The Nexus One, An iPhone Killer?
The Nexus One ( Google SmartPhone) An iPhone Killer?
Let’s face it, whether or not you are an Apple fan, the iPhone has set the bar for smart phones. When new phones are released, one of the first things things that pops up in reviews is whether or not it is an “iPhone killer.” With the release of the Nexus One, Google has taken up the challenge, but can the search giant unseat the reigning king of cool tech?
On paper, the phones actually measure up quite comparatively to each other. They are both full-featured smart phones with built in GPS, voice recognition, similar battery life, downloadable apps, photo/video recording capabilities, and music playback. What sets these phones apart is how each operating system integrates these features. The Nexus One runs Android OS, which was developed by Google and is used by various third party manufacturers. The iPhone runs Apple’s own proprietary iPhone OS which is, like most things Apple, exclusive to them.
Let’s start with voice recognition and control. The Nexus One wins this battle hands down with native support for voice recognition and commands that can be integrated into other apps on the phone. That means no more awkward knee-steering while you try to update your Twitter status, instead just open the Twitter client and start talking. Yes, the iPhone does have voice control, but it’s much more limited – you can only use it to control basic phone functions. It should be noted that their is a third party application that will allow you to dictate things and then send the text to other applications, but it’s not really convenient to do so. The Nexus One earns a point here, but let’s get back to the third party applications.
Both phones have a store where you can download applications, but if the Android store on the Nexus is a mom and pop shop, the iPhone App store is the Super Walmart. With over 100,000 applications, the iPhone blows away the measly 16,000 that the Android offers. This is a large point of contention since the phone is only as capable as the apps that can be downloaded on it. A big nod for the iPhone.
Even with the vast amount of apps the iPhone offers though, the iPhone OS limits developers from running applications in the background. This simply means that you can’t have multiple applications running – something that a lot of developers and users complain about with the iPhone. This is not so with the Nexus, multitask all you want. Users have free reign to keep applications running…two, three, four at a time, whatever makes you happy.
Let’s not forget a key smart phone feature: music and video playback. Apple just gets this. They have been the pioneering force in portable music since the original iPod and haven’t missed a beat since. The music player in the iPhone features a user interface that really shouldn’t even be in the same category as the bare bones offering on the Nexus One. No surprise that Apple dominated this category.
If you’ve been keeping track that leaves the score tied, but wait, there is one more glaring difference. The Nexus One lacks multi-touch support. That’s right, Google’s brand new phone doesn’t recognize multiple finger input – no pinching to zoom in, no multiple finger inputs on games, just one finger at a time. This is where I think the iPhone really slays the search giant. The iPhones multi-touch support is phenomenal – editing photos to zooming in on a map or just killing some downtime playing a game – the ability for multi-finger gestures and user input solidifies the iPhone’s supremacy over the Nexus One. An “iPhone Killer?” Not this time around.
