Firmware favourite
One of the biggest discussions in the smartphone community at the moment is which Android devices will be upgradeable to Android 2.1.
The Milestone was the first device to run on Android 2.0, so it seems likely to benefit form an update in the future.
Until then though, the Nexus One's extra firmware features bring a smile to our face. The voice controls tool is stunning, whether you want to make a phone call, find a PoI or get voice directions. The ability to merge mailboxes is a real plus and while the interactive wallpapers may just be bit of a gimmick, it all comes together to making 2.1 being the best version of Android yet.
Rumours are circulating that the Milestone will be upgraded to 2.1, but until it's there, the Nexus One wins.
Winner: Google Nexus one
Juice me up
When it comes to smartphones, battery life is always an issue, especially when it comes to those so fully featured as the Milestone and Nexus One.
There's little between both devices with matching 1400 mAh Li-Ion batteries, but the Nexus One seems to handle usage better. We managed to eek slightly less than the stated seven hours from the Google phone, but the Milestone seemed to drink the power and needed charging much more often.
Winner: Google Nexus One
Storage silly
Where we found both the Milestone and Nexus One let us down was in the storage stakes.
Neither have a capacious memory only 133 MB storage, 256 MB RAM for the Milestone, 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM inside the Nexus One.
Both devices can be boosted with a memory card though and the Milestone comes with 8GB, while the Nexus One is sold with a 4GB card.
Not a massive difference, and they both support up to 32GB cards too.
Winner: None
Verdict
The Google Nexus One has been heralded as the best Android phone yet and our comparison seems to stand such thinking up. A hardware QWERTY keyboard may be easier to use than an onscreen keyboard, but this is generally a rule of thumb for those who type a lot. It’s the processing power that really makes the Nexus One a winner though. The Milestone seems just sluggish after using them side by side. Snapdragon really is the way forward. The Milestone may close the gap when a firmware update becomes available, but until then, faced with a choice of the two, we'd recommend the Nexus One.
