Google Nexus One vs Nokia N900 Hardware Photos and First Impressions
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Google Nexus One was announced, available for purchase, and shipped at the same time just a couple of days ago. Mine was just delivered and the first thing I wanted to do is compare it in size with Nokia’s own super-phone, the Nokia N900. Take a look.
Photos
Nexus One First Impressions
So far, I’m blown away by the size and display of the Nexus One. It’s more pocketable than the Nokia N900 because of its thickness. The colors on the display are richer and appear to stand out more than the N900 too.
I still need to get used to not having a real hardware keyboard on the Nexus because I’ve already misspelled plenty of messages. Correcting myself was annoying.
I don’t have any complaints about the web browser after some quick browsing, but I didn’t like it when websites forced me to use their mobile version.
Setting up the Nexus One was very fast. My Google mail, calendar, contacts were all synced right away after entering my email address. The Nokia N900 cannot currently sync all these three services using Exchange. As expected, there were also much more apps available on the Android device over Maemo.
I’ll have a full review of the Google Nexus One soon after more usage. This is primarily a Nokia blog, so I’ll place a lot of emphasis on comparing it with other Nokia devices especially the Nokia N900.
abhishta on 7 January 2010:
It'll be nice to see a comparison review. I bought a Nexus One as well and no longer have my iPhone (iPod touch only, now).
I've been wondering if I should get the N900 or wait for the flagship that Nokia will release in 2011.
Mac Morrison on 7 January 2010:
“but I didn’t like it when websites forced me to use their mobile version.”
i'm mixed on this one. one issue i had with the n900 is that display is too small for sites designed to be looked at on 800×600 (or 1024×768) to be accurately useable.
compare trying to use real facebook to the mobile version.
the mobile version is far easier and works in that form factor.
and ofcourse the iphone app version is even better
showing the reason why native apps kick web apps into touch.
still waiting for my nexus 1 to make it into the snowbound uk.
Mark Guim on 7 January 2010:
I see your point, but I actually like using the real facebook page on the Nokia N900 because the the device can handle it fine and it displays more info than the “touch” version.
Having the real keyboard on the Nokia N900 makes it even better displaying the page than other devices because there's no virtual keyboard that takes over the screen.
Mark Guim on 7 January 2010:
Not a good idea to wait because there's always something better around the corner. Get what's great now and replace it when the better device comes.
Joe Wilcox on 7 January 2010:
Mark, I'll be interested in your reaction. I've got the N900 and Nexus One, too. Already, I miss the N900 keyboard and, more importantly, the real browser. There's something oh-so corporate about the Nexus One's appearance that I find unappealing. As a journalist, the camera and video functions will weigh heavily in my decision to sell the N900 or keep the Nexus One.
Andrew Flegg on 7 January 2010:
Mark, are you aware that using Nuevasync.com you can get many-to-one calendar syncing on the N900? I believe contacts etc. works as well.
A colleague's already ordered a Nexus One, I'm looking forward to having a play.
Kitkat on 7 January 2010:
Hey Mark, thanks for the review. But you should really come out with a more detail review quick so that you can help those people like me who still can't decide on buying N900 or Nexus One. People out there are having serious issue one this.
ddsmooth on 7 January 2010:
I think the Nokia N900 looks great! I love that it is like a mobile linux computer.
Read more about it at http://nokian900now.blogspot.com/
lance wex on 7 January 2010:
I have a G1 (unused since I got the N900). I hated being forced to use the mobile version of sites, and the G1 screen was smaller. So I used the Steel browser, and was mostly happy. But I prefer browsing FAR more on the N900 that the G1. No contest.
Mark Guim on 7 January 2010:
I read about that, but other platforms work out of the box with Google sync. Android, iPhone, Blackberry, Symbian. I hope a firmware update for the N900 fixes this problem.
Nook on 7 January 2010:
I love N900's symmetric design
Mark Guim on 7 January 2010:
so far, I'm finding the Nokia N900 take better photos.
Steven on 8 January 2010:
I don't know where you are, but if you are in Europe, could you check if the 3G works on the Nexus?
arempee on 8 January 2010:
hey mark what's with the penny? but if you'll ask me, i'll stick with my n900! i'm still hoping that soon there's more apps for the n900!..
_Lupa on 8 January 2010:
Its thick and nice looking, indeed.
But why do you need a trackball on a touch device? Is it useful?
_Lupa on 8 January 2010:
Its thick and nice looking, indeed.
But why do you need a trackball on a touch device? Is it useful?
Eina on 8 January 2010:
How does the Nexus work with Google Apps email accounts – i.e. those with myname@mydomain.com email addresses? I find it frustrating that I can't do things like Google Alerts & other Google functionality unless I use a myname@gmail.com address.
I probably will wait for the N900 to get to Malaysia anyway – as a longtime user of the E90 I can't imagine having a phone without a physical qwerty keyboard ever again.
grogeek on 8 January 2010:
@eina
you have the gmail client AND a pop / imap client too !
lance wex on 8 January 2010:
Having the trackball on the G1 was pointless. I never used it; didn't get why it was there.
ddsmooth on 8 January 2010:
I think the Nokia N900 is a great new mobile computer.
You can learn more at http://nokian900now.blogspot.com/
arempee on 8 January 2010:
my cousin recieved his nexus one today and i was playing with it, the phone is way thinner than my n900, better resolution, the only complaint i have on the nexus one is the web browser, n900 has better web browsing… way BETTER…
amad08 on 8 January 2010:
I'm agree with you Mark, for now just stay with my N97 and hope to get firmware ver21 and waiting also for Maemo 6 or 7 device to replace my N97 in future plan.
Jade Bryan Jardinico on 9 January 2010:
I would like to see the speed of nexus one from browsing the web and from playing some games =D
btw. nice shot mark!
ricegf on 11 January 2010:
My guess is that the trackball is intended to support web sites that require “hovering” the cursor over links or icons to use properly. The N900 does this with the “swipe from the left” gesture followed by clicking the cursor icon, after which dragging your finger on-screen moves the “cursor” rather than scrolling the the screen.
ricegf on 11 January 2010:
“Better resolution”? Both the nexus one and n900 have 800×480 resolution. Do you mean the display is clearer, or brighter, or something like that? Thanks!
arempee on 11 January 2010:
yes, that's what i meant. nexus is clearer and brighter.
Ryan on 12 January 2010:
So really nexus is better then i should not get nokia n900 then right
grogeek on 13 January 2010:
I'm a G1 and Magic user. Now i've buy a N900.
The N900 & Maemo is better ! Android was a good thing, but maemo offer a lot of more possibility
arempee on 13 January 2010:
you should get the n900, i highly recommend it…
arempee on 13 January 2010:
yup that's right! hopefully we get more apps for the n900! that's the only advantage of the nexus to the n900, they have a lot of apps!…
uhey on 17 January 2010:
We are professional brand shoes, Gucci Handbags, Gucci Shoes and satisfied customers always come first. We have huge quantity of Gucci Purses, Gucci Belts, Gucci Loafers and Gucci Sneakers for sale! You can find the exact gucci whether Gucci Men's Shoes or Gucci Women's Shoes you want at a price that's right for you.Moreover,we have the best quality Louis Vuitton Shoes on sale including Men's Shoes
Ryan on 12 February 2010:
and then which one is better droid,nexus one,nokia n900
hannes on 13 February 2010:
dont forget that n900 have a much higher memory than the nexus but otherwise i think the both are great phones n900 just one step ahead of nexus in almost everything except for the processor speed , thats all
cloud on 14 February 2010:
processor is almost equal yet cortex is more power efficient. snapdragon needs the 1ghz juice to process things, take care of the video, and sounds by itself while cortex of n900 have dedicated dsp for video and dedicated dsp for sound while the processor itself is just for crunching things…
valcosmos on 22 February 2010:
Nexus has a better screen (Amoled and capacitive), thousands of apps from Android and most importantly voice recognition. So lacking in a hardware department thinking of a keyboard it fully beautifully compensates with voice feature. Just speak what ever app you wanna use, be it a mobile number or google search or whatever. Also being lighter and slimmer it definitely has a serious edge over N900. Just my 2 cents. Val.
ranroy21q on 31 May 2010:
The Nexus One does score over N900 in terms of looks and styling but somehow I'm still more comfortable with a reliable Nokia handset in my hands.
hard disk recovery on 1 June 2010:
The Nexus One does score over N900 in terms of looks and styling but somehow I'm still more comfortable with a reliable Nokia handset in my hands.
usurachai on 14 August 2010:
i use the nexus and it perfect until now. i like it