Recently I was fortunate to get my hands on a Nexus One from the folks over at Google.ie as a reward for winning their “Trailblazing in Technology Group” awards back in the BT Young Scientist in January. Before this I’d only ever briefly played with a G-1 and had little experience with Android as a platform.
First off, this phone is blazingly fast. The 1Ghz Snapdragon processor makes light work of any task the phone throws at it and the interface is the snappiest I’ve ever used on a phone. It’s phenomenal in comparison to an iPhone or even an overclocked Palm Pre which I was using prior to the Nexus. Even copious amounts of multitasking don’t slow the device down. Whatever secret sauce Google has thrown into Androids backend is working wonders on the performance front.
One of the nicest features of the Android OS is the really tight integration with Google services. Once you turn on the device for the first time you’re asked for a Google Account from which it will sync contacts, mail and configure the GTalk app on the phone. I had all my contact details on the phone in around 30 seconds after startup.
Android also allows developers to integrate their apps into parts of the OS iPhone devs have previously only thought about. For instance the Facebook and Twitter app sync contact data allowing me to see a friends latest status update from the contacts app. Such cross-application functions are to be found all over the place and they really add to the OS.
Syncing media to the phone is incredibly easy as the device acts as a USB mass storage device. Adding music and playlists is drag and drop child’s play. It also allows for easy imports of photos and videos from the phone. On the subject of photos and videos the camera quality on the phone is outstanding. The 5MP camera coupled with really good autofocus produces stunning images for a phone and the video quality is second to none for mobile devices.
The one and only letdown for me on Android is the Market. So far in Ireland Google haven’t launched commercial apps so the range of applications available is severely limited. It’s certainly no iPhone Marketplace to be sure. That said there are some really nice applications to find on the store.
Time to put an end to this rambling. If you’re thinking of switching to Android, don’t be afraid. It is definitely the best mobile platform I have ever used and the wide range of hardware available on different carriers all over the world is growing steadily. If you want to leave behind carrier contracts look no further than the Nexus One. It is a superb phone which will last you quite a while. I certainly don’t see the hardware specs becoming obsolete very soon.
Patrick
