As some of you may have read, I was shopping around for my first Android phone recently. I'm with AT&T and I didn't really want to deal with switching providers, so my only option was the $529 Nexus One. I've had it for about a week and here's my thoughts.
First off, I am totally sold on the Android platform. It seems like it was made for people who liked the iPhone OS style but not the Nazi-esque rules set by Apple. The apps are quite nice and the touchscreen keyboard is something I have gotten used to and can easily live with it (unlike some people who demand a hard keyboard and are forced to buy the Moto Droid.)
Having said that, I do have a number of concerns, which I would normally just tolerate, but given that I threw down $529 for this phone and I have been hit with a number of financial blows recently (such as my dental insurance company not covering my wife's $2,400 dental work) these issues start to nag at me like a baby screaming into a megaphone.
One big concern I have is with the phone's cell reception. I have read that this phone has numerous issues with this, but I assumed that it was more of a result of being on T-Mobile. It appears that AT&T isn't much different, as I constantly see 0 - 2 bars in the areas that I frequent most. Also, 3g download speeds seem very inconsistent, with download speeds ranging from 297 to 1569 kbps. Also, on more than 1 occasion, the download speed has gone down to dial-up speeds and I had to jump on to the WiFi (which I also have issues about.) Part of my reasoning for getting the N1 and dishing out that money was that I was familiar with AT&T's coverage in my area and I thought it was good based on my experiences with my Moto Q9h. I preferred that over taking my chances with Verizon or Sprint and having to go through the hassle of signing up, porting numbers, then the potential hassle of maybe having to go back to AT&T, etc. If the phone has connectivity issues with AT&T, then I feel I would be better served just going with the Incredible on Verizon or the EVO on Sprint. These phones apparently don't have the same issues the N1 has maintaining a good signal with their networks. Is there any way to resolve the N1's signal issues, even via rooting? (more on rooting later.)
The WiFi settings also are rather finicky. Maybe I'm just doing something wrong, but quite often the phone has had issues reconnecting to a wireless network when it comes out of sleep. I often have to manually go to the WiFi settings and tell it to reconnect there, as opposed to it just doing it automatically.
There have been a number of times where the screen or soft keys are unresponsive for a few seconds. I don't know if the phone is just "loading" or whatever, but it's happened enough for it to become a noticeable nuisance.
I've found the touch screen to be quite finicky when it comes to games, or rather, games that require an on-screen d-pad and buttons. I don't know if this was a Nesoid exclusive thing, but as I mentioned in other threads, I often can't use multiple presses at the same time, so in Super Mario Bros I can't move forward, run, and jump at the same time. I don't know if this is an N1 issue or an HTC issue or a multitouch issue in general.
I'm also concerned about rooting. I realize that another perk of the N1 is that it is easy to root and has a large number of custom roms available, but I am also aware of the fact that this voids your warranty, and that your phone is basically given a Scarlet Letter that will alert any warranty repair person as soon as they turn on the phone. But then what happens if I have a legitimate issue with this phone? Let's say the menu button stops working. Obviously HTC won't repair it for free, but would they repair it at all? And if so, would it be like $50 to repair, or would it be almost the same price as getting a whole new phone? Has anyone here had issues with their N1's malfunctioning? I'm assuming if this same scenario happened with say, an Incredible, that I would only have to pay what I paid for the phone originally. Am I wrong about that? Again, this would be more of a tolerable issue if I was only putting $200 at risk for rooting as opposed to $529 (or whatever the N1 ends up costing.)
These issues, along with the very real possibility that the N1 could be available in the near future at retail channels at lower prices have me strongly considering returning the phone and just paying the $45 restocking fee as I venture out to Sprint and Verizon and try out their phones on their services, or potentially sit and pray that AT&T delivers us an Android phone that's worth 2 sh*ts. I'm not optimistic about waiting, considering AT&T's history of locking down Android phones, and that their upcoming phones appear to be entry to mid-grade. I need a high powered machine that will not be obsolete in a year, like a Droid or 1ghz phone.
I know it must seem that I'm just ragging on the N1, but for all these issues I mentioned, I still like the phone and could see myself keeping it. Again though, my standards are higher at $529 than they are at $200. This post is really meant to say, "Convince me to keep my N1," because if I really didn't want to keep it I would not have bothered making this long post voicing all these concerns. I would have just sent it back and asked about Verizon VS Sprint (which may be my next big post.)
If you've read this far you deserve a medal, so draw one and tape it to your shirt.
First off, I am totally sold on the Android platform. It seems like it was made for people who liked the iPhone OS style but not the Nazi-esque rules set by Apple. The apps are quite nice and the touchscreen keyboard is something I have gotten used to and can easily live with it (unlike some people who demand a hard keyboard and are forced to buy the Moto Droid.)
Having said that, I do have a number of concerns, which I would normally just tolerate, but given that I threw down $529 for this phone and I have been hit with a number of financial blows recently (such as my dental insurance company not covering my wife's $2,400 dental work) these issues start to nag at me like a baby screaming into a megaphone.
One big concern I have is with the phone's cell reception. I have read that this phone has numerous issues with this, but I assumed that it was more of a result of being on T-Mobile. It appears that AT&T isn't much different, as I constantly see 0 - 2 bars in the areas that I frequent most. Also, 3g download speeds seem very inconsistent, with download speeds ranging from 297 to 1569 kbps. Also, on more than 1 occasion, the download speed has gone down to dial-up speeds and I had to jump on to the WiFi (which I also have issues about.) Part of my reasoning for getting the N1 and dishing out that money was that I was familiar with AT&T's coverage in my area and I thought it was good based on my experiences with my Moto Q9h. I preferred that over taking my chances with Verizon or Sprint and having to go through the hassle of signing up, porting numbers, then the potential hassle of maybe having to go back to AT&T, etc. If the phone has connectivity issues with AT&T, then I feel I would be better served just going with the Incredible on Verizon or the EVO on Sprint. These phones apparently don't have the same issues the N1 has maintaining a good signal with their networks. Is there any way to resolve the N1's signal issues, even via rooting? (more on rooting later.)
The WiFi settings also are rather finicky. Maybe I'm just doing something wrong, but quite often the phone has had issues reconnecting to a wireless network when it comes out of sleep. I often have to manually go to the WiFi settings and tell it to reconnect there, as opposed to it just doing it automatically.
There have been a number of times where the screen or soft keys are unresponsive for a few seconds. I don't know if the phone is just "loading" or whatever, but it's happened enough for it to become a noticeable nuisance.
I've found the touch screen to be quite finicky when it comes to games, or rather, games that require an on-screen d-pad and buttons. I don't know if this was a Nesoid exclusive thing, but as I mentioned in other threads, I often can't use multiple presses at the same time, so in Super Mario Bros I can't move forward, run, and jump at the same time. I don't know if this is an N1 issue or an HTC issue or a multitouch issue in general.
I'm also concerned about rooting. I realize that another perk of the N1 is that it is easy to root and has a large number of custom roms available, but I am also aware of the fact that this voids your warranty, and that your phone is basically given a Scarlet Letter that will alert any warranty repair person as soon as they turn on the phone. But then what happens if I have a legitimate issue with this phone? Let's say the menu button stops working. Obviously HTC won't repair it for free, but would they repair it at all? And if so, would it be like $50 to repair, or would it be almost the same price as getting a whole new phone? Has anyone here had issues with their N1's malfunctioning? I'm assuming if this same scenario happened with say, an Incredible, that I would only have to pay what I paid for the phone originally. Am I wrong about that? Again, this would be more of a tolerable issue if I was only putting $200 at risk for rooting as opposed to $529 (or whatever the N1 ends up costing.)
These issues, along with the very real possibility that the N1 could be available in the near future at retail channels at lower prices have me strongly considering returning the phone and just paying the $45 restocking fee as I venture out to Sprint and Verizon and try out their phones on their services, or potentially sit and pray that AT&T delivers us an Android phone that's worth 2 sh*ts. I'm not optimistic about waiting, considering AT&T's history of locking down Android phones, and that their upcoming phones appear to be entry to mid-grade. I need a high powered machine that will not be obsolete in a year, like a Droid or 1ghz phone.
I know it must seem that I'm just ragging on the N1, but for all these issues I mentioned, I still like the phone and could see myself keeping it. Again though, my standards are higher at $529 than they are at $200. This post is really meant to say, "Convince me to keep my N1," because if I really didn't want to keep it I would not have bothered making this long post voicing all these concerns. I would have just sent it back and asked about Verizon VS Sprint (which may be my next big post.)
If you've read this far you deserve a medal, so draw one and tape it to your shirt.