I just finished driving 800 miles on a family vacation to Florida. Armed only with my Google Android phone for navigation, we made it safe and sound. Although I recognized Google Navigation and its awesome integration with Android as an asset, I didn’t truly realize just how awesome it was until today.
My Nexus One handled the load like a champ: streaming podcasts over bluetooth while simultaneously sharing its internet connection to my daughter’s iPod Touch as well as providing me turn-by-turn directions for 800 miles was great. I was relying on the Google car dock to keep the juice flowing, and it didn’t let me down.
We decided somewhere in Georgia to go “off the beaten path” to High Falls State Park. Even with only an EDGE connection, it handled the directions appropriately and got us back to the interstate with no issues. However, I was most impressed with it when I was sitting at Cracker Barrel having dinner in Gainesville, Florida trying to decide where we were going to stay for the night. A combination of Google Maps and Navigation provided easy access to nearby hotels, user reviews, rates, phone numbers, and directions. My wife attempted to` locate the same information on her iPhone, and that really highlighted the power of a “with Google” phone because of the deep integration with Google services and the Android operating system. The basic map functionality of the iPhone paled in comparison to the vast amount of information available on Android.
As I tweeted earlier today:
God is my copilot. Google Navigation is my navigator.
I also brought my Sprint EVO along for the ride, and got a chance to try out 4G in Atlanta. This was a huge disappointment. Speeds were no better than Sprint 3G speeds, and only 1/3 of the speeds my Nexus One was pulling down on AT&T 3G. I’m not sure if my EVO is just defective; I LOVE the form factor and hardware, but my experience on Sprint has been terrible. The EVO was roaming about half the time, and it chewed through the battery while sitting unused in the windshield mount. This thing is definitely going back to Best Buy when I get back.
There has been a lot of discussion about the AMOLED screen in the Nexus One and how great it is inside, but how it sucks outside in sunlight. I happen to own both an iPhone 3Gs and a Nexus One, so I decided to do some comparison shots.
The pictures below are all taken with both screens set to full brightness.
These outdoor pics are taken in full sun at around 6pm.
For these next shots, I took a screenshot from my N1′s homescreen, and copied it to the iPhone so I could display it using the iPhone photo gallery.
The Nexus One’s AMOLED screen really excels inside as you can see in the comparison shots below (N1 on the right):
This closeup really allows you to see the pixels on the iPhone screen vs the smooth, high-res screen on the N1:
Feel free to draw your own conclusions. I don’t see a definitive disadvantage with the Nexus One screen outdoors, and I’ve been using it full-time for the last month. On the other hand, the iPhone 3Gs screen is very washed out and lifeless at high brightness levels. Yuck.
The rumors were (mostly) true about the Nexus One. It’s not the earth-shattering, game-changing device that many bloggers were hoping and praying for, but it’s here.
The specs seem like they are on par with today’s world, and I could almost check all of my wishlist boxes. However, something that really ticks me off about the term “unlocked” in terms of a cellphone is the oxymoron of the terminology.
To be clear: the unlocked Nexus One will *technically* work on multiple providers in the US; T-Mobile and AT&T EDGE support is included. However, the omission of the 3G bands for AT&T are a quintessential failure that, in my opinion, negates any benefit of being “unlocked”. EDGE is generally a miserable data experience, and with the focus of this device as a data hungry, cloud living, Google-powered portal to the internet, I can’t believe that Google would not include AT&T 3G support.
Other phones such as the Pharos Traveler 137 already include support for 3G on both US GSM carriers, so it’s already possible. Some will argue that owners of the unlocked iPhone face the same situation. I totally agree, and it still sucks.
One of the problems with the US wireless market is that it’s too difficult to move from one service provider to another. Phones only work on specific providers at worst, or at best work with crippled data. I was really hoping that Google would finally step up and make this work.
If the almighty Google can’t get this done, are we just plain out of luck?
It looks like I’ll have to continue using my jailbroken iPhone 3GS and pray that it doesn’t break. There just aren’t enough Android choices for AT&T users, but it has to get better, right?
I just finished driving 800 miles on a family vacation to Florida. Armed only with my Google Android phone for navigation, we made it safe and sound. Although I recognized Google Navigation and its awesome integration with Android as an asset, I didn’t truly realize just how awesome it was until today.
