Why I wouldn’t get a Nexus One
Why I wouldn’t get a Nexus One phone from Google:
Google made headlines when it announced the Nexus One on Tuesday, Jan 5th. What makes the Google Phone (Nexus One) different than the T-Mobile G1 or other phones in the past is the fact that this product is Google branded and has a lot more technology packing into a slick profile. I also find it interesting how iPhonesque this (and most new Smartphones these days) appears to be. People are raving about the product and there are many blog posts out there that talk about the level of interest in a Google branded phone. To be clear, the Nexus One is also made by HTC like many other Android phones in the market today. It does run the most current version of Android called 2.1 or “Flan”, but truth be told – it’s not all that different from the 2.0.1 version the Motorola Droid is running. The pricing model is certainly unique in that you can buy the device unlocked with or without a contract. It should reach international markets a lot sooner than the iPhone did and will not require jailbreaking.
Google is calling the Nexus One a “Superphone”, but have not yet given a good answer as to what makes it that super. Is it the camera? The Snapdragon processor? I’m not sure. I think the big takeaway for me is that if you bought an Android based phone before this one, you ought to be pissed unless you can get an upgraded version of the OS for your handset.
I see a few problems with the Google phone and the Android platform that keep me biased towards the iPhone. First off, Google releasing their own phone now puts them in direct competition with other Android handset manufacturers such as Motorola. Channel Conflict? Secondly the variety of hardware that Android can and does run on can actually make it more cumbersome for developers who are no longer able to build for a specific device. It becomes no different than any other software that you wrote for a plethora of hardware. Apple on the other hand has three versions of the iPhone and can pinpoint what each version supports in terms of functionality. So developing an app for an iPhone means you know what hardware you are going to run on. The other advantage that Apple has going for itself is that it has a large third-party hardware market for its’ iPhone. If I were a hardware developer looking to integrate with a Smartphone today, I would not ignore the iPhone, but I would not know which Android phone I should develop for. Especially if the hardware cradles the device.
When people call the Nexus One a ‘game changer’, I’m not sure if they are just saying that because of the excitement around yet another device in the market, or if they truly find features and functionality that out-shine the iPhone. Now granted – my opinion is biased. This is my third iPhone (the 3Gs). I do feel though that having a cohesive ecosystem makes it a lot easier for people to build and deliver applications to the masses. When BlackBerry introduced its’ touchscreen device, it was painful to hear people talk about how this was going to be the iPhone killer because at the time the iPhone was lacking things like Search and Copy/Paste. I’m not sure how those people feel now, but the reality is that the 3.0 software quickly made up for those shortcomings. What I am most excited about is the hardware API’s that Apple has made available to developers that should lead to some next generation Smartphone functionality. I remember when the Pre was introduced, there was similar hype, and then with the Motorola Droid. Now with the Nexus One. The problem with all these devices is that they are competing with the iPhone instead of setting their own bar. Apple took a fresh look at the cell phone market and that’s what worked. They were very cautious about third-party applications but when they did introduce them, they did it right. It seems to me like every competitor focuses on filling the gaps that the Apple platform has. The risk here is that Apple can fill the gaps themselves and make the whole discussion pointless.
So what if this post is more about the iPhone than the Nexus One. The point is that I am not planning to get the Nexus One because I can’t think of a single thing it lets me do that my iPhone doesn’t’ – that I actually care about. Unless Google can introduce a platform that totally changes how my phone operates, and makes my iPhone look obsolete and offers functionality that just can’t be found in a closed system like Apple’s, I’m not sure why I would switch? But if you give me a phone that looks like an iPhone and does what the iPhone does – you’re basically telling me that Apple did it right and you can’t do it better.
My next blog post will be about the value of building the ecosystem or marketplace around your devices. Stay tuned. But for now, please don’t preach me on the groundbreaking Superphone that has made my iPhone obsolete.
