Sore Thumbs - Let's Look at Phones, Shall We? Dan Woolsey
I am the Nexus One…
Apple’s iPhone has become an
unforeseen contender in the handheld gaming market. Sales in the last year
increased greatly for iPhone games. As the technology was improved, Apple even
began marketing it as a handheld gaming device. Over time, people began to
realize that rather than carrying a PSP or DS as well as their phone when they
go out (which they’ll always have anyway), they could just use one device and
still get some gaming in if they felt the need.
The
iPhone seems to be the phone to beat, and each new competitor is looked to as a
contender to be the “iPhone Killer.” Next up to tackle the giant is Google’s
new Android-based phone: the Nexus One. The phone is sold online through Google
for $529 unlocked (so you can use any mobile provider) or for $179 if you
commit to a new two-year T-Mobile contract.
The
Nexus One is a good-looking phone. Its design sits somewhere between the iPhone
3GS and Google’s previous phone, the Droid. The phone is lighter than the
current iPhone, and much sleeker and curvier than the Droid. Along the bottom
of the Nexus One are four haptic-based (vibration feedback when touched)
buttons and a trackball. The trackball isn’t really crucial in any situation,
but offers an alternative way to scroll. Its most useful function is the
multi-colored light that lets you know you have a new text, email, or missed
call without even turning your screen on again. The other four buttons on the
face of the phone don’t always respond when they should and can sometimes be
activated accidentally just when holding the phone.
The phone has an AMOLED screen that measures 3.7 inches,
compared to the iPhone’s slightly smaller 3.5 inch HVGA screen. The Nexus One
has a resolution of 480x800 pixels, while the iPhone is at 480x320 pixels.
While we’re comparing specs, I might as well point out that the Nexus One has a
1 GHz processor, which surpasses the 600 MHz iPhone processor. One more advantage
over the iPhone is the five megapixel camera. Apple’s device has a three
megapixel camera. A huge disadvantage to Google’s phone is the inability to use
multi-touch functions. The phone is capable, but due to Apple patents, the
native OS doesn’t support it. Zooming in on a photo or web page on an iPhone is
easy using the “pinch-and-zoom” function. It seems clunky on the Nexus One when
you have to hit a “+” or “-“ button to zoom in or out.
The
Nexus One runs on Android 2.1, which is Google’s most current OS. The
developers have built-in some great, if not useless, eye-candy on the phone.
When you turn the phone on you’ll notice the background menu is animated and
reacts to touch. There are additional interactive backgrounds you can get or
you can use static images if you prefer.
The
Nexus One integrates voice-recognition in more areas than the iPhone. For
example, while composing a text message, you can hit the Microphone key and
have the phone type what you speak and the voice recognition software generally
works well. The iPhone doesn’t offer this and uses voice recognition mainly for
performing commands. It’s worth noting also that the Nexus One has dual
microphones, which allows for noise-cancellation during calls. Your voice is
picked up and transmitted, while distracting background noise is filtered out.
Putting
its processing power to use, the Nexus One has the ability to run multiple
applications simultaneously. On an iPhone, you can play music using iTunes
while you’re doing other things, but as far as apps go, you’re either using the
app or you’re at the home menu. With the Nexus One, you could start your
Pandora Radio app, then back out to the menu with it still playing. It’s a
small improvement, but cool nonetheless.
While
much of the technology specs-out better on the Nexus One, things aren’t going
smoothly for some customers. There are complaints about inconsistent 3G
connections, touch-screen issues, and high early-termination fees. One of the
biggest issues is that customers don’t know who to go to for help. Google only
offers support through email and forums. Many concerns would be easily handled
by taking the phone and going to a store location for help, but that isn’t
available for the Nexus One. Keep in mind that Verizon plans on offering their
version of the phone by Spring of this year, but if you choose to buy an
unlocked version and go with AT&T, you won’t be able to use their 3G
network. Also, with over 100,000 apps available for the iPhone, it’s going to
be very difficult to catch up in that area (currently the Android Market has
around 20,000 apps). As it stands, the Nexus One is the best Android OS phone
currently available, but it does have its issues. No, it’s not an “iPhone
Killer” yet, but surpassing the Apple beast won’t happen overnight.
Comments (
The
iPhone seems to be the phone to beat, and each new competitor is looked to as a
contender to be the “iPhone Killer.” Next up to tackle the giant is Google’s
new Android-based phone: the Nexus One. The phone is sold online through Google
for $529 unlocked (so you can use any mobile provider) or for $179 if you
commit to a new two-year T-Mobile contract.
