N1 vs Droid for Tech Savvy Android Newbie

[Silentknyght]

Hi All,

I'm a married guy in the USA and I'd like to venture into the world of android-capable smartphones for my wife & I. Neither of us have ever owned a smartphone before, and we're not interested in the iphone or apple. I should also mention that my wife is not tech savvy. However, I am pretty tech savvy, or at least enough to put DDWRT onto a router, manage my own linux box, etc, and though I've never rooted a phone before, I guess I probably could.

Here's what I've been considering and I'm hoping to get some others' perspectives to help me make a decision.

(a) Droid via Verizon (possibly with Eris for wife)
(b) Nexus One via T-mobile (with same for wife)

I have a giant list of questions & concerns regarding these choices, and while these concerns aren't likely to be ones with good, easy answers, I'd appreciate some honest opinions from actual users. Or, please feel free to offer comments on other areas of concern of which you feel I should be made aware.

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1. For a major US metropolitan city (oh, say Minneapolis / St. Paul), and all else held constant, is the T-mobile data service better, equal, or worse than verizon? From what I'm reading, T-mobile/nexus one is having 3G/edge connectivity issues, though I'm wondering whether or not that's a typical "USA over-subscribed, under-serviced" issue across all carriers and so also is a problem with Verizon.

2. Is the inability to call & surf the web at the same time that big a problem for the Droid (aka CDMA)?

3. Having read the performance comparison posts in these forums, is the Nexus One really that much faster than the Droid for everyday tasks?

4. While I can purchase the Nexus One unlocked, isn't it true that I'm still going to have to stick with T-mobile for 3G connectivity? I suppose I wouldn't really want to go to AT&T, anyhow.

5. If I purchase two unlocked Nexus Ones, is it ever going to "pay for itself" in contract savings before a comparable 2-yr contract is up? Is there any reason besides cost to buy an unlocked Nexus One (see the above question, as I'm assuming it's limited to tmobile either way).

6. If i choose Verizon, is there any advantage--other than cost--to get my wife an Eris rather than a Droid?

7. Is Verizon going to support the Droid like Google is going to support the Nexus One? Will either honestly continue to be well supported & updated for a full 2 years?

8. Is the droid multimedia "Dock" anything special? From the pictures, it just looks like a $25 piece of plastic. Is there a similar multimedia docking station for the Nexus One?
---

Thanks in advance!
~SK

 

[deman89]

For your wife getting her and Eris gets her sense which is a much more, how should I say, easier to deal with "skin" over android besides vanilla home.

 

[semianonymous]

Nexus One user (and lover) here, here's my $.02

Hi All,

1. For a major US metropolitan city (oh, say Minneapolis / St. Paul), and all else held constant, is the T-mobile data service better, equal, or worse than verizon? From what I'm reading, T-mobile/nexus one is having 3G/edge connectivity issues, though I'm wondering whether or not that's a typical "USA over-subscribed, under-serviced" issue across all carriers and so also is a problem with Verizon.

I really don't know the answer to this. I live in SoCal, and for what its worth, I only have one spot where my 3G doesn't reach (inside of my classrooms at college. Kind of a bonus, because now I'm not tempted to screw around in class. As much, anyways).

2. Is the inability to call & surf the web at the same time that big a problem for the Droid (aka CDMA)?

Depends on if you really use it that much. I've used it once on my phone, it was handy dandy and convenient, but I really wouldn't consider it a huge loss. Others may disagree.

3. Having read the performance comparison posts in these forums, is the Nexus One really that much faster than the Droid for everyday tasks?

I've side my side tested my N1 against my friends Droid. The N1 is notably faster, but its sort of like comparing two race cars. One might go faster than the other, but they are both still amazingly fast.

4. While I can purchase the Nexus One unlocked, isn't it true that I'm still going to have to stick with T-mobile for 3G connectivity? I suppose I wouldn't really want to go to AT&T, anyhow.

Yes. You could get an AT&T sim, but you'd be stuck on EDGE. There are other N1's on the way, for other networks apparently, so you could hold out if need be.

5. If I purchase two unlocked Nexus Ones, is it ever going to "pay for itself" in contract savings before a comparable 2-yr contract is up? Is there any reason besides cost to buy an unlocked Nexus One (see the above question, as I'm assuming it's limited to tmobile either way).

Quite a few people have crunched the numbers, you'd need to hang on to the phone for about a year and a half before it would be cheaper than buying it on contract, depending on what the plan is. Of course, with out a contract means you can change phones at any time, so you could also sell the N1 and get some (or all) of your money back.

6. If i choose Verizon, is there any advantage--other than cost--to get my wife an Eris rather than a Droid?

Eris is slower, lacks a physical keyboard, but its running Sense UI and has full multitouch. It seems to be the last of the Hero hardware phones, from what I can tell.

7. Is Verizon going to support the Droid like Google is going to support the Nexus One? Will either honestly continue to be well supported & updated for a full 2 years?

They seem to be supporting it reasonably well so far. I can see the N1 still being supported in a year or two (hell, the G1 is still getting support), but not so much the Droid.

8. Is the droid multimedia "Dock" anything special? From the pictures, it just looks like a $25 piece of plastic. Is there a similar multimedia docking station for the Nexus One?

Not that I'm aware of, I think it really is just plastic. The N1 has a 45 dollar one, that includes bluetooth speakers

Hope it helps!

 

[cwrig]

I get two N1's once they are released on a larger carrier (Verizon or ATT); Unless you dont travel and find the coverage of Tmobile OK in your home town.

 

[Silentknyght]

Nexus One user (and lover) here, here's my $.02

(stuff)


Hope it helps!

Thanks for the response! It was super helpful, but of course, raises other questions that I also forgot to ask:

1. Is the "button offset" issue for the Nexus One still around? If it still exists, does anyone know if it can be fixed via a firmware update, or if it will be a permanent thing?

2. I assume both the Droid and the Nexus use the "Locale" app identically?

3. Speaking of apps, I assume that the no-apps-to-SD issue that appeared for the Droid when it was released is still around and also affects the Nexus one (i.e. not Droid-specific)?

 

[swest6602]

1. For a major US metropolitan city (oh, say Minneapolis / St. Paul), and all else held constant, is the T-mobile data service better, equal, or worse than verizon? From what I'm reading, T-mobile/nexus one is having 3G/edge connectivity issues, though I'm wondering whether or not that's a typical "USA over-subscribed, under-serviced" issue across all carriers and so also is a problem with Verizon.

2. Is the inability to call & surf the web at the same time that big a problem for the Droid (aka CDMA)? I bought my Droid on Day 1. I am NOT a techie, but reasonably able to figure basic things out on my own. I CAN talk and surf the web. As they say-- "There's an app for that!" In this case in the Market you can get Dialer@Bar. Cannot recall if it was free, but if not it was only a buck or two.

3. Having read the performance comparison posts in these forums, is the Nexus One really that much faster than the Droid for everyday tasks? From what I understand the N1 is a good bit faster. I am still VERY happy with my Droid and it easily does what I want (downloads my AM podcasts while I check the news and twitter.) Plays my podcasts in the car while using Google Maps Navigation. Faster is always better in the IT world, but in this case he Droid is definitely sufficient.

4. While I can purchase the Nexus One unlocked, isn't it true that I'm still going to have to stick with T-mobile for 3G connectivity? I suppose I wouldn't really want to go to AT&T, anyhow.

5. If I purchase two unlocked Nexus Ones, is it ever going to "pay for itself" in contract savings before a comparable 2-yr contract is up? Is there any reason besides cost to buy an unlocked Nexus One (see the above question, as I'm assuming it's limited to tmobile either way).

6. If i choose Verizon, is there any advantage--other than cost--to get my wife an Eris rather than a Droid? The Eris is still running older version of Android. It is cheaper outright, but the data plans are the same price and she will have some limited options as some newer apps are being made for N1 and/or Droid only. Unless she really does not want it, I'd get her the Droid.

7. Is Verizon going to support the Droid like Google is going to support the Nexus One? Will either honestly continue to be well supported & updated for a full 2 years? Supposed to be getting a slightly revised update to 2.1 soon. Hard to say for sure, but I would assume after all the money spent on advertising they will support the Droid to avoid the negative press they'll get if the do not. We already received one update, so I have to say so far so good from my perspective.

8. Is the droid multimedia "Dock" anything special? From the pictures, it just looks like a $25 piece of plastic. Is there a similar multimedia docking station for the Nexus One? Again- There's an app for that. You can get the DockRunner app in the Market (free I think) and get the nighttime 'docked' screen. I use it most nights. I do not own a dock and use the phone as an alarm clock and for music while falling asleep. It is kind of annoying not to be able to just set it in the dock & since the charging port is almost centered, it won't stand that easily without the dock. BUT for $30.....? Not worth it to me anyway.
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Good luck with your choice. I am sure no matter what you choose you will love Android. I do!!!

Thanks in advance!
~SK

 

[Fabolous]

I'm a bit biased towards Droid and 'The Network'. Just a disclaimer.

Thanks for the response! It was super helpful, but of course, raises other questions that I also forgot to ask:

1. Is the "button offset" issue for the Nexus One still around? If it still exists, does anyone know if it can be fixed via a firmware update, or if it will be a permanent thing?

As far as I know, I believe the OTA update on 2.2.2010 remedied this issue. A lot of people were posting that the capacitive buttons were much better after that update

2. I assume both the Droid and the Nexus use the "Locale" app identically?

Yep!

3. Speaking of apps, I assume that the no-apps-to-SD issue that appeared for the Droid when it was released is still around and also affects the Nexus one (i.e. not Droid-specific)?

No un-rooted Android device can install apps on to an SD card. Google talked about changing this in the future, but for the time being, that is the way things go. But then again, there aren't really any large apps to begin with, so that 256MB of user space for apps is actually pretty big. Even really impressive games (like ExZeus) take up just a meg of your ROM, and store the rest of the textures and sounds on the SDcard. So this 'limitation' really isn't much of one, just one that people like to moan about.

You should ask your friends in your city how they think the 3G coverage of each carrier is. I know in my town, all four of the major carriers have 3G, but I consistently get 1.5Mbps on VZW, while my friends are in the 700kbps-1Mbps range.