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Though we're fond of the Nexus One as a cell phone, Google's extra "recovery fee" remains one of our complaints. Yes, we understand how phone subsidies and retailer commissions work, but the $350 charge plus the $200 T-Mobile early termination fee was more than the price of the unsubsidized model ($529).

It appears that Google is listening. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Google changed its terms of service on January 28. You'll still be paying a recovery fee, but Google has reduced it to $150. We still wonder exactly what an "equipment … Read more

We cheated a little, but we couldn't wait until Google flipped the switch to deliver this week's software update to our Nexus One. We just had to have that mutlitouch, so we grabbed the update online and loaded it on our phone. It involves a few steps (Android Forums has an easy guide), but we were all set after about five minutes.

Indeed, the addition of multitouch fixes one of the Nexus One's biggest flaws. We gave it a spin and were impressed by just how well it worked. Like on the iPhone and the Droid Eris, … Read more

Greetings, sports fans. We're proud to present another cell phone Prizefight. This time we threw the iPhone 3GS into the ring with the new kid on the smartphone block, the Google Android-equipped Nexus One from HTC.

It goes without saying that each of these handsets packs a powerful punch. The iPhone excels at multimedia and is compatible with thousands of apps, but the Nexus One counters with a fast processor and multitasking. And just this week the Nexus One gained multitouch support in a software update.

We promise you: this is an epic battle. So, to see it for … Read more

Welcome to the 411, my Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have the same questions, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Do you think there's any chance of Verizon carrying the LG BL40 chocolate? I don't get why a phone would be released in Europe and Asia but not in the States. Thanks.--Ana, via e-mail

Sorry Ana, but I don't think we will ever see the LG BL40 Chocolate offered here in the States. Verizon does offer a scaled-down version of the Chocolate in the form of the LG Chocolate Touch, but it's really not the same phone at all. If you really have to have it, you could probably get an unlocked version and try it with an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM card, but I can't guarantee you will get the phone's full functionality. Some cell phone manufacturers are better about bringing their global phones to the States, like Nokia and sometimes Sony Ericsson, but others prefer to make and sell a phone specific to a particular region, usually with help from the carriers. I'm sure that's not a satisfactory answer, but that's currently how the cell phone market works.… Read more

Hardware specifications and details surrounding upcoming HTC Google Android handsets are coming to light. Two models in particular, the Bravo and Supersonic, are getting a lot of attention, which leads us to believe an announcement is coming soon. Much like the Nexus One and the Sony Ericsson Xperia 10, the new wave of Android handsets seem to all have two things in common: large screens and plenty of horsepower.

The HTC Bravo resembles the Nexus One, save for a few changes. Like the Nexus One, the Bravo features a 3.7-inch screen with 800x480 pixel resolution, a 5-megapixel camera, and … Read more

We've now had three weeks to play with the Nexus One, aka the "Google phone." After a lot of poking around under the hood, we still think that it's a great addition to the Google Android family and that it deserves our "Excellent" rating. But even so, there are three things with which we're not entirely comfortable.

3G reception and touch-screen Like with our CNET iPhone, we haven't experienced many problems with our Nexus One data connection. It's a little shaky in subway stations and deep inside buildings, but not much more so than other T-Mobile 3G phones. Yet, enough CNET readers have reported problems and T-Mobile admitted as much earlier this month. And earlier this week, the carrier said it is developing a fix, but cautioned that it may not solve the issues of all users. We're waiting to see what happens.

We've also aware that some Nexus One customers are having problems with their touch-screens. We haven't experienced this issue either, but we've heard from a lot of people who have. We tend to think this is more of a teething problem than an inherent flaw in the device, but we'll be watching this as well.

Yahoo e-mail As we've mentioned, we had trouble syncing Yahoo e-mail on the Nexus One when we tried the standard setup. Not only did we receive a message that the phone does not support all Yahoo accounts, but also it wouldn't recognize our user name and password. We finally were able to make it work using the manual setup, though it involved extra steps and information that isn't readily available.

If you're having trouble with Yahoo mail on your Nexus One, and we know that many of you are, try these steps.… Read more

After struggling throughout 2009, mobile phone maker HTC is eyeing an upturn in sales this year, though profit margins are still likely to be down.

Earlier this month, HTC announced a 31 percent drop in fourth quarter 2009 earnings to 5.6 billion Taiwan dollars ($175 million) from 8 billion ($250 million) in 2008's final quarter. Sales fell 13.2 percent to 41 billion Taiwan dollars ($1.28 billion) from 47.3 billion ($1.48 billion) the same quarter in 2008. Results were reportedly hurt by heavy spending on marketing as HTC aggressively tried to promote itself and its … Read more

Recently, I wrote a post about some of the multitouch issues that are plaguing Nexus One owners. Some users have complained about buttons being unresponsive after the phone is powered on for a half hour,whereas others are seeing their touch commands not register at all.

Though CNET has yet to experience such problems, a writer from AndroidCentral posted a video of his Nexus One not registering touch commands. Watch the video and you'll see that when the phone finally does recognize his touch, it brings up the speech input option after he presses the letter D.

To be … Read more

Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney is forecasting that Google will sell between 1 and 3 million Nexus One handsets in its first year.

Depending on your perception, however, that number can be construed as a potential success or a disappointment. Apple's iPhone shipped nearly 5.5 million units in the first year and Citigroup estimates that the first year sales of the Motorola Droid will be more than 7 million.

So if it's such a powerful handset, why the lowered expectations for the Nexus One? It all boils down to Google's approach. For now, the device is only … Read more