Google Nexus One Android phone in Canada?

[mjschmidt]

Let's discuss the Google Nexus One phone, whether or not we can get it, will it work on our systems, and how will it impact the wireless industry in Canada.

aaaaaaand..... GO!

 

[chrisyak]

Sounds like it may only be able to work with wind services....hope not...but never know maby another reason to try wind....he,he

 

[loconet]

Good move on keeping the other thread clear.

So, does anyone have any insights as to the rumors that this phone will be Google Voice only? If so, aren't we screwed up here?

edit:

I want:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CJFdG-MARw&feature=player_embedded

 

[Deleted User]

I'll be ready to bet that Nexus One will be the first Android device which Wind will be offering. If this is the case, come April 2010 when my Rogers contract expires, 1.6 or no 1.6, I am making the switch!

I've gone far too long giving Rogers my hard earned money, enough is enough. Every beginning has an end. My end with Rogers is coming near!

 

[bgoody]

I'll be ready to bet that Nexus One will be the first Android device which Wind will be offering. If this is the case, come April 2010 when my Rogers contract expires, 1.6 or no 1.6, I am making the switch!

I've gone far too long giving Rogers my hard earned money, enough is enough. Every beginning has an end. My end with Rogers is coming near!

There are two kinds of Nexus apparently, a locked one (like we have with Rogers and the one Wind would have) and an unlocked one which you can use with Wind or perhaps Telus. The difference is that the unlocked one does it's updates through Google, no bullshit like we're having with Rogers with the Dream and Magic.

To me the only reasons I would ever go with a locked phone again are:

1. I couldn't afford to pay for the phone and needed to sign a contract to get a subsidized phone.

2. The carrier changed the roms to add some feature I needed. Apparently for some, having Exchange support in the Rogers roms is important.

 

[mjschmidt]

Hands-on review on Gizmodo: Google Nexus One Hands On - Nexus one - Gizmodo

I wants it!

 

[vikingisson]

I wants it!

I only want it if I can do a free or very cheap swap from Rogers. Otherwise I'm waiting for the dust to settle and real world usage reports. Or better yet, wait for version 1.1. If Rogers doesn't trade us out then I'll only get one that is unlocked. HTC plays too many games with their toys, nice product but always a gotcha.
naw, early reviews are always pointless. But if Rogers is listening, swap out our Magics and you'll regain a little respect. (however my Magic works fine but I had to upgrade on my own, no big deal)

 

[JackTheMan18]

The real question on Nexus One is what type (if any) of VOIP will be offered. As has been speculated in the press, if the phone is fast enough, we are just at the cusp of using VOIP exclusively for voice calls on a suitable smartphone.

In other words, all you would need is a data plan, and you would have unlimited (or close to that) calls (incoming and outgoing) on your phone.

Think of it - get a data only plan from Wind (1GB /month should be more than adequaete for almost all users), get a DID (phone number) from Google Voice (sorry fellow Canucks - none for you!), and you are in business!

I Google preparing to do this? No one knows!

 

[loconet]

The real question on Nexus One is what type (if any) of VOIP will be offered. As has been speculated in the press, if the phone is fast enough, we are just at the cusp of using VOIP exclusively for voice calls on a suitable smartphone.

In other words, all you would need is a data plan, and you would have unlimited (or close to that) calls (incoming and outgoing) on your phone.

Think of it - get a data only plan from Wind (1GB /month should be more than adequaete for almost all users), get a DID (phone number) from Google Voice (sorry fellow Canucks - none for you!), and you are in business!

I Google preparing to do this? No one knows!

That would be my dream setup but I'm afraid Canada is still years behind unless some big ballsy changes are being made as we speak.

However, I don't think 1GB will be enough. What about non-voice usage right now? 6GB is probably a bit better but I can see it will not be enough eventually.

But I agree - an all data device is where we should head! I dream of the day where I can plug my phone (when that day comes, we need a better name than just "phone") in my car and listen to Internet radio (Car manufacturers and Sirus won't like this) or listen to/watch my music/video collection sitting at home (families can stream their media collection for those long trips), monitor my houses' security system from my phone, run up to date (online) diagnostics on my car, etc, etc. All while also having voice/messaging service over data and without having to worry about hitting a silly 1-6GB cap.

 

[vikingisson]

The real question on Nexus One is what type (if any) of VOIP will be offered. As has been speculated in the press, if the phone is fast enough, we are just at the cusp of using VOIP exclusively for voice calls on a suitable smartphone.

In other words, all you would need is a data plan, and you would have unlimited (or close to that) calls (incoming and outgoing) on your phone.

Think of it - get a data only plan from Wind (1GB /month should be more than adequaete for almost all users), get a DID (phone number) from Google Voice (sorry fellow Canucks - none for you!), and you are in business!

I Google preparing to do this? No one knows!

Why would they have to offer specific VoIP at all? Well, they should to make it easy for those that need it but data is data and roll your own VoIP should also work, in fact if I'm restricted in any way I'll not get one. I've been running VoIP with DIDs from my own PBX for years. And now I'm using it on my Magic over my 1G data plan. Sure I also have a voice plan but VoIP works rather well already so shouldn't be a problem with a Nexus. Google voice gives me nothing that I'm not already doing (and I'm in canada). GV is a great idea but you can also do the same thing yourself.

1G is plenty for VoIP but more bandwidth won't hurt either. latency is more of a concern. Our 3G in Canada is more than fast enough for VoIP but just barely good enough latency wise. WiFI is still more reliable when you can get it.

So that makes me wonder what we'll get if Nexus is offered by the providers. Somehow I really doubt that the big players will allow me to use only a low cost data plan and let me use my own VoIP service. I pay $0.01 for my LD calls and $0 for many of them. I don't care about Skype and other services, real VoIP that acts like a landline/cell is what I use. So we'll see.

 

[Deleted User]

The placement of the advertisement was quite hilarious.

http://www.twitpic.com/v4c51

Source of the article is: http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/a...-brilliant-business-but-is-it-evil/1261525914

 

[Deleted User]

Not related to Nexus One, but I am dropping Rogers for all my communication and entertainment needs.

Twitter / Puleen Patel: #Rogers, I'd like to wish ...

In a nutshell, I moved to a new place, Rogers offered 3-month free internet, cable tv and home phone. I signed-up, got my first bill, was charged upwards of $300. Had to spend 30+ minutes to go through the details of the invoice with an agent. The Billing agent was helpful, but this is now the third time that I have experienced totally ridiculous customer service and experience.

For that, I am dropping them, I can't deal with having to spend many hours trying to resolve issues that otherwise can be resolved by 1) proper training and more importantly 2) by putting in accurate and efficient information systems.

Bye Bye Rogers!

 

[loconet]

Not related to Nexus One, but I am dropping Rogers for all my communication and entertainment needs.

Twitter / Puleen Patel: #Rogers, I'd like to wish ...

In a nutshell, I moved to a new place, Rogers offered 3-month free internet, cable tv and home phone. I signed-up, got my first bill, was charged upwards of $300. Had to spend 30+ minutes to go through the details of the invoice with an agent. The Billing agent was helpful, but this is now the third time that I have experienced totally ridiculous customer service and experience.

For that, I am dropping them, I can't deal with having to spend many hours trying to resolve issues that otherwise can be resolved by 1) proper training and more importantly 2) by putting in accurate and efficient information systems.

Bye Bye Rogers!

What was their excuse this time?

The amount of screw-ups this company has in similar issues is astonishing. Every time I call them to change something they somehow manage to completely screw it up. I'm afraid to even contact them now.

 

[Deleted User]

Here is the Cable Internet portion

Their excuse this time was that everything is system generated and cannot be controlled automatically. However, the billing department can manually override the charges and bring the balance back to $0.

My point is in the year of 2010, I do not accept when a corporation, as large as Rogers, give me an explanation which eludes to the fact that their systems are inadequate to meet the current demands of their customers in providing the level of service demanded and appropriate.

Working in IT and having designed/developed large scale enterprise systems and having been formally educated in the field, this explanation tells me that Rogers is one such organization which does not believe in efficiency and effectiveness of their Information and Technology systems and solutions.

I'd rather deal with an organization which puts the control into my hands. Someone who allows to me to subscribe/desubscribe to service/features in an e-commerce type fashion, while maintaining the accurate level of billing which streamlines my ability to customize and configure the products and services which I want to use and subscribe.

Rogers has failed me, you and many like us in the past and this simply cannot go on! One must take a stand and I will take the stand to save my money and more importantly save me the hassle of dealing with others incompetencies.

 

[vikingisson]

Go for it pir8. Getting weened off of Rogers isn't too hard after a while. You'll discover all sorts of alternatives for everything and things you'll eventually not miss at all. And your cost will drop a great deal. I have much more choice with my home brew system, pay very little, and can live just fine with lower bandwidth. Would love to have the bigger pipe but not at those prices and shenanigans.

I did this years ago and only use them for cell via a work deal and never see the bill. Speaking of bills, holy crap that is a mess. They make it impossible to comprehend yet easy to be fooled which is what they count on just like nearly every other big player. So the marketing department can make a claim but the billing department can't deliver, that's just so Rogers...

Let's see how badly they will screw up Nexus or the next big idea they jump on and then abandon once they get the money.

 

[bgoody]

So that makes me wonder what we'll get if Nexus is offered by the providers.

Google said, right at the beginning that there wold be two kinds of Android phones carrier-branded and the google experience phone. What we have from Rogers now are carrier-branded phones. We must depend upon them for updates etc or root the phone. If I understand it correctly, the unlocked Nexus will be suppported by Google. Buy the sucker, take your current sim and put it in or get a new plan from a canadian carrier with the same radio (Wind and TelBell?).

Check out this Nexus video. Right at the beginning, just after he enters the home page a screen comes up with SYSTEM UPDATE marked on it:

Google Nexus One unboxed-video Demo - ?? - ???? - ???? - google NEXUS one Android

That's why the unlocked Nexus is the only way to go for me. I don't need Rogers deciding that I need Exchange support. Why are we being held hostage by Microsoft again, wasn't 20 years enough?

 

[Deleted User]

bgoody, I agree, unlocked Nexus is also the way to go for me. I am more than happy to shell out a few hundred dollars initially than to deal with fiasco's by my providers. I no longer want to be in a contract and want the freedom to jump between providers if need be.

With Android / Exchange, Rogers made a huge bet on business users adopting android simply because it has Exchange support. But what they don't realize is that Blackberry has the market covered (for now) when it comes to Exchange sync via BES. Android / iPhone will take few years longer to get into the enterprise space. My personal opinion.

 

[vikingisson]

That's why the unlocked Nexus is the only way to go for me. I don't need Rogers deciding that I need Exchange support. Why are we being held hostage by Microsoft again, wasn't 20 years enough?

Apparently not, ideas that force money out of your pocket with unethical or sneaky reasons will always be in vogue. What's old is new again.

Unlocked for sure, it is now time for us babies in North America to finally learn this lesson and fix the problem for ourselves. Demanding fairness from the provider or the feds is never going to work, because it never did when the interests of one is the same for the other.

 

[mjschmidt]

Google Announces Android Event for January 5th - google phone - Lifehacker

Google Announces Android Event for January 5th

Looks like the rumors, photos, and leaks have been proven right.

 

[bgoody]

Google Announces Android Event for January 5th - google phone - Lifehacker

Google Announces Android Event for January 5th

Looks like the rumors, photos, and leaks have been proven right.

Well I hope the part where it only will work on T-Mobile compatible networks is NOT true. Apparently they will work on the Rogers network but only at EDGE speeds. Given the dismal 3Gs speed here in Montreal (1.2 max), perhaps I'll get the thing anyway cause I still have almost 3 years on my contract.

Why don't we get all dreamy here and hope that Rogers is in deep negotiations to bring the Nexus to Canada or perhaps the Xperion 10? Dream on...

 

[teezecrost]

I'm all for an unlocked google phone!
Anyone have any clue how this would work in my situation though? I'm on Telus (fairly happy with them) and I currently have a cdma phone (no sim). My contract is up in under a year.
Will Telus provide me with a sim to use in my direct-from-google phone if I ask them?
Thanks to anyone who can shed some light!

 

[bgoody]

I'm all for an unlocked google phone!
Anyone have any clue how this would work in my situation though? I'm on Telus (fairly happy with them) and I currently have a cdma phone (no sim). My contract is up in under a year.
Will Telus provide me with a sim to use in my direct-from-google phone if I ask them?
Thanks to anyone who can shed some light!

This article clears up some details regarding the Nexus:
Nexus One to still have contract, need $80 plan? | Electronista

To quote the pertinent sentence: "only T-Mobile USA and Canada's Wind Mobile currently support the Nexus One's 3G frequencies."

If you live in Ontario your're good to go...I am so envious..unfortunately the Wind doesn't blow here in Quebec

 

[GreatBigDog]

Just seen a tweet from @Cyanogen yesterday. Apparently the Nexus One has been rooted.

gbd

 

[bgoody]

Just seen a tweet from @Cyanogen yesterday. Apparently the Nexus One has been rooted.

gbd

If I was going to go through the risk and bother of rooting, I would just do it to my Magic which although not as groovy as the Nexus is also not $600.

 

[n1tro]

I believe the specs are correct. As for 3G, it'll support 900/1900/2100 I believe but that should be fine on Rogers too. I have the Acer Liquid that has the same specs yet here in Toronto, I still get 3G signals. I guess Rogers has 1900 towers up and running.

Well I hope the part where it only will work on T-Mobile compatible networks is NOT true. Apparently they will work on the Rogers network but only at EDGE speeds. Given the dismal 3Gs speed here in Montreal (1.2 max), perhaps I'll get the thing anyway cause I still have almost 3 years on my contract.

Why don't we get all dreamy here and hope that Rogers is in deep negotiations to bring the Nexus to Canada or perhaps the Xperion 10? Dream on...