Way back at the beginning of January I wrote a post about my experiences switching from an iPhone to a Nexus One: what was different, which missing features could be replaced by other features, and so on. (As I mentioned then, I work for Google, but these are my own opinions.) I promised more, and it took a lot longer than I expected, but here are a few additional notes and observations:
- A recent system update enabled pinch and spread gestures to resize in the browser, so I don't have to miss those any more.
- Speaking of system updates, they happen over the air, just like sync does. After your first over the air update, the idea of docking your phone to a computer for updates or syncing seems silly.
- Most Android apps use the menu button to display actions for any screen. This provides a nice central place to see what you can do, but often causes an extra touch for the same function vs. the iPhone's technique of placing a little button bar on the screen.
- A cool app called RingDroid lets you create and edit ringtones right on the phone.
- You can copy files to and from your computer via Bluetooth.
- I'm not sure I prefer the four hard buttons along the bottom, but having a search button at any time is definitely handy. The current app can make the search context-sensitive; otherwise, it's a hybrid search that combines web results with on-device items.
- Text editing is not as nice as on the iPhone, but is pretty good. Here's the technique: tap to place the insertion point, then use the trackball if you have to move by a character or two. (Thanks, Jimi.)
- Android lets you put folders on your home screens, which is extremely useful. I've created folders to organize my most-used apps onto one home screen, and I don't even use the other screens. I can't remember app positions on more than one screenful anyway, so this is perfect.
- You can create a button that dials a contact's phone number, then put that button on a home screen or in a folder. Handy.
I've been trying out the Nexus One as my phone for about 2 months now, and I've become completely comfortable with it. I even remember that its power switch is on the opposite side from the iPhone's. I miss some iPhone features (tap at top to scroll to top, super-smooth general touch screen physics) while I love some Nexus One advantages (Gmail and Google Calendar apps, background Pandora and chat apps, folders to organize home screens). When I decide which phone I want to keep using, I might weasel out and use the iPhone for phone + apps, and the Nexus One at work over wifi for Gmail, Calendar, Chat, and more.
Comments