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Originally Posted by Swarly_legendary  What more can you tell me about the Nexus? I hear good things about it. Keep in mind that I'm basically a kid (18 years old)
I am very impressed with the Layar app that the Droid has to offer. Also, i hear there is an app or the droid that kills all running apps (not sure if this is true) |
A couple things: There IS an application to kill all running apps on the Droid, and it is completely unnecessary. If an application is left on in the background of BlackBerry or Windows Mobile device, it takes up as much memory as one that is currently in the foreground. The Android platform is built in such a way that memory is only used on programs that need it, so if an application is left open in the background, it is not using memory like an application that is currently open. When Droid first dropped, alot of people defected from Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, and were suprised to find that it wasn't as easy to close all running programs, and so an app was written to remedy this. The reality is it is completely unnecessary and actually not recommended. You can run as many programs as you want without noticing a dip in performance. This is actually a feature, instead of a mistake, designed to make multitasking better and less of a burden on your resources. Funny, I just had to explain this misconception in another thread.
As for layar, it's an ok app. There's actually a better augmented reality application called Google Goggles that has more features and draws from a larger database of locations (google as opposed to wikipedia). This program is written by Google itself, and is just one of the many applications Google has released for Android devices. Which brings me to the Nexus One.
Nexus One is what's called a "Google Experience Device" (pardon the buzzwords, but it is the best way to describe it). It is bare-bones Android, released straight from the hands of and supported only by Google. The reasoning behind this is that when Google releases a new version of Android it's released immediately to Nexus One. It doesn't have to pass through an manufacturer or carrier testing, so you don't have to wait as long for updates. Android 2.1 was released on the Nexus One in January, and was only ported to the Motorola Droid as of this week. With Nexus One, there is no wait time for the next update.
Google releases applications and new functionality for this thing like crazy (seriously, like on a weekly basis). Currently, only devices on Android 2.1 (itself and Motorola Droid) feature Google Maps Navigation, which is insanely cool. Imagine Google Maps in 3D with turn by turn directions. It's like a Garmin only better because it is constantly connected to the internet. It has the aforementioned Google Goggles, which in addition to having augmented reality, you can take a picture of any item and it will search googles database based on the image. There is a Gesture Search application that will search your phone and Google based on the letters you draw with your finger. It's pretty neat. There's Google Voice which replaces your Voicemail box and will transcribe your messages to text, and allow you to listen to your messages from your device instead of having to call. There is a Google Earth application that has all of the functionality of the PC version. There is Google Sky Map which will show you what stars are there as you point at them. There is GTalk, Google Buzz, and Youtube. There is voice-to-text and text-to-voice in every text box. There is push Gmail which is great for Gmail accounts. All of this and 40,000+ applications in the Android Maket place which is growing.
There is no comparing the browsers. The BB browser is fundamentally flawed, in that it is written in old code that can't handle the demands of today's internet. This is why they're working hard on a new webkit based browser with server side rendering which will apparently be faster than anyone else's browser. But until then Android runs circles around it.
All of this is on the Droid as well.
As for the technical specs, Nexus One has a 1ghz snapdragon processor (which is almost overkill), 512 mb of flash memory, 512 mb of RAM and a 3.7 inch capacitive touchscreen and a trackball for those hard to reach areas. Odds are you won't miss surepress. This is slated for Verizon in the summer, I have one on T-Mobile.
Another device you may want to think about waiting for is the HTC Incredible. It has mostly the same specs as the Nexus One, but it will run something called Sense UI. This is where that "Google Experience Device" thing comes into play. It will run on Android 2.1, but have a different User Interface on many of it's core functions. It is like a theme, only rooted deeper into the operating system. I've played with Sense UI on my brothers Droid Eris, and it is very intuitive and pretty looking. The only draw is that you may have to wait longer for OS updates. It's a tradeoff, as you can't have your cake and eat it too.
As for your dilemma, and if you have to make your decision soon, then I would get the Droid. It's an awesome device, has all of the same functionality as the Nexus One, and has a hardware keyboard to boot. I have a BlackBerry Storm on BES, and a Nexus One, and the difference is like night and day. Sure my BB fetches my Email like a champ, but it just doesn't do much else for me and never really felt like it was optimized for a touchscreen. It's like a Curve with a really big screen to me.
Anyhoo, that's my 2 cents... This is all my opinion so save it, flamers. And don't listen to a word kbz5ht says, based on his posts, I doubt he's ever touched a Droid. In fact, I'm starting to doubt hes ever touched a Storm.
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Storm 9530 or Droid? 
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