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Verizon Nexus One to include Sense UI, available only online

Taylor Wimberly on Mar 12 at 12:39 pm36 comments
Verizon Nexus One to include Sense UI, available only online

Update: Verizon has corrected their equipment guide. No Sense UI for their Nexus One.

So much for that rumor. Verizon’s version of the Nexus One will not be sold in stores, but it will could include HTC’s new Sense UI.

Android Central has posted a new leaked document which states the Nexus One will only be available online through Google’s phone store. Buried in the features of the phone is the surprising news of Sense UI. The first Nexus One shipped with stock Android 2.1 and we assumed all the devices in Google’s store would do the same.

It is generally expected that Google and Verizon will announce the Nexus One on March 23rd at CTIA. If they follow the same launch strategy as the first Nexus One, the device could be available to purchase on the same day.

If you are on Verizon and were waiting to purchase the Nexus One, does this new information affect your decision? Do you prefer stock Android or Sense UI? Are you ready to order the phone on day one?

Really? Typo?

Comment RSS36 Comments

  1. justin says:
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    this hugely affects my decision. I have an eris right now and the only reason I didn’t want an N1 was stock android. with this news i’m going to have to seriously consider stealing a family members upgrade!

    • Thumb up Thumb down 0

      As much as I like the new and upcoming Hardware the carries the Android OS, these phones still cannot game (see Gameloft.com). I mean the Pre and iDontCare have a Vram chip on board that makes gaming a breeze. When is HTC or Moto gonna get into the game? A 1Ghz chip in a phone is cool, but.. Intel just launched a 6 core beast of a chip in the i7 980x, but if you want to game on your PC that alone is not enough as you still need a discrete Video Card or Vram for a Phone!

    • senia says:
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      I concur, Clearly, Google see the advantages of having a flashplayer on their superphone. A budding opportunity for their flagship device. More details: http://bit.ly/nexus-one-flash-updates-and-mashup

  2. SliestDragon says:
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    I doubt it will have Sense UI. There are so many phones coming out that come with sense, why would they want to take a phone and change it.
    I call typo…

    • justin says:
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      yeah… definitely does seem a bit suspicious that the “google experience” phone would come with a non-google UI… and since verizon is so incredibly intelligent on everything android… we’ll just have to wait and see.

  3. Thumb up Thumb down +3

    I don’t see Google releasing a “Nexus” phone with software that would inhibit/slow down their ability to release quick version updates. The reason I chose to buy the Nexus One (on T-Mobile) was to ensure that I always had the latest and greatest version of Android available, after worrying about not getting future updates on the G1. Seems to be Sense would be a big roadblock to keeping it up to date (as it has all other Sense devices up until this point).

  4. Tenkely says:
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    I agree with Justin that this will affect my decision as well, but in the other direction. I will NOT buy if it comes with the Sense UI. Why not just keep the vanilla on there OR (better option) offer users a choice of whether or not the want some custom UI bolted on top of the vanilla OS?!? Seriously…

  5. Matt says:
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    No way this is real. All of Google’s ads feature stock Android and this would completely confuse consumers even more than it already has — just ask any T-Mobile customer who’s had to explain that they don’t sell the Nexus One because only Google does. Google loves the vanilla, and switching that up doesn’t make any sense. Gotta be a copy/paste job in the description from another HTC device, maybe from the Incredible. Remember when Sprint had an ad that said the Pixi had wifi?

    That said: I’d love to be wrong :)

  6. Jon says:
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    But can’t you just simply disable Sense UI and use vanilla Android?

  7. jdeslip says:
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    Why why why? Why would they include sense-ui? I really prefer the stock android. If phones sold directly from google don’t even contain the stock UI, then it seems the stock UI might dead…

  8. archboy69 says:
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    What’s up with Google that they can’t seem to keep any of their phones consistent? I mean if one does then the other doesn’t? It makes for a very confused options and even more fragmented on just one phone. Certainly not a wise thing to do.

    Also, I’ll believe when I see it. As I know it all ‘Google’ branded phone do not have the HTC touch too it.

  9. sct says:
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    Google will -NEVER- put Sense UI on their phones. Sense UI feels more like a downgrade from 2.1 now.

  10. CrankyJay says:
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    The link listed on this supposed page is wrong. The link is http://www.google.com/phone, not http://www.google.com/phones.

    Me thinks someone is toying with us.

  11. J says:
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    This seems like it doesn’t make sense, but actually it does. Verizon doesn’t want anyone messing with the Droid (stock) and it’s about to kill the Eris (Sense). Sure, the Incredible might be coming out too, but I don’t think Verizon cares if the Nexus cannibalizes the Incredible.

    But then there’s the issue of what the purpose of the Incredible is if the N1 has Sense. Hmmm.

  12. drksilenc says:
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    maybe they arnt talking about the n1 and the incredible instead. it is basically the same phone as the n1 only an underclocked processor

  13. E-man says:
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    I would prefer the stock android U.I., however, it won’t really affect my decision on whether to buy it or not. I’m sure there is a way to root it and get rid of the sense rom.

  14. Matthew says:
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    Thats not fair. T-mobile nexus one didn’t get a choice of sense UI or stock android

  15. HollyC says:
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    Sorry, still loving my Moto Droid, especially if it gets 2.1.

  16. Hans says:
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    I believe it’s possible to disable Sense on the phone. Well,not necessarily disable, but switch to stock android. My girlfriend has the Eris and whenever she was on the main screen and would press the home button, it would prompt her to choose from android or sense.

  17. Daniel says:
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    What software inhibits/slows down their ability to release quick version updates on the G1 and MyTouch?

  18. Thumb up Thumb down -1

    If it has Sense UI, then there’s nothing to differentiate it from other non-Google-sold phones about to ship on Verizon like the Incredible and Desire. If they all have Sense UI, then I’ll pick the most powerful, most feature-full, and that’s NOT the Nexus One. So Google had better think about this and release a stock Nexus One Verizon phone, or else everyone will wait a bit longer and get the more powerful Incredible…

    • Hans says:
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      What’s to stop people from getting either the Desire or Incredible instead of the Nexus if it ships with stock android? People would still go for the more powerful phone.

      • Thumb up Thumb down 0

        Excellent point. That’s the larger question really. If people have a choice of 3 phones (Nexus One, Desire and Incredible) with very similar specs, all on Verizon, all with Sense UI, what would make someone buy the Nexus One off Google’s web site vs. walking into a Verizon store and buying the Incredible or Desire, after having a chance to hold it, play with it, etc? Personally, I have a Family plan with Verizon and if buying the Nexus One on Google’s web site doesn’t work with a Family Plan, I’ll be forced to wait for the Incredible or Desire. Sort of calls into question Google’s strategy of selling phones on the web…

  19. Lars says:
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    The danger being that Sense may not public domain like Vanilla Android. Meaning an excuse not to leave the unlocked bootloader on the VZW N1. Disasterous for me looking for the first truly open phone. Sense is cool but from playing with a Moto Droid, vanilla 2.x seems fine. I’ll take Sense but not at the expense of loosing root at will. Please don’t do that to us Google.

  20. manly man says:
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    What so great about Sense U!

  21. Blu says:
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    I dont care it can have darn sense ui or da android watever.. Either way if folks want the phone bad enough they will get it. I personally love the design of the nexus one over the other android phones thats why I want it so bad. Ive been without a phone for over a month waiting for it to come to VZW.. I have to say im pissed off that Google wont let the darn phone be sold in the verizon store. I think they would sale many more phones if they sold them in the stores like Tmobile Verizon and Best Buy Mobile. Its not like Google has a local store in every state so people can go to the store and pick up the device right away. We have waited long enough now we have to order online and then wait for it to ship to us? One last thing I hear that if your nexus one is defected and you need a replacement that Google charges your credit or debit card for the phone then ships out the new one and then when they recieve the defected device they then credit the money back to your account.. Is this correct or just BS.. If this is true how will thousands of folks without a credit card gonna be able to make this purchase/get a replacement if needed? Or if you have a debit card like I have. Would if I havent any extra cash to fork over to Google just for them to send me out a replacement?? I guess I’ll just be crap outta luck huh? I find this very stupid on Googles part. Think of the purchaser. Everyone doesnt have money to just loan out. All in all I know I really want a Nexus One I just think Google would have much more phones sold if they sold it in stores. It would be much better for all of us. Sorry this is so long lol..

  22. Posterboy says:
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    Here’s the even bigger question for me (now that the story has been corrected)

    WHY are they only making the phone available online? I still have yet to actually physically hold one of these phones. If they want them to really sell, people need to be able to play around with it (a-la the apple store has 20 damn iPhones you can try out).

    Even if they just had a demo and then they brought you over to a computer to buy it off the web site. This is very frustrating as I hate buying stuff sight unseen.

  23. Steve says:
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    Give me the stock Google experience to start with. I can modify it from there. If you want a mass-market friendly UI, wait for the HTC Incredible. It’s the same phone to come out soon and I’m sure Verizon will bastardize the UI.

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