How would you change Google's Nexus One?
By Darren Murph 
posted February 26th 2010 10:29PM
posted February 26th 2010 10:29PM
posted February 26th 2010 10:29PM
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Support for unicode languages (arabic and hebrew for instance),
see http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=1580
hundreds of people following that defect and nobody at google cares...
1) give it a sexy look - it's too oldschoolish right now
2) let it access and run iTunes software
3) sell it under Apple brand
1. I'd lose the trackball. I haven't used it yet and it's been several weeks.
2. add 802.11n
3. let us modify the ROM without voiding our hardware warranty
4. an all-around google sync/backup would be nice, for entire SD contents as well as which apps we've downloaded and installed
5. keep random apps from starting; i've tracked several apps like the amazon mp3 store starting up when I haven't manually launched them, and this kills battery life
6. the web site promises a car dock "soon" but I hacked a Pixxo to fit a micro USB connector which works just fine; google for "hacked pixxo car dock nexus one" and look for iandouglas.com
7. fingerprints, holy CRAP!
UMA is a must voip support out of the box is a must.
Its a phone it should not take five clicks to find a contact
phone interface needs work
the touch is not sensitive
-Actual buttons on the bottom of the phone, the soft keys are a pain in the ass because sometimes when you hold the phone with your hand and any part of your fingers gets to close to the edge you'll trigger the button when you don't want to. Also there will be times when you miss the key area and have to try more than once for something that would.
- An extra button by the volume up and down keys that can be programmed.
- Ambient sensor that actually works as opposed to one that causes the screen to dim up and down for no reason.
- This is more of android issue, but a soft keyboard that works more like the Iphon'es OS keyboard. I've never used an Iphone and when I try their keyboard I'm just faster and more accurate. By the way I'm using an apple keyboard skin with the "Better Keyboard Program"
Otherwise I love the aluminum construction of the phone. I've dropped this phone on hard concrete a few times and nothing happened, with a plastic phone any drop from chest height would start to weaken the chassis.
I wish you could change it to what ever color... like a sidekick lx or 2008 I would have had one by now. if I could have a white nexus 1 today then a gun metal the next and even a brown. I would love it. I'm still getting one its just if it had more color options i couldn't resist. I love performance and style something my unlocked iphone 3g is lacking in both departments. The white housing is... :( and it feels super slow
Physical keyboard!
The Camera!!! Absolutely the camera. I expect it to at least be on par with my Nokia N95 8gb from 3-4 years ago. The camera is plagued by issues (pink dot issue, white balancing problems, viewfinder doesn't track steadily, pictures taken in anything less than full sunlight are terrible, I could go on) The camera is severely lacking in almost every area. Not what I would expect from a $580 phone. I know lots of people feel the camera is a superfluous feature, but if it's good enough, it replaces my need for a point-and-shoot and that's one less gadget I need to carry. The Nexus One's camera fails at this miserably.
The onscreen keyboard could track better, I haven't tried after-market keyboards.
Clock app should have setting for auto-dim when plugged into power, and should be able to silence alerts when in dim mode.
Media (audio) framework is broken, needs to respect notification system more elegantly. Currently audio has to fight each other when playing music and receiving notifications, GPS directions, etc...
Need different authentication mechanism as it's too easy to guess someone's password by reading the fingerprint smudges on the screen.
Screen needs to work better in daylight, it's too hard to see.
Power button should require long press to turn on. There's currently no way to check if the phone is on without powering the phone on all the way w/ the current short-press power button.
Available as dual-mode (GSM/CDMA) out of the box so you can TRULY pick your carrier using the same phone. Make it available on all major networks from the get-go. Google dropped the ball bad here by only launching it on T-mobile at first, and by making them carrier specific by virtue of only having one type of antenna.
Overall I think it was a good idea on paper, but Google's/HTC's execution of the product at launch was dismal.
Like this...
http://pseudohuman.com/dump/nexusG.jpg
Better gaming controls.
I have only used my Nexus One for a week, but I can easily say that it's the best cell phone I have ever used. I wouln't replace the trackball. It's perfect, and it light up very brightly to indicate a notification. You can see the damn orb glowing from across a room (a feature I am sure cheating spouses are not a fan of).
What would I add? Some basic things:
- Allow the trackball to change colors, that way we can set different colors for different notification types (i.e. incoming Gmail would produce a red illumination).
- Different color casing. Sure the color is not offensive to anyone, but it's not really inspiring. An aluminum casing would have been nice.
-Super AMOLED screen for those bright sunny days.
I'd like to see the phone's "wake-up" button on the front and bottom, maybe let pressing the trackball wake it up. Right now you have to reach up top and then swipe the screen...not as simple as the iPhone where it is a one handed operation without the need to reposition your hand.
Also, I'd like a way to get to the dialpad with one click/button, rather then choosing phone and then picking dialpad.
What changes would I make? Easy.
I'd make 3G and voice work correctly. Hopefully Google does this soon.
Well, I'd definitely not add buttons... I'd actually try to decrease the number of buttons.
The trackball seems as kind of an eye sore there in the middle, so I'd replace it with something more of a mobile trackpad, like in the new BlackBerries. Speaking of BlackBerries, there's another reason I wouldn't use a trackball... because they can become broken or whatever and after a while, they need to be replaced.
In addition to that, I'd improve the crappy copy-and-paste system in the Android OS. I mean seriously, who wants to waste their time on that? You could waste three hours just trying to copy-and-paste something, now of course you can use the trackpad to help out a little, but still... it needs some improvement, make it more iPhone-like...
My Changes:
#1 would be the connectivity - don't be a Toyota - be SERIOUS about fixing the glitch. I still have issues even after the patch.
Now that Gesture is out - PUT IT ON EVERYTHING!!! i already want to touch and play with the phone..gesture would only compliment that. Put it in search, music, email, everything.
Enable the trackball to have different colors for different notifications.
Make an extended bettery for the thing!!! I believe Senio has already come out with one. Though the extended battery is ligit useful - the cover is ugly and doesn't fit as well as most people would like. Make an extended battery with attractive back cover and you win.
From all I read, the Nexus One seems to be the best smartphone available right now. I have been suffering with WM6 since 2008, so I parted with cash and bought one (after import duties I paid just over US$1000). I haven't got it yet (should arrive next week), but in some aspects the phone was born outdated.
These are musts the next model:
1) a true GSM world phone should do worldwide 3g frequencies in 2010, quadband voice doesn't cut it anymore (just to illustrate, I'm in Brazil, and though there is at least one 2100mhz operator in any state, about 40% of our 3g coverage is 850mhz);
2) a better camera, 5mp with white balance and artifact issues is sooooo 2006 (N95 and others);
3) oleophobic screen;
4) wifi N (although, with 3g, I've never used the wifi on my current phone, if you're gona do wifi in 2010, do N please);
5) the sd card should be hot swapable (I remember hot swaping cards with games and apps on my Palm m125 back in the stone age... though today it would be music and movies);
6) allow apps to install on the sd card or, better yet, build in enough internal memory so we don't need to (4gb of flash, such as in the sd cards, is about the size of a grain rice now and costs about US$5);
7) the warranty should only be voided by bootloading to the extent of related damage, after all, this is supposed to be an open system, so penalizing consumers who use or experiment with open software is unacceptable (I know US courts have ruled such warranty clauses to be abusive and Brazilian law protects the consumer as well, so I'm not worried about trying a cyanogen rom or whatever, but the "do no evil" company shouldn't be writing such draconian and unfair clauses in the first place);
8) not specific to this phone, but a google gripe nonetheless, open android market paid apps to anyone who wants to shell out the cash, just add big letter warnings about diminished functions out of the intended region where necessary (there are several android phones being officially sold through phone companies here, but we can only get free software on the market, as in several other countries).
I 'll post more after using the phone for while
@gata1976 About that #3, I've looked at iPhones in the Apple Store, and despite their claim about the oleophobic screen, I still see fingerprints on the thing. I'm not sure there's any way to get rid of fingerprints.
1. This is the TOP of the list, the absolute most essential...Make the Nexus One a TRUE game-changer - by making it universal to all types of technologies (GSM, CDMA, 4G, whatever)...AND making the unlocked version $300 or less. NO contracts.
2. Open up Google stores, or at least kiosks/stands in malls so people can put their hands on it.
3. Promote the beserk out of it with real TV ads, like the Motorola Droid. Don't waste good ad money during the Superbowl with a message about Google Search, which everyone on the planet should know by now.
4. Get rid of the trackball, replace it with the Desire's optical pad or something similar.
5. Make it compatible with Flash 10.1 or later.
6. The dock is a step in the right direction, but there needs to be more dock options. I want to be able to dock the Nexus in my car, so it can charge up while I'm listening to my MP3's (a cable would simply connect from the dock to the aux jack on my in-dash stereo). And I want this dock to be like one of those Gomadic accessories, where it suction-cups to the windshield with a good vacuum grip.
7. Offer a killer music streaming/MP3 purchase service like Napster. I think Napster is the best of both worlds, because for a flat monthly fee of less than $10, I can stream any song any time I want, but it also gives me 5 MP3 credits to download 5 songs permanently. I want to be able to do that on my Nexus.
8. Put an LED flashlight on the top (front) of the thing, so I can see what I'm doing at night if I have to fidget with my keys in the door, or what-have-you.
Other than these 8 things (and maybe there are more, but this is all I can think of now), this phone rocks!
Being a T-Mobile customer I don't have 500 bones of upfront cash to get this awesome phone, nor is killing my family plan an option to get this for the affordable sub'd price.
Thus nabbing this sub'd WITHOUT killing my current plan would be gold. Many other high-end phone + carrier combos allow for existing plans this shouldn't be any different.
I live in Washington DC and have had the AT&T nexus one about a week. I am leaning toward returning it.
It is a nice piece of gear but it has some major flaws for me.
First, the interface. I have not got the hang of it, but this is a phone first and there are too many steps to answer a call or pick a number. I know I can customize but Google gives you 14 days to return.
The virtual buttons are spotty. Sometimes they respond well. Often they don't. VERY frustrating.
The touch screen. Sometimes it responds, way to often I am distracted from my intended action (take a picture for example) to figure out why the shutter isn't activating.
While I am at it, the camera is awkward. I hold the phone gingerly so I don't obstruct the lens OR touch the screen and it's just awkward.
The volume rocker is always getting bumped affecting the level. The phone is so slim I always seem to grab it there.
The battery goes fast. I found myself putting the phone away because I didn't want the battery to die when an actual call came in. I turned off everything to save power (but that's a nuisance).
The only bluetooth seems to be the headset and the mate to my car stereo. Very cool listening to internet radio over my car radio (definitely don't need this phone to do that).
Sound is poor. I may be losing my hearing but I found the sound from the ear piece crappy. I don't know how I sounded on the other end.
The speaker phone is crap too.
The phone is so powerful I really wanted to keep it. But the battery life, the fumbling with the touch keys, the poor ear piece made for a very poor experience.
I made a few calls from my house where I had very good service with my Samsung 3g phone a crappy 747 so I was kind of miffed the calls I made on the One had to be dialed at least twice before they went through. Why I don't know. As I said, I don't think it's the reception in my house.
I had good luck with the voice recognition with google searches and navigation. That was very nice. The google app worked about half the time.
I think I would expect the reception to improve but the buttons, they will never change (maybe in another version) so I won't be keeping this.
I had already lined up my n800 and psion netbooks to dump on ebay to recoup the cost. I really wanted to keep this phone. I see there is a large capacity battery available and a cradle but you have to take the big batter out to fit the cradle (it takes a while to boot the phone).
On some other thoughts I never got used to the navigation on the browser. I couldn't figure how to go forward on the browser. I often got lost looking for an earlier search page.
Lots of nice features but fatally flawed for me. Maybe it's my big hands or my lefthandedness. It did not feel comfortable in my hands at all. I felt like my fingers would cramp because I held it on the edges.
Paul
How to improve Nexus One:
1) Hardware buttons
2) Optical trackball
3) Hardware keyboard
If it had these things, I would have already bought one.
FRONT-FACING CAMERA
That is the *only* thing I feel is missing from my N1. It's actually a big deal for me because many of my friends have front-facing cameras, and I know I'll never be able to video call with them.
I've only had the unit for less than a week, but I'm already lovin' it. It falls down seriously, though, on podcasts. The Google Listen app sucks lemons: it doesn't organize your podcasts by podcast. There's only one queue. And why do I have to go hunting for this functionality? It should come out-of-the-box. Also, this Google's chance to really kick Apple in the 'nads: they ought to team up with SongBird and get a full iTunes replacement thing going.
The other thing is developing apps for Android. Java? Really? What are these guys thinking? Python, Ruby, XUL; ANYTHING! But Java?
Make it available on Verizon.....
Give it a super amoled screen, same size or bigger, hardware buttons instead of touch, and better battery life...
and sort out all the connection issues... i fancy the Nexus Two as my next phone if it happens