware wise)... though I suspect that other than the speed and storage differences, once Android 2.x hits the G1, it will still be a worthwhile phone. I for one am happy with mine...
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
- And uglier.
3.7" 400x800 AMOLED display
- This is nice.
5MP, LED flash camera
video at 720x480
- These are pointless when the problem with mobile cameras has always been optics, not how many pixels it blows the image up to. I mean the Omnia HD can shoot 720p video but picture quality, which is what you actually want, is subpar. It's blurry and it skips frames. Only sample pics will tell if the camera in the Nexus is actually good, or just high resolution.
3.5mm head
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:4, Informative)
Ok, can someone explain how it can display 720x480 resolution video on a screen that only has a resolution of 400x800? I'm not saying that the numbers are wrong, just that if they're right, I don't understand how it works.
same way HD camcorders do on 100Kpix displays
Re:So what's the difference? (Score:4, Insightful)
New phones are coming out so fast now I doubt we'll ever see a major leap in hardware again.
Probably the most significant difference is selling direct and unlocked. T-Mobile has adjusted rate plans to accommodate, it can't be far behind with the other carriers. This could be the beginning of the break from the carrier-centric model (aka the "Hold em down and screw em" plan).
They also stated more devices are coming down the line. Even if Google just breaks even on these phones, look at all the free press they're getting for Android.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Free Slipcase?
Nexus One - Yes
Droid - No
WINNER - NEXUS ONE
Will there be no Sprint version? (Score:2, Insightful)
Maybe I'm just ignorant, but it seems either A) shortsighted of Google to ignore the largest cellular network, or B) stupid of Sprint to pass up such a kickass phone...
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Actually, there will be a CDMA version for Verizon, so it's possible it could also work on Sprint. T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM sim cards.
Also, Google says they will be adding many other phone models and networks to their online store.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I know that Verizon and T-Mobile phones use SIM cards, so theoretically you could unlock those phones and switch networks, but why won't there be a Sprint version?
verizon does not use SIM cards. AT&T and T-Mobile are the only US carriers to use GSM / SIM.
Maybe I'm just ignorant, but it seems either A) shortsighted of Google to ignore the largest cellular network, or B) stupid of Sprint to pass up such a kickass phone...
the phone is available on AT&T, T-mobile, and is coming to verizon soon. it's
Re:Will there be no Sprint version? (Score:4, Informative)
Sprint is not the largest cellular network. Sprint is either third or fourth largest in the US in terms of customers and covers both less people and less geographic area than AT&T or Verizon. Plus, Sprint isn't technically a cellular carrier. To split hairs, cellular service is at 800MHz while PCS service is at 1900MHz (which is what Sprint uses for their CDMA network - their iDEN network being a SMR network). Normally, I wouldn't nitpick like that, but Sprint made a big deal about being all-PCS a while back calling themselves "the clear alternative to cellular".
HTC has had good relations with Sprint so I'm guessing that a Sprint version might come, but it won't come quickly. Sprint is losing customers at a high rate. There's no incentive for a phone manufacturer to want to put effort into debuting on Sprint given that the line of phones (Pre, Hero, Moment - which were all great phones) Sprint has gotten haven't done so well.
T-Mobile is easy to start out with because they don't require lots of customization and GSM phones can be re-used all over the world. Verizon customers are clamoring for an iPhone competitor (as evidenced by Droid sales). AT&T has the iPhone. Sprint just isn't winning customers. So, it's to be expected that Sprint's going to be at the bottom of the heap after lackluster results for quite a while.
Re: (Score:2)
Right now I am using Sprint on an old plan that is rather inexpensive. My plan is as follows:
1000 Anytime minutes
Nights and Weekends Start at 6pm
Unlimited SMS/MMS
Unlimited Data
And for that I pay $40 (base plan) + $20 (SMS/MMS) + $10 (data) - 25% discount for a total of $52.50. I haven't found a comparable plan with all the additionals for anywhere near that price on any other network, but I'm starting to get tired of not having access to some of these exciting new phones. D
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Sprint does not issue SIM cards, and doesn't use the GSM standard. They are a CDMA carrier. An "unlocked" phone that uses GSM and SIM cards is useless for Sprint. So the GP is not a troll, he/she is just well-informed as to the fractured state of the American mobile phone market.
The specs on the phone indicate that they will not (in the current unlocked version) support CDMA. They'll support UMTS 1, 4, and 8 (which means in the USA they'll support T-Mobile), HSDPA/HSUPA (again, T-Mobile in the US), GSM/
Re: (Score:2)
VoIP on the droid (Score:2, Informative)
I know it's not the N1, but I can say that the Droid has a SIP application which works..pretty well.
At home, all my calls go out over the copper line ( through my asterisk box ).
VOIP (Score:5, Informative)
Since T-Mobile already allows VOIP without any problems on their existing phones and data plans, and since the Android app store has at least two good SIP applications why would there be any question if VOIP is allowed or not?
Re:VOIP (Score:4, Informative)
Google voice is not VOIP
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
IE: You give Google Voice the number you want to dial, then the number you want it to connect you to, and Google calls you and when you answer, it dials the number you want to call. Once the call connection is made, it's still just using your regular phone network (cellular or otherwise).
Re:VOIP (Score:4, Interesting)
Google just bought Gizmo5, though, which I assume means that they'll be rolling out VoIP access to Google Voice soon. GV (and Grand Central before it was acquired by Google) supports forwarding to Gizmo5 explicitly. Google Voice will likely be VoIP soon.
Now I can say "I told you so!" (Score:3, Insightful)
Google might be trying to pass this off as "just a showcase", but their other "partners", including Motorola, gave Google a lot of information that is now being used against them.
And yes, I told you so! [trolltalk.com]
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
i am not sure how motorola et al. could be upset with google. google engineers have written the vast majority of android-related code including apps, the android core, the SDK, and developer tools. they also provide many of the back end services that make the phone work. to a large degree motorola had a mobile operating system developed for them, for free.
no matter what phone you purchase, there is always a new and improved version. everyone that rushed out on bought the N1 today is going to feel burned whe
Verizon in Spring (Score:3, Interesting)
I wonder if comping to Verizon "Spring 2010" means that it supports both GSM and CDMA (and so the unlocked one would work now), or if we're talking seperate CDMA hardware in the Spring (less appealing).
I don't know what the hiccup is in offered dual-mode devices. The BlackBerry Storm actually manged to do that - it's a shame it sucked at everything else, but if they got that right then it can't be too hard :).
Re: (Score:2)
Mossberg is an Apple fanboi, valid point though (Score:2, Insightful)
Mod me as troll if you want, but its not surprising that Mossberg rushes to defend an Apple product in the face of a new competitor. He also neglects to point out in his comparison that the 16 GB of storage on the iPhone is typically filled with music, leaving much less than that for applications.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
"the 16 GB of storage on the iPhone is typically filled with music".
Ummmm, do users of other smartphones not play music? Is there something special about the iPhone that requires users to fill up the space with music, or videos? Is it just too darned easy to load your iPhone with music? I really have no idea what this means.
FWIW, I'm currently using 1.57 GB of storage for apps on my iPhone. Of course, I don't think that's *all* due to the apps -- some of it is user file storage, which is handled app-by-app
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It's actually HARDER to load the iPhone since you have to do it through iTunes. With the Android devices you simply plug in the USB cable and hit the "USB Connected" then "Mount" button in the notification panel and it acts just like a thumb drive.
Re:Mossberg is an Apple fanboi, valid point though (Score:5, Insightful)
This is only a non issue if the app itself is tiny. What about if the app is graphics intensive? I think "Defender Chronices" for the iPhone is 125Mb all by itself and Dungeon Hunter is 225Mb.
So to get around this stupid limitation an app would need to come with a loader that would then download the remaining data to the SD card.
Over hyped? Not if you play games. Either way it's a pretty stupid and a major design limitation.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It will do multitouch just fine, just not with the included apps (which, incidentally, are not games). The hardware can do it, and the back end can do it...it's just that the default applications are purposefully crippled in the US.
For instance, the Dolphin web browser on my Motorola Droid does multitouch, although the included browser does not. Meanwhile, the European version of this phone, the Motorola Milestone, is almost exactly identical hardware and software, but the browser does multitouch out of t
Re:Mossberg is an Apple fanboi, valid point though (Score:4, Informative)
My understanding is that it's a security measure.
What exactly they're trying to protect against or even if it actually helps, I do not know.
The SD card is FAT-formatted because the phone presents it over USB as a block device, so that PCs and Macs can pretend it's a camera or other media device. But the use of FAT means that the card lacks Unix file permissions, in particular the owner/group info that stops one app from stomping on another app's data. (The device is mounted noexec, to prevent temptation/abuse.) I've seen talk of using Linux's encrypted loopback abilities at some future point, but it's been on the wishlist since the G1 came out so I wouldn't hold my breath.
Re: (Score:2)
the 16 GB of storage on the iPhone is typically filled with music
I've yet to see any studies saying that's typical. Possible? Yes. I wouldn't say typical. However, just to play along, let's say it is typical. The space allocated for applications is for the individual to decide. The individual has ~16 GB to arrange applications, music and video. As it's being reported in the article, the space allocated for applications is set by the manufacturer.
There is a difference between "I only need this much space for applications" and "I only have this much space for applicati
Re:Mossberg is an Apple fanboi, valid point though (Score:5, Informative)
I have over 1.3 Gigs of apps on my iPhone. It's not hard to use up that much space on an iPhone for apps. There are tons of apps out there that are well over 100mb.
Sure you may not play games, but then what about 3rd party mapping software which preloads all the maps to the phone.
Having only 190Mb for apps is a huge deal breaker for me.
Re:Mossberg is an Apple fanboi, valid point though (Score:5, Insightful)
For now Android is a toy while the iphone is well ahead as a tool to get work done
A toy that lets us develop our own datacenter management tools and deploy them to our employees without having to suck Apple's App Store dick.
obligatory meh (Score:5, Funny)
No LTE. Less space than a drobo. Meh.
Good Alternative (Score:2)
gaming? (Score:2)
For normal activities (surfing, vids, nav, etc) 1ghz is overkill. The biggest beneficiary of all that CPU and GPU power is gaming. But without multitouch, gaming will be terribly restricted. So WTF am I supposed to play on this thing -- 3D, HD whack-a-mole?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
However there's nothing preve
I was hoping for a new business model (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm pretty underwhelmed by the announcement.
I have an iPhone, I live in NYC, and my network is terrible. That's exactly the kind of problem markets are supposed to solve, right? I should ditch AT&T and go with a competitor.
The problem is that my phone cost $300, the Apple Care costs $70 (and you need it because the battery is sealed into the phone, and won't last 2 years), and there's a $175 early termination fee. So walking away is pretty expensive.
This Google phone will have essentially the same deal. You'll still be tied to a carrier, and it will be expensive to walk away. Maybe Verizon or T-Mobile will be a lot better than AT&T. Or maybe when many millions of people buy these data hungry phones in a short period of time, their networks will sink just like AT&T's has.
We need to commoditize wireless bandwidth. We want a universe in which we buy our phones directly, we own them, and we can choose which networks to plug them into. And if a network is bad, we have to be free to walk.
These walled gardens are always going to give us crummy throughput, unreliable service, and restrictions on the apps we can run. Just swapping one corporation (T-Mobile) for another (AT&T) isn't going to fix anything. Maybe they'll be marginally better. But without a real market operating, and the ability for us to move around in response to the quality of service we receive, we'll never get a good wireless network.
Re:I was hoping for a new business model (Score:5, Insightful)
plus the ability to jump ship to att at any time with no repercussions.
"I have an iPhone" LOL! (Score:2, Funny)
"I'm pretty underwhelmed by the announcement."
Golly, who didn't see that coming?! Go away you fucking hipster loser. No one gives a fuck what some idiot with an iPhone has to say.
Re:I was hoping for a new business model (Score:5, Insightful)
This Google phone will have essentially the same deal. You'll still be tied to a carrier, and it will be expensive to walk away.
an important part of the announcement is that they are selling an unlocked, GSM phone for $530. sounds like a lot, but depending on the plan you chose you can end up saving money over the course of what would be a 2-year contract. if you are complaining about being tied to GSM networks, you can hardly blame google for that.
Re: (Score:2)
Google sells the phone unlocked, and T-Mobile no-contract/no subsidy plans are $10 per month cheaper than the "free phone" plans. So there's no problem switching if you want, you could just sell the handset.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
What are you, a goddam communist?
Re: (Score:2)
You also could buy the phone unsubsidized get a cheaper data plan, and you could switch networks more easily.
My days of subsidized phones are over since this year, and I am happy, no more simlocks, cheaper data plans etc...
In the end you pay less.
190 MB for Apps? (Score:2)
Well damn, I was thinking this phone would be great, but only 190 MB for apps? That's extremely limiting. Since it has a MicroSD slot, why not let the users decide how much space they want to use for apps and how much they want to use for files?
Maybe someone can find a way to mod the OS to get around this limitation....
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Actually on hacked android phones you have the possibility already by using apps2sd, I assume Google shuns away for copy protection reasons for now. From what I have read they are working on a solution to push the apps encrypted to the SD.
But seriously 190MB for apps is not too shabby, the reason simply is, that the apps can store there data on the sd and almost all do it that way, so you end up with an average app size of 3-4 MB if at all. 190 MB is a lot in such an environment!
I only ran against my limit
Re: (Score:2)
They're worried about piracy, allegedly. People who have gotten root on other Android devices managed to get around this limitation, however.
UMTS crippled on purpose? will not work on ATT 3G (Score:3, Informative)
according to the nexus one specs, the UMTS Band (2100/AWS/900) will not support ATT network 3G but does work on T-Mobiles 3G network. T-Mobile 3G and voice coverage is one of worst in US.
Re:UMTS crippled on purpose? will not work on ATT (Score:2)
AT&T isn't a member of the Open Handset Alliance. T-mobile is.
Re:UMTS crippled on purpose? will not work on ATT (Score:4, Insightful)
Oh, and it's worth pointing out (as AT&T insists in their commercials against Verizon) that 2G should be good enough for anybody, and the Nexus One will work on AT&T's 2G network that they think is so awesome.
Re:UMTS crippled on purpose? will not work on ATT (Score:4, Interesting)
Oh, and it's worth pointing out (as AT&T insists in their commercials against Verizon) that 2G should be good enough for anybody, and the Nexus One will work on AT&T's 2G network that they think is so awesome.
Not good enough for anybody, just good enough for those used to other provider's "3G" speeds, which aren't much better than AT&T's 2G speeds. If you're already used to AT&T's 3G speeds, this will be a noticeable step down.
Re:UMTS crippled on purpose? will not work on ATT (Score:4, Insightful)
according to the nexus one specs, the UMTS Band (2100/AWS/900) will not support ATT network 3G but does work on T-Mobiles 3G network. T-Mobile 3G and voice coverage is one of worst in US.
as far as i know, no smartphone covers both AT&T and T-Mo's 3g network. no existing android phone does, and the iphone doesn't. blackberry sells two different hardware versions of it's phone models, one to cover each band.
it's not some insidious plan, it's the economics of supporting two different 3g networks.
App Storage (Score:2)
I don't think App storage is as big of a deal as people make it out to be. Yes, you can root your phone to store apps on the SD card, but in my experience, you don't need to. I don't have hard numbers, but it seems like Android apps clock in at a much smaller size than iPhone apps. Most of the apps I download tend to be between 100k to 700k, with some apps at a meg or two. As I said, I don't know how that exactly compares to iPhone apps, but I'm more than an "average" user of my phone and I've yet to run in
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
That will, likely, change though, going forward, don't you think? And when (if) it does change, it shouldn't instantly outclass a field of pretty usable devices. Don't get me wrong, I mean, I actually hope Android developers continue to write minuscule, beautiful code, that sips space and resources, into perpetuity; really I do...But I wouldn't wager on it.
Visual voicemail w/ transcript (Score:2)
The demo page of the voicemail app is extremely shiny. Google voice transcription of the voicemail shown in real-time with playing the voicemail.
Then again I can't remember the last time I got a voice mail, so who actually cares.
Only $529! (Score:4, Interesting)
Is anyone else sick of this contract subsidizing excuse? Yes, I realize you can't sell a phone like this for $25, but all these phones have an insane price if you buy them out of contract. I have a hard time believing these things cost anywhere near $500 to build. For example, the ipod touch starts at $200, which is obviously sold for a profit. Meanwhile, the iphone (a pretty damn similar device), is $500. Its not like you get a reduced monthly price if you bring your own phone.
Re:Only $529! (Score:4, Informative)
its all in the GSM/CDMA licensing. nokia, motorola, etc. all have patents you have to pay for. so the CDMA chip is like $100. $1 to make. $99 is licensing.
number are of course examples but the intent is true.
Re:Only $529! (Score:4, Insightful)
Its not like you get a reduced monthly price if you bring your own phone.
you do on t-mobile, albeit not as large as you might expect.
the whole subsidized phone paradigm has more to do with limiting competition among carriers. as it stands, carriers compete on the new cool phones they have this week. once they get you on the shiny new phone, you are stuck with them and they don't have to compete on the things that really matter like service, customer service, lack of restrictions, etc. much cheaper for them. the best example of this is the iphone. just look at all the people paying their $80+ per month bill for terrible service because they just have to own an iphone.
whether consciously or not, google is potentially breaking this scheme by offering a desirable higher-end smartphone, unlocked. personally, after being bound to AT&T's crappy service for almost 2 years now i will never buy a subsidized phone again.
Sorry, the Nexus One phone is not available... (Score:2, Interesting)
It would seem that many people outside of the US, including Canada and Germany, upon visiting www.google.com/phone have been receiving an error message [google.de] saying "Sorry, the Nexus One phone is not available in your country."
I guess it doesn't go on sale in those countries until some undisclosed date.
In Soviet Russia, phone owns you... (Score:4, Insightful)
I hate to say this, but between my iPhone and my WinMo, I think I like my WinMo phone the best.
Don't get me wrong, it sucks. The UI is terrible. And it crashes. A lot.
However:
- Want to thether for free even though your carrier wants you to pay extra? There's a WinMo app for that.
- Want to thether for free via your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot so that everyone in your carpool can access the interenet at once? There's a WinMo app for that, too.
- Hell, I can even run two programs at once and mount my phone as a disk drive and fill it up with whatever I damn well please.
Seems like pretty basic/essential functionality to me.
Activate...? (Score:2)
This is about advertising for Google. (Score:5, Interesting)
Google wants a plethora of devices, the Google phone seems to be the first attempt to try and create an unlocked phone marketplace, which will help their cause. This new phone is a small attempt to start doing that. Maybe so the wireless carriers cannot easily block Google's advertising.
More evidence that this is about advertising is Apple's purchase of mobile advertising company Quattro Wireless.
Here's the thread from actual users. (Score:3, Interesting)
See here [androidforums.com] for lengthy back-and-forth with two guys who've had the phone in their hands since late last month.
If you read the whole thing, they've got benchmarks and such. It's really long though.
that is the question. (Score:5, Funny)
Will it blend?
Ogg support - sweet (Score:4, Interesting)
I noticed on the tech specs [google.com] page that Nexus One supports Ogg Vorbis audio. Do other Android phones support Ogg Vorbis playback? I mean, it would seem like that would be a feature of the base Android platform, but IIRC, when the G1 launched, Ogg support wasn't included? I know - it's been over a year since the G1 launched, and a lot has changed in newer versions of Android. Still, have any of the other *currently released* Android phones come with Ogg decoder?
Re:Ogg support - sweet (Score:5, Informative)
android to this android developer blog post [blogspot.com], ogg has been supported since feb 2008 in the SDK, which is at least several major releases of the OS.
Battery Life (Score:3)
App Storage FUD (Score:3, Informative)
Regarding the 190MB available for apps. (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, Android currently only lets you install application packages on internal memory. Application developers know this, so there's a major effort made to keep the application footprint small, and then have the applications download and store additional resources on the SD card, which has no such limitations. As an example, a game would store its levels/media on the SD card. Or in the case of an offline GPS app, the map data would be stored on the SD card.
With my Droid, I've yet to get anywhere close to this limitation, and I'm always on the hunt for neat apps on the market. I currently have 162MB free (I believe it originally had 250MB available).
Yes, it's not inconceivable that you'll run into this limitation, but at the same time, it doesn't come up all that often. Don't be concerned that your iPhone is using 3GB for app storage...on an Android device those apps would be putting 95% of their data on the SD card.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
So those of us who got in on the G1 early (as in around xmas last year) still have the better part of a year to wait if we want it at a reasonable price. YAY status quo!
Re:world phone coming soon? (Score:5, Informative)
For this current model, I think the voice feature will be the most significant: every text field is voice enabled, making the touchscreen-only keyboard a bit less painful.
If they use the same technology as they use for the Google Voice transcriptions then it won't be so useful. My experience is that it gets 20-25% of the words right. SOMETIMES the transcriptions I get are enough to get the jist of what the call was about - other times it's like a bad babblefish version of it.
Unless they're using something different, I think Voice Recognition has a long way to do - and may never quite be there. Heck even for real people it's hard to understand just what someone said.
Re: (Score:2)
I have voice enabled on my hacked hero, dont expect too much, it is a hit or miss thing, 60% it works perfectly 40% it does not. I use it rather seldom because I personally think, typing most searches is faster.
(You have to speak, then the data is transferred to google which also takes time)
Re:But Cellular Service is evil (Score:5, Funny)
Not true. You only think this because your phone gave you brain cancer.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Your expectations for cost are unrealistic, although it would help a lot if the US would ban bundling of plans with phones. The real cost of phones is now routinely subsidised by cellphone plans, preventing real competition on either cost.
Re:I was looking forward to this device far more.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Banning bundling would be harsh for users who "can't afford" to pay full price up front, and would rather spread the real cost of the phone across the length of the contract. This scheme greatly increases sales in markets where consumers are focused on short-term benefits (at the cost of long-term payment/debt).
Making an unbundled option mandatory would be a better goal. Good luck getting either option legislated, though.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Actually most Android telephones have multitouch, but it is mostly locked away on the US market, even the Motorola droid does, but not in the US ;-)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The required storage space for Google Earth is 2GB. I find myself wondering about this 190MB limitation. Are talking RAM or disk space here?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Disk space - but the limitation only applies to executables and libraries - the 2GB of data that Google Earth comes with could go on the SD card.
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Disruptive cell phone company builds a phone that has all that hardware to support consumer choice.
A few people buy it, and maybe 1/10 of those people actually move from provider to provider. Once those folks have moved a couple of times, they run out of choices unless they move to a new region.
Within the product's two-year life cycle, a brazillian new features come into existence.
Purchasers of the disruptive phone decide to go with a le
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, in this country, we have a bunch of besotted couch-potatoes whose idea of fixing this problem is to Wait For the Free Market Fairy to Come Solve It For Them.
Meanwhile the Free Market Fairy is alive and well and giving oral service in the Verizon executive washroom. One of the funniest parts of being alive in 2010 is listening to people talk about free markets who wouldn't know one if they were clapped in stocks and sold at auction in one.
The FCC could solve all of this with a few modest policy changes
Sigh, we've been over this before. (Score:3, Insightful)
Google is an international company based in California, HTC is an international company based in Taiwan. The Nexus One is intended to be sold internationally.
I can use the N1 on any Telco here in Australia as well as in Singapore, Malaysia and most of Europe because it uses the 2100 MHz frequency. The problem is that US telco's don't want to have a co