
Google Android Director on Nexus Strategy - iProject
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/android-nexus-strategy/
======
Terretta
Kudos to Google for ditching the LTE buzztech in favor of better battery life
and better global compatibility while offering ample bandwidth performance for
a mobile device with these rendering latencies.

Jeers to the blogopress for piling on iPhone 4s for making the same right call
a year earlier, and to Apple for putting out iPhone 5 that is less "world
compatible" than the 4s in order to offer the LTE buzztech.

// disclaimer: own Google Galaxy Nexus and iPhone 4s

~~~
czhiddy
According to AnandTech, the Nexus 4 gets about half the battery life while
browsing on 3G compared to the iPhone5 on LTE.

[http://www.anandtech.com/show/6425/google-nexus-4-and-
nexus-...](http://www.anandtech.com/show/6425/google-nexus-4-and-
nexus-10-review/2)

~~~
pook1e
From the same article:

> As always we test across multiple air interfaces (3G, 4G LTE, WiFi), but due
> to the increased network load we actually find that on a given process
> technology we see an increase in battery life on faster network connections.
> The why is quite simple to understand: the faster a page is able to fully
> render, the quicker all components can drive down to their idle power
> states.

If you compare the Nexus 4 on 3G (4.18) and the iPhone 5 on 3G (4.55), the
scores are actually very close.

~~~
czhiddy
The post I was responding to praised Google for ditching LTE buzztech in favor
of (among other things) better battery life. Real world data shows that this
isn't the case - the "buzztech" actually provides an enormous boost to battery
life.

~~~
pook1e
I'd be very careful claiming that LTE provides an "enormous boost to battery
life" based on a benchmark that loads web pages at a fixed interval, with
fixed brightness, and with minimal caching.

In this particular benchmark, it is very clear that LTE is the winner across
the board. In 'real world usage', I have to disagree. I'm sure anyone with an
LTE phone will tell you that disabling the LTE radio absolutely gives a boost
in day-to-day battery life.

~~~
Terretta
> "In 'real world usage', I have to disagree. I'm sure anyone with an LTE
> phone will tell you that disabling the LTE radio absolutely gives a boost in
> day-to-day battery life."

This has been my experience as well. I find that in every day use, especially
in areas not saturated with strong LTE, it can become a battery suck.

I'm certain downloading a 200 mb PDF over LTE in Manhattan takes less power
than downloading that PDF over HSDPA+, GSM, or GPRS. But in my experience with
several devices, having LTE on all day in Fairfield County, finding it
sometimes but often not, takes more power in so-called "standby".

------
bryanlarsen
The Nexus 4 and the Nexus 7 are going to sell really well IMO. The Nexus 4 is
the most compelling phone for anybody who prefers Android and doesn't need
LTE. The Nexus 7's advantage on price and display will mean that some will
prefer it to the iPad mini.

But what about the Nexus 10? It's price point is high enough that the price
difference against the iPad is not as significant, and it's expensive enough
that you can't buy it as easily on a whim and assume that "the apps will
come". It's biggest advantage against the iPad is that it has an open
ecosystem, but that's not an advantage unless there are apps that take
advantage of that.

Any thoughts on potential "killer apps" for the Nexus 10?

XBMC may be it for some.

Another might be its potential as a laptop replacement for developers. Some
people use an iPad for remote development, but a Nexus 10 should be powerful
enough and open enough to support local development.

~~~
scopendo
For my family with six kids, the killer feature is multi-user support. We have
an iPad but I find I don't use it effectively because I don't stay logged into
e-mail, facebook, etc.

However, stubborness will probably prevent me getting one because here in the
UK there is a delta of £40 between the 16GB and 32GB Nexus 7, but a £70 delta
between the 16GB and 32GB Nexus 10 - all else being the same (I think getting
a 16GB device is a bit risky with increasing app sizes).

------
martythemaniak
"$299 for an unlocked Nexus 4 — I think that’s pretty revolutionary."

Yep. Rather than LTE or OIS, this is in fact the killer feature of the Nexus
lineup for this year and it's going to make a huge difference to a lot of
people.

------
jonathansizz
I'm really happy with my new 32GB Nexus 7. I'm wondering whether a device of
this size with cellular radio (like the forthcoming Nexus 7) could replace
both larger tablets and smartphones as many people's only portable device?

The form factor seems to be right in the sweet spot for portability versus
usability, i.e. it's much less bulky than a full-size tablet, is much less
expensive and also offers substantially better battery life, whilst retaining
a screen large enough for pleasant video watching, gaming and especially web
browsing and ebook reading, criteria which even the largest smartphone cannot
compete with.

I'd love it if there was a Nexus 6.5 and a Nexus 6 to compare with the Nexus 7
though, as I think 7" is definitely right at the upper end of the ideal size
range.

~~~
hollerith
>I'm really happy with my new 32GB Nexus 7. I'm wondering whether a device of
this size with cellular radio could replace both larger tablets and
smartphones as many people's only portable device?

You are not the only one:
[http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57491099-1/google-
nexus-...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57491099-1/google-nexus-7-is-
almost-the-only-device-i-need/)

An important constraint IMHO is whether the user can pick it up with one hand
when the device is lying flat on a horizontal surface.

The iPad does not meet this constraint: although my hands are very large
compared to most men's and although I can technically pick up an iPad this
way, doing so is very uncomfortable and my grip cannot be particularly secure.
Even the Surface RT is smaller (.54 inches smaller to be exact) in the
relevant dimension (the dimension that has to be spanned by thumb and middle
finger) despite its screen having 1.166 times as much area as the iPad's.
(This is possible since the Surface RT has an 16:9 aspect ratio versus the 4:3
aspect ratio of the iPad).

ADDED. Most heavy users of computers will of course want at least one device
that meets that constraint (namely, being able to be picked up and held
comfortably with one hand) e.g., a smartphone or a 7" tablet or a 7.7" tablet
(like the Samsung Galaxy 7.7 or the Toshiba Excite 7 -- the only 2 shipping
tablets with AMOLED btw) or (if they have big hands) a 7.9" 4:3 tablet (the
iPad mini). I predict that in the years to come many of them who want a
second, bigger mobile device will prefer a device with a 11.6" screen (like
the small Macbook Air or one of the many Windows 8 tablets with an Atom or
Intel Core processor) or a 13.3" screen (like a lot of popular clamshells or
the announced-but-not-yet-available Android-ARM-powered Toshiba Excite 13
tablet) over an Asus Transformer (with their 10.1" screens) or an iPad (with
their 9.7" screens).

~~~
jonathansizz
I agree, and would add that it's also important to be able to comfortably hold
a device in one hand for extended periods.

Interesting article you linked to. Add a comprehensive range of productivity
applications and improved voice recognition, and we could also replace laptops
as well (at least for most use cases, and with a docking station perhaps for
all use cases). I can't wait!

------
thinkingthings
Inductive charging is a really great addition if it works well. All I need now
is for it to come to the iPhone!

~~~
slouch
What about the weekend travel scenario? Instead of bringing a wire to charge
your phone, you have to pack a charging station. Is that still worth not
plugging in the phone?

~~~
bookwormAT
The dock is optional. You can still use any 2€ micro USB cable to charge the
Nexus 4.

------
cek
If I were Samsung, and I read this, I'd dump or fork Android in a heartbeat.

Google is clearly just peeing in the pool with Android. Their goal is to
disrupt the industry by sucking margins out.

From their perspective it makes sense. It may even be a positive thing for
consumers. But it is really bad news for other companies trying to make a
profit from hardware, especially Apple and Samsung.

~~~
randallu
I'm sure Samsung would do it if they had a modicum of competence in platform
building -- see Bada, Tizen, SLP (Samsung Linux Platform). They've spent
fortunes on these and gotten nowhere; they know what's going on and are
completely unable to gain leverage.

~~~
cek
Completely agree on Samsung's proven incompetence in platform software. But
that doesn't mean they won't try again.

------
cletus
As an aside, the title is a little misleading. I was expecting this to be Andy
Rubin. But that's a minor nitpick.

I, for one, am very pleased with this Nexus lineup (disclaimer: I work for
Google).

The Nexus 4 for $299-349 seems to be outstanding value given the competition
is typically ~$600 unsubsidized. I also consider the lack of LTE to be a
feature. LTE chipsets are still immature, to the point I'm almost surprised
Apple has adopted them. I don't know what they add in cost but they certainly,
by all accounts, drain battery life.

The Nexus 7 for $199 seems to be outstanding value. Google Play isn't quite
the iTunes ecosystem yet but it's getting much better. I also think it's
better than an iPad Mini in that it's widescreen not 4:3. I've lined up a
Nexus 7 against my iPad playing Netflix. Playing widescreen the Nexus 7 is
only marginally smaller. 720p seems to be a good baseline to aim for on this
size of device (IMHO).

I'm also pleased to see the Nexus 10 for $399. It looks like a very nice
device.

I also think Android is starting to coming into its own. I've often been
critical of it compared to the consistency, ease of use and general pleasure
of iOS but that shortcoming is rapidly disappearing.

I compare it to the Motorola Droid, which I have. It's a _terrible_ phone.
Everything about it is just bad.

My only gripe with Android phones these days is that they continue to get
bigger. I like the form factor of my iPhone 4S.

Plus the Nexus devices has the vastly superior Google Maps. :_ I for one like
having public transit directions on my maps.

~~~
w1ntermute
> I also consider the lack of LTE to be a feature. LTE chipsets are still
> immature

Not to mention the speeds with LTE are not actually that much faster than
T-Mo's HSPA+, especially now that there are lots of iPhone 5s in the wild
using up LTE bandwidth: [http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/31/3582684/the-
nexus-4-the-v...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/31/3582684/the-nexus-4-the-
verge-and-lte) (the data in the post is pre-iPhone 5, so the LTE speeds will
be much slower than even that now)

~~~
danudey
When at full bars in my local area (in my brick-and-wood office in Vancouver,
BC) on 3G, I can get 13.83 megabits down, 1.68 megabits up.

On three bars of LTE, I get 20.92 megabits down, 15.60 megabits up. This is
roughly equivalent to the fibre connection I have to my home.

Typically, when I'm outside on full bars of LTE, I get closer to 30 megabits
down, 30 megabits up. This is significantly better than my fibre connection at
home.

So I would say the LTE speed difference is pretty impressive. Whether networks
have sufficient coverage is another question entirely, and LTE on different
frequencies can have severe penetration issues which can negatively impact
your signal strength and download/upload speeds. Still, the numbers reported
in that Verge article are pretty depressing and speak less to LTE as a
technology and more to the poor situation that US mobile networks are in.

Thus: If you are targeting a purely US audience, then LTE might not make
sense, but if you're selling to people outside of the US's broken mobile
situation, LTE is a huge boost.

~~~
bryanlarsen
Why is a comparison of 3G vs LTE even relevant? HSPA+ vs LTE is the relevant
comparison to this conversation.

~~~
danudey
Because outside of the US, '3G' typically includes HSPA+ (and usually means
anything shy of LTE). It's only in the US that carriers have started making
the '4G' claim about HSPA+.

------
hkmurakami
_> There are players in the industry who were unhappy about more competitive
pricing for the consumers. They want to keep the prices high, they want to
force the price to be so high that operators have to subsidize the devices
very highly. That’s not only the Cupertino guys but also for the guys up in
Seattle. They want higher margins, they want to charge more for software.

We simply believe there’s a better way of doing it without extracting that
much payment from end users, because there are other ways to drive revenues.
Patents were used as a weapon to try to stop that evolution and scare people
away from lower-cost alternatives._

Of course it's Google, the only company other than Amazon with such a non-
SW/HW revenue stream that takes this position. (Google's revenue stream being
ads, and Amazon's being content)

------
Tyrannosaurs
Anyone else find the use of "the Cupertino guys" just odd?

What's he trying to achieve by not mentioning Apple? It's not as if anyone
interested in the article wouldn't know exactly who he's referring to.

That said when discussing tablets not sure whether the Seattle guys are
Microsoft or Amazon...

Otherwise interesting piece - in tone the price pitch feels a lot like Amazon
when they talk tablets.

~~~
hkmurakami
That's a good point about Seattle, since he's clearly talking about MSFT
(Amazon's devices are dirt cheap), so the ambiguity is actually quite
counterproductive.

------
crcsmnky
"Basically we felt that we wanted to prove you don’t have to charge $600 to
deliver a phone that has the latest-generation technologies."

That's disingenuous. Without LTE this phone does not have the latest
generation technologies. I think Google screwed up with the Nexus 4. The
previous Nexus phones were definitely flagship, top of the line devices. This
one is already obsolete before it even ships.

~~~
donniezazen
LTE is not widely available. Where ever it is available its unreliable and
inconsistent. You can have LTE chip but what would it do if there is no
network.

~~~
danudey
Living in Vancouver, BC; LTE has a few weak spots here, but in general LTE is
fast and reliable, and gets me download and upload speeds of between 20-30
megabits per second. It's a faster download than my fibre connection to my
apartment (by 20%), and faster upload (by 200%).

I'd say that's pretty significant. I get that Google maybe can't fit an LTE
chip into a phone cheaply, and that LTE is the card that carriers are willing
to withhold playing to get concessions out of Google, but saying that LTE
unavailable, unreliable, and inconsistent just sounds like the sort of
apologetics that iPhone users have been accused of for years (since back when
LTE _was_ unavailable, unreliable, and inconsistent).

