Google is facing a lawsuit claiming that its Nexus One phone has serious connectivity problems, and that the search giant failed to warn consumers of those limitations.
The suit, filed by Florida resident Nathan Nabors, says Verizon's 3G network -- a popular choice for Nexus One users -- was not designed to provide sufficient connectivity for the device, an issue of which Google should have been aware. Furthermore, the suit says, Google failed to warn consumers of the problem, and failed to provide adequate customer service to address it.
"Google either knew, should have known, or was obliged to understand, that the Google phone could not consistently perform at a G3 level contrary to Google's representations," the complaint reads.
T-Mobile primary provider
A T-Mobile contract was an attractive -- if not necessary -- option for Nexus One buyers. That's because, from the time of its January 5, 2010, debut, the phone was available only through the Google homepage, and was not sold directly by any service provider.
While a new Nexus One purchased alone cost an eye-popping $529, that price plummeted to $179 if the phone was bought alongside a two-year T-Mobile contract. The arrangement made sense for T-Mobile, which has been stymied by the continuing exclusivity agreement providing that only AT&T; can sell the ever-popular Apple iPhone.
Additionally, T-Mobile was the only provider that allowed the phone to be used on a 3G network, according to the suit.
According to the suit, Nabors "experience[s] connectivity on the 3G wireless network only a fraction of the time [he is] connected to the...network," and often receives no signal at all. As a result, he experiences "a significant number of dropped calls when the Google Phone cannot locate an available 3G network connection."
Additionally, the suit alleges, when Nabors contacted T-Mobile to report the problem, he was "provided only with an e-mail address to contact Google directly," and "then had to wait several days for a response."
Nexus One already discontinued
Google closed the online Nexus One store in July 2010, following poorer-than-expected sales, although the phone remains available through several small retailers.
The suit, filed in a California federal court, seeks class action status. The proposed class includes all consumers in Florida and California who bought a Nexus One phone through Google's homepage at any time between January 5, 2010 and the present. The complaint charges Google with breach of express and implied warranties; violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act; and violation of the Federal Communications Act.
The suit is the latest in a string of actions complaining about the class of devices known as "smart phones." Apple was slapped with a suit in July regarding the iPhone 4's propensity to drop calls when a certain area of the outer casing is covered. Apple has since offered free "bumpers" to iPhone owners that apparently remedy the problem.
Also last month, Palm was hit with a lawsuit alleging that two models of its Treo smartphone are "saddled with malfunctions and problems."
