Google has created hype around its own phone to rival Apple with its iPhone - and it has better specs on nearly every feature with the Nexus One. But is it enough to sway public opinion?
In an attempt to show itself as a mobile manufacturer in its own right, Google has released the Nexus One, a handset built by HTC but branded solely as a Google phone.
Despite some well-publicised problems with customer support and keypad malfunctions - neither of which became an issue during our testing process - the Nexus One is actually a stellar smartphone, easily the match of its peers.
Everyone likes to talk about the next 'iPhone killer' - in reality, Android OS phones are content with second place, beating competitors like Nokia, Palm, Windows Mobile and RIM's BlackBerry OS.
With Android, the hardware is also advancing, especially in terms of the touchscreen and the camera. For those wondering if they should just jump on the iPhone bandwagon, there are still a few annoying qualities about the Nexus One. It will not kill the iPhone, and here's why:
For starters, the Nexus One lacks some wizardry. For example, there's a split second pause when you turn the device to the side for landscape orientation, and you might even find yourself turning the phone a couple of times to get the accelerometer to kick in.
The keypad - while fully functional when we tested it for several days - is a bit imprecise on occasion. In fact, the Nexus One acts like some of the poorer touchscreens on offer at times, where the display is mostly responsive under the finger but lags occasionally.
There are also a few minor gripes that add up to a less-than-amazing experience. One is that the phone can get a bit greasy after extended use and even slip through your fingers. You'll smudge up the screen quickly.
Google also needs to think seriously about some of the power saving decisions on the Nexus One. Of course, you can configure when the screen blanks and when the phone goes into a sleep state, but the default options are impractical: to resume the phone, you have to press the power switch.
For those who are used to just touching the screen to resume, or pressing any other button, you might get frustrated quickly. Forcing you to use the power button is a design decision - it means you won't inadvertently make a phone call with the phone in your pocket. It's still a pain, however.
And then there is just the overall experience of using the Nexus One. In many ways, the Nexus One is a geek phone - there are a plethora of menu options for built-in apps and an exhaustive list of options under settings.
There are so many techie details to explore that new users might get confused by simple operations, such as how to archive an email. (You have to 'long press' and select Archive.)
Bottom line: even if Apple has no need to worry, the Nexus One is still the best Android phone available today.
Sure, it's easy to argue that the Motorola Milestone is more rugged and comes with a full QWERTY keypad, and that the Hero uses a specialised interface that you can use to suit your preferences. Still, as a basic summary, the Nexus One is thin, fast, has a great camera, and worked well as a primary business and consumer phone.
Your comments (16) Click to add a new comment
pabd13
July 3rd 2010
16. Reviewer certainly likes his iphone...
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fuzzypussy
April 8th 2010
15. It would be interesting to see a review of the Nexus One with the original, first edition iPhone and see where things stand. I was interested in the Nexus One but the UI and L&F is a tad bit jagged. I'm very fond of the iPhone - its VERY slick especially considering the form factor, and I am waiting for Nexus Two (and YES! I loathe my BB 9600 - but it works OK and is pretty rugged).
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jin2009
February 11th 2010
14. I have to agree with the other guys on here - this review doesn't add up at all. Sounds like a few ppl bum their Apple Iphones a bit too much at TechRadar.
The positives that are highlighted should warrant a 4.5. All this reviewer does in his last page is go on about negatives, which he even states are 'minor issues' And there's another news blog on this site that states Google has already sorted most of the problems with an update. Surely this review should be updated and take that into account? And maybe highlight the fact Google have updated the phone already and listened to the customers?
Also, why only say 4 lines about the positives and state the phone is full-featured? Every other review on this site has a good amount of text used on the positives, but this guy just summarises the vast positives in 4 lines and then spends more time on the minor negatives. The last page really does let this review down
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louis058
February 3rd 2010
13. I think he is comparing it to the iPhone so much that he's only looking for features similar to the iPhone's features, and comparing the two features I think.
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jasebike
January 30th 2010
12. I've never seen such a negative review. How about mentioning about the things the phone can do. I have had the phone for a month and am still in awe of it. Great screen, great apps, brilliant gadget. I give it *****.
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jasebike
January 30th 2010
11. I've never seen such a negative review. How about mentioning about the things the phone can do. I have had the phone for a month and am still in awe of it. Great screen, great apps, brilliant gadget. I give it *****.
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6tricky9
January 29th 2010
10. You say that the Nexus One is not going to be an "iSlayer" because of certain "minor issues". So there are no "minor issues" with the iPhone then. That's funny because I thought that the iPhone camera was **** (and no flash), that it stuttered under load, that it doesn't fully multitask, that it was prone to overheating, that the battery was not removable, that you could only download apps that Apple has approved (unless it has been jailbroken), and I'm sure that there are many more "minor issues" that I've forgotten.
BTW your obsession with the Nexus One being slippery makes me wonder what you were doing whilst you were reviewing it. Perhaps you were visiting some favourite websites stored in your Bookmarks.
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5inchfloppy
January 27th 2010
9. @tom65536:
Agreed. Most of the issues pointed out are software issues, not hardware, and can easily be remedied with a firmware update/patch.
And the reviewer clearly contradicts himself, since he said "Android phones are content with second place", and that it's not an iPhone killer.
If so, what's with all the comparisons to iPhone? Why not compare to Nokia or Blackberry? WTF?
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samslater
January 27th 2010
8. According to techradar the N900 has only a resistive screen, it's bulkier, the battery life is awful, it's prone to freezing and the maps are 'stuttery'. All this and it has the same score as the Nexus One?
Come on techradar, you just didn't want the Nexus One getting the same score as the 3GS....didn't ya? didn't ya? didn't ya?
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shambolic2000
January 26th 2010
7. Actually, it's quite fair to compare it so frequently to the iphone, as that's commonly agreed to be the yardstick against which all consumer friendly smartphones are measured these days. The iphone does most things very well, even if some features are better on other phones.
When you're reviewing something that is bound to be of high quality and comparing it to something also of comparable high quality it's not actually that surprising that small defects are mentioned, as that may be all that differentiates the two.
I had an Android phone and now have an iphone and I'd never take another phone over the iphone because it does everything I need well and never crashes or fails me.
Having said that, I really want Android to do well. I want a better media experience, such as Divx playback and better PC software for managing media on the phone. Also better camera features. I think Android is the future, 6 months down the line hopefully we'll have a genuine iphone killer. However at present nothing beats it for general consumption.
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jpustin
January 26th 2010
6. What an effing horrid review of an iPhone. They kept calling it a "Nexus One". I dunno, are there editors out there at all?
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simbloke
January 26th 2010
5. Enough of the iPhone please! People who want iPhone, and can afford it, have already got one and they aren't going to be looking at reviews of the Nexus One.
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optimaximal
January 26th 2010
4. Quite how a 4/5 review ended on such a downer is beyond me. Or were you just further clarifying your 'its not as good as my... sorry, *the* iPhone!' point.
As mentioned below, you glossed over the strengths of the phone in order to concentrate on its weaknesses next to it's main rival - surely such a comparison would be better served as its own article and not a specific device review.
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iggy82
January 26th 2010
3. "In many ways, the Nexus One is a geek phone"
Damn right, I love it, it also the reason I come to this website, because its a geek website 'Deep into technology'. I can't help feel the author has forgotten this fact!
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tom65536
January 26th 2010
2. I can't help thinking that this review was written by an Apple fan, it makes a huge deal of very small and fixable issues such as "split second lag" and hardly mentions benefits such as having replaceable memory cards which can be upgraded without having to buy a new handset or having an OLED screen or 50% faster processor. HTC could build a phone that creates world peace and the reviewer would still think it inferior to a dump with an Apple logo on it.
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roggit
January 26th 2010
1. A very good review. I haven't seen such a good iPhone review before. Oh it was supposed to be a nexus one review? It's hard to tell seeing as the iphone is mentioned about a million times.
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