Nexus One Complaints Shake Church Of Google

There exists a cult of individuals who believe Google the closest thing to God ever encountered. With the search engine indexing more than 9.5 billion web pages accessible from every corner of the globe, what entity comes closer to omnipresence?

Of course, if Google is God, the Nexus One mobile is a flawed first act of creation. Since launching on 5 January 2010, Google has received a torrent of complaints that may keep the search engine busy well into the Seventh Day.

According to a 9 January post at Slashgear.com by Paul Fang, the most frequent complaints include: (1) poor 3G connectivity, (2) trouble with the touch screen, (3) a contract termination fee more costly than the phone itself, (4) customer service more theoretical than not.

The most pressing concern is Google’s customer service. The search engine divinity opted only to provide email support, promising to answer complaints after one or two days. For people with faulty Nexus Ones, this response rate is painfully slow.

The problem is made worse because the Nexus One is available only direct from Google. With other phones, consumers direct their complaints at the mobile operator or vendor – with established customer service operations, they’re adept at responding to concerns. Yet Google’s decision means it has received the full wrath of its customer base.

Google has also received complaints about the Nexus One’s poor 3G coverage, carried by T-Mobile. According to a 12 January post by Priya Ganapati at Wired.com, the Google mobile either fails to connect or picks up the slower EDGE network.

And if a customer decides to end their contract with Google, the cancellation fee costs more than the Nexus One itself. Cancel within 180 days and consumers receive a $200 fee from T-Mobile, in addition to a $350 ‘equipment recovery’ fee from Google.

This adds up to more than the $530 consumers can pay to receive the phone unlocked.

Speaking to InformationWeek.com on January 12, Ken Dulaney of Garter said he thinks Google will eventually have to provide support with a retail store, perhaps through existing mobile operators. “The online model is not a good one,” he said.

A statement by Google meanwhile addresses the existing complaints: "We work quickly to solve any customer support issues as they come up, and we are trying to be as open and transparent as possible through our online customer help forums. We'll continue to address all issues in as timely of a manner as possible."

Google may yet change consumers’ minds about the Nexus One. Either way, the search engine’s record is no longer spotless; the laity of the Church of Google may have had their faith shattered forever.