Random Thoughts About Marketing and Technology

Why I Chose the Nexus S over the Verizon iPhone 4

In the battle of the Nexus S (Android’s top device) and the Verizon iPhone 4, I choose the Nexus S. In fact, I just sent the Verizon iPhone 4 back this morning via UPS. I’m confident that the Nexus S is a better fit for me. I love Apple products. I want to love the iPhone 4. I have this urge to have everything match: the iPhone 4 with my MacBook Air, iPad and iMac. But ultimately, the Nexus S is a better device.

Here’s a summary of the key aspects that influenced my decision:

Phone Hardware

While the iPhone 4 does feel like a piece of jewelry, the shape of the Nexus S ends up feeling better in my hand (no comments please). The curvature of the screen, the strategic placement of the bump on the back and, contrary to most reviews, the relative lightness of the Nexus S wins me over.

There is also something to be said for having dedicated touch buttons for home, back, menu and search. While the touch buttons aren’t as reliable as the one physical “Home” button on the iPhone 4, they are much more efficient when navigating apps.

I also prefer the right-hand side power/screen lock button on the Nexus S. It is a lesson in usability. When you hold a smartphone in your hand, the Nexus S has its power button right where your thumb rests naturally. Brilliant! The iPhone 4’s button is situated on the top right. It isn’t difficult, but it is noticeably more awkward.

And finally, thank you Nexus S for using a universal port: MicroUSB. One cable for power, syncing and for my bluetooth headset and external hard drive and….versus the iPhone dock connector cable that works with…my iPad and nothing else.

Screen

There is no question the iPhone 4’s screen is sharp. But I find it too small (3.5”). Once you use a 4” display smartphone, the iPhone 4 feels small (even though the iPhone 4 has a higher resolution screen).

The iPhone 4 is further trumped by the Super AMOLED screen. The difference is in the contrast ratio. Neither company publishes the contrast ratio of their phone, but one look and you can see how much more colors pop on the Nexus S. Google’s Gingerbread OS (2.3) use of black backgrounds emphasizes the contrast.

Operating System

While I’ve owned every iPhone produced (including the Verizon iPhone 4), I find myself missing some of the little integration hooks built into the Google Android OS. Normally you would think it is Apple that catches every little detail. But in this case, Google’s Android OS and its openness wins out. I’m not talking about HUGE capabilities. It is little things like sharing information. I am so addicted to Twitter that anytime I read an article of interest I share it on Twitter (@renegrub). So I was frustrated when Apple wouldn’t let me share a story I read on CNN with Twitter. No luck. Apple only lets me email it, add it to my home screen, save it as a bookmark or print it. On my Nexus S, I can share it with Twitter, FaceBook, Text Messaging, Tumblr, etc. Once you do that a few times, you can’t live without it.

I also enjoy how contacts are synced with FaceBook and Twitter on my Nexus S. I have photos for most of my contacts, up-to-date information and their latest posts/tweets. With Apple I’m stuck with photos that I have manually added to my address book and no integration with my social networks.

Same is true for widgets. Once you have little widgets to provide you with information without clicks, it is difficult to go back to the iPhone 4. Every piece of information requires opening a new app.

This is carried over as well with the status bar. Push notifications on the iPhone 4 are really worthless. You are interrupted with whatever you’re doing and once dismissed, you forget about it. Google really hit a home run with the notification bar at the top. Plus I can add items like WeatherBug or Screen Rotate Lock for quick access.

So while I love the simplicity of the iPhone 4 OS, sometimes more is more. I fear that Apple might do to the iPhone what it did to the Shuffle a few generations ago (remove all the buttons and frustrate people to the point of abandonment).

Carrier Monthly Fees

When I decry that I’ve chosen the Nexus S over the iPhone 4, it’s a total package decision. When you choose the Nexus S, you’re wed to T-Mobile due to the 3G incompatibility with AT&T and the lack of CDMA for use with Verizon or Sprint. When you select the iPhone 4, you can go with Verizon or AT&T. This factored into my decision in two important ways:

1) T-Mobile is the one carrier that gives customers a choice:

• Sign a two-year contract, get a discounted phone and pay normal prices for monthly plans
• OR pay full price for the phone, don’t sign any contract and in return, pay lower monthly rates for service. This is because T-Mobile isn’t having to subsidize the price of the phone through your monthly fees.

As a T-Mobile customer, this works out to $20 a month cheaper plans. I have T-Mobile with unlimited calls, text and data (5GB limit before network slowdown) for $79.99 a month. Compare that with Verizon: Unlimited calls, text and data is $119.99. So Verizon costs $40 per month more than T-Mobile. Over two years, that works out to a $960 premium. Upfront I pay $525 for the Nexus S versus $199 for the 16GB iPhone 4. The $326 is paid back in the first eight months of a 24 month contract.

2) Tethering options. With T-Mobile and the Nexus S, you can tether away for no incremental monthly charge. You’ve still got at least 5GB of monthly data to burn through without an additional cost. With Verizon, to tether your iPhone requires an additional $20 a month for 2GB. Additional 1GB runs $10. So if you need to use your phone for tethering, you’re looking at another $480 for Verizon over your two-year contract. And as others have said, with T-Mobile, you can tether and still make/receive calls. With Verizon, it’s one or the other. So if you get a call, your data connection is dropped. In my testing, T-Mobiles data network is 3 times the speed of Verizon for download and twice as fast for uploads. You really can notice this difference.

Nothing is Perfect

I still have yet to find the PERFECT phone. I prefer the Nexus S over the iPhone 4, but there are some imperfections. Here are my wishes:

• Better camera/camcorder. The iPhone 4 has the best camera/camcorder available. I’d love to have it, but I just don’t take that many pictures or movies. So I would prefer a faster, sharper camera that takes HD movies.
• Notification Light. I would love to understand how this was left out. Just a little light, like every Blackberry, to show me that I have a new notification/email/text/etc. The iPhone 4 doesn’t have it either.
• T-Mobile Wi-Fi calling app (by Kineto). Because the Nexus S is a pure Google phone there is no T-Mobile Wi-Fi calling app included. This really should be resolved. T-Mobile has the perfect solution for poor coverage in the home (by automatically tapping into your Wi-Fi network). I’ve tried it with several T-Mobile devices and it works well. AT&T’s Microcell never worked for me back when I had the AT&T iPhones.
• More accessories please. I heard there was to be a Nexus S dock, but two months after release, nothing is available. I desire something with the simplicity of the Blackberry Bold dock. It’s purpose is solely to charge. It pops in and out easily with one hand. The same can’t be said for the iPhone 4 dock. It is better than no dock, but you can’t get your phone in/out with one hand. There is no heft to the dock, so a pull means the entire dock lifts up. Bad design.
• Cleaner Marketplace. This is really more of a ding on Android than on the Nexus S hardware. I long for the Apple app store for Android. Less garbage, better results, etc.
• Better virtual keyboard. Apple still has the better, even after the Gingerbread (2.3)update. I make fewer mistakes when typing on my iPhone 4.

I’ll of course eagerly await the iPhone “5” and see whether that phone changes my mind. For now though, I prefer the Nexus S.

Thoughts?