GOOGLE NEXUS ONE REVIEW
Rarely do phones live up to their hype and, as Google’s first self-branded Android phone, the Nexus One has a whole heap of hype to live up to.
Since its release the Nexus One has keypad issues, software problems and a lack of customer support. These, however, seem to be the minority, rather than the majority and blown up due to Google’s scrutinisation in the press which is, if nothing else, credit to what an important release this is.
The Google Nexus One has a massive 3.7″ AMOLED touch-screen that covers the entire front of the phone bar a few buttons at the chin and a simplistic trackball (similar seen on the Blackberry Curve 8900) that is just as easy to use. You might notice the Nexus One looks much like the HTC’s Nexus One look-a-like and spec-a-like, the Desire, that was released sneakily after manufacturing Google’s Nexus.
Bar the N1′s beautifully curved, thin (11.5m!), lightweight design what captures the attention most is its super-fast 1Ghz CPU processor. Everything is lightning fast and simple with the Nexus One, especially the internet which is 7.2Mbps HSPDA. Apart from a little laggy accelerometer, everything else flies. Which is important when you have a plethora of menu options for everything, such as apps and you really get the feeling you’d need a good while with this phone to get to the bottom of everything its capable of.
This is one complaint you could have against the Nexus One – there’s so many functions and different actions that doesn’t often feel intuitive, and learning the Nexus One sometimes feels like you’re trying to solve a puzzle. This is, however, something I imagine a lot of tech-heads will get off on – scrolling and pressing through the endless capabilities of the N1. Basic functions however such as swiping through galleries is simple with the Nexus One and the interface takes full advantage of the 3.7″ AMOLED screen, always feeling spacious and bright.
One of the most impressive features of the N1 is its 5 megapixel camera that isn’t so surprising seeing as HTC developed the Nexus and they seem to have had a redemption in the camera department (such as on HTC Desire). The picture quality is akin to a low-end digital camera and without distortion. On the camera you can configure the white balance as well as the colour tone, ie. sepia or black and white.
During use, the battery lasted fairly well, much on the same level as the iPhone 3GS and will last you the best part of a day under heavy use.
Without continuing the barrage of hype on the Nexus One this really does make the first reasonable attempt at a ‘super’ smart phone. There is so much to offer on the Nexus One and though it might not beat Apple’s iPhone as one of the most popular phones on the market, it’s certainly the best Android we’ve used.
QUICK FEATURES
Display: 3.7″ AMOLED touch screen
Weight: 130 grams
Dimensions: 119 x 59 x 11.5mm
Battery life: 290 hours (standby)
Camera: 5 megapixel (2x digital zoom and LED flash)
Video: Video Recording (20fps)
Music player: MP3 / eAAC+ / WAV / WMA
Ringtones: MP3 / Polyphonic
Operating System: Android 2.1
Memory: 4Gb MicroSD (expandable up to 32Gb)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR / 3.5mm audio jack
Internet: HSDPA 7.2Mbps / WiFi
RRP: £599.99
Released: January 2009
★★★★½
