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Google Nexus Rumored To Cost $530 Or $180 w/Plan

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the it-better-be-good dept.

wkurzius writes "The new Google phone, the Nexus One, is rumored to cost $530 unlocked and will work on any GSM network. A subsidized version is also available for $180 and will get you a T-Mobile Even More Individual 500 Plan for 2-years with a $350 termination fee. Access to the phone is supposed to be invite only at first, with January 5th being the supposed release date."

7 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. Invite only? by MBGMorden · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously? Since when the hell is the ability to buy a phone "invite only"? I swear the social aspect of phone ownership is getting ridiculous.

    --
    "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    1. Re:Invite only? by alecto · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just a marketing gimmick to make people feel elite. Invites will be about as scarce as Gmail invites.

    2. Re:Invite only? by xch13fx · · Score: 4, Insightful

      umm, the razr was a status symbol, as soon as the price dropped and att stopped having exclusivity people began to hate theirs. Blackberrys, and treos then became the phones to have. The iphone is now the phone people want to be seen talking on and I imagine those who like that aspect best are getting tired of seeing other people with iphones. I guess your right that the mere fact that you had a cell in the 90s was a big deal, but now the type of phone you have is indeed a status symbol.

  2. Re:No thanks by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My whole family gets unlimited messages, data, and 700 minutes with myfaves (two blackberries and a generic nokia) for a little less than twice that.

    Then again they are targeting the young male "I have less sense than money" demographic.

    --
    A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  3. Re:A little more competition is a good thing by DJRumpy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think these smart phones have gone far beyond being an 'It' phone. This isn't some hot item that one quickly loses interest in within a few weeks. I bought my first smart phone (an iPhone) a few years ago. I still use it heavily. Having the internet in your pocket is a huge convenience for all sorts of circumstances. The apps are just icing. I use mine 5 times a week at the gym, I look up prices, I check release dates for movies, music, and media, all while I'm out and about. These have real purpose far beyond just being an accessory to one's clothes.

    They are essentially a mini-pc in your pocket, and I hardly need to extol the benefits of a PC to this crowd ;)

  4. Re:Very disappointing by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I do not understand. You're complaining that Google doesn't have some magic fairy dust to sprinkle over the phone so that it costs half as much all of a sudden?

    From what I can see, the prices are competitive, and match the established level for smartphones of this caliber. What else do you want?

  5. Re:In what way is an Android phone more limiting? by Microlith · · Score: 3, Insightful

    anything with a dead-end OS

    So a Linux-based device using X that supports both Qt and GTK2 toolkits is somehow a dead-end OS?

    a fully programmable Android device

    If and only if you root the thing. I would be surprised, seeing as how it is (optionally) subsidized by T-Mobile, if the Nexus One did not also require being rooted.

    buy a lot more applications

    All the applications I really need are available under the GPL already, and can be ported to the N900 with far less effort than it would take to port them to the iPhone or Android. Unless you are suggesting that only software you have to pay for is worthwhile.