Engadget's Review of the Nexus One (and DROID Owner's Comment)

[CRPercodani]

Snapdragon is based on the same architecture as the OMAP3430, Cortex A8. If it is soooo superior like you say then why does the N1 get constant FC's when using the animated walls but my Droid doesn't? GPU does make a big difference pal, unless your using some old dumbphones with no graphic intensive tasks. I have no problem admitting the N1 is better then the Droid in certain aspects. But I can't use a 3.7" screen for onscreen typing, I need a physical keyboard on anything less then 4.3". That is enough for me to stay with my Droid.

Besides what good is the N1 on T-Mobile? They have absolutely no service in my area, and when I do happen to get a signal it is GPRS.....Edge if the wind isn't blowing to hard. With Verizon I get 3G everywhere I go and I can show you speed test results with 2.4MBPS DL. I use my Droid mainly for data heavy tasks so a slow connection isn't anything I can even consider.

Why do people feel the need to bash something because it isn't up to par with what they want? Enjoy your N1 if your getting one, and let us enjoy our Droid's. It's very simple, unless this is the only way for you to enjoy yourself.

 

[onion]

Snapdragon is based on the same architecture as the OMAP3430, Cortex A8. If it is soooo superior like you say then why does the N1 get constant FC's when using the animated walls but my Droid doesn't? GPU does make a big difference pal, unless your using some old dumbphones with no graphic intensive tasks. I have no problem admitting the N1 is better then the Droid in certain aspects. But I can't use a 3.7" screen for onscreen typing, I need a physical keyboard on anything less then 4.3". That is enough for me to stay with my Droid.

Besides what good is the N1 on T-Mobile? They have absolutely no service in my area, and when I do happen to get a signal it is GPRS.....Edge if the wind isn't blowing to hard. With Verizon I get 3G everywhere I go and I can show you speed test results with 2.4MBPS DL. I use my Droid mainly for data heavy tasks so a slow connection isn't anything I can even consider.

Why do people feel the need to bash something because it isn't up to par with what they want? Enjoy your N1 if your getting one, and let us enjoy our Droid's. It's very simple, unless this is the only way for you to enjoy yourself.

You MUST be kidding....

The GPU in snapdragon is THREE time faster than the PowerV GPU in the moto droid. Yes, THREE time faster.

Moto Droid GPU = 7 million triangles
SnapDragon GPU = 22 million triangles

Plus 2D acceleration in snapdragon blows away the PowerV chip in the droid.

Simply too funny IMO. Please read the white papers on each phone and chips used before posting again.

 

[Trapper31]

Ladies and Gentlemen, we'd like to ask you to kindly refrain from feeding the troll.

Thank you.

 

[andrew53517]

Okay, I don't know a lot about this stuff, but Onion, you keep repeating the SAME POINTS! You have nothing new to say, they all have valid points and you keep saying it's "THREE TIMES FASTER" the "CPU is TWICE AS FAST" blah blah blah..

Okay, I put my droid up to that video when he pulled up engadget, and the N1 only beat it by about 2-3 seconds...PLUS the N1 is on 2.1 also which makes a difference! And it has your precious snapdragon processor and it didn't kill me. See I thought it would blow my droid away buddy??? Ummm... NO!! It's because it's only 5% faster and if you don't believe me go to their website and look. A 2-3 second defeat would be about 5% faster. If it was truly 3 times faster then my droid would lost by over 7-8 seconds and it didn't!

 

[andrew53517]

Also, if you read his mini preview on the page, the writter even said it is nothing that much faster than the droid.

"The thing that's struck us most (so far) about the Nexus One thus far is the fact that it's really not very different than the DROID in any substantial way."

Told yeah...

 

[YankeeDudeL]

Everyone has a right to purchase whatever phone they want. And those who have waited to make a more informed decision, I commend you. But, I wanted the best phone on the best network and I have that.

Oh, and my dad can beat up your dad. FYI.

 

[CRPercodani]

SGX530 (14 MPolys/s) for the handheld mobile market. Get your facts straight.

Nobody gives a crud about playing stupid 3D video game

So who cares anyway right? Even with all the power the N1 has it still FC's when trying to use live walls...

Like I said, I know the N1 is more powerful, but it has no keyboard and uses the worst network so it isn't a option to a person who relies on there phone for business like I do.

 

[dB Zac]

I thought I read somewhere that the Droid uses a 2nd processor just for graphics? Wouldn't that be the reason why it crushes the hero and can keep up with phones like the N1 and Moment

I found this surfing around

"it should be at least 3 times faster from what people have stated, because even the 800mhz processor in the upcoming samsung phone is not nearly as fast as the A8 @550.

also, the chipset has a seperate GPU which should handle all the rendering, freeing up the CPU cycles for even more other processing"

 

[dB Zac]

here is a good write yp on why the droid is as fast as it is Inside the Motorola Droid, an iPhone likeness | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News

 

[sooper_droid12]

The N1 using Qualcomm's 3D Neocore Benchmark returned a 26.7 fps result. Even though it needs to resolve more pixels, on a larger screen, it does have a faster processor. The G1 returned the exact same result, though less resolute, has a much slower processor. The user benchmarking the N1 stated, "26.7 fps, not bad but a little disappointing. The lack of PowerVR feels" (translated from French). Early benchmarks of the N1 are hit and miss at the moment and the hardware seems to be schizophrenic: one test it's blazing (benchmark) and in two tests it's sub-par (Qualcomm optimized tests).

 

[reznorfan0]

guys Guys GUYS!!!

Lets just all settle down here hmmmkay? N1 is a great phone, fine, good. Better than the droid even, fine, good. I don't care because you couldn't pay me to switch to Tmo, so to me, the N1 might as well be the iphone, it simply doesn't exist in my world.

Now, will I be jealous when a better phone than my droid comes out on the only decent carrier in the US? Sure I will. Did I have any doubt that would be the case the day that I bought the droid, certainly not, that's ALWAYS the case if your into tech.

SO, lets all just celebrate that an open source OS is getting all this hype and mainstream attention that it is. All the phone manufacturers are tripping over themselves to offer Android based hardware, and all the carriers are tripping over themselves to sell them.

People keep waiting for the mythical "iphone killer" to appear and deliver us from the smuggness of the fruit company and all it's kool-aid drinking fans. It's not going to happen, but we've seen the beginning of the end as far as that being the only game in town. So lets all just be happy that we finally have something of our own to bring out when some apple deciple is going off about his/her precious, and that there is more than one company contributing to it's developement.

 

[virtus]

Cliffs:
N1 lacks a hardware keyboard and is smaller and smoother
N1 is a bit snappier than a droid, but not OMG THIS IS 500X FASTER
N1 has a faster camera
N1 has more memory (512MB), less storage (4GB - expandable via microSD)
N1 is designed to run on Tmobile's GSM/3G network in the US
N1's most notable differences come from android 2.1
N1 is "really not very different than the Droid in any substantial way"
N1 is a very nice, sleek phone and a welcome addition to the Android world

 

[onion]

Okay, I don't know a lot about this stuff, but Onion, you keep repeating the SAME POINTS! You have nothing new to say, they all have valid points and you keep saying it's "THREE TIMES FASTER" the "CPU is TWICE AS FAST" blah blah blah..

Okay, I put my droid up to that video when he pulled up engadget, and the N1 only beat it by about 2-3 seconds...PLUS the N1 is on 2.1 also which makes a difference! And it has your precious snapdragon processor and it didn't kill me. See I thought it would blow my droid away buddy??? Ummm... NO!! It's because it's only 5% faster and if you don't believe me go to their website and look. A 2-3 second defeat would be about 5% faster. If it was truly 3 times faster then my droid would lost by over 7-8 seconds and it didn't!

I don’t know how to explain this anymore. It would be helpful if you had even a rudimentary understanding of computers and performance bottlenecks but I will give it a shot...

The N1 beat the droid by only a few second because the bottleneck was the connection NOT the CPU.

You have to understand that computers and technology can be complicated. I highly recommend (instead of creating your own reality) to educate yourself on how computer and cellular networking works instead of believing what you think is true.

As the saying goes, reality is not what you make believe it is.

 

[reznorfan0]

fine, if your not going to listen to my "can't we all just get along" post, take this.

Your all wrong, and your favorite band sucks.

 

[sooper_droid12]

So lets all just be happy that we finally have something of our own to bring out when some apple deciple is going off about his/her precious, and that there is more than one company contributing to it's developement.

That's the thing though... where's the game changer? This is the gPhone, not the Acer Liquid or Sony X10. Even the X10 dares to have a 4" screen. OS2.1 ain't nothing more than a few more slick animations and has a marginally better music player and gallery. There was way too much hype for this phone to be "not substantially" more than the Droid. It's only .01 inches thinner than the Droid, 1mm thinner than the iPhone. The best the N1 can do is tout that it's teflon coated?

VoIP using gVoice/Gizmo5. Do it Google and release 2.1 for the DROID so we can have an apt comparison!

Just thought of something: how much you want to bet the gPhone gets dropped the moment HTC comes out with an OS2.x w/ Sense? Where's the gPhone then? No where. Game changer.

 

[rushmore]

I agree, I was really surprised by all the FC's he got when messing with the live walls. Don't expect a huge "OMG THIS PHONE IS AWESOME" from Topolsky, he is a loyal iPhone user. Not saying he is extremely biased, but he is so use to the iPhone that anything else doesn't really strike him as the GOAT. Now about the N1, I personally wouldn't trade my DROID for one even if it was on Verizon. I NEED a physical keyboard, even if it isn't a great one. The OLED screen is pretty, but in direct sunlight they don't do as good as LCD's (IMO). The extra (double) RAM is something to be jealous over, but the Snapdragon hasn't proved itself yet like the OMAP34xx's and even though it probably is faster overall it isn't enough to give up the physical keyboard. Maybe if it had a 4.3" screen or a physical keyboard I would consider it, but I am happy with my DROID, and am sick of HTC's design after sticking with them for many years.

I agree. I am currently a G1 / N900 user (been with Tmo 6 years), but very unhappy with weak 2G and no 3G coverage where I live (VZN has 3G everywhere in my area).

Snapdragon is actually about equal to the 3430, but weaker in regards to 3D:

1. Snap has a dedicated DSP, but no GPU (integrated in cpu). 3430 has both a dedicated DSP and GPU for 3D. Have you all seen Quake 3 plays smooth as butter with sound on the N900? Duke Nukem plays smooth with sound too, but of course not a true 3D game.

2. The 8250 (Snapdragon) was not designed to run at 1ghz on phone form factors due to heat and battery consumption. They will be capped at 700mhz and lower.

Considering the Snapdragon is capped and has no dedicated GPU like the 3430, Snappy will actually be less zippy with 3D compared to the 3430.

Another thing to consider is Flash performance on Snap, since a lack of a dedicated GPU means more clock cycles to cover Flash content (10.1 in July-ish).

Still not sure why Droid is capped at 550mhz, since N900 runs fine at full speed and no issues. You can actually over-clock the 3430, but I see no point due to battery consumption.

BTW, I would love a replacment for G1, but need a keyboard. N900 is good, but Maemo 5 is about six months away from being on par with phone-centrics of Android. Still, N900 is one kick a55 netbook and media player . 2G reception in low signal areas is weaker than my G1 though.

 

[celios]

That's the thing though... where's the game changer? This is the gPhone, not the Acer Liquid or Sony X10. Even the X10 dares to have a 4" screen. OS2.1 ain't nothing more than a few more slick animations and has a marginally better music player and gallery. There was way too much hype for this phone to be "not substantially" more than the Droid. It's only .01 inches thinner than the Droid, 1mm thinner than the iPhone. The best the N1 can do is tout that it's teflon coated?

VoIP using gVoice/Gizmo5. Do it Google and release 2.1 for the DROID so we can have an apt comparison!

Yes, I am underwhelmed by the Nexus One as well. To have any hope of being remembered as anything more than the 2.1 testbed, there needs to be something more than we've seen so far...

BTW, the Hero (non-US version) is teflon coated I think.

 

[kraze0g]

argh...

The first Google Nexus One review shows up

Source: Unwired View - Mon 04 January, 2010
Google?s Nexus One Android smartphone is, of course, not yet officially announced, but the first review of it has already appeared on the Web. Sure enough, we?ve seen many leaked photos, videos and previews of the handset, but this is the first time when an actual review is published

wow... nice phone when sitting next to the iphone, author says when in hands it feels 'incredible'...
they do a side by side comparison of the droid and the N1
GRAPHICS: N1 ~69% faster
CPU: N1 ~68% faster
MEMORY: ~same
FILE SYSTEM: ~same

well now im really stuck -- im was gonna buy the droid tomarrow after the google event thingy to see if i was gonna miss something and then i hear all this news about the N1 being so much better (which is not a surpise) ... but i dont care, it's not on verizon.

what really makes me feel upset is that i was told by someone that now motorola's going to put out the sholes 'very soon'? with an 880mhz processor? all touch...
does anyone know anything about this? i have not heard one thing about the sholes except that its coming out in a dual release (one in china and one in russia).. all i heard is that motorola will announce the devour and the phone for ATT.. what do u guys think of this 'rumor'? (btw, this is the same guy that said the new htc was coming out mid january and then changed to april)... so should i throw away my hopes of getting the droid and go back to my LG flip phone? if anything we should hear from motorola about the sholes if it really is coming out soon on wednesday right? if it isn't announced then i think this is false?

i go back to college on the 15th... i need a phone... i dont know what to do i had my heart set on the droid till now.

blah
-jen

 

[sooper_droid12]

Acer's Liquid is also listed as getting the 1GHz Snapdragon, but as you know, it's been under clocked to 768MHz. And the Acer has poor battery life after first impressions. But it also doesn't have an OLED screen.

I believe that the Snapdragon PLATFORM has a GPU on it's SoC design. ATI Imageon is the GPU. No clock speeds have been released for that GPU. The 600+MHz clock speed that people are quoting is the DSP. What people forget is that the Snap is a PLATFORM capable of UP TO (insert specification). However, when it comes to reality, it MAY be starkly different.

That's why I've been saying, CES will be the definitive answer for this phone. Man, I hope there's a game-changer up Google's sleeve, otherwise, this will be an embarrassment.

 

[onion]

I agree. I am currently a G1 / N900 user (been with Tmo 6 years), but very unhappy with weak 2G and no 3G coverage where I live (VZN has 3G everywhere in my area).

Snapdragon is actually about equal to the 3430, but weaker in regards to 3D:

1. Snap has a dedicated DSP, but no GPU (integrated in cpu). 3430 has both a dedicated DSP and GPU for 3D. Have you all seem Quake 3 plays smooth as butter with sound on the N900?

2. The 8250 (Snapdragon) was not designed to run at 1ghz on phone form factors due to heat and battery consumption. They will be capped at 700mhz and lower.

Considering the Snapdragon is capped and has no dedicated GPU like the 3430, Snappy will actually be less zippy with 3D compared to the 3430.

Another thing to consider is Flash performance on Snap, since a lack of a dedicated GPU means more clock cycles to cover Flash content (10.1 in July-ish).

Still not sure why Droid is capped at 550mhz, since N900 runs fine at full speed and no issues. You can actually over-clock the 3430, but I see no point due to battery consumption.

SIGH....you are a PERFECT example of what I call a reality creationist. Its someone who creates thier own reality and believes it. The problem is reality is not what YOU make believe it is.

Before you post again, I would HIGHLY recommend getting an proper education in smartphone hardware. It is very clear you dont even have a rudimentary understanding of the SnapDragon SOC.

Snapdragon has a VERY fast 3D DEDICATED GPU capable of 22 million triangles per second. Its called the AMD z430 (also known as adreno 200) and was developed by ATI/AMD.

Your lack of knowledge make you believe that since the GPU silicon is part of the snapdragon SOC that there is no GPU at all when in reality you are completely wrong. Its actually BETTER to have the GPU part of the SOC like the snapdragon.

Please stop posting in these forums, all you are doing is spreading misinformation.

 

[PerCompLLC]

Too funny!

 

[sooper_droid12]

GRAPHICS: N1 ~69% faster
CPU: N1 ~68% faster
MEMORY: ~same
FILE SYSTEM: ~same

Those "benchmark" numbers are using the benchmark app available on the market. I would hardly say its definitive. Obviously, benchmark tests need to be used with optimized drivers. The initial glBenchmark scores for the HD2, which uses the same hardware was SMOKED by an iPhone, until the optimized drivers were uploaded, which enhanced its performance.

That being said, something is fishy because the N1 runs the same platform as the X10 and Liquid (for the most part), and the same benchmark numbers are lower for those phones compared to the "Anonymous" N1 posting where those numbers came from. So, I would say those early "benchmark" numbers are unveiling a schizophrenic N1. Qualcomm's own Neocore 3D bench shows that the N1 is pushing a little under 27 fps -- the same as the G1 using the same benchmark.

 

[sooper_droid12]

Those graphic numbers by the way are the processors ability to render 2-D graphics, which is a nice indication of the CPU's potency, not so much the GPU. But no one was questioning the Scorpion CPU's ability to crunch integers and the sorts.

 

[kraze0g]

Guys i need help here I really don't care about the N1 because its not coming to verizon... my problem is that i heard from someone that 'supposedly' works at verizon that the sholes tablet w/ 880mhz processor is coming out "very soon" and that he'll be getting rid of his droid. i have been planning for weeks now to get the droid because i have to go back to college on the 15th... ive looked everywhere and cannot find a thing about the 'sholes tablet' except that it will be released in china and russia and that the next android phone for verizon will be the devour (which i dont want) .. im saddened because i was going to get the droid tomarrow and i was damn excited too.. now after hearing that a sholes tablet is coming very soon and hearing some of the posts in this thread claiming the droid is on its way out and being dated, im dissapointed for tomarrow has anyone heard anything about this sholes tablet except from this guy? (same guy claimed the next htc would come out mid-jan).. i thought i was getting some high-end phone and now after reading this thread and hearing this news i feel like im getting a 'dated' phone already.

what do you guys think i should do? wouldn't motorola definitely announce a sholes tablet coming to the US on the 6th at their showing before CES if there was any truth in this 'rumor'?

argh
-jen

 

[sooper_droid12]

You'll have to wait until the 6th to hear about the Motorola plans for Android at CES (one day after Google's press event).