Posted by Florian Wardell | 5 comments
The Nexus One is here
On Wednesday, Google introduced the Nexus One to the world, a phone built by HTC and marketed by Google. Even though a few selected blogs and websites were able to get a review unit to write about it, the hype surrounding the phone was incredibly high, comparable to the excitement regarding the iPhone when it came out. “Apple selling a phone? Will it change the industry?” has now become “Google selling a phone? Will it kill the iPhone?”. The question is legitimate, but it’s of course too soon to tell. Instead, why not focus on what we know and compare it to the iPhone: Its features, price and availability, and what it represents in terms of innovation, not only in the scope of technology, but regarding the way it challenges the traditional mechanics of the mobile industry.
The phone looks decently sexy. It’s not like the iPhone, a groundbreaking design you’ll remember in 20 years, but it looks nice. Its guts are interestion too: According to Gizmodo, the device features “a really fast 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, with a 3.7-inch, 480×800 AMOLED screen. The camera’s 5 megapixels with an LED flash—it also shoots MPEG-4 video with one-click YouTube upload, which should be quick over its wireless N Wi-Fi. The trackball’s got a multicolor LED for different notifications, and of course it’s got a compass, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, two mics for “active noise suppression,” light and proximity sensors, and an accelerometer onboard. It’s got a 1400mAH battery, from which they promise 5 hours of 3G browsing and 7 hours of 3G talk time”.
The hardware seems complete, but not exceptional, at least not enough to justify Google’s ridiculous abuse of the word “superphone”. While we’re mentioning terminlogy, let us point out what Nexus actually means: “a link between things”. The name is pretty smart, not only because the Nexus One is a mobile device, but because it describes what the Nexus One represents: the link between Google’s products (Android, Navigation, Voice, etc…) and its partners, in this case HTC, which built the device.
And because Google’s profit model relies on revenue from Google services, which Nexus users will rely upon, and not the sales of the phone itself, the price of the device was kept relatively low. In the U.S. you’ll be able to lay your hands on it for the price of 180$ with a two year contract with T-mobile, or buy it for 530$ contract free, which may actually be worth it, as Lifehacker points out. Note that additional carriers will support the device later on, like Verizon in the U.S. and Vodafone in Europe. The unlocked version leaves us Europeans quite unimpressed, but I’m sure U.S. consumers will enjoy the rare option.
So what’s so special about the Nexus One anyway? Well, for one thing, it’s the first phone to run Android 2.1, a polished up version of the Android version that runs on phones like Motorola’s Droid. The update includes a 3D framework for the media gallery, and lots of other eye candy additions, like the over-hyped “Live Wallpapers”, which react to user input. And by this I mean that when you’ll press your screen, shiny lights will appear on the wallpaper. How useful. The phone also feature voice enabled text fields.
But let’s not forget what Android’s base features are: Google Voice, Google Navigation, etc… In short: lots of stuff Apple has rejected from the App store.
The second special thing about the Nexus One? Google sells it. And this, in the long run, may represent quite a change in the big picture. Looking back at Android’s debut, I can’t help but think Google used its partners (the phone manufacturers who installed the OS) as mere rat labs, destined to beta test the system and to scout its market profitability, before developing a better version for its own phone. Sure, Google can’t be blamed, after all that was pretty smart. Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericson and the whole gang probably won’t complain as long as the system continues to pay the bills, but they may if it doesn’t, and they might even move away from Android.
So how does the Nexus One stand compared to the iPhone? Have a look:
Yes, the Nexus One is definitely going to make things harder for Apple, but it’s no match. The App store is unrivaled, and so is its fan base and user community. Another big drawback for the Nexus One is the lack of multitouch, which is to blame on Apple: They’ve patented the heck out of this thing, and so far, no other phones support it in the U.S. Without multitouch (or a physical keyboard) there’s no way Google can compete with Apple when it comes to games or other app categories relying on precise, versatile and intuitive input.
The only way Google will be able to compete with Apple is by releasing a groundbreaking app that Apple will stupidly reject, which would give a major asset to Android phones.
In any case, rejoice: competition is always good for the consumer because it fosters innovation and leads to price drops. Just as Windows 7 put the bar pretty high for the next OSX release, the Nexus One has set new standards that the next iPhone version will have to beat.
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Via Gizmodo, Lifehacker and Engadget
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