My android (nexus one) mini review

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x.elle.x

New member
Ok guys,
I have my N1 and while its very premature to pass judgement I wanted to post a couple of thoughts - hopefully not flame bait.

The screen - gorgeous
Touchscreen accuracy, not as bad as I thought, I do think its a bit less accurate then my iPhone. Not enough to be a huge deal.

The UI/navigation/interactions
coming from the iPhone this is a big transition, the iPhone is a simpler device that has many tendencies that are consistent regardless of what app or section. Everything is laid out fairly generically and easily found. I've had to google where things are. Much of this, you can chalk up to a learning curve.

Mail app:
I'm a bit disappointed in the the mail apps.
I have a gmail app,
A mail app
and I need a third party app (touch down) to access my emails.

Each one is a little different having its own peculiarities. Here's where I like the apple email client, I get all of my personal and professional emails. I don't need three apps.

Another frustrating fact is if I forward an html email in the mail, it strips the html formatting and sends it as text. So the recipient sees the html but not the formatting. Perhaps there's a setting I'm missing that allows html emails to be forwarded.

Cut/paste is a bit awkward. Apple does have a cooler implementation.

I want to give it a little more time to get used to the phone before passing final judgement as to whether this fits my needs.
 
Yeah, I suppose. There are things I like with the N1 but certainly some things that are not. Some of which can be attributed to a learning curve but others I'm a bit disappointed in.

I'm not giving up on the N1, since I literally just got it. I think its safe to say that the iPhone does some things better the Nexus/Android based phones and Nexus/Android does some other things better.

For instance, While it didn't make it into my "mini review" The notification system for Android is light years a head of the iPhone. The widgets running on the wallpaper is better. Multitasking.

I'm just pointing out my initial impressions.
 
Consumer gets iPhone to consume... N1 and WinMo devices are more for people who do not mind lil complicated as it becomes much better and more useful than just consuming what other people pack for you... yes I meant Apple...
 
give it a few more weeks, and if you have at least half a brain, you'll love your n1. you seem to be having some trouble getting used to the somewhat more complicated way android does things. apple makes things so easy that a 5 year old is capable of using every function of the phone. once you get used to how to do stuff, you can do far more customization and optimization with the n1 than with an iphone.
 
I got my G1 at launch, and it wasn't until two weeks later that a switch went on in my head and I "got" it. There is a definite curve you need to get around with it, but I can honestly say with the N1 I can't see me having anything other than an android phone.
 
Same here - when I got my G1 after being used to a Nokia N95 I was like "Wth? No repeat notifications for SMS? Email app isn't that good. How come it can't read out the caller's name when they call?" etc. But after week 3 or 4 I realised there was no way I would ever go back to a Symbian device.

The email app is not good, anyone will admit that. I moved everything to GMail (my GMail account pulls all my other accounts via POP3). While I can't reply from the correct accounts in the GMail app, you can by logging onto the website with the phone. Not ideal, but moving everything to Google is also something I could not live without these days. If you give in to Google everything works well, honest

I agree with the "learning curve" comment. Any new device that's different feels slower and more frustrating because you're unfamiliar with it. It just takes time. My experience with the iPhone is similar to others - everything is dead easy to use and you can figure it out in a few minutes. But at the same time you also realise how restrictive it is after those few minutes.
 
I've built apps for both Android and the iPhone, and I will admit that the UI designer (and the restriction in widgets) for the iPhone's SDK is nice. It maintains the unified cocoa theme throughout.

Android on the other hand is a bit of a mixed bag. The thing I like more about Android is the quickness of the development time (Java over Objective C), the instant posting of apps without sending in trademark paperwork and business license, and the overall community vibe. Also the widget selection, customization, ability to run services behind the scenes, etc...

The apps are steadily improving, and so is the OS. This is a much younger OS compared to the iPhone. Yes it's been in development for more than 3 years, but at the same time the iPhone has been out in production for longer. I have a feeling in a year from now the Android OS as a whole will feel "tighter" and less broken up.

Most of the complaints you're fielding are to be expected. Once you get a hang of the UI and the typical OS flow, I think you'll learn to like it. The iPhone is very simple, to the point of where I feel stupid using it
 
Agreed - that's why I'm trying to be patient.

To be sure, there are some things I like in the iPhone and I doubt will ever be improved on the N1. Don't flame me but I have a sizable iTunes library and the iPod app on the iPhone is really good.

Still, as I shuffle between the two phones, I'm liking the N1 more and finding the iPhone more restrictive.

Regards
Mike
 
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