It's been almost three weeks since Google revealed the Nexus One. Since then, the Google-branded smartphone has been the subject of constant analysis and iPhone vs. Nexus One comparisons. In fact, the Nexus One defeated the iPhone by 38% in a recent reader vote.
I've had a Nexus One since launch day, and in that time it has never left my time. This is in addition to my iPhone on the AT&T network -- meaning I've been carrying two phones around.
While I've spoken extensively about its features, the past three weeks have given me a chance to really figure out where this phone falls short and where it simply trumps the iPhone.
First, Let's Talk About the iPhone's Camera
The iPhone 3GS camera is a three-megapixel piece of hardware. It includes auto focus, the ability to choose where you want the camera to focus, and the ability to record video, edit it and then upload it to YouTube.
However, even with the quality improvement over the previous version of the phone and addition of video features, the iPhone 3GS still lacks many features. The camera cannot zoom, adjust color balance, add effects and it does not allow you to change picture quality. Furthermore, the camera's lack of a flash is simply a death sentence. The exclusion of these features is not a minor detail -- it's a major flaw. Yes, there are apps for that, but who wants to exit the camera to download and then pull out another app just to make it work?
I never use my iPhone to take pictures. Half the time, the pictures are too dark, the quality too grainy and the 3G network has gone down way too many times while in the middle of uploading. The camera is still one of the iPhone's biggest weak spots.
Nexus One's More Advanced Camera
The Nexus One's camera, on the other hand, is one of the best phone cameras I've ever played with. Pictures are taken with a five megapixel camera and every image auto focused as you take each shot. It comes with a very bright flash that doesn't massively drain the battery.
It's the additional features that set the Nexus One apart, though. Slide from left to right on the screen and a set of menu items appear that allow you to control flash mode, white balance, color effect, geolocation, picture size, picture quality and focus mode. By utilizing the color effects, flash, and white balance, I can take pictures like this one of my friends Matt and Ana (click for full image):
I even took this picture in the dark. You need apps to do this on the iPhone, and it won't turn out as well.
The sharing options are also superior -- not only can you share any picture via e-mail or MMS, but through bluetooth and any Android app that supports it, including Facebook, Picasa, and Twitter apps such as Seemic.
Perhaps the only thing that the camera doesn't do better than the iPhone 3GS is video editing, and I expect Google to address this gap in the near future. No, the Nexus One camera isn't perfect, but it's well ahead of its smartphone competitors.
Google's Multimedia Strategy
Google didn't include a powerful camera just to make it more attractive to consumers. No, they have a strategy behind it, and it revolves around YouTube.
Two weeks ago, we reported that YouTube celebs were getting free Nexus One phones and partners were gifted with the expensive device. In fact, I can tell you for certain that some of the highest profile YouTube celebs received the Nexus One all the way back in December.
Google's goal seems clear: It wants to spur YouTube celebs to record and upload more videos. Their pages are highly monetized, and more mobile videos translates into more advertising revenue. It's so simple to upload a Nexus One video to YouTube that the free phones eventually pay for themselves, as long as YouTube partners are uploading videos from their phones. The camera's quality is more than sufficient, even if it isn't HD quality.