Customer Reviews

Google Nexus One Unlocked Phone with Android--U.S. Warranty (Brown)

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I almost cried when I returned the Motorola DROID A855 Android Phone (Verizon Wireless) to Verizon due to connectivity problems but now I am glad I ended up with the Google Nexus One Unlocked Phone! This Nexus One hasn't failed me yet; it has strong 3G connectivity with T-Mobile and strong Edge connectivity with AT&T. The phone is gorgeous (AMOLED display - Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) and amazingly fast (snapdragon processor) and fun (Android 2.1 interface enhancements)!

I love the droid platform that you can customize and aren't stuck with the rigid iPhone experience.

I love Google's turn by turn navigation which usually works for me by voice command such as "Navigate to Fry's Electronics" and it will give me choice on screen of which two locations in my city do I want directions to? I touch screen my selection and it starts telling me how to drive there. I have found Google's Navigation better than Garmin in that it gives a better gas-saving route and tells you the turns before you get to them rather than after you already passed them. I do prefer hard keyboards which Nexus One doesn't have so Verizon's Motorola Droid wins out there! I was hoping they had used the money saved on no landscape keyboard to put in BETTER microphones and really fix the Voice Command making typing obsolete, but no. However, Swype and other keyboard apps can improve your virtual keyboard experience. The phone has been dissected and the parts apparently come to $174 in change and the rest is Google's profit.

Another reviewer said low battery on Nexus One, to fix that, just download free app Advanced Task Killer and shut down running software that you don't need running and it will last longer. Also, you can make it run edge instead of 3G which will save on battery. There are a lot of settings you can easily adjust to conserve your battery life. Battery life for the Nexus One is as follows: 10 hours of 2G talk time or 7 hours of 3G talk time; 12 days of 2G standby time or 10.4 hours of 3G standby time; 5 hours of Internet use on 3G or 6.5 hours on Wi-Fi; 7 hours of video playback and 20 hours of audio playback. According to FCC radiation tests, the Nexus One has a digital SAR of 0.867 watt per kilogram.

Also, another reviewer said that low privacy due to syncing with his desktop, but you can turn off syncing in your settings if you don't want them to sync. The syncing is actually one of the features that I think appeals to most Android/google fans.

I love the Amazon ap and being able to scan UPC codes to do comparison shopping and read Amazon reviews!

The 3D AMOLED screen is breath-taking. The interactive wallpapers are fun.

I bought the Nexus One unlocked from Google for $529 plus tax. I have always been impressed with how innovative google is but the experience of buying a phone from them is horrid. I would not do it again. They are not providing any customer service other than to tell you to call TMobile about the service or HTC about hardware questions. Google will not provide a customer service telephone number even AFTER you have given them almost $600; there is no customer service on the packing slip or anywhere to be found. They have a help forum where supposedly you can get help from other CUSTOMERS but they themselves will not help you out. TMobile CSRs say they will have this phone available for sale in their store by the end of January and I would definitely recommend buying it from them instead of Google. Also if you buy it from Google, TMobile insurance against damage, loss, theft, etc is unavailable; the only insurance you can get on the Google phone when you buy from google is from square trade which has a deductible and is limited in what it will cover. I do really like and use the UNLOCKED status of the phone and don't know if TMobile will be selling it unlocked as that is something new to be offered in USA. It is so great for traveling abroad; just pop in a prepaid SIM card from that country and you are ready to roll without roaming fees! I suppose if TMobile doesn't sell it unlocked you just need to go to the same little bit of extra trouble to unlock the phone so you don't end up having to turn over the farm to TMobile/AT&T for roaming fees!

I received my phone 01/08/10 and am thinking it is a definite keeper but I am still playing around with it and learning it. Nexus One is FUN! It is pretty! It is fast! It is so enjoyable I have almost forgotten the awful Google buying experience.

UPDATE jan 17 2010 - I brought my Nexus One to the AT&T Kiosk and the guys there both said WOW, I was happy with my iPhone 3GS when I woke up this morning but now I want one of these! I explained it was only on EDGE and not 3G but they said that the snapdragon processor made up for it that you notice the speed lag only in downstreaming video or megafiles. they volunteered that AT&T is "in no hurry" to get the Nexus One running on their 3G network since they can not sell the phone and all the retail profit is going to google; they are putting their efforts into their next new phone which I think they called the Elite.

Google now has a couple of employees on their help forum attempting customer service but failing. Google has made its fortune by advertising mostly and acting like any actual interaction with their customers will give them the cooties, so I guess it is too late to change. Offering the phone unlocked when brand new is really great and may be lost if only sold by the carrier. So Google if you are listening here is how you can go into the phone-selling business without getting the cooties - partner with Amazon and Wal-mart (retail and online). These retail giants have proven records of consistent great customer service. Let them sell your unlocked phones for you and collect a profit for providing customer service and you get to continue to rake in the big bucks without having any actual contact with your customers and not tarnish your reputation when people experience what it is like to interact with you rather than admire you from afar. The retail store with the best customer service record in cellphones though is Best Buy; let them sell your phone unlocked and customer satisfaction will soar!

Another reviewer said he didn't know why people would buy it here for more than what google charges but the answer is crystal clear - one google is not selling to many countries yet and secondly amazon will provide customer service and won't charge a re-stocking fee.

I am really enjoying my Nexus One and am thinking it is the KEEPER

Feb3, 2010 update

This phone really shows off YouTube! Their HD concerts and other clips are stellar to watch on this phone! Watching theater previews on the movies app (free) is a fun experience. The picture is HD and the sound quality is best with ear phones.

While there are fewer apps than iPhone, there are more free apps. How many apps does one need anyway? I try to keep my phone light so it is ripped and ready to fly fast!

There is a great silicone coating making the nexus one almost impossible to scratch! There is a great YouTube video where someone is intentionally trying to scratch the nexus one screen as well as the back with their car keys and can't! : )

I got a computer in my pocket and I am lovin' it!

UPDATE Feb9,2010 Now there is a Google Nexus one Customer Support number 888-48Nexus (888 486 3987) so might be worth a try to purchase from Google! Maybe they have seen the light!

Also software update released earlier this week includes MULTI-TOUCH that so many people seem to really like!

UPDATE Feb16,2010 Google Voice is fully integrated on this phone so using it for texting in or out is as easy as the regular messaging icon. But Google Voice has free text messaging so you can have your carrier block texting using their system and save the $10-20/month or whatever your carrier is currently charging you for texting.

UPDATE April24,2010 I purchased the car dock and am loving my N1 even more! You can use your phone with a Bluetooth headset while it's in the Car Dock; when you dock your phone for the first time, you'll be prompted with a dialog box to select the dock's audio settings. Just uncheck the "As speaker phone" option, and your phone will be able to pair with a Bluetooth headset. To change these settings later, go to Menu > Dock settings while Car Dock is running.

UPDATE May31,2010 I guess the Nexus One is no longer available on google's website and will soon be sold in stores where you can pick up, touch, and play with before shelling out big bucks. I am still very happy with my Nexus One! If I was to choose again today the smartphone right for me, I would choose this one again. My son just terminated iPhone Friday and got the HTC DROID INCREDIBLE Android Phone (Verizon Wireless) from Verizon and that is probably the best choice for him as he wanted to leave AT&T and go with Verizon. The incredible is made by HTC like the Nexus One that I enjoy! I love the open android platform and think he will fall in love with it too. He has only had it a few hours but already is saying how cool it is to be so integrated with google unlike his iPhone. I prefer my NexusOne as I can stick an activated GoPhone SIM card in there and it works; I don't have to sign a 2 year contract for overpriced service like my son did! He had to pay AT&T money too to get out of his iPhone contract. I'm on wifi most of the time and just pay for AT&T service when I need it and I am free to do something else if I ever decide to do so!

I found this review comparing cameras between htc nexusone and htc incredible: The Nexus One takes better pictures than the Droid Incredible. How is that possible?! you say? The Incredible is 8MP, thats a whole THREE MORE MEGAPIXELS you say. Well, I think it boils down to the megapixel myth: the common belief that more megapixels equals a better camera, which isn't always the case. There are a wealth of other factors in play here, the lens, the flash, the CMOS sensor- all of which can contribute to better overall image quality.

Also Engadget compared cameras on Incredible and N1: With all this talk of the Droid Incredible ousting the Nexus One from Verizon Wireless, having a better multitouch implementation, and just being newer and shinier, you might think this comparison of cameras is just mercilessly piling on the pain for the original Googlephone. After all, the Nexus One and its 5 megapixel sensor came out a good few months ahead of the 8 megapixel Droid Incredible, so surely this battle would be over before it's even begun? Not so fast, says Android and Me, whose diligent testers have put the two HTC handsets through a side-by-side shootout. As it turns out, the Nexus One rather swept the contest in both naturally and flash-lit shots, while the Incredible habitually exhibited a blue hue in less than perfectly lit photos. Both cameras were adept at taking excellent daylight photos, as is to be expected, but the devil is as usual in the details -- and you can find all of them at the source link below.

YouTube has many short videos comparing nexus one to incredible or droid just type in nexus one vs incredible or type in nexus one vs droid or whatever phone you want to compare to. Basically NexusOne and Incredible are very similar. N1 one is a little bigger. Incredible has more plastic. incredible has track pad while N1 has trackball; both light up. Incredible has HTC sense which gives you built in widgets; N1 uses google android widgets but you can download all the other widgets to N1 so the difference is really only that the incredible comes pre-loaded with the widgets through HTC Sense. N1 has less storage. Incredible has an enhanced micro usb. one might think since the Incredible camera has more megapixils that it takes better photos than N1 but that doesn't seem to be what reviewers comparing photos taken side by side are saying! The Incredible gives you 7 homescreens with leap feature whereas N1 has only 5 homepages but really I am not using all 5 of my pages yet and plan on never doing so as how many apps does one need really? I like to keep my smartphone trim and fast! N1 has longer battery life than Incredible which may really be significant as short battery life is one of the major complaints for N1 and Incredible's is shorter; some say it is the HTC Sense that eats up the battery life so maybe incredible users will be uninstalling it, if THEY CAN!

The other night we were out eating crab buckets at a very loud rowdy restaurant and we decided to go shopping afterwards but didn't know how to get to the mall from here so I pulled out my N1 and really didn't think it would work with all that noise, but i spoke navigate to xxx and it got it 100% perfect! My friend's jaw dropped and said How did your phone do that? My phone won't do that! (she has a G1). If you get the N1, you'll be hearing that a lot "How'd your phone do that? mine won't do that...."

To other reviewer Shunundo - i agree with you that speaker quality is tinky and really need to use with earbuds or bluetooth. If you have trouble seeing in sunlight, adjust the settings and see if that helps. the phone has automatic brightness, it has a light sensor built in, when you are in bright light, the brightness lowers, and raises when in the dark. You can disable this and customize the brightness level by going to Settings>Sound and Display>Brightness. AMOLED screens are not the best choice if you are a lifeguard in the sun all day but prettiest for normal lighting day and night. Also did you know you can turn your N1 camera flash into a flashlight without rooting it? there are SEVERAL android apps for that. I agree with you that wifi is the best way to go and I am on that almost all the time for speeds as fast as my desktop!

UPDATE - On the wireless settings, there is an option for "Tethering & Portable Hotspot". Once you turn on "Portable Wi-fi Hotspot" you can tether any wireless device. Saw someone at the park on July 4th with the iPad, and 2 iPod Touches tethered to N1 ~ this completely blew all of us away as the 3G connection was lightning fast for all 3 gadgets! N1 wasn't rooted.

UPDATE 7/20 My phone updated to Froyo 2.2 seems like weeks ago and my son's incredible hasn't updated yet; he is still on 2.1 and really wanting 2.2. I've heard Nexus One owners are always going to get preferential treatment from Google over their other android customers.

UPDATE 10/10/10 - I am still lovin' my Nexus One! It just keeps getting better and better and I have not had a single thought about switching to anything else!

UPDATE 8/18/11 - I AM STILL LOVING THIS PHONE I was getting some error messages about insufficient HD and decided to upgrade my microSD card instead of deleting photos. It came with a 4GB class 4 MicroSD card but is upgradable to 32GB. I purchased a PNY 16GB class 10 card from Amazon for about $20 and now my phone is almost instantaneous on everything. I can not imagine ever going with anything other than android when it comes to a phone. No one can beat google navigation! I did decide on a HP touchpad when it comes to a tablet but I am also VERY interested in the new android Hollywood tablet with a QUAD processor coming out by Amazon preset with amazon shopping.!!! I just love that this phone just zips through everything!!! Amazon's android app store can not be beat either.

I know, I know. I gave this product 5 stars yet my review title seems to be quite a bit contradictory, but theres plenty of reasons why. First and foremost, I have dreamed of this product ever since I got into the PDA game in 1999 with my Palm IIIc. Since then, I've used a veritable warehouse of different units, anything ranging from the aforementioned Palm IIIc to pretty much any Android handset out there that offers service in a GSM flavor to this point. I purchased the Nexus One on day one, and received it over night, so I am by far one of the earliest adopters in the market. As you can imagine, my expectations are quite high for an all-in-one PDA, and even though my title may be emitting a bad taste in my mouth, I can assure you thats not the case.

With PDA's/Smartphones bridging the gap between our Laptop's/PC's, the functionality all needs to be there to really be a full on mobile replacement. With the insurmountable amount of internet discussion that this device received prior to its official announcement and release, one couldn't help but get their hopes up. Did the Nexus One hit its mark? Yes, I believe it did, and with style and poise to be frank. But, is it that all-one-device that has the power to leave your laptop at home for the road warrior? Nay, I wouldn't go as far to say that. The device itself and Android put together are a powerful duo of open-source-goodness, but it still has a ways to go, which I'm sure Google will stand behind and push forward.

DISPLAY 9/10

Overall, the 3.7 inch AMOLED display is a sight to behold in and of itself. The colors are brilliant, blacks couldn't be more rich and dark, and video is even crisper than my dedicated laptop, the ASUS UL30Vt-X1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) which is currently for sale on Amazon as well. Watching HD video on YouTube is no doubt an impresser, and website viewing and navigation couldn't be more pleasing, especially with the new multi-touch update that Google pushed out to its user base, which provides that functionality inside of Google Maps, the browser, and the gallery.

The capacitive touch screen works just as great as expected, except for a few minor issues which do not hold any ground in this review and score of the display. For one, being a male of average height, I don't exactly have that big of hands. Therein lies the problem with one handed use, as the device is a wee bit too wide for my hands, which occasionally causes my palm to touch the screen when I try to reach too far. As you can imagine, this causes a problem sometimes, but you really just have to arch your thumb when using it which takes some time to get used to.

The 1 gigahertz Snapdragon is definitely awe inspiring in its performance, and typing on the screen is definitely better than its other Android predecessors. Whether Google will admit it or not, typing on the screen would be greatly enhanced by adding multitouch capabilities to the keyboard and allowing for adjustment in that regard. Some people like myself type literally at a speed of 70 words per minute on a QWERTY phone keypad, and this would definitely be appreciated.

The only downfall of the gorgeous display is the fact that there is a bit of tinted red hue if you look closely. It is ever more apparent when taking video of the device itself, as it greatly pronounces this fault in the screen. For the most part it doesn't affect the user experience of the device, which is why I only slighted the score by 1 point. The other thing to watch out for is the fact that AMOLED's perform horribly in direct sunlight compared to their LCD counterparts, but this is something that is somewhat widely known and it shouldn't be knocked for that.

PERFORMANCE 10/10

With the amount of RAM included in the device and the newly praised Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm, this is where the Nexus One definitely puts it shine on. Applications open swiftly like the device has extra sensory perception, and you couldn't be more satisfied with the overall speed increase compared to any other Android device, or any other Smartphone on the market for that matter. 3D games perform admirably, and there isn't much else to say other than yes, it will knock your socks off.

Web browsing compared to my other Android devices is a joke, and don't believe what some reviewers are saying about the Web-Kit based browser compared to others of similar nature, namely the iPhone 3GS. With my constant side to side comparison with friends that use the iPhone, 90 percent of the time my Nexus One is making them cry tears of pain, not admiration.

The trackball is well, a trackball. It does its job, what little it may have, and one of the only things I would definitely change about the device is the addition of a trackpad instead.

BATTERY LIFE AND HEAT 7/10

I didn't buy the Nexus One expecting it to perform very well in this regard, but it definitely gets the job done for a day's worth of moderate work. AMOLED's and OLED's in general are definitely the display of the next generation of tech devices, but people fail to realize their shortfalls. Namely, most people will tell you that they're power savers compared to their LCD counterparts, which is only partially true. Where AMOLED's really shine in battery conservation is when text is displayed WHITE on BLACK, as in a black background and white text such as the format used in most of Android's operating system menus. The obvious reason that Google designed it this way is because of not only better readability, but the fact that this is where battery improvement comes from compared to LCD laden devices.

In comparison, I'd have to say that the battery only slightly does better than the T-Mobile G1. A typical heavy user should expect to carry a charger around with this bad boy.

Heat while using the phone or even while 3D gaming could be considered as negligible, and only when the device is plugged into an AC outlet does the temperature start to reach uncomfortable proportions. With everyday use of the device, there isn't a time where I felt like this caused an usability flaws.

CAMERA AND GPS 8/10

The camera is definitely a HUGE step up from other Android devices on the market today as well. The 5.0 megapixel camera is definitely not something to write home about, but the shutter speeds, new functionality in Android 2.0, and overall ease of use is definitely something that is noteworthy. Pictures come out crisp as ever with the proper lighting, and the LED flash definitely helps in situations where there isn't enough light to shed. Since the flash definitely isn't Xenon based, you can only expect to get proper use out of it around the 1 - 6 foot range, unless pitch dark. Periphery with the flash as expected definitely leaves something to be desired in darker surroundings, as the flash doesn't flood the scene enough and leaves a somewhat noticeable dark area around the edges of pictures. Any kind of motion in the picture that you're taking still takes some effort, but is at somewhat of a tolerable level now.

The 720p video is definitely impressive as well, much better than I had originally expected. Again, with proper lighting I am getting an average of 24 frames per second, which is definitely something I would present to friends and wouldn't be embarrassed about. High motion is also another issue here even in noon-clear-sky daylight, but its to be expected, remember; phone first, camera second.

GPS locks are definitely much faster than other Android iterations, and I have found plenty of use for Google Navigation inside of Maps as anyone can imagine. The large display and loud but tinny speakerphone get the job done even going 80 mph down a highway. The only thing it needs now to complement it is the car accessory dock, which unfortunately isn't as punctual as its desktop dock counterpart.

SOUND QUALITY AND RECEPTION 9/10

The phone is definitely loud and clear with good to great earphone quality, and fairly underwhelming speakerphone quality. As a long time HTC proponent, I have come to expect much from said company in this regard, but I've had better ones from them. When talking even going down a highway, people tend to not believe me when I tell them that I am. The noise cancelling second microphone performs like a champ, and I don't believe I've had a phone that could even come close to Nexus One in this aspect.

Reception is great, which is also another thing to expect from most HTC phones. I have been one of the people that have been having trouble with keeping a 3G signal in a well covered area with T-Mobile, but problems are to be expected in a new generation of technology device, and I would push for patience in this area. Only downfall here seems to be inside of buildings, where other HTC Android phones seem to get the best of the Nexus One in most situations.

In conclusion, the device definitely is the cutting edge in mobile phone products, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone thats even slightly interested. The main downfalls come from poor software implementation up to this point, and the somewhat shoddy service from T-Mobile, as well as Google's failures as a retail company. We may all consider them to be the geniuses of the internet and advertisement industry currently, but they definitely need some work in the customer service game. Users that don't have a somewhat advanced knowledge of electronic warranties and replacements, as well as technical skills to trouble shoot your own problems with the device may want to steer away for a little while until the kinks are worked out. If you're daring enough though, the Nexus One is waiting to satisfy your every expectation. Almost.

I've had the Google Nexus One for about three or four days now. I got the unlocked version direct from Google for $530, so I can't imagine why anyone would pay the $630 or more other sellers are asking for. Switching my number over to T-Mobile was easy, although it took about a day for the transfer to be finalized, which I'm blaming on Sprint due to my experience with their customer service in the past. And since I have the unlocked phone I was able to get the Even More Plus plan with 500 minutes, unlimited texting and "unlimited" data for $59.99 a month, so I'll be saving a _lot_ of money in the long run compared to the iPhone on AT&T or the Droid on Verizon. So far the phone seems very fast and I've already downloaded several apps. Some people have been making a big deal about the fact that the app space is limited to the internal 512 MB flash drive, unlike the iPhone which can save app data to the main drive. I've installed 9 apps so far, the largest is 3.59MB and the smallest is 664KB, with the total coming to 12MB. According to the memory manager I've still got 153 MB of storage left (apparently the OS takes up about 350MB) so I'm not worried about running out of space before Google comes out with the fix for saving apps to the SD card that they've said they're working on. One important "feature" of the N1 which people may view as a pro or con, depending on your views on privacy, is the integration with all of Google's online applications. When you start the phone up it asks you log into your Google account (I'm not sure what happens if you try to skip that step.) It will then synch the phone with your "My Contacts" list in GMail and will automatically log you into most Google services. This morning while doing a search on my phone during lunch I was a little surprised to see similar searches I'd done this morning on my desktop showing up in the suggestions box. I've also been getting notifications on my phone for all the events I have saved on my Google Calendar. Transferring data to the phone from your computer is simple. It comes with a USB to micro-USB connector, and the hardest part of getting it connected is realizing that after you've plugged it in you need to open the notifications window on the phone and tell it to mount the SD card (this is presumably some kind of security feature in case you lose the phone.) After that you can copy files across just like any other drive. I've already moved about half a gig of music over to the phone. The battery life seems adequate so far. I need to charge the phone every day, but that's probably because I've been spending a considerable amount of time browsing the web with it. Once the novelty wears off (and the work week starts again =) I expect my usage will drop off a bit. I'm still thinking I may want to get a car charger for it though. Speaking of which, web browsing seems to work great, though I do miss tabbed browsing a little. YouTube videos work great, though other sites with the latest version of Flash don't. Adobe is currently working on Flash 10.1 for the Nexus though. It's already in beta and there are demos of it working on YouTube, so hopefully it will be out soon.

I placed my order for an AT&T Nexus One the day it was announced. I wasn't sure what I was going to be getting into (being a very early adopter of the AT&T 3G version). Needless to say, I am blown away by the overall experience delivered by the N1.

This phone pretty much lives up to the hype that surrounds it. It's really quite unfortunate that Google isn't selling enough of these simply due to the pricing structure, because it's hands down one of the best Android phones out there now. To put this in perspective, I've tried both the Droid (Milestone), G1, and Droid Eris, and the N1 beats them all. The Droid is almost as good, but has some severe issues regarding the touchscreen accuracy and responsiveness. the G1 and Droid Eris are great phones too, but they don't even compare to the N1 when it comes to screen size and overall beefiness.

I'll keep this part brief, but I've gone through an iPhone 3G and a Nokia N97. The iPhone wasn't really my thing because its very locked-down nature as mandated by Apple really annoyed me each day I owned it. After that, I switched to an N97 and eventually gave that up due to horrible software and UI.

The best part is that the N1 runs Android, which is open source. No big corporation or cell carrier can tell me what I can and cannot do with it! (unlike the iPhone which I now despise). Big bossy telcos and corporations need to learn how to keep their noses out of how I use my internet and phone.

Anyway, if you want to see some good reviews of this phone and get some info on its actual features, some of my fellow reviewers have done a great job on Amazon. Also, the Engadget and Gizmodo reviews are quite good.

My personal take (things that stick out):
PROS:
1. The audio quality is pretty good. I carry around a 5G 30gb iPod and the N1 definitely sounds better through in-ear headphones.
2. The dual-mic noise cancellation is impressive.
3. The cloud syncing always works
4. Web pages load really fast
5. HSPA reception is fairly good (at least here in central NJ). Call drops are occasional but not ridiculous
CONS:
Everything works pretty damn well. The only quirks are the following:
1. The AMOLED screen looks stunning, but is nearly impossible to use in bright sunlight.
2. The vibration is a bit noisy.
3. The keyboard is in serious need of revamping. The prediction isn't the best and the keys are difficult to tap on correctly, especially in the vertical orientation. However, due to the open nature of Android, there are several apps out there that attempt to correct this. I'd recommend checking out ThickButtons. The iPhone does exactly what ThickButtons does, but invisibly. The other alternative is Swype, which isn't to shabby either once you get used to it.
4. The battery life is terrible. There is no other way to put it. It will be absolutely necessary to charge it every night. Also, I'd recommend sticking to WiFi over 3g whenever possible. To do this, you have to navigate into the depths of the settings by going to Wireless & Networks, WiFi Settings, hit the options key, go to Advanced, and change the WiFi sleep policy to never. Trust me, the "Never" option actually saves more power than switching back and forth between 3G and WiFi especially when you have stuff constantly syncing with "the cloud."
5. The touch-sensitive buttons on the phone require really accurate presses. Apparently, HTC has fixed this in the new Sprint EVO 4G by providing a bigger bezel for the touch-sensitive buttons. This issue isn't really a big deal but it's just a tad annoying sometimes.

One last thing: I'd highly recommend rooting your phone. I did this the day I got it. While it's true that people say you can brick your phone by doing this, it's nearly impossible to really screw something up as long as you don't unplug your USB cable while you're flashing your ROM or something like that. By rooting, I can now tether my phone to my laptop (which is incredibly handy and awesome) and install the N1 torch app which turns your camera flash into a flashlight.

That's all folks! Feel free to comment on my review!

I have to agree with the other reviewers who are rating this phone with five stars. I've been a software developer for over 30 years and have owned many cell phones; my last one was a Blackberry 8800. I also have lots of friends with iPhones and this phone beats them all. I agree the speaker has a tinny sound but I rarely use that. Everything else about this phone is just fantastic. IT's FAST running apps and with internet downloads. The other day while driving home in my car I had the phone plugged in to the AUX in on my car stereo listening to mp3's. I received a call and the music automatically stopped and I only heard the ringer. I answered the call, completed the conversation and when I hung up the music automatically started again right where it left off. The music app I was using is the free one that came installed on the phone.

The one thing I do think the iPhone does better is the layout of the on-screen keyboard. The keys on the iPhone are spaced out a little further apart making them easier to hit and less chance of making a mistake. But the autospell feature on the Nexus One is much better than the iPhone. One of my iPhone friends misspelled Mississippi (spelled Missisipi) the exact same way on their iPhone and my Nexus One. The autospell feature on the iPhone couldn't make a guess but the Nexus One presented Mississippi as a choice. Also in order to change the battery on an iPhone you have to mail it back to Apple for a replacement but with the Nexus One you can change it yourself.

The other point I LOVE about the Nexus One that I bought from Google for $529.00 plus shipping is that it's unlocked. All I did was install my SIM card and I'm using my Nexus One on my old contract that is the $10.00 a month charge for an extra phone. I didn't have to sign up for a 2 year contract and I don't have to shell out an extra $30.00 a month for a data plan which I think is outrageous. GO GOOGLE!

I have been raving so much about my new phone that my wife is ready to buy one and she has just gotten a new LG View.

If you're thinking about a smart phone, this is the one to buy.

I'm coming to this phone as a long time iPhone user, getting a used 2G from a friend of mine before upgrading to a 3G when my contract was up. Unfortunately, I upgraded and renewed my contract 3 months before Apple announced the 3GS, so I'll admit that I'm a little chapped at Apple for not making that announcement sooner so I could have waited the 3 months for a better device. I was getting tired of how slow and sluggish my iPhone was starting to feel, and when a work bonus came in I decided to splurge a bit and buy the best phone I could find, no matter the price.

After looking at lots of web videos and reviews, I decided upon the Nexus One from Google. All the reviews have been positive, and although everybody admits quirks they were nothing that I wasn't used to with my iPhone. When I saw the first few videos of people doing their unboxings and playing around with the interface for the first time, I knew I was in love. Also, I'm on AT&T and still under contract, and they had just released a version of this phone that works on the AT&T 3G bands, so it was a no brainer at that point. I got one unlocked from Google's website for 529.00 plus tax and noted how the free shipping method was FedEx overnight. Props, Google, for offering to overnight my new super expensive phone to me at no extra charge. Classy move, and almost necessary because as soon as I clicked "submit" on the Google Checkout screen I was already going crazy waiting for it to arrive.

After having it for over a week now, I can say that I definitely made the right choice. I used the stock firmware for a while and really enjoyed how snappy everything was (especially coming off an iPhone 3G) but after a while I decided to "root" it and see what power was laying dormant inside this thing. Hello CyanogenMod. CyanogenMod is like putting your phone on amphetamines. In all reality, it's only a fraction of a second faster doing most things, but since it was so fast to begin with it feels like nothing else.

Nothing on this phone takes more than half a second to do now. Ever. Okay, maybe loading Google Earth or Google Sky takes a second or four, but those are some pretty computation heavy apps and even they launch pretty quickly. But with the way the phone multitasks and keeps processes running in the background, switching between running tasks is pretty much instantaneous and opening up new tasks takes about half a second. With Cyanogen 5.0.5.3 running HiMem you unlock all the power of your RAM, and if you turn the Window Animations and Transition Animations to "fast", you'll giggle to yourself as you navigate through your phone at lightning speed. At least, I still do... :)

The stock keyboard has some issues, but even without rooting it you can download the Swype beta, install it simply by checking a box in the settings (novel concept, huh Apple?) and downloading a free .apk installer. I recommend FileGo from personal experience. Swype is a great keyboard that takes a little getting used to, but once you do you can really fly on it. After using the iPhone for so long I was used to using two thumbs to type on a touchscreen keyboard, but Swype actually works better if you hold the phone in one hand and use one finger on your dominant hand to trace your word out. Look up videos on Swype if you want to see it in action. It's really pretty amazing and it's the only touchscreen keyboard I'll ever use again, even if it isn't perfect and throws out some pretty wild guesses at what I was trying to say.

The camera is excellent and takes good quality photos for a phone. Nothing that will make you regret purchasing a better standalone camera, but for people like me who only like to carry around a single device with them it's more than adequate.

Battery life is actually pretty good. I have been using it a lot lately and have been charging it up every night, but only because I don't want to start off the following day with only 25 or 30% charge.

I live in an area with pretty strong AT&T coverage, and with the better Snapdragon processor on this phone it actually feels like my 3G speed is faster. Using the SpeedTest app, my iPhone 3G would get around 1.5mbps pretty consistently. This gets >3.2mpbs pretty consistently using the android version of the same app, going to the same test server. The one thing I've noticed though is that my signal doesn't "appear" to be as strong as my iPhone, but I haven't noticed any problems. Where my iPhone used to get full bars I will sometimes only get 2/4 or 3/4, but I have never dropped a single call on my Nexus nor have I noticed any degradation in signal quality. Maybe this phone is just more picky about what it considers a "great" signal.

If you have the money, I have to recommend this phone. If I hadn't gotten a bonus at work I wouldn't have ever dreamed of spending this much money on a cell phone, but man am I glad I did. I may not have the fastest car, the loudest stereo or the biggest TV, but I have the fastest and most amazing phone I've ever seen. I'm proud to show it off to people I know, and all of them look at their iPhones with a new sense of disappointment after they see the Nexus One in action. If you're looking for a new Android device and you're on T-mobile, there is no contest and you need to get this phone immediately. For 179.00 there isn't a better device on the planet.

Just don't buy it from any of the jokers trying to sell it here. Why pay a markup and additional shipping when you can get it straight from Google for less money and get FREE overnight shipping?

I definitely love this phone.I used to be a hardcore Nokia fan, and I owned an iTouch for two years. If people complain about iPhone because of at&t 3G connections and the rate plan, then in my case I don't have those problems. No matter what, even if Nexus 1 is NOT a phone (imagine it's an Android version of iTouch), it's still way more better.

Months ago, my Nokia E71 began to shatter apart. I searched online for an unlocked phone, and I first considered iPhone. But the price is a joke for factory-unlocked ones. Yes I know. I can jail break them, but after the huge disappointment from E71's shattering,unsteady UI,I feel very uneasy about this idea.
I cross iPhone off my list.
Nokia, definitely NO. After using Nokia for a whole decade, for the first time, I felt betrayed. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. E71 would reboot automatically, anytime, in any situation. It would reboot in the middle of a phone call, or when I press any button, when I searched for contacts......I constantly had to take out the battery, or even reset the phone every several weeks. One day it completely stopped working.
I'm not interested in Windows Mobile either. I used a WM phone several years ago, and it was not a good experience.
As for Palm, I don't have many good options with unlocked ones. I need a GSM phone to use it in Asia or Europe, which means that I can't purchase from Sprint or Verizon and unlock them later.
Blackberry? I'm definitely not a professional.I don't want to purchase the BB data plan, if wifi is available everywhere on campus.I'd use just BB as a PHONE, making calls and sending SMS, for $500. Definitely not worth it.
Then I looked into Android.I thought it was cool, because I used Google products a lot. I heard really nice comments from people who purchase Motorola Droid,but Droid is on Verizon (I need GSM phones). There's an unlocked version, but I think it's over-priced. It looks too serious to me, and the processor is not the fastest. Besides, even if Google releases the newest Android, you have to wait for Motorola to update its own UI, which may take weeks, or even months.
So I choose Nexus 1. Now I feel really really happy for my right decision.

Sometimes you'd never feel you are losing something, unless you're offered another option. That's exactly how I feel right now.
I used my iTouch happily for two years. Since I'm a college student and free Wifi is offered everywhere on campus, I use my iTouch not only as a music player. I download music and movies, I play games, I surf online for news and everything else, I check my emails every thirty minutes, I check temperature and Google maps all the time, I log in facebook and twitter constantly, I use Skype to make international calls, and I shop and sell. I thought it was almost perfect, even if apps would shut down automatically when running, and battery drained away fast. However, my feelings changed.
When I first tried to log into a website two years ago, I was surprised that Flash is not supported. But it seemed okay then, because iTouch exceeded my expectation already. I thought, maybe Apple needed some time to make it better. One year later, when I purchased 3.0 version OS, and found out still no Flash, I began to feel irritated. But again I didn't totally lose my hope. My respect for Apple remained based on my good experience with all its products...I like my iPod mini,video,two classics,nano,shuttle(1 gen, 2 gen, 3 gen, 4 gen)and iTouch. Early this year, Steve Jobs announced that OS 4.0 is on the way, and people began to wonder, is it possible that SJ finally agrees to work with Adobe?
Are you kidding me?
Days ago, Apple not only announced that Flash is still not available for OS4.0, but also forbids all its app developers from writing app programs using Flash. Developers can only use languages approved by Apple. Isn't that ridiculous?! Apple may have some unhappiness with Adobe, but we customers suffer and we pay. I don't like big brother making unreasonable decisions for me and ignore my protest. Not at all.
Here goes cool things about N1.

Android is an open-source platform, meaning little limitation on developers from google's part. This may attract attack from some people, like those who worry about virus and malevolent apps. But you can avoid them by reading comments before downloading apps, and stay alert(you can use safari to access porn as well Steve Jobs!!!). Iphone users may claim that their phones don't have to worry about those problems at all because Apple takes care of them beforehand. Well, that literally means iphone users are also deprived of freedom plus the rights to make decisions about what is right and what is wrong. Nothing to feel proud of. Then iphone users may sniff at this "freedom"---What's the use of it? We already have everything.
Oh you are so wrong.

1.Let's say you want to read some news. But if you are a person like me who want to hear different views on the same matter and generally feel interested in US, world, politics, economics, business, entertainment and sports, you might end up with ten apps: new york times, cnn, washington post, time, business week, yahoo news, wall street journal, bing, usa today, to name a few. You may also pay extra money to get better coverage. But with N1, there's an auto-refresh NEWS gadget on the screen. When you touch the headline, you will enter an app where all kinds of topics from various sources appear. I was thrilled when I found this out.
Together with this gadget, you will get info on live weather. You don't need to download weather apps. It's already there. Drag it anywhere you want.

2.Wallpaper is lovely.I'm using the live grass wallpaper. When I realized that the background sky darkened at night and became bright blue again during daytime, all I could manage was a big "wow".If you want to save battery, you can use pictures taken by the camera or saved on your phone. You can pick up whatever you want, and change whenever you feel bored.

3.Language!When I bought E71, I was so angry to find out that Chinese was not supported on a smartphone, because "it's US version.We are sorry about not being able to provide further assistance". Web pages therefore would not display Chinese characters, nor would Korean, Japanese, Arabic, blabalblablabla. Is such a phone still "smart" and worth more than $300? Nokia simply refuses to provide further assistance because it's a US version! I guess it would be a perfect world for Nokia and other BIG manufacturers, if people on this planet speak only English, read only English,need only English, and cherish only English.
I like iphone in terms of the language support. I don't need extra apps (nor would Apple allow you to, I guess :))to show and input those languages mentioned above. BUT,at least in the case of Chinese, Apple sucks. It's the worst input method I've ever used.Slow,outdated,unresponsive.
For N1, you have no problem with displaying contents in multiple languages. Even though N1 doesn't support, for instance, simplified Chinese IME right out of the box, you can just go to Android Market, and download Google pinyin or Sogou, which are awesome IMEs being used on PCs and Macs. You can sinc those apps from time to time when new phrases come out.

4.Voice support: if you get tired of using touch screen to write SMS, or you don't have spare hands while driving/walking/shopping, you can "speak" your messages. You can also speak your directions and drive home.I haven't tried the latter yet since I don't have a car, but speaking SMS works great, as long as you speak clearly and use little abbreviation.

5.Camera is 5MP,quality is good. I didn't have an iPhone (itouch has no camera), so I have no idea about how iphone works. But I don't expect amazing photos from a phone camera right from the start. I think this camera is fair enough for facebook and random pics.

6.Calendar on desktop! When I downgraded my laptop from windows vista to xp, the only things that I missed about vista are sticky note, desktop clock and calendar. Now, I have the freedom to customize my cell phone "desktops". I add a gadget on one screen with updated daily schedule,a gadget with to-do-list,and another gadget with random notes of reminder. I toss away my thick planner, finally. For iphone, I find those to-do-list apps are really awkward to use. They are way too complicated. All I want is a simple piece of note, so that I can write what I plan to do each day. ALSO I WANT MY NOTE RIGHT THERE WHEN I USE MY PHONE INSTEAD OF FLIPPING THOROUGH DOZENS OF APPS AND THEN OPEN THE RIGHT ONE.

7.I don't like the fact that I can't easily export my music from my ipods after purchasing them from iTunes. With N1, I can transfer music to and from a SD card, which is expandable to 36GB. (Right now, Google has problem with Android 2.1 recognizing 32GB microSDHC, but they are working on it already)4GB card is included in the original phone, you can buy extra ones if you need more space, in contrast to iphone, what you buy is what you get and if you want bigger space you have to buy a new phone.

8.Battery. Yes, if you use N1 heavily, for sure you would especially when you just got the phone and found it amazing, but aha you can have multiple batteries and exchange the drained one with a charged one! However, with iPhone......Hopefully you see what I mean. (My iTouch is getting worse and worse in terms of battery life.I'll let it retire after I transfer all my music to the microSDHC tonight.)

9.Apps are definitely enough. If you play games heavily, why not get a game console? I find pandora, online bankings, Jewels, amazon, color note, google translator, webster dictionary,fring(for yahoo and msn messenger),paypal,and multiple Chinese apps(!!!). I spent less than ten minutes to find those apps, download and install them. They work pretty good, FOR FREE. After two years of apple's app store, I'm pretty sure about what I need, and I'm able to find all of them in Android's market.

10.calling and texting: calling is also a highlight of N1, because it has two microphones. One at the back of the phone that takes in all the background noise, and the regular one you'd expect on a phone. If you use N1, you get the nice feature--noise cancellation.This meets my physics geek nature right there (I'm a physics major).It's like the multiple filters I use in research and it feels so neat, at least to me. Of course, you get really good call quality, especially in noisy environments. The sound from the phone is crisp and loud. I have no problem of hearing the other end in crowded mall.

11.carrier: I know many people don't quite like iphones partly because of the 3G coverage of AT&T. I like my iTouch and I thought iphone should be that good as well, but my iphone-hater friend told me that's because "itouch is not a phone,and iphone is an at&t phone". She got stuck with at&t for two years and finally got herself out of that contract. She is waiting for N1 on Verizon (she's not excited about the HTC incredible, which I will explain later).

12.Google family' when you purchase N1,you get more than a phone. You have access to a much better version of Gmail on a phone (almost all the functions, but you do have to adjust settings using computers, for example, multiple email accounts), Youtube, Googe doc, Picasa, Google talk(which is brilliant), Google voice (you don't even need skype anymore to make international phone calls), Google maps, Google Goggle,etc. You may have access to some of those apps on iPhones, but they are definitely much better on a Google phone, simplify for they are Google's! This excellent combination of google apps makes the experience of using N1 much much better. (If you don't use google's products a lot, it wouldn't make much difference...)

13.UI update or N1.
I chose GOOGLE nexus one over other htc high-end android phones that have the same hardware performance, simply because of the software.I don't think a 1gb processor,512MB RAM, 512MB ROM,AMOLED 480 x 854 pixels capacitive touchscreen would be outdated in two years(but that's my guess).Now, this hardware spec hits the top notch, and in several years most likely it is still the mainstream. (The phone is snappy)
When I decided to buy N1, HTC's desire is already out there, with the everything the same plus an extra Sense (HTS's UI), which adds great things to Android. But if a new Android update is released, you have to wait for HTC to update its Sense, which becomes a major problem for some manufactures currently. Droid,N1 and several freshly released Android phones are running 2.1 version, while those models released just a couple of months ago are still running 1.5,1.6, or 2.0.However, 2.1 is a huge improvement over previous ones, for it adds multi-touch. Motorola just updated its own UI. Millions of Droid users had the 2.1 version, weeks after 2.1 was officially released. BUT, with N1,I don't need to worry about this at all. Because it's only Android, and Google is directly behind it. When Google has some new treat, N1 has it immediately, and you have it.

Those are cool things about N1 I find after using it for just one day. I will keep it updated.



04/25/10
Update 1:

After using the phone for several days and thinking over differences between itouch and N1,I'd like add several things more.

Things I'd like to say first are:
1.No phone is perfect.I'd say it's quite common for people who don't like iphone to say good things about 'iphone-killers', and for people who dislike android to praise iphones. Every reviewer is biased, to different extent.

2.If you want every specific function one phone has on another one, that's impossible. Why not simply get that phone?

3.Be patient. Patience is one of the most essential quality humans should possess. You don't like something.Okay, that's quite normal. You toss the phone away and curse the stupid Google/HTC.That's not good/productive.Why not tell them explicitly? Customer feedback is always useful.I emailed some launching errors for an app yesterday and got feedback from the product team this morning. Problem solved.

And some new thoughts on nexus one:

1.A lot more useful apps than I expected. For example, I found an app enabling you to take pictures using different modes. Paranoid, fish-eye,etc. A lot more fun! Also this is a good news bcoz I almost bought a pink lomo last week...Number of apps is still small compared to what apple puts in its store.Nonetheless,I believe things will get better. As far as the necessary apps, it's plenty enough, you might just got puzzled about which one to choose. But as for games, not too many options. I don't know what kind of effects Apple's decision to put up more fight with Adobe would have on developments of apps, but no matter what, I guess it's not an encouraging sign to developers, at least not so psychologically.

2.Touch screen requests more patience and 'skill'. I admit at this point, itouch is more decent. It's not like N1 not being responsive, it's more like N1 not being...predictive. Sometimes things will get messed up if I use my left fingers to choose items, especially if I lie down on my back. But right finger is alright, no issue right now.
BUT!!!!!!Even if it messes up sometimes, it's still better than iphone: you can't even lie down with an iphone!Iphone doesn't give you the option to turn down landscape mode, while N1 does. So I never need to worry about what kind of angle I have to keep on bed if I want to use my device.
Also the addition of trackball at N1 is quite useful, after several days' of use. In some situations, trackball makes more sense, for example, if you want to scroll down pages in Android market. If you use your fingers, you might open some apps by accident, which is also quite common for apple's products. But for N1, you can just use the trackball, and it's quite convenient.

The problem with touchscreen can be annoying when you try to type on bed with both fingers. But it'd be weird anyway, because it's already impossible to hold the phone. I'd suggest use your left hand to hold the phone and use right hand to type. Or just get up and support yourself.

Good things about having problems with UI: your concern will be easier to solve with Android/Google. It's open source and you are using an unlocked phone with the original Android. Rumor says that Google will release Android 2.2 in May and Nexus is for sure the first phone to get the new features.


3. Battery life: if you use your phone a lot, like I do in the first several days,you should get a spare battery from Google. It's $25.

I have been onto smartphones for a long time now, lately using Nokia N97, Nokia N95 before that (N73... on and on).

The Nexus One is not only far better than my Nokia N97, it is IMHO opinion better than any other phone I have tried.

I use it on T-Mobile. Install was as simple as popping my SIM card in and it started to work right away. Learning how to use the on screen querty keyboard took a coulple of days to get a decent accuracy.

If you are a google user then you will absolutely love this phone. Before I bought the phone I was already a frequent user of Google Docs, GMail, GoogleMaps and Google Calendar. These all integrated seamlesly into my phone. The great thing is that I can do a lot of the editing on my computer too and it nicely updates on my phone. I have also started to use Google Voice and Google Listen.

Setting up Pop e-mails is also easy and the application works very well.

Installing apps onto the phone is a breeze. I have taken advantage of free applications for FTP, Banking, Barcode Reading, Compass, Facebook, Google Skymap, KeyRing, GPSTracking, Nimbuzz, Youtube...

Wifi works great, bluetooth headset works great. GPS works. This phone does it all.

The phone is very thin but it has a nice substantial feel when you hold it in your hand.

I have copied mp3 files onto the phone SD card and I also take advantage of the streaming applications.

This phone does it all and doesn't seem to have any hickups.

Great price point (<$300) for an off-contract smartphone. I use the N1 on T-mobile and have excellent 3g speed. The phone has worked flawlessly for over a month with no noticeable "lag" that sometimes comes with older Android devices. The N1 was the first 'stock' Google phone, and is still the first phone (along with the Nexus S) to receive the latest version of Android. This is really the best deal out there in my opinion, but there are a few things you should be aware of before buying.

I would NOT necessarily recommend purchasing this phone if you aren't very tech-savvy or have little experience with Android/smartphones. The 'unlocked' version I received through the Amazon marketplace seller (not Amazon itself) was actually a Vodaphone Froyo build (Android 2.2) that required some tinkering to get the phone updated to Gingerbread (Android 2.3.4). The phone could not be upgraded in its current state, and I had to downgrade the OS to a stock ROM before manually applying several sequential OS updates (that are becoming harder and harder to locate). After installing a couple of the updates, however, I was immediately 'pushed' (via OTA update) the remaining updates from Google/T-mobile. I found a couple decent walk-throughs on the process after a quick Google search.

BE SURE to know your phone, know your version, and know what you are doing before attempting to try ANYTHING suggested on any of these webpages. I am not responsible if your phone becomes a very expensive paper-weight. DO YOUR RESEARCH before attempting to change anything with your smartphone.


Other drawbacks:
-Battery life is pretty bad (mostly due to powering the display) - be prepared to charge your phone nightly with normal use or buy an additional battery or portable charger
-Internal memory is only ~190MB, which you will fill up fast with Apps, however, there are several tricks that can help mitigate this problem (all of which require a decent size SD card, 8GB+ recommended). You can use the ADB (Android Debug Bridge), part of the Android SDK to run a single command to allow more apps to be directly installed to your SD card. There are also Apps that claim to let you do the same thing, though I have never tried any of them (like Apps2SD). Also, alternative ROM's (Cyanogen, etc.) allow you to better manage your internal memory and apps.


I still rate the Nexus One 5/5 stars because, after some fine-tuning, the phone is STILL one of the best smartphones available. The stock Google build allows you to create your own wireless network to which other devices can connect, allows for tethering to a computer without an additional service plan, and will always get the latest version of Android. Can't beat the value for the money if you are still under contract. If you have the cash, have a day to spend tinkering with the phone, and are confident you can handle the updating process - stop reading these reviews and pull the trigger already - YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

This phone is all that and a bag of chips. Rather than go into technical detail what I would like to say is this: At no point have I felt like this phone was having its way with me. There was no sense of compromise, no software I had to leave on the main page, no program I had to go around to do what I wanted, and no feature I had to use if I didn't want to. There was no accidentally hitting a button and signing up for a crappy random service (I'm looking at you AT&T navigator). The software was easy to navigate through (once I realized I could pull the top screen tab down with a swipe). Going from a call, to the net, to the music player, to a picture, to a message and back is breeze.

I love this phone.

I experienced a few minor hiccups with apps that Google was nice enough to refund me for at the press of a button. No human intervention necessary.

I love the fact there is a light up trackball on the phone that I have never used. I really do.