It looks like a couple of very lucky sites have received a Nexus One to review, and they shared all the details. Engadget and NexusOneBlog.com have both posted full reviews of the much anticipated device of 2010.
Neither site was disappointed in the device, but will this make you want to jump to T-Mobile (or At&t if you pay the full unlocked price with no 3G)? Read on to find out the goodies from both sites.
First, we’ll take a look at the Engadget review. Their first comparison is with the Droid, which has been one of the hottest Android devices to come out. With its Snapdragon processor, they said the Nexus One feels faster and is very smooth, but there was still some stuttering when moving between pages. They also said the design and feel of the phone is much better than the Droid. The first downside? No multi-touch! Even though its supported in Android 2.0+, this device doesn’t appear to have the hardware for it. Google has made some UI tweaks, including “live” wallpapers, which are animated while you’re on the homescreen. They also changed its application menu navigation, getting rid of the sliding drawer for a more direct home button and overlay of the icons (which no longer scroll off the page normally, but wrap around a 3D cube on the edges). The keyboard also seems more accurate and responsive.
Here’s their hands-on video:
Now onto the NexusOneBlog.com review. They’ve also said the design is very sleek and sexy, included iPhone-like curved edges. While its not much smaller than the iPhone, they said it feels half the size while in the hands. It has a Teflon-like coating, giving it a rubbery grip. They also said the display is incredible and even go as far as saying there’s no other device on the market that has such a crisp and clear display. “The Nexus One boasts a 3.7” (diagonal) widescreen, WVGA AMOLED screen, delivering at 720×480. Picture quality is very impressive.” The responsiveness of the touchscreen is also on-par with the iPhone, and they also stated they noticed no lag when moving between screens, which is a little different than what Engadget said. They also verified the no multi-touch, but they said there’s a browser called Dolphin that you can download that actually works quite well. There’s also an on-board noise-canceling feature which they say worked quite well. The 3.5mm headphone jack sounds on-par with the iPhone as well. The speakerphone is louder than the iPhone, but at times isn’t as crisp. When looking at the camera, they said the quality isn’t as good as the iPhone and that you may have to play around with settings to get the best picture. This, unfortunately, seems to be a weak area for HTC.
They said the Car Home navigation feature worked quite well, but I believe it still has the downfall of needing a data connection to download the maps on the fly. One nice feature, that I wish more phones had, is voice to text. Anywhere you can type, you can now speak. They gave this feature an 8 out of 10. The only other disappointment was the lack of good games like the iPhone, but the Android Market is growing rapidly, I’m sure this will change soon.
So in the end, the Nexus One seems to be a great device with a few downfalls. Will it change the market? Only time will tell.