The FCC has been eye-balling the four major U.S. carriers regarding Early Termination Fee’s and when Google dropped their bombshell, it certainly raised some eyebrows. Thankfully, Google has thought twice about their own ERF on the Nexus One. Starting today, Google has reduced the “Equipment Recovery Fee” on the HTC Nexus One from $350 to $150. While its better and a recognition of the disapproval of the original outrageous fee, all the major players still have a long way to go to solving this issue.
Still, if you’re wanting to cancel your T-Mobile service (You had better not) within the first 120 days you can pay $150 plus T-Mobile’s $200 ETF, costing you a total of $350, whereas before it was $550. Nice move Google, but how about getting rid of the ERF all together? Statement from Google courtesy of the Wall Street Journal below:
“A Google representative said the company had been working with T-Mobile to lower the equipment fee.”
“Google’s overall financial philosophy with regard to operator service plans remains unchanged: We make no profit from commissions from operators or from equipment recovery fees, and our recovery fees are based on operator charges to Google for early termination of service,” the company said in a statement.
No real surprise here that a fix for the Nexus One3G connectivity issues turns out to be something incredibly simple, yet not from Google. While this may not be a permanent solution, it worked for one Kevin of JKontherun, it remains to be seen if it works for everyone else who was suffering 3G issues. Apparently, it’s so simple that all you have to do is go into the settings and allow the smartphone to “Select Automatically” from the networks it has to choose from. Actually, you go into “Settings”, “Wireless and Networks”, choose “Mobile Networks” and go into “Network Operators” section and allow the phone to look for a network. Choose “Select Automatically.” Kevin who states that he was unable to get a 3G signal for 10 days now has a permanent 3G signal, even with reboots. This little fix is spreading around the blogosphere quickly since posting yesterday and we can only hope it’s a fix that works for everyone, but where is Google? Google needs to release an update to resolve this issue regardless if it’s a 10 second fix or not, they should have released it already in fact. Anyways, while we wait for “official word” from Google regarding this matter, let us know in the comments if this does indeed work for you!
The unboxing video is a holy grail in the tech blogging world and always manages to excite the masses. Nothing you have seen up to this point can hold a candle to this unboxing video, the craziest stop-action unboxing video ever created. In a word…awesome.
Well this is a positive step in the right direction for Google, who has faced a stream of criticism lately from upset customers regarding price/upgrade issues and 3G connectivity. Effective today, T-Mobile customers who purchased the Nexus One at the price of $379 will be refunded $100 dollars, or the difference between the $379 and $279 pricing. Refund eligible customers, or those who purchased the phone prior to today can expect to receive the refund within 14 business days. Those eligible to receive the refund will start being notified of this change starting tomorrow. It may not affect a large swath of buyers, but it’s a step in the right direction to better customer service for Google and we applaud this move.
Okay so you finally have your brand spankin’ new Nexus One and if you were like most T-Mobile customers, you probably paid the $529.99 unlocked retail price. Of course such an expensive handset should definitely be taken extra care of. So thanks to our beloved Magenta, they are offering PHP (Premium Handset Protection) Insurance for both, customers that bought the phone through Google unlocked and customers that activated or upgraded with the subsidized $179.99 price tag. So the 20,000 of you that bought a Nexus One this week can protect your investment for $4.79/month. The requirement is simple. New and existing T-Mobile customers can take advantage of the PHP Insurance within 14 days of purchase. If your device needs to be replaced (and your manufacturer’s warranty does not cover the device) there will be a $130 deductible for the Nexus One. That’s pretty much it!
Now that you’ve finally managed to get your hands on the HTC Nexus One “SuperPhone”, its time to put it through the various tests, at least that’s what I usually do when I get a new toy to play with. Word has it that a very large amount of users are experiencing problems with 3G connectivity. Specifically, the phone constantly switching between 3G and EDGE networks in areas that would normally have full 3G coverage, getting poor 3G coverage in general, or more often, both. Its a new device, and every piece of technology has some sort of problem. One user over at the Google Mobile Support Forums, compared the 3G reception of the HTC Nexus One and the T-Mobile G1, yielding results that favored the G1. If I could take a wild guess, I would assume that this is probably related to problems with the internal radio, a software related issue, or something totally different.
Are you experiencing 3G problems? Let us know in the comments!
Posted at 10:10 pm EST, January 05th, 2010 by Andrew. Tags: Nexus One
Remember, Rememer, the fifth of January (wait, that isn’t quite right). Well, at long last, today is the day. Google has gone all official with the Nexus One, and with it a host of information. So, we decided to put it all in a nice recap. So hang on past the break, I hear it’s quite a trip.
UPDATE: In these times, it’s all about conservation, so I have decided to link all the hands on experiences and reviews to this one post, so keep checking back.
PhoneDog – Hands on (I’m sure they will have all sorts of very detailed reviews coming soon)
If you’re a T-Mobile customer and you’ve been hanging around for the Nexus One or you’ve been angling to leave T-Mobile for greener pastures take a look at this breakdown. Total of ownership among the four most popular smartphones on the market are broken down courtesy of the fine folks at Billshrink. While the average plan may not be that much of a difference, those who are likely to use phones such as these are often unlimited power users. In that respect, the price difference becomes noticeable and it’s no small difference. Over the cost of two years $1220 may not be enough to put you out of house and home but it’s enough to recognize and T-Mobile is clearly the better value. So what say you is $1220 enough to make you reconsider switching carriers or is it phone first, price second?
With all the Nexus One news coming out today it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. Before getting gung ho and clicking that buy button, Google has gone and made it a little easier for T-Mobile folks. New customers will enjoy that $179 pricing but upgrading customers might need to break open that piggy bank a little more. The pre gets a little easier than the unlocked $530 bombshell with a 2 year coming in at $279 or $379 depending on if you are adding or upgrading your data plan. Unfortunately the discount gets a little higher for those of you who qualify for an upgrade even if it’s a totally legitimate upgrade. Then again, if you want the current HOT Android phone, is price really an object??
You can choose to purchase the Nexus One from the Google Phone Webstore without service for $529 USD, or with a qualifying T-Mobile US service plan at a discounted price:
Looks like Engadget isn’t the only one that was able to get their paws on what seems to be one of the hottest, and highly anticipated devices right now. As the January 5th rumored release date comes closer and closer, one lucky guy over at NexusOneBlog managed to get his hands on the HTC Nexus One (aka Google Phone). Courtesy of the folks over at NexusOneBlog, you can finally read a full review with some nice high-res pics to keep you interested. We can clearly tell what the reviewer is saying all throughout the review and that is, “This is the best phone I have ever used, I have one and you don’t”. Read the full review here. Feel free to express your thoughts in the comments!
@thedeadbaby I don't know, Kodak's website says compatible with mac and pc, does it matter which program it works with? http://twitter.com/tmonews1 hour ago
