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re Reports of Google Nexus One 3G and Support Problems

From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:57:10 -0500




Begin forwarded message:


From: Steve Muir <steve () grimupnorth org>
Date: January 10, 2010 6:48:57 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] re Reports of Google Nexus One 3G and Support Problems
One might speculate that the design decision not to support AT&T's 3G frequency bands was intended to support a business decision to limit the use of the Nexus One to T-Mobile customers, particularly when T-Mo is subsidising many of the Nexus One phones by a substantial amount. Without use of AT&T's 3G bands it's very unlikely anyone would purchase one of these devices but then switch it to an AT&T SIM card - this is a much more effective way to lock your customers in than SIM locking.
The ability to support standard cellular voice over WiFi requires a set of technologies known as Generic Access Network (or Unlicensed Mobile Access) that tunnel 3GPP voice protocols over WiFi. GAN/UMA has not achieved widespread adoption within handsets or operator networks, and Google may feel that Google Voice is a superior alternative. 



On 1/9/2010 10:55 AM, Dave Farber wrote:





Begin forwarded message:


*From:* Bob Frankston <bob2 () bobf frankston com
<mailto:bob2 () bobf frankston com>>
*Date:* January 9, 2010 10:44:33 AM EST
*To:* dave () farber net <mailto:dave () farber net>, 'ip'
<ip () v2 listbox com <mailto:ip () v2 listbox com>>
*Cc:* <mailto:nnsquad () nnsquad org>nnsquad () nnsquad org
<mailto:nnsquad () nnsquad org>
*Subject:* *RE: [IP] Reports of Google Nexus One 3G and Support Problems*
My complaint about voluminous disclaimer was aimed at our legal system rather than the Nexus. If I need a manual something is wrong though it 
has taken some learning to use my Nexus and there are still some
aspects I’m getting used to. But I haven’t had radio problems th at are 
different from those with my G1. Getting 3G from T-mobile is still
problematic – often moving the phone an inch will move it from E to 3G. 

These problems with repurposing a cellular network as a data network
are one of the issues behind my comments on Ambient Connectivity
<http://rmf.vc/?n=UAC> (new). If anything my big complaint is that the 
Nexus, like other Androids, lacks the ability to act as an access
point (tethering) – a feature built into my Win Mobile phone . A lso I 
bought my Nexus unlocked but it lacks the radio necessary to let me
use ATT’s towers as an option. This is an arbitrary design decis ion – after all when companies like HTC, Samsung etc produce phones they do 
them for various carriers rather than for users.

The Nexus (like other such devices) are very powerful and convenient
personal computer devices reduced to begging for the ability to
communicate and settling for a repurposed voice network. For that
matter when I do have a Wi-Fi connection but no cellular, why ca n’t I get voice over the IP path? In fact T-Mobile has phones which do this 
but so it’s a matter of policy not technology.

*From:* Dave Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
*Sent:* Saturday, January 09, 2010 07:10
*To:* ip
*Subject:* [IP] Reports of Google Nexus One 3G and Support Problems




Begin forwarded message:

   *From:* Lauren Weinstein <
   <mailto:lauren () vortex com>lauren () vortex com
   <mailto:lauren () vortex com>>
   *Date:* January 9, 2010 3:13:58 AM EST
*To:* <mailto:dave () farber net>dave () farber net <mailto:dave () farber net > 
   *Subject:* *Reports of Google Nexus One 3G and Support Problems*



   Reports of Google Nexus One 3G and Support Problems

   <http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000664.html>http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000664.html


   Greetings. Various media points are reporting fairly widespread
complaints about customer support and technical problems related to 
   Google's new Nexus One Android phone (
   <http://bit.ly/5MB22D>http://bit.ly/5MB22D [PC World] ).
   The volume of postings appears to have been sufficient to trigger
   Google's "real time search" mode for the search term "nexus one
   complaints" at this time.

   The customer support complaints seem to involve both pre- and
post-sale issues, tales of finger-pointing between T-Mobile, HTC, and Google -- and a reported lack of other than (currently slow) e- mail 
   support from Google related to the phone.
I do not know at this point the extent to which these complaints are or are not representative of the overall Nexus One user population. In these kinds of situations, you usually hear from the people with problems, not the folks who are satisfied. Of course, it's the former 
   group who most need an effective support structure in such
   environments.
I did receive an unsolicited message from a reader (possibly reacting 
   to my "The Google 'Nexus One' Saga Turns Ugly" blog posting from
   yesterday -
   <http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000663.html>http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000663.html
   ) expressing
   incredulity that his Nexus One arrived with voluminous legal
   disclosure documentation but (he reported) no manual of any kind.
Concerns over the Nexus One's 3G performance appear to be piling up 
   ( <http://bit.ly/6keyck>http://bit.ly/6keyck [TFTS] ). Again, it
   is impossible to estimate
   at this time how representative these are, and of course any
   associated
   real problems (if actually related to the phone itself) could be
caused by anything from hardware issues (usually a hassle to fix) to 
   firmware issues (typically much easier to deal with).
Since my longstanding concerns and recommendations regarding Google's support structure in general are already quite well known, I won't go 
   farther into that aspect here for now
   (
   <http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000509.html>http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000509.html
   ).

   --Lauren--
   Lauren Weinstein
<mailto:lauren () vortex com>lauren () vortex com <mailto:lauren () vortex com > 
   Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
   <http://www.pfir.org/lauren>http://www.pfir.org/lauren
   Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility -
   <http://www.pfir.org>http://www.pfir.org
   Co-Founder, NNSquad
   - Network Neutrality Squad -
   <http://www.nnsquad.org>http://www.nnsquad.org
   Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition
   for Transparent Internet Performance -
   <http://www.gctip.org>http://www.gctip.org
   Founder, PRIVACY Forum - <http://www.vortex.com>http://www.vortex.com
   Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
   Lauren's Blog: <http://lauren.vortex.com>http://lauren.vortex.com
   Twitter:
   <https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein>https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein

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