Up until now, Google’s new Nexus One phone, based on the Android operating system, wasn’t available for sale to Canadians. Some people got around that by ordering a phone from Google’s website and having it sent to a U.S. address. But now Google has announced Canadians can order the Nexus One phone for delivery to Canada. It has also released a second version of its Nexus One that will work on the Rogers network in Canada. Same phone and functions as the one released earlier, just different network workings inside. The Nexus One phones are unlocked, so they’ll work on most GSM networks. That means consumers won’t necessarily be locked into a single carrier when they buy a phone. It’s a boon for travellers, who can simply switch SIM cards when they reach a new country, thereby eliminating costly global roaming fees. www.google.com/phone

Source: Vancouver Sun

Canada, Google, GSM, Nexus One, Operating system, Searching, Subscriber Identity Module, United States

Google Inc. has lowered by $200 the fee it charges customers who break a standard two-year contract for its new Nexus One phone on the T-Mobile USA Inc. network.

The Google fee was dropped to $150 from $350, but customers who break a contract on the phone will still have to pay an early termination fee of $200 to T-Mobile.

The lower “equipment recovery fee” on the Nexus One, which took effect on Jan. 4, will apply to customers who break their contract after the 14-day trial period but before 120 days. Customers who break the contract after 120 days will not have to pay any fee.

Google also lowered the equipment recovery fee for existing T-Mobile customers who upgrade to the Nexus One from another handset and then break their contract to $50 from $250.

The Nexus One phone costs $179 for customers who sign up for a two-year plan with T-Mobile, or $529 for those who purchase an unlocked phone that can be used with any GSM wireless network, including T-Mobile’s.

Read the full story on ABC news.

Add new tag, Contract, Fee, Google, GSM, Nexus One, Search Engines, Searching, T-Mobile

Since the Google phone will be a GSM device, it’s going to be able to work in the vast majority of carriers worldwide. However, that doesn’t mean most countries will be able to order the Nexus One or buy it carrier-subsidized. The Guardian has just reported that Google has approached several operators in the UK. They’ve been chatting up both T-Mobile and Vodafone in order to gauge interest for carrying the Nexus One ahead of the new iPhone’s launch in Britain.
This is far from confirmation of UK availability, but it’s the only news we’ve got on any foreign carriers handling the Nexus One. Hopefully we’ll start to hear more news from carriers in other countries soon.

Source: I4U

Google, GSM, IPhone, Nexus One, Smartphone, T-Mobile, The Guardian, Vodafone

Following that revealing Google blog post about the Nexus One, it didn’t take long for photos and details about the device to leak. Many of those who claim to be familiar with Google’s plans say the Google phone would be an unlocked GSM device running the Android 2.1 mobile operating system. Google, they claim, would sell directly to customers with no wireless carrier subsidy. The device could go an sale as early as this January.

The Google phone is believed to be an unlocked device that Google would sell directly to customers. Nevertheless, Google still wants to work with the big mobile carriers, and T-Mobile may have some kind of role in the launch, according to AllThingsD’s Peter Kafka.

Google may also be considering some unconventional ideas for selling the phone. One possible scenario, according to Kafka, would have you select your carrier from a menu when purchasing the phone from Google’s dedicated site.

If Google does offer a menu of phone providers at purchase time, then perhaps T-Mobile will the recommended carrier for U.S. and European customers. This may also suggest that, even though the phone is unlocked, you will still be able to get a subsidized phone with a two-year contract. Unless Google becomes really unconventional and tries to subsidize the phone with advertising.

Specs are hard to come by, but based on reports by Engadget and others, this device will probably have a screen slightly longer than the iPhone’s (just under 5 inches), OLED display, trackball, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, and a microSD expansion slot. The device is also believed to be thinner than the iPhone.

Read the full story on PC Magazine

Android, Google, GSM, IPhone, Mobile network operator, Nexus One, Search Engines, Searching