Should I Keep My Nexus One or My 3Gs?

[just999in]

Just bought a Nexus One for $750 in Thailand (Bloated price because the shop imported it from Hong Kong, which imported it from USA).

I also have a 32 gb iPhone 3gs. I've been bored of the iPhone OS for months. Lack of multi-tasking and customisation options are HUGE drawbacks.

I've been using both phones together, side-by-side, to see which one I prefer.

Here is my analysis:

1) Though Android 2.1 has some glitches, and the touchscreen definitely isn't as smooth or responsive as the 3gs, I much prefer Android 2.1 to the stale iPhone OS. The N1 is much more fun to fiddle with. The notifications bar in Android is supreme. I love this OS.

2) I'm not an Apple fanboy, as I bought the N1 with the intention of replacing my 3gs. However, the sound quality for calls and music on the iPhone 3gs completely blows away the sound quality on the N1. The built-in speaker on the 3gs is louder and sounds much better. The maximum volume on the 3gs with headphones or built-in speaker is about 20% higher. On the N1, I often can't listen to podcasts in crowded places because i can't get the volume loud enough. This is never a problem on my iPhone.

Considering the N1 came out 8 months later than the 3gs, how can Google/NTC peddle a high-end smartphone with sound quality hardware that is inferior to the iPhone?!

3) Camera: Although the N1 has higher resolution, the iPhone 3gs takes better pictures in low light. In auto-mode, the N1 makes some terrible white-balance guesses. Fortunately, you can usually remedy this problem if you adjust the white balance manually (which you can't do manually on the iPhone). The N1's LED flash is a bonus for night close-up shots but is useless beyond 5 feet.

a) N1's best photos, under ideal lighting situations, is better than 3gs' best photos.
B) when lighting isn't ideal (which is most of the time), the 3gs absolutely takes better photos and videos.

Fortunately, I don't expect brilliant photos from a mobile phone.

4) Touch keyboard also seems to be more accurate and responsive on the 3gs, though it is only a minor difference. I do prefer the Android text-prediction over the 3gs'.

5) Screen: N1 wins hands-down...though in the sun it's hard to use.

6) The earphones that come with the N1 are crap. The buds are too big to stay in the ear. The sound quality is poor. It does comes with a mic, but it is too far down on the wire. Also, there is no volume control on the earphones. That is a terrible oversight. Who wants to dig their phone out of the pocket to adjust the volume every time? This is one of the little things that Apple does well, as the iphone's earphones have a volume control button, and they actually fit in the ear too.

7) I've been able to get all the apps I need from Google marketplace. The Apple app stores is over-rated. 99% of the apps are useless. That said, the iPhone Facebook and Evernote apps, which I use often, are much better than the Android versions.

8) Mail and Google apps sync seamlessly and are better, of course, than the Google apps on the iPhone. Google Voice was rejected by AT&T/Apple. I can't use Google Voice in Asia anyway so it doesn't matter to me.

Summary:

As I'm not rich, I can't keep both phones. I will sell the one that I don't use for about $550 second-hand.

I prefer the N1 and Android in most ways, but sound quality is the single, most important factor in a phone, especially if you use your phone as a media player too. After spending $500 plus for a phone, nobody wants to buy a separate device for music. The poor sound quality may lead to me stick with the iPhone.

Can the low sound volume be resolved with a software fix or is it purely a hardware issue?

I will decide which phone to get rid of the N1 or the 3gs this Sunday.

I'd love to hear your feedback...

Cheers,

Justin

[shannow]

Sorry I can't help you much there . I'm hesitating a lot between the N1 and 3gs because au sound issue I have read a lot . Lots of people say the N1 sound quality is rubbish against the 3gs but is it really that appaling through the earphones ? I absolutely don't care about the speaker built in actualy I could cut it off and send it too you , it's that useless to me)
I have a 300$+ headphone I use a lot on my mp3 player that just died ... I really need a 3g phone iphone like but I hate the fact that apple try to have full control over the owner of their stuff ... (and I hate itune too).

So basicaly earphonewise is there really a huge difference with the mp3 3gs/n1 sound quality (regardless of volume and speaker) ?
thank you very much and again sorry I can't be of much help for you

regards,
from france

[cabinets]

For me personally, I prefer the N1. I had a N1, sold it, went back to a 3gs. Then I realized why I got rid of the 3gs to begin with, and bought another N1. The pros outweigh the cons in favor of the N1 (for me)

[shannow]

Ah right thanks because that's probably the last thing stoping me from getting the N1 . Everything else I prefer the N1 . On gsmarena I saw the 3gs had a dead flat frequency response and nice specs for noise to sound ratio etc and I was fearing the N1 wasn't on par or close with this especialy where a lot of people on forums weren't happy with "the sound quality" but not clearly stating if they were talking about the speaker or the headphone line out .
My headphone is a audio tehcnica (huge thing I don't carry out outside) ATH A900 40ohms with 101db sensitivity but if anything it lack a little touch on the basses that may be a little drawback as the N1 doesn't have an equalizer yet (on the overhand my brother's 3gs I tested and the built in eq doesn't change the sound much and there's no personal eq on it either :/ )
Thank you very much for your reply that has helped me a lot

Ps: I don't listen to music outside where there's pleople it is too dangerous to do this where I live ... cars + thieves ...

[Zindol]

N1 with earphones is loud. Lets not lie to ourselves. Only the speaker is pathetic. Especially how its at the back of the phone, which makes the sound output even worse.

[just999in]

Originally Posted by Zindol

N1 with earphones is loud. Lets not lie to ourselves. Only the speaker is pathetic. Especially how its at the back of the phone, which makes the sound output even worse.

No, I'm not lying to anybody. I tried the N1 and iPhone 3gs side by side, using the same headphones, and the iPhone was much louder at maximum level.

In normal situations, this doesn't matter, but when I'm on the train, or at the noisy gym I can't hear a podcast on my N1 whereas it was never a problem with my 3gs.

I still like Android and most other features of the N1 better than the iphone. However, Crappy Sound quality, mediocre photo quality and less responsive keyboard or significant drawbacks to the N1.

The question is, are these drawbacks enough for me to keep my iPhone?

I'm still in the middle.

[cxm]

I'm surprised the OP mentioned call quality, because I have always found it to be good. Indeed on the cnet comparison against the 3GS I'm sure they said the nexus was a clear winner for call quality. I've never had an iphone because there is a lot about apple's way of doing business that is just too annoying for me. I don't think the nexus is the perfect phone by a long stretch and yet I still love it. It is the only iphone alternative for someone who just doesn't want an iphone.

[Zindol]

I'm not saying its louder than an iPhone. I'm saying its loud enough to destroy your eardrums. How much louder should it get? I'm coming from an n95 8gb (Nokia doesn't play when it comes to music hardware) and I can't see that much of a difference in earphone quality, ofcourse I haven't done the side by side comparison. Nokia would (probably be louder) but my point is its loud enough. The phones actual speaker though is pathetic. Especially in comparison to my old Nokia.

Edit: to just999in

[just999in]

Originally Posted by cxm

I'm surprised the OP mentioned call quality, because I have always found it to be good. Indeed on the cnet comparison against the 3GS I'm sure they said the nexus was a clear winner for call quality. I've never had an iphone because there is a lot about apple's way of doing business that is just too annoying for me. I don't think the nexus is the perfect phone by a long stretch and yet I still love it. It is the only iphone alternative for someone who just doesn't want an iphone.

Ok, I'm not saying the call quality is bad. In normal situations, it's quite good and crisp.

However, in the real world, we use the phone in many environments. If you go on a train, a crowded mall, or a noisy gym, the max volume on the N1 just isn't adequate. I know it's probably bad for your hearing to have it too loud, but when you're in that situation where you can't hear the person speaking on the phone or in the podcast, having the option to up the volume is important.

[freedom42]

A few thoughts...

I use Shure 530's in high noise environments and the N1's audio output is more than sufficient and sounds as good as my older iPhone 2G. But realize the in ear 530's block a great deal of the ambient noise and that is exactly why I use this style ear buds. Basically I would not want to gain up the phone to overcome background noise (e.g. with the N1's stock buds) as that in my opinion would damage my hearing.

The external speaker is at best for telephone quality audio and is suitable for only a speaker phone. But the real problem is that if you turn up the volume too much the speaker clips. It is better than nothing, but unsuitable for use except in quiet environments.

Camera... It's a cell phone. With that in mind the white balance thing should be fixable with a software update, but I have the sense that Google/HTC have bigger issues right now (e.g. 3G issues on T-Mobile). Low light performance. Overall with a small lens (aperture) I'm surprised how well the Apple product does. The N1's single led simply can't make up the difference.

I walked away from the iPhone for the N1 given that the iPhone platform is simply too limiting for me. For others I suspect it is exactly what they want. In other words Apple created a user experience for the general non-technical public. I don't fall into that category.

Originally Posted by just999in

No, I'm not lying to anybody. I tried the N1 and iPhone 3gs side by side, using the same headphones, and the iPhone was much louder at maximum level.

In normal situations, this doesn't matter, but when I'm on the train, or at the noisy gym I can't hear a podcast on my N1 whereas it was never a problem with my 3gs.

I still like Android and most other features of the N1 better than the iphone. However, Crappy Sound quality, mediocre photo quality and less responsive keyboard or significant drawbacks to the N1.

The question is, are these drawbacks enough for me to keep my iPhone?

I'm still in the middle.