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Google Nexus One Means a Lot, But Maybe Not What You Think

Posted by Daniel Shain

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Google made big news recently with the announcement of the Nexus One, the first mobile handset being sold directly from the Mountain View company itself. While talking heads have played this up as the next deadly strike against the iPhone, the actual implications of the phone may be vastly different... and greater.

The meat & potatoes story of Google's new phone is in the specs, and we'll start with that before we get to the more tasty gravy and the stays-on-your-hips dessert portion of this story.

Design, software and hardware
Just looking at this phone, you've got to nod your head in approval. With sleek rounded edges and a svelte 11.5mm (under .5" for those of us on the English system) body surrounding the gorgeous 3.7" AMOLED capacitive display, it's easy on the eyes. Not to mention it weighs a mere 4.5oz, so it's easy on the forearms too. The large display comes with an accompanying large resolution at 480x800 (the iPod is 480x320), and the display is bright and crisp. Accompanying the touchscreen are four permanent touchbuttons for back/menu/home/search and a trackball. There is a volume rocker, sleep/wake/power button, 3.5mm jack and micro USB port along the sides and bottom.

As for the guts of the thing, there is a much heralded 1-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor running things, and by all accounts it is faster than the iPod or Droid at running apps and surfing the web. There is also 512MB of RAM and ROM. Other hardware includes a 4GB SD card (up to 32GB), a decent 5MP camera with flash, and a removable battery. Note, there is no physical keyboard here, in case that's on your list of must-haves. A little sadder to my mind, there is no multitouch capability either, and battery life isn't so hot.

Nexus One

There are a few neat software updates Google has made specifically for the Nexus One, which runs Android 2.1. Aside from cosmetic things such as making home pages prettier and the photo gallery a lot more usable, Google has also made the phone very voice-friendly. On any text field, you can use voice recognition to transcribe your voice to text, and while accuracy isn't perfect, the convenience factor is certainly there. And let's not forget the free nav system you get with new Android models.

How to get one
The phone is available for $529 unlocked, free to use on any carrier. Of course, it runs on GSM, which in the US limits you to T-Mobile or AT&T. AT&T doesn't really count unless you're a fan of pre-3G EDGE speeds, and T-Mobile has a subsidized plan for $179 if you're interested and happen to get their service.

So... we've got a cool new Android phone that is slightly faster than the Droid, has some nice tweaks, and that you can only really use on T-Mobile. While Google says phones for Verizon and Vodafone are on the horizon, this phone makes a splash but fails to be a cannonball.

Is this a mistake?
Now here's the gravy. What if this phone is more than just slightly underwhelming, but actually a genuine mistake? Quote Engadget in "a word": "In a word, Google is plunging head-first into the dangerous game Microsoft has adamantly sought to avoid all these years on WinMo: competing head-to-head with its valued (well, supposedly valued) partners." I've read that in other places too, so it's no isolated pondering. That's an interesting thought. Android has just begun to gain traction with major players, and the release of the Nexus One has the potential to undercut all this newly gained traction and actually slow the proliferation of Android if major carriers cool to it. Then again, perhaps the market for Android is only beginning to explode, and Google is just providing yet another phone for eager Androiders to access it with. Clearly, that's what Google is betting, but we'll have to see if the big carriers agree. It'll be interesting to watch.

Is this a game changer?
But what about dessert? The tastiest idea of all is not in the Android tweaks or in the thought of Google stumbling (if that's your thing), but in this URL: http://www.google.com/phone. This is Google's phone marketplace, which currently has just one phone, the Nexus. Although as we've said above you're pretty much stuck with T-Mobile for now, the idea is that you buy your phone straight from Google and then price shop for carriers based on service alone. This should ring loudly for iPhone users who wish they could be rid of AT&T. Business-minded readers might already know this (I had to read it, thanks ars), but right now AT&T is not just "overwhelmed by iPhone traffic" and can't keep up, but they actually have a disincentive to fix their traffic issues. I mean, you are staying with the iPhone either way (you know it's true), so why should they pay more for no revenue increase? If Google's marketplace catches on, this sort of thing will end forever. Carriers will have to compete on the merits of their service alone, and that means good things for consumers. It sounds so simple... if you want a good phone and good service, just buy one and then the other? Surprisingly revolutionary (at least in the US).

Where's your invitation?
Oh, and while we're on the dinner analogy, we may as well say there's an uninvited gatecrasher at the dinner party too. Or, to be more apt, it's more like they're standing in the doorway and wondering if they'll get in trouble for barging in or not. Isa Dick Hackett, daughter and chief executive of the estate of the late Phillip K. Dick, is thinking about suing for copyright infringement. If you think about it, you might be able to guess her case. Androids... Nexus One... ah, yes, there it is isn't it? The rebel androids in Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and the movie adaptation Blade Runner were Nexus-6 models. Seems pretty clear, but ask yourself how hard you had to think about it to recall that association, and whether you would ever have a chance of confusing Dick's work with Google. It is not yet clear whether the case will go to court or not.

The smartphone train gets more crowded by the day, and this is ultimately a good thing. What do you think of Google's new phone and the marketplace idea?

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