Google Nexus One. A 'Game Changer?'

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:09:20 EST

With 2010 here, there seems no shortage of ideas to getthings moving again. Apple has a bigannouncement coming the 27^th of January. CES (Consumer ElectronicsShow) in Las Vegas has 2,500 companies showing off new gadgets. It's no secretCES will be filled with lots of 3D TV stuff. I don't see that much beyond a ‘humm, that's nice'. Without a standardfor the Hollywood Inc.'s of the world to transmit 3D movies, it would be likeevery TV broadcaster needed you to buy a TIVO type device for their offerings.

Apple not announcing the rumored ‘tablet PC' til the end ofthe month may mute some of the CES excitement. I think the big news of this young decade is (at least forthe USA), the new Google based (Android Version 2.1) smart phone. The Nexus One has the stuff to become a gamechanger (maybe). The reason for this is not the tight integration to GoogleServices. Not even the better screenthan the Blackberry and iPhone.The reason the new Gphone may be a game changer is the SIM.No matter where you live, your cell phone needs a SIM.

It's a ‘personality chip'that gives you a phone number, with a phone carrier, like T-Mobile ($529 Unlocked or $179 with a 2 year agreement with T-Mobile) or AT&T(both options for the Nexus One (Gphone the sequel). While as I understood things) these are the only two wireless carriers in the USA touse the GSM technology to be cell phones, it is a very common system outsidethe USA, so planet-trotting road warriors prefer phones that are GSM based. I don't yet fully understand how Vodaphone and Verizon fit in this announcement.

AndI don't see this as the game changer.Like the rest of the world, the Nexus One allows you tochange out the SIM. Don't like your carrier, out old SIM, in with the new SIMand you are free. No multi-year agreements with ‘early cancellation fees' setso high, the US Congress is not happy with the bar it sets. Sure, ‘unlocked' phones cost more than the wireless razorthat only accepts blades from that vendor. And over the couple year life span of a contract (or a phone), the moneyyou spend becomes higher than the unlocked phone. Maybe you cannot cost justify putting out themoney for an unlocked phone. Well, settle for fewer features in your hardwareand get an older or used unlocked cell phone. I use a Quad-Band (4 frequency ranges) Samsung. Looks likean iPhone at first glance. Of course it doesn't have the breath of applicationsthat the iPhone has.

And I have yet to spend a penny on 3^rd partyapps for it because it came with everything I need. No, it doesn't have the 3G speed of theiPhone or Nexus One. How many AT&Tusers really get 3G, even in an area with 3G? Due to over-subscribing, dang fewusers is the answer.So that means users in the USA will probably want to goT-Mobile (as the Nexus One does not have 3G Internet speeds with AT&T inthe hardware).Of course tying tightly to Google Applications does bringsome money saving features.

Voice-activated turn-by-turn GPS (without charge)means no more paying for navigation services, and not carrying a second device.While the internal GPS is good, it's visual search thatcould really change our lives. At this moment, Google Goggles (Visual search)doesn't work with everything. And all reports are it is amazing at findingproducts or landmarks by studying the picture you took. By the way, the Nexus One has the best camerain a phone, to date (5 Megapixel with flash). While I'm thrilled by all this new stuff, being able to havepre-paid SIM's in different countries means I don't have to have or carry aphone for each country I visit. And I'm not paying for monthly service formultiple countries, while I'm only in one at a time.

My one piece ofadvice if you go this route is: store all phone numbers and contacts on theSIM, not built-in phone memory. This is because your dialing needs will changeas you change countries. Sure it's alittle messy updating multiple SIM's when contact data changes. For that, justuse the ‘notes' feature and the built-in memory to hang on to data until youhave updated all your SIMs. Then your ‘auto-dialer' will function correctly, aslong as you have a signal and battery power. Some will point out that the Apple Store having so manyapplications for the iPhone will make it tough for the Nexus One. I believethat the open nature of Android software will cause a flood of 3^rd party applications. Of course the 3.7 inch AMOLED screen is a joy. How thebattery will hold up on what is the fastest processor in a phone (QualcommSnapdragon running at 1Gtz) is an answer only time will tell. As Active-Matrix OrganicLight Emitting Diode screens use far less power and are quite rugged (comparedto other technology), I don't expect battery time to be an issue. You can lose your MP3 player as Nexus One has a 2.5MM headphonejack and Stereo Bluetooth.

A new feature is "Active Noise Suppression" builtinto the headset, not the microphone. I have no idea how that impactsapplications such as the VU Meter (re-creating an analog sound meter). I'm willing to go out on a limb and guess thatthe Speech Recognition (SR) gets a benefit from this. I'm hoping Google dictation becomes part ofGoogle's Web based cloud services.

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Google Nexus One. A 'Game Changer?'