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Google Nexus One Review
Phone rating: 
In a nutshell: The Google Nexus One may be a great phone, but
when you can buy the almost identical yet superior HTC
Desire for less money, you'd be silly to buy the Nexus One!
Review: March 2010.
We're a little bit surprised to be reviewing the Google Nexus One at all, considering
that Google made such a song and dance about not making their own mobile
phone. Anyway, here it is, or rather it was launched in the States back in January
but still hasn't become available yet in the UK, unless you buy it sim free
imported from the USA. We presume that it will become available at some time
in the UK.
First thing to say about the Nexus One is that it's manufactured by HTC, which
is a relief since Google's a software company, right? Anyway, the simple story
of the Nexus One is that it's almost the same phone as the HTC
Desire, but it's been Googled. What does that mean? Well the most obvious
difference is that HTC's user interface, HTC Sense, is missing and the Nexus
One runs the naked Android operating system. As you can see from the photo,
it's not a pretty sight, but it may well have a strong appeal to techies. The
other main difference is that it uses a trackball, which we like less than the
more conventional hardware buttons on the Desire. The quoted battery life figures
are also significantly less for the Nexus One, which is curious since it uses
exactly the same 1400 mAh battery as the Desire. Oh, and it's missing an FM
radio too.
But the Nexus One does have a few tricks up its sleeve. The first thing it
has is active noise suppression, which is designed to screen out background
noises so that the person you're speaking to doesn't hear your traffic noise
or office chatter when you talk to them. In reality this makes little difference,
and we suspect that its true purpose is for use with the voice-to-text novelty
feature. The Nexus One can also use an optional desk dock giving access to the
alarm clock, music player and multimedia gallery.
Do these minor enhancements cancel out the disadvantages? In our opinion, no,
clearly not, and when you consider that the Nexus One costs more than the HTC
Desire and is harder to get hold of, it's not a big surprise to hear us say:
go buy the HTC Desire. But if the Desire didn't
exist, we'd probably be recommending the Nexus One instead!
Update (December 2010): the new Google Nexus S
is the evolution of the Nexus One, and it looks like much more of a mainstream
phone.
Features of the Google Nexus One include:
- 5 megapixel camera with face detection, autofocus and flash
- Video recording
- Display: AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with pinch-to-zoom capability, 480
X 800 pixels (3.7 inches) with auto-rotate
- GPS receiver with digital compass, Google Maps and geo-tagging
- Music player (aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma formats)
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email
- Ringtones: MP3 ringtones
- Internet: GPRS, EDGE, HSPA (7.2 Mbps download, 2Mbps upload)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate, mini-USB 2.0, Wi-Fi,
3.5mm audio jack
- Memory: 512 MB RAM plus microSD memory card (up to 32GB)
- Vibration alert
- Quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) plus HSPA/WCDMA (900/2100 MHz)
- Size: 119 x 60 x 11.5 mm
- Weight: 130g
- Talktime: 7 - 10 hours
- Battery standby: 250 - 290 hours
Google Nexus One User Reviews
Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this
phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so
please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive
language, and please, no advertising!
Average rating from 17 reviews:
Reviewed by Bob Marly from Ireland on 3rd Nov
2010
I've had this phone for a couple of weeks now and its one of the worst
phones I have EVER had! It's really slow and when I go and call someone,
it always takes at least 20seconds to start calling. not to mention
the texting, the buttons are so small its stupid. If im trying to type
a simple word, i'd get something strange with random letters. Awful.
Rating:  Reply
Reviewed by LS from UK on 29th Oct 2010
Shocked at the nature of the main review. So scathing yet you're compelled
to give 5-stars. Strange. To not even discuss the benefits of naked
Android OS but instead waste a sentence describing it's aesthetic appearance.....please
tell me this is not your priority in informative journalism?! And to
dismiss such a fantastic feature as voice-to-text facility as "novelty"
confirms the rather churlish nature of this pretty useless review. I
am well aware that the above notes are based on your opinion, but please
put your personal angst (as is obvious in the entire review) aside and
don't omit valuable information in the process. Your reviews are for
the benefit of your readers to help make informed decisions, nothing
more. Oh, and to clarify, I am the owner of an HTC Desire and my wife
owns the phone I'd rather have.....a Nexus One! To steal a phrase used
by the reviewer..."You'd be silly to buy into the main review"!
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Nathan from UK on 19th Aug 2010
This phone is faster than the HTC desire as it is not running the sense
ui. It gets software updates before any other android phone it's currently
running 2.2. The desire also lacks the full voice to text functionality
this phone has. Everyone has the desire i'm more than happy with my
N1.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by lee from nw england on 12th Aug 2010
I asctually wanted this phone in the 1st instance BUT excessive price
forced me off it and ended up paying 650 for a Desire: I got a Wildfire
1st them loved the type of fone soo much bought a Desire. I would've
prob. got a Nexus if the availability was better though, VF do them
on contract - though I've never been 1 for a PM situ. I still feel,
even though Im a lover of the DESIRE the NEXUS is the better situ. as
the processor is IMO just right for this kind of phone RATHER THAN running
all kind of Friendstreams' etc...though I do have Launcher' thats converts
the Desire to Android. Anybody interested in a Wildfire' going, sort
of, cheap - as its brand new lmao...
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by best phone review on this web site plesae read this
review thx from the best country. england on 24th Jul
2010
best phone ever!!!!!!!! cheep, light, good cam, good for g mail, couldnt
say no more "GO BUY ONE".
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Rohan from india on 17th Jun 2010
This is a superb phone in this price range u cant get better than this.Superb
battery life too wat else do u need.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by kitty from england on 7th Jun 2010
well this phone is very suprising considaring it is £500 or more thet
are good phone but will crash arfter a while like mine i have only just
got it but thats couse i split a cup of cola on it but if i could aford
it i would buy a nother one or a htc phone which are expensive
Rating: 
Reply
Reviewed by Mark from England on 2nd Jun 2010
Have owned Legend, Desire and Nexus. All excellent phones, but for some
reason I prefer the Nexus, battery life is better than Desire ( had
Google Maps running in my Car on Desire, plugged into charger and the
battery was still draining down, doesn't make sense ! ) and looks/fells
better. Htc sense is over rated in my opinion, and my desire will not
sync with PC, despite my Legend having no problem syncing. Also being
the first to get all the updates is a bonus. Nexus 1 Legend 2 Desire
3
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Fi from UK on 24th May 2010
I am no hardcore techie - this is my first smart phone (well I had an
N95 but never had any success doing anything other than phone, text
and a bit of email), and it was easy to get going with straight away
without looking at the manual. ALL my apps are free and my google phone
can do everything I ever dreamt a phone could do and much more. My friends
with iphones are madly jealous. This phone has become my constant companion,
my husband got jealous and got one too! The sat nav is better than our
in car one which we no longer use, and the tom tom will never see the
light of day again. I spent a long time researching phones, I considered
getting an HTC Desire but who wants Sense UI getting in the way - the
Nexus lets you do things your way, and with 2.2 any minute now, which
everyone else will have to wait for, this phone is the best there is!
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Craig from UK on 23rd May 2010
Nexus now has FroYo! Update on my last review. The Nexus One now has
flash (though it's only beta for now and a bit choppy on some sites
like iPlayer), tethering and JIT, which makes the phone just that bit
snappier. The Desire has none of these features as yet (HTC say 2nd
half of 2010 so it could be anything from 6 weeks to 6 months). I think
this places the Nexus One back to the top of the list.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Mark from UK on 19th May 2010
Its not often I leave a review on any product, but after 2 weeks with
my Nexus One, all I can say is WOW! Although the UI is a little quirky
in places, this just adds to the charm of the phone. That said, overall
the UI is slick, well laid out and intuitive to use, but it does take
a bit of getting used to if you have never owned a smartphone before.
Call quality is excellent (a must for any phone) as is texting (you
can even dictate your text to the phone and is remarkably accurate).
The e-mail support is also a winner with all the mail from my many accounts
delivered directly to the phone and stored under a single mailbox. Being
able to read all your email from a single inbox is a great way of handling
things, although the option does exist to set up multiple inboxes should
you want it that way. Contact handling is a breeze and it will sync
your email to facebook and the like with very little intervention. Being
able to Call, Text, Email or write on Contacts Facebook Wal l with a
single press of the screen is pretty cool! Apple fanboys will say it
does not have the same number of apps as an iPhone, which is true, but
those that are available are generally good quality and unlike those
on the iPhone quite useful! Sure battery life could be better, but I'm
still able to just about get 2 days from a single charge with medium
use of calling, texting, internet, email and browsing the App Market.
Will I ever go back to a regular phone after this - err NO. Smartphones
are only going to get better and with the latest update to the Android
OS due out soon, what niggles users are reporting should hopefully be
fixed. For those still wavering - don't - go out and get one, ignore
those that say its not as slick as the iPhone because generally it is
and anyway, thats missing the point of phones like this. If you want
a phone that does what you want, how you want and more importantly when
you want, get one!
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Alan from UK on 23rd Apr 2010
Remove the word "Desire" from the "In a nutshell" review of that phone,
replace it with "Nexus One" and you'll have a more realistic and objective
review of this phone. Unlike many reviewers of the Desire, who have
"owned it for two days and it's the BEST PHONE EVER"(are these reviewers
from your "target audience"?), I have owned the Nexus One for two months
and it does exactly what I expect of it. One of the main the reasons
I chose this phone was that I became exasperated awaiting ROM updates
from HTC for my Touch Diamond, while updates are available OTA upon
release for the Nexus. It'll be the first to get Android 2.2 which could
enable the FM hardware for example. Naked Android means I can customize
as I wish, unlike Apple/SE/HTC smartphones. It may not be for everyone,
but it deserves a better review.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Martin from UK on 7th Apr 2010
Firtly, I feel compelled to write this in order to leap to the devices
defence of the handset after the original review appears to take no
prisoners! I Have to agree with what a lot of people have said below.
Having used the device for just apporaching a month now, I find it a
lot easier to use than the HTC Sense UI (previously used HTC Hero).
I would not consider myself a hardcore techie, just someone that does
his research before buying a new handset. The review above was clearly
done by someone that is HTC to the core and will not give anyone alse
the time of day [Editor's comment: the Nexus One is made by HTC, so
like huh?]. What I like about the device is mentioned in the original
review; the "naked android operating system", if I wanted to see all
my interactions with one contact, then I would download the relevant
app off the Android market. Also since when does having hardware buttons
become a disadvantage? [Editor's reply: we said it was an advantage,
not a disadvantage.] As Billybob says below: "You miss out so much in
your review, it's shocking"
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Zola from Manchester, UK. on 30th
Mar 2010
I have to agree with, Craig, Billybob and Adrian. Looks like some anti-google
reviewer reviewed this phone and the Sony Ericsson X10 as well. Looks
like someone forgot to mention that the SE X10 will get an android 2.1/
2.2 upgrade within months of its release....everybody knows it, it on
the news and on the official website of Sony Ericsson, it's everywhere!!!
So much hatred for Android devices unless they are from HTC. No longer
will i visit this website. [Editor's reply: Well, it's getting quite
exhausting replying to people about this phone. We give it a 5 star
outstanding rating, we describe Android as the operating system of choice
in our X10 review, and yet we're described as haters. It gets kind of
irritating after a while. Maybe future reviewers could talk about the
phone and not about this website.]
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Craig from UK on 26th Mar 2010
Had this phone for about a month now and it's the best phone available
(Desire apart). The review above doesn't do the phone justice because
while the Desire has Sense UI and a radio the Nexus One has noise cancellation
and voice-to-text (something the reviewer left out) which actually works
better than you'd think (even with my Yorkshire accent). Search google,
open apps, call contacts or dictate texts and e-mails....all done without
typing on the keyboard. The Desire cannot do this. The Nexus, imported
and vat paid cost me £461. But I was unlucky with the exchange rate
when I purchased it. The average price has been around £440 (some as
low as £420) so it's not that much more expensive than the Desire (£440
at play.com and most other reputable outlets). One thing to remember
is that the Nexus One is google branded; it's google's flagship phone
with google's operating system. That means that any upgrades to Android
will mean Nexus One users will get over-the-air updates as and when
the updates are ready. Compare this to Motorola Droid and the up and
coming Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 which have Android 1.6. The Desire ships
with 2.1 but in 3 months some really cool features may emerge with the
next update and Desire users will be waiting months (hackers aside)
to get their hands on new features. All things going for the Nexus the
above reviewer failed to take into account. If you want hardware buttons,
a shiny UI and a radio then the Desire is the phone you want. If you
want features you can't get on any other phone like noise cancellation
and voice recognition (as well as future-proofing due to updates to
Android) then get the Nexus One. The phones are a lot closer than this
review makes out.
Rating:
Reply
Reviewed by Billybob. from uk on 25th Mar 2010
I have been waiting for your review on this phone for a long time. Your
site is now off my favourits list and I will no longer be recomending
people use it to guide them to mobile phones. I have a Nexus One, I
used to have a Hero, I would not go back to having the sense UI, I choose
whats on my phone, not some company. I can down load all the widgets/apps
that Sense gives you from the market onto my Nexus. When Google push
an update out I wont have to wait for HTC to tinker it about to make
it fit in with Sense I can just do it over the air on my Nexus. As for
battery life, mine is lasting me 2 days with moderate use, or 1 day
if im gaming, music, txting, emailing, GPS, but you really have to go
some to drain the battery. You miss out so much in your review its shocking.
The great 3d interface, how quick the phone is, how smooth the picture
is when watching films, the amazing google news widget.. I could go
on... but I know its a good phone and anyone who does there research
will know it. But then you are the website that gave the HTC Hero 4
stars for not having an FM radio... but then you gave the Iphone 5 stars,
I have had a look at the Iphone, I dont find no FM Radio.... I give
the phone 5 stars and this review 1 star...
Rating:
Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
25th Mar 2010
Billybob, thanks for your comments. We were kind of expecting this kind
of feedback. Would it be fair to describe you as an "advanced user"?
I'm sure that this is the perfect phone for hardcore techies, as our
review clearly states. If you're the kind of person who thinks nothing
of spending £400+ to import a phone sim free from the USA, then
is willing to invest significant time installing apps and tweaking the
OS, then you are probably not the target audience for our review. Sorry!
Reviewed by Adrian from UK on 25th Mar 2010
I think you should take your own guidance, 'Please do not review this
phone if you have not used it'...A very poor review. You also left out
one of the main advantages of the Nexus One. Being a 'Google Experience'
phone you will always be kept up to date on Android releases until the
phone hardware becomes unable to support any upgrades. You get no such
assurance with the HTC phones. Perhaps you should take this down and
conduct an actual review taking into account that this phone was released
before the desire.
Rating:
Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
25th Mar 2010
Hey, we like your attitude Adrian! Admittedly our review is slightly
"speculative", but what choice do we have when Google refuses
to launch the phone in the UK? Didnd't they learn anything from the
Palm Pre launch fiasco?
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