By We’re not sure if this was just to hold people over until Verizon finally adopts the Nexus One, or if they are replacing it with the introduction of their HTC Droid Incredible altogether, but Google’s phone storefront urges interested customers to pick up the Nexus One’s “cousin” instead of getting a Nexus One.
For Verizon’s network, you can buy the Droid Incredible by HTC, a powerful Android phone and similarly feature-packed cousin of the Nexus One.
While some may argue that the Incredible is a lot more desirable than the Nexus One itself, I can’t imagine there wouldn’t be some left in the bunch that wants that specific piece of hardware. Have you already made this move yourself without Google’s suggestion?
[Thanks, jkOnTheRun]
[Update]: We’ve contacted Verizon to clear up the issue on whether or not the Nexus One will ever be available. We’ll update you if we hear anything.
[Update]: Google was the first to step up with a response regarding our concerns: the Nexus One will no longer be headed to Verizon Wireless.
We won’t be selling a Nexus One with Verizon, and this is a reflection of the amazing innovation happening across the open Android ecosystem. Verizon Wireless customers who want an Android phone with the power of the Nexus One can get the Droid Incredible by HTC, which can be pre-ordered now and which will be available in Verizon Wireless stores on Thursday, April 29th.
Does the announcement on http://www.google.com/phone mean no Nexus One is coming on Verizon? Or might it mean it won’t be coming soon (e.g. not this Spring) and in the meantime, they recommend buying the HTC Incredible instead?
Sheesh. Glad I pre-ordered the Incredible. I guess the info about the screens made this happen? (multi-touch issues)
Sounds like Google is stalling and its probably because of the Touchscreen problems they still haven’t fixed but maybe when Froyo is released the Nexus One will go on sale for Verizon. As an update to the touchscreen problems I have noticed recently me and a few other long time forum members are finally getting phones that are actually working so if you are still having problems do a swap and maybe you will win the Nexus One Lottery. Its sad really but for me the Nexus One being able to get updates asap makes this the ideal phone for me.
I prefer the Incredible myself… but that’s just me.
I do have a friend who wants a N1 specifically… the N1 will receive updates to the core faster then the modified HTC’s or other companies devices… just FYI.
Call me crazy, but I put a premium on getting the newest software updates directly from Google as soon as they’re available. You’ll get that with the N1 and probably not so much with the Incredible. I’m willing to take a small hit in hardware stats to get it. In that respect, they’re not interchangeable pieces of kit.
I would rather have a phone with less issues and slight delays in updates than one that has a lot of issues but gets updated right away. What’s the point of an update for a phone that doesn’t work properly?
It makes sense that they would defer to the Incredible anyway. It’s essentially the same phone anyway, just with better UI and better stats. I just got a replacement Nexus One last week, and the touchscreen issues seem to be mostly gone- but I’ve only had it a week and it took a month for my first one to degrade into touchscreen oblivion. Like everyone else has stated, I am excited to be able to be first in line for Froyo and any additional updates. I’m tired of waiting for updates like my G1. I’ll always have a top of the line OS, even if the phone’s hardware isn’t. No, I won’t have video conferencing like the EVO or the Samsung Galaxy S or the iPhone,(and neither will the Incredible) but hey, at least I’ll have Flash soon enough!
I am waiting for the N1 to be available on Verizon. I tried it on T-Mobile but had to return it because of spotty coverage. I have the car dock so I do not want to switch to the incredible. I predict May 19th release date to coincide with the Google conference
Don’t make any assumptions with this Google announcement. As far as I am concerned, the Nexus One for VZW is a no-go. Get the Incredible.
Just personal opinion here, but I’ll take superior hardware over the possibility of more frequent updates (especially since rooting will be an option).
.
Also, with Google’s recent promises to fix fragmentation with Froyo, I wouldn’t be surprised to see updates coming much more quickly across the board. If Google follows through on this, the Nexus One’s “update advantage” is almost nullified.
I still think the Verizon version is coming on May 19th, at the Google I/O event… with Android 2.2… and it’s up in Phone + Plan with T-Mo right now, just with no radial button or price…
@kwest12 – I hear you on that. What you’re saying makes sense (no pun intended). The only problem with that logic is that the “fix” is a rumor at this point. As the rumor goes, the “fix” is supposed to be extended not just through Froyo, but also through Gingerbread as well. So that means that all of the phones that will be switching to Eclair in the next few months will have to wait again for Froyo and then Gingerbread to finally be able to stay in pace. Given their track record on Eclair, it’ll take a year after Froyo is released that the “fix” takes hold. Eventually, your statement is prophecy. It’s all about how patient you can be for the prophecy to be fulfilled.
So what, thats just Verizon/HTC for you trying to push sales for the Incredible, look at it this way, since the Nexus One has been out the site has always said “coming Spring” for Verizon, cant wait….get a Droid.
Dont read anything into it….
I already purchased and tried a Nexus One for 10 days and returned it to Google. It was a very attractive piece of hardware but the speaker phone was useless and the ringer was not loud enough to hear more than about 10 feet away and impossible to hear in the car or a restaurant. Plus with the low volumes the navigation was unusable in the car. I hope the Incredible is better in those respects and according to the reviews i have read it is. I recommend anyone to read the blogs on the google site about all the problems with the Nexus One. If they fix the volume issues then I would reccommend it highly.
It seems like a lot of people are stuck on the “N1 gets updates first” thing… While this has been the case in the past and may be for a bit longer. There are several sources (including google) stating that they intend on ending the fragmentation of updates. I’m not saying that either phone is better than the other, but don’t let the updates factor too much into your decision…
Either it is delayed and Verizon has updated the message. They were advertising the Moto Droid the past few months on Goolge website.
OR
Looking at the low sales figures of GSM handsets, they have stopped working on the CDMA version. Increditble on Verzion looks a lot attractive to me. And who would buy a Nexus One on Sprint when they can pick up an Evo a month later.
After 3 months and 3 Nexus Ones, I’ve headed for the Android sidelines. As exciting as the Android is and as nice as the Nexus specs are, Google has botched things up significantly.
On the one hand, they might just be updating the previous message that said “Can’t wait? Buy a Droid.” After all, people say that there are 150,000 CDMA N1s in a warehouse somewhere. That’s 80 million dollars worth of hardware. If it exists, it will be sold.
On the other hand, the Dinc has completely destroyed the N1’s market, and it’s a better phone to boot. Yes, I know that some people are concerned only with (theoretically) faster software updates, but they are the minority.
I’m prolly going to go with the Galaxy S if/when it hits ATT, the reception on my N1 is terrible and it seems there’s no answer in sight from Google.
What I don’t understand is why people believe that just because the phone wouldn’t have been sold through vzw that it will somehow get updates more frequently… considering the vzw still is the one that would have to push the update to the phones. Which means they would still be the final medium to approve the update, no matter how much google wants it done.
Lets All be Honest here…..the N1 is for T-Mobile…Since thats all that their Network can handle. They are the Guniea Pig for all things Android.
@Tylar, that is not how it works though, google’s N1 has a direct connection to get the updates from google. they would not have to be approved by Verizon, just simply sent out to all phones
I’m worried about the faster updates. If you folks didn’t notice the 2.1 update for the droid on VZW didn’t exactly happen quickly and when it did arrive it didn’t arrive with all the features of the N1’s version of 2.1 Simple items like additional homescreens were left out.
Who knows what the issues were but in my head moto had the release ready to go on more than one occasion but was held up by VZW’s “quality control”. If VZW’s QC for headsets actually was worth a damn I would appreciate that- but i can tell you from years of experience all VZW’s QC people do with smartphone updates is slow them down. Frequently vzw phones have bugs that the same phone on other carriers dont have (or were addressed in prior software updates while vzw twiddles their thumbs)
After putting up with verizon holding up software updates for years and years on palm, winblows, and now android (see the droid history) phones. I was really looking forward to an N1 on vzw to avoid all that in my next phone.
hopefully there’s just confusion from google but the second update sure sounds like verizon killed the n1.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/192841/googles_plan_to_end_android_fragmentation.html
Google is trying to put most of their updates on the android marketplace, thereby removing the service carriers from the equation. It makes sense, and it would be good for android as a whole.
Screw this. The Incredible is ugly and I don’t want that bullshit Sense UI that can’t be disabled. I’m through with Verizon.
The incredible is sick, I would much rather have that than the N1. The sense on the incredible is amazing. I will stick with my DROID for a while until something really mind blowing comes out, like an EVO for Verizon.
adam-
Others have said that plan is likely to take google a couple generations of software to achieve. 2 significant updates from Verizon is likely to take 1.5 or 2 years. (factoring in their horrible QC, slowness, and the fact that HTC will need to update sense each time)
You can buy an incredible and the by the time you finally get it’s software upgraded to a point where the big G can send you updates through the market it will be time to buy a new phone.
Long term that’s great, but i want the phone I buy NOW to not to have it’s software updates crippled by VZW. I dont want to have to wait another 2 years. My droid is my 6th smartphone from VZW and all 6 have been painfull to wait for updates. Thankfully with android rooting and flashing a fresh rom is as easy as it is. With palm and winmo if it wasn’t from HTC you were hosed waiting.
Plus I’d prefer googles new paradigm to succeed. Right now vzw has drank the android kool aid but who knows what they do in the future. They have a deal with Bing- they might remove google search and google maps and stick bing on it- like ATT does. I’d also prefer to be able to buy phones that aren’t loaded up with crapware too- the current vzw smart phones aren’t bad from what I know- but who knows what they stick on their in the future. At one point big red was saying they wanted to force all vendors to put a VZW market on all the phones.
I have to admit that the Incredible has better specs, but I still think the N1 is a “sexier” phone from a purely aesthetic perspective. I wish they could put the Incredible’s specs into something that looks more like the N1.
i know they’ve got to have some tester verizon nexus ones let me buy one of those google god damnit!
What some people here don’t seem to understand is that so what if Froyo is coming if you are on the Incredible you won’t see it until May 2011 so the fragmentation doesn’t end for you and thats why its better to have the Nexus One. Look at all of the other HTC Sense phones they are still running Android 1.5 from May of 2009 there has been what 6 updates since then. Also the Motorola Droid is not controlled by Google so it will never get updates fast and people should have know that when they bought it. After being with Android since November of 2008 the Nexus One was the perfect phone I was waiting for.
@covert oh come on.. did any of you honestly think that big red was going to do things differently simply cause the phone may have been sold exclusively from google. I would have been more suprised if they actually had. And I can understand if vzw didn’t go with the N1 simply on that reason alone. If it’s my network I would want final say over what os phone software has access to it. Which is exactly why I never bought into the argument ‘updates will come sooner cause google is selling it’ considering big red’s track record with updates. Just because Tmobile is cool with it, certainly doesn’t mean Verizon would have ben.
I have been hesitant to say the Nexus One is a failure… but at some point it becomes a failure. That point is now.
Between the admission that they are no longer working on the 3G problems, and now this, it is clear that Google has given up on the device.
And it’s probably a smart move. Back before the N1 was released, everybody was speculating about how it never works to compete against your suppliers. That is playing itself out here, as Verizon and HTC have created a device that is arguably better than the N1 in a matter of a few months. And on top of this of course, all of the hardware and CS problems are well-documented.
Google has failed with the N1. Time to go back to doing what Google does best – software. Sucks for people who wanted the N1 though.
Last person with an N1 please turn out the lights. Once the 29th gets here, all talk will be Incredible.
I love google…I do, I really do. But this pisses me off.
Screw it, I have been this patient, might as well wait for the Windows 7 phone.
@phones juggling….aman aman….but not a100% aman cause the nexus one would be bad ass on Verizon I’m sure….but then that could mean your still right being if it was on Verizon it would probably be beefed up anyway cause of the Rep of the better network…y0
Sometimes it feels like its a waste of time talking about the Verizon not updating there software and such being that Verizon probably doesn’t even read Phnadroid. I think that WE who have complaints should all team up and email are mail the hell out of Verizon about such an issue…otherwise they never see these post and never care to. I’m down to do it…I’m ready because Version is the best outside this issue of updating.
I don’t blame them for dumping the Nexus One for Verizon, with the arrival of the Incredible. After all, I doubt they’d sell many of them, what with the Incredible being a better phone for virtually the same price. I’m willing to bet it might not even show up on Sprint’s network either, with the EVO coming this summer. You know, it’s really nice to see the U.S. getting the best phones before Europe for once. Okay, okay, the Desire is essentially the European/GSM version of the Incredible, but I haven’t seen anything like the EVO on Europe’s radar yet. HTC, you rock!