NEWS

With the release of Nexus One, Google Inc. is looking to flip the cellular world on its head by offering what it is calling the world’s first “super phone.”
But super or not, the device is not yet available in Pakistan.
“We want to gradually roll out Nexus One to gain customer feedback gradually and make sure the ordering process works smoothly,” said Wendy Rozeluk, a spokeswoman for Google Pakistan.. “The only countries in which it will be shipping is the U.S., the U.K., Hong Kong and Singapore. Those are our first test markets.”
The company would not say when the phone would be made available to Pakistanis.
In a first for cellphone makers, Google will not be selling Nexus One through wireless-service provides, which in Pakistan was be companies like Rogers or Bell. Instead, it will sell the phones through its website, www.google.com/phone, and allow customers to pick which network they want to operate their phone on.
The flashy new device, which made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday, is expected to finally give Apple Inc.’s iPhone a run for its money in the smartphone arena. The Nexus phone is as slim as a pencil, weighs about as much as a cigarette lighter (130 grams) and has a surface area similar to a deck of cards.
Nexus One, which works on both GSM and CDMA phone networks, has a slightly larger screen than the iPhone, is capable of taking five-megapixel photographs and has the ability to record DVD-quality videos. The phone is also voice activated, allowing people to speak names, numbers or messages, which will then be turned into text by the phone and either dialed or e-mailed automatically. Similarly, by simply speaking an address, the phone’s built-in GPS will find the location and provide directions.
“It really brings the web, the computer and your phone together. That is where the Nexus name actually comes from,” said Rozeluk. “A Nexus is really a convergence point. This is about making people’s lives easier.
Nexus One, which is manufactured by phone maker HTC Corp., runs Google’s popular Android operating system. Android offers users a touch-screen interface and the ability to run multiple applications at the same time. Apple’s iPhone can only run one application at a time.
Android also offers a large application store — similar to Apple’s App Store — called the Android Market. However, unlike Apple, all of the applications made available for Android are free.
The phone garnered instant praise from industry observers, including Steve Hilton, head of enterprise research for Analysys Mason Research in Boston, who called the device the “Ferrari” of the smart phone world.
The new device extends Google’s grasp on consumers and tie together its numerous service offerings including Internet search, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Voice, Google Messenger and others, so they can be accessed from a single portable device wherever people might be.
“With this device, Google will be able to extend their products to consumers (and business) on the go,” said Amit Kaminer, a research analyst with the SeaBoard Group in Toronto.
What remains to be seen is how the Nexus One could be used with Google’s new Google Voice application, which is now being tested in the United States.
Google Voice automatically links certain cellphones with home and business lines, bypassing existing cellular networks. Users must be within range of a wireless Internet connection for it to work. In cities such as Boston and Toronto, where Wi-Fi Internet networks will soon blanket the urban area, the software will allow consumers to say goodbye to monthly cellphone bills entirely.