TechnologyCrowd

As someone who loves the latest in technology, I was very interested in the news coming from Google regarding the Nexus One earlier this week.  I am a big fan of Linux and Android, as a long time Verizon Wireless customer I jumped at the opportunity to own an Android phone when the Motorola Droid was launched.  Of course that means that I am locked into a two year contract with the hefty $350 early termination fee imposed by Verizon so a Nexus One is not anywhere in my future even with the announcement that it will be coming to Verizon in the Spring.

Even though I know that I will not be getting a Nexus One, I watched the Google Android Press conference on Ustream to find out more about Nexus One and more importantly what this means to smart phones in the future considering that Google has been claiming to change the landscape.

Let me start by saying that I don’t think I am alone in thinking that the announcement really didn’t sound like a game changer.  Although this is a new step for Google selling hardware directly from their website, consumers have already been able to buy phones from websites like Amazon and Wirefly.  There was some speculation that Google would give the phone away for free or at a deep discount to gain ad revenue, but this was not the case with the phone coasting $179 with T-Mobile and $529 unlocked.  In the US the unlocked version really doesn’t have much of an impact when it will only have edge speed if you use it with AT&T.  I do like the idea of Google sold phones being able to be used on multiple carriers, it will be interesting to see if the subsidized prices are the same when they begin selling with Vodafone and Verizon.

The hardware for the Nexus One is impressive with a 1 GHz Processor and 512 MB of RAM it is nearly double what the Droid has in both categories(600 MHz, 256 MB).  The Nexus One is thinner but does not have a physical keyboard and the Nexus One has a trackball where the Droid has a bit of an awkward directional key on the keyboard.  Although I like having the physical keyboard and use it approximately 50% of the time, I don’t see much use in the directional pad and would have to think that the trackball is also not used very frequently on the Nexus One.

The following chart from BillShrink provides an excellent comparison of popular smart phones.

Find the best cell phone plans and more graphics at BillShrink.com

Overall, the biggest thing that I took from the press conference was that the Nexus One launch and more importantly Google being more involved in the selling of hardware will be good for all Android phones.  Although the Nexus One is the only phone available for sale on the website at www.google.com/phone at this point, they are clearly planning on adding additional phones in the future and currently provide links to the Droid for people that want Android on Verizon now.

As a Droid owner, it was encouraging to see the CEO of Motorola, Sanjay Jha, at the press conference, even though he arrived late during the Q&A session.  I was also encouraged by the mention of upgrading the Droid to Android 2.1.  The Nexus One is impressive, but with a Droid upgrade to Android 2.1 with many of the features shown at the press conference possible in the future, I am still happy with my Droid and don’t feel that I am using old technology (at least until the next new phone is launched).