back to article Nexus One teardown: 'nicely put together'

The gadget teardown experts at iFixit have forked out $530 for a Google Nexus One smartphone, taken it to bits and posted their thoughts online. nexus_one_ifixit_01 The Nexus One cost iFixit $530 (£332/€369) After removing the phone’s plastic rear cover - a process iFixit described as “unbelievably easy”, the 5Mp lens, LED …

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  1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
    Happy

    One immediate improvement over the iBone.

    As pointed out in the article, the Nexus's battery is removeable, so a dead battery doesn't mean a dead phone and a wait for a replacement unit, unlike the iBone. It also means if you have two batteries (many early smartphone users will remember this one!) and keep the spare charged then you can swap them and carry on working/playing/posing, whereas with the iBone you have to put the phone down to charge and go back to interacting with real friends.....

    1. Andrew James

      Charging

      Just sent a text to my mate to enquire how long it takes to recharge his iPhone from 0% charge to 100%.

      "Not sure, probably about an hour, not long anyway, why?" was his response.

      With the plethora of charging options available to consumers these days, would that be an inconvenience in the vast majority of circumstances?

      I like the fact that they've put n wireless in it, future proofing etc, but since i dont expect to have a compatible n router anytime in the next 18-24 months that wouldnt influence a purchase decision for me personally... and would i need the oomph of n over g? Probably not.

      1. Tim Croydon

        Dead battery

        I think he meant 'dead' as in 'will no longer recharge'. Most mobile phones seem to lose battery capacity after around 18 months in my experience so the ability to replace the battery is pretty handy.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Li-ion batteries...

          I've had m3G for just over 18 month now, and the battery is holding it's just fine still. Li-ion cells don't have the charge memory problems that other types of cell have, they generally hold more charge for longer too. The down side is that they are extremely volatile - as has been widely reported with exploding iPhones and all - The upside being a better, more consistent lifecycle and slower discharge rates. Hence the non user replaceable batteries, not as some /*cough*/ Matt Bryant /*cough*/ would have you believe, namely tyrannical control of "choice"...

    2. Stu Wilson
      Grenade

      as long as you have a USB port anywhere...

      ...you can charge your iPhone, or one of those car adaptor thingy's

      and as the other guy said, doesn't take more than an hour to get back to full charge even on trickle charge for a USB cable.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        FAIL

        Re: as long as you have a USB port anywhere...

        But ONLY if you have packed your iPhone's cable - since the iPhone doesn't have a standard USB connector.

      2. BristolBachelor Gold badge
        FAIL

        RE: as long as you have a USB port anywhere...

        Unless you have the new version of the phone / iPod Touch. This seems to have a new message built in, that says "Charging is not supported with this accessory".

        Plugging the phone into any number of USB ports / hubs / PSUs that charge any number of other things (including the special charging sockets on PCs that are always on, even when the PC is off), just shows this message. On the missus' laptop, had to install the latest version of iTunes before it would charge from the laptop, but still won't charge from the "charging" socket!

    3. Mike Moyle

      Or, Maybe...

      "It also means if you have two batteries (many early smartphone users will remember this one!) and keep the spare charged then you can swap them and carry on working/playing/posing, whereas with the iBone you have to put the phone down to charge and go back to interacting with real friends....."

      And if you're willing to carry a spare battery around for your <FillInTheBlank> model cellphone, then you should have no problem with carrying one of the external battery packs or using one of the case-and-battery combos made for the iPhone*.

      Radio Shack carries a nice little charger that takes two standard AAs and has interchangeable tips so I can charge my Samsung cellphone or Apple iPod in less than an hour, and can still use either one while charging.

      __________

      * ...Unless you just enjoy trolling ANY cellphone-related article so you can trash the iPhone... Oh, wait... that's what you just did, isn't it?

  2. John White
    Linux

    Broadcom WiFI..

    wonder if they had any stress over the Broadcom chip for wifi - the 4311 in my Hp2133 seems to require unsupported drivers or NDIS wrapper for use under Linux (yes, I have it working but why is the 4368 OK and the 4311 'unsupported'?)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    Broadcom drivers

    Hmmm... Broadcom silicon in an Android product. I wonder if this will trickle through to better Broadcom driver support in Linux?

  4. Alex Rose

    Why the iPhone reference Matt?

    Why do you feel the need to bring the iPhone into this Matt? I really worry about people like you. I don't have an iPhone, I don't think it would meet my needs. But I feel no need to rubbish it just because it does work well for lots of other people.

    What are you compensating for Matt? Did daddy not love you enough? Did mummy stop breasfeeding you to early in life?

    Get a life Matt, you don't like the iPhone, deal with it.

    WE. DON'T. CARE!

    1. Neill Mitchell
      Unhappy

      A bit harsh

      The rudeness levels seem to be on the up at El Reg recently. Rather than worrying about "people like you", try worrying about something useful.

      Some people do care about removable batteries.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Unhappy

        Trouble is...

        ...a lot of posters make shit up, without really understanding the why's and wherefores. Others just like a good troll to lighten up their obviously mundane existence. Also there is a lot of trite rhetoric - I'll hold my hands up to it, dunno if anyone else is big enough to though. I mean "iBone"... It's puerile! Tim has a valid point, this article was about a tear down of some "new" technology. The only mention of 'iPhone' was to point out the superior WiFi capabilities the Nexus One. Hardly surprising in newer technology, a damning criticism or need for an ill-conceived notion of why the iPhone - and for that matter all of the Apple portable line-up - have non user-replaceable batteries. FWIW the N1 has a Li-Pol (Lithium Ion Polymer) cell which is nowhere near as volatile as the Li-ion cells found in Apple products and as a rule it's cheaper, with the downside of holding less charge and discharging it more quickly. As for the rudeness, I think readers are getting bored of the constant shill/trolling/flame bating that goes on. Tim was right - there was no need to attack a device and it's users by extension because of petty prejudice. It happens too often. It's like water torture. These comments are actually at their worst mildly irritating, but when it's a constant diatribe against a brand, product and/or it's users, it starts to grate.

  5. Mojo2904

    dead not flat battery

    Everyone reacting to Matt's comment about the battery don't seem to realise he meant a dead battery, not flat. I don't like the idea you cant remove the iPhone battery and would rather have this option available to me too.

  6. Matt Bryant Silver badge
    Happy

    Chillax, Fanboi Defence Force.

    Oh dear, some people just can't take even the slightest criticism! Here's news for you lot - I would take the iBone over the Nexus but I actually don't want either. And as for iBone batteries, a friend in the office had their battery fail after only three months and had to wait for a replacement iPhone rather than just getting a spare battery. That lithium-ion batteries are somehow more volatile is no reason to make it non-replaceable, it looks more like Jobs just wanted to ensure he keeps more control of the device and the supply of spares, to ensure the fanboi tax is maximised. Just like Apple did with the Macs. There is no-one so foolish as those that happilly pay to fool themselves.

  7. Paul Shirley

    @Mike Moyle and emergency chargers

    I could throw an emergency charger into the jumble in my pocket. But while a spare G1 battery fits easily in my wallet, the one thing I'm never going to forget to pack and barely raises a bump I'll stick with the spare.

    Meanwhile my sister in law is still learning to cope with her piss poor iPhone battery life. Next time we're stuck in the middle of nowhere late at night I'll be the one calling the taxi ;)

  8. coolfx35

    good phone

    So I am thinking about picking a Droid and I am leaning toward the Nexus.

    I dont need a pull out keyboard, and i dont even want to spend the $30 / month for Data, I just like the Wifi deal.

    I am almost always in a location that has Wifi.....

    so, am i nuts for looking at this phone for just phone and wifi?

    Is it overkill without purchasing the data ?

    I really do not want the additional cost

    Thoughts/comments? Share them on http://www.NexusOneTalks.com Thanks.

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