BY AXXO

HOWDIE USERS! After a week of having a pain in the neck (literally) I’m back, ending a week of speculation that AXXO was done for… he he he.

I invite you all to a new era courtesy Google Nexus One. Remember I had told you all about Android, Google’s Operating System for mobile phones? Now they have exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Enter Nexus One.

Nexus One is a smartphone from Google that uses the Android open source mobile operating system. The device is manufactured by Taiwan’s HTC Corporation, and became available on January 5, 2010. Features of the phone include the ability to transcribe voice to text, noise cancelling dual microphones, and voice directions while driving.

The device is sold unlocked (not restricted to use on a single network provider). Google currently offers it for use on the T-Mobile network in the United States; a version for use on the Verizon (US) and Vodafone (European) networks is expected in the second calendar quarter of 2010. A recent news item also suggests the phone may be released in a version supporting AT&T’s 3G data networks in the future.

Nexus One was originally codenamed HTC Passion. A European phone with the same hardware has been documented called the HTC Bravo, which matches the specifications of Nexus One. However, the Bravo features HTC Sense and an optical trackpad rather than a trackball.

AVAILABILITY

The Nexus One was released on January 5, 2010. The phone is being sold in the US via Google’s website at a price of $529 unlocked or a subsidised $179 when purchased with a T-Mobile two year contract. Around spring 2010, Google will launch a Vodafone model in Europe, with plans to expand the phone to other carriers and international markets in due course.

Google is making the phone available for delivery to the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong, although native carrier tie-ups have not been finalised for these countries, and the phone will be shipped from the US.

FEATURES

Hardware. NEXUS One has a 3.7 inch capacitive touch screen capable of handling multi-touch gestures. It has an illuminated trackball which can emit different colours of light based on the type of notification being received. A voice processor developed by Audience uses a second microphone (on the back) to reduce background noise during phone conversations. A 4-conductor TRRS style 3.5mm stereo headset jack is also provided, adding microphone function to the stereo earphones. It also has a 3-axis accelerometer and a digital compass, so that you never get lost.

The display is 480×800 px, 3.7 in (94 mm), 3:5 aspect ratio, WVGA, AMOLED with 100,000:1 contrast ratio and 1 ms response rate.

The phone features a 5.0 megapixel (720×480 px at 20 fps or higher) auto-focus camera with LED flash and digital zoom, GPS receiver, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, geotagging, LED flash and 802.11b/g WiFi capabilities.

The Snapdragon processor allows for many advanced capabilities including 720p video playback. The official name for the Snapdragon processor is Qualcomm QSD 8250 Snapdragon ARM which clocks at a speed of 1 GHz. Now that’s what I call fast. I remember buying a computer for Rs.60,000 in 2001 which had a 633MHz processor!! Pooh Pooh!!! Talk about advancement in technology…

There is built-in hardware decoding for H.263, H.264 and MPEG-4 video, and is capable of playing MP3, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, and MIDI audio, and displaying the JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP image formats. It has a main memory of 512 MB DRAM.

It has a micro USB port instead of the common mini-USB port, or HTC’s mini-USB compatible format (ExtUSB). The microSD card slot allows expansion up to 32 gigabytes of card storage. Applications can only be installed to the 512 MB internal flash memory, of which 190 MB are available for that purpose. During unveiling, it was mentioned that Google may eventually lift this restriction after addressing security issues.

It’s got a removable 1400mAh battery, up to 290 hours on standby, ten hours talk time, five hours browsing. Charged via MicroUSB. One of the best parts of this awesome phone is its weight, which is just 130 g with battery and 100 g without battery. A third party analysis by iSuppli estimates the cost of hardware components to be around $175.

Desktop Dock. JUST drop your phone in the Desktop Dock, and the Clock app launches automatically, making it easy to: check the local time and weather, set and clear alarms, watch a slideshow of your photos, play music, dim your phone’s display for night time use, and also includes a 3.5mm-to-RCA audio cable that allows you to connect the dock to your stereo, so you can listen to your phone’s music on your stereo system.

Cellular. THE phone’s radio circuitry covers most major GSM and 3G providers in the US, Europe and Asia, with the notable exception of the 850MHz and 1900MHz UMTS 3G bands. Because the phone lacks these frequency bands, it is not compatible with the 3G networks, although 2G can be used. Although, when used with Telstra, the phone is also able to roam on 3’s 2100MHz 3G network, before being forced to use 2G.
The GSM radio frequencies covered are 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 along with UMTS frequency bands 1 (2100MHz), 4 (1700MHz), and 8 (900MHz).

Software. Nexus One runs the Google Android 2.1 (Eclair) operating system. The 2.1 firmware version of the Android operating system adds a few aesthetic changes, such as “Live Wallpapers”, which are animated in the background and react to different user inputs. By December 2009, Android-based phones have access to more than 20,000 applications through the Android Market. It also replaces the “Application Drawer” with a single button which can be pressed to access the list of applications installed on the phone. This thumbnail list can be scrolled up and down and as it’s scrolled, the applications roll up into a 3D cube instead of disappearing from the screen. Once the bottom of the application thumbnail list is hit, the screen bounces off similar to the iPhone functionality.

The integrated Media Gallery, developed by Cooliris, provides several new features allowing the user to browse, edit and share photos and videos on the phone.

On February 2, 2010, Google announced an over-the air update for the Nexus One. It adds pinch-to-zoom functionality to the web browser, gallery and maps applications. In addition, it adds Google Goggles natively and fixes many of the 3G connectivity issues reported by T-Mobile users.

MODIFICATIONS

USERS are able to root the device by unlocking its bootloader using the fastboot command “fastboot oem unlock”. Unlocking the bootloader allows the user to install other firmware images that give the user root access, and even other bootloaders. Obtaining root privileges enables a user to override protected operating system features, install arbitrary software and enable internet tethering to share the phone’s 3G network connection via a wireless LAN, among other things. Upon running the fastboot command, the user is presented with a Google-created screen stating that unlocking the bootloader will void the warranty. The popular CyanogenMod build of Android has already been released for the device.

Criticism. The Nexus One reportedly had problems with 3G connectivity and touchscreen at launch. Updates have since been issued for the operating system, including the addition of multi-touch capabilities in the Android web browser and Google Maps functions. While the updates have reportedly also somewhat improved 3G connectivity, it is unclear if user complaints are the result of a deficiency with the device or the carrier networks’ 3G coverage.

At the launch, Google only provided support through its online services, and customers could only ask and receive help by email. On February 8, 2010, Google launched a Nexus One order support line.

Future. According to Andrew Rubin (a technology pioneer, co-founder and former CEO of both Danger Inc and Android. He is currently vice president of Engineering at Google) the next version of the Nexus One will be targeted for business users and may have a hardware keyboard.

So after so much of information I guess you guys ought to Google the Nexus.

Till next time, see ya.