Coolest Phone on the planet: Nexus One

[MK]

This is so cool I just have to share it.

For three years I have been waiting for someone to create a phone that has fantastic multimedia power, huge screen, has the cool apps that are being made for the iphone and be a world phone that I can take anywhere and just change sim cards.

I had a iphone for 48 hours when they first came out. It was close....very close....but I couldn't hang with all the Apple trappings. Since then many of the issues I had with have been addressed accept the heavy handed control....unless you jail break it....and even then you can't change a battery easily. This is not to bash the iphone. For those died in the wool Apple people, it's the right choice. Besides, Apple deserves much credit for steering the market back in the right direction from the poor Palm swing of small screen for the sake of a keyboard.

Nevertheless, I was waiting for the free market to respond....and they have. I am really thrilled with the Android OS. It is not perfect...but what is? Yet it is very powerful and completely open ended. Anyone can write an app for it and there is no gate keeper to say yeah or neah. The free market has fully embraced Android. Every cell phone maker....except Apple....either have an Android phone out or one in the pipeline. Motorola plans to release 30 Android phones world wide this year.

My first Android phone was the MyTouch. I knew it was a stepping stone since it lacked a few frequencies I needed for traveling abroad but I wanted to get in the game. I was able to get T-mobile to unlock it for my trip to Sydney. It worked pretty well down under. I just swapped sim cards and was able to use my MyTouch for calls. Data was limping along on their edge network. This was a leap forward from me using cheap pay-as-you-go phones with no data.

A few weeks ago the Google Nexus One was released. I was one of the first to receive it. For the most part it meets all of my goals for a phone/device. It is smoking fast due to the snap dragon processor. The screen is huge. I love the live wallpapers. When you hook it up via USB, the memory card is accessible just like a flash drive. You can drag and drop and view files from your desktop file manager. It is completely open.

Google also has some apps on the OS like Google Goggles where you use photos to search instead of words. Just take a picture of something and Google will search it. Also Google maps has some powerful moves that are specific to the Nexus One.

I just returned from England and Canada where the phone worked flawlessly. No more schlepping multiple phones around. Now I just brings sims.

It sounds cheesy.....but it is the phone of my dreams.

Here are some cool videos about it:

http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleNexusOne?feature=pyv&ad=4071948730&kw=nexxus 1#p/u/0/I6COwgigJ-g

and one comparing it to the iphone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuVyExV8SYo

Enjoy!

 

[anon`]

Hey, nice to see you're still with us!

It's a nice phone. I like what HTC has been producing lately, for the most part. Their last three Awesome Phones have all had suffered from the same problem though: lack of support for UMTS bands II and V (850 & 1900MHz, respectively). In other words, this phone does't work on AT&T's North American 3G network, and T-Mo doesn't operate a true 3G network here. As a consequence, the phone is seriously crippled for American data junkies, and this makes me very sad.

But I do applaud Google's (likely ill-fated, as much as I hate to say it) attempt to sell an unbranded handset to the general public. Even better that it's nominally Open Source.

 

[MK]

Don't know what you're basing that on. Data is smoking everywhere I have been in the USA.

GSM 850/900/1800/1900

UMTS 2100/1700/900

As for AT&T....I wouldn't know. Actually....everyone who has AT&T complains that they don't like being on their system and want to jump ship....so I haven't looked into it.

 

[anon`]

Don't know what you're basing that on. Data is smoking everywhere I have been in the USA.

Smoking, perhaps. But T-Mo's current North American network doesn't support HSPA+ yet and is curerntly slower than AT&T's HSDPA-enabled UMTS network.

GSM 850/900/1800/1900

UMTS 2100/1700/900

Yes, and there are two other UMTS bands in widespread use in the US, operating in the 850 and 1900MHz spectrum, and the lack of these bands means that nobody on AT&T can use the current Nexus One on a UMTS network, which means slow data rates and an inability to handle simultaneous voice and data connections. Say, that's kinda like being on Verizon, come to think of it! I just find it astounding that support for these two bands was left off the Nexus One when the whole point of it was to be an iPhone-killing, developer-friendly juggernaut of a smartphone.

As for AT&T....I wouldn't know. Actually....everyone who has AT&T complains that they don't like being on their system and want to jump ship....so I haven't looked into it.

I complain, but I would complain more on any of the other major US carriers. T-Mobile might be moving in a positive direction here (they're working on an HSPA+ network operating at 2100MHz), but I don't know how their coverage will pan out. This is just one of those things--every network has issues, but some are more irksome than others.

Still, I like the idea behind the phone, and share your overall excitement for it. And there is hope: the FCC is apparently testing a phone that's been assigned ID NM899110 and supports UMTS bands I, II and V--the original Nexus One was given the FCC ID FCC ID NM899100. If this turns out to be true, well, I'll gladly stump $500 for one!

Afterthought~ This didn't really come through in either this post or my first, but I agree that this is the coolest phone on the planet. I'm just sorely disappointed at the (initial?) lack of UMTS 850/1900MHz support.

 

[Edward]

The more competition there is for the iPhone the better. Apple used to be all about seriously superior products - even if you did have to pay the big bucks for them - but the iPhone.... meh. Maybe I'm missing something, but there seem to be half a doze other handsets on the market that do everything it can do and more, the only other difference being that the iPhone is the trendy brand, so it outsells them all. [huh] I'd consider an iPhone next time round as the Google one isn't available over here, but only if the next generation can multi-task and has a decent camera with led flash (in that respect they're way behind the rest of the industry). If anything, the success of the iPhone reminds me of Windows' rise to dominance despite being less than the best product on the market.

To be fair, I am increasingly less than impressed with Apple in general largely due to their positioning themselves as a lifestyle brand.... I hate that sort of marketing schtick, not least because its very success means that Apple have a huge fanboy following who'll queue up at midnight to pay premium rate for whatever they choose to sell next. This does not exactly encourage them to turn out a good product....

 

[cookie]

Very interesting comments Edwards as always...informative for us less than technonuts....

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"This is the coolest Telephone on the planet, the rest is just technology"

 

[MK]

.

Today I had a bluetooth stereo installed in my car. Now I play all my music from the Nexus. No more CDs!

 

[Matt Deckard]

Looks like an Iphone.

Now you need onstar

 

[Scotus]

"This is the coolest Telephone on the planet, the rest is just technology"

I agree. When I clicked on this link, I expected to see something similar to this. I have an HTC Snap that I really like, but it's not as classic as your phone BinkieBaumont.

 

[Edward]

"This is the coolest Telephone on the planet, the rest is just technology"

If only I could fit one of those in my pocket..... lol

 

[Son_of_Atropos]

I saw on the news today that if you buy the Nexus One at retail then the company is only making a $5 profit. I think the phone retails near $200. Just a useless fact.

 

[Edward]

To catch on, though, at least here in the UK, they'll have to be available on contract with at least one of the main networks, especially now that most of them have the (extremely popular) iPhone. I'm up for contract renewal in August, and I'm actually seriously considering the iPhone simply because i'll actually be able to sell it for a reasonable sum once upgrade time rolls around again...