Google’s first attempt at retail has encountered a speed bump. Scores of buyers of its first “own brand” smartphone, the Nexus One, seem to have experienced 3G connection problems.
The much-hyped phone is sold directly to consumers through its website at google.com/phone. Google started selling it just four days ago to consumers in the United States, Britain, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Already, pockets of users have been posting their problems on the Google Mobile Help Forum. Their complaints centre on the phone constantly switching between 3G and the slower Edge (Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution) networks, resulting in tardy responses when they surf the Internet. Voice and SMS functions are unaffected.
One user in the US, nicknamed “manconeg”, wrote on the Google forum that he could surf the Net at only 600kbps on his Nexus One. Using the same SIM card on another smartphone, he could surf the Net at five times the speed “at 3,000kbps, and reliably” too. Another US user reported the same problem. He wrote: “My phone says 3G all the time but my speed is 250kbps which is a lot slower.” Similar complaints flooded the online pages of technology publications Engadget and Gizmodo. On Gizmodo, one irked user wrote: “So, does HTC stand for Hard To Connect now?”
Google’s touchscreen phone, touted as a rival to Apple’s iPhone, is made by Google’s manufacturing partner, Taiwan’s HTC.
It seems that HTC is clueless about the cause of the 3G connection issues. Technology publication nexus404.com reported that one user had contacted HTC about the problem but was referred to US mobile network operator T-Mobile instead.
American buyers of the phone have two options: buy it with a two-year plan from the T-Mobile network for US$179, or without a contract for US$529.
Via The Sunday Times