New Software Update for Nexus One phones
Starting today, Nexus One users will begin to receive an over-the-air software update on their phones. This update provides some great new features, and fixes a few problems that some users might have experienced, including:
Context & Ripple Effects
A week after Google attributed Nexus One 3G complaints to coverage and software issues and signaled a patch, the company is delivering on that response through an over-the-air fix for reported 3G problems. The update also arrives after Google reworked the phone’s pricing options, making post-sale reliability part of the Nexus One’s purchase proposition.
First-order effects
- Nexus One owners receive feature additions and fixes without returning devices or waiting for a separate service intervention.
- Google can directly address the software component of the 3G complaints it had identified, while coverage-related limitations remain outside the update’s scope.
Second-order effects
- The repair strengthens Google’s revised Nexus One sales proposition by reducing a visible early usability objection for prospective buyers.
- Over-the-air delivery gives Google a faster support channel than hardware or retail changes, concentrating customer experience responsibility with the phone maker.
Third-order effects
- If Google continues using over-the-air updates to resolve early device issues, handset competition will place more weight on the speed and reliability of post-sale software maintenance.
- The Nexus One points toward phones being managed as evolving software products, where launch quality is measured partly by how quickly vendors can correct defects across installed devices.
The trend: Smartphone vendors are making over-the-air software delivery a core mechanism for maintaining devices and protecting the value of their hardware launches.