Google Nexus One Hands-On, Video, and Impressions

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Google Nexus One Hands-On, Video, and Impressions

Posted by timothy on Saturday January 2, 2010 @03:18PM from the there's-a-nap-for-that dept.

wkurzius writes "Engadget has gotten their hands on a Nexus One and have put their first impressions up for the world to see, including whether or not they think it's the 'be-all-end-all Android phone / iPhone eviscerator.' Their opinion? 'Not really.'"

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Only one question... by houstonbofh · 2010-01-02 15:27 · Score: 2, Interesting

Is it locked? That is really the "killer app" point for me. A commercially sold phone that is hacker friendly from the start.
1. Re:Only one question... by LostCluster · 2010-01-02 15:32 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  It's feature-locked. It only has the hardware to work fully on T-Mobile. Like the article says, take it to AT&T and you can't reach the frequencies they do 3G data on. It's not a bad design trade-off... why give the T-Mobile users hardware they don't need, when a majority of customers with an unlocked device would take it to T-Mobile because of their "unsubsidized hardware, cheaper service" pricing?
2. Re:Only one question... by NotFamousYet · 2010-01-02 15:36 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  If you want a commercially sold phone that is hacker-friendly, I'd advise the Nokia N900. Have you considered that?
3. Re:Only one question... by B5_geek · 2010-01-02 15:39 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Get a Nokia N900 if you want that killer feature.
  Debian ... check
  root access ... check
  ssh + screen ... check
  apt-get install damn near anything ... CHECK!
  
  --
  "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
4. Re:Only one question... by LostCluster · 2010-01-02 15:49 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Nokia took a big turn a few years ago, dropping the "free after service provider subsidy" models in favor of going very geek. I had one of their recent phones earlier this year while I was waiting for my subsidy to get an iPhone to come available.
  The initial failures of the Ovi App Store were annoying, and with only the built in apps available to me it needed some work. They're racing in the same division as much bigger fish called Apple and Google, but they seem to have a neat device in the Booklet 3G... just a plain Windows netbook with a $300 provider discount making it $299.99, and Best Buy was kicking in another $100 to make it $199.99 over the holidays. The killer feature on this one is a solid battery.
  They're really going for the geeks... but are there enough geeks who will pass on both Apple on AT&T and Google on Verizon and T-Mobile?
5. Re:Only one question... by Albanach · 2010-01-02 16:22 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  They're racing in the same division as much bigger fish called Apple and Google
  In Q3 2009 Nokia sold 16.16 million smart phones. Apple sold 7.04 million.
  Apple's market share is certainly growing, but in the world of cell phones, they don't come much larger than Nokia.
6. Re:Only one question... by fm6 · 2010-01-02 16:23 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Are the right wingnuts resorting to calling people "hippies" now? Boy, talk about running low on brainless insults. You guys should have rationed your rudeness to make words like "liberal" and "socialist" last longer. Oh wait, conserving natural resources is "fascism", isn't it?
7. Re:Only one question... by LostCluster · 2010-01-02 16:45 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Not quite an apples-to-Apple Inc. comparison there.
  Apple effectively has two very similar packages in "smartphones", would you like the 3GS in 16GB or 32GB. Some non-S 3G phones are still in inventory and selling at a discount. And let's not forget Apple has the bigger App Store, and developers who target the iPhone also get to see their apps run on the iPod Touch which isn't considered a "smartphone" for lack of a phone.
  Development for Nokia's line of phones is much harder, because there's more than one screen size and a much wider range of capabilities.
  It's a little more than just product moved that matters. Nokia's App Store is nothing compared to the iTunes App Store, and we know 30% of all money that goes through that goes straight to Apple.
8. Re:Only one question... by jbuilder · 2010-01-02 17:42 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Have you been paying attention to T-Mobile at at all lately? Because that's not even true. They're 3G coverage has expanded to the point in the last year alone that it's at 85-90% of AT&T's 3G coverage. They cut the timetable for their rollout of 3G from 36 months to 17 months. I literally had 3G turn on overnight in my own neighborhood just a couple of nights ago.
  And even IF you don't have 3G coverage in your area - you will soon - and if you have WiFi in your house (who doesn't?) you'll be off and running with high speed internet access when you're at home.
  
  --
  Polymorphism -- It's what you make of it.
9. Re:Only one question... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-01-02 17:56 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  They're 3G coverage has expanded to the point in the last year alone that it's at 85-90% of AT&T's 3G coverage
  so what, like 2% of the US then?
10. Re:Only one question... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-01-02 18:00 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  /spending 2min to install blackra1n and rock/cydia and have a great phone!
  
  Paying $500 + signing a $100/month contract on a phone which may get bricked on the next update because you hacked it: priceless.
11. Re:Only one question... by quenda · 2010-01-02 18:02 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  The N900 PIM-specific functionality is far behind what Android or iPhone is capable of.
  But it does run the google-apps mail & calendar web version well - both main and mobile versions.
12. Re:Only one question... by abigor · 2010-01-02 18:38 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Games? I don't play them on a phone, but a lot of people sure seem to.
13. Re:Only one question... by El+Royo · 2010-01-02 18:51 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  If you're looking for a hacker friendly phone then you really can't beat the Palm Pre. Linux OS underlies it. Very strong homebrew community that works -with- Palm. The whole phone is open for tinkering. Shortly, it should be supported on Verizon and the GSM version should be available in the states later this year (of course, you could import a QWERTZ phone from Germany now, but that seems like a lot of effort to me). Recently, the homebrew community ported Doom to the phone, it works with the new OpenGL drivers included in the webOS 1.3.5 update. Palm really gets open source. Of course, I might be biased, I do run the Pre 101 Web site in my spare time, but I don't think I've exaggerated anything.
  
  --
  Author of Enyo: Up and Running from O'Reilly Media
14. Re:Only one question... by fm6 · 2010-01-02 20:02 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  and if you have WiFi in your house (who doesn't?) you'll be off and running with high speed internet access when you're at home.
  If you have WiFi in your house, you already have that, and without having to deal with the tiny screen and awkward data entry.
  In a phone, Wifi is a fallback, at best. The only advantage a phone has over other internet devices is portability. And "must be near a hotspot" is not portability.
15. Re:Only one question... by Chris+Oz · 2010-01-02 21:20 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I doubt that the antenna is the actual problem. From what I remember and it has been a long time 20 years since I did any serious antenna design. You actually need longer antennas for lower frequencies eg 1/2 the wavelength for a dipole and 1/4 for a whip antenna. So the phone antenna can be quite small. Similarly I would be surprise if you couldn't make a fairly broad band antenna at for a mobile. The biggest problem with broadband antennas is impedance mismatching and hence VSWR problems mainly for TX. As you move up the frequency a given antenna can generally operate over a wider band more easily because the wavelength difference between the antenna length and the TX frequency becomes for a given TX band. A 20MHz (capital M for Mega not small for milli) TX band at 100 MHz will give you ~ a 20% variance in wavelength which is larger than the wavelength variation from 1.7 GHz to 2GHz.
  Having said that I haven't done any RF design for phones so there may be some gotchas antenna wise that I am not aware of but I suspect the problem if it is a space problem may come from other front end requirements such as the high Q crystal filters, diplexer if they use one, and power amp (depending on design) but I am only guessing. Certainly there are lots of small quad band phones that seem to have solved this problem. Expense is another factor.
16. Re:Only one question... by Totenglocke · 2010-01-02 21:44 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Bingo. The other use for WiFi on a phone is to turn off 3G and use WiFi for internet (say when you're at work or at home) and it drastically extends the battery life of the phone. I've started doing that with my iPhone - if I'm home or at a friend / family members house, I turn off the 3G and use their wireless and my battery life about doubles.
  
  --
  "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
17. Re:Only one question... by Maxmin · 2010-01-02 22:36 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  "Smartphones," he said. Nokia's worldwide marketshare for stupidphones is still many times that of all smartphone sales combined.
  
  --
  O lord, bless this thy holy hand grenade, that with it thou mayest blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy.
18. Re:Only one question... by Aladrin · 2010-01-02 22:41 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I don't know what you're smoking, but I've had my Android a lot longer than that and it was larger than 'a few square miles' in Orlando alone. All of Orlando, in fact.
  Up in New England, T-Mo sucks. Down here in Florida, it's the best service. It all depends on your area. They are, however, improving all the time.
  
  --
  "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
19. Re:Only one question... by rich_r · 2010-01-03 01:14 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Broadcast FM is VHF (Very High Frequency). ELF is down below 1khz, with wavelengths of hundreds of meters.
  The difficulty with microwave (ghz) is that because wavelengths are so short, the entire circuit needs to be tuned, not just the antennae.
20. Re:Only one question... by JSBiff · 2010-01-03 02:39 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  "You apparently never studied RF physics."
  Not much, not in depth. Only a little bit, while studying for an Amateur Radio Technician license. But, enough to know that the following statement isn't completely accurate:
  "88.1 mHz to 107.9 mHz requires a much smaller antenna than anything in the gHz-plus range."
  I call BS on that. The length of the antenna that is required is *inversely* proportional to the frequency, because the length of the antenna is a function of the wavelength of the frequencies being tuned. You can have antennas that are approximately 1/4 wavelength, 1/2 wavelength, or 1 wavelength (I suppose it's possible to design an antenna which is some other fraction, but in ham radio, those seem to be the most common lengths).
  So, IIRC correctly, wavelength is derived thusly: Wavelength is the distance the radio wave travels (at the speed of light) in one cycle
  C = 299 792 458 m / s
  f_1 = 100 Mhz = 100 * 10^6 cycles / s
  f_2 = 1700 Mhz = 17 * 100 * 10^6
  L_1 = C/f_1 = 299 792 458/(100 * 10^6) = 3 m / cycle
  L_2 = C/f_2 = 299 792 458/(17 * 100 * 10^6) = 0.176 m / cycle
  So, I don't know why you're going on about antenna size. A cell phone has to have an antenna, *anyhow*, and neither the T-mobile or AT&T cellphones have giant antennas, so that should be reason enough to dispel your argument about the antenna. The only question, really, is the tuner circuitry. Perhaps a 200 or 300 Mhz range really is too much range to pack into one cheap radio chip?
21. Re:Only one question... by metamatic · 2010-01-03 07:09 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  I have an N800, and I'm familiar with Maemo. It has a lot of fairly basic deficiencies. For example, there has been a bug open for several years about the fact that it's impossible to set your preferences for date format. That's a bit of a killer for me, trivial as it may seem, as I use ISO format everywhere, and the last thing I need is my phone and organizer using a different format from everything else.
  I've also been displeased with Nokia's lack of continuing support for older devices. When I went through the hell of reflashing my N800 for the 2008 OS release, Nokia said that would be the last reflash needed, as they had added a proper package manager. In fact, it was the last reflash needed because they dropped support for older hardware and told everyone to go buy an N900.
  Then there's the fact that the windowing toolkit on the N900 is a dead end, due to be replaced by Qt in the inevitable N910--which you will no doubt have to buy, because they won't offer an OS update for the N900.
  No, sorry, but Nokia does not fill me with enthusiasm.
  
  --
  GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
Google just trying to see what sticks? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-01-02 15:42 · Score: 2, Interesting

In the past, when Google was a smaller company, we'd see very direct and targeted products being developed. First was their excellent search engine, then AdSense, and then GMail and Google Maps. The quality was good, the feature set was quite complete, and they were rife with innovation.
Lately, however, it seems that Google has just started throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. There seems to be a significant lack of focus. Android, Chrome OS and Nexus One follow this path. There's nothing about them that really sticks out relative to the competition. It's more just Google playing catch-up.
Especially in the case of Chrome OS, nobody has a fucking clue what Google is trying to accomplish. Power users find it extremely limiting, and "normal" users really have no use for it. Hopefully they abort it soon, and instead just make Chrome the best browser it can be.
1. Re:Google just trying to see what sticks? by wickerprints · 2010-01-02 17:07 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Ah, but this is what Google wants everyone to believe. They want you to think that they're just messing around and dabbling in every tech-related market. But the truth is far more subtle and interesting.
  Google's real product, its core focus, has always been and remains its analytics. Everything they have developed or acquired--GMail, Maps, YouTube, Android, and of course, Google search--has been about one thing, and one thing only: gathering data and analyzing it in order to better match the consumer with the advertiser. You want to know/buy something. Someone else wants to tell/sell it to you. And Google's entire business model is about profiting off the need to make this connection efficient.
  When viewed in this context, it becomes crystal clear why they have their hands in all these seemingly disparate technologies. They have a huge advantage, in that by cross-indexing the data they have collected on you, they can have a very complete picture of your preferences. It doesn't matter that YouTube doesn't turn a profit on its own. It doesn't matter that GMail and Android are free. In a sense, these things are not really products. They're more like...well, bait. They are a means to understand you better, and in turn, sell that understanding to people who want to sell you their products. Therefore, you are not Google's customer. The advertisers, the ones who pay Google for their analytics, are their real customers.
  Given Microsoft's recent unveiling of Bing (and their "cashback" program), it appears that MS management still doesn't understand Google's strategy. They are trying to compete in this one area, thinking that if they could attract people to use their search engine, they would be competitive. While that tactic might have worked a decade ago, it's much too late now. They are throwing money at the problem because they don't understand that Google is successful because they offer services that are free, easy to use, and effective, then take the data they collect and sell that knowledge to advertisers. They have misunderstood in the same way that people misunderstand why Google developed all these different technologies and offered them for free.
  It's also one more reason why I won't use Android, despite how good it is. I already use too many Google services. I don't need them to know even more about me than they already do.
2. Re:Google just trying to see what sticks? by ColdWetDog · 2010-01-02 17:28 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Maybe I should get my wife a Google account, a gMail account and a Nexus. Then Google can tell me what she's about. I sure can't seem to figure it out on my own...
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
3. Re:Google just trying to see what sticks? by shawb · 2010-01-02 18:14 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I honestly think Google is a lot smarter than that... they don't sell data to the advertisers. Google keeps that data in house and simply decides which ads to show to which viewers. Selling that data would be like a dairy farmer selling his cows. In fact, that's one thing that almost makes me trust my data with Google... they don't want their competitors getting their hands on that data. It's not a kind heart and dedication to not being evil that drives Google to keep your data safe... it's pure financial self interest (and not even the enlightened variety.)
  
  --
  I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
This is a engineering issue, not Googfle's call. by brunes69 · 2010-01-02 15:45 · Score: 3, Informative

T-Mobile and ATT operate on different 3G frequencies. Supporting all frequencies would be prohibitively expensive.
Re:More vendor/carrier lock-in by cgenman · 2010-01-02 15:49 · Score: 2, Informative

You can get commercially available unlocked iphones. They just cost so much that nobody does it.
Apparently people would rather spend less money up front, and more money in the long run. Either people's budgets are so precariously balanced that an upfront fee is unviable, or humans are just bad at math. Possibly both.

--
The ______ Agenda
Re:More vendor/carrier lock-in by LostCluster · 2010-01-02 15:52 · Score: 3, Informative

Right now, in the USA, there's only one provider (T-Mobile) willing to discount your service if you decline the hardware subsidy. If you want to use anybody else, you pay the same rate even if you decline the upfront money.
Either T-Mobile subscriptions will go through the roof, or we've got proof that the public just doesn't care. People with money seldom understand math, see also: Las Vegas.
The summary sounds misleadingly negative by cupantae · 2010-01-02 16:07 · Score: 5, Insightful

I can't see exactly what's wrong with this phone. All that was meant by the "not really," I think, is that it isn't mindblowingly superior to other Android phones. It looks very nice.

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Re:AMOLED screens in a completely different class by Anonymous Coward · 2010-01-02 16:13 · Score: 2, Informative

unless if you use it in daylight...
Re:More vendor/carrier lock-in by MichaelSmith · 2010-01-02 16:25 · Score: 4, Funny

I'm in a true fringe area... there's two farm's fields within eyesight of where I sit.
Are you sitting on the fence?

--
http://michaelsmith.id.au
I laughed at the live wallpaper crashes by dafing · 2010-01-02 16:30 · Score: 3, Interesting

Very funny, isnt this thing meant to be coming out soon? I realise all tech has crashes, but when you are going up against the iPhone, I think you should be able to change wallpaper without constant crashes! Thats the sort of thing that would put me off buying a phone, if a friend told me "this is so much better than the iPhone, check out the sparkly backgrounds" and then CRASH, #2 CRASH, #3 CRASH as you try and change the background! I'd automatically assume the rest of the phone were as buggy. Do other Android devices have similar crashes? I've had iPhone apps crash before, but never the actual first party OS functions before. I dont have much hands on experience with Android, its not really available in New Zealand.

Anyway, hope I dont come across as a jerk. I have big hopes for Android, although I dont see myself leaving my iPhone soon. The Nexus One seems to have a very nice interface with some software features that Apple would do well to copy. I dont like the look of the hardware, I'd prefer the iPhone. Its good to have strong and healthy competition in any market, I dont think Android handsets have been on par with the iPhone yet. Im trying not to get too excited over the Nexus One, as too often we hear "iPhone Killer" bandied about. Perhaps if we didnt have such high hopes, we would be more tolerant of Androids current flaws, rather than instantly dismissing the device when it turns out not to be made of solid gold and curing cancer. I remember the ridiculous hype over the Droid, with a massive marketing campaign, and then it seems to have just fallen dead? When I hear of the Nexus One, commenters will often mention "the Droid sucked" or "this is so much better than the Droid" etc.

I hope the Nexus One comes out soon so I can see it, although New Zealand seems to only have one or possibly two Android handsets on sale?

--
--- ...or a new slashdot signature. Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
1. Re:I laughed at the live wallpaper crashes by Darkness404 · 2010-01-02 18:24 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  The thing about the iPhone is... it crashes... often (I don't have one but the majority of my family members do, as do a few of my friends). Sometimes it fails to pick up calls, applications crash, SMS messages are sometimes delayed hours, while I would be quick to blame it on AT&T, my current "dumb" phone doesn't have these problems (well, not that theres any applications to crash on the stupid thing...) while running on AT&T. On my iPod touch, applications will occasionally simply refuse to load, Facebook will randomly crash when loading, there are a few websites Safari doesn't like and crashes, etc. While for a lot of people these may be simple annoyances, for some a lost call may be lost money.
  
  --
  Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
2. Re:I laughed at the live wallpaper crashes by Darkness404 · 2010-01-02 18:50 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  While I can't speak for the iPhone, on my iPod touch core Apple things such as the music "app" have crashed on me, and three times I've had to do a hard reset from doing nothing more complex on the iPod other than changing songs.
  
  And while I do agree that wallpaper changing should be simple, in reality on most Android phones they work on the core first and move outward to the UI, OS X development works first on the UI then works on the core.
  
  --
  Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
3. Re:I laughed at the live wallpaper crashes by dafing · 2010-01-02 21:03 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Im not hearing many good things about Android...a phone is perhaps the most important gadget you rely upon, believe it or not, you can live without your computer! It only takes an hour or so to completely reinstall a computer operating system, or you can just buy a new one off the shelf if it dies.
  
  But a phone, if it dies when you are stranded somewhere...its life or death. I've grown attached to my phones, funny to think that ten years ago I didnt actually have a cellphone. But now, the thought of being away from it literally creeps me out, "have I gotten a call?", "does someone need me?" etc.
  
  I was actually a little scared to get a smartphone, I thought there must be so much more to go wrong with my phone. My iPhone has never crashed in its basic Apple programmed duties yet, I'm hoping it stays that way!
  
  Its seriously not acceptable to have a glitchy phone, in the same way I wouldnt accept a buggy GPS unit. I've been in situations before when my phone has literally saved my life, Im not going to risk it with what appears to be a seriously unstable OS.
  
  --
  --- ...or a new slashdot signature. Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
4. Re:I laughed at the live wallpaper crashes by salesgeek · 2010-01-03 01:29 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  If you are going to say you are not hearing good things about a product or a person, please share what that bad thing is. Otherwise, go back to your cubicle at your PR firm.
  Android is remarkably difficult to crash. There are some applications that crash from time to time, but an application crash does not take your phone offline. Google's built in aps are remarkably reliable. Third party applications can extend or replace included applications (like the dialer or address book) it is possible that an unstable 3rd party app can make things less stable. That's the price you pay for having an open platform, and well worth it based on the functionality that I have on my phone that you can never, ever have with an iPhone (try to get Google Voice, Handcent SMS, Locale and Lattitude on an iPhone).
  
  --
  -- $G
Critical by iluvcapra · 2010-01-02 16:33 · Score: 4, Insightful

No multitouch? Okay.
No physical keyboard? Okay.
No multitouch AND no physical keyboard? Sorta fatal combination.

--
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
1. Re:Critical by Solandri · 2010-01-02 19:48 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  No multitouch? Okay.
  
  I am wondering if Apple has some sort of patent on using multitouch in a UI which is preventing other phones from implementing it without getting a license from them. On the face of it, I'd consider it an obvious invention since the whole reason humans have thumbs is so they can manipulate objects with 2+ digits. But you never know with our crazy software patent system.
2. Re:Critical by Aladrin · 2010-01-02 22:45 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Why exactly do you need to hit more than 1 key at a time? Hint: You don't.
  Or maybe you were suggesting that multitouch is necessary to make a touch-interface that doesn't screw up all the time. It isn't.
  I've got the G1 with the new updates and the on-screen keyboard is almost as easy to use as the physical one. I rarely pull out the keyboard any more because it isn't worth the time.
  
  --
  "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2010-01-02 17:02 · Score: 3, Insightful

Comment removed based on user account deletion
Nexus six by SoVeryTired · 2010-01-02 17:02 · Score: 4, Funny

Hmm, I think I'll wait a few years for them to release the Nexus Six. Maybe it'll come with a Voight-Kampff machine built in.

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Slashdot: news for Apple. Stuff that Apple.
Re:More vendor/carrier lock-in by Shadow+of+Eternity · 2010-01-02 17:04 · Score: 2, Interesting

And I need to go inside a steel and cement storage building to lose a signal here in Orlando while my friend with his iphone can't even get one less than 4 miles from one of the largest universities in the entire state.
I can cherry pick anecdotes too.

--
A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
Re:AMOLED screens in a completely different class by NoobixCube · 2010-01-02 17:04 · Score: 4, Informative

Agreed, I have a Samsung Galaxy (which has an AMOLED screen), and indoors it looks amazing, way better than my friends' iPhones' screens. Introduce direct sunlight though, and you're looking at a dull, dark-grey mess.

--
Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
Nexus One by The+Wild+Norseman · 2010-01-02 17:21 · Score: 3, Funny

I can't wait until they come out with the Nexus-6 models. I might even call mine... Rachel.

--
"A government is a body of people usually -- notably -- ungoverned." -Shepherd Book
Ok.. by ShooterNeo · 2010-01-02 17:22 · Score: 4, Informative

So you can buy a Nexus One for $530 and pick up a data SIM for $29 a month. You get unlimited voice, unlimited SMS. I think the data SIM is capped at 5 gigs/month....which at 4 minutes/megabyte comes to thousands of 'minutes' a month. 5 gig is a little sparse for watching youtube videos, but more than adequate for finding information and checking maps.
2 year cost comes to $1,226. Iphone 3G two year cost is $1,975. Pretty substantial savings.
I would guess that google voice is/will be a ton more flexible than other voice providers...can probably do VoIP using wifi whenever you are near a hotspot. Can most likely auto-forward to a home VOIP system whenever you are at home or the phone is turned off. If you have wireless internet at home and at work (who doesn't?), that basically means unlimited everything whenever you are there.
Better display and better hardware than the iphone as well.
To be honest, this sounds like a winner. This smartphone can do many of the tasks of a real PC, yet the 2 year cost is about what you'd pay on the cheapest plan offered by a major wireless provider in the United States.
1. Re:Ok.. by Darkness404 · 2010-01-02 18:29 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  ...But that is assuming your wireless carrier doesn't mess with VoIP. While I don't think T-Mobile would (heck, they even supported unlocked iPhones for free!) other carriers might not be so forgiving AT&T, Verizon
  
  --
  Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
2. Re:Ok.. by ShooterNeo · 2010-01-02 18:34 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The Nexus one only really supports T-mobile. I did think about that...VoIP on a wireless link does sound pretty unreliable. There might be static, garbled communications, needing to speak loudly into the phone...even dropped calls. Then I thought "just like the kind of service I'm getting for ~$40/month through AT&T right now..."
  At least with google voice, you'll get great reception when you are connected via wi-fi to a decent internet connection (like at home for sure). Probably get about the same quality at home as you'd get on a real landline. And you don't have to pay any sort of long distance charges, or worry about minutes. Plus, all your voicemail gets transcribed and you can read it right there in gmail. Sounds like a winner to me.
3. Re:Ok.. by amRadioHed · 2010-01-02 20:56 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Who says the Nexus One has an OLED? I keep on seeing it from people commenting on articles about the phone, but it's not said in the articles themselves.
  Honestly I'm not sure I prefer OLED for phones. As much as I'd kill for an OLED display at home, it seems like a bit of a problem for something I'll be using a lot outside during the day.
  I agree about the keyboard thought. I would love something like the Droid, but I'm not about to switch to Verizon for it.
  
  --
  We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
4. Re:Ok.. by whisper_jeff · 2010-01-03 03:48 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Better display and better hardware than the iphone as well. To be honest, this sounds like a winner.
  Sorry, but I've heard this argument before in discussion about the iPod. 1,001 times before. Every time I hear it, it clearly tells me the commenter just doesn't get it. You clearly do not understand why the iPhone is successful. Here's a tip: the iPhone wasn't the best hardware when it came out. It's never been the best hardware. There's always been phones with superior hardware offerings. Yet it still is an enormous success. Figure out the reason for that "yet" and you might realize why your "better hardware" point is absolutely meaningless.
  
  Or, to put it more bluntly, this phone might be a damn snazzy phone and absolutely kick ass in a lot of ways but it won't be an iPhone killer.