Nexus Vexes
I bought the Motorola Droid on launch day. I loved the screen, the notification bar, and the ability to run apps in the background. But I didn’t like its heft, I thought the slide out keyboard was useless and those four “soft” buttons at the bottom of the touch screen were consistently being activated when I didn’t mean to. So I took it back.
Then I tried the HTC Hero on Sprint. The device was shorter and thicker than the Droid or the iPhone but it felt really great in your hand. These thin phones are getting too damn thin. The Hero felt just right. The user interface (UI), called Sense, was custom designed by HTC and it blew me away. It was fantastic and the software keyboard ran rings around the stock Android keyboard. But all of that UI-goodness came at a price. The device felt woefully underpowered. So I took it back.
I am completely open to the idea of replacing my iPhone 3GS with something that meets my needs better. While those 2 devices each had great things to like about them, neither came close to matching the overall experience and consistency of the iPhone.
When I first heard about the Google Nexus One I thought that it could be the Android phone that finally makes that experience better. The phone had the screen I loved from the Droid, the latest version of the Android software, and it was manufactured by HTC. So as soon as the Nexus One page went live yesterday, I ordered mine. I’ve had it for a few hours now and I am at a loss. It would appear that it is neither as good as the Motorola Droid nor the HTC Hero. I am going to put it through it’s paces but my initial reaction is very negative. I can’t believe the OS still jitters and skips when scrolling through pages or lists.
