Nexus One
Encyclopedia
The Nexus One was Google
's flagship smartphone
manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation. It became available on January 5, 2010 and uses the Android open source
mobile operating system
. Features of the phone include the ability to transcribe voice to text, an additional microphone for dynamic noise suppression
, and voice guided turn-by-turn navigation
to drivers.
The device is sold SIM unlocked
(not restricted to use on a single network provider). Google offered T-Mobile USA
and AT&T versions of the phone online in the United States before closing the online store in July 2010. A version for use on Vodafone
(European) networks was announced on 26 April 2010, available in the UK on 30 April 2010. On March 16, 2010, the Nexus One device became available on the Google web store for sale in Canada
for use with most Canadian carriers. In May 2010 Google announced the closing of the web store, with the intention to distribute the phone through partners around the world.
The bootloader of the phone is unlockable, see below.
Apple is targeting the Nexus One in a patent lawsuit against HTC.
On December 12, 2009, Google confirmed in a blog post that they had begun internal testing of the device. Google stated that a "mobile lab device" had been given to its employees, at that time Google had not yet confirmed that a device would be sold to consumers. Wireless phone and data services for the device were not activated nor billed to Google; it was up to the employees to activate and pay for wireless service on their own.
Isa Dick Hackett, daughter of Philip K. Dick
, and several bloggers believe the name Nexus One is a reference to the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick
, in which there are androids with a model designation of "Nexus-6".
two year contract. Google announced in May 2010 that the online store would close, and the phone would be offered in retail stores. As of July 21, 2010, the Nexus One is available through retail stores from i wireless and Cincinnati Bell.
Unsubsidized phones had no such limitation. The $179 T-Mobile USA price is only for individuals who are not currently under contract with T-Mobile USA. If one currently has a T-Mobile USA contract, the price of the phone rises to $279.99.
In addition, tax may be charged depending on the state to which the device is shipped. Each order is shipped with free FedEx Overnight shipping (although, when checking your order status with FedEX you may note that it was sent FedEx 2-Day), with indirect signature required. With engraving delivery can be delayed up to 72 hours.
Google removed a price level of $379.99 for current T-mobile USA customers who had a data plan. Those who ordered the phone for $379.99 were refunded $100USD.
T-Mobile USA contract plans cost $20 per month more than non-contract plans.
For unlocked phones, T-Mobile USA offers a Prepaid SIM Card Activation Kit. T-Mobile USA's website offers it at discounted price of $6.99 (or free with a 2 year contract). Voice-only no-contract plans are available at several price points including $100 for 1000 minutes good for a year. Airtime is sold online, by phone, or at retail stores. On 18 Oct 2010, T-Mobile USA introduced a Data Day Pass which allows Prepaid users to purchase unlimited data access for 24 hours for $1.49.
, "a powerful new Android phone and a cousin of the Nexus One that is similarly feature-packed."
) was announced on March 17, 2010, without giving specific availability dates or pricing. The press release states a commitment to "simple" pricing and references the current pricing structure. On May 10, 2010 Sprint announced that it too, like Verizon, would not release the Nexus One, instead opting to release the more robust HTC EVO 4G
in current 3G and expanding 4G markets.
, Telus
or Rogers
' 3G networks (UMTS band 2 and 5) or alternatively on Wind Mobile
and Videotron
(UMTS band 4/AWS). On September 9, 2010, Vidéotron
included the Nexus One as part of their launch smartphone selection for its new AWS HSPA+ network.
In November 2010, Mobilicity
listed the "Nexus One by Google" on their "Products - Phones" web page. This is also on the AWS network.
shops and website.
The sale only lasted approximately 3 weeks as stock levels ordered were a minimum.
The phone was also available through non telco resellers for use on any network.
Google is making the phone available for delivery to the UK, Singapore
, and Hong Kong
, although native carrier tie-ups have not been finalized for these countries, and the phone will be shipped from the US. Customers ordering from the UK are charged $29.65 international shipping and an optional $19.00 for an extra AC adaptor, with an additional 17.5% VAT
. Singapore applies 7% GST
, while Hong Kong does not add any additional taxes. Although the Nexus One will not ship outside these countries for a few months, two French websites started selling it (with a carrier plan) on February 15, 2010. Phones ordered from Google in Singapore are currently being shipped from the US at the customers expense.
On 26 April 2010, the Nexus One became available for pre-order on the Vodafone UK website. Contracts started from £35 per month with the phone showing as free. This was a first for Google, as customers need not order from the google.com/phone website. Vodafone predict initial orders started arriving on 3 May 2010, and the phone also became available for order in store from 30 April 2010. On 1 July 2010, Vodafone Australia announced that they would make the Nexus One available to its customers, first come first served, on the $79 cap across 24 months.
On 10 July 2010, the Nexus One was launched in South Korea with KT as its service provider. First 4,000 pre-orders were started to be sent to respective customers, with 100 being picked to activate it on launch event held in 10th. The Nexus One will go on sale nationwide on 17 July 2010.
Although the European, Australian and New Zealand Nexus One phones sold by Vodafone are not locked to the network of the provider, most of them are locked to a special Vodafone-specific system software, making it impossible to receive updates from Google. Vodafone UK are making 2.2 available as a FOTA update, as of the end of July 2010.
screen with PenTile matrix pixel arrangement. The raster
resolution is 480x800 pixels, however each pixel in the PenTile RGBG display is represented by only two subpixels on average, using subpixel rendering
rather than the three found in most displays, meeting the definition of WVGA according to the Video Electronics Standards Association specifications for measuring resolution.
Citing supply shortages of AMOLED displays, HTC announced on July 26, 2010 that the Nexus One would begin using Super LCD display technology instead of AMOLED. The Super LCD display was described as having greater power efficiency and color accuracy than the AMOLED display, while sacrificing the lauded color saturation and deep blacks of the original display. As of January 15, 2011 or earlier, all Nexus Ones available via Brightstar, Google's worldwide distribution partner for Android development phones, shipped with Super LCD instead of AMOLED.
The capacitive touchscreen which uses the Synaptics
ClearPad 2000 sensor supports multi-touch
gestures limited to single finger input and 2x1D two finger gestures
. It has an illuminated trackball
which can emit different colors of light based on the type of notification being received. A voice processor developed by Audience
uses a second microphone (on the back) to suppress background noise during phone conversations. A 4-conductor TRRS style 3.5mm stereo headset jack
is also provided, adding microphone and pause/resume/next/previous functions to the stereo earphones.
The phone features a 5.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and digital zoom, GPS receiver, Bluetooth 2.0, and 802.11b/g
Wi-Fi abilities. The Snapdragon
processor allows for many advanced abilities including 720p
video playback. There is built in hardware decoding
for H.263
, H.264 and MPEG-4
video, and can play MP3
, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, WAV
, and MIDI audio, and display JPEG
, GIF
, PNG, and BMP image formats. It has a micro USB port which conforms to the GSMA Universal Charging Solution instead of the common mini-USB port, or HTC's mini-USB compatible format (ExtUSB). The microSD card slot allows expansion up to 32 gigabytes of card storage. Applications can be installed either to the 512 MB internal flash memory, of which 190 MB are available for that purpose, or to the microSD card.
A third party analysis by iSuppli estimates the cost of hardware components to be around $175.
providers in the US, Europe and Asia. On both phones, the GSM radio frequencies covered are 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 1900 MHz. The original Nexus One (PB99100) also came along with UMTS frequency bands
1 (2100 MHz), 4 (1700 MHz), and 8 (900 MHz), allowing it to access 3G throughout Europe, as well as on T-Mobile USA
and WIND Mobile
and Mobilicity
and Videotron
in Canada. The second version of the Nexus One (PB99110) supports UMTS frequency bands
1 (2100 MHz), 2 (1900 MHz), and 5 (850 MHz), allowing it to access 3G in most of Europe, as well as on AT&T Mobility in the USA and Rogers Wireless
, Fido Solutions
, Bell Mobility
, and Telus Mobility
in Canada. The second version of the Nexus One also works on Telecom New Zealand
's XT Mobile Network
, Telcel
's 3G Network and Telstra
's Next-G
network.
The UMTS radio supports High Speed Packet Access
; HSDPA
at 7.2 Mbit/s, and HSUPA
at 2 Mbit/s.
For More info on which Model of the Nexus One you have and the differences between the two please see this link. http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=395c29e6b9cab6bc&hl=en
The integrated Media Gallery, developed by Cooliris
, provides several new features allowing the user to browse, edit, and share photos and videos on the phone.
The Nexus One ships with non-removable third-party foistware apps, including "Amazon MP3" and "Facebook".
As of January 28, 2011, Android-based phones have access to more than 210,000 applications through the Android Market
.
The Nexus One OTA update to Gingerbread (2.3.3) started on 23rd February 2011.
The Nexus One currently runs the Google Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread operating system.
Google has stated it will not update the Nexus One to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) saying the hardware is “too old”, however, third party ROMs are expected.
utility which is part of the Android Open Source Project. Fastboot runs on Linux, Mac OS, or Windows and accesses the Nexus One through the USB port.
The bootloader of the Nexus One is accessed by holding the trackball
while powering up the device.
Users are able to gain root privileges on the device by unlocking its bootloader using the fastboot
command "fastboot oem unlock." or by uploading specially crafted data packages via the Android debug bridge without the need to unlock the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader or rooting the device allows the user to install non-official firmware images. Additionally, obtaining root privileges enables a user to override protected operating system features, and install arbitrary software. If using the fastboot command to unlock the bootloader to gain root through use of a custom firmware image, the user is presented with a Google-created screen stating that unlocking the bootloader will void the warranty as well as void any insurance plan. The popular CyanogenMod
build of Android has already been released for the device.
Hidden menus can be accessed by dialling the following numbers:
experience of the Nexus One is generally similar to that of other multi-touch enabled smartphones (iPhone, Palm Pre, etc), the Nexus One hardware uses software to "enable" multi-touch ability, resulting in x/y axis confusion and preventing some multi-touch applications (e.g. games) from working as they should, compared to other phones. As of an update released February 2, 2010 it has pinch-to-zoom functionality in the phone's Browser, Gallery and Maps applications. In addition to these official applications, 3rd party apps that support multi-touch gestures are available.
rather than the stock version of Android. Sense can be switched off to get the stock Android experience however this was disabled on the retail HTC Desire.
As of November 1, 2010 Google have closed the Nexus One support forums, redirecting users to the Google Mobile forum, which only has categories for software. The message shown to users was: "The Nexus One forum will be archived and become read-only on November 1st. Please see the Nexus One Terms of Sale for details regarding support. If you have questions about using applications on your Nexus One post them to the Google Mobile Forum." Also worthy of note is that the link to Terms of Sale on that message has no mention of support, contrary to what the message implies.
As of the announcement of Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, HTC has announced that there will be no more software updates for the Nexus One, as the hardware is now too old to run the new version of Android effectively.
, the next Nexus series phone would have targeted business users and may have had a hardware keyboard. In July 2010, The Daily Telegraph reported in an interview with CEO Eric Schmidt that Google would not be releasing a follow up to the Nexus One.
However, on November 11, 2010, Engadget leaked some pictures of a Samsung
manufactured Nexus S
device along with marketing materials from Best Buy
and T-Mobile USA
in the United States.
Google officially announced the Nexus S on December 6, 2010. The device, built by Samsung, was the first to ship with Android OS version 2.3 "Gingerbread" and includes Near Field Communication
(NFC) hardware.
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
's flagship smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation. It became available on January 5, 2010 and uses the Android open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
mobile operating system
Mobile operating system
A mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, mobile software platform or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux distributions that controls a...
. Features of the phone include the ability to transcribe voice to text, an additional microphone for dynamic noise suppression
Noise-canceling microphone
A noise-canceling microphone is a microphone designed to filter out ambient noise from the desired sound, especially useful in noisy environments.-Technical detail:...
, and voice guided turn-by-turn navigation
Turn-by-turn navigation
Turn-by-turn navigation is a feature of some GPS navigation devices where directions for a selected route are continually presented to the user in the form of spoken and visual instructions. The system keeps the user up-to-date about the best route to the destination, and is often updated according...
to drivers.
The device is sold SIM unlocked
SIM lock
A SIM lock, simlock, network lock or subsidy lock is a capability built into GSM phones by mobile phone manufacturers. Network providers use this capability to restrict the use of these phones to specific countries and network providers...
(not restricted to use on a single network provider). Google offered T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
and AT&T versions of the phone online in the United States before closing the online store in July 2010. A version for use on Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
(European) networks was announced on 26 April 2010, available in the UK on 30 April 2010. On March 16, 2010, the Nexus One device became available on the Google web store for sale in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for use with most Canadian carriers. In May 2010 Google announced the closing of the web store, with the intention to distribute the phone through partners around the world.
The bootloader of the phone is unlockable, see below.
Apple is targeting the Nexus One in a patent lawsuit against HTC.
History
A trademark application for the name "Nexus One" was filed by Google, Inc. on December 10, 2009. The Nexus One trademark was filed in International Trademark Class 9 for "Computer & Software Products & Electrical & Scientific Products" with description of "Mobile phones". On 15 March 2010 it was announced that the application had been declined due to the mark already being granted on December 30, 2008 to Integra Telecom.On December 12, 2009, Google confirmed in a blog post that they had begun internal testing of the device. Google stated that a "mobile lab device" had been given to its employees, at that time Google had not yet confirmed that a device would be sold to consumers. Wireless phone and data services for the device were not activated nor billed to Google; it was up to the employees to activate and pay for wireless service on their own.
Isa Dick Hackett, daughter of Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, and several bloggers believe the name Nexus One is a reference to the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick first published in 1968. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter of androids, while the secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-normal intelligence who befriends some of the...
by Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, in which there are androids with a model designation of "Nexus-6".
In the United States
The Nexus One was released on January 5, 2010. The phone was sold via Google's website, at a price of $529 without a plan or contract, or a subsidized $179 when purchased with a T-Mobile USAT-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
two year contract. Google announced in May 2010 that the online store would close, and the phone would be offered in retail stores. As of July 21, 2010, the Nexus One is available through retail stores from i wireless and Cincinnati Bell.
T-Mobile USA
Several plans were available for subsidized phones:- $69.99 per month rate, which includes 500 minutes with unlimited nights and weekends, and unlimited e-mail/data. *No SMSSMSSMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
included - $79.99 per month rate, which includes 500 minutes with unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited SMSSMSSMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
, and unlimited e-mail/data. - $89.99 and unlimited minutes, unlimited SMSSMSSMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
, and unlimited e-mail/data.
Unsubsidized phones had no such limitation. The $179 T-Mobile USA price is only for individuals who are not currently under contract with T-Mobile USA. If one currently has a T-Mobile USA contract, the price of the phone rises to $279.99.
In addition, tax may be charged depending on the state to which the device is shipped. Each order is shipped with free FedEx Overnight shipping (although, when checking your order status with FedEX you may note that it was sent FedEx 2-Day), with indirect signature required. With engraving delivery can be delayed up to 72 hours.
Google removed a price level of $379.99 for current T-mobile USA customers who had a data plan. Those who ordered the phone for $379.99 were refunded $100USD.
T-Mobile USA contract plans cost $20 per month more than non-contract plans.
For unlocked phones, T-Mobile USA offers a Prepaid SIM Card Activation Kit. T-Mobile USA's website offers it at discounted price of $6.99 (or free with a 2 year contract). Voice-only no-contract plans are available at several price points including $100 for 1000 minutes good for a year. Airtime is sold online, by phone, or at retail stores. On 18 Oct 2010, T-Mobile USA introduced a Data Day Pass which allows Prepaid users to purchase unlimited data access for 24 hours for $1.49.
AT&T
A version of the Nexus One with support for UMTS 850/1900/2100 MHz was first made available on March 16, 2010. (These UMTS bands are used by AT&T in the U.S. and Rogers in Canada.) It was only available from the Google Phone Webstore unsubsidized for $529. This version remained SIM unlocked.Verizon
When the Nexus One was first announced in January 2010, Google said that a Verizon model would be made available later in the year. But in late April 2010, Google announced that "We won't be selling a Nexus One with Verizon ...", and told users who wanted the Nexus One on Verizon to get the HTC Droid IncredibleDroid Incredible
The HTC DROID Incredible is a smartphone manufactured by HTC Corporation using the Android operating system. The DROID Incredible was released on April 29, 2010, and is available through Verizon Wireless only. The device is similar to the Sprint HTC Evo 4G...
, "a powerful new Android phone and a cousin of the Nexus One that is similarly feature-packed."
Sprint
A Sprint version of the Nexus One (CDMA2000CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
) was announced on March 17, 2010, without giving specific availability dates or pricing. The press release states a commitment to "simple" pricing and references the current pricing structure. On May 10, 2010 Sprint announced that it too, like Verizon, would not release the Nexus One, instead opting to release the more robust HTC EVO 4G
HTC Evo 4G
The HTC Evo 4G is a smartphone developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its WiMAX network...
in current 3G and expanding 4G markets.
In Canada
On March 16, 2010 Google officially released the Nexus One for purchase by Canadian consumers, offering two versions of the handset that will operate on either BellBell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
, Telus
TELUS
Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...
or Rogers
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless is a wireless telecommunications provider offering mobile phone and data services throughout Canada using Global System for Mobile Communications and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications...
' 3G networks (UMTS band 2 and 5) or alternatively on Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive Communications Corporation. The company initially launched mobile data and voice services in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary...
and Videotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
(UMTS band 4/AWS). On September 9, 2010, Vidéotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
included the Nexus One as part of their launch smartphone selection for its new AWS HSPA+ network.
In November 2010, Mobilicity
Mobilicity
Mobilicity is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "mobility" and "simplicity".-History:...
listed the "Nexus One by Google" on their "Products - Phones" web page. This is also on the AWS network.
In France
On May 18, 2010 the Nexus One was made available for purchase through the SFR web portal.In Italy
Beginning set for May 25, the Nexus One availability was then postponed to May 28, 2010. The phone is sold over the Vodafone ItalyVodafone Italy
Vodafone Italia is an Italian mobile telephony operator. The company has 31,000,000 customers and a market share of 33.4%, placing it just behind TIM...
shops and website.
In Australia
On July 2, 2010 the Nexus One was available for purchase through the Vodafone AUS website.The sale only lasted approximately 3 weeks as stock levels ordered were a minimum.
The phone was also available through non telco resellers for use on any network.
In New Zealand
As of January 20, 2011, the Nexus One is still available for order from Vodafone NZ as an unlocked device for $979 outright, or $679 on a 2-year contract.Worldwide
Around Spring 2010, Google launched a Vodafone model in Europe, with plans to expand the phone to other carriers and international markets in due course.Google is making the phone available for delivery to the UK, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, although native carrier tie-ups have not been finalized for these countries, and the phone will be shipped from the US. Customers ordering from the UK are charged $29.65 international shipping and an optional $19.00 for an extra AC adaptor, with an additional 17.5% VAT
European Union Value Added Tax
The European Union value added tax is the system of value added tax adopted by nations in the EU VAT area. The European Union itself does not collect the tax, but EU member states are each required to adopt a VAT that complies with the EU VAT system...
. Singapore applies 7% GST
Goods and Services Tax (Singapore)
Goods and Services Tax in Singapore is a broad-based value added tax levied on import of goods, as well as nearly all supplies of goods and services. The only exemptions are for the sales and leases of residential properties and most financial services...
, while Hong Kong does not add any additional taxes. Although the Nexus One will not ship outside these countries for a few months, two French websites started selling it (with a carrier plan) on February 15, 2010. Phones ordered from Google in Singapore are currently being shipped from the US at the customers expense.
On 26 April 2010, the Nexus One became available for pre-order on the Vodafone UK website. Contracts started from £35 per month with the phone showing as free. This was a first for Google, as customers need not order from the google.com/phone website. Vodafone predict initial orders started arriving on 3 May 2010, and the phone also became available for order in store from 30 April 2010. On 1 July 2010, Vodafone Australia announced that they would make the Nexus One available to its customers, first come first served, on the $79 cap across 24 months.
On 10 July 2010, the Nexus One was launched in South Korea with KT as its service provider. First 4,000 pre-orders were started to be sent to respective customers, with 100 being picked to activate it on launch event held in 10th. The Nexus One will go on sale nationwide on 17 July 2010.
Although the European, Australian and New Zealand Nexus One phones sold by Vodafone are not locked to the network of the provider, most of them are locked to a special Vodafone-specific system software, making it impossible to receive updates from Google. Vodafone UK are making 2.2 available as a FOTA update, as of the end of July 2010.
Hardware
At time of launch, the Nexus One had a 3.7 inch AMOLEDActive-Matrix OLED
AMOLED is a display technology for use in mobile devices and televisions. OLED describes a specific type of thin-film display technology in which organic compounds form the electroluminescent material, and active matrix refers to the technology behind the addressing of pixels.As of 2011, AMOLED...
screen with PenTile matrix pixel arrangement. The raster
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
resolution is 480x800 pixels, however each pixel in the PenTile RGBG display is represented by only two subpixels on average, using subpixel rendering
Subpixel rendering
Subpixel rendering is a way to increase the apparent resolution of a computer's liquid crystal display or Organic Light Emitting Diode display by rendering pixels to take into account the screen type's physical properties...
rather than the three found in most displays, meeting the definition of WVGA according to the Video Electronics Standards Association specifications for measuring resolution.
Citing supply shortages of AMOLED displays, HTC announced on July 26, 2010 that the Nexus One would begin using Super LCD display technology instead of AMOLED. The Super LCD display was described as having greater power efficiency and color accuracy than the AMOLED display, while sacrificing the lauded color saturation and deep blacks of the original display. As of January 15, 2011 or earlier, all Nexus Ones available via Brightstar, Google's worldwide distribution partner for Android development phones, shipped with Super LCD instead of AMOLED.
The capacitive touchscreen which uses the Synaptics
Synaptics
Synaptics develops human interface solutions for many major consumer electronics companies, such as Apple Inc., Asus, Acer, Dell, Gateway, HP, HTC, Lenovo, LG, Logitech, Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and several others...
ClearPad 2000 sensor supports multi-touch
Multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
gestures limited to single finger input and 2x1D two finger gestures
Gesture-enhanced single-touch
Gesture-Enhanced Single-Touch, also known as "Dual Control", "Gesture Touch" and often "Dual-Touch" describes the ability of a touchscreen to register certain two-finger gestures, even though the display hardware does not have full Dual-Touch capabilities...
. It has an illuminated trackball
Trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor...
which can emit different colors of light based on the type of notification being received. A voice processor developed by Audience
Audience (telecom company)
Audience is a telecommunications company based in Mountain View, California. They are one of the 34 founding members of The Open Handset Alliance. They specialize in noise suppression for cellular phones to improve voice clarity. The technology is applicable across a broad range of consumer...
uses a second microphone (on the back) to suppress background noise during phone conversations. A 4-conductor TRRS style 3.5mm stereo headset jack
TRS connector
A TRS connector is a common family of connector typically used for analog signals including audio. It is cylindrical in shape, typically with three contacts, although sometimes with two or four . It is also called an audio jack, phone jack, phone plug, and jack plug...
is also provided, adding microphone and pause/resume/next/previous functions to the stereo earphones.
The phone features a 5.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and digital zoom, GPS receiver, Bluetooth 2.0, and 802.11b/g
IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards for implementing wireless local area network computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. They are created and maintained by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee . The base version of the standard IEEE 802.11-2007 has had subsequent...
Wi-Fi abilities. The Snapdragon
Snapdragon (processor)
Snapdragon is a family of mobile system on chips by Qualcomm. Qualcomm considers Snapdragon a "platform" for use in smartphones, tablets, and smartbook devices.The Snapdragon application processor core, dubbed Scorpion, is Qualcomm's own design...
processor allows for many advanced abilities including 720p
720p
720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
video playback. There is built in hardware decoding
Parsing
In computer science and linguistics, parsing, or, more formally, syntactic analysis, is the process of analyzing a text, made of a sequence of tokens , to determine its grammatical structure with respect to a given formal grammar...
for H.263
H.263
H.263 is a video compression standard originally designed as a low-bitrate compressed format for videoconferencing. It was developed by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group in a project ending in 1995/1996 as one member of the H.26x family of video coding standards in the domain of the ITU-T.H.263...
, H.264 and MPEG-4
MPEG-4 Part 2
MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-4 Visual is a video compression technology developed by MPEG. It belongs to the MPEG-4 ISO/IEC standards. It is a discrete cosine transform compression standard, similar to previous standards such as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2...
video, and can play MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, and MIDI audio, and display JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
, GIF
GIF
The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
, PNG, and BMP image formats. It has a micro USB port which conforms to the GSMA Universal Charging Solution instead of the common mini-USB port, or HTC's mini-USB compatible format (ExtUSB). The microSD card slot allows expansion up to 32 gigabytes of card storage. Applications can be installed either to the 512 MB internal flash memory, of which 190 MB are available for that purpose, or to the microSD card.
A third party analysis by iSuppli estimates the cost of hardware components to be around $175.
Cellular
As of March 16, 2010, there are two versions of the Nexus One. Both versions of the Nexus One cover most major GSM and 3G3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
providers in the US, Europe and Asia. On both phones, the GSM radio frequencies covered are 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 1900 MHz. The original Nexus One (PB99100) also came along with UMTS frequency bands
UMTS frequency bands
The UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
1 (2100 MHz), 4 (1700 MHz), and 8 (900 MHz), allowing it to access 3G throughout Europe, as well as on T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
and WIND Mobile
Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive Communications Corporation. The company initially launched mobile data and voice services in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary...
and Mobilicity
Mobilicity
Mobilicity is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "mobility" and "simplicity".-History:...
and Videotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
in Canada. The second version of the Nexus One (PB99110) supports UMTS frequency bands
UMTS frequency bands
The UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
1 (2100 MHz), 2 (1900 MHz), and 5 (850 MHz), allowing it to access 3G in most of Europe, as well as on AT&T Mobility in the USA and Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless is a wireless telecommunications provider offering mobile phone and data services throughout Canada using Global System for Mobile Communications and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications...
, Fido Solutions
Fido Solutions
Fido Solutions is a Canadian cellular telephone service provider currently owned by Rogers Communications. It was formerly owned by Microcell Telecommunications. Fido does, however, remain a separate entity from Rogers...
, Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility is a CDMA and HSPA+ based wireless network and the division of Bell Canada which sells wireless services in Canada...
, and Telus Mobility
Telus Mobility
Telus Mobility is a division of Telus Communications which sells wireless services in Canada on its numerous networks. They currently have three different networks based on three different technologies: CDMA and HSPA+ on its mainstream networks, plus iDEN via its Mike division...
in Canada. The second version of the Nexus One also works on Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...
's XT Mobile Network
XT Mobile Network
Mobile Network Code: 503 05NZ non-geographic prefix: 027The XT Mobile Network is a UMTS mobile network run by Telecom New Zealand. It operates nationwide in the 850 MHz frequency, with 2100 MHz infill in major urban areas....
, Telcel
Telcel
Telcel is Mexico's largest mobile phone carrier, owned by América Móvil. Founded in 1989 and based in Mexico City, Telcel is the leading provider of wireless communications services in Mexico. As of December 31, 2006, Telcel's cellular network covered more than 63% of the geographical area of...
's 3G Network and Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
's Next-G
Next G
Next G is a third generation mobile telecommunication network operated by Telstra in Australia.-Background:After a review, Telstra announced a plan to upgrade its ageing networks and systems; which includes a new 3G network to replace the then current CDMA mobile network.-Construction:The network...
network.
The UMTS radio supports High Speed Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access , that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols...
; HSDPA
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access is an enhanced 3G mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access family, also dubbed 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity...
at 7.2 Mbit/s, and HSUPA
High-Speed Uplink Packet Access
High-Speed Uplink Packet Access is a 3G mobile telephony protocol in the HSPA family with up-link speeds up to 5.76 Mbit/s. The name HSUPA was created by Nokia...
at 2 Mbit/s.
For More info on which Model of the Nexus One you have and the differences between the two please see this link. http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=395c29e6b9cab6bc&hl=en
Software
The Nexus One was released with Android 2.1 Eclair. Later, an OTA update of Android 2.2 Froyo was released, which introduced a number of highlights: a new Home screen, support for Adobe Flash 10.1, better Microsoft Exchange support, Wi-Fi tethering, SD-card installable applications, cloud to device messaging for two-way push sync functionality and an overall 2-5x performance improvement.The integrated Media Gallery, developed by Cooliris
Cooliris
Cooliris, Inc. is a US corporation. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Cooliris develops products intended to enhance user experience of online media...
, provides several new features allowing the user to browse, edit, and share photos and videos on the phone.
The Nexus One ships with non-removable third-party foistware apps, including "Amazon MP3" and "Facebook".
As of January 28, 2011, Android-based phones have access to more than 210,000 applications through the Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
.
The Nexus One OTA update to Gingerbread (2.3.3) started on 23rd February 2011.
The Nexus One currently runs the Google Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread operating system.
Google has stated it will not update the Nexus One to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) saying the hardware is “too old”, however, third party ROMs are expected.
Platform development, hacking, and modification
The Nexus One ships with an unlockable bootloader allowing developers to participate in the Android Open Source Project in addition to developing applications. The Nexus One operating system can be unlocked and flashed with the fastbootFastboot
Fastboot is a diagnostic protocol used primarily to modify the flash filesystem in Android smartphones from another computer over a USB connection. It is part of the Android Device Bridge library.-Use:...
utility which is part of the Android Open Source Project. Fastboot runs on Linux, Mac OS, or Windows and accesses the Nexus One through the USB port.
The bootloader of the Nexus One is accessed by holding the trackball
Trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor...
while powering up the device.
Users are able to gain root privileges on the device by unlocking its bootloader using the fastboot
Fastboot
Fastboot is a diagnostic protocol used primarily to modify the flash filesystem in Android smartphones from another computer over a USB connection. It is part of the Android Device Bridge library.-Use:...
command "fastboot oem unlock." or by uploading specially crafted data packages via the Android debug bridge without the need to unlock the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader or rooting the device allows the user to install non-official firmware images. Additionally, obtaining root privileges enables a user to override protected operating system features, and install arbitrary software. If using the fastboot command to unlock the bootloader to gain root through use of a custom firmware image, the user is presented with a Google-created screen stating that unlocking the bootloader will void the warranty as well as void any insurance plan. The popular CyanogenMod
CyanogenMod
CyanogenMod is an after-market replacement for the firmware of over sixty cell phones and Internet tablets. Based on the Android mobile computer operating system, it offers features and options not found in the official firmware distributed by vendors of these devices.Features supported by...
build of Android has already been released for the device.
Hidden menus can be accessed by dialling the following numbers:
| *#*#info#*#* or *#*#4636#*#* | "Testing" menu on the Nexus One and most other Android devices. It will bring up 4 categories: Phone Information, Battery Information, Battery History, and Usage Statistics. Also allows for disabling of the phone's cellular radio. |
| *#*#checkin#*#* or *#*#2432546#*#* | Force an immediate search for patches and updates. |
| *#*#talk#*#* or *#*#8255#*#* | GTalkService info |
| 245# | Load Contacts from SIM card |
Comparison with other phones
Though the multi-touchMulti-touch
In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
experience of the Nexus One is generally similar to that of other multi-touch enabled smartphones (iPhone, Palm Pre, etc), the Nexus One hardware uses software to "enable" multi-touch ability, resulting in x/y axis confusion and preventing some multi-touch applications (e.g. games) from working as they should, compared to other phones. As of an update released February 2, 2010 it has pinch-to-zoom functionality in the phone's Browser, Gallery and Maps applications. In addition to these official applications, 3rd party apps that support multi-touch gestures are available.
HTC Desire
HTC later released the HTC Desire, which has very similar specifications to the Nexus One. The Desire features an optical trackpad rather than a trackball, physical buttons rather than the touch sensitive buttons and an FM radio but lacks the noise cancelling dual microphones present in the Nexus One. The Desire is solely branded as HTC and runs HTC SenseHTC Sense
HTC Sense is a graphical user interface developed by HTC Corporation for mobile devices running Android, Brew and Windows Mobile.Based on the TouchFLO 3D design, HTC has referred to HTC Sense as both a user interface in itself and also as a user experience layer on top of TouchFLO 3D.Announced June...
rather than the stock version of Android. Sense can be switched off to get the stock Android experience however this was disabled on the retail HTC Desire.
Reception
- The Android 2.2 update caused the Nexus One to develop a serious Wi-Fi connectivity issue which causes the Wi-Fi to continually lose its connection and fail to reconnect. There are reports that Android 2.2.1 has fixed this issue, although there has been no official word from Google.
- The Nexus One reportedly had problems with 3G connectivity and touchscreen at launch. Updates have since been issued for the operating system, including the addition of multi-touch abilities in the Android web browser and Google Maps functions. While the updates have reportedly also somewhat improved 3G connectivity for the T-Mobile USA version of the device, similar issues with the AT&T compatible version have not yet been addressed. A class action lawsuit is pending against Google on the matter, as the phone has problems connecting to 3G networks in areas with less than ideal coverage.
- Initially, Google did not provide telephone support and consumers were forced to use its online Android forum. At this time, Google has stopped all support for the phone and customers are directed to contact HTC.
- The Nexus One is currently shipped to the US, the UK, Hong Kong, Germany and Singapore, although the phone has not been fully localized for non-US markets - the lack of satnav outside the US, UK and Ireland, and the US English "voice keyboard" being the most obvious shortcomings. Recent update saw Google Navigation being enabled for additional 11 countries.
- Goldman SachsGoldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
slashed their estimates for sales of the phone in 2010 by 70% due to the half-hearted marketing efforts by carriers.
Support
On July 16, 2010, Google announced that the next shipment of Nexus One smartphones would be the last to be sold on their web store, stating "While the global adoption of the Android platform has exceeded our expectations, the web store has not. It’s remained a niche channel for early adopters, but it’s clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone." The device will continue to be sold through retail stores, and other channel partners.As of November 1, 2010 Google have closed the Nexus One support forums, redirecting users to the Google Mobile forum, which only has categories for software. The message shown to users was: "The Nexus One forum will be archived and become read-only on November 1st. Please see the Nexus One Terms of Sale for details regarding support. If you have questions about using applications on your Nexus One post them to the Google Mobile Forum." Also worthy of note is that the link to Terms of Sale on that message has no mention of support, contrary to what the message implies.
As of the announcement of Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, HTC has announced that there will be no more software updates for the Nexus One, as the hardware is now too old to run the new version of Android effectively.
Nexus S
According to Andy RubinAndy Rubin
Andrew Rubin is a technology pioneer, co-founder and former CEO of both Danger Inc., and Android Inc. He is currently Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, where he oversees development of Android, an open-source operating system for smartphones...
, the next Nexus series phone would have targeted business users and may have had a hardware keyboard. In July 2010, The Daily Telegraph reported in an interview with CEO Eric Schmidt that Google would not be releasing a follow up to the Nexus One.
However, on November 11, 2010, Engadget leaked some pictures of a Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
manufactured Nexus S
Nexus S
The Nexus S is a smartphone co-developed by Google and Samsung and manufactured by Samsung Electronics. It was the first smartphone to use the Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" operating system, and the first Android device to support Near Field Communication in both hardware and software...
device along with marketing materials from Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
and T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA, Inc. is an American mobile-network operator, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. market with 33.73...
in the United States.
Google officially announced the Nexus S on December 6, 2010. The device, built by Samsung, was the first to ship with Android OS version 2.3 "Gingerbread" and includes Near Field Communication
Near Field Communication
Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States...
(NFC) hardware.
See also
- HTC DesireHTC DesireThe HTC Desire is a smartphone developed by the HTC Corporation, announced on 16 February 2010 and released in Europe and Australia in the second quarter of the same year. The HTC Desire runs the Android operating system, version 2.2 "Froyo"...
- List of HTC phones
- List of Android devices
- Comparison of smartphonesComparison of smartphones-Hardware and OS:-Networks and connectivity:...
- Comparison of Android devices
External links
Videos
- Official Nexus One Video , Concept & Design
- Youtube comparison with iPhone , cnet comparison
- Google sponsored Ninja unboxing - Entertainment video
- Nexus One Screen Scratch Test
- Nexus One Dis-assembly