Look Out World: The Google Nexus One Smartphone is here!
There’s been a lot of pre-launch talk about Google’s new andriod-based smartphone – the Nexus One. The blogosphere was awash with rumors, with the Nexus One even being called a “life-altering device” by one blogger/analyst.
We try to break down fact from hype and give you a real indication of how the Nexus One will affect its competitors and the tech-world at large.
Is it worth the buzz?
The answer to that is kind of, and that’s purely because of the levels of excitement generated pre-launch. While this isn’t a category-killer, Google’s new offering is a great smartphone with a bunch of unique features. It’s sure to garner more share for the android based smartphone market and may be the first real competitor to the iPhone.
The Google Nexus One Stacked Up
This smartphone is strongly influenced in design by the iPhone. It’s incredibly thin and sleek, but doesn’t feel as good as an iPhone. The iPhone feels hard, flex-free and solid even though its so thin and the Nexus One fails to measure up with a slightly plasticky feel. The screen is a real beauty though. The Nexus One runs a 3.7-inch OLED 480 x 800 display. This is almost exactly the same as the Motorola Droid, but the OLED display means colors are much more vibrant (the Droid has a LCD screen). The iPhone on the other hand has a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 pixel screen which while not trodden over, has definitely been trumped.
Startlingly the Nexus One has no multitouch capabilities (software issue and not hardware), but an app called Dolphin Browser lets you use your fingers to manipulate the screen while surfing the net.
The Google Nexus One weighs 130 grams and is 11.5 millimeters thick. The Droid weighs 169 grams and 13.7 millimeters and the iPhone 135 grams and 12.3 millimeters. So the HTC manufactured Nexus One wins here.
Software & Processor
The Nexus One features version 2.1 of Android and is quite quick. The newest version of the Anroid OS features a voice-responsive typing system, animated wallpapers, a new home-panel navigation system, additional system widgets and a 3D photo gallery. Being Google’s baby, there’s also location services like an assisted global positioning system (AGPS) receiver, Cell Tower and Wi-Fi positioning, Digital Compass and an Accelerometer.
PCmag’s PJ Jacobowitz had this to say when comparing his Droid to the Nexus One –
“My Droid applications consistently load and close extremely fast and applications fly. But what is not consistent are the flashy graphics transitions that take place when I close applications. Sometimes an application will dissolve into the homescreen; sometimes it will just flash to the homescreen. The dissolving transitions on the Nexus One were consistently smooth.”
The Google Nexus One also features the 1.GHz Snapdragon processor which is way faster than the ARM Cortex-A8 (utilized by both the Droid and the iPhone). A big difference is that the Google processor can run multiple third party apps simultaneously, while the iPhone cannot.
Networks
The Nexus One will be available (untethered) on Google.com for $529.99. It will also be available via a 2 year service plan on T-Mobile for $179.99. We appreciate the fact that we have a choice. We’ve also head that the Nexus One will be added on a Verizon wireless plan – which make will make this choice even richer, given Verizon’s superior service quality.
As you can see, the Nexus One looks to have its competitors covered on all fronts. Google’s popularity means that the Nexus One will probably take a big chunk out of Apple’s market dominance, even though we feel the iPhone will be able to hold its own because of a strong and loyal customer base, and a well-developed app store. We’re waiting to see how this battle unfolds!
Filed under: Netbook