Nexus One complaints mount, no firmware update in sight

We've had a Nexus One in daily use for a couple months now with relatively little drama, but Google's official support forums for the so-called superphone appear to be piling up a good head of steam on a handful of issues troubling owners. Perhaps the highest profile among them is the 3G signal strength issue -- a problem that predates the Nexus One's first and only firmware update -- but users are complaining about everything from unresponsive touchscreens, to failed text messages, to problems with the ambient light sensor, and there are enough "me too" responses in the support threads to warrant some serious attention. We know Google hasn't been sitting on its hands behind the scenes, so this is probably more of a timing issue than anything else -- could it be that they're waiting for Flash 10.1 before pushing the next release?

[Thanks, Ramon]

[Oapples Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:05PM]

I've been having these problems too

[Oapples Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:06PM]

@Oapples
Thanks for putting some pressure on them, Engadget =)

[Beatnik Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:16PM]

@Oapples
I have used my Nexus One for 2 months, ZERO PROBLEMS, I dont change it for anything (even an iPass)

[tcmean Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:22PM]

@Oapples

me too

[pitnefor Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:39PM]

@Beatnik

I have had zero problems too. I had more problems with my iphone than my nexus one. I think things are exaggerated

[mikesgroove Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:39PM]

@Beatnik What does the iPad have to do with the Nexus One?

[Beatnik Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:48PM]

@Oapples
Dear Engadget staff, WHERE IS THE POLL? I think this could be VERY FUNNY

[BacteriaEP Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:51PM]

@Oapples

I've had similar problems as well, but I think many people are blowing it out of proportion. They really aren't as bad as people make them out to be. Here, I'll go through it, numbered list style:

1. 3G problems. I've currently lived in two completely different places since I got my Nexus One, Orange County, CA (suburb of LA) and Portland, OR (downtown). In both places my 3G was working as intended. Now, in Orange County, is was slower... much slower, but I largely attribute that problem to being on T-Mob's fringe network for 3G. In downtown PDX, it's very fast.

2. Unresponsive touchscreen. Yeah, this happens, but it's a pretty rare occurrence. I'd say the only time I've ever really noticed (and remember this is rare) is when I'm unlocking the phone and I have to slide it twice to unlock, and when I'm transitioning panels. Aside from that it's non-existent and rare at that.

3. Failed text messages. This happens as well, although I can;t say for certain whether this is the N1 or just T-Mob's network as my G1 failed a few times as well. On average I'd say I send about 500-1000 text messages. Of that number anywhere from 10-20 fail. A problem? Yes. But then I kind of always remember text messages being a little janky.

4. Ambient light sensor. This, I'd say, is probably the most common problem I have with my N1 and it's not that it's broken or buggy, it's just slow. It takes about twice as long to adjust as my iPod Touch does. Not sure if this has to do with the actual sensor or not. Still though, it's not a deal breaker, not for me anyways.

These things happen. But then again I kind of expect them to. Just like my PC and Mac aren't perfect I don't really expect my phone to be either. Hell even my PS3 is a little janky.

If Google fixes these problems in the near future that'd be cool, but I really wouldn't sweat these things as, in my experience, these problems are only really noticeable (and remember-able), when an article is written about them and you're left thinking: "Oh yeah, that has happened one or twice."

Just a thought, anyways.

[Valicore Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:53PM]

@Oapples I've had a Nexus One since it came out and I live in an area where I had 3G problems with a G1 too, so it was more T-Mobile's fault with that. What is unacceptable is the touchscreen and the buttons failing to respond, having to put it to sleep and wake again to get it to come back, sometimes I have to tap a trillion times, it is annoying as hell. Also, the proximity sensor/light sensor is just berzerk. I have these problems with or without Cyanogen's mod. It's scary to think it might be hardware caused.

[meawake Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:58PM]

@Beatnik

I have problems with mine, drive me crazy. Sometimes I just can't type a text message or an email. It doesn't register the right letters when I type. The only thing to do is to reboot then it works, most of the times. Very random issue but it drives me crazy cause I don't want to reboot the phone when I am in the middle of something! I've tried other two other roms and same issues!

[Beatnik Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:06PM]

@meawake
I would like to help you, but I never experienced the problems you have, I have not rooted my Nexus. Have you posted your problems in Google Android support forums? Here http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/android/browse?hl=en
I am sure they can help you better.

[McKirf Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:09PM]

@Oapples

me too! and I don't even have a phone!

[Oghowie Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:11PM]

@Oapples

Do the touch buttons still suck or did they fix that?

[darkazure Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:34PM]

@Oapples

I too am having similar touch screen issues. I did some research and it basically comes down to not only software issues, but hardware as well. The nexus one uses a Synaptics ClearPad 2000:

http://www.synaptics.com/about/press/press-releases/synaptics-clearpad-on-nexus-one-smartphone

Which supports "dual touch", not true "multitouch" (full matrix).

Each point on the screen has a X and Y coordinate, when using 2 fingers you'll have 4 points X1, Y1 (first finger) X2, Y2 (second finger) when either axis cross X1=X2 or Y1=Y2 the points stick and then nexus one tends to flip out...

As cyanogen (a talented nexus one hacker) says :

"Interestingly, there is a hack in the framework (which is enabled on the Droid, but not on the N1) that can be enabled by setting config_filterTouchEvents. With it disabled (the default), I get the axis-flipping problem. Enabling it fixes this, but there are still issues with the points "sticking" when they cross." Showing that there is a software fix for the device when it flips out.

Example of this issue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzhUzq6bTPg&feature=player_embedded



However there is still the hardware issue with the inferior ClearPad 2000.

As DNTS (this guy knows a lot about capacitive touch screens) from the XDA says:

"When you place 2 fingers on a 2-way touchpad what the sensor read is 2 peaks of touch in the X axis and 2 in the Y axis. This yields 4 combinations, only 2 out of which are true and the other 2 are phantom.. There are a few methods to try and tell them apart. One would be to correlate touch "pressure". The other would be to correlate movement of peaks in X and Y axis... But when axes cross you loose all that extra info... which leads to "sticking" phenomena.
But in light of yesterday's Apple lawsuit.. not infringing the multi-touch patents probably saved HTC some 20-something cases...."

and

"The problem as far as I am concerned as a user is not the various gestures the N1 can handle - I'd rather operate the device with one hand than to be able to pull all those stunts with my fingers. The problem is that this technology has one major drawback which is palm rejection. Coming from years of resistive touchpad use - I was used to holding a device in a certain way which is no longer valid. The capacitive touchpad is very sensitive even to unnoticable pressure. A true multi-touch (call it full matrix or projected capacitance) can easily reject the palm touch and focus only on fingers touch, whereas the Clearpad2000 cannot discern between the fingers and the palm, going for the one that has stronger touch (larger area of touch) which at times will be the palm rather than the finger."

All this can be found: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=629224

I just purchased a nexus one, and love it. However it does have points that are better than the iphone, and some that are worse. The touchscreen is one part that is worse. Damn shame.

[ywpark Posted Apr 8th 2010 12:12AM]

@darkazure I also noticed that when I try to use my N1 with one hand, and bits of my palm's skin is in contact with bezel part of the screen, I get no response. If I adjust and my hands position so that bezel part is left alone, then touchscreen input works again. I don't have the same issue with my iPod touch so I suspected that it's a software issue, not hardware with capacitive touchscreen.

[iBuferd Posted Apr 8th 2010 12:46AM]

@Oapples

Funny thing is I'm still dead set on getting one when it hits Verizon. IMO it's the crappy network. Having my iPhone almost 2 years and traveling a good bit from coast to coast, I just think GSM is crappy in the U.S. I constantly have problems with my iPhone and although some of it may be the hardware, I think the majority is the network. I just want to see what happens these phones actually hit decent networks to see what problems remain.

[drange Posted Apr 8th 2010 3:35AM]

@iBuferd
I think you might be right, 3G networks appear to be much better over herre (Netherlands) and I have absolutely zero 3G problems with my iPhone. I regularly hit the 4 Mbit/s speed limit and had no connection issues whatsoever. The N1 would probably work perfectly fine here too.

[gargle Posted Apr 8th 2010 4:01AM]

@ywpark Exactly! I've had my N1 for 6 days now and that's exactly what I noticed. It seems that if you're touching the black bezel, the phone registers it as a touch, ignoring your normal touches on the screen.. causing the "unresponsiveness ". Not really a big deal.. only happens if I'm holding it real tight in one hand while using the same hand's thumb. But sure, a firmware fix would be welcome :) other than this, I've got no issues and completely love it!

[chrstinamcorl Posted Apr 8th 2010 6:02AM]

@Oapples Fix this and add flash to N1, and it'll be a real superphone. Disadvantages compiled- http://j.mp/google-phone-disadvantages

[305BuddyLuv Posted Apr 8th 2010 7:36AM]

@Valicore
I agree with Tmo being the blame. The only device I had with excellent 3G on Tmo, was the Bold 9700. All other 3G devices on Tmo I got the same issues. I have been using the Nexus One for 2 months and just recently purchase an HD2. I have 3g Issues on the HD2 in the same areas as the N1. The same for the Touch Pro 2 as well. Lately my 3g signal has been piss poor with numerous dropped calls. I wonder if its because of the HSPA+; which is schedule to roll out here by June this year.

[darkazure Posted Apr 8th 2010 8:34AM]

@ywpark

I doubt it will be fixed. The clearpad2000 can not tell the difference between a palm touch and a finger touch. The iPhone/ipod touch screen can (not sure who makes it) . Its unfortunate that HTC didn't go with the clearpad 3000. However, they may be able to fix some of the issues through software tricks, but I doubt they can solve the palm issue. Also, the iPhone can register more than 2 points, for example the twister game which can register up to 4 simultaneous points. This is something the Nexus one will never be able to do. :-( It's a damn shame they didn't really commit on the touch screen. As I said though, I still love the phone, but there will be things they can't fix due to bad hardware decisions.

[smib Posted Apr 8th 2010 9:09AM]

I have the light sensor issue, and sometimes have to lock and unlock the screen because the touch input is a mile off.

[stylinexpat Posted Apr 8th 2010 9:18AM]

@Oapples

I agree, many thanks Engadget.

I have a Nexus One and agree with all the problems mentioned above. The speaker/sound quality is beyond horrible. Screen issues with the touch part are quite bad most of the time. Reception issue is another problem but it is not that bad here in Asia as people complain about in the US but non the less the reception is not like it is on a Nokia or Motorola Phone.

[joe23521 Posted Apr 8th 2010 10:03AM]

@Oapples

They've got to do something about it. I've been VERY disappointed by the N1.

For those on Verizon, the Droid is a MUCH better phone, in nearly every way, except some aspects of 2.1.

[biggbrother Posted Apr 8th 2010 10:15AM]

@darkazure This has nothing to do with any of the issues at hand in this article. The Nexus One supports multi-touch, which is more than sufficient for pinch &zoom.

None of the issues you describe have any impact on the daily use of the device.

[darkazure Posted Apr 8th 2010 10:58AM]

@biggbrother

If all you are doing is pinching to zoom, then you are correct. It will most likely not hinder YOUR daily use. However, if you use it to game on, it will. When google releases a flagship device that cannot handle multi-touch well it makes it very hard for people to develop software/games for it.

http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/browse_thread/thread/d0aa3eea8fd9a2b8/70e9dd235d519955

For example, try using something such as SNESnoid. when you constantly hit the "A" button it only registers it sometimes. Hell, it might actually register "start" or "select" which is on the other side of the screen. There are other games that require you to have three different inputs, perhaps holding down two buttons while you use a direction pad, which is not possible on the nexus one due to it only supporting Dual Touch. I'm not trying to crap on the nexus one, hell, I have one right here. I'm just point out issues with it and trying to support them with actual facts. I'm not a fanboy for any platform. Each has it's own strengths and weaknesses. I truly believe that google/htc did cheap out on the touch screen though. The only reason why I add google the the mix is because they claimed to have worked closely with HTC on the hardware it used.

Once again, some of this can be fixed via software while some of it cannot.

[joquarky Posted Apr 9th 2010 5:02PM]

@darkazure

They could solve the issue by responding to either x1,y1 *or* x2,y2 for GUI events. Then if your palm grabs x1,y1, you can still click on buttons/widgets with x2,y2. Obviously there will still be an issue with pinch-zoom since they are limited to 2 inputs, but allowing either input to trigger GUI events would go a long way toward solving the palm-touching-edge issue.

[poinck Posted Apr 12th 2010 11:29AM]

@Oapples

I am not; it works perfectly on every situation. I'm very glad, that iv'e sold the iPhone! Theres only one issue in my opinion, the touchscreen is a little bit oversensitive, but I can't compare anymore, because I am used to.

I want to see a firmware update as well; just to make the Android platform look better, e.g. the notification bar (the icons disapear behind the red numbers)

[Distant Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:05PM]

Could this be holding back the release on Verizon then?

[coolbho3000 Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:09PM]

@Distant Another note to everybody. The Verizon Nexus One will have different/superior hardware. At the very least, the screen color depth will be better by two bits.

[Scuzzy19 Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:18PM]

@coolbho3000 Uhm No its the same phone with a CDMA Radio..

[Frawley Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:19PM]

@Distant Verizon has some "surprise" in store for their N1 release. I'm guessing that's what the delay is about.

[coolbho3000 Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:20PM]

@Scuzzy19 How would you know this? Have you looked at the kernel source at all?

[Scuzzy19 Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:29PM]

@coolbho3000 really? a kernel source for unreleased hardware? care to post your souce? because last I checked nobody has ANYTHING on a Nexus One CDMA Kernel source

[coolbho3000 Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:13PM]

@Scuzzy19 http://android.git.kernel.org/?p=kernel/msm.git;a=blob;f=arch/arm/mach-msm/board-mahimahi-panel.c;h=a7dadcad2f2338c009841a40b52674950cb35551;hb=android-msm-2.6.32-nexusonec

Line 635.

By the way, that is the CDMA rev's kernel source. It's not like you can't have the software for an unreleased hardware.

[LeonardWashington Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:25PM]

@Frawley

I believe the surprise is April 25th when the HTC Incredible is releasing!

I'm on Tmobile currently. I was gonna get the N1, but Tmobile has horrible service at my house now. So I'm going to Verizon.

I dunno if I should get the Pre + or HTC. webOS was amazing experience and when its hacked its even better, however I am stuck at the debate between webOS or Android :(

[wupolo Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:37PM]

webOS

[jbreez Posted Apr 8th 2010 3:49AM]

@Frawley Yea like maybe a goddamn commercial I mean honestly let's face it how many commercials for android phone has anybody seen besides the droid the mytouch 3g and perhaps the g1

[Scuzzy19 Posted Apr 8th 2010 9:40PM]

@coolbho3000 Uhm all that kernel source is showing is the oled display is gamma/rgb settings. How you determined that to be "superior" hardware compared to the GSM hardware is beyond me.

[newjaruz Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:05PM]

Bingo!

[Alexicov Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:07PM]

@newjaruz

Me too

[raiden8383 Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:05PM]

@newjaruz I think it has to be timing issue. As you can see in the Adobe developer center website,CS5 will be lunching at April 12(not sure), and Flash developer can build Android, and iphone Apps with AS3 code via CS5.

So far Open screen project seems to be fine (Yeah, it should be now....), it will boost number of Flash based developer because you only need to learn AS3 to build App for any OS system. it means that Flash will stay for very long time.

Anyway, HTC.....plz Show me the EVO !!!

[Level 5 Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:06PM]

Not a single problem here. Perfect 3G reception, and has been since day 1.

Of course these days things are even better since I'm running Cyanogen 5.0.5.3.

[coolbho3000 Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:08PM]

@Level 5 Just a note to everyone else: installing CyanogenMod gives you 178MB more RAM over stock.

[Level 5 Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:22PM]

@Level 5

CyanogenMod gets you a hell of alot more than that,most notably the undervolted kernel which sacrafices NO performance or stability and increases battery life dramatically. Love it.

[bougelahi Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:28PM]

@Level 5
5.0.6 right here http://n0rp.chemlab.org/android/nexus/testing/ =)

[WestindiesKing Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:29PM]

@Level 5 really man, i might get that mod. i stopped rooting my phone after my G1.

[kidphat Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:10PM]

@Level 5: Is there some XDA link where he releases updated mods. I would like to play around with this mod over the weekend.

[patp Posted Apr 7th 2010 11:16PM]

@kidphat he has his own site, cyanogenmod forums

[Master Yoda Posted Apr 7th 2010 10:06PM]

worrying that is

complaints the path to the dark side is mhhhh