Hands on the Google Nexus One phone | Hacker News Reader

Hands on the Google Nexus One phone

gizmodo.com

23 pointstfh12 comments

So it appears multi-touch is disabled on this device also? IIRC Google stated that Verizon wanted multi-touch disabled on the Droid but here's Google's first party blessed handset and it's also lacking multi-touch. Something's not adding up. We're past the point of oversight or third party objections.

The rumors that it won't work on AT&T's 3G (UMTS) being true would shock me. In order to support T-Mobile's 3G (UMTS) network, it would have to run on Cell, PCS, and AWS (850/1900/1700/2100) spectrums. Currently T-Mobile only supports UMTS on their AWS (1700/2100) spectrum, but that could change in the future. AT&T's 3G network runs on Cell and PCS (850/1900). They would have to intentionally disable UMTS on Cell and PCS in order to block out AT&T's 3G network, which would be extremely stupid considering that T-Mobile will eventually move UMTS to their PCS spectrum in the future.

"Intentionally disable" ? I don't think so. There are plenty of phones that get 3G on T-Mobile and not AT&T (And vice versa).

900/1700/2100 is a pretty common set up for T-Mobile phones. According to FCC documents, this appears to be the only frequencies the Nexus 1 has been tested on.

Really, the only reason this is an issue is because of the rumor Google will be pushing this phone unlocked through retail. I don't think this is true. I think it will be exactly like the G1.

In order for your first statement to be true, those phones would have to be told only to operate UMTS on T-Mobile AWS frequencies, which is an asinine strategy. The 900/1700/2100 might be a common setup for European T-Mobile phones. T-Mobile phones in the US are almost entirely 850/1900. T-Mobile operates almost exclusively on PCS (1900MHz) frequencies in the US.

T-Mobile phones in the US are almost entirely 850/1900.

Being that 850/1900 are AT&T's 3G bands, I think you might be confused. I just looked at T-Mobile's and HTC's websites; all of the 3G phones I could find operated on either 2100 or 1700/2100.

Also, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UMTS_networks#Americas

So where's the part where Google, or any carrier, says that this phone will ever be sold to consumers?

All we have is a Google blog entry that specifically says this is a development phone to test new features, and a bunch of speculation.

It all sounds very impressive, but the Motorola Droid continues to have a trump card: Verizon.

If the worst they've got to worry about is another Android phone, I'd say they're doing pretty well.

how long until it will be available?

The rumors are saying Jan. 5th.

So basically, this is the GSM version of the Droid when it gets 2.1. Yawn.

But doesn't it sound like the underlying hardware is faster?

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