Nexus vs Droid

[KevinO]

I've only had the Nexus for a couple of hours but a few quick observations-

N1 is MUCH snappier for me than the Droid. Disagree with Engadget review, everything is much quicker and more fluid, feels a lot like the 3gs UI (speed wise). Apps snap open and close, where the Droid tends to lag at times.

Screen brightness etc pretty close, don't see much of a disparity between the two. The slightly lower rez of the N1 makes the icons and notification bar slightly larger which I actually prefer.

Camera MUCH faster than the Droid- there were times when I've wanted to take a picture or video with the Droid and it would lag or freeze. Haven't seen that with the N1.

So far, very pleased.. Maybe 2.1 on the Droid will speed it up, but man the Nexus is a beauty..

[Stillooking]

Does the N1 have a landscape keypad. I love using my Droid's in preference to the physical keyboard.

[Vulcan1600Rider]

I don't see how you can really compare speed of the Nexus vs. Droid when the Nexus has the advantage of the 2.1 O.S. Other than no physical keyboard, I see no real reason to be excited about the Nexus...plus on one of the crappiest networks (T-M)

[BostonBill]

Thanks for the initial impressions! Any noticeable battery differences?

[Colin]

I've been waiting to see some more good side by side comparisons and thusfar feel that there are LOT of Droid users who are bias in their preference because they have an expensive phone and can't afford to change to the Nexus if they wanted to. The Droid may still be a better phone, I don't know, but I think many opinions are swayed - I've yet to find a review which I feel is balanced.

I have a Droid, I like it a lot, but it's not perfect. I was thinking I might wait for the "Passion" but couldn't resist and got the Droid. I think because of the Holiday period I can still return it, but I don't know when the Verizon Droid will be available.

For me, here are the Wins/Loses in each category (from what I've gathered online, as I have not played w/ an N1 yet). Please feel free to chime in, I'm here to learn as much as possible so I'm interested in hearing what others have to say, I'm not trying to put together an end-all review...

Size = N1

Weight = N1

Build Quality = TBD, some say the like that the Droid is metal and hefty. To me heavy seems like it'll hit the ground harder and more likely to break under it's own weight.

Form Factor = N1. While I like the color of the Droid, and the boxiness has grown on me I really dislike the slideout keyboard. This is completely contrary to what most say about the Droid. But personally, I find it useless. Take that back, the D pad is useful in some situations, like editing a post in a forum like this. But that's it. I don't play games and for me the virtual keyboards are easier to use in that the touch is consistent. I had never used a virtual keyboard before. I used the physical keyboard for 2 days, then started using the landscape virtual keyboard and within a week was proficiently using the portrait virtual keyboard. And no, I don't have tiny fingers, I have fat fingers. Plus the slideout keyboard adds more parts to break and thickness. I'm still hoping someone will design a case for the droid which wraps it entirely and prevents the keyboard from sliding open, but I'm not holding my breath.

Speed = TBD. Sure N1 has Snapdragon, but there's the talk about the Droid CPU/GPU being a benefit. Plus they're both running different versions of Android OS. I feel the jury is still out on this one but that either could come out the victor.

Screen = Droid. Slightly better resolution and people seem to say it looks nicer. This one I feel is VERY close and not enough to sway me either way.

Camera = N1. I haven't used the N1, but I find it hard to believe that anything could be worse than the camera on the Droid.

Battery = TBD. Snapdragon may eat more power, but maybe the screen saves more power? Only time will tell.

Storage = Droid. This is minor, but why the hell does the Droid come w/ a 16GB card and the N1 only 4GB? I know it's expandable but still a bummer.

Versatility = N1. Here I'm talking purely about being able to run different networks and act as a world phone. I would definitely like to have world capabilities. Plus being on more networks may mean more accessories and that sort of thing.

Marketing = N1. This one isn't something we should even consider, but it still comes to mind. I hate the Droid ad campaign, I think it's immature. I had discussions about this on DroidForums, I'm exactly the person they should be marketing to while all of the ads make me want to NOT purchase the phone. N1 however is hip, friendly, fun, positive in nature...



I'll be happy if I stick w/ the Droid, which I most likely will since I can't go out and get an N1 right now or even play with one to see if it's worth going back to a dumb phone for. But I hate the keyboard and it scares me to think how loose it may become after some abuse. And the camera is almost useless. And I can't use it if I travel to Europe, Aus, NZ...

Alright, enough rambling.

[KevinO]

Originally Posted by Stillooking

Does the N1 have a landscape keypad. I love using my Droid's in preference to the physical keyboard.

Yes- basically the same as Droid except now it has the option to use voice recognition. It's cool but it moved the comma to the numerals page which sucks..

[KevinO]

Originally Posted by Vulcan1600Rider

I don't see how you can really compare speed of the Nexus vs. Droid when the Nexus has the advantage of the 2.1 O.S. Other than no physical keyboard, I see no real reason to be excited about the Nexus...plus on one of the crappiest networks (T-M)

Really? Because I own both and can tell you hands down it's faster responding than the Droid.

I didn't say it was faster than Droid on 2.1, I said it was faster... NOW.

You primarily see it on the smoothness of moving from homescreen to homescreen, getting back to the homescreen from an open application, opening applications, etc. It seems as snappy as the iPhone 3gs (which whether you like Apple or not is the gold standard on fluid UI's) Also, like I said before the camera is WORLDS better- it's actually useable!

I love the Droid, but at this early juncture the Nexus seems superior.

Oh, and not to forget- I completely agree about the networks, Tmobile ain't no oil painting..

[KevinO]

Originally Posted by Colin

And no, I don't have tiny fingers, I have fat fingers. Plus the slideout keyboard adds more parts to break and thickness. I'm still hoping someone will design a case for the droid which wraps it entirely and prevents the keyboard from sliding open, but I'm not holding my breath.

Speed = TBD. Sure N1 has Snapdragon, but there's the talk about the Droid CPU/GPU being a benefit. Plus they're both running different versions of Android OS. I feel the jury is still out on this one but that either could come out the victor.

Screen = Droid. Slightly better resolution and people seem to say it looks nicer. This one I feel is VERY close and not enough to sway me either way.

Camera = N1. I haven't used the N1, but I find it hard to believe that anything could be worse than the camera on the Droid.

Battery = TBD. Snapdragon may eat more power, but maybe the screen saves more power? Only time will tell.

Storage = Droid. This is minor, but why the hell does the Droid come w/ a 16GB card and the N1 only 4GB? I know it's expandable but still a bummer.

Versatility = N1. Here I'm talking purely about being able to run different networks and act as a world phone. I would definitely like to have world capabilities. Plus being on more networks may mean more accessories and that sort of thing.

Marketing = N1. This one isn't something we should even consider, but it still comes to mind. I hate the Droid ad campaign, I think it's immature. I had discussions about this on DroidForums, I'm exactly the person they should be marketing to while all of the ads make me want to NOT purchase the phone. N1 however is hip, friendly, fun, positive in nature...



I'll be happy if I stick w/ the Droid, which I most likely will since I can't go out and get an N1 right now or even play with one to see if it's worth going back to a dumb phone for. But I hate the keyboard and it scares me to think how loose it may become after some abuse. And the camera is almost useless. And I can't use it if I travel to Europe, Aus, NZ...

Alright, enough rambling.

Good points Colin- I agree with you about the keyboard on the Droid- it's lousy except for being able to move the cursor around occasionally. Never used a worse one, even the Pre's was better (IMO)

The camera on the N1 opens much faster and seems to focus and shoot quicker as well. The biggest problem for me with the Droids is that occasionally it lags seemingly forever to open or even completely fails to open and crashes! When it works it's OK, but i always missed the speed of the iphone's..

[Miami1683]

Not to be a jerk, but let's face it T-Mobild needs the N1 which I am sure is a good phone. For VZW it's just another device. It will be another member of the droid family, but it certainly doesn't beat the Droid. Once the Droid has 2.1 then all someone will have is another Droid device

[Spydaz]

The Nexus One is a new platform for Android, this is a "work in progress" the chipset and technology are at the forefront with the Nexus.. This is the beginning of something thats going to be great.. Look at how quick the Android platform gets its updates.. Compared to the iPhone i say Android is almost ahead of the pack, if not already a few steps ahead...