A month ago Stacie and I both got Nexus Ones to replace our old phones. We had Motorla W490s before (standard flip phones that were a couple years old). I had broken my outer LCD (though I actually fixed it with some parts off Ebay), but I was ready to enter the smartphone era. And I had to bring the wife along with me.

Hardware

The phone itself is far from flashy. It’s not as unique as the Droid, or as instantly recognizable as the iPhone…but it’s feels great in your hand. It has nice curves that make it a joy to hold.

By far my favorite feature is the 3.7″ AMOLED screen. At 800×470 pixels, it’s very high res, and looks beautiful. Right under the screen are four dedicated buttons that help you move around the OS and access different features. Below that is a little trackball. It’s great for selecting links on webpages with lots of links, instead of having to zoom in so your finger can actually press it. The trackball can also be pressed, so for example it can be used to take pictures. It also flashes to notify you that you have a notification.

Some of my other favorites about the hardware would be the 1ghz processor. Not only is the phone super snappy, but it should handle future updates to Android with little problem. It has a dedicated noise cancelling mic, and the 5 megapixel camera takes pretty darned good pictures (with an LED flash if you’re really in the dark).

Android OS

This is my first experience with Android, and I love it. The Nexus One is currently the only phone running Android 2.1. First, there are 5 main home screens. You can CUSTOMIZE these screens to your hearts content. By default there are some standard apps you’ll probably use a lot, like the browser and gmail, but this is old news on smarthphones. A long press on any home screen gives you the options that really make Android stand out.

Shortcuts – These can be things like a bookmark to a favorite website, a specific contact, a playlist, or even a specific phone number (super speed dial!). I have a shortcut that takes me directly to my different Pandora stations. The cool part being that these can exist on your home screens, and minimize the amount of searching and tapping needed.

Widgets – These are by far my favorite software innovation, and what I think really sets Android apart from its competitors. Widgets are like mini-applications that “run” on your home screens. For example, I have a search bar right on my main screen, a calendar, a settings bar, a facebook box that provides updates and the ability to update my status, and a music control bar that lets me pause/play and skip songs. But this is all without leaving the home screens.

(No, this isn’t my phone!)

Of course you can’t fit all your apps on the home screen, so there is a button at the bottom that pulls up all your installed apps.

Another cool feature is the notification bar. At the top of the screen is a skinny bar that contains useful information on the right like time, battery, signal, etc. But on the left it displays icons when you have different notifications. If you receive an email, text, chat, it shows up on the left. If you have the music player running it has a little play button. Then you just “grab” it and pull it down. If you’ve got an email, you can click it, and it will take you right there. It’s a super quick way to get the information you want.

Comparison to the iPhone

Talk of whether or not the Nexus One is an “iphone killer” began the minute it was announced, so comparisons between the two are inevitable. The comparison though is both a hardware and software issue.

First, I don’t have an iPhone, and my time playing on one is limited, but I think the only advantage the iPhone has over the Nexus One is the library of apps available. Due to the popularity of the iPhone, and the head start on Android, it has a lot more apps available. But with Android phones available on T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon (and soon to be ATT), the adoption rate of Android phones is about to explode. Will Apple have a new iPhone out eventually, and potentially on various carriers? Yes, but I think the competition only started to get serious very recently with the Droid.

But apps aside, I think the Nexus One is a better phone in all aspects. Hardware wise, this shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s newer, and it’s better. The screen has twice the resolution and the processor is twice as fast. Out of the box, the internal storage is only 4gb, but it’s expandable up to 32gb (when available). This option saves the consumer money if they don’t need it, and gives them the option if they do. The battery is user replaceable, the camera is better, and the screen is bigger.

Software wise (sheer number of apps aside), I think the Android OS is head over heels better than what the iPhone offers. The customization of the home screens is awesome, and the ability to run multiple apps is also cool. I can stream Pandora, run a jogging tracker app, and browse the internet all at once (though browsing the internet while I jog would be tough). Multi-tasking is yet another area that Android outperforms the iPhone.

Of course, if there is some must have app on the iPhone that doesn’t have a comparable alternative on Android, then all the advantages of an Android phone might not matter to you.

Conclusion

After using my Nexus One for a month, I can never go back to an old style phone. I think in both hardware and software it excels. If there is any area I think it could do better, it would be the pricing. It’s actually comparable to other smartphones bought out of contract, but if you’re looking to renew your contract and get nice subsidized pricing, you might want to look elsewhere. Right now it’s only offered subsidized with a specific plan (which can be changed later as far as I know), but that would have forced us out of our grandfathered phone and data plans. Again, that might not matter depending on your situation, but for us, buying the phones outright made sense.

For anyone looking for an Android phone, I can’t recommend them enough. The Nexus One is coming to every carrier in the next year based on different announcements, so if you don’t want to switch to T-Mobile to get one, you just need to wait.