Anand's Google Nexus One Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 3, 2010 3:40 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
There’s Pretty Much an App For That
Apple’s App Store has over 100,000 apps in it. Google’s Android Marketplace has 30,000. Apple wins, right? Wrong.
This isn’t a Palm Pre. There’s pretty much an app for everything you’d need on Android. Every app I use on my iPhone has an Android version, most of the time by the same developer. Pandora, Facebook (this one even comes preloaded on the Nexus One), Sonos controller, XBMC Remote, they’re all there and they all work just as well as the iPhone versions.
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Before you download any app Google gives you a scary list of everything that the app accesses. Ultimately there's not much you can do about the list but it at least informs you about what the application will access.
You also have the option of running apps sourced from outside the Marketplace, something you can’t get on the iPhone unless you jailbreak it. Simply check a box to enable running non-Marketplace apps. If you’re down to tinker around with your device, the Nexus One allows it without making you feel like a criminal.
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Also unlike the iPhone platform, Android Apps are able to run in the background. The best example of this is being able to run the Pandora app, then switch to your home screen and send SMSes or respond to emails without interrupting audio playback. Granted this will impact the already not-so-great battery life of the device, but Google at least gives you the opportunity to do it. In the case of an app running in the background, you get a little icon in the notification area letting you know what’s running.
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KaarlisK - Saturday, April 3, 2010 - link
´´The graph below shows the rough costs of simply keeping up with fab technology every two years:´´Can´t seem to find it.
deputc26 - Saturday, April 3, 2010 - link
Thanks Anand, Great Review!windywoo - Sunday, April 4, 2010 - link
Taken out of context like that, the quote sounds like it is describing a graph of smartphone prices, laptops, e-readers :) Fab tech.Nihility - Saturday, April 3, 2010 - link
I just know that after experiencing any responsiveness issues, that within a few months I'll get really frustrated with the device.I still have an iPhone 2G and I hate it. Takes forever to launch apps, browsing the web is a miserable experience and the battery life sucks. I'm definitely in the market for a better phone but I think I'll just wait for something smoother.
One of my main gripes is that my navigation app for the iPhone takes ages to load and if I get a call mid-work I'll have to restart it. Hate that.
Like Anand said, on paper the N1 is perferct but I'll let them smooth out the rough parts before I get one.
Exelius - Saturday, April 3, 2010 - link
I had the same complaint of my iPhone 3G. I bought a 3GS the day it came out and it is a huge improvement over both the 2G and 3G in responsiveness. My girlfriend has a regular 3G and much prefers using my 3GS over her own phone when browsing the web or using the Maps application.If responsiveness is a problem on the iPhone platform, get a 3GS before ditching the iPhone completely. The hardware on the 3GS is roughly equivalent to the Nexus One.
Nihility - Saturday, April 3, 2010 - link
No way. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...No more iPhones for me.
My main concern was all my apps, but most of them are available for the Android so there's nothing holding me back. I'll be glad to get rid of iTunes.
solipsism - Saturday, April 3, 2010 - link
You're comparing a phone from 2007 with an ARMv6 @400MHz w/ 128MB RAM and discounting the model that came two years later with ARMv7 @ 600MHz w/ 256MB RAM. Makes perfect sense¡KaarlisK - Saturday, April 3, 2010 - link
I love both the attention to detail and depth you have :)And I have to say that Android, not WinMo7, is the replacement for Windows Mobile 6.5 in my eyes. WinMo7 just isn´t WinMo :D
LuxZg - Sunday, April 4, 2010 - link
I agree, great review, I think I've never read anything that long about a phone :)And I agree with Android being a true Windows Mobile successor.. I don't have money for stuff like this, but if I did - I'd want all the freedom of my PC on my mobile as well. In that regard, Android seems to be the only option at the moment.
There is one thing that will clearly make lives of some people miserable.. Data rates in some countries are horrible, and smartphones all rely on mobile data connection heavily, but Nexus One is a data-hog champion by the looks of it. Hopefully, by the time I'll be able to afford phones like this one, this will be solved :)
macs - Saturday, April 3, 2010 - link
Thank you Anand, the review is great and as an owner of the Nexus One I agree with your thoughts.Android world is so wide that it's really hard to have a complete review and I think what is really missing here is something about the community around Android, XDA forum, CyanogenMOD , USB Tethering, WIFI Tethering,...