Google's 'superphone' launches in Australia

Google's much hyped Nexus One 'superphone' finally went on sale in Australia today with Vodafone Hutchison Australia snapping up the exclusive online rights to sell the handset.

The Nexus One will be available on a “first-come, first-served” exclusively through VHA's website for $0 on a $79 cap over 24 months.

The Nexus One is a Google-branded handset created in partnership with Taiwanese manufacturer HTC to showcase the Android eco-system, but its release has been overshadowed by flood of other high performance Android phones such as the HTC Desire.

Google closed down its US online store in May created especially for the smartphone after failing to market the device via the web, leaving analysts and technology bloggers questioning whether this might signal the end of the Nexus One.

In spite of this, Google last week released figures that revealed its Android operating system was winning ground from the likes Apple and Microsoft, with 160,000 new Android handsets being activated every day around the world, and over 65,000 apps now available to download from its market.

The Nexus One runs on version 2.1 of Android which is voice enabled and includes Google maps, interactive wallpapers, and enhanced social networking switching capabilities.


The handset is also expected to be the first phone to get the Android 2.2 (Froyo) update when it is launched.

VHA also announced today it would increase monthly mobile data allowance across most of its Vodafone and 3 contract plans with “anywhere from double to ten times the current data allocation, depending on the plan,” it said.

“It's great to be delivering even more value at a time when prices continue to rise on most other everyday items,” said John Casey, director of marketing.

Coinciding the with VHA announcement, Telstra cut the price of caps on its HTC Desire to $49 and $79, and increased the download limits to 200MB and 500MB respectively.

Nexus One coming to Vodafone UK in April?

Google’s first own-brand mobile phone, the Nexus One, is rumoured to launch in UK in April.

Currently UK users are able to purchase the unlocked version of the phone from Google’s website, however they will now be able to buy the smartphone via Vodafone dealers starting April.

Sources close to both companies have confirmed that April is when the company will have a realistic chance of being ready for the launch, according to The Daily Telegraph.

At the moment there is no clear information on the price of the Nexus One for UK but rumours state the superphone should cost around 150 euros with a contract plan from Vodafone.

Hopefully this can also be interpreted as being good news for Australian consumers as Vodafone has also confirmed it will be selling Nexus One in Australia later this year.

Nexus One gets a software update, enables multitouch: video

Google's just released a very significant update to the Nexus One that includes Google Goggles onboard and a revamped version of Google Maps that includes suggestions and a dedicated night mode.

Much more significantly, though, they've enabled multitouch in Browser, Gallery, and Maps -- great news and a big win for the Android community at large.

Finally, there are some 3G improvements in there, but you might have to wait a bit -- Google expects to have it rolled out to pretty much everyone toward the end of the week.

How to unlock and root a Nexus One

This is not a beginners guide. If you are a beginner, you should not be hacking your phone. These instructions assume you have previously hacked at least one Android device.


Before we begin

Make sure you have accomplished the following things

* Installed the USB drivers (grab them from Google or XDA)
* Confirm your device is recognized by ADB (see CyanogenMod Wiki or XDA for help)
* Backed up any important data from your device

Watch the video walk through once to get a preview of the entire process. Your first time might take you 30 minutes, but it can be completed in less than 10.




Step 1: Unlock your bootloader

In order to flash a new recovery image, you must unlock your bootloader. This process is quite simple, but it will wipe your phone.

* Reboot phone into fastboot: Power off device and hold down trackball while powering back on. (The fastboot screen is the one with the Androids on skateboards)
* Open a command prompt and navigate to your Android SDK tools folder.
* Type ‘fastboot devices‘ to make sure your phone is recognized.
* Type ‘fastboot oem unlock‘ to unlock the bootloader.
* Use volume keys to navigate to yes and press the power button to confirm.


Step 2: Flash a new recovery image

Next we will download a new recovery image that allows us to flash custom zip packages.

* Visit XDA and download Amon_RA’s recovery image for the Nexus One.
* Copy the file to your Android SDK tools folder.
* Open a command prompt and navigate to your Android SDK tools folder.
* Type ‘fastboot flash recovery recovery-RA-nexus-v1.5.3.img‘. (Note filename will change as recovery image is updated)



Step 3: Boot into recovery mode and flash N1 Addon

Now that the new recovery image is installed, it is time to reboot into recovery mode and flash a custom zip package. Since your phone was just wiped, you might have to enable usb debugging again so ADB and fastboot commands will work.

Double check: Go to Settings > Application settings > Development > USB debugging (enable)

For this guide we will be flashing Cyanogen’s N1 Addon.

* Visit XDA and download Cyanogen’s N1 Addon. (or any other custom .zip file you want to flash)
* Copy the .zip file to the root directory of your SD card.
* Open a command prompt and navigate to your Android SDK tools folder.
* Type ‘adb reboot recovery‘ to reboot the phone into recovery mode. (The recovery screen says “Android system recovery” with green text on black background)
* Use the trackball to navigate to “Flash zip from sdcard” and then select the zip file you wish to flash.
* Follow the on screen instructions. Press the trackball to begin the flash when prompted.
* When the flash is complete, navigate to reboot and press the trackball to reboot.

Congratulations, you are finished and it is now time to download some root apps from the Android Market. Search the Market for SetCPU for Root Users, Nexus One Torch, or use the term “Nexus root” and see what you find.