Nexus One vs Samsung Galaxy S

M

Matdoz

New member
Samsung Galaxy S

For comparisons sake lets use a more generic device, no flash no front facing camera on the Galaxy S.

The Samsung has better screen, slightly faster processor, slightly faster GPU (i think). They both have 512 MB memory. They both run the same OS and both will have 2.2 update. I'm not sure if Nexus One has as much native support of the wide range of video codecs as the Galaxy S.


Now i need some Nexus One fanboys who are familiar with the device to list the areas where its superior to the Galaxy S.
 
I got both.

The Nexus One has a classier, sexier body build and quality. The Samsung Galaxy S feels plasticky, but its good, solid, hard plastic that you feel confident will take a fall. The Galaxy S can be tacky---I don't know why for some reason, Korean phones love to use neon colors here and there. The Galaxy S has a lot of unashamed iPhone references, from the green battery view when the phone charges to the Touchwiz side swipe of the apps screen, which is unlike Android's vertical scroll. The Nexus One also has this funky glowing trackball that can pulse with different colors with the right app.

The Galaxy S has its own perks though:

1.85gb of internal memory. Yeah, you can store plenty of apps without worrying unlike the Nexus One with its 185mb. That's 10x more. I feel this is a very important advantage after the screen itself.

16gb built in SD, plus extra SD slot. The Nexus One comes with a 4gb card.

Has a bunch of nice widgets, such as one that is almost like HTC's Friend Stream on the Sense. Daily Briefings is also nice.

Comes with a bunch of nice apps, including Swype and Aldiko E Reader (international version only)

Got the best lock screen in in any Android

Nice improvements on the Notification Bar, which includes Wifi, Bluetooth and volume controls.

Not only does it has Android Market, but it has Samsung Apps, which is for Samsung's own Android apps and those they licensed. I can get Vlingo for free here. Its $10 bucks on the Market. You can find some games here. RoadSMS is an interesting augmented reality app. Samsung also has their own version of an Android Facebook app which does something the official Facebook for Android app doesn't --- record and upload videos on app.

Forward facing VGA camera (International versions only)


As a note, based on my exploration and ownership of the device, Samsung's own UI improvements are only skin deep. Compared to HTC Sense, Samsung leaves a lot of things stock, such as Gallery, Contacts, Calling, etc,. Given this, I feel its easier and faster for Samsung to adapt their latest phones to future Android releases.

In my usage, I find the Samsung Galaxy S to be liquid smooth but it would lag a bit if there is too much apps around, which is why I recommend using Advanced Task Manager to occasionally sweep and kill the open apps on the background.
 
I to have both and the only thing i like over the galaxy s is the metal body of the nexus one.
It gives the nexus one some heft to it ... the galaxy s feel extremely light.
Regarding the lag ... i noticed when i disabled some of the samsung widgets alot of the lag went away.
 
I heard the GPS on the Galaxy sucks. Have you tried it?

So better screen, faster speed, and HD recording are the main features of the Galaxy over the N1. But support wise I think N1 would be better even in the long run. Turn by turn GPS is important to me as well.
 
I used the Captivate for AT&T today and it's a super nice phone. It looks better in person than in pics and the build quality seems solid. The screen is magnificent! The Touchwiz UI will take some getting used to, but I think I can do it
 
I'm not sure which US version has it, though I suspect the Captivate, but having real physical buttons is more ergonomic than the touch on screen buttons both the Nexus One and the international Galaxy S has.
 
The GPS on the Galaxy S works well. I was using it to find directions on Singapore all the time. Voice navigation is not available on Singapore however, but it should be available with all US versions.

Support wise Nexus One wins it. I feel that Samsung though, has learned its lessons on the past and they are quire adaptive.
 
Same here. I got rid of the neon colored widgets that reflects Samsung's horrific sense of color.

I also found out its the slow built in SD that is causing the lag. On the default browser, change the data storage from SD to Phone will help.

Some applications like Dolphin and Twidroid thinks the internal SD is the phone memory. I added a fast SD memory card. On these apps, I set the cache storage options from Phone to SD. Makes quite a bit of difference.

The lag issues can easily be remedied by Samsung in future handsets by installing faster SD memory on the internal SD, or removing the internal SD memory and package a fast SD external card, or make apps cache on external SD.
 
It's certainly not difficult to use. I was talking about it being different than stock Android or Sense. I doesn't seem like a Google phone until you get past the UI front.
 
Anyone experiencing lag related to apps caching on the SD card on the Samsung Galaxy S, go to Settings, go to Manage Applications, then to Running Services, look for some DRM service and kill it. Its non essential and once done, your apps will start running smoothly.
 
I am also deciding between the two. Tech wise there is a minor advantage to the Galaxy. Support-wise Google has set a new bar and I think Nexus users are spoiled! Every other phone manufacturer takes forever for an update and its usually 2-3 updates, and that doesn't even mean OS upgrades.

Given the reputation for Samsung and their (from what I read) lack of dedication to their products and upgrades, is there anything to be worried about? Especially with BADA OS, they have too many things on their plate.

If the Nexus was 400 dollars, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. But it's almost a year old and more expensive than the Galaxy. I will wait around for more reviews of the Galaxy to look for bugs, and other complaints, i.e battery life..
 
Good to study around. As a note, Samsung might (might) be updating the Galaxy S to Froyo on August if rumors suggest.

Been studying both Touchwiz and HTC Sense. in my view, Touchwiz 3.0 is relatively lighter and mods less of the standard Android UI than Sense. For example, Touchwiz 3.0 still retains the standard look of the contacts, phone call and the photo gallery. In my view, if Samsung wanted to, the Galaxy S and Touchwiz 3.0 has less work needed for it to adapt to Froyo.

I'm also observing the new Motoblur being reported on Droid X and other new Motorola phones. The UI is stil there, but its lot lighter now and mods less of Android. Skin deep. That's the trends these days, except for HTC. The UI layering is light, enough to allow for some differentiation but at the same time, can make it faster to adapt to new Android OS updates.
 
dude on the linpack app for android you can see nexus one is like the fastest phone, it gets 55 mflops when the samsung vibrant gets 8.54 so dont say a 1ghz hummingbird cpu is faster than a 1ghz qualcomm snapdragon. its not nexus one all around better except the screen size and its probably a cheap screen on the samsung anyway check the price.
 
Before you quote test results you need to realize that the Nexus One was running Android 2.2. The Galaxy S running 2.1 is nearly 75% as fast and when upgraded to 2.2 will more than likely be MUCH faster than the Nexus One.

So yes, the Hummingbird processor in conjunction with the graphics processor outclasses the Snapdragon. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

You check the price. Galaxy S in any version is $500 bucks or more.

Oh and for your information, Samsung makes the screens for a lot of other cell phone manufacturers, including HTC......
 
Any Samsung Galaxy S owner should try Launcher Pro is you don't like the psuedo iPhone look of Touchwiz 3.0 (at least its not the freaking 3D cube of the earlier Touchwiz). Launcher Pro feels very consistent to what a standard Android interface should be, by taking the Eclair interface and adding a few nice touches of its own, like Froyo like transparent icons, the ability to go into landscape mode, get as much as 7 screens, and the pinch to display all 7 screens from HTC Sense.
 
Back
Top