Verizon Droid vs. Google Nexus One: The Provisional T-Grid
By Harry McCracken | Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 4:24 pm
For the past two months, Verizon Wireless’s Droid by Motorola has had the privilege of holding the undisputed title of Coolest Android Phone on the Market. But its reign may be short, if everyone’s assumption that next week’s Google Android event turns out to be the unveiling of Google’s Nexus One (aka “the Googlephone”) turns out to be accurate.
The Nexus One remains unannounced, but there’s information (or alleged information) about it all over the Web. So it doesn’t seem premature to put together a provisional T-Grid comparing it to the Droid. The Nexus One data here is culled from sources such as Engadget and Gizmodo, and for now, you should pretend that each and every field has an asterisk next to it indicating that it’s not confirmed.
What are the key differences between the two phones? The Nexus One (which lacks a physical keyboard) is apparently thinner and lighter. It’s supposedly got an OLED screen which is said to be gorgeous. It runs on T-Mobile’s network rather than Verizon’s (it’ll reportedly only work on AT&T in sluggish EDGE mode). And it’s allegedly got a very fast CPU (1-GHz?) and twice the RAM of the Droid. Plus a newer version of Android that’s been further tweaked by Google.
Okay, enough apparentlys, supposedlys, reportedlys, and allegedlys. Info after the jump–I’ll update it once Google has weighed in…
This T-Grid is a work in progress, subject to expansion and revision.
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The phones
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Verizon Wireless Droid by Motorola
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Google Nexus One
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|---|---|---|
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Platform
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Google’s Android 2.0
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Google’s Android 2.1
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|
Availability
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Now
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Early January, possibly by invitation only
|
|
U.S. carrier
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Verizon Wireless
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T-Mobile
|
|
Price
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$199.99 with two-year contract after $100 rebate; $559.99 contract free
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$179.99 with two-year contract; $529.99 contract-free
|
|
Service
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$89.98 per month (450 voice minutes, unlimited Web and e-mail, 5000 text messages); other plans available
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$79.99 per month (500 voice minutes, unlimited data, unlimited text messages); other plans not available
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|
Locked?
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Verizon-only
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$529.99 version unlocked, contract version locked
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|
Colors
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Black
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Looks greyish in photos
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Size and weight
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4.56” by 2.36” by 0.54”; 5.96 oz.
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4.68″ by 2.35″by 0.45″; 4.59 oz.
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|
Included memory card, slot type
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16GB, MicroSD
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4GB, MicroSD
|
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Screen size, resolution, and technology
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3.7″; 854 by 480; LCD
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3.7″; 854 by 480; OLED
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CPU speed
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550 Mhz
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1-GHz (?)
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|
RAM
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256MB
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512MB
|
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Multitasking
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Yes
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Yes
|
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Openness
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It’s hard to sum up in a chart; Android Market occasionally has apps yanked but apps can also be distributed outside of it; apps can customize interface and otherwise tweak OS; Verizon Wireless rep told me she knows of no apps forbidden to use Verizon network
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Similar to the Droid, probably
|
|
Input
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Multi-touch touchscreen (but UI uses only single-touch), onscreen keyboard, and slide-out physical keyboard
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Multi-touch touchscreen (but UI uses only single-touch), onscreen keyboard
|
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Connector
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Micro USB
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Micro USB
|
|
Accelerometer
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Yes
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Yes
|
|
Proximity sensor
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Yes
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Yes
|
|
Wi-Fi and GPS
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Got ’em both
|
Got ’em both
|
|
Compass (magetometer)
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I’m still not sure
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Yes
|
|
Headphone jack
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Standard 3.5mm
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Standard 3.5mm
|
|
Bluetooth
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Stereo
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Stereo
|
|
Voice dialing
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Yes
|
Not sure
|
|
Visual voicemail
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Yes
|
Not sure
|
|
Voice recording
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I’m not seeing it as a standard feature
|
Not sure
|
|
MMS
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Yes
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Yes
|
|
Camera
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5 megapixels; 4X digital zoom; dual LED flash; autofocus; scene modes; does 720 by 480 video at 24 fps
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5 megapixels; 2X digital zoom; LED flash; autofocus; not sure about video capture
|
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Voice
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CDMA
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Quad-band GSM
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Data
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EVDO Rev. A
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HSPA
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|
Use as tethered modem?
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Through third-party apps at least, I think
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Ditto
|
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Battery
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Removable 1300mAH; up to 385 minutes talk time; 370 hours standby
|
Removable 1400mAH; not sure of life yet
|
|
Copy and paste?
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Absolutely
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Finally
|
|
Note-taking app
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Not standard
|
Not sure
|
|
Flash
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First half of 2010, supposedly
|
First half of 2010, supoosedly
|
|
Web searching
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Yes, via Google, with voice search
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I’m guessing Google will provide it
|
|
Web browser
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Webkit-based browser
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Webkit-based browsser
|
|
E-Mail
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IMAP, POP, Gmail
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Probably similar to Droid
|
|
Calendar
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Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Microsoft Exchange support
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Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Instant messaging
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Google Talk, others through third-party apps
|
Probably similar to Droid
|
|
Office Apps
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Microsoft Office-compatible and PDF viewers, but no editing
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Probably similar to Droid
|
|
Maps
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Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Turn-by-turn navigation
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Yes, in Google Maps
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Probably similar to Droid
|
|
Music
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Music player and Amazon music downloads; supports MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA, OGG, MIDI
|
Music player, presumably wit Amazon music downloads; MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA, OGG, MIDI
|
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Video
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Video player; YouTube; no standard store for buying commercial content; supports MPEG-4, H.263, and H.264 formats
|
Probably similar to Droid
|
|
Photos
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Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Wireless syncing
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Yes, including Gmail/Google Calendar and integration of Facebook friends
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Probably similar to Droid
|
|
Desktop syncing
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No, although you can copy files over via USB
|
Probably similar to Droid
|
|
Application store
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Yes, through Android Market; 16,000+ apps so far
|
Same as Droid
|
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VIDEO: Complete Google Nexus One Demo | Tech Startups Says:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:59 am[…] Verizon Droid vs. Google Nexus One: The Provisional T-Grid (technologizer.com) […]
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December 30th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Note that about half of the big hits against the Droid (lack of global usability, multitouch, etc) are remedied in the GSM Milestone model. Should be interesting to see what happens to Milestone pricing after the Nexus launch, as it currently seems to run nearly $600.
December 30th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I like the ethics of Google. They will have me as a customer.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Droid does have a compass…make use of it with a free compass app from Android market.
Note taking app: Evernote available for free from Android market.
If there are tethering apps I’d like to know…Verizon says they are making it available in early ’10.
December 31st, 2009 at 3:15 pm
CPU speed may not be a good comparison as they are different chip architectures. No way the Nexus is 2x as fast, but that’s the implication. Sort of how the Hero has a similar clock speed as the Droid, but the Droid runs circles around it. Also how/what handles video/graphics will impact performance.
January 1st, 2010 at 10:52 am
there is tethering app called pdanet there’s a free version but you cant get on https sites and if you get it make sure USB debugging is on
January 2nd, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Good article, Harry. I found it while doing a search for droid vs nexus one on google. I’m going to be following you on twitter.
Fwiw, these are a comparisons that I had rolling around in my head, but it was nice to see them on paper. I didn’t know that the nexus one had twice the RAM. That’s sweet. It seems as if the contrast is speed vs. keyboard and CDMA vs. GSM. Perhaps the OLED is an issue, I’d have to see it.
As I understand it, the HTC Incredible is the Verizon version of the Nexus One (rumor), so I’m waiting before I upgrade. Android seems to be the OS of the future, huh? WM is outdated and MS dropped the ball bigtime.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
The display specs for the Nexus One are incorrect. The correct resolution is 800×480. Not 854×480. The Droid has the higher resolution and the tried and tested LED screen. I’d recommend giving the AMOLED technology at least a generation of phones to get all the kinks worked out.
As far as gaming is concerned, no comparison to the Droid. It has a dedicated GPU where the Nexus One does not. Any gamers out there will remember the comparison between 3D CARD Quake 1 and software Quake 1.