Tech Blog

[#1]

 

The Nexus One is the epitome of the undelivered promise of the Canadian mobile space: it's a somewhat-interesting piece of hardware with some small-w wow software capabilies. Also, it's completely not available here. Go figure.

Google is trying to shake up the mobile space by offering a piece of hardware that is unlocked and will work on any carrier. If and when the Nexus One comes to Canada we may find that capability non-existant; Canadian providers have always been reticent to "inject" new hardware into their networks - it represents a lack of control them, and that's something they don't like. While the freedom of GSM and HSPA offer easy SIM card access, the hardware can still be shut out. The greatest promise of the Nexus One may be no promise at all here north of the 49th.

How'd the presentation go?

Google has mastered two of the three steps of a brilliant Apple-style keynote: 

• announce it in advance and be mysterious about it
• present the product as the best thing since sliced bread in a simple, uncluttered Keynote presentation

Unfortunately they forgot the secret sauce:

• have something amazing or truly revolutionary about the product.

The Nexus One really doesn't deliver anything new. Google tries to gloss over this by stating that it's the first time a lot of these ideas have been put together... but it's not. Sure, we're all very impressed by the 3D performance and the fast Snapdragon processor. I'm sure it's incredibly useful to zoom in from orbit with Google Earth (about as useful as a farting app, I suppose). Text to speech is interesting, but it's not going to change the world; the only time I'd ever use it is in complete privacy - so in the car. The thought of Nexus One toting Googledroids spouting their txtspk into their phones on the SkyTrain makes my head hurt.

Yes, it's a first effort, but for the amount of hype they really haven't quite gotten the hang of finding the Next Big Thing™. Hate him if you like, but Steve Jobs does have a bit of a monopoly on the mind-blowing product launch - and his reign continues unscathed.

Can we be honest for a moment about how the Nexus One looks? Google needs to put out one of their famous billboard job recruitment ads for a Jonathan Ive. While the form factor isn't bad (it's standard HTC fare - which I personally don't mind) it's still incredibly pedestrian. When it comes to the software Android has a long way to go before it's anything worth writing home about. You can add all the 3D you want to the UI, it still needs an overhaul by someone with a modicum of design sense. I love the open concept, but even the Android store has pulled software for going places Google didn't want it to go.

Not the 'droid you're looking for.

With the Nexus One we enter into the bold world where everyone carrying a Google-powered phone is running Android. But they're not the same Android - there are dozens of handsets now, each running some variation of the OS - all with different features, capabilities, and limitations. With any long running software line-up (think BlackBerry OS or Windows Mobile) you will see software depracated with hardware as it ages.Android has no excuse, being only a scant few years old. While this doesn't affect the Nexus One directly, it does affect the developers of Android software, who can't design for a single user-base. Google has already surrendered one of the iPhone's biggest assets: software (looks like Steve really learned from Microsoft on that one). A fragmented user base is no user base at all.

What's in it for them?

What does Google get out of the deal? In a word: you. Jason Chen of Gizmodo asked "What are the revenue opportunities for Google?" and the answer was "It’s about advertising. There is a small margin on unit sales, but making sure people get access to Google services and get online is their #1 priority." That isn't a frightening answer in and of itself, but it is an answer that the savvy tech consumer will be cautious of.

Take a moment and think about how much of your life is tied up in Google. Compare it to your dependence on Microsoft, or Apple, or any other single service provider. Google, when asked if Nexus One is an iPhone killer responded with  "...the message isn’t to the iPhone, it’s to consumers. Choice is a really good thing." In that they are absolutly correct. Personally I've chosen to keep my interactions with any single service or software provider minimized.

Google, especially, is dangerous: they collect more personal data than any other company in history, and they're doing a phenomenal job "leveraging" it. That means fitting you into a box where you can be analyzed and quantified. It's not tin foil hat stuff to say that's a scary amount of data for anyone to have about you.

This absolutely isn't an endorsement of any other device (though you'll pry my BlackBerry from my cold, dead hands - and even then you might have a fight, depending on the state of the zombie apocalypse). At the end of the day the Canadian mobility scene moves at a glacial pace, so we won't see the Nexus One here any time soon and by the time we do it may be long out of date. When the Nexus One does arrive, give yourself a moment to do a quick gut check.How deep are you into Google? More importantly: how deep are they into you?

So that's the end of the Nexus One, then?

Not in the slightest - but Google has to realize that their haphazard "always in beta" approach to software won't fly in the mobility space. Sure, the hacker pathos will fly with the geeks of the world; Droid in the states (Milestone here) has taken the nerd community by storm.... but hasn't really done much for everyone else. Promising an expansion past 512MB of memory in a future patch is the sort of thing that makes users sit back and think "so, what, it isn't done yet?" (much like not having MMS in the phone at launch and for a third of a decade later... nice one, Apple.)

If Google can actually get their act together and deliver a seemless software experience with sexy hardware (trackball? Really? In 2010? You went there?) then they've got a shot at winning it all. In the meantime they're just another competitor in the fray. Hopefully they'll deliver with the Nexus Two.

[#2]

Graham, extra kudos to you.  You hit it on the nail. 

Of course, looking at the images of the actual phone, there is no way I'd even consider it.  Really?  Google and HTC couldn't have made it look any better?  I just don't understand it.  It supposedly has an amazing screen that should be shown off, and a processor that can actually do things, yet the styling just does not give it any justice.

Like you, now that I've moved to BlackBerry, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.  Sure, BlackBerry smartphones may not be perfect for everyone, but for my needs and wants, they're more than good enough. 

[#3]

The information on this article is outdated.

First, Google Nexus One is now available in Canada.  Second, Nexus One is available in two versions - one is AWS (for Wind/Mobilicity) and one for 850/1900 (for Rogers/Bell/Telus).  Two reasons are probably linked - they want to ensure the 850/1900 version is available before offering it to Canadians.

Third - and to me the most important - is that this represents how phones should be sold.  In Europe and Asia, phone are not locked, prices are not subsidized and there are no long term contracts.  You buy the device, you pick the plan from the cell phone provider that best fit your needs.  Don't like a service of a cell phone provider?  No problem - call to cancel, get another SIM card and plan from provider B, pop the new SIM into the phone and off you go.  Cell phone providers in North American, on the other hand, market their services by subsidizing the prices of the handsets and then locking you into 3-year contracts and a device that will not accept any SIM cards other than their own.

How many times have you seen advertising on TV and magazines directly from cell phone manufacturers (Nokia, Sony Ericsson, etc.), marketing their phone products directly to consumers?  Virtually none in North America.  All advertising materials are put out by cell providers that tie the handsets to their services.  Not so in Europe and Asia - handset companies put out marketing on their devices, while cell providers market their phone plans.

Nexus One represents that model.  What Google is trying to do is replicate the way cell phones are sold in Europe and Asia, but of course this is not the way North American providers do business.  As a result, only T-Mobile signed onto the Nexus One marketing, leading to the phone's mediocre success.

[#4]

Hmmm, a bit harsh on the initial comment... This post wasn't outdated when it was written (in January). And the Nexus One model is far from perfect. Indeed, lots of people who had problems with their Nexus One ended up having even bigger problems trying to figure out how to get support. They couldn't go to their carriers (which was the usual place) and for a long time, Google didn't have a system available to obtain support. Even now, the system still isn't perfect, although it is better. Even in Europe where you can buy unlocked phones, you will have troubles getting support if you take a phone from one carrier to another. Plus, a lot of people simply are willing to pay $600 for a phone. We would rather pay somewhat higher plans than put in the up front costs. Ultimately, the system isn't perfect. The Nexus One may present a good model for you, but I'm still satisfied with the current system (although I'd be up for two year contracts like they have in the US).