The Nexus One : an Unlocked Cell Phone for Savvy Consumers

The recently announced availability of the Google Nexus has created quite a site within the cellular community and it seems as though the stir is long overdue. For nearly a decade consumers have been forced to deal with "locked" or carrier specific cell phones that will operate only with specific carriers. This "locked" nature of devices has driven consumers to specific carriers in order to have the hot new phone (Razr, iPhone, Pearl, etc.) and tied them down for up to two years in an effort to subsidize the phone and rake in revenue from high priced data/voice plans.

In this fashion, the introduction of the Nexus One is a vast departure from the norm. Aside from Nokia, who prides itself on selling only unlocked cell phones, rarely have any carriers ever attempted to offer an unlocked mobile device to the masses. Nobody has done this in the past because unlike in Europe (where Nokia controls almost 90% of the market) where there is one operating standard GSM (Global System for Mobile) in the USA we run GSM (T-Mobile, AT&T) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint). To that end nobody had attempted to create a device compatible with the two and carriers had free reign on securing exclusivity.

All that lasted until January 5^th, 2010

The announcement and general availability of the carrier agnostic GSM/CDMA cell phone Is here and is now and is ready to shake things up. Rather than being tied down to a specific carrier the Nexus One allows for consumers to either buy the phone outright for around $600 without any carrier or to choose a carrier and have the phone subsidized by agreeing to a plan and paying around $200.

The real opportunity here is not just about getting around carriers, but getting around the high costs imposed by carriers. Over the last few years, infrastructure has grown tremendously and driven down the costs incurred by by carriers to supply voice and data. Yet, as consumers we are still paying the same amount or more than we did in the late 90s. The Nexus One bypasses some of these costs by offering consumers the ability to use a pre-paid SIM card for data in the GSM version. With this $30 SIM card installed, consumers will be able to use the Google voice application to make unlimited phone calls. Essentially, with an up-front investment in the phone, consumers will be able to enjoy unlimited voice and data for a scant $30 a month.

Technological innovations aside, Google, the Droid OS and the Nexus One platform will likely be just the beginning of a wave of change in the mobile industry. Gone are the days of locked phones, carrier exclusivity and being gouged for voice and data services.

Learn more about the Nexus One and the Mobile Communications industry at http://www.businessinsider.com/alleyinsider/mobile