Carphone to sell Google Nexus S phone

(Reuters) - Samsung's Nexus S phone, based on the latest version of Google's Android software, will go on sale this month in the United States and Britain through Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse.
The two retailers said they would be the exclusive sellers in those two markets of the Nexus S, which supports a technology that lets people use their handsets instead of credit cards for payments, and would take pre-orders from 1600 GMT on Monday.


Google's Android software has rapidly overtaken Apple and BlackBerry to become the second most popular platform worldwide after Nokia's Symbian, and the most popular in North America and east Asia.
Offered free to cellphone vendors since coming to market two years ago, Android has helped fuel a boom in the smartphone market, which is expected to double this year to about 340 million units, although it has helped drive prices down.
The Nexus S will include an NXP near-field communications (NFC) chip, which allows consumers to pay for items by tapping the phone against a special terminal.
NXP, a pioneer of and leader in NFC technology, announced a strategic collaboration with Google to provide a complete open source software stack for NFC.
Carphone and Best Buy said they would offer the Nexus S unlocked for $529 (337.42 pounds) in the United States or for $199 with a T-Mobile contract.
In Britain, it will cost 549.95 pounds ($862) unlocked, or will come free with a contract of 35 pounds per month for a term and with an operator yet to be announced.
The previous flagship Google Android phone, the Nexus One, was made by Taiwan's HTC. Samsung has also produced a tablet computer based on Android, the Galaxy Tab.
"Deals with Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy underline the importance of independent distributors beyond operators to Google," British telecoms research firm CCS Insight said.
"Despite the initial failure of Nexus One, Google's intent clearly remains unchanged."
U.S. consumer electronics retailer Best Buy and British mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse have a joint venture in Europe that includes stores in Britain, and a chain of Best Buy Mobile stores in the United States.

reuters.com

Google Wallet purchase demo with Google Nexus S 

 

 

Google Nexus One Coming To Sprint

The mobile carrier says that it will disclose pricing and availability soon. 

Sprint on Wednesday said that Google's Nexus One mobile phone will soon be available on its network and promised to announce a date of availability soon.
"Nexus One is a powerful device that belongs on a powerful network," said Sprint VP of product development Fared Adib in a statement. "This is another step in our continued partnership of innovation with Google."

In announcing this upcoming announcement, Sprint appears to be making a declaration of support for Google and its Android platform as much as competing with other carriers. Apple earlier this month cast a shadow over Android's future by suing HTC, one of Google's mobile partners, for violating its iPhone patents.
Sprint's endorsement, along with Google's announcement on Tuesday that its Nexus One is available on the networks of AT&T and Rogers Wireless, should serve to hearten Android handset makers who might consider hedging their platform bets on the chance that Apple might prevail in its claims. To be sure, however, Sprint is also breaking its silence for competitive reasons. Sprint in its release claims that its 3G network has twice the coverage of AT&T and 10 times the coverage of T-Mobile in square miles, both of which offer the Nexus One. Sprint says that it will be offering the Nexus One exclusively through Google's online store, but it did not disclose pricing. Adib said that pricing has yet to be determined, but "will be consistent with Sprint's commitment to deliver more value than our competitors." He notes that Sprint's Everything Data 450 plan with Any Mobile, Anytime offers unlimited calling, text messaging, and Web data for $70, which is comparable to AT&T and Verizon unlimited talk plans, without a Web data package. The Nexus One retails for $529 with no contract or $179 with a two-year T-Mobile service contract.
Sprint did not clarify whether it will offer a contract-based discount. Though a report that Google has sold only about 135,000 Nexus One phones in the past 74 days has prompted some observers to declare Google's online store a failure, Google insists that it is "pleased with our sales volumes and with how well the Nexus One has been received by our customers." 
informationweek.com

Google Nexus One review:

The Nexus One is not a revolutionary device, but it is the first handset that will offer a meaningful challenge to Apple’s iPhone.

While Google’s software, called Android, has powered other phones, this is the first one where the search giant has specified the design – that focus means the pencil-thin Nexus One is built to feel like a genuine object of desire.

And the Nexus One offers features the iPhone lacks, too – the camera’s resolution is 5mp, compared to Apple’s 3mp, there are satnav capabilities built in that cost Apple users extra, and a fast processor means the Nexus One operates quicker than any phone currently on sale in the UK. Web-browsing is impressive, although in the UK is likely to lack the multitouch capabilities that have been available on previous versions of Android. Automatic online synchronization of camera photos is also impressive. It’s effective voice operation, for controlling the phone and writing emails, however, that is the most surprising feature. This is the first time I’ve seen a version of that technology that is genuinely useable.

In the burgeoning market for additional applications (Apps), however, Apple’s iTunes Store offers 115,000 compared to the 20,000 or so in Google’s Android Marketplace. That means that there are currently far more games, tools and clever tricks available to iPhone owners. As more phones start to adopt Google’s operating system, however, Android is likely to catch up fast. And while Android can run a number of Apps at once, the iPhone can’t.

Does the Nexus One feel quite as well put together as the iPhone? No, although it’s close enough to make no meaningful difference. What Android handsets can’t do, however, is plug in to your music collection as seamlessly as an iPod or an iMac. And that’s the biggest problem Google faces – an iPhone is a web-browsing, every song in your pocket, phone call making pleasure to own. It’s part of an entire ecosystem, with accessories, covers, speaker systems and even ties that are built to house iPods.

But the Nexus One does plug in effortlessly to the web, social media, email, calendar, search and contacts functions; perhaps the company that dominates web search should simply start making the computers as well.

telegraph.co.uk