Google has a new phone, the Nexus One and the internet has gone just a little mad this week, thanks to a very dull Google press conference in which the search giant did little more than rubber-stamp all of December’s internet rumours then announce it had made a little shop, somberly nodding in agreement with all the Nexus “leaks” we’ve had for weeks. The most exciting rumour is the phone is named after the androids in the classic book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by sci-fi author Philip K. Dick. This of course went onto to become the basis for the film Bladerunner. Let’s just hope that unlike the Nexus 6 androids the Google phone does not shut down before the end of its useful life.
To be be fair to Google the hardware is not really that important, its the massive Google software and online resources behind the scenes that make this the smartphone to watch in the coming months. If the reality of Cloud driven computing has every been more real then phones like the Nexus One and Apple iPhone 3GS clearly show the way forward with always on, connected computing. According to the Google Press Release “The Nexus One belongs in the emerging class of devices which we call ‘superphones,’ with the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ chipset making it as powerful as your laptop computer of three to four years ago. It’s our way to raise the bar on what’s possible when it comes to creating the best mobile experience for consumers,” said Andy Rubin, VP of Engineering. “We look forward to working with handset manufacturers and operators to bring more phones to market through this channel worldwide.”
Google is now selling the phone direct to the public through the web store found at www.google.com/phone, consumers can buy the Nexus One without service (meaning any GSM network SIM card can be inserted into the device), or purchase the phone with service from one of Google’s operator partners. “As new phones come to market through this channel, consumers will benefit from the ability to match a phone of their choice with the service plan that best meets their needs. Operator prices and plan details will be featured on the site.”
I will be writing more about the Nexus One just as soon as I can get hold of one to evaluate. In the meantime the Google Nexus One You Tube channel provides a great overview.
