I just received my nexus one. Initial impressions...

[Phobic9]

I'll admit that I'm a gadget obsessed guy and lately I've been obsessed with phone tech. I've probably owned at least 10 cell phones in the past 16 months. I need help.

Anyway I just got my nexus one and I'm typing on it now. I apologize for any typos as I also got PRK surgery yesterday morning. Great time to be playing with phones.

OK so I currently have a Droid from Verizon so I'll be comparing it to that mostly.

Form factor: It's well known that the N1 is a slim phone but holding it makes me realize just how thin it is. The Droid is a very husky phone and the N1 is pretty much the exact opposite. Considering that I'm Nora fan of sliders or physical keyboards, I like the N1 much more.

Screen: Not really sure I can test this accurately given the fact my eyes can't tolerate much light due to the surgery but I'll be.happy to answer any questions.

Sound: First thing I noticed is that the droid's external speaker is much much louder than the N1. This may be an issue since I use speakerphone a lot. I haven't made any calls yet since o need someone to drive me anywhere. For tilhe time being, I'd definitely give the nod to the.Droid here.

Performance: it's obvious that the N1 wins here. I did some browser tests on my wifi connection and the N1 was roughly 5-10 secs faster on loading sites than the Droid. In the end, it's not that big of a deal but the overall speed differences is noticeable.

Battery life: just got the N1 so I can't determine this yet.

I think I very loosely covered a few differences but I'm totally open for any and all questions anyone may have.I'm on my way to T-Mobile so I'll see which phone I'll end up keeping based on some other factors,namely monthly cost.

 

[rudeguy]

You bitch. I am so jealous.

 

[Tremulant]

Mine is waiting for me when I get home. Can't wait! (Also need to get my plan stuff sorted out, since my current plan doesn't have data on it)

 

[vshah]

did you get an unlocked version?

 

[Tremulant]

Both the 'unlocked' and 'T-Mobile' version are unlocked. The T-Mobile one just ties you to a 2-year contract to subsidize the cost of the phone.

 

[sygyzy]

I have one too so if anyone has any questions, let me know.

 

[pkulak]

Is there a good way to turn off Flash? Seems like it could really slow down the browser just to display ads.

 

[sygyzy]

pkulak - There is no Flash support for Android right now so you don't have to worry about ads.

 

[zerocool84]

Yea I heard the external speaker on the Nexus sucks. Coupled with the fact that they said it's thin and uses a thin body and gets a lot of unneeded noises.

 

[sygyzy]

The speaker is not good. But I don't think any cell phone has good speakers. It should be only good enough for rings and small sounds like notifications (email, SMS) to come through. I personally don't use my cellular phone as a replacement for a digital camera and I certainly don't use it to as a speaker device to rock out to music. It has a headphone port.

 

[TheWart]

uh oh....

http://gizmodo.com/5443123/does-the...modo/full+(Gizmodo)&utm_content=Google+Reader

 

[abaez]

I'm in Downtown L.A. and have had no issues at all with 3G switching. It's been 3G the whole time and it's blazing.

One thing that really sucks is the buttons along the bottom don't really work that well. I have to use essentially the top half of each button. My thumb pressing right in the center doesn't get detected.

 

[Dangerer]

yeah the speaker is complete garbage. Was playing with my girlfriends model for half an hour and this is a glaring issue. I have the TP2 (which I consider to have the most superior speaker phone of any phone I've used) and the Nexus literally took a few years worth of steps back in that area.

 

[Dangerer]

The speaker is not good. But I don't think any cell phone has good speakers. It should be only good enough for rings and small sounds like notifications (email, SMS) to come through. I personally don't use my cellular phone as a replacement for a digital camera and I certainly don't use it to as a speaker device to rock out to music. It has a headphone port.

Utilizing turn by turn GPS or using the speaker for hands free calling are two reasons I want a strong and clear speaker. Lounging around and watching youtube without a headphone port is another

 

[sygyzy]

Dangerer - The way I use the phone, I agree with GPS. I don't really use hands free calling. No offense to you but a few years ago I was in a store and a guy was rocking out with phone, using the speakers to play music. He was holding it out like a mini stereo. It was very douchebaggy. I cringed. I get the exact same feeling anytime I am in a car or with a group of people and someone thinks it's cute to switch to speaker mode and have a little party line conference call. It sucks on every phone including the iPhone.

 

[zerocool84]

One thing that really sucks is the buttons along the bottom don't really work that well. I have to use essentially the top half of each button. My thumb pressing right in the center doesn't get detected.

That's what they said in the Engadget review as well that the button have to be pressed in the upper part cus they didn't register sometimes. How's typing on the phone? Can you text fast on it?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

That's what they said in the Engadget review as well that the button have to be pressed in the upper part cus they didn't register sometimes. How's typing on the phone? Can you text fast on it?

I'm guessing w/o multitouch support you have to make sure you do release every button as you type. As an iPhone typer I go pretty fast, but it completely fails on the Droid.

 

[zerocool84]

I'm guessing w/o multitouch support you have to make sure you do release every button as you type. As an iPhone typer I go pretty fast, but it completely fails on the Droid.

Yea that's the only thing that I'm sure sucks on it since no multi-touch you're ganna have some trouble typing fast.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Yea that's the only thing that I'm sure sucks on it since no multi-touch you're ganna have some trouble typing fast.

Is it possible to install HTC's keyboard? HTC does include multitouch. It is in the Droid Eris. I have no problem typing on the Droid Eris. At first I thought something was wrong with the Droid or how I typed, and then I figured out that HTC puts in multi touch which was why I was so comfortable typing.

There's ways to hack in WinMo to bring in HTC's keyboard because really HTC is all that's left saving WinMo and so I guess people have put in the effort to hack that, but is it possible on Android yet? I'm sure some people will try.

 

[rudeguy]

Utilizing turn by turn GPS or using the speaker for hands free calling are two reasons I want a strong and clear speaker. Lounging around and watching youtube without a headphone port is another

Have you thought about an aftermarket stereo with bluetooth? I keep talking myself out of getting the bluetooth add-on for my JVC deck. Maybe posting a review of how it ties in with all the android features would be a good reason to buy???

 

[Demo24]

Is it possible to install HTC's keyboard? HTC does include multitouch. It is in the Droid Eris. I have no problem typing on the Droid Eris. At first I thought something was wrong with the Droid or how I typed, and then I figured out that HTC puts in multi touch which was why I was so comfortable typing.

There's ways to hack in WinMo to bring in HTC's keyboard because really HTC is all that's left saving WinMo and so I guess people have put in the effort to hack that, but is it possible on Android yet? I'm sure some people will try.

I fail to understand how you seem to know so much about these phones, yet don't know that it's fairly common knowledge that a better keyboard exists, in fact that's its name. However I fail to understand why multi-touch is necessary on a keyboard? I can tap out a message just fine the way it is by releasing a key and pressing another key. Nothing different than typing on a physical one.

 

[Rottie]

Damn I am not aware the Nexus One already come out...I thought it should come out AFTER CES show this week.

 

[abaez]

That's what they said in the Engadget review as well that the button have to be pressed in the upper part cus they didn't register sometimes. How's typing on the phone? Can you text fast on it?

I can't really comment on the typing because I have been using hardware keyboard for years. Typing is abysmal on a touch screen I don't care what anyone says. I haven't noticed a difference in typing without multitouch.

 

[zerocool84]

I can't really comment on the typing because I have been using hardware keyboard for years. Typing is abysmal on a touch screen I don't care what anyone says. I haven't noticed a difference in typing without multitouch.

Well I hate typing on a screen as well. I was just seeing if you would be able to compare it to other stuff you might have used.

 

[sygyzy]

I don't really understand how multitouch affects typing. I am sure it does since everyone says this but maybe I never typed fast enough on my 3G that I found a speed difference on the Nexus One. Ignorance is bliss?

Also, when I first got the phone, I had trouble pressing the soft buttons too. Then guess what? I figured out how to do it. It only took a few days. It's not like the pressure point moves around. You may think it's off, and maybe it is. Adjust.