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123 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the only SUPER Phone & comparison to Verizon's Motorola Droid & HTC Incredible, January 11, 2010
This review is from: Google Nexus One Unlocked Phone (Wireless Phone Accessory)
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...
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is my first smartphone and I think it's great, January 10, 2010
This review is from: Google Nexus One Unlocked Phone (Wireless Phone Accessory)
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.
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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Nexus One: Don't Believe the Hype, February 4, 2010
This review is from: Google Nexus One Unlocked Phone (Wireless Phone Accessory)
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.
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