Reviews

Google Nexus One review: A week with the superphone

Our reviewer spent a week living with the Google Nexus One to see if it lives up to the reviews. Read on to find out what he thought.

12 Mar 2010

Day two

After a day of light usage the device needed a charge. The reported battery life is one thing but the real world is altogether another. Bells and whistles such as eye-candy had been the order of the day yesterday (you've got to show off, haven't you?) but today it would be down to business and this, above all else, meant email.

Thankfully, setting up email on the Nexus One was a pleasure. Gmail support was, as you'd expect, effortless, but other accounts proved no more labour intensive. The one omission, which we were kind of expecting having used Android-based handsets before, was lack of Exchange calendar synching. This was and is still something of a bug-bear. Sure you can remedy the situation with Touchdown but should a user or their company's accounts department - have to put their hand back in their pocket so soon after purchase just for what is, to all intents and purposes, basic functionality? We're not convinced.

Day three

Thankfully, frugality won the day. Battery performance is showing notable improvement without the strain of constant Wi-Fi and the vivid, live wallpapers that come with the device. Improvements aside, straying too far from a charger and mains outlet appears to be off the agenda for this device. Unlike a certain competitor who will remain nameless though, you can slap another battery in the Nexus One and this is something we'd greatly recommend investing in. Particularly if you're a road warrior or frequently travel for business and/or pleasure.

Web browsing on the phone is delightful. Both Wi-Fi and 3G coupled with the more than ample processing power renders pages at speeds previously only seen on desktops. It's a nice, clean, slick and more importantly familiar experience. We're impressed. The lack of Flash isn't an issue either. Frankly and some may disagree it's somewhat refreshing to just not have it, rather than have it locking up and slowing the device down every couple of minutes like it did with the Hero. The YouTube client is a welcome addition for the commute or to kill time between meetings - too.