NexusOne
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Google lowers Nexus One upgrade price to $279, issues $100 refund to early upgraders
Good news, earthlings! Apparently Google's taken all the complaints about Nexus One upgrade pricing to heart, because it's giving $100 rebates to current T-Mobile subscribers who paid $379 for the HTC-built handset -- and it says it'll be widening the net and offering upgrades to even more current T-Mo subs, although we still don't know how that's determined. That means the new Nexus One pricing tiers break down like this: $529 unlocked, $279 upgrade for (some) current T-Mo subs, and $179 on a new 2-year contract. Handshakes all around. Now, let's fix up family plan activations and that crazy double ETF, shall we? Update: Just in case you needed the reassurance, Google's confirmed all this to be true. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Vodafone's Nexus One coming in at €150?
Google might still be quoting Spring 2010 for Vodafone's variant of the Nexus One, but that doesn't mean we can't get a sneak preview of pricing right this very second, does it? A site going by TelefoonAdvies appears to have scored some sort of price sheet for Voda's German branch, showing a price of €149.90 -- and by our rough math that works out to about $217, meaning these guys would be paying a touch more than T-Mobile USA subscribers who have been getting their Android 2.1 fix for $179. Naturally, this price would come on a contract, the exact details of which remain to be seen -- but with the Bravo possibly just weeks away, they'd better get moving. [Thanks, Oliver]
3 Sweden says it's getting HTC Bravo in March
If you were hoping for a little more Sense with your Nexus One, you might want to keep your sights set on the late part of the first quarter or the early part of the second. That leaked roadmap from a while back had the so-called Bravo pegged for April, a phone that would ultimately form the basis of the Nexus One -- at least in hardware specification -- but 3 Sweden's official Facebook page made mention this week of a March launch. The combination of Snapdragon, a 3.7-inch AMOLED display, a 5 megapixel camera, and a full Android 2.1-based implementation of HTC's Sense UI is a juicy thought indeed, and we can't imagine that such a beast would only launch on 3. Since T-Mobile USA's taking a pass on offering the Nexus One in stores, perhaps this is the version they've been waiting for? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Mobile app analytics firm guesstimates Nexus One hasn't sold like hotcakes
Maybe we're oversimplifying here, but we never really got the impression that Google was intending to blow out the launch of the Nexus One. Sure, you could argue that seeding the phones to employees ahead of the announcement was an effort to build buzz -- but it didn't really make any attempt to capitalize on the move, and last week's subdued press conference in Mountain View (sans the holy trinity of Eric, Larry, and Sergey) wasn't the wild, crazy event it could've been had Google wanted it to be. That's why we're not particularly surprised to see that the app analytics peeps over at Flurry are estimating (based on usage of the apps that it instruments) that just 20,000 Nexus Ones were sold in the first week of retail -- a far cry from its 250,000 figure for the Droid, much less the iPhone 3GS' staggering 1.6 million. As Flurry notes, Verizon pumped (and continues to pump) millions upon millions of dollars into advertising the Droid in print, television, and the web; that alone boosted broad consumer interest, something Google earned to a far lesser extent through media coverage alone. Furthermore, the Droid instantly relieved much of the "if only the iPhone were on Verizon" pressure that had been building over the prior year, whereas the Nexus One brought nothing fundamentally new to the table for T-Mobile -- and many folks on other networks either won't or simply can't switch to the number four carrier for business or coverage reasons. The bottom line is that we suspect Google isn't sweating the Nexus One's sales figures one bit, no matter how high or low they may be; whether that's a smart strategy for Android as a platform in the long term, though, remains to be seen.
The Engadget Show tapes this Saturday, January 16th with Erick Tseng of Google and our CES wrap-up!
If you caught our coverage during CES 2010 (and you better have!), then you probably saw our quick sit-down with Senior Product Manager for Android, Erick Tseng. We had such a good time chatting with him and had so many other questions, we thought having him on the Engadget Show made lots of sense! So, this Saturday, January 16th, Erick will join us live on-stage to answer all of our burning questions (and yours too -- shout them out in comments). We'll also be doing a wrap-up of all the gear we saw at CES during our editors roundtable, and giving away a bunch of stuff to audience members (including CES swag and limited edition Engadget t-shirts)! Oh, and we'll have more chiptune goodness from our friend Glomag. The Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are -- as always -- free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served... so get there early! Here's all the info you need: There is no admission fee -- tickets are completely free The event is all ages Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2PM on Saturday, doors will open for seating at 4:30PM, and the show begins at 5PM You cannot collect tickets for friends or family -- anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we're full, we're full The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break) The show length is around an hour If you're a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we'll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com. Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
T-Mobile gives reps troubleshooting tips for Nexus One's 3G issues
T-Mobile's already starting to acknowledge that the Nexus One might have a love-hate relationship with its 3G spectrum, but we've been able to track down some internal documentation on exactly how the carrier's going about resolving this. Naturally, they're recommending affected customers reset the phone -- an old standby that actually works a troublingly high percentage of the time -- and hitting them up with some knowledge about the behavior of the device in different situations (you don't see the 3G icon when you're on WiFi, for instance, nor if you're not in a 3G area). As far as T-Mob knows, exchanging the handset doesn't help so they're not currently recommending it, but they are asking folks with other 3G devices to see if they can pick up a signal in the same area -- something we'd already seen from the carrier's support forum post. We're hopeful this all gets tied off nicely with a firmware update on the double, because let's be honest: a device with a huge touchscreen becomes a lot less interesting when high-speed data goes away.
Google imposes $350 early termination fee for subsidized Nexus One in addition to carrier's own ETF
Here's another reason to consider going the unlocked route with the Nexus One, in addition to having the AT&T (non-3G) and international GSM option. As a number of people have noticed, Google's got its own Early Termination Fee (ETF) equivalent, here called the Equipment Recovery Fee, in the terms of sale, to the tune of $350 if you cancel within the first 120 days. Sound familiar? It's because we saw it in a leak just before the new year. Here's the kicker, though: this is in addition to any fees imposed by the carrier -- not necessarily a problem on its own, but we just glanced at T-Mobile's terms of sale, and sure enough, there's an associated ETF up to $200. If we're reading this right, Nexus One owners who decide to end their service after the 14-day trial period is over but before four months have passed will be hit with upwards of $550 in fees -- more than if you bought the phone outright from the start, especially when you factor in the upfront $180. There hasn't been enough time for someone to tempt fate, but who knows -- come January 20th when early adopters' trial period ends, there might be some interesting stories abound.
The Street: Features can't sway Apple customers' trust
Jason Schwarz over at TheStreet has written an article analyzing Apple's current position in the marketplace and what Apple's competition needs to do in order to catch up. The article focuses mostly on Apple's iPhone/iPod + iTunes ecosystem, which isn't surprising. Though Mac sales bring in a fair amount of cash to the company, Apple's handheld market is the company's most current success story, and everyone from Microsoft to Palm to Google has spent the past several years trying (and failing) to duplicate that success. Schwarz notes that Steve Jobs's recent claim that, "We see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon," doesn't necessarily apply to the feature set of the iPhone or its integration with iTunes, but rather Apple's financial success and brand impression. He has a point. Recent ads have been trying to sell the Droid on its feature set, telling us all the things that Sega does that Nintendon't - er, I mean, all the things Droid does that the iPhone doesn't, but trying to sell the Droid on features hasn't exactly toppled the iPhone's dominance quite yet, and all indications are that the Nexus One isn't likely to take a big chunk out of Apple's smartphone sales, either.
T-Mobile makes mention of 3G issues with Nexus One, hopes to have 'more information' soon
There's no fix yet, but Nexus One users are getting a solid first step this week now that T-Mobile is officially investigating the 3G / EDGE fluctuation issues that folks have been reporting. A posting over on T-Mob's official support forums is now asking for users with verifiable problems to report a few key stats including their location, the nature of the problem (no 3G or 3G / EDGE switching), and whether they've got another AWS 3G phone handy that's performing better. The company says that it hopes "to have more information for you soon," so, you know, keep that box handy just in case this puppy needs to get exchanged Nokia 5800-style.
Engadget Mobile Podcast 031: Saturday @ CES 2010 - 01.09.2010
Welcome to the future of the Engadget Mobile Podcast. And by the future, we mean the present. The now. The 2010 where we have a Blackberry on our wrist, a Rumor in our hand, and The Need For Speed on our Pre. Strap in and log on. Hosts: Chris Ziegler, Sean CooperProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Solvent - Devices and Strategies (Ghostly International)03:36 - Live from Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo's CES 2010 keynote06:40 - LG Rumor Touch hands-on07:45 - LG Lotus Elite hands-on: it's red, square, and marginally attractive15:53 - inPulse smartwatch for BlackBerry wrist-on21:32 - LG's GT540 mixes Android 2.0, pretty, and low-end22:53 - Google support forums rife with Nexus One 3G complaints, is this a real problem?25:20 - LG GW990 hands-on video41:25 - Palm gets serious about 3D gaming on webOSSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)Contact the podcastpodcast (at) engadgetmobile (dot) com.
Engadget Podcast 178: CES 2010 Day 4 - 01.09.2010 [Chopped n' Screwed Remix]
I hopped off the plane at LAS with a dream and my MacBook ProWelcome to the show of tech and glow, whoa will I make a big win?Jumped in a cab, here I am for the third timeLook to the right, and I see the CES signThis is all so crazy, everybody seems so nerdyMy tummy's turnin' from some cheese I ate at DigExToo much e-ink and I'm wiredThat's when the podcast man turned on the radioAnd the Miley song was onAnd the Miley song was onAnd the Miley song was onHosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul MillerProducer: Trent WolbeSong: Party in the U.S.A. (Chopped and Screwed)Hear the podcast05:00 - Pixel Qi screens to be used by a major manufacturer in 201015:30 - Qualcomm Mirasol display video hands-on in glorious 1080p19:35 - Live from Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo's CES 2010 keynote32:43 - Andy Rubin on multitouch in Android: 'I personally don't like two-handed operations'33:20 - Live from All Things D at CES 201040:01 - Dell divulges Mini 3 details, tablet (Mini 5?) caught running Android 1.6 (update: video!)46:20 - Windows Mobile 7 coming to MWC in February, not just 'evolutionary'59:15 - Boxee Box interface demo video Subscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
MOTO gives straight advice on smartphone touchscreen quality (video)
Like simple and unsophisticated tests? Here's one sure to generate some heated discussion. MOTO, a group of super brains that assists companies from startups to Microsoft in their product development, has devised a dead-simple test to measure the accuracy of touchscreen devices. The test involves slowly drawing a few diagonal lines across the display using any drawing program on your device. Straight lines are good -- stair-stepping is bad. Now, assuming the app isn't doing some kind of smoothing algorithm then what you see above is symbolic of the accuracy of the iPhone, Droid Eris, Droid, and Nexus One (moving left to right). We met with Morgan Venable, Senior Project Lead / Electical Engineer at MOTO, and saw this test performed live here at CES. Compelling stuff. Video after the break. Update: Test under medium pressure after the break.
Nexus One hardware costs $174.15, US multitouch still priceless
If, while perusing the Nexus One teardown, you were doing a mental tally of just how much each internal part may cost, here's your chance to compare your numbers to some professionally obtained figures. iSuppli reports a preliminary estimate of $174.15 for the cost of materials needed to build each handset. The research firm also congratulates Google on keeping a bill of materials comparable to most recent smartphones while having "the most advanced features of any smart phone ever dissected by iSuppli's Teardown Analysis Service." Costliest of all things was the 1GHz Snapdragon ($30.50), followed by the AMOLED display ($23.50) and memory ($20.40) from Samsung. The Bluetooth and 802.11n WiFi transceiver cost $8.20, and perhaps the most egregious spend was $12.50 on a 5 megapixel camera that many of us might never use. Hilariously enough, Google has spent $17.50 on what is clearly identified as a "capacitive multitouch touchscreen assembly" from Synaptics, though enabling it clearly remains a bridge too far.
Droid gets overclocking, Nexus One gets tethering, Android hackers get mad props
If there's one problem with Motorola's Droid it's that the battery life is just too long. We can almost make it through an entire day without a recharge and really, who wants that? Thank goodness there's a hack to enable an extra 50MHz boost, bumping the Droid up to a full 600 and, according to at least one user, significantly decreasing stability in the process. We'll go ahead and skip that one, but on the more alluring side there's a new add-on to the (already rooted) Nexus One that enables wired or wireless tethering. It's not a full ROM but does entail a kernel update, and as always these things can go horribly wrong if you don't know what you're doing. Not sure if you know what you're doing? Chances are you have your answer.
Google support forums rife with Nexus One 3G complaints, is this a real problem?
What started out as a few tips on 3G issues for Google's Nexus One seems to have ballooned into a fair bit of drama at Google's support forums. The main complaint appears to be owners reporting that their device either never switches to 3G, or, it is constantly switching between 3G and EDGE. Many users are also posting that switching out to another manufacturer's set yields great 3G reception where they're testing, and others have chimed in that the service on their phones has been spotless. In an interview today at All Things D here at CES, Walt Mossberg mentioned the support problems to which Andy Rubin replied "we have to get better at customer service" -- all too true if this is a real problem. Let us know in comments if you're seeing an issue, and if there is a real problem here, hopefully it'll get addressed on the double. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Andy Rubin on multitouch in Android: 'I personally don't like two-handed operations'
In a very special CES edition of All Things D today, our own Joshua Topolsky had an opportunity to directly confront Google's Andy Rubin on the nagging multitouch issue -- not necessarily multitouch itself, but the growing disparity in support between American and European devices (the Droid / Milestone being the most famous example): "You call this a superphone -- 3.7-inch capacitive display, but no keyboard and no multitouch. Yet it has multitouch outside the US. Why not America?" Andy's reply: "It's not an America versus outside America kind of thing. It's a decision that is a result of the OEM model. I personally don't like two-handed operations... there is no conspiracy." That doesn't explain the fact that the European Nexus One seems to have some in-built multitouch enabled -- nor does it explain why any manufacturer would ever opt to exclude it under any circumstances unless there's some outside pressure involved. Surely Rubin's personal preferences don't play into this... right? Right, Google?
Nexus One gets a custom ROM
It's been but a week since the gang at Modaco rooted the Nexus One -- and what do we have here? A quick visit to the self-same forums today has revealed that the handset has a new custom ROM. Based on the 22607 release (in case you're curious), this bad boy sports many new and exciting features, including the Nano 2.09 text editor, wireless tether, Titanium Backup, Busybox 1.15.3, and more. Feelin' adventurous? Hit the source link to give it a go. And make sure you drop us a line and let us know how it goes. (You don't think we're going to be the first to try it, do you?) [Thanks, Jules]
The Engadget Interview: Erick Tseng, Senior Product Manager of Android
We had a chance to sit down with Erick Tseng, Senior Product Manager of Android at Google, who you may remember from that little press event the big G held the other day. We have a pretty detailed conversation on the impetus behind the Nexus One, details on Google's long-term strategy for its online store, a deep dive on the device itself, and lots more. We've split the chat up into three, easy-to-digest parts, so hit the videos after the break and get the full scoop!
Google: Nexus One not supporting 802.11n (for the time being)
Contrary to what we saw two days ago (in this boffo teardown as well as on Google's official spec page) the company is now listing the Nexus One as supporting 802.11b/g and not 802.11n -- conforming at least to the specifications on HTC's official specifications, if not to our hopes and dreams. We'll let you know if anything changes -- again! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Surprise, surprise: HTC's Euro-spec Nexus One does multitouch
Alright, Google, we get it: you hate America. That's the only conclusion we can reach for why the company's last two Android version hero devices -- the Droid for 2.0 and the Nexus One for 2.1 -- have mysteriously opted to exclude multitouch support in the phone's in-built apps (despite retaining support in third-party downloads). As we all know, the European Milestone adds that functionality back in, and it seems that the European version of the Nexus One (which'll be offered by Vodafone) is getting the same boost. We say this because a phone being passed around to Germany's Heise has pinch zooming enabled -- very likely the same stuff Voda will have on offer when it starts selling the phone in the coming weeks. That's fine, Google, whatever, we hate gestures anyway. Hate 'em. Update: According to a Google employee on a Google Mobile help page, the phone shipping to European markets will be no different than the one here in the US. We're not sure we entirely buy that, but we'll get to the bottom of this before long. [Thanks, Philipp, John]
