The Nexus One smartphone.
Just five days into a new decade, Google released the Nexus One smartphone exclusively in the United States, but technology junkies north of the border are already buying into the newest mobile device of the year.
“Some people don’t even realize it’s not offered in Canada yet. We get people coming into the store asking about our stock availability,” says Hassan Kalkas, co-owner of Wireless Revolution at Merivale Mall.
The 11.5 mm-thick Nexus One is Google’s first branded mobile device and uses Google’s own Android operating system. It also contains the Qualcomm 1Ghz Snapdragon, the fastest processor of any phone to date.
No Canadian release date is set for the Nexus One so far, but social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter are flooded with rumours of the smartphone arriving within the next six months to two years.
Some people definitely find the phone more appealing because they can’t get it, says Kalkas, who says he wouldn’t be surprised if some Canadians resorted to buying it online through eBay.
The smartphone sells for US$179 when purchased with a two-year T-Mobile agreement.
“I don’t think [Google’s] withholding the smartphone to create buzz. In this case, they just took it to the biggest market they could get access to,” says Michael McIntyre, an associate professor of finance at Carleton University.
Google has confirmed the Nexus One will be available in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Singapore next.
Most phone manufacturers initially release new technology into a single market; Apple Inc. waited more than two years to release the iPhone in Canada.
“For companies like Google or Apple, Canada is a very small fish. We really are quite tiny on the world-scale,” says McIntyre.
He says Canada only makes up three per cent of the world capital market, whereas the United States brings in 30 to 40 per cent.
“Given [Google’s] track record of success through search, maps, and Gmail, I see it as the biggest threat to Apple yet,” says Clinton Stark, co-founder of the online publication StarkSilverCreek.com based in San Jose, California.
Stark, an Ottawa native, moved to the U.S. in 1998 and is the website’s lead reporter on trends in technology.
Just a few months after Google announced the new smartphone, Nexus One is all over the headlines, he says.
“Only Avatar and Sarah Palin are bigger, for different reasons.”
Now with the Nexus One on the American market for more than two weeks, Stark says he’s noticed positive feedback in San Jose.
“[People] love it; everything, except the battery life. Like the iPhone, bigger screens draw more power, it’s hard to get through a day of regular use,” says Stark. “It will sell decently, but [Google’s] breakthrough device is probably at least a generation away.”
To surpass or wipe out the iPhone, Stark says Google needs to adopt the same strategy Apple has perfected – develop a line of devices that work in sync with a principle product, in this case, the Nexus One.