Back in April Google unveiled Google Fi, the company's foray into wireless service. Google Fi will lean primarily on Wi-Fi connectivity, but will also use the Sprint and T-Mobile cellular networks when Wi-Fi isn't available. The downside: for now it's effectively just a glorified, invite-only beta for Nexus 6 customers, and invites have yet to be sent out in any meaningful volume yet.
The Wall Street Journal did however get an early look at the service, and offers up some relatively mixed impressions
According to the Journal, the choice of only one phone and coverage woes mar what might otherwise be a promising effort. The Journal seems to believe Google Fi's high point appears to be pricing, even though other operators (like Freedom Wireless) are already experimenting with similar models:
quote:Under Google Fi's pricing, users pay $20 a month for unlimited talk and text. After that, it's a flat $10 per each additional gigabyte of GB for cellular data whether in the U.S. or abroad (read: $10 for 1 GB, $20 for 2 GB, or $30 for 3 GB) up to 10 GB per month. The Journal notes that Wi-Fi to cellular handoff appears to work well.
Though you must sign up for at least 1 GB, the cost of the data you don t use is credited to your next bill. Likewise, if you go over by a fraction of a gigabyte, you only owe a fraction of the extra $10. It s like a taxi meter that just keeps running, and it s a refreshing change from current carrier billing models, which typically make you pay for more than you use.
Still, it's unclear if Google Fi will differentiate itself from similar fare. Especially since Google keeps making it pretty clear that Google Fi is an experiment not intended to disrupt major carriers, but potentially push them toward some new concepts. Concepts the industry already appears to be slowly stumbling toward anyway.
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