Category: Mobile
Today at the GigOm Mobilize conference here in San Francisco, T-mobile’s CMO announced the three new devices: a wireless 4G hotspot and two new 4G smartphones from Samsung and HTC.
Availability? You’ll be able to pick one up soon with pre-sale orders starting October 10th and T-mobile retail stores offering the devices October 12th.
Friday the Nexus S arrived and I had a few hours to play with it before heading to the company holiday party.
Here’s an outline of what I cover in the video:
Freedom is the reason I went with the Google Nexus S. I have access to multiple respositories and don’t have to think twice about when I’ll have access to new features released as Android OS 2.4 and 2.5 eventually come out as with the jailbreaking delays (which are sometimes only a few weeks). This platform seems to be about expansion and sharing vs keeping tight control of everthing like Apple’s iPhone.
I was eligible for a full upgrade from T-Mobile so I paid $199 for the Nexus S from Best Buy plus about $50 in California tax. The day before the phone was released, Best Buy announced they were doing free, overnight shipping on all Nexus S orders that Thursday!
All these Nexus phones are unlocked which means you don’t have to activate them with a carrier but the cellular service does need to be a GSM network. To buy a Nexus S without a contract will cost you $529 and Best Buy has gone to extroidinary efforts to hide this option on their website, obscure it from their search and even put it in the wrong category of “phones with plans” vs “phones without plans”.
Overall, I’m extremely excited about being an Android and Nexus S owner!
More videos to come!.
Tomorrow the Nexus S will be released. 210 Best Buy stores will open up at 8am local time to sell the newly released smartphone. At 8am Eastern, you can buy the Nexus S online.
I’m torn! Should go to my local Best Buy or order online. Here’s the list to find the closest Best Buy carrying the Nexus S on Thursday, December 16th, 2010.
What should I do?
Best Buy is currently the only distributor of the Nexus S. It will cost you $199 with a 2 year T-mobile agreement or $529 without one. This phone is unlocked so you can put it any GSM supported carrier.
This will be my first Android smartphone. I’m saying goodbye to the iPhone.
For those of you who were reading this blog earlier in the year, I was so excited to get a Nexus One…until I found out I would have to switch my plan and pay $379! According to Wikipedia, Best Buy has approximately 1,100 stores so this is just a fraction of their potential distribution power.
Here’s the info from the BestBuyMobile.com site on where to get the Nexus S:
The highly anticipated Google Nexus S goes on sale this Thursday at 8 a.m local time in Best Buy stores (opening times for mall and stand-alone stores may vary), and at 8 a.m EST online.
To ensure you have the best experience possible and to give you the best chance of securing your Nexus S on Thursday, please take a look at your buying options:
1. Buying a Nexus S in the store with a new or upgrade activation on T-Mobile
The Nexus S will cost $199.99 with a new contract or upgrade and $249.99 when you add-a-line to a family plan. This option requires signing a two-year contract with T-Mobile and is available only at the 210 nationwide Best Buy locations that regularly offer T-Mobile service. Scroll through the list of stores and use our Store Locator to find the location nearest you.
Pros: Be one of the first to get the Nexus S. Get phone activated under my account.
Cons: This option could land me in the hospital being trampled by Droid fanatics or dead like the Walmart employee
2. Buying a Nexus S in the store without a new contract or upgrade for $529.99
The Google Nexus S will be available to buy without a contract at all Best Buy locations, including Best Buy Mobile stand-alone stores. Find your nearest Best Buy location with our
Store Locator. If your local store doesn’t regularly offer T-Mobile service, our mobile consultants can help you make an online purchase for home delivery.
Not an option. Only if I wanted to sell it would I do this. Some are speculating the Nexus S could go for as much as $1,000 in overseas markets.
3. Buying the Nexus S online or over the phone
Starting December 16 at 8 a.m. EST, you can order the Nexus S with or without a contract online at www.BestBuy.com or over the phone via our dedicated call center at 866 813 2021. The phone will be delivered to your home. UPDATE:Free overnight shipping is now available for online Nexus S purchases.
Pros: I can order from home.
Cons: They may be out of stock, oversold or there could be a problem with my order. The phone could take several days for fulfillment. There could be a shipping issue.
The flip side of this is my roommate said he’s bringing home a Nexus S on Friday AND that I could use it. Well, that sounds very appealing but…how easy will it be to transfer over my settings, applications, voicemail and text notifications?
I want to note that heading home today, I was upset that Best Buy would stage something like this to build up the hype and potentially create a dangerous situation. I don’t know if anyone has ever killed for a Tickle-Me-Elmo but again, an employee suffered serious injuries including a broken rib and head trauma. People in North America are already self-centered so put them in front of a store with two small doors and a credit card in their pocket and watch them stomp people as they clamor to be consumers.
Update: 1:15am WTF? So the Nexus S will be available in ALL stores for unlocked purchase but “select” stores for the discounted T-mobile option?
Available with a 2-year contract
with T-Mobile at select locations.Available without a contract
at all Best Buy stores.
Are you getting a Nexus S for the holidays?
What phone do you have now?
Should I stay in pajamas or hop the BART to Best Buy tomorrow morning? Would love to hear your opinion in the comments.
Are iPhone apps like TaxiMagic perpetuating hate crimes?
Last night I took a taxi home from the Tenderloin to the Mission District. I had the pleasure of being driven by Mustafa, a relaxed, cheerful older man. Mustafa shared with me how he no longer feels safe driving his cab after 16 years due to an iPhone app called TaxiMagic. He’s had at least three bad experiences upon being dispatched to a call that originated from the TaxiMagic iPhone app.
It’s affecting his work focus and earnings and the supervisor won’t help.
I asked Mustafa for permission to record our conversation.
If you have ideas that could help Mustafa, email me adria@butyoureagirl.com
All day on Twitter, people have been talking about the newly released, Google phone. It’s called the Nexus One and runs Google’s Open Source software called Android. Not having an Android, I’ve watched from the sidelines as people bragged about how superior the Android OS was compared to the iPhone operating system.
Well, my time has come because T-mobile just confirmed I’m due for contract renewal February 20th, 2010!
Folks,
I have a great update to share! Due to your help submitting Google Adsense Abuse reports, the site QuickPwn.com has redone their website so it’s no longer plastered with ads.
Make Note!
The Real iPhone Development Team Is Located At http://blog.iphone-dev.org/
QuickPwn.com is not run by the REAL jailbreak software development team
I created a video to show you the improvements. They are still squatting on the domain and getting paid $$$ for advertising clickthroughs but at least it’s not so blatently obvious:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5FdwtCOQGg[/youtube]
Search engine results now call out Quickpwn.com directly (7/6/2009)
We all are busy people. The one thing we can never get back. Today I’ll share with you how I was able to quickly and easily accept a meeting time from Nic for our upcoming meeting on how to find and connect with the right sponsors for our websites. Nic and I were chatting via Skype and he said it sure would be nice if Timebridge worked on the iPhone. I told him I’d seen a blurb about it on the Timebridge site. Today was a great day to test it out:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-VCQU42hEE[/youtube]
