Google Nexus One docs get leaked: $530 unsubsidized, $180 with plan

Picture 6


Further details about the Nexus One have emerged since we reported about its exclusivity with Google this morning. It will be apparently be sold by Google for $530 unsubsidized, and $180 with a T-Mobile plan. If you do sign up for a plan and cancel within 120 days of purchase, you’ll have to cough up the remainder of the total cost of the phone — $350, or return the phone to Google. The leaked docs also offer the following tidbits:

  • Yeah, it’s $530 unsubsidized. Google’s not going to be selling the phone at cost, like so many people considered. They’re not going to save us from the “making money off of hardware” culture we’ve got right now, so this is basically just another Android handset, albeit a really good one
  • If you want it subsidized, you’ll have to sign up for a 2 year mandatory contract
  • There’s only one rate plan: $39.99 Even More + Text + Web for $79.99 total
  • Existing customers cannot keep their plan if they want a subsidized phone; they have to change to the one plan, and this only applies to accounts with one single line
  • If that doesn’t fly with you, you have to buy the $530 unlocked version—this actually might save you money over two years if you already have a cheap plan
  • Family plans, Flexpay, SmartAccess and KidConnect subscribers must buy the phone unlocked and unsubsidized for $530
  • You can only buy five Nexus One phones per Google account
  • There is language in the agreement of shipping outside the US
  • Google will sell it at google.com/phone, which explains what they were doing with that page a few weeks ago
  • Google will still call it the Nexus One apparently, and not the Google Phone

Anyone getting excited yet for what Giz has essentially pegged as a DROID killer? Stay tuned next week for more details from Google’s official announcement at its Mountain View campus… We’ll be there live-blogging the event.
[BGR]

Another Day, Another Nexus One Video [Nexus One]


We don’t know how it happens, but the Nexus One appears to be landing in the hands of seemingly random users. How or why this phone comes into the possession of this guys escapes us, but we don’t really care. Today finds another 5 minutes of blurry and jittery arriving online. Is it that hard to get this phone in front of a steady camera with someone who knows how to put it through the proper paces? The sad part is, we sat through this entire video and would gladly watch another.


Take it from this guy – This is the best, best Android ever.
[AndroidGuys]

The PQI Cool Drive U366 USB 3.0 flash drive can transfer files at 5Gbps

Cool Drive U366 Photo


Get ready for the USB 3.0 flash drive enslaught. PQI has launched its first salvo and it looks mighty strong. The Cool Drive U366 comes equipped with a 64GB capacity and speeds up to 5Gbps. That’s ten times faster than USB 2.0, kiddies. Previously the only way to get that type of speed on a portable drive is to opt for an eSATA flash drive — if you can find one — and even then, most aren’t as fast as this drive from PQI.
Don’t worry if your rig isn’t USB 3.0 friendly yet, the interface is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. The drive will be available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB sizes, but the company hasn’t announced the release date or MSRPs just yet. You can bet though that it will cost a tad more than the average Newegg-special flash drive.


Cool Drive U366 specification:

  • Interface: USB 3.0 (backwards compatible with USB 2.0)
  • Transfer rate: Read up to 97MB/sec
  • Capacity: 16GB / 32GB / 64GB
  • Dimension: 87 x 22 x12 mm

[CrunchGear]

Behold the 24-port USB Hub [USB]

1661_super_usb_hub_1

If you saw the post yesterday about the 10-port USB hub and thought to yourself, “We’re getting there but I still need MORE!” then here’s your answer. It’s a 24-port USB hub. If 24 ports isn’t enough for you then I give up.
This one’s a $70 affair, which seems like a lot for a USB hub until you remember that you’ve now got 24 ports to work with. It actually doesn’t look that insanely large, either.

[CrunchGear via USBfever via Red Ferret]

This is a $2.1 Million Robot Hummingbird and It Could Save Your Life [Robots]


This tiny, flying robot flaps its wings 30 times per second—just like a real hummingbird—and will one day save lives by searching for survivors in wreckage and spots not easily accessible by humans.
So far, the development of this hummingbird has cost $2.1 million and that number's growing. Japanese researchers are hoping to make the robot hover at a point in mid-air—just like the bird which inspired it—as they control it using infrared sensors. Once they manage that and add a tiny camera, they imagine that the robot will "be used to help rescue people trapped in destroyed buildings, search for criminals or even operate as a probe vehicle on Mars."
A space-exploring, human-saving, crime-stopping robot bird? Brilliant.
[Gizmodo via PhysOrg via Engadget]

Google announces press gathering on January 5th – Hello, Nexus One.

Invite


There have been whispers around the rumor mill for roughly a week now that Google was planning on throwing a press shindig right before CES - and sure enough, the invites just went out.






































T-Mobile photo is rather small, we've BGR has broken down the text for you:
Google, with support from T-Mobile, is scheduled to launch a new Android device in early January. The Google Android phone will be sold directly by Google via the Web.
Support for the device including troubleshooting and exchanges will be managed by Google and HTC. T-Mobile will offer service support including billing, coverage, features, and rate plans. Additional details Streamline content regarding the launch of Google's Android phone will be coming in early January.
So… Google is simply selling the phone directly for now, as rumored, and T-Mobile will "officially" support it, even though they practically do the same for any unlocked handset on their network. Google and HTC will be fielding support calls from users.



Never buy an enclosure again: SATA to USB 3.0 adapter turns any HDD into an external

satausb

Now here is something I may just order right now. This straightforward adapter from Unitek will turn any hard drive with standard SATA and power connections into an external drive with no frills and no gimmicks. Plug in the one side, plug in the other, and boom, it’s there on your desktop.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a few raw hard drives laying around and the idea of them constantly spinning and heating up in my case doesn’t excite me. I mean, of course it doesn’t excite me, but it… let’s move on. This is handy for people who need lots of storage but don’t need to move or access it much. Backup for HD video, for instance — my friend, who shoots on a RED, needs tons of space to archive raw files, but likely will only access them once or twice the next year. So you buy some bulk 1TB OEM drives, load ‘em up, label with a Sharpie, and you’re laughing.

And the sweetest thing is that it supports USB 3.0. Not many of us are actually rocking that right now, but you better believe my next rig is going to. So this little doodad, which at $48 admittedly seems a bit expensive for a mere adapter, will last you for years. Don’t forget that SSDs use SATA as well.
[CrunchGear, or buy at Brando]

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