former1 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 (edited) For a while now I've been looking to replace my BlackBerry Bold 9000 (even though it's only 8 months old!) for daily use, being an active person and having gone on exercises with it I have unfortunately not treated it as best I should have :( picture below! Ever since I heard about the Google Nexus One, I was intrigued. Never having had an android based phone, or an iPhone (what I personally describe as Web Phones... since they're always connected to the web :p). After making my mind up that I'd buy it the day it was released, I placed an order before the press conference was even finished! 3 Days later I had my new phone sitting on my desk waiting to used! Initial Impressions When I first opened the box, I thought wow the screen is very very reflective. Having never used a touch screen phone before, I was kind of curious as to how finger prints would play out on it but I've had no major dramas with it - other than one issue, if you have the phone locked using the 'password' option, it's not actually a text password but a grid that's [3x4] of dots, in which you can connect dots in a sequence by dragging your finger over them to unlock the phone. At first I thought it was kind of a cool alternative to a password... but after a few days of using it I noticed one major flaw. There was a massive streak of the pattern on my screen! So security wise it's probably not the best of options :p The phone itself is very light, and fits in my hands perfectly (although I do have small hands!). Typing on the phone used to take me forever as well, however I've finally managed to speed that up using the androids predictive text option, but still find it extremely hard to text with both thumbs as the keyboard is at the bottom of the screen and it's hard to rest the phone high up in your hands so that you can use it, without feeling like the phones out of balance. Being in the UK I just swapped my SIM from my BlackBerry into the Nexus One and started it up. I got instant 3G coverage and was able to receive texts and make phone calls... what I wasn't able to do was connect to the internet! Initially I called up Orange and asked if they had any idea, as to how I could get it working. Unfortunately the lady 'helping' me, wasn't willing to tell me how! So after a bit of Googling and mucking around on my BlackBerry I was able to find out the APN settings, and transfer them onto the Nexus One. Having a strange Wi-Fi setup at home, I actually wasn't expecting the phone to be able to connect to my network (Using WPAII and only allowing devices with Static IPs to join), thankfully the nexus one had options to set DNS / Gateway and IP and I was able to get access instantly. When initially setting up the phone I had to login to my Google Account, which was able to automatically add all my contacts from Gmail and Facebook instantly! My phone book, even contains peoples facebook photos and current status' which I think is rather cool! This saved me loads of time having to transfer numbers from one to other. Daily Usage After having had the phone now for a few weeks I can happily say that I wouldn't trade it for any other phone in the world! Battery life is sufficient for that kind of phone, at the end of the day I do find that I have to charge it but it can last a whole 2 days with little to moderate use as long as you don't make phone calls! If you have a few phone calls a day that are more than 20 minutes, the battery will definitely only last for a whole day if that. The speakers themselves are very quiet when playing music which is a bit disappointing, my BlackBerry was much louder, however the ring tones that come with the nexus one as default are very loud... meaning I've never missed a call! Texts are handled in the same way as e-mails in Gmail as a thread, an example can be seen below: The Google Maps application that comes with the phone is extremely handy, and works the same way as it did on my BlackBerry and Computer. However in comparison to on my BlackBerry it is much much quicker! I don't know how they've done it, but it's ridiculously fast I never have to wait for it to load images when I move into a part that was off of the screen. The Music Player itself is rather bog standard. With the option to list songs, by artist, by album or by playlists. It does what it has to so I'm happy with it! Market is a pretty handy application, which allows you to download new applications for the phone. So far I've installed v. few applications however those that I have (Ultimate Stopwatch - A stopwatch, AndFTP - An FTP Client, ConnectBot - An SSH Client) have worked flawlessly and the phone automatically updates me when a new update is released, which I find quite handy! The camera on the nexus one is v. good quality each picture is on average 800-900kb, and you have the options to upload to facebook, picasa. Or send via e-mail / gmail. All in all I love this phone, and if you have any questions feel free to ask! ToneKnee, AbandonedTrolley, Chr1zt1an and 7 others 10 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorwing Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 great review! my question is when is it coming to Canada because I want one and can I haz urs? LOL. (j/k about the having yours.. but I really want one). :shifty: Pauleh 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
former1 Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 Ah I can't edit my post, but here's a quick video that I took on it last night for video quality :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiagosilva29 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Can I have your old Blackberry for free? What kind of patters can you make to unlock the phone? Are there any restrictions? Are you forced to supply your Google Account email in order to activate your phone? 2G + no Wireless/Bluetooth + little use = how much battery time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoomKid Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I simply can't wait for the Nexus One to arrive to my country. Love the review :) former1 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacemf Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 (edited) having never used android, do you get apps like skype, msn messenger etc? and can you use your 3g connection instead of wifi? also did the google maps come with turn by turn navigation? what would you say is the battery life with moderate use? also did you have to pay duty when you got the phone? since its coming from aboard and all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
former1 Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Can I have your old Blackberry for free? What kind of patters can you make to unlock the phone? Are there any restrictions? Are you forced to supply your Google Account email in order to activate your phone? 2G + no Wireless/Bluetooth + little use = how much battery time? 1. If you pay me 100 + postage then yes :p "free" hehe. 2. The pattern is that you can't lift your finger off the screen and you can't go back over the same dots. I'll make a video of this tomorrow to show what I mean if you'd like. 3. When you first start the phone, you're asked to connect to your google account via 3G or Wi-Fi to use the phone, you can access the main features (i.e. phone calls and sms without it, but everytime you start up the phone it'll say to register, and won't get access to market etc.) 4. I'll run the phone tomorrow in 2G mode and let you know! having never used android, do you get apps like skype, msn messenger etc? and can you use your 3g connection instead of wifi? also did the google maps come with turn by turn navigation? what would you say is the battery life with moderate use? also did you have to pay duty when you got the phone? since its coming from aboard and all You can get 3rd party apps for msn and skype chat. For voice chat on skype I'm not too sure, market doesn't seem to have anything! Google maps comes with directions so you can drive and see your point move along the map, or map move with the point! I've tried using the navigate feature but that doesn't seem to work in the UK atm! I didn't have to pay duty! That appears to be pot luck I assume, I asked the DHL delivery man if I had to pay duty and he said he hadn't been given papers indicating that BUT when ordering from google they do warn you about it just incase! Any other questions just let me know :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakumo Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 You will get a bill from DHL any time up to 3 weeks or so later, they really suck not being up front about this. You can save yourself a couple of pounds by ringing in and paying over the phone before they sting you for the 'administration charge' of having to send you a letter. There's a guide to getting Google Nav working outside of the US on XDA-Developers. Glad you like the phone I'm jealous, still waiting for UK contracts =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
former1 Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 @Tiagosilva29 ran the phone in 2G mode today, and received quite a few texts / sent out quite a few too. Total battery left at the end of the day: 80% so looks like it could last a few days like this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Lyle Global Moderator Posted January 24, 2010 Global Moderator Share Posted January 24, 2010 I got a hands-on preview of it at CES2010, and it was actually a very nice phone. Some of the features were disabled, because they were internet related, so I would like to try it with 3G and see how well it performs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
master2k27 Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 nice review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subject Delta Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 having never used android, do you get apps like skype, msn messenger etc? and can you use your 3g connection instead of wifi? There is a skype lite Beta on the market, as for MSN, it's best to use Meebo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROM3000 Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Thanks for the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vip Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Gonna order this in the morning! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance. Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 +Rep to you for writing a good review. I'd suggest all the other members give him +rep too :yes:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiagosilva29 Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 @Tiagosilva29 ran the phone in 2G mode today, and received quite a few texts / sent out quite a few too. Total battery left at the end of the day: 80% so looks like it could last a few days like this! Awesome stuff! Thanks for testing this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasethebase Reporter Posted January 26, 2010 Reporter Share Posted January 26, 2010 (edited) Very nice looking phone. Is it possible to get the wallpaper (In Static form) with the coloured lines that move around? That would be awesome! Example below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
former1 Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 Hi Chase the Base, I'll look into getting one for you later today!!! Also an update, I got sent a tax invoice from HM Customs so had to shell out another 60 for the phone (however I was expecting that :p). I drove to Manchester to see my sister, but as the phones Google Navigator (turn by turn GPS software doesn't work outside the US), I had to use google maps. To get it working was a bit of a mystery at first, but I finally got it working. What you have to do is the usual get directions, and then select My Location it'll then move the map around you whilst you stay centered! The only downside is.... there's no voice telling you when to turn off etc, so I had to keep glancing at it. Another problem was the screen kept going dark after 30seconds, and then i'd have to unlock the phone again... whilst driving, which wasn't very ideal! But then I found the setting to keep the screen on (for up to 30 minutes) so that was it working perfectly :) only one problem though... after driving for 3 hours, with screen on full brightness and GPS on my battery was dead! So if you plan on using this as a GPS you'll want an in car charger. Secondly I've applied the new update, and the phone does appear to be a lot faster! (Even though it was already blazing fast before!!) Multi touch on maps is cool if not gimicky, but it works very well :) although pinching zooms out.. which in my eyes should zoom in.. but that's opinion :p That's all for now :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SojIrOu Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Do you use a live wallpaper? It seems to slow down when you go to the menu compared to a regular wallpaper. Also, I noticed the 'polar clock' live wallpaer has been fixed in this update. Its a shame that navigation doesn't work outside the US. With nokia offering free maps now, my old N97 is more useful in the car than my nexus one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalek Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Thanks for the review. My understanding is that the roller ball lights up in a different colour when receiving a text, call or email - is this true? If so, any chance you could capture this in photo or video form? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SojIrOu Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Thanks for the review. My understanding is that the roller ball lights up in a different colour when receiving a text, call or email - is this true? If so, any chance you could capture this in photo or video form? Thanks! I have only ever seen it light up white but apparently it does blue as well. The only difference is the way it flashes. Notification light link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalek Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 I have only ever seen it light up white but apparently it does blue as well. The only difference is the way it flashes. Notification light link http://www.google.com/phone/static/en_US-nexusone_tech_specs.html [5] Tri-color clickable trackball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endtype Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Nice review...I'm thinking about getting one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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