Finally, the Nexus One is Alive!

Posted on 05 January 2010 by


If you didnt see the posted invites about Google’s press conference today it read like this:

With the launch of the first Android-powered device just over a year ago, we’ve seen how a powerful, open platform can spur mobile product innovation. And this is just the beginning of what’s possible.

Please join us in Mountain View on January 5, for an Android press gathering.


Well, after the weeks of grueling torment and anguish , the wait is finally over. The Nexus One (Superphone) has finally launched….officially. The Android Community rejoices as Google finally releases the highly sought after mobile device. Moments ago at the press conference in Mountain View, California, Google announced that the phone is now on sale exclusively though Google’s own webstore. You can purchase the phone for a thrifty $529 (unlocked), and have it shipped to your doorstep free overnight via Fedex. And yes, the phone ships today.

The Nexus could be the game changing phone that Android needs to become a top contender in the market. Android set it sights on the top and has been gaining some considerable ground in the mobile OS Platform. This is the first Android phone launched in the US equipped with the fire-breathing Snapdragon CPU and the first to run Android 2.1. Other great features include Android 2.1, animated wallpaper, Wifi N, an ambient light sensor, a magnetic compass, a stereo FM speaker, a noise-cancellation chipset, OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics, and an auto-focus camera with LED flash.

T-Mobile will be  subsidizing the sale of the phone for $179 on specific contract. Verizon will shortly also be offering the phone but no time frame has been given. Vodaphone will also be offering the phone for €199 overseas in the near future. If you are planing on diving into Android but don’t want to pony up the money for the Nexus, check out
Ebay and Craigslist in the coming days, I’m sure it will be riddled with people trying to unload their previous Android phone at a good value in attempt to offset their recent Nexus One purchase.

I was fortunate enough to watch the conference live with sound, here are some of the highlights:

  • a ridiculously small room for such a big announcement. I think they even used and overhead projector (weird)
  • Google just coined the phrase “Superphone”
  • the phone is insanely fast, in fact the whole presentation was almost flawless (hardware cooperation)
  • a great overview of the news apps in the new software included a very usable extensive weather app
  • the new 3-D engine is well-integrated into the phone and lots of new apps
  • you can voice search EVERY text field on the entire phone (full voice dictation, works on server-side backend)
  • a sneak peek of google earth full 3-D app on android exactly same as desktop app, it’s simply amazing…
  • Google will be expanding its webstore with more phones and carriers coming
  • The new webstore is a one stop shop for devices, info, demos and carrier options.

Q&A highlights:

  • T-Mobile is 3G, ATT is not, just slip in your TMO sim and your all set
  • Your purchase of the unlocked phone is from Google. HTC is actually the supplier and designer of the phone.
  • Online advertising is what drives the Andoid market, no need for TV
  • Everyone will get Android 2.1, once it’s released open source
  • Google wants to start selling devices without service more in the US
  • Carriers choose the plans and price, Google only supplies the phone

Check out the New Google Store!

Updates:

*Simplified price structure

*PDF User Manual (22MB download)

This post was written by:

- who has written 180 posts on Gear Diary.

I have been a tech fanatic and gadget guru ever since I can remember. I started building computers at the age of 13 and have not stopped since. I now work as a Systems Administrator for Deluxe Checks and as a Network and Communications Specialist for the Army. I'm an avid fan of Android OS and spend most of my time breaking mobile phones and trying to get my hands on whatever gadgets hit the market. Hit me up on twitter as @techvudu

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  • alese

    All the expectations about how it will shake the industry, and it ended up pretty underwhelming.
    Sure it’s a nice phone and the first official 1GHz Snapdragon device in US. But the price is nothing special – $530 converts to something like 450 EUR for me (after adding taxes) which makes it pretty much on par with similar devices already available here in EU, and nexus is not even available for us.
    Actually you can get similar unlocked devices, like Acer Liquid (Android) and Toshiba TG01 (WM) for less than that…

    So it’s really just like any other device, no groundbreaking specifications with pricing on par with others.

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  • Francis Scardino

    Alese, thanks for the comment. Over in the US the Nexus has made some waves. Short of the Droid, we have no other phones like it. I dont think there is any phone that can complete with the specs of the Nexus. The HD2, Liquid, and TG01 are similar, but do not have ALL the same specs such as the OLED screen, magnetic compass, Android 2.1 (yet), OPEN GL support, and of course it is only 9mm thick.
    I dont think it completely changed the games, but put a big ripple in the Android Community. The most intriguing part to me is that the phone does not need to be jailbroken. A simple command will give the user “Root” access which is indeed an industry first. Also Google really switched things up offering the phone directly unlocked. Their site is an AIO place to shop for a phone, carrier of choice(soon optional) and get all the info you need on a phone. Im keeping my money on the Nexus being a great success in the US.

  • alese

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Nexus is not an excellent high end smartphone from technical point of view. Of course it is, but it’s not drastically different than other similar phones, it has some unique features, but that is expected from a new device.
    My main “gripe” is with all the expectations and rumors that were going on, about how Google and Nexus will change the industry with $200 unlocked price and relegate carriers to “only pipelines”.
    Maybe in US $530 for unlocked device that can be bought directly online is something new, but in EU, buying unlocked devices for comparable prices is nothing special. Also the fact that at the moment Nexus is really only available US again doesn’t change anything except maybe in US.
    So at the end all I see is some very US centric effort from Google to get some control from the carriers and possibly establish some kind of “market for devices not unlike Apples AppStore, but nothing drastic yet. Maybe the whole thing will evolve in something more (maybe even internationally) but not at the moment.