Dear iPhone fans: Nexus One is better, get over it
Looks like every tech blog is comparing these phones, so I’ve made my own table:
Screen:
OLED screens have much better colors and viewing angles. Blacks are really deep because there is no backlight behind. Below is the picture comparing iPhone, Samsung i7500 and HTC G1 screens.
Camera
With small lenses like in these phones, the number of megapixels doesn’t really matter. As for a LED flash – sometimes it’s good to have it as a flashlight.
Video
Just found this test on the net: Nexus One vs. iPhone 3GS: Which Phone Is the Better Video Device?
Storage
Many reviewers have written about a 256 MB storage for installing apps. Most applications are less than 1 MB in size, so you can easily fit 200-500 apps in Nexus One.
Speaking about gigabyte games: there is no executable code of this size. I think it’s 10-20 MB at most, the rest is game data (levels, textures). And this game data can be stored on your SD card. Did you ever happen to download a small installer which then continued to download the rest of the data? This technique is already been used by Android developers, both in applications and games.
Controls
Back button is used not only to return to the previous screen within the same application, but also to return to the previously started application. You don’t have to return to the Home screen every time.
Menu button might not be very intuitive on first day of use, just like a Mac menu bar for some Windows users. But it saves a valuable screen space.
Trackball is rarely used, but it’s helpful for precise browser navigation and in other apps that support it. It’s also the only possible way you can dial a number with your gloves on.
Audio playback controls. Yes, I’m asking where is audio playback buttons on these so-called “multimedia” phones. And AVRCP support is not very good on iPhone, at least I can’t get to work these buttons on Jabra Halo wireless headphones.
Applications
Many people think that applications on the iPhone are more polished. Well, maybe not all:
My point is: nothing prevents the developers from making polished apps for Android.
Multimedia
Sure, it’s hard to beat the iPod. But I personally think that Spotify and similar services are the future. You can listen and discover music on a mobile device or a desktop, and there’s no need in syncing your music via USB cables or something else.
Multi-touch
It may be a matter of preference, but for me personally the multi-touch proved to be useful only when playing a game or typing on a virtual keyboard. It’s good as an additional zoom method in Google Maps, and may or may not be handy when browsing the Web. As for the latter, a double tap in the browser works good enough for me.
Anyway, the Android platform has multitouch support in its API since version 2.0. If you want multi-touch support in the browser (it’s device dependent) or in the maps application, try downloading Dolphin and Maverick from Android Market.
Update: multitouch functionality in stock apps (browser, maps, gallery) added in the recent OTA update.
Fragmentation
There aren’t many problems with multiple screen resolutions on Android devices. Check out this post on how the same application looks on 240×320, 320×480 and 480×854 screen resolutions.
Of course, different devices have different Android versions, but eventually all of them will be upgraded to 2.x (maybe except Samsung i7500, but some hackers are already porting v2.0 to it). Generally, if you have a phone with 1.6, you can install any app from the Market.
Dear iPhone fans
Please stop shouting “iPhone is better!” on every corner. If you are happy with your current devices, Apple will be happy with their sales. Maybe that’s why 3GS is not that different from its previous generation. Why bother making a better device if your current sales are so good?
Competition has always been a natural way to get the best out of someone. Google has done a remarkable thing in the mobile devices front in terms of openness to software developers, something that Apple has yet to surprise us.
I do like how Android is progressing and how the hardware keeps getting better, however, you sound just like the Apple fan boys with your ‘Dear iPhone fans’ attitude.
Apple will release a new device this year and the competition is good, google is the company that can challenge and maybe even beat Apple, but it still has much to do and keep doing.
From what I’ve read and seen, I don’t think the Nexus One is the device to beat the current iPhone, but there will be other devices soon I’m sure.
When Apple do release a new device, I’ll make another chart. And perhaps there will be a new device from HTC, Motorola, SE or some other manufacturer. Do you have any real arguments?
I’ve read other reviews too, and there was too much misinformation. That’s the reason I wrote this post in a first place.
Thanks for an interesting comparison! Love to see more of this when more Android phones hit the market.
Albin Olofsson, Sony Ericsson Developer World
The Nexus One camera is quite something — I published a blog page showing images from the google phone today so people who are wondering about the quality of the camera can make up their own mind. It’s clear that unlike the iPhone, it has one of the best cameras on a phone today:
http://www.markwheadon.com/blog/2010/01/photos-from-nexus-one-google-htc-camera-phone/
Cheers,
Mark
There is an error in the chart. The Nexus One has an AMOLED screen, not an OLED.
Thanks, fixed this.
@Jack Jackson
the iphone is wack as hell, a baby compared to the nexus
1. What is periferal? MacOS doesn’t have spell check?
2. Features, features, features. How about “benefits.”
3. This does sound like a fanboi slam on the iPhone. As a BlackBerry user I could care less which of these wins (competition will make all devices better), but it’s more creditble if the comparison is somewhat impartial. “Official unlock” and “you have to use iTunes…” is not impartial.
4. Tell me how that 24-hour money-back guarantee works. You ever get a real sense for a device in 24 hours? Without your preferred phone number? Which will take a lot longer to port over.
The biggest issue I see with the iPhone is that Google and Apple are playing a game of “chicken.” Let’s see what happens when Google Maps and other apps disappear from the friendly iPhone.
one other thing – OLED and AMOLED are absolutely horrid in sunlight (see: no backlighting paired with limited “reflectivity”). So while this is all well and good in a dark room, it kills me on the streets of San Francisco (rewind to the circa-2001 Motorola Timeport P8767).
1. Sorry, English is not my native language. Fixed.
2. I think I can get benefits from hi-res screen and multitasking.
3. Other blogs may compare Tweetie (2+ years in development) on iPhone and Seesmic (2 month in development) on Android and conclude that “Android interface is not intuitive”. Can I slam iPhone a little?
4. 24-hour money-back is for purchased apps.
5. I’d still prefer AMOLED – the image quality is better. Motorola Droid has almost the same specs but the screen is TFT (480×854). Another point for Android: there are more different devices.
Nice chart. There’s now 25.000 apps in Android Marked btw:
http://www.androidstalk.com/android-news/android-app-count-hits-25000
@josh I agree on your “fanboy slam” comment, although I work with Jeff side by side and appreciate what he tried to do here. My question is: when it’s apparent from the text that the reviewer already made up his mind, wouldn’t he be better off writing in an overtly subjective way, just like Pitchfork Media’s staff writes about music?
I suppose it’s not the reviewer’s fault that the comparison like this seems to fall flat. Do you honestly think that, by and large, there is such thing as an unbiased comparison of something? It’s a bit like complaining that the comparison between Mozart and Beethoven is impartial. The devices like these aren’t pieces of junk, one bigger or newer than another, they’re not just the sum of their specs. From what I perceive, they are a style statement, they’re trying to obtain some kind of personality. I say let the comparison be impartial, but at least make it interesting and revealing (which is subjective too). Because at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal opinion. It’s not about what is better, it’s about what better suits you. In this sense, I’d be more interested in reading why a person prefers Nexus One or any other G-phone over iPhone (or the other way round).
One other thing. My fondness to the platform aside, I can’t deny that some aspects of Android needs polishing, while others are underdeveloped at best. Take a bundled music player, for instance. It’s dumb as hell. They’ve bettered it this year, but it’s still lame. But from what I’ve learned from my experience with Android, it’s not what Google strive for. They want developers like us to make the best software available. So you can’t really blame them for not bundling an iPod killer. Impartial benefits? I’m getting huge benefits from not having to use iTunes, this scourge of the computer universe. Anything’s better than iTunes, you know. It’s almost a fact of nature.
@josh
The 24 hour money back is referring to the Android Market. Not money back on the device itself.
@josh
Are you really going to criticize someone’s spelling when you use a term like “creditble?”
Thanks nubber!
You forgot to mention that the Nexus One has dual microphones with DSP active noise cancellation technology built in, while the iPhone only has a single microphone with no noise cancellation.
Another feature the Nexus One has is voice recognition. iPhone doesn't have this as standard.