Anand's Google Nexus One Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 3, 2010 3:40 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Made for Google, by Google
From the very start you're made well aware that the Nexus One, as any other Android phone, is built for tight integration with Google's online services. Things like Google docs, Gmail, Google Talk and Google Voice are all well coupled to the OS. To even start using the device you have to provide or sign up for a Google account. While this is what all companies in Google's position have tried to do (Microsoft pushing Live and Hotmail, Apple pushing Quicktime, iTunes, Mobile Me) the difference here is that virtually all of Google's services are among the best in their class, and they're all free.
I can't really complain about Android's integration with Google apps other than to say that I feel like I'm contributing to making an entity that is seemingly innocent today, even more powerful. Maybe one day we'll pay for giving Google so much power and access, but for now just enjoy the convenience.
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The integration is visible on so many levels. For example, instead of just a single Email icon you have two apps: a Gmail app and an Email app. Distinguishing between Gmail and Email? Interesting.
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By default the Gmail app lives on its own homescreen but obviously you can move it anywhere. The two apps work pretty much the same way but the Gmail app is obviously more flexible. You can search your inbox, you get a grey instead of a black background and of course Gmail on Android supports push. Otherwise, the two apps are rather similar in functionality.
There's integrated Google Talk support, which is also a welcome change from the iPhone's lack of any integrated messenger (you have to rely on 3rd party apps for that). You get new messages and chat invitations as notifications in the upper left hand of your screen just like you would a text message or a missed call.
Google Maps ships with the device and it's ridiculously fast. There's finally multitouch support in the app so it's just as functional as the Maps application on the iPhone, it's just faster on the Nexus One.
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Google Maps for Android also fully supports the Nexus One's integrated GPS and compass, so you have an idea of exactly where you are and what direction you're facing. While these are both features echoed on the iPhone, Google one-ups Cupertino by offering a built in, free of charge, navigation app that integrates with Google Maps.
That's right, you get turn by turn navigation directions with voice for free with the Nexus One. The obvious limitation is that map data is streamed to the phone in real time and not stored on the device like on a dedicated portable nav unit. So if you're in a location where you don't have data access then you do lose navigation.
Nav can run in the background
The turn by turn directions work quite well, although you'll need to remember that the loud speaker on the Nexus One is on its backside so keep it free of obstruction if you're trying to hear the directions.
All in all it's a huge improvement over what the iPhone offers. Turn by turn navigation support can be enabled on the iPhone through 3rd party applications (expensive ones at that), so this isn't a feature that will ultimately drive users to the Nexus One, but it's one that is definitely appreciated.
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coolVariable - Saturday, April 10, 2010 - link
Oh, STFU you fanboy.1. No calendar sync. Buggy Contact sync (e.g. contact pics, birthdays, ...). Buggy e-mail sync (just stops randomly). STFU since you have no clue what you are talking about.
3. A phone that can't even make calls. GREAT!!!! I don't fvcking care what the reason for the problem is. A $600 phone should be able to make a fvcking phone call!!!!!!
4. Love your little walled garden? Why don't you get an Apple phone if you are soooooo in love with a company locking down the functionality of your phone???????? Anand bad-mouthes Apple for its walled garden and ignores this "walled garden"???
5. Walled garden! Walled garden! Walled garden! Walled garden!
All of the above are pretty big problems with android per se and the Nexus One specifically!
It's pathetic that they weren't even mentioned during this review.
Not to mention the myriad of other (often cosmetic) problems and bugs with android (e.g. contact sort, etc).
And a tech-savy reviewer would have also mentioned the hypocrisy that you need to "jailbreak" android to do a lot of things. While that is fine, it pretty hypocritical that you can't "un-jailbreak" the Nexus One for a warranty exchange (something that is pretty easy to do with the iphone).
ruzveh - Sunday, April 11, 2010 - link
Anand nice article and m also looking fwd to buy one phone in near future from GoogleFrom my point of view is that 1GHz processor with 65nm is draining the battery life. Imagine if u insert 1GHz processor with 32nm (todays std) or even less will boost ur battery life almost double. I dont understand so called this chip company why not jumping onto 32nm bandwagon or to somewhat 25nm or even less?
i just feel these cos r wasting so called resources and time for money / profits. Dont they knw resources r limited and so purchasing power.
Thats secondary thing. Ohh what? r u thing i forgot to mention primary issue? lolz
Well its obvious.. Innovation in Battery power. What i hate in mobiles are speed and battery life for which i m ending up using my cell ph for only calls & ofcourse sms since past 8yrs 6630 and not willing to change untill they come up with good phones..
coming back to battery life i really dont understand why these cos r not doing something in batter life when there is lot of room for improvement in it like todays model feature only 1500mah battery power wheres a small pencil cell can go all the upto 3000mah or even more. We definitely want to see double the capacity then what they r featuring today.. Anand can u clear me on this prospect?
I am v much sure if v give proper attention in this area we can do wonders. Comon someone has to do something sooner or the later...
7.saturnine - Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - link
I don't understand the trend of putting as few physical buttons on a device as possible. How do you skip or pause music when the device is in your pocket? Pull it out, unlock the screen, find the music app & press the button? That is ridiculous.On my HTC Touch (WinMo6) it has hardly any buttons either, but at least one programmable physical button (that I have programmed to open the camera from any app I am in) & a directional pad/enter button. Sometimes I just like using the directional pad to go through menus & select something rather than moving my thumb all the way up the screen. Yes that sounds incredibly lazy, but aren't these devices all about ease of use, simplicity & speed? Programmable hardware buttons do just that. They are focusing too much on the aspect of a touch screen.
Affectionate-Bed-980 - Thursday, April 15, 2010 - link
This seems to be a forgotten thing. I spent 2 hrs playing around writing probably pages worth of notes just to test it out on Android.You say the iPhone lackED it? I have an iPod Touch 1G and I guess I'm used to multitouch by now, but how long did it take for Apple to add it? I notice how ridiculously fast I can type on it and not skip words/keys. On Android, it's a totally different thing.
A few tips from me as I've investigated this for a long time and I've made cries out on Android forums with very little sympathy:
1) HTC's IME keyboard that is modded on XDA is a LOT better. The developer tried to implement a little pseudo multitouch so it is more used to you pressing the next key before releasing the previous. This is a HUGE issue with the space bar and if you use the stock android keyboard, you're going to be skipping words like mad if you type too fast.
2) Smart Keyboard Pro has multitouch. It also features a debug mode that you can look at your touch points. It definitely picks up multitouch flawlessly. Is it as good as the iPhone keyboard? Somehow I was still typing faster on my iPod than on my Android phone with Smart Keyboard Pro.
However, with the mods the modders have made on the HTC IME Keyboard, I've decided to stick with it. It's getting better and it's handling multitouch somewhat even though it's not a true multitouch implementation.
But you're right. It's night and day without multitouch. For people who haven't used the iPhone enough, they fail to appreciate the keyboard. Most people just go "Oh I type fine on my Nexus One. I type pretty fast." Obviously you can't type THAT fast if it lacks multitouch. Maybe they should look at what "fast" means on the iPhone :D
rossmandor - Monday, August 30, 2021 - link
nice one