Google Nexus on Bell's Network

[RobK]

Has anyone heard if the new Google Nexus phone would work on the Bell/Telus network?

[BGY11]

The only Canadian carrier the Nexus One will currently work with is WIND Mobile, since they use the AWS 3G band (1700MHz). Bell & Telus use 850MHz / 1900MHz for their 3G connection (and do not have an older 2G GSM/EDGE network to fall back on).

Even when Verizon releases the CDMA version, it won't work on Bell or Telus, since they don't allow outside CDMA handsets on their network. Here again is a guide in terms of this:

[99semaj]

This could be a nice coup for Wind. A super high-profile phone practically exclusive to them!

[jvincent]

I did a quick comparison of the Nexus One specs to the HTC Magic and from what I can tell they are the same so HSPA/3G should work on Rogers.

[Dr.Dave]

Google Nexus

UMTS Band 1/4/8 (2100/AWS/900)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Rogers HTC Magic

GSM Bands:850/900/1850/1900
HSPA Bands:850/1900

HSPA doesn't look compatible to me. GSM EDGE should work according to Google. But Google has a new version coming in the spring that may work on Rogers HSPA.

[jvincent]

Hmm, the specs I saw for the Magic were:

HSDPA/WCDMA:
900/2100 MHz

[BGY11]

There's probably multiple versions of the Magic - but so far,, there hasn't been an official announcement on a Nexus One compatible with Rogers/Bell/Telus 3G (HSPA/UMTS) networks.

[CrazyCDN]

To be honest I was really looking forward to this phone when I started hearing about it the last couple of weeks.

Then today I saw the specs after the Google press conference and was really disappointed. I thought it would be the 'next level' phone and just better than the Droid (or Milestone), but it doesn't appear to be. It just looks like a Droid without the keyboard that you can buy unlocked directly from Google.

After today I'm back to waiting on a Canadian release date for the Motorola Milestone on the Telus network.

[outinthornhill]

Aside from the fact that Google is no selling the phone in Canada AND does not sell paid apps in Canada (only free apps available here), there are other reasons to wait. I know there are ways around these restrictions; shipping to US address, hiding behind a proxy server to access the Google store, etc., but this is a first generation phone. Google has said it is phasing the introduction to gauge customer feedback and while it gets the hardware (radios) approved by the various international communications authorities. That could be read "to find tune the OS" and test the hardware before going into mass production at which point the radios would be retuned to the more common frequencies.

It would be inconsistent with Google's approach to business to limit itself to the relatively small AWS market. I expect another version compatible with Bell, Telus and Rogers within 6-12 months. It will be a much more reliable model (or at least have a more reliable version of the OS) than this one. There is always a price to pay for getting something like this first.

If WIND can get its hands on the Nexus it would attract a lot of attention, but if the phone won't work on Rogers, for roaming, customers would be limited to a very small coverage area. For the moment, WIND would not be able to sell the phones and customers would have to organise their own import.

Even as a dedicated Mac addict, I'm excited about Android but I agree with the wireless industry analysts who state the Nexus is no iPhone killer - yet.

[Francois Caron]

This isn't the first phone I've seen that can support either HSDPA/WCDMA 1700/2100 and HSDPA/WCDMA 1900/2100, but not both on the same handset. Does anyone know of any technical reason why both frequency bands couldn't be incorporated on the same handset? Everything else appears to be universally supported without the need to split the the phone into multiple SKUs.

[jshel101]

but if the phone won't work on Rogers, for roaming, customers would be limited to a very small coverage area.

This phone will work on Rogers GSM/EDGE network for roaming.

[robsawatsky]

Originally Posted by Francois Caron

Does anyone know of any technical reason why both frequency bands couldn't be incorporated on the same handset? Everything else appears to be universally supported without the need to split the the phone into multiple SKUs.

It would take some real detailed knowledge of the innards of the phone to know for sure. But, for example, I do know that for some Sony Ericsson phones, there are different chipsets used in the transceiver circuits that vary for the phone models that support UMTS 850/1900/2100 and 900/2100 (or just 2100). So, the same may apply here. Plus, there is the matter of tweaking/tuning the phone to work across multiple bands and also qualify it to the radio regulatory authority requirements in multiple jurisdictions (the big ones being European and US (FCC)).

[bete_noir]

David Olive's take on the Google Nexus...

http://www.thestar.com/business/arti...afford-to-lose

[jpaik]

IIRC, this handset is now in the hands of T-Mobile (deemed to be a bit player in the US cellco world):WIND and T-Mobile have the same spectrum. I think WIND has enough problems on its plate right now (coverage, reliability, etc.) it should not add to them with this handset.

[Veee]

Looks like Wind is in talks with Google to bring the N1 to Canada.

http://twitter.com/WINDmobile