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Matthew Miller
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Google announces AT&T 3G capable Google Nexus One

By | March 16, 2010, 4:33pm PDT

Summary: The outstanding Google Nexus One is coming to Verizon soon, but first we get a little surprise as Google announced an AT&T and Rogers Wireless Canada 3G capable model. Will this increase the sales of the Nexus One?

Back when the Google Nexus One was announced, we were told it would be coming to Vodafone and Verizon Wireless. In a bit of a surprise move, Google announced that AT&T and Roger Wireless customers can now buy the SIM-unlocked Google Nexus One and get full 3G data functionality. This new model is only sold at the $529 unlocked price and there are no subsidized options available. With Motorola and AT&T rolling out the crippled Backflip device as the first Android device on AT&T I think this announcement comes at a perfect time and imagine many of my AT&T friends will be jumping on the Nexus One. I personally love my Nexus One and think Google selling 135,000 in 74 days is quite an achievement and believe these sales will now increase with a larger AT&T network supported.

It will be interesting to hear how many iPhone users will be picking up a Google Nexus One as they wait for a possible iPhone upgrade later this summer. This new model supports three 3G/UMTS bands (850/1900/2100 MHz) and four GSM radio frequencies (850/900/1800/1900 MHz). I also look forward to hearing if AT&T customers are having any issue with the 3G signal not being as good as it should be on the Nexus One.

Are any readers planning to buy this new model Nexus One?

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Topics

Google Inc., AT&T Corp., 3G, Cellular Phones, Wireless And Mobility, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using a Pilot 1000 in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.

Disclosure

Matthew Miller

Matthew is a professional naval architect by day and a mobile gadget freak at all other times. He purchases his own devices and then sells them on eBay or Craigslist to buy more. Many other devices are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the carrier or manufacturer. If any are provided as “long term loaner units” this will be clearly disclosed in his reviews.

Biography

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller started using a mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. He is a co-host with GigaOM's Kevin Tofel on the MobileTechRoundup podcast and an author of three Wiley Companion series books. Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned over 125 different devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes an HTC Radar 4G, Dell Venue Pro, Apple iPad 2, HTC Flyer, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nokia N9, Apple iPhone 4S, MacBook Pro, and many more, along with tons of accessories and classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various discussion forums under the user name of "palmsolo".

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Here's to unlocked phones
pwatson 30th Mar 2010
Japan considers end to cellphone 'SIM lock'

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Tech/Story/A1Story20100330-207482.html

Some countries are starting to question.
View in thread
0 Votes
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so much for "do no evil"
e1we11 16th Mar 2010
looks just a little like an iPhone don't ya think???? the most outrageous
example of corporate backstabbing and just flat out thievery i can
think of. put a Google numb nuts on the Apple board in the spirit of
mutual cooperation then walk off with the family jewels. shameful.
this company needs to be taken down a few notches. it exposes yet
again Google's lack of internal creativity at Google. come to think of it,
it's hard to name something Google truly innovated. search? no. that
was yahoo. email? no that was aol. mapping and trip planning? no that
was map quest. iPhone? no that was iPhone. Google has a habit of
ripping off other concepts and products and parading around like a
bunch of genious innovators. their great genious is getting the rest of
to buy into the charade. we used to blame the chinese for such things.
i've never seen such shameless unethical thieving even from the
Chinese. for the record i own a blackberry.
0 Votes
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lol calm down
SpursDynasty 17th Mar 2010
If we just stuck with the same company making the phone that everyone uses, nothing would get improved. It is the differences and new advances that companies create with new products that improve the overall market. The iphone was truly the golden standard of what a phone should be. But it isn't perfect.

I praise Google if anything. It will help Apple step up their game even more in the future.
0 Votes
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very odd logic
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
i enjoy your sense of humour as well. theft is OK as long as the theft results in some kind of improvement - for the theif. By that logic, if i steal someone's car and take it to the car wash it's all good. Let's ask Mr. jobs if he sees this alleged benefit as you do.
0 Votes
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everything is iterated to excellence
modrax 17th Mar 2010
it is shortsighted to think that yahoo created
search. i can remember altavista before that.
similarly, aol was not the first to create
email, DARPA did. and please do not credit
Apple for iPhone, Blackberry created the first
email/pager/phone and handspring created the
first smartphone and it had touchscreen with
gestures though with a stylus. history is rich
with irony.

please ask steve jobs why he stole xerox's
mouse and GUI?

nobody can own an idea, one can only own the
implementation of an idea. sadly, the idiots
at the US Patent Office don't understand this
fundamental fact.

ps: i own an iPhone and love all things Apple.
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"Looks just a little like an iPhone"?
GuidingLight 17th Mar 2010
In what way?
The fact that it is taller then it is wider? That the corners are rounded?
That it has a foward facing touch screen display?
Because it has icons?
And a button on the bottom-front?

So how many different ways can you design a smartphone, and still make it functional?

If anything, it looks like early PDA's.

Wait one moment; Talk about the most outrageous example of corporate backstabbing and just flat out thievery we can think of, It appears that Apple stole all those design ideas from companies like HP and Palm!
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look further
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
what Google has stolen goes well beyond the cosmetic details - which are striking. Google has stolen the entire concept and architecture of the iPhone. The Google android OS and the Google execution of the AP concept is a direct knock-off / clone from Apple. It rather reminds one of what they did to Yahoo, and Map Quest, and ......Perhaps Serge and Brin should be issued homorary Chinese passports. It is interesting to observe how pissy Google gets when someone steals their stuff. they seem to prefer to be on the other side of the equation.
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Did you hear there is a thing called "Android"?
vkelman@... Updated - 17th Mar 2010
@e1we11,
What an ignorance! Did you happen to hear that
there is a very successful line of smartphones
called "Android phones"? Or maybe this two-year
old news slipped away from your Apple-clogged
attention?
Did you hear that Android platform is open-
source (I bet you never heard about Cyanogen
MOD), multi-task, original, based on Linux
kernel, and quite different in philosophy from
iPhone?
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?
p=6043&tag=nl.e539
0 Votes
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Typical BB user...
Narg 17th Mar 2010
Blackberry users are an odd bunch. They love their outdated phone based on the outdate Java engine. So much so they bad mouth any technology that blows their phones out of the water. Sad.
0 Votes
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actually..
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
i don't particularly like my blackberry but i do respect their forward thinking in inventing the thing.
0 Votes
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HTC Incredible
Murph777 18th Mar 2010
I'm a BB user I can't stand it, come on HTC Incredible on Verizon
0 Votes
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RE: Google announces AT&T 3G capable Google Nexus One
ZzGORDOXzZ 16th Mar 2010
Yes, i was planning to get an Nexus One from T+Mobile but
thx to u now the new Model of the Nexus One will work on
an At&t 3G service and next month my Verizon service will
expired "gonna get that boom boom boom"
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sounds like Nexus One marketing
e1we11 16th Mar 2010
"gonna get that boom boom boom?" who's says that? they pay extra for
that?
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RE: Google announces AT&T 3G capable Google Nexus One
Theseus 16th Mar 2010
Here's the problem with this though: unlike T-Mobile, AT&T doesn't offer you a lower plan rate or data plan for bringing your own unsubsidized device to their network. They can detect the Nexus One, as they have IMEI number, and they'll charge you the same monthly plan + data that a typical subsidized iPhone user pays.

I'm all for unlocked devices, but in this particular scenario, other than the device itself, I can't see the financial upside.
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RIGHT You Are....
Nsaf 16th Mar 2010
No monthly saving for ATT customers with Nexus one...You can't even find a plan on their site.
0 Votes
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RE: Google announces AT&T 3G capable Google Nexus One
srikar115 16th Mar 2010
the nexus one is surely better than Iphone
http://techdrag.com/?p=10
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Better how?
Pete "athynz" Athens 17th Mar 2010
The article you linked to is about the Apple vs HTC lawsuit, how does that make the Nexus One better?

Also with T-Mobile and I suspect with AT&T Google is imposing an early termination fee on top of what T-Mobile charges... how does that make the Nexus One better?

Answer to both - it does NOT make the Nexus One better and the sales figures and tech support prove me right.
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No contract.
rlawler 18th Mar 2010
Unlike T-Mobile the Nexus One is not available
with a contract from AT&T. It must be purchased at
full price without subsidy. That means you can go
month-to-month with AT&T without a commitment.

You can also use an iPhone SIM.
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RE: Google announces AT&T 3G capable Google Nexus One
Theseus 16th Mar 2010
But is it $329 better?
0 Votes
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RE: Google announces AT&T 3G capable Google Nexus One
studio087 16th Mar 2010
How did the first Google phone turn out?

Buying the Google phone is like buying a cheap knockoff.

The iPhone is the best phone with the worst carrier.
strictly speaking about the phone and not the carrier, why would anyone want to purchase anything other than the iPhone?
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Why?
BoloMKXXVIII 17th Mar 2010
Because everyone in the country thinks just like you and would only ever want the same phone you use.
0 Votes
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interestesting logic
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
theft is theft even if the theft results in a functional product. i've not tried this phone and that is not the point I'm making. theft is the point. lack of internal creativity at google is another point. theft mascerading itself as genuine innovation is another. I'm talking about theft in a moral/ethical sense. laws are imperfect and it's often possible to steal legally as it apears google has done. again.
0 Votes
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Please point out Google's lack of internal creativity
GuidingLight 17th Mar 2010
and tell us what it is that Google "stole" from Apple.
0 Votes
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read
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
above
0 Votes
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perhaps you should read the article and look at the photos
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
that might clear it up for you
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So you are making all these assumptions long distance, then?
cyjeff 17th Mar 2010
Really, calm down.

You admit you haven't tried the phone... but
feel completely comfortable saying how much it
is exactly like the iPhone.

Kind of a stretch, wouldn't you say? Shouldn't
you at least touch one before you start
spouting about how it does this or that exactly
like an iPhone?

No, watching a youtube movie about it is NOT
the same.

I didn't think it was possible, but you are
actually giving the rabid iPhone fans a bad
name.
0 Votes
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perhaps the valium should be yours
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
I'm not an iPhone user but i do have a rational respect for what Apple has done over the years. Don't like the Blackberry so much but committed to it 2 years ago and there it is on my desk.

Interesting how you Googlers get all bent outa shape if someone actually states the not-so-flattering yet all-to-obvious truth about your beloved IP burglers: Serg and Brin.
0 Votes
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Why iPhone fans are so aggressive?
vkelman@... 17th Mar 2010
That's very rare for Android users to blame
iPhone. Everybody knows, it's a great smartphone
which pioneered simple, integrated, user-
friendly interface.
On the other side, iPhone fans constantly try to
kill Android reputation.
That's symptomatic, isn't it? It probably shows
how scarred Apple is on an emerging competition.
And soon Win 7 Phones with an interface greatly
improved over WinMobile 6.5 will join the
game...
0 Votes
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add an Oxycontin to that prescription
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
here's a question for you. If a guy was invited into your house then stole your family jewels, then told you to calm down when caught pawning your stuff, would you:
a - kick him in the jewels
b - tell him he's right, if he hadn't stolen your stuff the next guy surely would have
c - commend him for his "do no evil" ethic and write nice things about him in your blog

you sound like a "b-c" guy to me.
0 Votes
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I own an iPhone and love it
Pete "athynz" Athens 17th Mar 2010
and I will say I do like the Android OS - I feel the Droid itself is overhyped and that the ETF that Google imposes with the Nexus One is out of line but I'd love nothing more than to see Android take off - mainly so it will spur Apple, RIM, and Microsoft to develop new and better mobile products. I get agressive with those who spread lies, second hand information, and FUD.
0 Votes
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Wait...
Pete "athynz" Athens 17th Mar 2010
You have not even tried the iPhone? Seriously? If so, then how can you come here and say which one is better? Besides, the lawsuits have not made it to courts nor is there any sort of settlement so right now it is innocent until proven guilty...

And for thr record I DO own an iPhone, a Blackberry, and have played around with a couple of Android-based devices... And to be honest if Google does not impose their ETF on the Nexus One with AT&T I may wind up getting one for my wife.
0 Votes
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time to repeate third grade my dear Watson
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
perhaps reading isn't your best thing. i wrote that i own a blackberry. your deduction that i therefore must not have tried other products lands in the cooky grey area between retarded and creative.
0 Votes
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feel sorry for US people
patibulo 17th Mar 2010
I'm sorry for US people that have to live with lack of network interoperability. In Europe you buy a cell phone and it works everywhere in Europe, if not everywhere in the world. You can't say the same in the US. Every network has its own phones and you can't choose each one independently. I find this a big lack of freedom for the consumer and I don't get it how this is not regulated somehow.
0 Votes
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Subsidies
trance2tec 17th Mar 2010
Most Europeans pay full price for phones, by having carrier locked phones - the carriers are able to subsidize the cost of the phone.

If you sign up with T-Mobile you pay $179 for a Nexus One - if you buy the unlocked version you pay $529. That's $350 savings - over a 2-year contract period that is about $15/mo which most would consider a nice savings.
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The Real cost of Subsidies
Caffeinated85 17th Mar 2010
The subsidies were originally to aide consumers
into nicer phones. However, the problem with
most US carriers now is that these subsidies
are priced into the cost of their subscription
service. TMobile is one of the few carriers
that have a subscription plan that accounts for
this. Their plans without subsidies cost $20
less per month, which will net you an
additional $130 if you're willing to pay for
the phone outright ($480 2yr plan savings vs
$350 up front phone subsidy).
0 Votes
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Where I can find more information on this?
Elibom 24th Mar 2010
I really like the T-mobile plan you mentioned.
0 Votes
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We have met the enemy and he is us.
pwatson 17th Mar 2010
The GSM phones do, generally, have interoperability.

The "lock" to a single carrier is a marketing ploy. It is to ensure that the customer cannot move to another carrier without great expense.

Most carriers will, if you try hard enough, sell you an unlocked phone. Of course, it is much more expensive since it does not provide the carrier with a guaranteed recurring revenue stream for monthly service.
0 Votes
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That's one good reason to use AT&T
Narg 17th Mar 2010
AT&T's network is compatible with Europe and most of the rest of the World. It's one of the best reasons to stick with AT&T, so that your phone works in almost all of the World.
0 Votes
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RE: Google announces AT&T 3G capable Google Nexus One
vernma@... Updated - 17th Mar 2010
When is someone going to release a universal 3G (ATT and T-Mobile frequencies) GSM phone?

If your unlocked, unsubsidized phone only works on one carrier, what's the point (referring to 3G only)?
0 Votes
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Marketing
Caffeinated85 17th Mar 2010
It's just marketing. By 'hardware locking' the
different versions of the N1 to only use a
certain carrier's hardware profile, Google can
say that the phone model is independent of
carriers and offers the users a choice while
still appeasing the carriers lock in.

Functionally I, as a customer, still can't
purchase a Nexus One, test out carrier service
with the phone, and choose the best service
provider.
0 Votes
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RE: Google announces AT&T 3G capable Google Nexus One
vkelman@... 17th Mar 2010
I immediately jumped on and ordered my Nexus One. It's
already shipped and expected to arrive today or tomorrow.
I'm not an iPhone user, instead I'm currently use on AT&T
and love my first and slow Android Dev Phone 1 (i.e. HTC
Dream).
0 Votes
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Google as "Everyman"
nottheusual1 17th Mar 2010
A strategy that will usurp Apple's bent on being uber-cool.

The next few years will tell the tale.

Especially when the market evolves the next big answer, which everyone knows is inevitable:

The amalgamation of all the "toys" everyone wants you to buy now into a single device.
0 Votes
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Verizon coming?
pwatson 17th Mar 2010
I hope that the coming Nexus One for Verizon will:

1) have all of this GSM capability
2) be available unlocked.
0 Votes
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GSM & CDMA in one device? Good luck with that!
PacoBell 17th Mar 2010
N/T
0 Votes
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Why do I need CDMA in my phone if GSM/WCDMA is enough
Elibom 24th Mar 2010
Why do I need put CDMA into my phone? Because I
may want to switch to US VZW and US sprint in the
future?
0 Votes
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I might buy it if I could play with it first
TomRedwine 17th Mar 2010
I'm in the market for an appfone, and while the Nexus1 and iphone are running neck & neck, I have to be able to play with the thing before I buy it. Google, get these things into some stores and I'll consider the Nexus1 more seriously.

Of course, I'm at the exact WRONG end of the cycle to be considering an iphone because they'll probably announce v4 as soon as I buy v3. Yeesh.
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How to test...
Narg 17th Mar 2010
I'd go to a store that sells the Motorola Droid. While not the same phone, it's close enough and should give you a good feel of how the N1 will work too.

And, stop worrying about technology cycles. It's the way things are, and you just have to accept it and move on, or never move at all.
0 Votes
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Wow, you guys crack me up...
EricP_KY 17th Mar 2010
I have to laugh every time I read the posts of the die-hard fanboys (you pick the phone) bragging about how "their" phone is the innovator and others are just copying them. Funny, because I used an HP Jornada back in the late 90s/early 2000s, and it had a color touch screen, multi-tasking, networkability all in a device that I could carry easily in my pocket. Back then, it was Windows CE for the OS. Was it perfect? No, but it WAS functional and served its purpose.

I see posts daily bashing MS because Windows Mobile/Windows Phone is outdated. So what? It worked then, and works now. Apple didn't invent touch screens, but they did make it better - more sensitive, better resolution than anybody else had at the time...now others are raising the bar on that standard.

So Apple took its existing device (ipod) and added a phone to it - that's supposed to be "innovative"? Hardly - that's exactly what happened with the first Windows phones, Palm phones, etc - they added phone functionality to existing devices (PDAs).

All those devices could be synced to your desktop, could do email, calendar, etc - nothing innovative there either. GPS? Available via options. Music? It was there, too - at least on some devices.

So - bottom line - there's nothing "innovative" aobut any of the current devices - Apple, Nexus, Palm, BlackBerry, Windows phones - they've just benefitted from 10 more years of manufacturing advances to improve the packaging of the device into a smaller, slicker, sleeker unit. Wireless connectivity is just the natural evolution of those devices, just like the move to wireless in homes and businesses, the move from CRTS to LCDs, floppy disks to CD/DVD/BluRay...the list is endless.
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Takes one to know one...
Narg 17th Mar 2010
You make fun of Fanboi's, yet you post the longest response here in the comments? Funny. Long responses are only done BY fanbois. Welcome to the club!
0 Votes
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Touche - or not...
EricP_KY 17th Mar 2010
Not really a fanboi - just tired of all the "my phone is better than everybody elses" on these blogs.
0 Votes
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do no evil - or at least hope that no one notices
e1we11 17th Mar 2010
i can't tell if you just like an argument or if you work for Google. your points substanciate the basic issue i have with the Google spin works. these guys have never innovated ANYTHING EVER yet have managed to convince millions (apparently including you)that they're frigg'n rocket scientists. observing demand and reverse engineering already successful products and services does not quite qualify them for the innovation hall of fame. of course ideas flow but that phone is a clone. the depth of imitation is off the charts. shame on them. and on us. time to upgrade IP protections beyond current patent law - obvoiusly inadaquate.
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Here's to unlocked phones
pwatson 30th Mar 2010
Japan considers end to cellphone 'SIM lock'

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Tech/Story/A1Story20100330-207482.html

Some countries are starting to question.

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