Update on the Nexus One experiment. Google has thrown in the towel, admitting that selling these phones on the internet, sight unseen and at full price (unlocked) was not successful. More here. I think that selling an unknown quantity such as the Nexus One was one of the reasons why it didn’t take off. This sales model could work with a known commodity (iPhone) that would justify its full price (unlocked). So if you want a Nexus One, be prepared to deal with “incentivized” sales drones…
Now, here’s my recap traveling with the Nexus One on my Asia rounds.
Singapore/StarHub Green: In Singapore, I have a prepaid SIM from StarHub that I’ve maintained (recharged to keep my number) for 7 years. Each time you recharge, your number stays active for 6 months afterwards. StarHub has a new recharge called “Happy Stars” (yes, that’s its real name) that gives you 120 minutes, free incoming calls and 30 MB of 3G data, all to be used in Singapore and lasts for 30 days. Perfect for an unlocked smartphone! The StarHub network was adequate. Data speed was fine, averaged 800 mbs downspeed. All my apps on the N1 worked. GPS and navigation was fantastic. One minor hiccup is that Google did not program the N1 with the APN info for the Singapore carriers. Strange since the N1 has been officially released there. I found the info on the net and plugged it in. All worked fine. This becomes important later because in Hong Kong, I couldn’t get onto data. In Singapore, it’s “success”.
Hong Kong/New World Mobility (CSL) International Roaming Prepaid: I have also maintained a prepaid line in Hong Kong for several years. AFAIK, NWM is the only carrier in Hong Kong that still that has free IDD (dial 1678) to first tier countries. On previous visits, I used an older Sony Ericsson phone, the K850 in Hong Kong. It was one of a few phones that SE made that was quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA which usually means it will work in the USA. I purchased that phone in Hong Kong and it may have been provisioned with NWM APN settings. When I use my SIM with that phone, I get a big “H” on the top of the screen and I can access the internet. When I put the SIM into my N1, no data. It made calls and SMS just fine. Just no data. I needed to research what the APN settings are and verify that these settings are here in the N1. So in Hong Kong, it’s “inconclusive”.
I’ll post my opinion on the Android OS compared to the iPhone OS later.