Nexus One v.s. N900 v.s. iPhone

R

Raymond 007

New member
I'm really torn between all three. I've written software for the Android platform, so having an Android phone would be kind of cool, but so far all of the Android phones I've used have been a total dissapointment.

Before Android came about I had an OpenMoko. But I've finally given up on not having a working phone.

I want a device which can do maps and music (ideally off-line), but first and for most I want a working phone, and one that can last an entire day on a single charge would be nice.

What would you recommend and why?
 
Are you attached to T-Mobile? If you are, that will dictate your phone choices.

You may have a hard time getting a long day's charge from all three, but they can handle the typical cycle if you're not doing anything heavy-duty without a power source (such as driving for an hour on GPS, playing the latest 3D game, and so on).

The Nexus One is the cheapest for GPS if you're within 3G (or you cache the route and don't deviate from it), since Google Maps Navigation is free. But if not, go iPhone -- it has a much wider range of dedicated GPS apps that will work offline. Sadly, the newness of Maemo to smartphones means it's not really an option for maps.

As you might imagine, the iPhone rules the roost for media playback; Android is fine but needs a sync app like doubleTwist to play well with your computer.

My main hesitation regarding the iPhone is where you live. If you're in NYC or San Francisco, I'd wait a few months; they're still trouble areas for 3G on the iPhone but are being upgraded. Elsewhere, it's usually fine.
 
Even though Google Maps for Maemo is not available yet, voice navigation and Ovi Maps for Maemo are free and the maps data can be stored locally in the phone's internal memory (Free Voice Navigation is coming soon last time I checked Nokia's website). That means that you don't need any data connection to do navigation. On the other hand, Google Maps require data connection for viewing maps and getting navigation information.

In terms of media playback, I believe Maemo5 supports more media formats than the iphone and the Nexus One. Not to mention that the N900 and Nexus One have a higher resolution screen than the iphone. So watching videos on the N900 and the Nexus One should be a pleasure. But I digress, since the OP is more interested in the music department of the phones.

I read that the N900 has great audio quality. But I don't have an N900, so I can't personally verify that. The iphone's audio quality is excellent too, according to what I've heard from people. It also has one of the best interface for the music player. As of now, Android OS 2.1's music player is very plain, and a bit outdated. However, I am pretty sure that's something the Android developers are working on now.
 
the n900 has ovi maps but no voice navigation. there are alternatives like sygic but it hasn't been released and no one knows the price.
 
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