Smartphones

Nexus One Review: The Hardware Isn’t The Problem, Android Is

By Peter Ha | January 11, 2010 | +

The Software

By all accounts, the Nexus One has the best hardware available across any OS. But why am I still so unhappy? I’ve always blamed the hardware for Android’s shortcomings, but it turns out that Android is the real problem. Android 2.1 is significantly more polished than 1.0, which goes without saying.

2.1 adds two extra pages for apps and widgets for a total of five pages, but that’s not something to write home about. The Live Wallpapers are nothing but a battery drain and while the image/video galleries are now easier to navigate and prettier, I still don’t see the point of them tipping from side-to-side. We get it, the Nexus One handles 3D like a champ, but who cares. Oh, the icons scroll off the page into the distant. Neat. Still don’t care. You finally got rid of that asinine way of pulling up the menu (tapping an icon rather than sliding up)? Thanks but it’s still not that big a deal.

The one interesting thing about 2.1 is voice input throughout most text fields. It works surprisingly well and obviously takes some time getting used to.

(More on Techland: 5-minute Android 2.1 Demo)

But just about everything else from 2.1 is the same as 2.0. Something I failed to mention in the Droid review was that Android 2.0 syncs apps from any Android device to your new one. The weather widget is actually pretty neat, though. While Android supports Exchange e-mail (and contacts), it doesn’t support Exchange calendars natively because everything is tied into your main Gmail account.

And do I even need to bring up multi-touch support? Google sidestepped this question at least week’s press conference and it really ticks me off. Why? Because the Droid and Nexus One support native multi-touch in Europe and Google simply won’t say that they can’t do it in the States because of Apple. The double tap to zoom-in is asinine and frustrating. The Android Market does offer the Dolphin browser that supports multi-touch, but it’s not really my cup of tea.

Miscellany

Everyone’s been asking if the Nexus One is the iPhone killer and it isn’t but not because it’s inferior. It’s simply different. The app disparity is an obvious red flag for some people, but the influx of Android devices this year and the introduction of the “Google Phone” will help spur things along.

Android will eventually outpace iPhone and every other OS in the market but only because manufacturers and carriers will adopt the OS not because consumers will seek it out specifically. A few years ago, most feature phones had a crap OS with carrier “apps” and branding. Android will become the new default OS because people will simply stop buying the crap phones and carriers will feel the need to have more control over what their customers do.

(More on Techland: Google Earth Android Demo)

Conclusion

As I’ve said before, the Nexus One is the best Android device available today. HTC built an amazing piece of hardware and Google has done their fair share of refining Android, but they still have a long way to go. iPhone users likely won’t be making the switch if they’ve made any sort of investment in the App Store and BlackBerry users have come to love physical keyboards, rock solid e-mail support and BBM. If you’re looking to step up to a smartphone then the Nexus One is a great choice. Those of you on Verizon will get yours this spring, but don’t forget what I said about the iPhone coming to Verizon in June.

No phone is perfect, which is why I carry three.

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Related Topics: android, Google Phone, nexus one, Gadgets, Google, Reviews, Smartphones
  • midpipps

    I have to say that I agree with android not being the most polished os in the phone world. But I enjoy it.

    Although I do not see what you are saying about exchange calendars I have my exchange calendar synced to my Droid granted it is not a perfect system since I can not use it to see others calendars but it works well enough for a quick check on when my meetings and events are.

    As for the apps I think they will start flowing more and more. As a developer I have to give a big nod to google for not locking the development systems to only Linux or windows or mac. I can take the same project files that I have been working on in my linux box and load them onto my windows machine edit, compile, and go.

  • http://twitter.com/thepeterha Peter Ha

    @midpipps The Nexus One doesn’t support Exchange calendars, only contacts and e-mail.

  • airmanj

    more video of the flight would have been nice. :) would make up for the angry, curmudgeon-like tone of the blog post.

  • midpipps

    @Peter Ha Thanks I thought I was going nuts but then after seeing your comment I decided to dig a little deeper and realized that the calendar was a motorola addition guess I never really payed attention in the dev environments whether that calendar was there or not.

    Sorry about the mixup everyone.

  • mletterle

    Digging my HTC Hero (the one from Sprint, not the weird white one).. not really worried about the processor speed, but the screen real estate would be nice..

    Regardless, I feel like a step up from my last WiMo phone (an HTC Mogul)

  • masurix

    @peterha: Here’s the question, though – if you did have to go with just one phone, which would you keep? I want phone monogamy, darnit! I’m ready to commit (but only because I can’t work from home anymore).

  • oliverh

    Wow, what a poorly-written, poorly-explained article. You often refer to how much you don’t like Android or the device and follow it up by saying it’s pretty great.

    What a waste of a time reading this.

  • http://twitter.com/thepeterha Peter Ha

    @masurix I’d ultimately go with the iPhone.
    @oliverh And what a waste of time reading your comment.

  • masurix

    @oliverh: For someone like me who is a smartphone virgin, a review like this helps a lot. This review says to me, “Gah, this thing is 85% great, if only they just added that extra 15% (which is this, this, and this), it could be amazing.” That’s the kind of info I like to have, rather than yet another droning review of individual features and dry spec comparisons. I’ve read all of that already. Since I feel unqualified to make these decisions for myself, as of yet, I want the straight opinion of someone I know is both smart and knowledgeable about these things. That’s what this review gives me.

    @peterha: That’s where I’d been leaning, too, but I think I’ll wait for the Verizon one in June.

  • http://twitter.com/thepeterha Peter Ha

    @masurix the only reason I’m going with the iPhone is because of the App Store. The vast amount of useful apps (and developer support) compared to the Android Market makes the decision a no-brainer. I don’t particularly think the iPhone is all that great. It stinks as a phone (let’s blame AT&T for that) and e-mail is horrendous.

  • jspeed04

    I’m sorry but I’ve got to say that this review may just be the worst of all of the reviews that I have read about the phone, not because of your beefs with the phone, but because it is once again nothing but a comparison to the iPhone.

    You say that you don’t even think that the iPhone is a good phone, yet you claim that the Nexus One is an inferior phone to the iPhone SIMPLY DUE TO THE APPS?! While it would be foolish of me to say that the Android Market is as robust as the Apple App Store due to app quantity, to say that one phone is better than another simply because there are more of them available, ignoring the quality of them is foolish on your part. Yes there are some great developers making great applications for the iPhone, but not only is the market becoming saturated, most of the apps are downloaded and deleted just as quickly. And also, no mention of Android’s tight, deep integration with Google Apps?

    As someone who as owned the G1 and now a Nexus One I’ve been on board with Android since it was available to consumers and I would have to say that in the one year that it has existed as a platform, it has closed the gap with the iPhone which is a platform that has been around for 3 years. It may not be as pretty, or as fluid. But it offers a hell of a lot more customization and personalization. Not to mention it has a ton of support behind it and lots of room to grow and evolve.

    As I see it, the N1 is a fantastic phone. The best I’ve ever owned actually. It’s slim, its slick, well designed, fast, has a great app store, has a great camera, great voice quality on both ends due to the dual mics, a great screen and one of the best companies behind it. The best thing about it is that it’s different. There’s nothing like having a phone that no one else has, and not to mention, it has one of the best companies behind it.

  • http://twitter.com/thepeterha Peter Ha

    @jspeed04 you’re obviously mistaken. I draw comparison’s to the iPhone over apps and screen size. For the record: I’ve always said that the quality of Android apps outnumber the quality apps available for the iPhone. I’m a fan of Android having been exposed to every iteration and I’m well aware of the customization, but is that really enough? Sadly, you’re just another Android fanboy, which is fine, but if you’re going to take digs at me then do your homework.

  • agryson

    As someone who’s hoping to get his first smartphone in the near future a less spec-heavy review such as this one is great to see.

    At the same time I do agree with some of the criticisms of this review and find it a bit strange that the author seems to be taking them so personally.

    The review does seem in places to be another “iphone vs nexus” which while understandable given the iphone’s market lead is a little frustrating for readers like myself who are looking to get the lowdown on a particular phone – that’s not a dig, it’s simply a comment, take it or leave it.
    I am probably going to go with the nexus given that it is a platform that evolves faster than the competition and passes those changes to the user without having to buy a new device where physically possible. (The common complaint of multi-touch having been quite publicly dealt with recently)
    As for your final comment above, “is [customization] really enough” I’d say that since it deals with all of the criticisms in paragraph 2 of the “software” section (what you infer to be the primary reasons for your lukewarm review “turns out that Android is the real problem”), it seems you’ve answered your own question…

  • mikkelmmm

    I have to echo the sentiments of jspeed04; this is a terrible review.

    When a gripe about the product reviewed is significant enough to mention in the title in such conclusive terms, then one would expect to find at least some manner of rationale to support that conclusion. What we’re treated to, however, aside from a passing mention of the absence of Microsoft Exchange calendar integration, and a paragraph on the lack of multi-touch support at the time of writing, is a series of unsubstantiated references to earlier iterations of the software, with which the reviewer presumably had issues, none of which are shared with the reader.

    It certainly does not lend to the credibility of the author to find him in the comment section engaging in personal attacks on commentators offering perfectly valid criticism. This is very poor form.

  • jesssayin

    Amazing what just 6 months will do. All of your gripes with the Android OS have been addressed beautifully.

    I do have to agree with jspeed04 and mikkelmmm though. One less amateur journalist to contend with. And more’s the pity seeing as this is such a great site.

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