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Engadget's take on Nexus One VS Droid

vincentp

Android Expert
Nov 11, 2009
1,640
59
Rochester, NY
Good review of the Nexus One from Engadget. My favorite line (I've been saying this for a while) following:

"It's a good Android phone, but not the last word -- in fact, if we had to choose between this phone or the Droid right now, we would lean towards the latter."

Full review here: Nexus One review -- Engadget

They compare it to the Droid a few times, specifically the screen, the lack of a physical keyboard, overall design and the network.
 
Only time will tel, but I've been under the impression that the N1 and the the HTC Whatever will prove to be alternatives, not clear upgrades. I'm keeping a close eye on all the upcoming phones b/c while I upgraded to the Droid on Day 1, I have 4 other lines that will be eligible in May, and at least one of which will be to an Android device. Me, I'll be enjoying my Droid for another 22 months.
 
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Only time will tel, but I've been under the impression that the N1 and the the HTC Whatever will prove to be alternatives, not clear upgrades. I'm keeping a close eye on all the upcoming phones b/c while I upgraded to the Droid on Day 1, I have 4 other lines that will be eligible in May, and at least one of which will be to an Android device. Me, I'll be enjoying my Droid for another 22 months.

The nexus one will be coming to verizon in spring of 2010, so that seems like a good new Android device :cool:
 
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The main reason I chose the Droid was the fact that the phone fits me and my personality to a tee. I like having the keyboard. I don't mind the weight. Yes it isn't round edged like the iphone or nexus, but I don't want that.

The Nexus is a great phone and there will be more great phones coming out, but to me the Droid is the best.
 
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I loved this review. It makes me feel great about having gone with the Droid and not waited for the 1st coming of the Miraculous Nexus One.

Doesn't seem to live up to the hype, and the resolution is not as good as the Droid (800 pixels vs. 848 on the Droid).

I felt the same way. I was holding my breath waiting for some bombshell like "N1 blows the Droid away" even though I didn't believe that. Of course it never came, and they confirmed what I've thought all along - it's just another phone (albeit a powerful one) that is really not a significant upgrade to the Droid, it's just an alternative.

A couple of things I was happy to hear...

- The AMOLED screen is very difficult to read in sunlight. I don't have this problem with my Droid.

- The call quality is better on the Droid.

- The speed is better, but doesn't blow the Droid away like some expected.

- The lack of a physical keyboard makes gaming (specifically emulator gaming) basically impossible.

I wasn't planning on ditching my Droid regardless of how good this phone turned out to be, but even though it's coming to Verizon now I can feel safe in my knowledge that I still own the best (IMO) Android device available.
 
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A couple of things I'd like to chime in about:

-The Droid actually has 54 lines on the Nexus (854 vs. 800)

-The call quality may have been due to T-mobile. We'll only find out how good (or mediocre) it is when it is released on Verizon. Then we can compare directly to the Droid.

Anyways, I'm up for an upgrade in July so I'll see how the phone landscape is then. If there isn't a better phone, I'll probably just stick with the Droid. The N1 doesn't offer enough more to warrant an upgrade.

However, my dad who's still stuck on a Storm 1 until June will probably love this phone.
 
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A couple of things I was happy to hear...

- The AMOLED screen is very difficult to read in sunlight. I don't have this problem with my Droid.

- The call quality is better on the Droid.

- The speed is better, but doesn't blow the Droid away like some expected.

- The lack of a physical keyboard makes gaming (specifically emulator gaming) basically impossible.

Not to mention a 4GB SD card? What the heck is that all about? We've got TRIPLE the space!

One thing, however, is that my screen IS difficult to see in direct sunlight. I have the stock Verizon screen protector (which sucks; the corners are already peeling off after 2 weeks). Could that be a reason why??
 
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The best thing about the N1 is its size and design. It's much more appealing to an average shopper. It's smaller than an iphone, the screen is better, and it's not on ATT. These features alone will hook more shoppers than the boxy droid that VZ keeps injecting with testosterone in its advertising.

So ultimately this means that android will have an even larger user base. That means more apps, more development, and more future for our droids.
 
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-The call quality may have been due to T-mobile. We'll only find out how good (or mediocre) it is when it is released on Verizon. Then we can compare directly to the Droid.

Despite Motorola's sometimes CRAPPY rep on phone manufacturing, the call quality has always been top notch. Remember, Motorola used to be radio-only for a long time, they know what they're doing.

Sure, they emit much more radiation to your head than other phones (does it cause brain cancer? Who knows! I guess we'll all find out in a few years), but oh well!
 
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Best is a relative term. To some, the DROID isn't the best phone Android phone any longer. But if your emotional state is dependent on where you phone stands on the spectrum of Android greatness, you have some other problems to deal with other than what you're using to make calls.

The N1 is a great phone and in many ways, it is better than the DROID. Just pure computing power for things like multi-tasking, the N1 will be better because the Scorpion CPU is very, very good; in many respects, better than the OMAP3 processor, even if it has to be clocked higher to do it. The N1's form factor will appeal to a lot more people because it's slimmer, lighter and "feels" better.

In other ways, the phones are the same. The DROID does have noise-cancellation. It's a tiny hole, up by the headphone jack behind the phone. Don't let N1 fanboys tell you otherwise. And still others, the DROID is better:

1) It has a full and true 16:9 resolution screen that doesn't get washed out.
2) It's got a physical keyboard, for some, having one is a must-have, especially for gaming NES/SNESoid.
3) Shoot, it's even got a physical camera button, which until the native camera app has a touch-focus is valuable for consistent in-focus pictures.

Like someone said, they're really just choices. When the DROID gets the 2.1 update, it will really open up the options for people. But don't be surprised when people rush to pick up the N1 because it is an iPhone-like form factor, which many people put a lot of stock in. I mean, 40% of the Engadget review was about how the phone looked and felt.

But the DROID isn't better, nor is the N1. They're just different.
 
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Not to mention a 4GB SD card? What the heck is that all about? We've got TRIPLE the space!

But the N1 has 512 mb for app space. TWICE as much as DROID (@ 256 mb). Plus, that extra RAM isn't just for apps. It's for system processes, which helps overall speed of the device. Whatever the Snapdragon processor lacks on, having twice the memory surely makes up for any deficiencies, particularly in multitasking.

Until there's an App2SD for non-rooted phones, the N1 wins out here. I'd take 512 mb RAM and a 4 gb SD over 256 mb RAM and 16 gb SD any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Oh and 16 gb is more than TRIPLE the space, it's FOUR TIMES the space compared to a 4 gb SD.
 
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So ultimately this means that android will have an even larger user base. That means more apps, more development, and more future for our droids.

I think that's the real plus here. While I think that the Droid is a better phone (not MUCH better, but IMHO a better one, although that might be my insecure emotional attachment to the place my phone has in the smartphone spectrum), in the end we all win!
 
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And in the interview they said a future update will allow app storage on the SD card.

Which would make the present-day limitation of RAM on the Droid maybe not totally irrelevant, but much easier to endure.

If you don't want to root your phone and run apps from the SD card (when that option becomes available on the 2.1 rom floating around), then just wait for the future update.

Once app-running from the SD card is enabled, the Droid will run faster, hopefully.

Although truthfully, I think it's pretty fast already. At least it's fast enough for my needs.

When flash 10 is available, then who knows. But I don't think the Droid is significantly hampered by the limited RAM space right now.
 
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Once app-running from the SD card is enabled, the Droid will run faster, hopefully.

Perhaps, marginally. There are inherent speed limitations for running apps off an SD card since these aren't integrated like Flash memory is on the iPhone for example. I believe the SD card shipped with our phone is a Class 2. For apps, I think transfer rates need to be faster and class 6 is about as fast as it gets right now.
 
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...
Once app-running from the SD card is enabled, the Droid will run faster, hopefully. ...
I'm not real strong on my linux, but how would more storage space speed up the droid? Wouldn't it be similar to adding a larger hard drive to a PC (no speed increase)? I thought that all memory-related performance gains would come from more RAM, not more storage.
 
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Perhaps, marginally. There are inherent speed limitations for running apps off an SD card since these aren't integrated like Flash memory is on the iPhone for example. I believe the SD card shipped with our phone is a Class 2. For apps, I think transfer rates need to be faster and class 6 is about as fast as it gets right now.

good point about transfer rates, never thought about that. im also guessing that class 6 micro sd will be pretty pricy considering that class 6 sd's already are way more expensive on a standard SD card.
 
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