Article by George Norman

On 09 Feb 2010

Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, says that when he got the original Google Phone, the G1, he was unimpressed. At the time Google gave him the device – that what I meant by “he got the G1”. Linus, who says he generally hates phones, was unimpressed by the G1. Even though he loves the idea of phones that run Linux, he finds them “irritating and disturb you as you work or read or whatever” and an “opportunity to be irritated wherever you are.” Linus ended up using the G1 for playing Galaga and Solitaire on long flights.

But the G1 is old news. In the meantime Google came up with the Nexus One, the first smartphone to be made and marketed by the Mountain View-based company itself. Linus’ opinion of the Nexus One is completely different compared to the G1. First of all, he actually went out and purchased the device. Secondly, he considers the device a winner.


“But I have to admit, the Nexus One is a winner,” says Linus Torvalds. “I wasn't enthusiastic about buying a phone on the internet sight unseen, but the day it was reported that it finally had the pinch-to-zoom thing enabled, I decided to take the plunge. I've wanted to have a GPS unit for my car anyway, and I thought that google navigation might finally make a phone useful. And it does. What a difference! I no longer feel like I'm dragging a phone with me "just in case" I would need to get in touch with somebody - now I'm having a useful (and admittedly pretty good-looking) gadget instead. The fact that you can use it as a phone too is kind of secondary.”

Moving on, Google has decided to show Nexus One users some love, just like Linus is showing his love for the device. The company has launched a phone support line that Nexus One users can call when they have a question. The phone number is (888) 48NEXUS (63987); the line is open from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. PST. This is big news because Google offers very limited support to its customers. Forums, FAQs, and email support is all that regular customers, not Google Apps paying customers, got.

"By design, we focused initially on providing the best possible customer support through our on-line channel, and our experience in the four weeks since the Nexus One launch enabled us to significantly enhance that on-line support offering. We have been able to address a large majority of customers' inquiries successfully through on-line support, in combination with phone support from our partners, HTC and T-Mobile," a Google spokesperson said. "That said, our approach with our new consumer channel is to learn fast and continue to improve...Live phone support from Google, combined with an optimized on-line support experience, enables a superior Nexus One customer experience."



Tags: Google, Nexus One, Smartphone, Linus Torvalds

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