Normally I’m all about how great T-mobile’s customer service is. But here’s an exception – their handset insurance policy.

When we bought our 3 Nexus Ones (Nexuses One? Nexi Ones? Nexus Three?) there was no insurance available. We didn’t know that because the ordering process was so terrible. At some point a few weeks later T-mobile / Google / Asurion quietly made the Premium Handset Protection Bundle available for the N1. It’s $2.60 / month with a $130 deductible. With a two year commitment to these phones all three of us must have insurance.

But there’s a catch – you have to sign up for the Premium Handset Protection Bundle within 14 days of ordering the phone.  Well that was a problem for me, since 1) it wasn’t available within the first 14 days and 2) even if it was we wouldn’t have known to ask for it. As far I can tell they still don’t mention it on google.com/phone. So if you’re ordering an N1 you need to somehow know to call T-mobile and add the PHPB (with-in 14 days).

The insurance must be added within 14 days of opening your account, upgrading a handset, or completing an account change of responsibility. Wait – what was that last one?

Me: Is there any way I can add insurance to my phone now?
T-Mo Rep: Not at this point, it has to be done within 14 days…
Me: But if I transfer my whole account to my wife I can add insurance?
T-Mo Rep: That’s correct.
Me: I would like to initiate a change of responsibility for this account.
T-Mo Rep: No problem.

About an hour and a half of phone calls later the whole account has been transferred to my wife (still billing to the same credit card), and all three N1s have insurance.

Everywhere I go on the web these days I’m seeing ads for the Nexus One. It makes sense since I think most of the ads on the web are served up by either Google or DoubleClick (which Google owns).

But in a way this is also demonstrating a shortcoming in the technology behind these ads. Google displays ads relevant to the content you’re reading. It’s the first step on the road toward true customized ads for each individual, à la Minority Report. Shouldn’t Google know I already own an N1, and use that space more effectively?

All these ads got me thinking about Google’s advantage in the marketplace trying to promote a product like this. Motorola has spent piles and piles of money advertising the Droid on TV, the web, on billboards, and probably in print. How much has Google spent on all these N1 ads, considering they own the advertising delivery network?

It’s a good thing they aren’t evil!

You only need to take a quick look at the simplicity of google.com or the elegance of the gmail inbox to know Google is pretty good at managing user experience. The engineers at Google eat their own dog food (although that backfired with the recent release of Buzz.)

But I’m pretty sure nobody at Google had to order a Nexus One through their site. Right now that’s the only way to get one. If you go to a T-Mo store or the T-Mo website they will pretend they’ve never heard of the Nexus One.

First of all I could only get the order form to work in Google’s own web browser, Chrome.  I tried FireFox and IE from 3 different computers, 3 different networks, 2 different operating systems, on two days a week apart.

That alone is enough to label the ordering process a FAIL. But there were other issues. They didn’t seem to recognize Virginia as a state, even though I selected it from their dropdown box.  Maybe it’s because we’re a Commonwealth. That error blanked out a bunch of fields, so I ended up entering my SSN, driver license number, and a few other things several times before it decided Virginia was in fact a state.

After you complete that form and check out with Google Checkout… well, it’s not clear what happens after that. It says I’ve been accepted, but they mean they are able to port my number.  Why wouldn’t they be able to port my number? Doesn’t T-mobile do a credit check and approve or deny the account? It’s all unclear. There’s only one plan from T-Mobile, and they don’t tell you much about it.  Having completed the order form and agreeing to a couple of pages of Terms and Conditions, I’m done. I guess.

And this wasn’t just a one time thing – this was the process for all THREE Nexus Ones I ordered.

Another quicky on the Nexus One.  I’m rating a few aspects of my initial experience with the N1 on a scale that doesn’t make a great deal of sense:

Ordering Process – D
Order Fulfillment / Shipping – A+
Packaging – A
USB Charger – FAIL
Docking Station – Wow.

Details on each forthcoming…