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Droid 2.1 vs. Nexus one REQUEST

Germwise

Android Enthusiast
Nov 8, 2009
406
57
SO I keep reading that the nexus one is super fast and beats the Droid at every step. The question I think needs to be answered is how much of that speed difference is hardware and how much is 2.0 vs 2.1.

Scattered throughout the forums are opinions, but no scientific comparisons.

If someone has access to both can they make a video? Compare Web browsing, app downloading/install, battery life. media capabilities ETC ETC with the droid running 2.1 and both devices on wifi.


I ask this because if the gap is closed with both devices running the same operating system. I'd rather have big red over tmobile and with a $150 device from bestbuy rather than 530 (I'm on a family plan)

Please someone do this!
 
Although I fully support someone doing this and would love to see the results, I suspect you won't be happy with the answer.

I'm not a betting man, but my money is on the N1 running circles around the droid in a test like this.

I dont think the performance gap is going to be as big as you think. Surely the N1 will be faster. But its not going to be near fast enough to justify spending and extra $300 for people on family plans like Choffy.
As for betting I'd lay money that HTC's next high end android will beat the N1 in benchmarks.
 
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I dont think the performance gap is going to be as big as you think. Surely the N1 will be faster. But its not going to be near fast enough to justify spending and extra $300 for people on family plans like Choffy.
As for betting I'd lay money that HTC's next high end android will beat the N1 in benchmarks.
I'm actually leaving my family plan for the phone. I already pay $60 a month for my share of the bill anyways. What's an extra $10?
 
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A few people that have installed a hacked up version of 2.1 on their Droids seem to think it's the OS version that makes the Nexus so fast and not the hardware. Of course this isn't at all scientific like you asked for, so I'm sorry about that. Ideally, the Snapdragon is faster, but the Cortex A8 is fast too. I think there will be a noticeable difference, but nothing tremendous. The Droid is already pretty fast, and although more speed is always nice, I don't think it's necessary. My apps and pages load as quickly as I could ask them to, and we already know that 2.1 increases the overall speed and fluidity of the interface.
 
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A few people that have installed a hacked up version of 2.1 on their Droids seem to think it's the OS version that makes the Nexus so fast and not the hardware. Of course this isn't at all scientific like you asked for, so I'm sorry about that. Ideally, the Snapdragon is faster, but the Cortex A8 is fast too. I think there will be a noticeable difference, but nothing tremendous. The Droid is already pretty fast, and although more speed is always nice, I don't think it's necessary. My apps and pages load as quickly as I could ask them to, and we already know that 2.1 increases the overall speed and fluidity of the interface.

The true test of that will be loading up 2.1 on a G1. If that is pretty fast, we'll know the software is the key component.
 
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fry-see-what-you-did-there.jpg
 
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The true test of that will be loading up 2.1 on a G1. If that is pretty fast, we'll know the software is the key component.

Does the G1 have any dedicated graphic processing? This is totally speculation on my part - so please let me know if I'm way off - but I have a feeling 2.1 is smoother and faster largely in part because it makes better use of the GPU than 2.0. Of course I have no idea if that's true, but it seems logical - especially since 2.1 supposedly supports animated wallpapers - and both the Droid and N1 have dedicated graphic processing.
 
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Okay, I feel that the moving between screens, pulling up menus and app drawers speed difference is all 2.1. But the difference between the snap dragon processor and A8 cortex is not that much of a difference... I tested my DROID vs the N1 today (IN VIDEO) Nexus One trounces 3D benchmark, gets caught in high-res photoshoot -- Engadget

He loaded la journal de geek or some website name like that, and then I did the same website on my droid and it stayed with it every single second of the way UNTIL he changed the page to load another web page. But it stayed with it the whole entire way! ON WIFI of course! ;) But it might navigate through apps faster, better.. fine. Droid does fast enough for me. It might have a slightly faster browser, but the Droid can keep up with it almost every bit of the way. And I feel that once we get a stable 2.1 on the the droid, (mine CURRENTLY IS USING 2.0.1 WHEN I DID THE COMPARISON) the droid should be just as good!

Plus, my battery life on my droid is phenominal!! I wouldn't trade it for anything!! And snappy is going to use A LOTTTT! So gotta be careful! But yeah it it'll be faster, but I personally don't believe it is anything significant at all.
 
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Found this for all you crazy benchmark ppl (i'm one of them...)

softweg-studio.com Benchmark Score Table

It's basically the homesite of the developer of 'benchmark' in the market. In there it list all the scores recorded. 3rd one down from top is by Anonymous on a nexus one. The top 2 are eee's running Android :p

So this concludes it's the fastest CPU in an Android phone to date (about ~65% faster then the droid)

More interesting is the the GPU score of 26.5 which smashes the Droid which scored 17 (~55% better then the Droid).

Also interesting is the x10 which is the 4th one from the top 'Anonymous'. That is getting slightly off topic, but I thought interesting to see it benchmarked :)
 
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SO I keep reading that the nexus one is super fast and beats the Droid at every step. The question I think needs to be answered is how much of that speed difference is hardware and how much is 2.0 vs 2.1.

Scattered throughout the forums are opinions, but no scientific comparisons.

If someone has access to both can they make a video? Compare Web browsing, app downloading/install, battery life. media capabilities ETC ETC with the droid running 2.1 and both devices on wifi.

I was thinking about this too. I have also heard that Android 2.1 is faster, so it will be nice when we get that upgrade on the Droid.

I love the Droid keyboard. I'm not sure I would want a phone without a keyboard. Other than that, the Nexus One sounds good.

I'm within my return period for the Droid. I bet some people in the same position will be returning the Droid for the Nexus One. I would -- if the Nexus One had a keyboard. But I think I'll stick with the Droid. I really like this phone. I like almost everything about it. Speed hasn't been a problem.

My minor issues with the Droid are bugs when using a headset with VoIP, poor battery life, and no bluetooth in airplane mode.

I ask this because if the gap is closed with both devices running the same operating system. I'd rather have big red over tmobile and with a $150 device from bestbuy rather than 530 (I'm on a family plan)

Funny thing, I would prefer T-Mobile. Verizon's coverage at my house is terrible. In my area, T-Mobile has great coverage everywhere I go. And T-Mobile has better customer service. T-Mobile also seems to have better rates. And Verizon's web site is horribly slow!

However, one thing in Verizon's favor is that I did all the work to get VoIP working on a data-only plan. If I switched back to T-Mobile (I was with them for years), I'd have to figure out how to sign up for data only, which the carriers seem to strongly discourage these days. Anyone know how much a data only plan with T-Mobile would cost?

Actually, if VoIP worked significantly better on the Nexus One and I could get a T-Mobile data only plan for about the same as I pay on VZW, I would really have to consider giving up the physical keyboard. That would be a hard choice. I really like having a keyboard...
 
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However, one thing in Verizon's favor is that I did all the work to get VoIP working on a data-only plan. If I switched back to T-Mobile (I was with them for years), I'd have to figure out how to sign up for data only, which the carriers seem to strongly discourage these days. Anyone know how much a data only plan with T-Mobile would cost?

I'm pretty sure its $40 a month

T-Mobile Internet Plans

yup 39.99
 
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ah, how'd you swing a data-only plan on verizon?
Here's the plan. But as you will see at the bottom, they put up a few obstacles. They don't like people signing up for this plan. But you can do it. When I originally bought my Droid, a $49.99 data-only plan was available to consumers. But then they added messaging and tacked on $5 more to the plan.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/messagingplans.jsp
For PDA & Smartphone or Blackberry

$54.99 monthly allowance
Plan includes:
  • Unlimited Messaging
  • Unlimited Web Browsing
  • Unlimited Data Usage
  • Unlimited Personal Email
  • Voice Per Minute Rate $0.25
For more information on how to activate this plan please visit your local Verizon Wireless Retail Store. Appropriate documentation may be required.
 
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Hmmm, once again it looks like T-Mobile has Verizon beat.

I just looked at my docs and I have until Jan 13th to return my Droid for a refund and to get out of my VZW contract. The decision point is probably going to be whether I can live without the Droid's physical keyboard.

At 6:30 minutes in this video there is a keyboard comparison of the Droid vs. iPhone:
Head to head: Motorola Droid vs. iPhone 3GS [video] | Thoughtpick Blog

The only problem with the comparison is that the person had not used the Droid keyboard before, and he didn't really do much typing (only "this is a test").

Does anyone know if there are any better videos comparing how fast someone can type on a Droid vs. an iPhone? (I'm assuming the iPhone soft keyboard will be a good proxy for the Nexus One.)

I do love the Droid keyboard. I'm starting to be able to touch type few words every now and then. With practice I think I could do much better. Is there anyone out there that can fully touch type on a Droid?
 
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I concur. Swyping is the new way to type, especially in portrait mode. In landscape mode, the keys are too far apart. Still, I use the physical keyboard for text intensive stuff like long emails, document editing, spreadsheet input, etc. Can't stand or have the patience to do all that virtually. But if I'm banging out a quick text, I'm swyping from portrait mode almost 100% of the time. But soft-keyboards the future? Never. There will always be a place for physical keyboards as they're simply more accurate. BB users are some of the fastest one-handed typers I've ever seen.
 
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I concur. Swyping is the new way to type, especially in portrait mode. In landscape mode, the keys are too far apart. Still, I use the physical keyboard for text intensive stuff like long emails, document editing, spreadsheet input, etc. Can't stand or have the patience to do all that virtually. But if I'm banging out a quick text, I'm swyping from portrait mode almost 100% of the time. But soft-keyboards the future? Never. There will always be a place for physical keyboards as they're simply more accurate. BB users are some of the fastest one-handed typers I've ever seen.

Thanks for that perspective. I have not tried Swype yet, but I think I'll download the beta and start playing around with it. But I am glad to hear that you still think physical keyboards will have a place.

I guess we'll see after 1pm EST today if there is anything about the Nexus One that we haven't heard already.
 
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I'm pretty sure its $40 a month

T-Mobile Internet Plans

yup 39.99

I must be missing something, but could someone explain something simple to me. TMO has a $39.99 data plan called "Total Internet" and a $49.99 plan called "webConnect 5GB Data Plan." When I compare them side by side, it looks like there is absolutely no reason to spend $10 more, as the less expensive plan has unlimited data and up to 8 POP3 email accounts, and the more expensive plan has a limit on data and NO POP3 email. Why would anyone want to spend more for less?
 
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I must be missing something, but could someone explain something simple to me. TMO has a $39.99 data plan called "Total Internet" and a $49.99 plan called "webConnect 5GB Data Plan." When I compare them side by side, it looks like there is absolutely no reason to spend $10 more, as the less expensive plan has unlimited data and up to 8 POP3 email accounts, and the more expensive plan has a limit on data and NO POP3 email. Why would anyone want to spend more for less?

This is only a guess, but I think the $50 plan is for netbooks and allows tethering. I suspect the $40 plan is for phones only and no tethering. If I get time I'm going to look into that in more detail later...
 
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This is only a guess, but I think the $50 plan is for netbooks and allows tethering. I suspect the $40 plan is for phones only and no tethering. If I get time I'm going to look into that in more detail later...

No need. You're exactly right. Went to the plan details and right there at the top is "Full Internet access for your laptop". Thanks.
 
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