Top 5 things the Nexus One Does That the iPhone Doesn't

With the release of the Nexus One Android Phone from Google a lot of talk has come about comparing it to the Apple iPhone. While there are opinions going both ways as to which is better, and a lot of talk about discussing the number of apps, and the lack of iTunes, the focus is often obscured.  

There are many features in the Nexus One that clearly set it apart, some of which you may or may not have heard about.  No matter which side of the Apple - Google debate you fall on, you have to admit that the following features in the Nexus One represent a great step forward with smartphones, and can only help move advances on both sides forward.

The Nexus One comes loaded with Android 2.1, the latest release of the Android operating system.  With this comes the addition of a voice based keyboard.  What this means is that you can directly dictate text entry into any text box.  While background noise can have an effect on this, usage shows about 90% accuracy, which can greatly speed of some of the more difficult tasks on a smartphone.

It should be noted that the iPhone does have an app that will allow you to dictate text onto the iPhone, but it is not an included feature, and even with it, you have to copy and paste the dictated text into the appropriate spots.  

There are two things that make the Nexus One battery better than the iPhone: The first is it's longer life. The Nexus One touts a battery talk time of 7 hrs, 2 hours longer than that of the iPhone.

The second thing that makes the battery of the Nexus One better is that it is interchangeable. This means that you could carry a second battery with you and swap a dead one for a fresh one if you needed longer time between charges.  More practically, this means that should you need to replace the battery, or you want to by a bigger battery, you can do this without voiding the warranty or having to send the phone in to the manufacturer. This is something that has been a sore point with iPhone owners and one item that the Nexus One clearly got right.

Another area that the Nexus One tops the iPhone is with it's camera. 

The Nexus One features a 5 megapixel camera with a built in flash.  The camera on the iPhone is only 3 megapixels, and does not include a flash.

While the higher number of megapixels means higher resolution pictures, this is really a minor point , the real top feature here is that the Nexus One includes a flash which means you can get great pictures no matter where you are or what time of day.

Despite the much advertised 100,000 plus apps that the Apple market has available for the iPhone; the approval process of these apps has been the topic of much criticism due to the fact that all apps must be approved by Apple, and only those they approve will be placed in market.

With the Nexus One, and really all Android based phones, Google has provided an open market that allows developers to develop and release applications as they see fit.  This is a striking contrast to the iPhone app store where an application that may duplicate core functionality of the iPhone, but do it in a much better way, will be rejected, whereas the Android market encourages improvement and ingenuity by not heavily restricting what apps can be released. 

Not only is the Nexus One cheaper to buy than the iPhone, but when you factor in the cost of monthly service and data fees, the Nexus One can save you over $600 per year.

The iPhone runs $199 with a 2yr contract, the Nexus one $179. If you were to buy either of these without a contract you would be looking at $599 for the iPhone and $529 without a contract.

The real cost savings comes in when you factor in the service charges. Over the course of a standard two year service contract, you would spend $3,799 dollars for voice and data service on AT&T with the iPhone. For the Nexus One, you would be looking at $2,579 for voice and data service with T-Mobile.

This means that the Nexus One will save you over $600 per year.

I don't know about you, but cost savings with cellphone is a feature I'm always happy to see.

Nexus One Phone from Google

If you hadn't heard the rumors yet, the Nexus one is the latest Android phone to be released, and with much buildup prior to today's release date it appears to be very nice device.

Should I Buy an Android Phone or an iPhone

When it comes to comparing the Apple iPhone to anything people tend to be rather polarized and since this topic can draw a lot of heat from people on both sides, I will try and stay neutral and point out some of the more subtle differences between the platforms as a whole.