Google Nexus One - Center of Attention

Overview

What is the Google Nexus One? It probably needs no explanation for those of us who follow the tech scene like a bloodhound. Dubbed not as a smartphone, but a superphone by the Mountain View company, the Nexus One is a big step for Google. It is a move that seeks to slowly, but surely, dominate the tech world, one step at a time. Starting off with what they've been always familiar with, i.e. software development, Google's Android mobile operating system (OS) has enjoyed a bout of popularity amongst mobile manufacturers. Judging by the number of upcoming Android devices slated for 2010, there is much potential for this Google-branded device.

But in a competitive market flooded by a torrent of Android devices now supported by HTC, Samsung, and LG, what else does the Nexus One bring into the game? Did Google really show its hand to its partners via the Open Handset Alliance, or are there some exclusive features armed only on the Nexus One? To answer all that, we got our hands on the Nexus One, and share with you some of our thoughts on this Google superphone in the following pages.

Dissecting the Android

First impressions are always the most important one, and the Nexus One managed to charm our socks off at first sight. As of now, the Nexus One is probably the thinnest Android device in the market. Simply put, the device is an absolute snug fit in our palms, and is easy on the arms with its 130g weight.

When we handled the Nexus One, mixed feelings were abound. Similar to the HTC Hero, the Nexus One comes with a teflon coating to prevent copious amount of fingerprint smears on the device. This is definitely great on aesthetics, but smudges are still prevalent on the 3.7-inch OLED screen. The Nexus One is great for the fingers, but we realized that the same teflon coating also saw us gripping onto the device harder to prevent it from slipping.

Physical buttons on the Nexus One are kept to the bare minimum. This is evident in the four main buttons, which are part of the touch screen display. The usual suspects on an Android device are there, starting with the Back, Menu, Home and Search button. The touch sensitive buttons are designed to be small, and has the right amount of sensitivity to register an input from the fingers. Below the buttons, a small trackball is placed for more precise screen navigation such as the finer areas of a web page.

Even for the existing physical buttons, we noticed how it manages to blend itself into the body of the Nexus One, thus giving a very streamlined look to it. This is evident from the volume and power buttons, which are essentially thin strips that are still easy to reach and click on. Following the trend of recent all-in-one devices, the Nexus One also comes with a 3.5mm audio port, plus a microUSB that's the standard for all future smartphones.

In keeping the body as clean as it is, you won't have a camera button, which is usually located on the right profile of any device. As such, you'll be fiddling with your touchscreen to utilize the autofocus feature of the 5-megapixel camera. If the whole design concept sounds familiar to a specific mobile manufacturer, then you're onto something. The Google Nexus One, is actually made by HTC, the company that gave us the first Android device - the T-Mobile G1, otherwise known as the HTC Dream.

Upgrading the Android

Besides its status as the first phone under the Google brand, what makes the Nexus One so special amongst us tech geeks? The simple answer lies within - the Android OS. Throughout the last year, we've seen a multitude of updates across the Android platform, dating from its very first iteration, to the Cupcake (1.5), Donut (1.6), Eclair (2.0/2.1) and the upcoming Froyo (Frozen Yogurt).

On the Nexus One, we have Android 2.1 running the show. While it might seem to be mostly a cosmetic makeover, it's more than that. Previous upgrades from the Android 1.6 OS includes features such as Text-to-Speech and a revamped Google Android Market. Needless to say, this will be retained in Android 2.1.

Within Android 2.1, the aesthetic changes are quite obvious. The basic layout is still the same, but loaded with refreshed icons and menu transitions across the pages. Likewise, pages are also increased from the original three, to five pages for widgets and apps loading.

Some of you might have heard the big news for Google Maps - free turn-by-turn navigation on its Android 2.0 and beyond devices. First seen on the Motorola DROID (or known as Milestone to us here), the Nexus One will also be equipped with a similar navigation dashboard interface, dubbed as Car Home on the menu. Before you do get excited about all the freebies that'll come with the Nexus One, take note that the turn-by-turn navigation isn't available outside of the United States. That said, if the Nexus One is available for purchase, there's also a slight chance that the service will also makes its way to our shores.

New widgets and home screen features will be seen on the Nexus One. Facebook, being one of the more popular social networking sites

, will be bundled within the Nexus One. More importantly, Facebook contact integration is also included within, thus building your contact base on the phone to include your social network. But in retrospect, there's still more areas for the the Nexus One to tap into, especially in the social networking realm. All that, can be easily replaced by the variety of free apps found on the Android Market.

And if you're easily dazzled by all that jazz, the Nexus One will feature Live Wallpapers, which are essentially animated wallpapers that reacts to touches on the home screen. As of now, Google has released the SDK for Android 2.1, one of which is the API for the Live Wallpaper feature. Safe to say, with the immediacy of apps publishing on the Android Market and the strong Android developer base, we could be looking at more Live Wallpapers in the near future.

Testing the Android

Now, if you're more for the hardware delivery, here's something to ponder upon - the Nexus One will be the first Android device armed with the fast-paced Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor. And how does that translate onto the Nexus One? We sum it up in three words - blazing fast speeds.

Plowing through the Nexus One's interface was swift and fluid. We observed how smooth menu and apps transitions were, with no discernible lag during the switching process. On the Android platform, apps are perpetually running in the background once they're loaded, and with that in mind, we found the experience to be pretty lag free after multiple apps have been activated. But it's not all a bed of roses. We did experience some crashes for apps and the Live Wallpapers, prompting the Nexus One to do a forced close on the said apps.

For its multimedia delivery, the Nexus One has much to offer on its video playback capability, but not so for its audio options. With our 3.5mm audio earphones, we plugged into the Nexus One's port and got a flat and uneventful audio experience. While the mid levels were crystal clear with the vocals, we couldn't get a strong punch out of the bass or the higher notes.

Moving past the audio quality, we were pleased with how the 3.7-inch AMOLED screen with WVGA resolutions of 800 x 480 pixels presented videos. To be precise about it, our test video saw some rich colors being returned on the Nexus One, while the same can't be said for other similar Android devices using the usual LCD screens. We also saw no frame losses for fast scenes, making the whole movie experience as seamless and comfortable as it can get on a mobile device. Our next stop involves some imaging test on the 5-megapixel camera.

Looking at both our test charts, we noticed something familiar - a circular reddish hue that was once the bane of the HTC HD2 imaging tests. This issue presents itself under strong incandescent lighting conditions, which we normally use to test the camera's automatic white balance correction. As you can see, the color chart is also affected by the reddish hue, which presents a warmer color chart across the board. Detailing and sharpness are the redeeming factors for the camera performance with a strong attention to fur details, albeit the image isn't exactly noise free as we saw on the test images.

The final trial for the Nexus One, would be the battery test. As per normal, our battery test comprises of the following factors:

• Playing a 240 x 320 resolution video on an endless loop.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth active
• Screen brightness at 100%
• 3.5mm headset plugged in with volume at 100%

Remember, we are also dealing with data being constantly pushed to the Nexus One via your Gmail, so you will have an active Wi-Fi connection being utilized. Looking at two other similar models, the results are as follow:

Both the Nexus One and the HTC HD2 are using the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor, and as you can see, the battery mileage has a huge disparity. Either in part due to the power efficiency of the Android OS, or because of the smaller 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, the Nexus One should manage itself well for extended trips. Combining that high mileage with its lightweight and thin profile, the Nexus One proves that it is suitable for heavy usage without the bulk that is often associated with phones of its capabilities. But, as we experienced in our daily usage, the Nexus One won't live through a full day on a single charge. The combination of cellular functions, multimedia and web activity is taxing on even the most power efficient devices.

Debuting the new Android

The dust has settled, and it can be said that the Android OS is now finally a force to be reckoned with. That's what the Google Nexus One represents for the company - a superphone (as dubbed by them) that will shake up the mobile scene.

The Nexus One isn't just a device that's just rich on the geek factor. Aesthetics is still one of the primary focus areas, and this is evident with its sleek and thin form factor. Weighing in at 130g, the Nexus One is easy on the hands and is a comfortable fit too. The minimalist design is evident with limited physical buttons such as the volume and power buttons on the Nexus One. The bulk of its interaction lies within the 3.7-inch touch screen, which also includes the four touch-sensitive user buttons for Back, Menu, Home and Search. These four buttons tend to give larger fingers a bit of a headache, but with a little bit of practice, you'll get used to it.

Looking past the hardware aspects, the Nexus One's biggest draw comes from its software. We've seen the evolution of Google's Android through the numbers, and the code names. Obviously, the company would save its most updated OS for its own model, hence you have Android 2.1 (Eclair) on the Nexus One. Whilst the interface sticks to its original 4 x 4 grid for its home screen, you'll notice a major aesthetic overhaul with its icons and interface. Instead of the usual three pages on its earlier versions, the Nexus One offers up to five pages to load your apps and widgets. New fangled features such as animated wallpapers that interact to your touch are mostly cosmetic.

Perhaps the most iconic change in the Nexus One from all its other Android siblings is the Car Home dashboard, which is also featured on the Motorola Milestone. Designed for on-the-road navigation, the interface is supposed to provide easy access to the turn-by-turn navigation on the Nexus One's Google Maps. Sadly, this won't be implemented outside of the United States anytime soon.

Whilst the Nexus One and Android 2.1 aptly dives into the Facebook social network, we find this to be an untapped potential. Seeing how other Android devices such as the Motorola DEXT and its MOTOBLUR service manages to integrate major social networking sites together, it's no longer a question of who churns out the latest OS or the most advanced mobile technology; it's the one who delivers the best user experience, both hardware and software, that makes the grade.

But do not dismiss the importance of the hardware specifications. We've experienced one of the smoothest and most fluid interfaces with the Nexus One, and this is mostly attributed to the fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor. Still, the occasional crashes are present on the Nexus One, more so for apps that might not have been designed for the latest Android 2.1 platform. Hopefully these little niggling matters would get resolved as the device and OS matures.

Throw in a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen with WVGA resolutions, and you have a decent video player on the Nexus One. In spite of the high speed processor which could see a huge power drain, the Nexus One proved to be resilient in our battery test. Daily usage is still a subjective matter, depending on one's usage pattern. On average, you won't get more than a day's mileage.

Should you wish to own the Nexus One, you can purchase it right off the Google Nexus One website and have it shipped over. Costing US$529 and calculating the shipping costs to Singapore and taxes involved, you'll be looking at a payment of S$870 for the Nexus One to reach your hands. We won't go so far as to say the Nexus One is an iPhone replacement; it's more like a change of flavor, plus a unique identity of a geek that walks on the path less trodden.

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