In a post over at dailytech.com, it is being reported that the XDA Forums are alive with posts saying that the N1 is having the same issues as the newer Sprint EVO.  This has been especially noticeable since people have been upgrading their N1’s to Froyo.

It seems that Google is not sure why this is happening, according to Android Framework Engineer Romain Guy, but that their target with Froyo is and always has been 60 FPS. A quote from the Dailytech article;

Android framework engineer “Romain Guy” isn’t quite sure where this problem is coming from.  He wrote a response, saying that for the record the “target was, is and will be 60fps.”  Strangely the Nexus One, which has official Froyo support already, also seems to be having the issue.  It at least starts out during the Froyo running load animation at 60 fps (which allows it to appear smooth), but its framerate subsequently drops to 30 fps upon reaching the home screen.

It seems that this might be related to something in the firmware that can be addressed with a patch. Let’s hope they can hunt down the cause quickly if two of the top Android phones have been afflicted.

If you wondered what Google meant when they said the Nexus One would be getting “more retail availability”,  just take a quick look at the image above.  That’s right, it’s an advertisement for a Nexus One sold through a retail channel!  Oh my!  When did this happen you might ask?  Well, it appears wireless retailer and T-Mobile affiliate i Wireless has started offering a number of Android devices in the past few days, including the Nexus One.  I Wireless is now selling the phone for $299.95 on contract after rebate — a good bit more than the $179 Google charges, but in return, it looks like you can select just about any plan T-Mobile offers (Google restricts you to the Even More 500 plan to get the subsidy).  This is a pretty good deal if you ask me.

So, anyone want to head over the i Wireless and pick one up?

First impression, this thing is FAST. Just navigating around the menus, this thing is “Wickid Fast” (as Ray would say)! I can’t recall when an update had this much impact on Android’s UI.

Here’s how to update manually. Note, you MUST BE RUNNING STOCK RECOVERY!!

1. Download the Android 2.2 firmware for the Nexus One – here is the link to download
2. Rename the file update.zip and copy it to your microSD card via USB. [Note: make sure the file is named update.zip and not update.zip.zip.]
3. Power down your Nexus One
4. Hold down the “Volume Down” button as you power the phone back on.
5. A screen should appear showing your phone’s system searching for various files. Scroll down to “recovery” and press the “Power” button.
6. When you see the triangle with an exclamation point symbol, press the “Power” and “Volume Up” buttons at the same time.
7. From the menu that appears, select “Apply sdcard:update.zip.”
8. When the screen displays “Install from sdcard complete” select “reboot system now” and wait for the phone to power back up. It may reboot itself instead of asking you to do it.

Flash it, tell us what you think? Honestly, this is why I bought the Nexus One. For this moment, right here.

Apparenlty, TechCrunch reporter MG Siegler confirmed through pictures that 2.2  has actually rolled out to his device and he says it is very very fast.  As soon as we get more confirmations we will let you know as soon as we can.

Has anyone else seen a system update for Android 2.2 on their Nexus One yet?  If you do, let us know!

Right now you can order a Nexus One online from SFR (French provider part of Vodafone group). Soon it will be also available in retail shops (from the 25th May).  The cost will be between 129 euro on a 12 month contrat to 419 euro on pay as you go offer. The latter is really a good deal as this Nexus One is sim-free and has no SFR customization, no extra apps. It is the same model as the one that was offered initially online by Google. SFR has obtained an exclusivity for 6 months.  The Nexus One is also available with Vodafone UK for free but only with a contract.

Since that day, Sprint has confirmed the Nexus One, Verizon has dropped the Nexus One, and I, yet again, have written a post containing the assurance of a Sprint customer support agent, saying that Sprint is still planning to support the device (for whatever that’s worth).

However, in an article entitled “Will the Sprint Google Nexus One be dropped soon too?,” Matthew Miller of ZDNet expresses the possibility of Sprint dropping the device as well. His logic is as follows: Verizon replaced the Nexus One with the HTC Incredible, and therefore, it’s possible that Sprint will replace their Nexus One with the HTC EVO 4G.

In keeping up with my reputation of being right, and with the hopes that the trend continues, I will now give you 3 reasons why Sprint will NOT drop the Nexus One…

1. The EVO 4G is an entirely different animal than the Nexus One – For Verizon, releasing the HTC Incredible alongside the Nexus One would have been a terrible mistake, especially from a marketing standpoint. The devices have very similar specs. The only true differentiating factor in the eyes of the consumer would be Sense UI versus stock Android. With the Droid already sporting stock Android, Verizon has no need to cater to that specific market. The Nexus One and HTC Incredible would cannibalize each others sales figures. Verizon releasing both, would have proven to be a mistake. In Sprint’s case, however, the EVO 4G and Nexus One satisfy two, completely separate markets. The EVO 4G has a 4.3″ monstrosity of a screen with a front-facing camera, Sense UI, and media features galore. The Nexus One, on the other hand, has a 3.7″ screen, runs stock Android, and is better suited for developers. Most consumers want to get their hands on a “superphone” these days, but not all of them want a massive screen, as it’s harder to fit in your skinny jeans. There are also many people out there (myself included), who don’t like Sense UI and are willing to forgo future video-chat capabilities for a device that will get the latest Android OS releases without having to wait 6+ months. Sprint understands these things and knows that in order to regain subscribers, they must cater to all types of people. One device can’t please everyone.
2. A CDMA version of the Nexus One has already made it through the FCC – Back in February, CellPhoneSignal posted an FCC filing that shows the CDMA version of the Nexus One. Being that devices don’t pass through the FCC without actually existing, it’s safe to say that the phone does exist, and it’s possible, if not likely, that many of them have already been produced. Assuming this is the case, Google has a nice amount of money to lose should they not have an outlet by which to sell the CDMA Nexus One. They would probably accept any carrier offer to relieve them of their stockpile of phones. Perhaps Sprint was given a unique opportunity, back in March, to make a deal to carry the device. Of course, if Google made it worthwhile, they had to take it. Since the device exists, and Sprint is the only CDMA carrier left to support it, Google will ensure that the deal doesn’t fall through.
3. Nexus One is still present on Sprint’s developer site - If you visit Sprint’s Android developer site, the Nexus One is still listed, front and center. Sprint has been promoting the phone to developers since their March announcement and has yet to pull it from their site. Why would they continue to lead on the people who are most crucial to the success of the devices they sell if they have no intention of releasing the phone? Developer cooperation is essential for a successful smartphone ecosystem. Sprint’s not stupid. They’re not going to intentionally piss off the boatload of developers that have been salivating over the CDMA Nexus One.

Originally spotted by TechPinas, this clone almost completely looks like the HTC-manufactured Nexus One, but further digging would prove otherwise. This phone does not sport a 1ghz Snapdragon, it does not have a 3.7 inch screen – instead it packs a massive paltry 3.2 inch – and it most certainly isn’t running Android or anything remotely close to it.

In fact, it seems that the faux-phone (pronounced pho-phone, for giggles) takes its software queues directly from the iPhone OS. I’ve always wondered who would punish their wallets by spending any amount of currency on one of these blatant fakes, but they continue to pop up all over the place. You can have one, too, for $80 (550 yuan) but I would much rather put that money toward a plane ticket to wherever this manufacturer is headquartered and laugh in the owner’s face.

Sony Ericsson CEO Bert Nordberg told Swedish newspaper Sydsvenssan (Swedish only) about the discussions. In the interview Nordberg says relations remain good with Google, which turned to HTC to manufacture the Nexus One, instead.

Nordberg was formerly head of Ericsson’s Silicon Valley operation.

Google upset its ODM (original device manufacturer) customers and network operators when it decided to tear up its approach to market, and compete directly with licensees of its own Android OS. The result was the Nexus One, which is currently sold online in the US only.

This is an unfair perception, since there’s precious little difference between the Nexus One and other HTC Android phones apart from the Nexus’ high quality, expensive casing. They’re all pretty generic and ironically, Motorola has made far more investment in its own UI enhancements to Android than Google did with the Nexus One. But in the market, perception is everything. “Is your Android a genuine Googlephone?”

Like Moto, Sony Ericsson has invested heavily in its own UI on top of vanilla Android, calledTimeScape. It unveiled more Android phones last week.

I’ve been using the Nexus One with TMobile since mid-December as my primary mobile phone. This is the best Android powered phone to date. It’s also the fastest and most elegant smartphone on the market today, solidly beating the iPhone in most ways. In this rapidly evolving market there is sure to be something better just around the corner. But if you are looking to buy a high end smartphone right now, this is the phone for you. The Nexus One is the Android signature device.

Our complete review is below.

Nexus One: The Big Picture

The phone looks more like the iPhone than any other phone on the market. There is no physical keyboard like the Android-powered Motorola Droid, and the tradeoff is a much slimmer design. The phone is 11.5 mm deep, slightly thinner than the iPhone 3GS at 12.3 mm. It is also slightly lighter than the iPhone 130 grams v. 135 grams). The package comes with the phone, a removable battery, 4 GB Micro SD storage card (expandable to 32 GB), USB charger and microphone headset.

The Nexus one has four functional touch buttons at the bottom of the screen (back, menu, home, search) and a navigation trackball pointing device. It also has physical power and volume controls. But most of your interaction with the phone will be through the gorgeous 3.7 inch 480 x 800 OLED capacitive touchscreen. This is the best mobile phone display on the market today, blowing away the iPhone’s 480 x 320 display. The screen is bright and alive, and an absolute pleasure to use.

This phone is also powered by the Snapdragon 1 GHz core processor, which is more than able to handle the Nexus One’s 3D graphics, multiple applications running in the background and heavy browser use simultaneously. Unlike previous Android phones, there is no slowdown or lag when you push the phone’s performance, and less of a need to kill applications to keep the device humming.

On the downside: all this hardware bling is an energy hog. The screen will self adjust brightness and Google is smart about turning down the processor when it’s not being used. But I’ve found battery life to be woefully brief, even by iPhone standards. Officially the phone has up to 7 hours talk time, 250 hours standby, 5 hours of 3G Internet use, 7 hours of video playback and 20 hours of audio playback. Unofficially, I was able to kill the fully charged battery with 1.5 hours of continuous gameplay (Robo Defense) on the full-brightness screen. Be prepared to keep this phone near a charger at all times. You can easily view what’s using the battery, though (the screen is 71% of my current usage), and then adjust the hardware or software usage to maximize battery life.

Overall the Android is a superior mobile device, particularly when paired with Google Voice. Google is calling this the first of the Super Phones. And they may not be exaggerating all that much.

Price And Availability

The Nexus One is available “in large quantities” starting today at Google.com/phone. An unlocked GSM version of the phone that will work in most countries is $529.

Google is also offering a subsidized version of the phone – also unlocked – through T-Mobile for $179. The service plan offered by Google is 500 minutes/unlimited SMS/unlimited data for $80/month. T-Mobile’s termination fee is $200, and some users might be tempted to buy the T-Mobile version and terminate immediately, paying just $379 for the unlocked phone. Google says that users terminating too soon will be charged the full price of the phone, however. But even the T-Mobile version of the phone can be used overseas on trips by slipping in a different SIM.

Google will ship the unlocked version of the phone to customers in the U.S., U.K., Hong Kong and Singapore. In the Spring they say they’ll add a CDMA version of the phone through Verizon, and set up a European store with a carrier plan via Vodafone.

U.S. users can also use the unlocked phone with AT&T, although the phone’s radio isn’t able to use AT&T’s 3G network.

Notable Software Features

The Nexus One, which runs the new Android 2.1, has a number of notable software features that make the phone a pleasure to use.

First, Google Voice is deeply integrated with the phone, as it is with all Android phones. That means you can assign your Google Voice number to the phone, and use it to make all outbound calls and text messages. In my opinion this is the single biggest selling point for Android phones, and why I won’t switch away from the platform any time soon.

Google’s Voice Keyboard is amazing. It goes way beyond the Voice Search application that was launched in 2009. Every text field in the device is now voice enabled. In most apps you can choose the microphone button and talk into the phone, which then converts your speech to text. I’ve found it to be around 90% accurate with no background noise (dropping to around 70% accuracy in a moving car). It’s easy to then go in and edit out errors. It’s a massive time-saving feature of the phone.

The Live Wallpaper feature is pure eye candy, and fun. You can choose a variety of wallpaper settings like Grass (blades of grass wave gently in front of a day or night sky), Magic Smoke (my favorite, draws smoke, clouds, water and plasmas in eye popping colors), Water (touch it and it ripples), and a Polar Clock (presents the date and time as clockwise arcs).

The new clock application, which runs automatically in the charger doc, shows the time, local weather and has easy access buttons to the alarm, pictures and music. Keep a charger next to your bed and toss out that alarm clock.

Google will also offer a Settings Backup service that backs up profile, application, ringtone and other settings to the cloud. Setting up a new Android phone after using the backup service is a breeze. Even without it I was able to set up the phone in about ten minutes with my Google contact, calendar, email and important applications.

Finally, Google has added a lot of nice graphical touches, including 3D scrolling of apps, and a new way of viewing photos using the CoolIris technology. Photos dip into the plane as it there is depth. Tipping the phone trips the accelerometer and the photos dip in the same way.

Notable Hardware Features

The most obvious hardware feature of the phone is the 480 x 800 OLED capacitive touch screen. Combined with the Snapdragon chipset the phone is a real workhorse. But Google has also included other more-than-nice touches.

The noise cancellation feature is particularly useful. The device has a second microphone on the back that monitors inbound noise and automatically cancels it out (anyone who’s used Bose noise cancellation headphones on a long flight will appreciate this). It does a great job of canceling out machinery and wind noise on the other end of the call. In my testing, call recipients noticed a substantial increase in call quality on this phone v. either the Droid of the iPhone. Look for other phones to quickly add this feature, it’s a must have.

On the downside, the phone’s primary microphone is located on the bottom of the device, to the left. I noticed that on calls, when I cradle the phone between my neck and shoulder without using my hand, my voice is often muted and can’t be heard. This is a design error that should be changed in future versions.

The phone’s camera really shines. It has a large footprint on the back of the device, larger than on most phones. It’s a 5 megapixel camera with a flash, but that description doesn’t do it justice. The macro and low light features are top notch for a mobile phone. I took the picture to the right in low light with no flash in our conference room at TechCrunch HQ.

The phone has two available docks. Both charge the device via frictionless touch points. The normal charger turns on the phone’s clock feature, as described above. The car charger turns on Google Navigation, a killer Android application that turns the phone into a connected navigation device.

Google, Purveyor Of The Nexus One Smartphone

The Nexus One is an important milestone in the smartphone market. This is a software company, frustrated with making compromises with hardware manufacturers, that has taken the product bull by the horns. HTC makes the phone, but the branding is mostly Google and it’s clear that they directed every aspect of the development of this phone. It’s Google’s vision of the perfect Android device, from the huge and beautiful screen and massively fast Snapdragon processor to the software elegance of Google Navigation, Live Wallpaper and the Voice Keyboard. When combined with Google Voice there is no phone on the market today that can touch the Nexus One.

Unlike previous Android phones, and I’ve used most of them, the Nexus One has no obvious flaws or compromises. The phone is the state of the art in mobile, and I will use it happily. Until, as I always say, something better comes along.