First about me (so you know where I'm coming from and why my views are the way they are): I'm a senior at UC Berkeley and have been playing/building/using computers and anything techy since I was a kid. My last phone was the G1 and before that I used Sony Ericsson's phones. Now, I don't have a data plan, so I only ever buy phones unlocked. I know lots of people will think I'm dumb for doing this but my logic works like this. I spend 40% of my time on campus, another 40% of my time at home, and the last 20% out at restaurants, etc. This means that 80% of my time is spent in an area with wifi access, and thus I "have" data 80% of the time. This is NOT a bad deal at all; I have no internet only about 20% of the time and yet save $2000?some dollars every two years.
Also: IMPORTANT. This phone comes unlocked (yes!) with Froyo, aka Android 2.2. The phone will tell you it is up to date and refuse to update to Gingerbread 2.3. I'll explain how to get it to 2.3 at the end.
General:
With that in mind, this phone has worked great for that purpose. My last G1 was fantastic for texting because it had a great keyboard. But being the first Android phone, it lagged in applications, UI, etc. The N1 (Nexus One) doesn't have any of those problems. Applications load quickly, and there's no noticeable lag moving in between menus. Upon turning this phone on, one of the first things I did was to immediately get all my apps back. I downloaded around 20 apps, all of which downloaded quickly (via wifi, as I've explained earlier). I had zero glitches with apps not installing, whereas with my G1 I would often have to reinstall updates and apps to get them to work.
In the looks category, this is a beautiful phone. I was a bit worried because the description said the phone is brown colored, but to be honest it's probably more gray than brown. Perhaps the best part is that the phone is metal. Not metallic, not plastic, not plastic painted in a metallic color, but actual honest-to-goodness metal. This gives the phone a feeling of durability and quality.
Screen/buttons:
The screen is beautiful, really. I know there are better ones out there now, what with qHD and all, but let's remember that this is an "old" phone. (Old meaning 1.5 years.) You're getting it for $250, unlocked, whereas one of those newer phones unlocked today could be anywhere from $500+ (IPhone 4 is $550+ as I write this review). The AMOLED screen looks great and touch function is great as well. Also, there's a trackball. I know lots of people don't love it so much, but I actually used the trackball on my old G1 all the time, so I'm perfectly happy with a trackball again. From my personal experience, the trackball is most useful when you're texting and make a typo. Using your finger to move the pointer in between letters to correct typos is pretty difficult. The Gingerbread update addresses this issue somewhat, but I find that the best way to navigate between letters is to just use the trackball. (Plus, the trackball lights up in colors. How awesome is that?)
Some caveats: no, the screen won't look beautiful out in direct sunlight. On the other hand, I've never found a device that can offer a beautiful screen with anti-glare properties that's cheap as well. You've got to sacrifice something, right? If this is really an issue, there are anti-glare/reflective screen protectors you can buy online if you really do use the phone outside often.
Finally, the four touch buttons along the bottom of the screen are a bit finicky. Physical buttons would have been more useful, but not as good looking. After a bit of experience, I've found that the buttons react to different touches better, and in specific areas. Play around to find what works for you. At first I found myself often double-pressing to get the buttons to activate, but I have it down now to about working 90% of the time.
Battery Life and other stuff:
No this thing can't last you a week's worth of Angry Birds in one charge. Realistically, it's around 1 to 1.5 days, up to 2 if all you do is minimal texting. Not likely in today's world, but I've never had a problem with sticking the phone into the charger once every night. If you charge it every night you can expect the phone to last you through the next day, so you'll be fine. (:
One thing worth noting: the phone gets hot while charging, both via AC and USB. There weren't any issues with heat from just using it, but this might be something to take note of.
Gingerbread update!!!!:
This was surprisingly easy to do. It should take you no more than 10 minutes if you know what you're doing. Essentially, the phone has been fooled into thinking it's updated 100% due to carrier restrictions, blablabla. What you need to do is reset the phone to an earlier version, at which point Google will notice something is wrong, and its automatic update service (OTA, aka over the air) will kick in. This works because as a Google dev phone, all Nexus Ones by Google's own policy should have the latest version (:
For a really detailed explanation, just google Goodbye Vodafone UK Nexus One ROM.
This thing is way too long and detailed and I DID NOT have to go through all the steps. I'll summarize the applicable steps here in case you're a little confused.
1. Download "Passion_Google_WWE_2.16.1700.1_FRG33_MFG_Shipment_ROM.zip." Extract it and then rename it as passimg.
2. Transfer the passimg file into the root of your SD card. Root means the main SD card folder, not inside any of the subfolders.
3.Now, to downgrade your phone. First, turn the phone off. Don't forget to turn off the USB file transfer and to safely remove hardware before doing so.
4. Hold the volume down key, then turn on the phone. Hold the volume down key the whole time, and even AFTER you let go of the power button. When you see a white screen with some gibberish and multi-colored funky font text, you can let go of the volume button.
5. Use the volume down key to scroll down to recovery and hit the power button to select it. At this point the phone should search through your SD card automatically for the passimg file and then downgrade your 2.2 to an older version.
6. At this point, you are literally good to go. Within ten minutes or so of me downgrading my Froyo to this older patch, I got a notification that a system update was available. I hit okay, and the phone quickly updated itself to the latest Gingerbread 2.3.4. (:
7. If you don't get the OTA update within 30 minutes of steps 1-6, you might want to try to continue manually patching with the instructions or wait for the OTA update. Your call, since I got my system update really quickly.
Final notes: Very very happy with the phone. (: Oh, and make sure you have a gmail account, because it will make set up A LOT easier.
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Product information
| Product Dimensions | 4.69 x 0.45 x 2.35 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 4.6 ounces |
| ASIN | B00332YPHQ |
| Item model number | Nexus One |
| Customer Reviews |
3.4 out of 5 stars |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | Yes |
| OS | android |
| Wireless communication technologies | Cellular, Wi-Fi |
| Connectivity technologies | Wi-Fi, USB |
| GPS | True |
| Special features | smartphone |
| Other display features | Wireless |
| Human Interface Input | Touchscreen |
| Scanner Resolution | 480 x 800 |
| Other camera features | Rear, Front |
| Form Factor | Smartphone |
| Color | Brown |
| Whats in the box | USB Cable |
| Manufacturer | |
| Date First Available | January 6, 2010 |
| Memory Storage Capacity | 0.5 GB |
| Standing screen display size | 3.7 Inches |
| Ram Memory Installed Size | 512 MB |
| Battery Capacity | 1400 Milliamp Hours |
| Weight | 0.29 Pounds |
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Excellent phone with 2 Major problems!!!
UPDATED 06/13/2011 @ 9:00 AM Just made a request to return the item. WiFi issue never resolved for me. On Google's Nexus One forum, there are tons of users who have complained abt the WiFi issues. Some said it was resolved after 2.3.4 while for others, it became even more worse. My case fell in to the later category. Really really really loved the phone. I perhaps will give another try to this smartphone. So my initial verdict remained the same abt whether you want this phone or not. One more thing: The battery cover is very very hard to open and I almost gaveup thinking i wont be able to get my sim out of it[thanks i did in the end but yes it is an issue] 2 more things that happened to me this weekend were: 1.The phone hung once and I had to restart it 2.Whenever I played Angry Birds/Fruit slice on the phone and then exit the application, the Menu starts flickering. The solution was to go to home screen, select menu, then Manage Apps and then return back to home screen. This is minor but annoying issue and I mentioned it here b/c some people are very sensitive in what they select. That was an "ignoreable" issue for me though! UPDATED 06/09/2011 @ 3:04 PM Nopes, the WiFi connectivity is still extremely weak in the office on Nexus One and is "non-existing" @ home :( UPDATED 06/09/2011: Well, I managed to update to Gingerbread 2.3.3 manually and then the device made an OTA update to 2.3.4. My device came with Vodafone UK rom. My device config was as follows: Android Version: 2.2 Baseband Version: 32.41.00.32U_5.08.00.04 Kernel Version: 2.6.32.9-27227-g3c98b0d haley@m4-dev #1 Build Number: 2.16.405.1 CL223106 release-keys If any one of you have this as your device configuration, then OTA updates are less likely to arrive since Vodafone is delaying it. So, to resolve this, I have to manually update it. The single link that I used to do it is: [...] After the original Gingerbread[2.3.3], the wireless problem became even more worse. However, today in the morning my device popped up a "System Update Available" message and I updated it to version 2.3.4. The WiFi managed to "hookup" at home but with very weak signals. I am right now in the office and will update the information once I went back home and see how the WiFi behaves. In the office, it's showing 2 bars and apparently haven't been disconnected yet. So, I am positive that the issue might have been resolved. ONE MORE NOTE ABOUT SELLER: I bought it from Ross Cellular [Fulfillment By Amazon] and yes the phone was "SEALED n BRAND NEW". Can't comment on any other reseller. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I have had this phone since yesterday and I really really like it the moment I opened up the package. It is sleek, modern looking and comfortable to use. However, it has 2 major issues[one of them I can ignore and one I can't] and here are they: 1.Like almost every HTC device, it has poor loudspeaker quality. It's very tiny and distorted at higher level[I can still ignore this b/c i am loving this device so much] 2.WiFi connectivity issue. This is the one thing that I can't overlook at all. It has a nasty habit of dropping WiFi connection and then refusing to reconnect. I tried it @ home where it kept giving me the message "network out of range". I brought it to the office today and it's still dropping the WiFi connection. When it's getting hold of it, the signal strength it shows is "poor" [Only 1 bar] I have searched the web and have found that Nexus One does have inherent WiFi connectivity issues. It was supposed that Gingerbread will resolve this issue however, my phone has 2.2 on it and System Updates is showing my phone as "up to date". So, I dont know when will I be able to get 2.3.3 I did try to manually download and install it from google's official page but the installation failed with a Validation error. I have also tried some thrid party apps like WiFi Fixer etc but none of them have resolved the issue. I am keen to keep this phone but if I failed to find a solution for WiFi, I have to return it b/c I dont have data plan and WiFi is the only way I can get internet connection on this device. There is one more issue and is with battery cover which is very difficult to open but I dont count it as no one has to open back cover every day. If someone can live with above mentioned issues, then s/he will probably be more than happy with this phone.
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2011
- Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2012
Top reviews from other countries
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AltmärkerReviewed in Germany on October 16, 2011
Edles Smartphone das den Vergleich zum Iphone nicht scheuen muß
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ultimate_questionReviewed in Germany on February 15, 2011
Durchschnittlich. Überholt. Siehe Nexus S.
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Werner MüllerReviewed in Germany on March 10, 2013
Ihr liebe dieses Smatphone einfach!
