Category: Nexus 6P

Since its debut in late September, the Nexus 6P has been a bit of a needle in a haystack to get.  Google has been sold out of their flagship phone virtually since day one and the ability to order the new phone has been met with red banners of “This selection is currently out of stock” from the Google Store.  Now, it seems, things are slowly improving.

On the Google Store, there are a few models of the Nexus 6P that are in stock in various colors and storage levels.  While I suspect these won’t last long, it is good to see that a few models are trickling in for those who didn’t pre-order or were waiting for review of it and/or Android Marshmallow.  The key here folks is if you want one, you probably need to jump on it sooner rather than later or you may be out of luck for a while.

Nexus 6P on the Google Store

If you have been wanting to get on board with Project Fi, now you can do it without having to wait for an invite.  For the next 24 hours, when you go to the Fi site, your invitation will be instantly approved so you will be able to sign up and start using Google’s virtual mobile operator platform.  The news came via Twitter just a bit ago and it is all being done as part of the celebration by Google on the shipping of the Nexus 5X today.

The #Nexus5X ships today–so Project Fi is giving out instant invites for 24hrs to celebrate http://t.co/t3N7V4FaOC pic.twitter.com/qmpUVHttlS

— Project Fi (@projectfi) October 19, 2015

To remind everyone, to use Fi you will need to have a Nexus 6, Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X to take full advantage of the program.

Sign Up for Project Fi

At the Google event earlier in the week, we heard about the new Nexus Protect program for the first time.  The program covers your new Nexus 5X or Nexus 6P against manufacturing defects or inflicted damages on the devices for 2 years.  Now Google has pushed the button and the MyNexusProtect is now live.  While you can’t make claims or really do much more than search details on the site, this eventually will be the portal by which customers who sign up for the service when they get their new 5X or 6P can make claims.

There was an undertone at the Google event yesterday that didn’t necessarily go unnoticed but certainly wasn’t put to the fore.  Google is serious about Project Fi.  For those who don’t know, Project Fi is the mobile service that Google launched in April of this year and it uses a unique combination of existing carriers (T-Mobile and Sprint) as well as always on Wi-Fi to make calls and consume data on your device.  It is a pay-as-much-as-you-use plan meaning that if you have a 3GB data plan and only use 1GB, you only pay for that 1GB, not the entire 3GB like traditional carriers.  With the base package of $20 giving you unlimited calls and text then just $10 per gigabyte of data, the plan is cost effective when you compare it to other carriers.

To this point Project Fi has been invitation only and only available on the Nexus 6.  Google, wisely, has wanted to control the number of people on the service so they can better manage expectations and experiences.  After yesterday however, it is clear that Google is committed to Project Fi with the addition of the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P but also the payment plan you can sign up for on these devices when you sign up for Project Fi.  While it certainly isn’t the flood gates opening, it is more than the trickle of invites that have been committed to so far.

Today was a big day for Google and users of their platforms & solutions.  As expected, Google announced the new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, Android Marshmallow and two new Chromecast devices at the event held in San Francisco.  In addition, they also announced the Android Marshmallow based Pixel C which will be available later this year.

If you are a fan of Google and have been reading the Interwebs today, you know it has been a busy day.  Loads of leaks and other details about the new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P have been flowing like water and this is all the day before the actual Google event tomorrow in San Francisco.  Some of the news has been confirmation of what we already pretty much know like the specs of the 5X and the 6P but some of it has been new tidbits.  One of those new rumors is that Google plans to sell the new Nexus lineup online only through the Google Store.  Some have read this as a risky move by Google given that they will ultimately be bypassing the carriers who did sell the Nexus 6 and previous devices as well as other retailers.  In fact this decision to sell them online is the first time Google has done this since the original Nexus One back in 2007.

To me however, this is a smart move by Google.  It gives them the cleanest path to the consumer and it follows the trend that the market is dictating, namely people want to buy devices and not necessarily be tied into a carrier contract.  Yes they have to get it right and there are examples of how to get it wrong, including Google themselves, but this could be the way of the future for all manufactures.