Google Nexus One vs iPhone 3GS

by Neeraj Pattath on January 5, 2010 ·

Filed in: All,Reviews

iPhone 3GS vs Google Nexus One (Specifications)

FeatureiPhone 3GS

Google Nexus One

Network2G Network – GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network – HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100		2G Network – GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network – HSDPA 900 / 2100 / 1700
OSiPhone OS 3.0Android v2.1
DisplayTFT Capacitive Touchscreen,
(16M colors) 320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches		AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
480 x 854 pixels, 3.7 inches
Camera3.15 MP / Autofocus
Video recording with audio at 30 fps
Touch focus and GEO Tagging		5 MP / Autofocus + LED Flash
Smile detection + Geo tagging
3GHSDPA suppored 7.2 MbpsHSDPA 7.2 Mbp, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
Internet BrowserSafari (Mobile Version) Full HTML without Flash SupportHTML
MessagingSMS (threaded view), MMS, EmailsSMS (threaded view) + EMAIL + MMS + IM + Push Email
FMNoStereo FM radio with RDS
Processor600 MHz CPU (ARM Cortex A8 with PowerVR SGX graphics)1 GHz processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250)
Battery1219 mAh Li-Ion1400 mAh – Li-ion
ColoursWhite and BlackBlack
ConnectivityBluetooth 2.1 – AD2P (headset support only)
Bluetooth P2P games
WiFi 802.11 B/G		Bluetooth v2.1 AD2P
Wi-Fi 802.11 A/B/G/N
microUSB v2.0
Memory256MB RAM
16 GB/ 32 GB internal storage
No Card Slot		512MB RAM / 512MB ROM
512 MB Internal storage
MicroSD up to 32GB
Weight135 gms130 gms
Others
  • Water and Oil resistant oleophobic coating
  • Digital compass
  • Spotlight Search
  • Landscape keyboard in all apps
  • VoiceOver (Voice Controls)
  • iTunes App Store
  • Shake to change music
  • Google Maps
  • Audio/video player
  • TV-out
  • 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Noise Cancellation with dedicated microphone on the back
  • Digital Compass
  • Dedicated search key
  • Google Search, Maps, Gmail
  • YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration
  • MP3/eAAC+/WAV/WMA9 player
  • MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9 player
  • 3.5 mm audio jack

Design: Nexus is currently available only in Black color, iPhone is available in White and Black colour. The Nexus one is thinner than the iPhone 3GS and sports a bigger screen.

Camera: Google’s HTC Nexus One is powered by a 5 Megapixel (2560 x 1920 pixels) with autofocus and LED Flash, whileas Apple’s iPhone 3GS gives you only 3.15 MegaPixel (2048 x 1536 pixels) with autofocus. Nexus has Smile Detection and Geo-tagging, on the other hand iPhone 3GS is touch-focus and allows geo tagging too with video recording at 30 fps, Nexus doesn’t have video recording functionality

Screen and Touch: We haven’t got our hands on it yet, so we cant tell much more than the specfications mentioned above. Nexus has got a bit extra larger (480 x 854 pixels) screen at 3.7″ versus the 3.5″ (320 x 480 pixels) on the iPhone 3GS’s

Memory: Nexus has twice the RAM than iPhone but the internal storage is 512MB whileas iPhone 3GS has 16 gb / 32 GB versions, iPhone 3GS doesnt have a Card Slot for inserting extra memory whereas Nexus supports upto 32GB (microSD) card.

Features: Nexus is powered by Android v2.1 OS (by Google) whileas iPhone 3GS is powered with iPhone OS (which is based on MAC OS by Apple). The Android OS 2.1 fails to beat the multitouch UI and web integration of the iPhone.

Our take: As Nexus is powered by Google, we hope access to Google based services like Maps, Gmail, Search, Picasa, Gtalk and Youtube will be much faster given the extra horse power that the 1GHz snapdragon chip brings in. Google Navigation GPS control is something yet to come for the iPhone and that gives Android a good lead. The only two things that keeps the 3GS afloat here is the muiltitouch UI and the amazing App Store advantage. Nexus One is undoubtedly the best Android device out there, a beautiful hardware by HTC and the closest it can get to the iPhone.



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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Confused January 12, 2010 at 1:19 pm

I am confused. You are writing a little comparison.. but haven’t gotten your hands on one of the devices you are writing about? You are comparing written text to written text, and only having access to one of the devices? Who was dumb enough to come up with this idea?

How can anyone take a comment like “The Android OS 2.1 fails to beat the multitouch UI and web integration of the iPhone.” seriously, if you haven’t actually witnessed and experienced it for yourself?

I have an iPhone as well, I have been in love with it for a years time. But the constant (excuse my french) bull, about the App Store having an upper hand thanks to 10X (etc.) more available apps and such (not really mentioned here, but I get the underlaying feel that it is one of the reasons)–give that a rest. Be a bit reflective and somewhat more professional and look at the difference between the Android Market and the iTunes App Store instead. Things I could compare the Android Market build available with the current HTC Hero 1.5 ROM (hopefully soon upgraded to 2.1) with the current App Store for iPhone and make note of, is the visible screenshots (I haven’t seen the latest Android Market version (as I got a HTC Hero) and are not sure if that displays screenshots (or potentially videos)), the other thing is the fact that you can purchase and use the App Store without needing to access it from the phone or even having it connected to the PC/Mac, through iTunes.

Anyways, comparisons like this is terribly misleading when the URL title reads: google-nexus-one-vs-iphone-3gs-review.. review? Come on.. that is a preview or rather an article. Get your hands on the device and then write a review. Don’t compare spreadsheets and make assumptions.

Sheridan October 27, 2010 at 3:27 am

Every man is guilty of alll the good he didnt do. – Voltaire