Nexus One review
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted January 4th 2010 11:33PM
posted January 4th 2010 11:33PM
The device, a Snapdragon-powered, HTC-built phone looks -- on paper, at least -- like the ultimate Android handset, combining a newly tweaked and tightened user interface with killer industrial design. A sleek, streamlined phone that can easily go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 3GSs, Pres, and Droids of the world, powered by the latest version of Android (2.1 "Flan," if you're counting), and hand-retooled by Google. But is it all it's cracked up to be? Can the Nexus One possibly live up to the hype ascribed to it? And more importantly, is the appearance of the phone the death knell for the OHA and a sign of the coming Android autocracy? In our exclusive review of the Nexus One, we'll answer all those pressing questions and more... so read on for the full scoop!
Note: The unit we have in hand is -- by all appearances -- a production model, save for the QR code imprint on the back, which is likely an employee-only Easter egg. However, Google is making its official announcement tomorrow, and there could always be differences. If anything changes with the device, or there are revelations about the marketing or sale of the phone, we'll be sure to update the review with new info.
Hardware
As we said in the intro -- and our previous hands-on write up -- the Nexus One is nothing if not handsome. From its ultra-thin body to sleek, curved edges, the phone is absolutely lustworthy. While it's unmistakably HTC, there are plenty of design cues that feel authentically Google as well -- and it's that balance which makes the phone such an intriguing piece of hardware.
Industrial design
When you first lay eyes on the Nexus One, you can almost hear someone at Google say something like, "Make us something as sexy as the iPhone, but let's not forget what got us here" -- "what got us here" being the G1, which Google worked tightly with HTC to create. Whether you love or hate the iPhone, it's hard to deny its obvious physical attractiveness, and it's clear that Google and HTC made strides to bring an Android handset into the same realm of base desirability that Apple's halo device occupies. For the most part, they've succeeded. The phone shape finds itself somewhere between the iPhone and Palm Pre -- taking the Pre's curved, stone-like shape and stretching it into something resembling a more standard touchscreen device (a la the Hero or Instinct). The body of the handset is comprised of what appears to the eye as two interlocking pieces, a main, dark gray housing (coated in a soft-touch treatment) which is intersected and wrapped by a lighter gray, smooth, almost metallic band. The overall effect is fluid, though we're not crazy about the choice of coloring -- we would have liked to see something a little more consistent as opposed to the two-tone, particularly when the choice of hues is this drab and familiar. Still, the shape and size of the phone is absolutely fantastic; even though the surface of the device houses a 3.7-inch display, the handset generally feels trimmer and more svelte than an iPhone, Hero, and certainly the Droid.
HTC has managed to get the thickness of the phone down to just 11.5mm, and it measures just 59.8mm and 119mm across and up and down -- kind of a feat when you consider the guts of this thing. In the hand it's a bit lighter than you expect -- though it's not straight-up light -- and the curved edges and slightly tapered top and bottom make for a truly comfortable phone to hold. On the glass-covered front of the device there are four "hardware" buttons (just touch-sensitive spots on the display) laid out exactly as the Droid's four hard keys: back, menu, home, and search. Clearly this is going to be something of a trend with Google-approved devices.
Unlike the Droid, the Nexus One has a trackball just below those buttons that should feel very familiar to Hero users -- the placement feels a bit awkward here, and there's literally nothing in the OS that requires it. Along the left side you've got a volume rocker, up top there's a sleep / wake / power button on one end, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the other, and along the bottom there's a micro-USB port, a mic hole, and three gold dots that look destined for some kind of dock (which would jibe with what we've seen and heard). Around back you'll find the strangely pronounced 5 megapixel camera and accompanying LED flash, along with Google's Android mascot holding up a QR code -- a decidedly geeky Google touch that we expect won't make it to the final retail version. The layout of the phone is solid, though we would have liked a physical camera key (no biggie), and we actually had some real trouble with those four dedicated buttons. Hopefully it was just our review unit, but the target areas seemed to be too high on the row, and we found ourselves consistently accidentally tapping them while composing an email or text message, or missing them when we tapped a little too low. It wasn't a deal breaker, but it was definitely maddening -- especially considering that we don't have similar issues on the Droid.
Despite the minor niggles, HTC and Google have put together pretty damn good looking and feeling phone; it's not without faults, but they're pretty few and far between.
Internals
As you've heard, the Nexus One runs atop the much-hyped, rarely seen 1GHz Snapdragon CPU from Qualcomm (the same processor powering the HD2) -- really the highlight of this show. The phone also has 512MB of both RAM and ROM, but those hoping for new application storage options will find themselves out of luck yet again -- you're still limited to that small partition for app use. The display is an AMOLED, 480 x 800 capacitive touchscreen, and the handset also contains a light sensor, proximity sensor, and accelerometer, along with an HSPA-capable GSM radio (AWS and euro 2100MHz bands only for 3G -- sorry AT&T users), WiFi, the prerequisite AGPS chip, and a microSD slot (which comes loaded with a 4GB card, but is expandable to 32GB). By late-2009 / early-2010 standards, there's really nothing notable about the guts of this phone beyond the presence of a Snapdragon processor, and even that left something to be desired. The phone is fast, assuredly, but not so much of a leap up from the Droid that we felt it kept pace with the boost we were expecting. Scrolling lists and opening apps seemed speedy, but put simply, it's not a whole new Android experience (we'll talk more about this in the software section).
Display
The 3.7-inch display should be stunning -- and is for the most part -- but we did have some issues with it (at least on the unit we have). In terms of touch sensitivity, the display is as good or better than any Android phone we've used. While the resolution is high (480 x 800), it's missing 54 pixels that we expected given the size of the Droid's screen. It didn't bother us that much, but it's noticeable in certain apps -- Gmail for instance, where you have to scroll further in some menus than you do on the Droid. The big issue with the screen, though, is actually the color balance. We found colors on the Nexus One, particularly in the reds and oranges, to be severely blown-out and oversaturated -- a common effect with AMOLED displays like the Nexus One's. At first we thought Google had tweaked some of the Market settings because the highlight orange was so bright, but comparing images on the web across different displays, the Nexus One consistently looked brighter then it should have. Oh, and using this thing in daylight? Forget about it. Like most screens of this type, the Nexus One is a nightmare to see with any kind of bright light around, and snapping photos with it on a sunny day was like taking shots with your eyes closed.
Camera
One place where the Nexus One seems to be improving things is in the camera department. Not only has Google bumped up the speed of the camera app (which we're still not that stoked about in general), but the 5 megapixel lens and flash took sharp, detailed images with none of the HTC-related issues we've seen on other models. The focus of the lens was super speedy, and images came out looking more or less as we'd hoped. The flash felt a bit stark at times, but given its size, we didn't lose too much sleep over it. One place where Google has really made some smart decisions is within the Gallery application. Instead of the drab, flat iterations of Android past, the new version is extremely attractive and user friendly, giving you far more options than before (like a nice pan and scan slideshow) and making browsing photos a much more enjoyable experience.
Telephony / data / earpiece and speaker
As a phone, the Nexus One isn't dramatically different than most GSM devices you've probably used. In terms of earpiece quality and volume, it's certainly on par with its contemporaries, providing a loud, reasonably clean talking experience, though it doesn't touch the Droid in terms of call clarity and evenness. The loudspeaker, on the other hand, seemed extremely tinny to our ears, making for a pretty unpleasant companion for conference calls, with the midrange cutting through in a way that could be painful at times. We'd be inclined to blame that issue on the extremely thin housing here, but it's hard to say what the real culprit is. As far as connections and 3G pickup, the Nexus fared as well as our iPhone did when traveling, but -- surprise, surprise -- neither of these could touch Verizon. For instance, at JFK airport, we had no trouble placing calls on the Droid, but both the Nexus One and iPhone were completely incommunicado. When we hit the ground in Las Vegas however (you know, for a little event called CES 2010), 3G seemed to function as we might have hoped. In a few cases, T-Mobile did seem to be hanging onto a signal a bit better than AT&T was, and in a browser test between the two, even though the iPhone ended up with a slightly faster load time, the Nexus One pulled down initial content considerably quicker. In all, we averaged download speeds of around 559Kbps on the phone -- about where we expected things to be.
Software
Now, the big story with the Nexus One (besides how it's being sold -- we'll get to that in a minute) has been the rumored alterations or updates Google has made with Android 2.1. There's been talk that this is somehow the "real Android," a suggestion that other, earlier versions weren't true to Google's mold. There's been talk that the Nexus One is worth the hype, and will blow people away when they see what this version of Android can do. Mostly, there's been a lot of talk. So, what's really the story here?
Well the real story is that Android 2.1 is in no way dramatically different than the iteration of the OS which is currently running on the Motorola Droid (2.0.1). In fact, there is so little that's different in the software here, we were actually surprised. Of the notable changes, many are cosmetic -- if there are major underlying differences between this OS and the one on the Droid, we can't see what they are. Still, there ARE changes, so here's a peek at just what Google has cooked up for the new phone.
Firstly, the place where Google really seems to have put a lot of its energies has been in the look and feel of homescreen navigation. Obviously the feedback the company has gotten is shaping the next steps on Android's path, and as anyone who has used Android will tell you, the homescreen situation was kind of a mess. In 2.1, Google has jettisoned key chunks of the established Android paradigm for how to get around its device. Most noticeably, the company has killed the sliding drawer which used to house all of your application icons -- the tab is replaced with a handy "home" icon which zooms in your icons over top of whatever homescreen you're on. You can scroll up and down through those icons, which is now accompanied by a cute 3D animation where the items slide over the top and bottom edge, like wrapping a piece of paper around the side of a table. It's nice, but not necessarily functional in any way. Google has also added a little bounce to the menu, in keeping with its contemporaries' love of physics.
Additionally Google has expanded the number of homescreens accessible from three to five (following a precedent set by skins like Sense and BLUR), adding a combo of webOS and iPhone style dots to help you keep track of where you're situated. If you long press on those dots, you get a kind of "card" view of all your homescreens which you can use for quick jumps. All of the homescreen improvements are just that -- improvements -- and it's nice to see Google thinking about a user's first impression of this device. Not only do these additions bolster the look and feel of the UI, but they're actually sensible and helpful solutions to problems which Google had heretofore approached in an obtuse way.
Elsewhere, there are nips and tucks that are welcome, such as the improved Gallery application we mentioned previously, which seems to be one of the few areas actually tapping into the Snapdragon's horsepower. But Google stumbles as well; the dated and always-underwhelming music player has undergone almost zero change, and the soft keyboard -- while better than previous models -- can still be inaccurate. Of course, Google wants to provide another option for text input that we haven't seen before the Nexus One. Now included when the keyboard pops up is an option to use the company's speech-to-text engine, which will (attempt) to translate your words into onscreen text. Our experiments with the technology were marginally successful, but we don't see this being a big part of our communications game until the audio recognition gets a little more robust. It might work for an occasional SMS where use of the Queen's English isn't a priority.
One other thing. As we mentioned in our impressions post, there's no multitouch on the Nexus One. Now, we can live with a browser or Google Maps with no pinch-to-zoom, but not having a hardware keyboard hamstrings this device in other ways. For instance, gaming on the phone is pretty much abysmal save for a few accelerometer-based titles. And some of our favorite software, such as Nesoid (an NES emulator) is a total dead. For a phone which uses touch input as its main vehicle for navigation, relegating that experience to a single digit is really kind of bogus. There were plenty of times when using the Nexus One (and this does happen with other Android devices as well, but it's pronounced here) where we felt not just bummed that you could only use one point of contact, but actually a little angry. Why won't Google open this up? Why have they kept what has become a normal and quite useful manner of interaction away from their devices? Only Eric Schmidt knows for sure. What it made us realize, however, is that an Android phone is really better off with a keyboard, and we were longing to get back to the Droid a number of times while using this device.
Battery life
We haven't had a lot of time to spend with the phone just yet (you may have heard, it's been a bit hard to get ahold of), but from what we've seen, the battery performs admirably. Thus far we haven't had any major shockers when it came to power drain, and that AMOLED screen seems to go easy on things even when cranked up to a pretty stark setting. That said, we did see a dip when taking long calls, which indicates that this might not be a charge-free device day to day if you've got some serious gossip to dish. We're going to be running some more tests this week to see how the phone performs over a lengthier stretch of time, and we'll let you guys know how it fares.
Pricing and availability
As of this writing, all we have on the Nexus One in terms of pricing and sales plans comes to us in the form of leaked documents and tipster screenshots. That said, if everything falls into line the way we think it should, the sale of the phone won't be the kind of barnstorming industry shakeup that many predicted -- rather, it's business as usual, with one small difference. While the phone is manufactured by HTC and destined for use on T-Mobile's network, Google will be the one doing the selling of the device. By all appearances, the company will have a new phone portal where buyers can pick between an unsubsidized, unlocked Nexus One for $529.99, or sign up for a two-year agreement with T-Mobile and purchase the phone for $179.99. This shouldn't seem strange or exciting to anyone who's recently bought a smartphone -- it's pretty much the lay of the land right now. Previous to the documents we'd seen, the hope was that Google had found some ingenious ad-supported way to get this phone into consumer's hands for a low, seemingly subsidized price but without the shackles of a contract or specific carrier -- but those plans seem have been either invented, or somehow dashed.
Wrap-up
Never mind the Nexus One itself for a moment -- there's a bigger picture here, and it might spell a fundamental change for the direction of Android as a platform. Whereas Google had originally positioned itself as a sort of patron saint for Android -- sending it off into the cold world to be nourished and advanced in a totally transparent way by the widely-supported Open Handset Alliance -- it has instead taken a deeply active role and has elected to maintain some semblance of secrecy as it moves from pastry-themed version to version. In general, that approach isn't necessarily a bad thing for device variety, functionality, and availability, but the way Android's evolution in particular has gone down certainly seems like a bait-and-switch from an outsider's view. Take Motorola and Verizon, for example: what had seemed like a deep, tight partnership literally just weeks ago with the announcement of Eclair and the selection of the Droid / Milestone as 2.0's launch platform has taken a distant back seat just as quickly as it rose to the top. In a word, Google is plunging head-first into the dangerous game Microsoft has adamantly sought to avoid all these years on WinMo: competing head-to-head with its valued (well, supposedly valued) partners. Whether Android risks losing support over manufacturers and carriers being treated like pieces of meat remains to be seen, but realistically, Motorola (which has very publicly gone all-in with Mountain View over the past year) and others are likely to grin and bear it as long as the platform pays the bills -- no matter how awkward competing with the company that writes your kernel and huge swaths of your shell might be.
Industry politics aside, though, the Nexus One is at its core just another Android smartphone. It's a particularly good one, don't get us wrong -- certainly up there with the best of its breed -- but it's not in any way the Earth-shattering, paradigm-skewing device the media and community cheerleaders have built it up to be. It's a good Android phone, but not the last word -- in fact, if we had to choose between this phone or the Droid right now, we would lean towards the latter. Of course, if Google's goal is to spread Android more wide than deep, maybe this is precisely the right phone at the right time: class-leading processor, vibrant display, sexy shell, and just a sprinkling of geekiness that only Google could pull off this effortlessly.
Then again, we suspect Motorola, Samsung, Verizon, and countless other partners might disagree.
Additional reporting by Chris Ziegler
Goggle this is the problem, either your phone isn't better than your partners and people ask what's the point or your phone is awsome and you crush your partners and they ask what's the point of being your partner.
Please pull out some kind of surprise tommorrow and make sense out of this move into the phone hardware market.
That first video was all I wanted to see, and you as real expert got it right what most of advanced users wanna know first. Thanks, ill keep 3gs
@panonskins Your comment is as stupid as you probably are. If you consider the iPhone and advanced device then you really have some issues.
Considering a large amount of people use the iPhone and generally Apple products for their simplicity, calling yourself advanced is just plain stupid.
Please do stick with the iPhone as you are so stupid that even the Android community wouldn't want you around.
@dnkoutso Being easy to use is + towards more advanced and going in to command lines don't make it advanced by default. iPhone is so advanced that with 600mhz it scrolls smoother then Nexus at 1000. That is what I meant with what advanced users wanted to see. - Is there some good stuff under the GUI hood that makes it faster then iPhone, better animation layer, and test said NO.
@dnkoutso
It must be unpleasant to be incredibly arrogant and laughably ignorant/stupid simultaneously
There's definitely a problem with the touch buttons. Had the same problem on the one I played with.
@Oghowie Use it for more than 15 minutes. There's nothing wrong with the buttons if you ... press them.
@sygyzy
NYTimes Review of the Nexus:
"Finally, the Nexus just doesn’t attain the iPhone’s fit and finish. The buttons under the screen (Back, Menu, Home, Search) are balky, often ignoring your finger-presses completely."
Looks like more than a few people don't know how to "press" the buttons...
I'll just throw in that probably the biggest hold back for me with Android phones is the Media Player.
I want my single "Do It All" pocket computer, and music and podcasts are part that.
@Gregorian
Since you obviously aren't aware...
It's ANDROID, an actual OPEN OS (unlike the iPhone), which means that you can install any Android media player you desire, or even write your own.
Might I suggest - MixZing
That's the beauty of ANDROID - Real Choice!
@DaHarder
heads crap...tails crap
point?
@IronFistClad
Your ignorance is showing...
"but it's not in any way the Earth-shattering, paradigm-skewing device"
The earth is slowly shattering as we speak!
Is turning this to a recession antidote too much to ask?
I'm not sure about that browser comparison. Numoruse videos on youtube show the droud beat the 3gs in browser speed test.
@pachi72
for instance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9YGvLHvUxQ&feature=related
sad at lack of keyboard :(
@lightforce :
You wont need one after this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr79VKquE7U
I would like to see the browser test with another web site. It's funny how multi touch was mentioned kind of penalizing Nexus One when the iphone recently recieved mms capabilities. I don't believe that multitouch is neccessary.
@afrohispanic
neither is MMS
Your review lacks key details of the phone/OS such as the support for multiple push Exchange accounts (!!!) and the vastly superior auto-complete (you can type much faster on the Nexus One than an iPhone - it's not even close). Got to play with a Googler's device for a few days and am absolutely ditching my 3GS once my Nexus One arrives. The Nexus One is a superior messaging device to the iPhone, and with my need to monitor more than a single Exchange account for work (and still have push Gmail), it's a no-brainer. Only wish SanDisk would get those 32gb MicroSD cards rolling...
@AlaskaGrown No you can't. The lack of a multitouch keyboard makes you type SLOWER.
This was already shown by proficient typers like me who tried the Moto Droid. The reason the Droid Eris works better is because of multi touch keyboard. Until you allow HTC to add in multitouch support, or have Google do it, RAW GOOGLE phones SUCK at typing. HTC comes close with the HD2 against the iPhone but not all the way there yet.
@dmo580 Respectfully, even without multi-touch, you can type faster on the Nexus One than the iPhone. At least *I* noticed a significant increase in speed and efficiency. The key is the superior auto-complete. For instance, I only need to type the first two or 3 letters of larger words, and the OS will either select the one I want automatically (and I hit space and move on) or it's easy enough to tap the correct word (which inserts its own space) and move on. Compare this with the iPhone's "auto complete" where you get to type 90% of a word before it'll even venture a guess (and slowly, at that). Combine this with a user dictionary that can be customized without jailbreaking (or rooting, in Android's case) the device, and typing efficiency goes way up. I agree that multi-touch is much desired (it's omission is even more of a "HUH???" moment than iPhone's original lack of copy/paste or MMS), but regardless I found typing on the Nexus One to be much easier and less frustrating than my 3GS. Plus, having a period key and a comma key (if you disable the voice input) on the main keyboard is much nicer. Not trying to convince you to switch if you like the iPhone, just to keep an open mind and give it a shot if you run across a Nexus.
@akgrown You must not type very fast. I too have used a Nexus One. On the iPhone, I type like when I do on the keyboard (where I do 100+wpm). I just type. The auto correct/completion finishes without me even REALIZING. What happens is what I type out is what I want. No typos, no wrong words, nothing. I used to type slower where Iwould observe the autocorrect in action. However, when you type with a certain level of proficiency, you don't even notice it. It just COMES OUT as a proper sentence.
When you type at speeds this fast like many of my fellow iPhone friends, you CANNOT use a non multi-touch keyboard. Do you realize that? The keyboard completely SCREWS up. We have to slow down our typing. Yes, maybe when you SLOW down your typing the Nexus One accelerates because of its superior prediction abilities. If you type fast enough, you will notice that having to let go of a key before pressing the other due to non multitouch will screw you over.
I've tried MANY times to type on the Droid and it just flat out misses 80% of my keypresses. Slowing down a bit it'll catch everything, but I feel the iPhone does better than the Droid.
Note the Engadget review itself says the onscreen keyboard isnt that great for the Nexus One.
@dmo580 I must be getting old because I can't break 100wpm using only my thumbs, regardless the device...
Two thumbs down for Nexus One.
If you buy one, for an extra booby prize, you get stuck with TMobile for two years, too.
How bad is Nexus One?
Nexus One has the reviewer wishing it included the much derided physical keyboard from the Droid.
And in the end, the reviewer prefers the Droid
No real changes to the OS, UI or camera.
Pfffffffffttttt.
Next
"gaming on the phone is pretty much abysmal save for a few accelerometer-based titles"
FYI, the SDK for Android 2.0+ does support multi-touch so games can be made that use multi-touch input. This statement should be changed in the review so it isn't misleading to readers.
@Clapfoot
Wait a minute....
So it's (the lack of) MULTITOUCH that's been holding back touchscreen gaming all this time?
iphone/itouch wants to have a word with you
I can't seem to find out whether or not that subsidized price requires one having a TMobile upgrade available. I won't have an upgrade for a while but I really want this phone. I am assuming that since it is sold through Google that I can get the subsidized price simply via extending my contract whether or not I have an upgrade. What is the deal?
Q: Hows it as an eBook Reader? I'm not an avid reader, but I have to read some technical (Python) books and I was just planning to buy a Sony PRS-300, but if Nexus One can read PDF files and will show readable sized pages, I'll hold on for now. So hows it as an eBook reader?
Thanks!
@Nimbuz
^ here is the difference between a nerd and a geek. geeks don't read (non-programming books)
Like I said in many posts, this is nothing revolutionary. It's a great phone...
But I'm wondering what you guys think? I really think HTC does a good job with phones. Their phones. Case in Point:
- Droid Eris has multitouch unlike the Moto Droid (as in it's using it)
- Droid Eris is nicer to use even though it's on Cupcake. Typing is VERY nice because of multitouch enhancements. If it weren't for its crappier hardware, the Droid Eris could very well be better than the Droid
- HTC Sense is amazing. Anyone who's used WinMo would accept that TouchFlo 3D is just outright insane. See it on the HD2? Yeah Crazy.
I for one think there's nothing special about a RAW Android phone, especially with HTC's Bravo around the corner.
Would you rather have the raw Nexus One?
OR
The HTC Bravo which is essentially a Nexus One but with HTC's customizations? HTC's onscreen keyboard is better, their Sense UI makes real use of a Snapdragon CPU and will make the handset it self beautiful. Furthermore, there's a better chance of the Bravo hitting 850/1900. Even if ATT doesn't pick it, someone from Canada or Australia will, and there WILL be a 850/1900 version much like the Hero. It's probably our best bet of getting 3G Android on AT&T. I for one will be waiting for the Bravo.
Discuss.
@dmo580
After evaluating both the Droid and, unexpectedly, the Eris in store, I thought the Eris was hands down the better of the two phones in terms of UI.
Had it not been for the outdated hardware, I would have purchased the Eris.
I really wanted the Nexus One to be my first "smart phone," but I'll wait for the Bravo or HD2.
@dmo580 The Eris has a multitouch keyboard? That's surprising because the Hero doesn't. Are you sure about that? Honestly, I've never noticed it being a problem, but I'm not really that fast of a typer.
@dmo580 HTC Bravo is my preference ... but I'll take whatever comes out first that can handle AT&T, Verizon or Sprint's 3G network as, like most of the country, we have no TMo 3G here. ... that includes a Moto Droid tablet (don't like the bulk of the keyboard) or a 4G iPhone with a hi-res screen. I have no loyalties.
@dmo580 Anyone know whether the HTC Bravo is different from the Nexus One? Is the HTC Passion a Nexus One as well.
Going back to the HTC roadmap I still want the HTC Bravo running Android 2.1 with Sense UI.
As someone who is locked out of getting a Droid by the simple fact that Verizon which served me well in the past, does not get service in my apartment, kinda a big thing for a primary contact device.
So from my G1, this is going to be a good step up, I waited through the releases of the various other devices, waiting for a true 2nd gen, and while the Droid was first, this is the first that is accessible to me.
While it may not be the Iphone killer that many hoped for, or the leap beyond the Droid, I don't care about the Iphone, and kept my expectations moderated in relation to the Droid.
Let's remember that so far this platform has been quite moddable, so the inclusion of multi-touch may be limited now, but if they don't push it out themselves I am sure someone will.
Overhyped, it is just another Android phone as said, and it doesn't do anything particularly special compared to any other Android phone, might be faster, but I guess it's like comparing the iPhone 3G with the 3Gs, not that different. I'll admit it's a damn solid sounding phone, I love that this phone is going to be sold unlocked, I think this is the best thing about it, I'd definately get one with AT&T wouldn't slap on a mandatory data plan (no need for it right now), and I had an extra 500+$ around. Really great sounding phone, just way more coverage than it desrves
I gotta say that I like the balanced review. After seeing all the youtube videos, i didnt notice anything terribly ground breaking. Dont get me wrong, I want this phone as much as the next guy (and Ive got Tmobile :) ) but im not gonna rush in before I get a nice comparison with the HD2.
@esco how the fuck can all of you guys compare a winmo to an android/iphone??? winmo has no bloody apps!
@dextroz I would not compare a winmo phone to adroid/Iphone either, but the truth is winmo has more apps than any other mobile platform, they just didn't have a centralized place where you could buy them until now, don't get it mistaken although I love Android and Iphone is a great advancement in technology, Winmo phones still dominate the world, contrary to what they would have you belive.
@dextroz should probably read up a bit before you post bro. Windows mobile has an extensive library of apps just hadnt been in a centralized place. Only thing wrong with Winmo is its ugly...which HTC is fixing slowly but surely! Plus I don't want to have to pay for app to edit documents since I'd probably use in work environment.
it really does have 800x480 resolution? why less than the Droid?
@shu Yeah, resolution less, odd since these kinds of things are usually standardized, but my best guess is that the droid sports an LCD, while this sports AMOLED. It probably has something to do with that and how the two different types of screens are manufactured. (Yields and glass size and whatnot)..
oh.. and "hi!"
@Gigaflop lol sup! you should tell Josh Topolsky about multitouch yourself at the next Engadget Show :)
@Gigaflop
you hit the nail right on the head.
Benefits
Devices based on Qualcomm's SnapdragonTM platform deliver:
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Optimized power management for all-day battery life
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Ubiquitous, real-time connectivity
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Rich Internet browsing experience
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Access to real-time, personalized and location-aware content
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Streaming and playback of locally stored high-definition video content
*
High performance 3D UIs, games, maps and more
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High-quality still pictures and video clips
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Access to social networks through instant messaging, video conferencing and chat
Technical Features for QSD8x50 chipsets
The QSD8x50 platform consists of the QSD8250™ which supports GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA networks while the QSD8650™ supports CDMA2000 1X, 1xEV-DO Rel 0/A/B, GSM, GPRS, EDGE and HSPA networks. Both chipsets include:
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1 GHz CPU
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600MHz DSP
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Integrated 3G mobile broadband
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Support for Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® connectivity
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Built-in seventh-generation gpsOne® engine with Standalone-GPS and Assisted-GPS modes
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High-definition (720p) video decode, and multiple video codec support
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High-performance 3D graphics – up to 22M triangles/sec and 133M 3D pixels/sec
*
High-resolution up to WXGA (1280x720) display support
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12-megapixel camera support
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Multiple audio codecs: (AAC+, eAAC+, AMR, FR, EFR, HR, WB-AMR, G.729a, G.711, AAC stereo encode)
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Support for mobile broadcast TV (MediaFLO™, DVB-H and ISDB-T)
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Support for Windows Mobile®, Android, and a number of Linux®-based operating systems
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Qualcomm’s hybrid mode alternative solution
Technical Features for QSD8672 chipsets
The single-chip, dual-CPU QSD8672™ includes most of the above features, in addition to:
* Dual CPUs, up to 1.5 GHz for faster response and processing
* Low-power 45nm process technology for higher integration and performance
* Higher-resolution WSXGA (1440 x 900) display support
* High-definition (1080p) video recording and playback
* Support for HSPA+ networks - 28 Mbps downloads and 11 Mbps uploads
* Supports CDMA2000 1X, 1xEV-DO Rel 0/A/B networks
* Improved 3D graphics - up to 80M triangles/sec and 500M+ 3D pixels/sec
@brujogarza
All you did was copy that from Wikipedia right? What is the point in saying that it supports up to 1.5 Ghz dual CPUs when this phone has a single 1 Ghz? From the tests and comparisons I have seen, this phone is no faster than the OMAP3 phones(Droid, Pre, N900) and there is no fair way to compare this to the iPhone given that it does not run background processes like Maemo, WebOS, Windows Mobile and Android.
@JXCGunrunna No sir, I actually copied and pasted off the snapdragon headquarters, observe. http://www.qctconnect.com/products/snapdragon.html
My point was to school the future generation to the excellent adventures that these guys offer us,bud! I am an old school 33 year old, that has had dreams of a spock like cell-phone, with futuristic abilities like, ability to do video calls smoothly, and the such, but this is an old idea since it has been done, or will be done, or can be done, or should be done? etc.
Eric Schmidt and Google should have taken hold of Android from the beginning and controlled it. They should have debuted the platform with their own design and built phone along with ad's controlled by them. Seriously the first Android phone should have been called the Gphone and simply had the Google logo on the front of the box and on the back of the phone. The name Google should have been seared into the public's mind when they hear the word Android. Instead of advertising the platforms name all the time they should have put their name first and made sure the name Google is what everyone is thinking about wen they see their phone. It might have been a closed platform and not open like some waned but at least it would have been smooth, well marketed, controlled, and have a real identity. Instead Android feels disjointed and not fully complete.