PHONES N CELLPHONES

Review by Dr. M. Dixon:

I almost cried when I returned the motorola droid to Verizon due to connectivity problems but now I am glad I ended up with the HTC Nexus One! This Nexus One hasn't failed me yet; it has strong 3G connectivity with T-Mobile and strong Edge connectivity with AT&T. The phone is gorgeous (AMOLED display - Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) and amazingly fast (snapdragon processor) and fun (Android 2.1 interface enhancements)! UPDATE: Yesterday, while using Google Navigation on AT&T for 20 minutes, it lost gps signal 3 times. When I searched about it on the internet, I found that many people are complaining about intermittant signal cutting out on both AT&T and T-Mobile which they feel is specific to this Nexus One phone not the carrier. For example, the customer will have the Nexus One next to a G1 both on T-Mobile next to each other and the N1 will cut back to 2G while the G1 stays strong on 3G!

I love Google's turn by turn navigation which usually works for me by voice command such as "Navigate to Fry's Electronics" and it will give me choice on screen of which two locations in my city do I want directions to? I touch screen my selection and it starts telling me how to drive there. I have found Google's Navigation better than Garmin in that it gives a better gas-saving route and tells you the turns before you get to them rather than after you already passed them. the Motorola Droid has better microphone hardware than the HTC nexus one which means that the Droid did a better job with Voice-to-Text than the Nexus One. For example, I tried to dictate in email "This is a test of the Voice Command function on my new Nexus One" and the text that appeared said "This is Texas toast." So by the time you cut and paste, it would have been faster to just virtual keyboard it. I do prefer qwerty keyboards which Nexus One doesn't have so Verizon's Motorola Droid wins out there! I was hoping they had used the money saved on no landscape keyboard to put in BETTER microphones and really fix the Voice Command making typing obsolete, but no, they used cheaper mics in the HTC Nexus One than the Motorola Droid. However, Swype is coming out soon and that will vastly improve virtual keyboard experience. The phone has been dissected and the parts apparently come to 4 in change and the rest is Google's profit.

The other reviewer said low battery on Nexus One, to fix that, just download free ap Advanced Task Killer and shut down running software that you don't need running and it will last longer. Also, you can make it run edge instead of 3G which will save on battery. There are a lot of settings you can easily adjust to conserve your battery life. Battery life for the Nexus One is as follows: 10 hours of 2G talk time or 7 hours of 3G talk time; 12 days of 2G standby time or 10.4 hours of 3G standby time; 5 hours of Internet use on 3G or 6.5 hours on Wi-Fi; 7 hours of video playback and 20 hours of audio playback. According to FCC radiation tests, the Nexus One has a digital SAR of 0.867 watt per kilogram.

Also, the other reviewer said that low privacy due to syncing with his desktop, but you can turn off syncing in your settings if you don't want them to sync. The syncing is actually one of the features that I think appeals to most Android/google fans.

I love the Amazon ap and being able to scan UPC codes to do comparison shopping and read Amazon reviews!

The 3D AMOLED screen is breath-taking. The interactive wallpapers are fun.

I bought the Nexus One unlocked from Google for 9 plus tax. I have always been impressed with how innovative google is but the experience of buying a phone from them is horrid. I would not do it again. They are not providing any customer service other than to tell you to call TMobile about the service or HTC about hardware questions. Google will not provide a customer service telephone number even AFTER you have given them almost 0; there is no customer service on the packing slip or anywhere to be found. They have a help forum where supposedly you can get help from other CUSTOMERS but they themselves will not help you out. TMobile CSRs say they will have this phone available for sale in their store by the end of January and I would definitely recommend buying it from them instead of Google. Also if you buy it from Google, TMobile insurance against damage, loss, theft, etc is unavailable; the only insurance you can get on the Google phone when you buy from google is from square trade which has a deductible and is limited in what it will cover. AT&T hasn't yet made the necessary software adjustments to run this phone on their 3G network, but mine still runs great on AT&T edge and since the phone is so fast, I don't really notice any difference but I have not tried downstreaming a movie or any other mega data file. I do really like and use the UNLOCKED status of the phone and don't know if TMobile will be selling it unlocked as that is something new to be offered in USA. It is so great for traveling abroad; just pop in a prepaid SIM card from that country and you are ready to roll without roaming fees! I suppose if TMobile doesn't sell it unlocked you just need to go to the same little bit of extra trouble to unlock the phone so you don't end up having to turn over the farm to TMobile/AT&T for roaming fees!

I received my phone 01/08/10 and am thinking it is a definite keeper but I am still playing around with it and learning it. Nexus One is FUN! It is pretty! It is fast! It is so enjoyable I have almost forgotten the awful Google buying experience.

UPDATE jan 17 2010 - I brought my Nexus One to the AT&T Kiosk and the guys there both said WOW, I was happy with my iPhone 3GS when I woke up this morning but now I want one of these! I explained it was only on EDGE and not 3G but they said that the snapdragon processor made up for it that you notice the speed lag only in downstreaming video or megafiles. they volunteered that AT&T is "in no hurry" to get the Nexus One running on their 3G network since they can not sell the phone and all the retail profit is going to google; they are putting their efforts into their next new phone which I think they called the Elite.

Google now has a couple of employees on their help forum attempting customer service but failing. Google has made its fortune by advertising mostly and acting like any actual interaction with their customers will give them the cooties, so I guess it is too late to change. Offering the phone unlocked when brand new is really great and may be lost if only sold by the carrier. So Google if you are listening here is how you can go into the phone-selling business without getting the cooties - partner with Amazon and Wal-mart (retail and online). These retail giants have proven records of consistent great customer service. Let them sell your unlocked phones for you and collect a profit for providing customer service and you get to continue to rake in the big bucks without having any actual contact with your customers and not tarnish your reputation when people experience what it is like to interact with you rather than admire you from afar. The retail store with the best customer service record in cellphones though is Best Buy; let them sell your phone unlocked and customer satisfaction will soar!

the other reviewer said he didn't know why people would buy it here for more than what google charges but the answer is crystal clear - one google is not selling to many countries yet and secondly amazon will provide customer service and won't charge a re-stocking fee.

I am really enjoying my Nexus One and am thinking it is the KEEPER

Feb3, 2010 update

This phone really shows off YouTube! Their HD concerts and other clips are stellar to watch on this phone! Watching theater previews on the movies app (free) is a fun experience. The picture is HD and the sound quality is best with ear phones.

While there are fewer apps than iPhone, there are more free apps. How many apps does one need anyway? I try to keep my phone light so it is ripped and ready to fly fast!

There is a great silicone coating making the nexus one almost impossible to scratch! There is a great YouTube video where someone is intentionally trying to scratch the nexus one screen as well as the back with their car keys and can't! : )

I got a computer in my pocket and I am lovin' it!

UPDATE Feb9,2010 Now there is a Google Nexus one Customer Support number 888-48Nexus (888 486 3987) so might be worth a try to purchase from Google! Maybe they have seen the light!

Also software update released earlier this week includes MULTI-TOUCH that so many people seem to really like!

UPDATE Feb16,2010 Google Voice is fully integrated on this phone so using it for texting in or out is as easy as the regular messaging icon. But Google Voice has free text messaging so you can have your carrier block texting using their system and save the /month or whatever your carrier is currently charging you for texting.

Review by Geoff Finger:

I've had the Google Nexus One for about three or four days now. I got the unlocked version direct from Google for 0, so I can't imagine why anyone would pay the 0 or more other sellers are asking for. Switching my number over to T-Mobile was easy, although it took about a day for the transfer to be finalized, which I'm blaming on Sprint due to my experience with their customer service in the past. And since I have the unlocked phone I was able to get the Even More Plus plan with 500 minutes, unlimited texting and "unlimited" data for .99 a month, so I'll be saving a _lot_ of money in the long run compared to the iPhone on AT&T or the Droid on Verizon. So far the phone seems very fast and I've already downloaded several apps. Some people have been making a big deal about the fact that the app space is limited to the internal 512 MB flash drive, unlike the iPhone which can save app data to the main drive. I've installed 9 apps so far, the largest is 3.59MB and the smallest is 664KB, with the total coming to 12MB. According to the memory manager I've still got 153 MB of storage left (apparently the OS takes up about 350MB) so I'm not worried about running out of space before Google comes out with the fix for saving apps to the SD card that they've said they're working on. One important "feature" of the N1 which people may view as a pro or con, depending on your views on privacy, is the integration with all of Google's online applications. When you start the phone up it asks you log into your Google account (I'm not sure what happens if you try to skip that step.) It will then synch the phone with your "My Contacts" list in GMail and will automatically log you into most Google services. This morning while doing a search on my phone during lunch I was a little surprised to see similar searches I'd done this morning on my desktop showing up in the suggestions box. I've also been getting notifications on my phone for all the events I have saved on my Google Calendar. Transferring data to the phone from your computer is simple. It comes with a USB to micro-USB connector, and the hardest part of getting it connected is realizing that after you've plugged it in you need to open the notifications window on the phone and tell it to mount the SD card (this is presumably some kind of security feature in case you lose the phone.) After that you can copy files across just like any other drive. I've already moved about half a gig of music over to the phone. The battery life seems adequate so far. I need to charge the phone every day, but that's probably because I've been spending a considerable amount of time browsing the web with it. Once the novelty wears off (and the work week starts again =) I expect my usage will drop off a bit. I'm still thinking I may want to get a car charger for it though. Speaking of which, web browsing seems to work great, though I do miss tabbed browsing a little. YouTube videos work great, though other sites with the latest version of Flash don't. Adobe is currently working on Flash 10.1 for the Nexus though. It's already in beta and there are demos of it working on YouTube, so hopefully it will be out soon.

Review by Mike:

Perfect for what I needed. Fits snug around the phone and looks great. The only issue is that the pins on the bottom are blocked. I personally don't use them which makes no difference otherwise.

Review by J. Braden:

Almost everything about this case is great. I like the way it looks, and feels not to stiff but not to rubbery either. It fits well, and stays on really snug. The only thing is the cutout on the bottom for the mic isn't positioned well. It doesn't completely cover the mic but it isn't centered and just looks like they were off a tad in there design. Also I wish this case would have came with a screen protector. Most cases come with one so i just expected it, and was disappointed when it didn't. I still recommend this case as the benefits outweigh the problems

Review by Jump:

Case ownership: one day

Pros:

-very thin material

-light weight

-soft padding(velvety insert?) to keep the phone from being scratched

-outside surface feels rubbery but case is some sort of hard plastic

-looks well made

-fits phone like a glove; no rattling

-easy to remove phone from case

-doesn't stick out of pockets

-initially I was worried that the grip strip on the back of the case

would stand out and look unattractive but it's hardly noticeable

-holes line up correctly

Cons:

-$$ cost(30 bucks for a cell phone case?)

-feels like i could snap this in half pretty easily out of the box when

not covering cell phone

-worried that the clip that keeps the lower half of the case attached

to upper half may wear out over multiple on-offs

Overall: So far it's the best looking case I've found that suits my taste and looks/feels like it will last me for a while. bucks is kind of steep for a piece of plastic but it's better than those cheap gel cases that I've looked at. I will add some user pictures since there currently are none.

Review by Greedy American Consumer:

While it's not as pretty as an uncovered Nexus One, it doesn't look bad, and it offers reasonable protection without adding tons of bulk to a streamlined phone. Unlike a couple of other hard cases I tried, this case is easy to remove so you can switch batteries/micro SD cards etc. The feel of the case is grippy without being tacky or sticky.

The only real drawback is that it leaves the area below the screen and around the trackball exposed, but that's not enough to ding it a star. Oh and of course the case alone still leaves the screen exposed.

The only real ding isn't about the case - it's for the price. It's just too expensive for what it is, but I don't see an alternative I like any better.

Review by Jose Guzman:

This screen fits the Nexus One phone perfectly. The price is a little steep but there is no need for cutting, just peel off the film and apply to your phone. Also, do make sure you clean the screen before you apply the screen protector and be sure to line it up correctly otherwise you'll get "bubbles" on there.

Review by NC:

Good:

- The protector is semi-rigid which (1) made it much easier to install w/out air bubbles and (2) seems like it will protect the screen very well.

- Easy to install once you realize which layer is which. Not super sticky, so can be pulled up and repositioned half way through installation if you get the alignment off.

- Been using it for about two weeks now and cannot even tell it's there

- No noticeable difference in the capacitive touch screen.

- Good fit

- finger prints are not as noticable

Bad:

- There is really no anti-glare feature at all. The screen is nearly as glossy as before.

- A little tricky to peal off the top layer after installation and I ended up pulling off the whole thing. I couldn't tell at first if the main protector was the rigid piece or the top-most layer. Note that the top layer is very thin and not rigid like the protector itself.

Review by D. Timmerman:

Paying for a tiny sheet of plastic which probably cost pennies to make, I expect the product to actually be good. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this screen protector. Yes it doesn't smudge as much as other screen protectors, but it dims the screen by a lot, and makes everything slightly blurry, which is disappointing because the N1 has a very crisp high resolution screen.

Review by permafrost91:

This is an excellent screen protector for the Nexus One. Feels very durable and reduces smudge on the screen by about 80% compared to the N1 screen, which is incredibly oleophilic. In my opinion, the somewhat rougher texture of the protector compared to the very smooth N1 screen is also a bonus but your opinion may be different. Only drawback: the screen is not quite as crisp with the protector as it was without.

Final notice: there is no applicator in the package. Through experience with other screen protectors, I would recommend using a credit card or something similar to smooth the film during the application to reduce bubbles.