Please can one of the networks carry it?
Is there any news on an official outlet for the Google Phone ie. O2 or Orange?
In the US, Google's unlocked Nexus One handset plays with only one major 3G wireless network: T-Mobile's. But in other parts of the world, your options are rather more extensive. Sold from Google's new US-based online phone store, the inaugural Googlephone supports four GSM frequencies: 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 1900MHz. So …
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Is it that Three (3) is not a 'major UK network' or is it that it does not use the same / right bands? as I was under the impression that Three's network is one of the more capable 3G networks we have in our (currently) snowy isle, and would therefore be a good choice for such a 3G heavy phone.
It had to be done, I'm just sick of Windows Mobile 6.1 thwarting my every attempt to do even the simplest of tasks on my Touch HD. And it's a couple of hundred quid cheaper than the iPhone and Droid. Beware though as they don't tell you about the extra cost for the UK charger ($19 IIRC) and shipping price until checkout!
if the link works take a look its going to cost you an extra £61.25 for duty etc
http://www.dutycalculator.com/calculation/saved_calculations/view_details/38216/
I think I will wait a bit longer, And it might be on sale in April at the Gadget show live
If its not unlocked on vodafone, which to be honest why would it unless Google tell them too...
I checked with HTC support about returns and got the follwing response:
"The phone itself will be sent back to our HTC service centre in the UK, this will ensure the return of the phone on the system and from there we can refund / swap / repair the phone as needed. "
So no need to return it to the US if it breaks.
I think Voda are going to carry it from April sometime,
I won't be getting one but I have to say well done Google for realizing that there is a bigger market out there than the US.
IMHO, the US Mobile networks with GSM & CDMA is just like the Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD battle.
IT is about time that the US & Canada came into line with the rest of the world and ditched CDMA for GSM.
So you want us to completely drop "our" 2G technology (CDMA) and replace it with "your" 2G technology (GSM), despite the fact that "your" 3G technology (UMTS) is.. W-CDMA?
So after you wake up and realize our technology is better (I'm sorry, TDMA is crap), you want us to replace it with your inferior technology?
I have a Three SIM that came in my E71, with a 1Gb/month data plan. I brought a shiny new Nokia N900 (http://maemo.nokia.com) planning to switch the Three SIM into it. The SIM will not work, and when I phoned Three they told me that their SIMs that are acquired with a phone contract are locked to working only in Three phones. The N900 operates just fine with a PAYG SIM from T-Mobile, and a pay-monthly SIM from Vodafone. Since I am locked into a contract for a few months with Three, I am now carrying both the E71 and the N900 -- and unable to use the number everyone knows with my new N900. I am quite annoyed with Three at the moment.
I don't have a Nexus to check, but I suspect that you'd have the same problem with a *contract* SIM from Three. They PAYG might work well, but you should should also check the "Solo 20 SIM only" offer available from T-Mobile.
BTW, I think I should say that I'd still pick the N900 over the Google Nexus.
After buying a SIM-free Acer Liquid and finding I can't access copy-protected apps on the Android Market and with absolutely zero help forthcoming from either Acer of Google I'd like to ask if anyone has checked for the same issues on an unlocked Nexus One. For example, can you see the following two apps when searching the Market?
Documents to Go Full Version Key
Record It (search for "sky record")
So do I buy one sim free and pay the extra, or wait for Voda to get it subsidised and hope they don't give me all the "value added" crap that is Vodafone live and their portal.
Hopefully like Apple google have tolds the carriers not to wreck the phone's UI with all the usual junk no-one wants. It's a smart phone, WTF do I need to access the vodafone WAP portal all the time?
Facebook on the the iPhone now syncs contacts and updates the phone's directory with pictures... the main issues for the iPhone are:
1) variety of 3rd party apps (due to control - eg. no gambling or porn apps)
2) multi-tasking
3) No "free" in built turn-by-turn navigation
4) No flash at all on camera (5MP vs 3.2 MP is irrelevant - the lens is more important)
On the other hand, HTC has a poor rep for reliability and Google don't do hardware (look at Microsoft's foray into hardware - XBOX failure and Zune design)...
As far as I know the unlocked Droid/Milestone hasn't yet had this issue fixed. I'm currently on my second round of trying to convince Acer support to do something about it but all I get is "call our premium rate software support line who'll tell you to reboot, factory reset and then RTM". I'm really more curious than anything about whether having their name on the Nexus One will prompt Google to make that extra effort to get everything working on day one or at least how quickly they'll respond to queries about it compared to their notable lack of interest in other handsets on the Market help forums.
The whole point with what Google are doing with this phone is to try and make people not think about it as a phone, but as a "SuperPhone" or basically a pocket computer. You buy the phone upfront, as you would for a computer, and then YOU pick which network operator you want, all of them are offering about the same deal for SIM only contracts which are rolling 1 month contracts with unlimited (restrictions kinda apply for some networks) data, between 600-1200 minutes and 500-Unlimited text messages for about £20 a month.
So if you are unhappy with the quality of the service, you change provider, this will encourage the network operators to become more customer friendly and sort out their network coverage of 3G especially.
If you can't afford to buy the phone upfront, then you can tie yourself into a 18-24 month contract, where you get the phone for cheaper or free, but in effect you are still paying for the phone over the contract period.
Good thing on a rolling 1 month contract and buying it outright, is that when new models come out, you can usually sell your old one for close to what you paid for it on eBay and just buy the latest model.
See the HMRC website
•may have to pay Customs Duty on goods with a value that exceeds £120
•will have to pay Import VAT on goods with a value that exceeds £18
the latter is 17.5% , the former is dependant on classification
Of course google can include these in the purchase price if they've made arrangements beforehand with the Revenue. But a look at the terms and conditions suggest that they haven't and the Customs Duty is 6.5%
On top of these, the courier who delivers it in the UK will ask for a nice chunky fee also just for collecting the money.
Other things...
Duty is waived if the value comes to less than £7, but it would be higher in this case.
VAT limit of £18 is on the value before shipping, but if VAT is added, it's added to the value *including* shipping (as VAT is on both goods *and* services). Again, the value here is way over so VAT is due anyway.
You might get away with nothing to pay however as not every parcel is inspected, but it's unlikely if it comes via a courier and not just standard Royal Mail. Also, some couriers have been known to hand you the parcel with no charge but send you a bill in the post later.
Alternatively, you can bring one back on a flight from outside the EU with nothing to pay if the value of all your items you bought overseas is less than £390.
When you do comparisons between phones, remember that the iPhone has an advanced version in the jPhone (Jailbroken iPhone)... the jPhone does let you run background apps, use your jPhone as a Wifi hotspot, customise your Springboard, use the Bluetooth to send things to other devices, and for bluetooth keyboards and mice plus a whole load of other applications which aren't under the control of Apple.
Contrary to popular belief, jailbreaking doesn't damage the phone, is not illegal and will not bring an end to civilisation as we know it (as Apple would want you to believe)... It does sap the battery a bit quicker but that's a price I'm willing to pay to be able to do what I want with my phone...
.. is the ability to use the Bluetooth Laser keyboard on the iPhone or iSlate when that arrives.
This is where Microsoft actually has an edge - their Slate device runs Windows 7 and will probably have the stack they started using in XP (Toshiba sourced IIRC). That just sees the laser keyboard as a HID and works.
The consequence of the irritating control freakery with the iPhone bluetooth stack means it doesn't appear to support it, missing the best trick to deploy an iPhone as interim mobile computing platform.
(In truth, I just want a valid excuse to buy a laser keyboard - it's been intriguing me since I came across it :-))
As I was so fed up with my iBone I tried to Jailbreak, lots of places tell you how easy it is... but if you read the forums you'll also find loads of people with bricked phones! I got stuck at the "recovery mode" step, I managed to put the phone in it but then the computer (OSX) wouldn't recognise the phone! Thankfully the iTunes backup was, for once, extremely useful and restored the phone, phew!!
Why did I want to Jailbreak? Well for nothing more than having my own picture as wallpaper (instead of black!) and to have my own message alert tone - it's the little things!!! Oh... yes... I'd also like to see the clock (bigger) and most of all, when I have something entered into the calendar on a certain day I"D LIKE IT TO F-IN TELL ME (deep breath)....
The G-Phone looks very interesting, can't wait till April when my O2 iBone contract's up....
[of concern though: sunlight legibility, non-existant apparently?!]
I second BeerStirFry's point ...
It seems to me like it would be fine to buy it from the US store as it's compatible with any UK network. It's around £360 (inc shipping) for the phone. I notice that Vodafone UK are currently doing a SIM-only deal with 900 free minutes, unlimited texts and 500Mb mobile internet for just £20 per month. Slap that into the Nexus and you've got one of the cheapest smart phone deals around.... you can guarantee even Vodafone's own Nexus bundle won't come under £30 per month. Perhaps a good reason why the Nexus could soon outsell the iPhone.
According to their support.
"The phone also charges when it is connected to a computer's USB port with the included USB cable, and when inserted in an optional desktop or car dock accessory"
All manufacturers have agreed to move to a standard of USB charging with a standard micro-USB connector now anyway (except of course Apple who refuse point blank, probably because the connector doesn't fit in with their image and they can't flog an expensive custom cable).
"Gift" declarations will make no difference
For one thing the limit only changes from £18 to £36. For another, buying a commercial product for someone as a gift does not count. It has to be something like a sweater your granny knitted for you, etc. Even second hand eBay purchases don't count as gifts.
Of course you can get them to buy it and send it from a private address declared way under valued, but note that fraudulent declarations can get both you and the sender in trouble. Or at least you'll just get slapped with the full charge based on the value HMRC thinks it's worth, or maybe get the item confiscated.
p.s. Add to the total, the handling fee the courier will charge (varies, £8 for Royal Mail, £14? I think for Parcel Force. Could be a lot more with some couriers).
The real cost of obtaining the phone over here is around £460, not the lower figures that seem to be banded around. The breakdown is as follows:
Nexus One $529.00
UK AC Adaptor $19.99
Shipping $29.65
Total $578.74
Converted into pounds, shilling and pence via xe.com comes to £363.43
However there are more costs - according to google's own web page they are 17.5% VAT and 6.5% duty (they do not say if duty is on the phone only or the whole order so I have assumed the latter). This comes to around £450.65.
DHL also charge a 'convenience fee' for fast-tracking the customs process that amount to £10 according to their web site.
There may be card fee's as well from your bank for buying in dollars. The point being that this phone, although desirable, is not as cheap as some are claiming.
I'm going to wait until UK store opens with UK price.
All the networks do data/calls/text SIM only "contracts" for £20 per month plus or minus a small amount. Buy outright plus SIM only is how I've done things for years as it is a far better deal and gives you ultimate flexibility.
I also think it's quite funny hearing people moan about how long they are still tied into their iPhone contract. The iPhone is a cutting edge device, is being updated all the time, there are some obvious weaknesses with it which are slowly being addressed so why would anyone want to lock themselves in for two years?! I'm on my third since it came out and have spent far less than any contract despite forking out hundreds (which you get back on eBay)
So glad Google made this phone available for use with any operator/carrier, rather than the lock-in to O" when the iPhone was launched and the same for the Palm Pre.
Putting concerns about privacy and what they do with your browsing history etc aside, Google really kick the rip-off proprietary old-school business models up the backside with things like this.
The iPhone isn't tied to an operator/carrier either - or at least not by Apple's command.
The process for changing networks on my IPhone is: power down phone, remove current SIM, insert other carrier SIM, power up phone. The only mods I've made to the phone as bought is to load the data profiles for two additional carriers into it - it automatically selects the correct one for the installed SIM. This works whether you buy the iPhone outright or on a subsidised contract - although you still have to pay out the contract of course if you change carrier.
Don't assume all countries have the same restricted business models as yours does, for many of us iPhones are, by default, bought without carrier lock.
It seems odd to me, that the phone could do GSM at 850 and 1900, but not 3G. Ahh well. I can already get Droid (with Android 2.0 on it) AND get good coverage (Verizon's embarassing AT&T a bit by advertising 5x the 3G coverage recently.) They have a majority of the US blanketed with EVDO, none of this "islands of high speed coverage" stuff.
All phones supplied on contract by Vodafone are network unlocked - this has been their policy since a few months after I got my N95 about 2.5 years ago. Any handset that is being used on a Vodafone contract can be unlocked by them for free as well, if it was supplied before the policy came into effect.
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Ooooohhhh!!!!!
My very first phone, a Samsung flip one, had a green intermittently flashing green LED on it. When I received an SMS it flashed red, just awesome! (I'm easily pleased).
Apparently the tracker ball on the G-phone flashes when you have a call, I mean, what more could you ask for?
I'm sold!
Just seen a report which says that a euro version Nexus One currently being passed around in Germany has multi-touch....so does this mean the best thing to do is wait for Vodafone to start selling this device? Or do Euro customer automatically get sent the euro version?