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Google Nexus One review

Google Nexus One
Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £500
inc VAT

Hard to distinguish from HTC's Desire, the Nexus One lacks HTC's Sense software and more practical controls

Specifications

Android 2.1, 3.7in 480×800 display

http://www.simplyelectronics.net

Google’s Nexus One is remarkably similar to the HTC Desire, which is no coincidence as both phones are made by HTC. Both share the same basic specification: 1GHz processor, 3.7in 480×800 screen, 5-megapixel camera and the latest Android 2.1. The Nexus One differs in design, and in the fact that it has only the basic Android operating system, without HTC’s Sense interface.

That’s not to diminish Android’s built-in software: there’s support in Android 2.1 for multiple Google and Exchange accounts, and all the basic apps are there for email, contacts, calendar and messaging. Google Maps Navigation provides free turn-by-turn navigation in a clear interface, and Google has integrated this into a Car Home app, which also incorporates voice search and contacts so you can quickly look up someone’s address. A link to Amazon’s MP3 store gives you access to over 9m DRM-free songs.

Like the Desire, the Nexus One’s screen is gorgeous, although not quite as bright and colourful as Samsung’s AMOLED screens. With a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a capacitive touchscreen, flicking through home pages or open apps is a breeze, and the virtual keyboard is responsive and has excellent word prediction. The camera takes decent snaps, although it lacks some advanced features such as anti-shake. Colours are sharp and vibrant, even with the flash, but there’s noise in darker areas.

Instead of buttons for the common Android tasks such as Home and Back, the Nexus One has four touch-sensitive icons under the screen. It also has a rollerball instead of the Desire’s optical touchpad, which is more likely to get clogged with grime. The two phones also share an annoyance – when they go into sleep mode, you have to press the power button, located inconveniently at the top of the phone, to wake them up.

The Nexus One also shares the Desire awful battery life, so you’ll find yourself plugging it into the mains at every opportunity. Overall, we feel HTC stole the crown in this showdown: the Desire’s trackpad, hardware buttons and Sense software trump the Nexus One’s vanilla Android installation, and it’s also better value.

Details

Price£500
Rating***

Hardware

Main display size3.7in
Native resolution480×800
Second DisplayNo
CCD effective megapixels5-megapixel
FlashLED
Video recording formatMP4, 3GP
ConnectivityBluetooth, USB, WiFi
GPSyes
Internal memory512MB
Memory card supportmicroSDHC
Memory card included4096MB
Operating frequenciesGSM 850/900/1800/1900, 3G 850/1900/2100
Wireless dataEDGE, UMTS
Size119x60x12mm
Weight130g

Features

Operating systemAndroid 2.1
Email clientPOP3/IMAP/Exchange
Audio format supportAAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB 9, MIDI, OGG
Video playback formatsMPEG-4, H.263, H.264
FM Radiono
Web BrowserWebkit
Accessoriesheadset, data cable, charger
Talk time7 hours
Standby time10.4 days
Tested battery life (MP3 playback)18h 58m

Buying Information

SIM-free price£500
Price on contract£30-per-month, 18-month contract
SIM-free supplierwww.simplyelectronics.net
Contract/prepay supplierwww.vodafone.co.uk
Details

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