Google Nexus S vs T-Mobile myTouch 4G

Introduction:

With a cornucopia of devices vying for the top spot on T-Mobile's lineup, there are two that stand together all too closely to one another thanks primarily to their larger than life status. One of them is none other than the T-Mobile myTouch 4G which can be argued as the premier and latest HTC built device to wow customers all around. Conversely, Samsung was graced with opportunity of manufacturing the Nexus S which stands prominently as being the sole Android 2.3 Gingerbread powered device on the market. Since they embody all the terrific high-end features you'd expect out of any premier phone out there, it's one difficult decision for any T-Mobile customer thinking about making the plunge for their next handset of choice.

Design:

Although they share the same slate form factor, just about everything else regarding their designs is completely different. Easily between the two, we feel that the T-Mobile myTouch 4G is the better built phone primarily because of its chrome bezel, metallic rear cover, and durable white plastic. However, it's not to say that we're not appeased by the minimalistic and clean look of the Nexus S, but when it's held in the hand, it's extremely noticeable that its all plastic construction does make it feel somewhat more prone – especially to attracting finger prints and scratches. Still, they're relatively the same size and manageable to hold, but we're not particularly too thrilled by the mash of design cues in use with the myTouch 4G. In the end, neither is particularly original, but there's just something about the myTouch 4G that blissfully provides that warranted sense of ownership thanks to its solid construction.


In the battle between the Super AMOLED display of the Nexus S and the Super LCD one on the myTouch 4G, there's no comparison as it's clearly evident that the extremely rich and saturated colors of the Nexus S are preferred. In fact, it's more distinguishable with the color black as it looks a bit more smokey in tone with the myTouch 4G. Despite its victory, both devices are able to establish clarity and detail thanks to their WVGA (480 x 400) resolution. Furthermore, their screen surfaces are slick to the touch which provides for accurate measures of responsiveness. Meanwhile, viewing angles are acceptably better with the Nexus S since you begin to lose visibility when tilting the myTouch 4G – which inevitably makes colors look washed out. Granted that you'll be content with the level of output with the myTouch 4G, you'll be instantly mesmerized by the Super AMOLED display of the Nexus S.


When you realize that you can barely recognize the capacitive buttons of the Nexus S even in the dark, that's when the physical buttons in use with the myTouch 4G utterly become a focal point. Not only are they easily pressed, but it's almost guaranteed that you won't accidentally press any one of them. In addition, we find an optical track-pad with the T-Mobile myTouch 4G that offers an alternative way of navigating.

Considered to still be a luxury with most devices released in the US, both smartphones offer 0.3-megapixel front-facing cameras which can be used for things like taking a self-shot or video chat.


In terms of other physical buttons clinging onto the sides of both phones, we actually prefer the more prominently feeling volume rocker and dedicated power button of the Nexus S. That's because the ones with the myTouch 4G are recessed and don't offer enough response when pressed. However, we find the two-level shutter key with the myTouch 4G to be a convenient offering which enables you to start shooting photos at a heart beat.


Other commonalities include a 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port, and 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with flash – but with the T-Mobile myTouch 4G, it yet again offers the convenience of a microSD card slot. However, the Google Nexus S discretely implements an NFC chip, which is something that will come in handy down the road as the technology matures.

Interface and Functionality:

Being the cream of the crop on T-Mobile's lineup, these two blistering devices boast 1GHz processors within their bodies. In fact, it's a Cortex A8 Hummingbird chip-set with the Nexus S while a Qualcomm Snapdragom MSM8255 within the myTouch 4G. From launching applications to kinetic scrolling, everything is accompanied with a near instant response that undoubtedly caps off the experience to match their status. Even more, their graceful and elegant performance resonates deeply even when graphically intensive applications, such as live wallpapers, are enabled.

Of all the customized Android experiences out there, HTC has done a stellar job with the myTouch 4G in immersing users with their latest version of the Sense UI running on top of Android 2.2 Froyo. One of the many reasons we enjoy it is because of the numerous specific widgets that are available which essentially provide useful information, such as weather information, directly from the homescreen. Conversely, the Google Nexus S provides the latest iteration of the platform in the stock Android 2.3 Gingerbread experience. Sure it might look plain for some people, but with Android's immense personalization, there are a myriad of widgets, wallpapers, shortcuts, and folders to make both devices unique. At their core, they provide for the essentials you'd expect, but naturally, Sense just beautifies the overall appearance of Android.



With the Sense UI of the myTouch 4G, it manages to slightly improve the social networking experience with its “Friends Stream” widget that aggregates a variety of content directly on the homescreen – and without the need of launching a dedicated app. Nevertheless, you can essentially experience the same thing by downloading apps like Facebook and Twitter on the Nexus S – which offers widgets that accomplish the same tasks. However, “Friends Stream” goes further by allowing you to post a Facebook message and a Twitter post at the same time; as opposed to separately. Moreover, you can even upload a photo directly from the widget to both services simultaneously.


Primarily to its choice of keyboard offerings, the messaging experience out of the box with the T-Mobile myTouch 4G is preferred. Reason being is because it offers the awesome layout of the Sense keyboard and the swift gesture based movement of the Swype keyboard. Now even though the new stock Android keyboard found on the Google Nexus S is an improvement, it still lacks the depth of usability and speedy nature of the ones offered by the myTouch 4G. And granted that the Nexus S has more screen real-estate, it doesn't particularly equate to a more spacious layout. All in all, we'd side with the myTouch 4G any day thanks to its useful options.



Since we've got two Android powered devices, they offer the same email and Gmail experience that any casual user of the platform would expect.

Internet and Connectivity:

Web browsing fanatics will be extremely satisfied with both handsets seeing that they properly render complex web sites, offer smooth kinetic scrolling, have multi-touch gesture support for zooming, and most importantly – support for Flash Player 10.1! Obviously, there isn't much that these two devices can't do in this category, but the one ace under the sleeves of the T-Mobile myTouch 4G is its support for HSPA+ connectivity. With that, pages will load up faster so you don't miss a beat in what you're trying to look at – but it even shows off its prowess when it comes to uploading content. Without question, the T-Mobile myTouch 4G's offering with HSPA+ connectivity tremendously makes it the more captivating device.



World travelers won't need to worry with either phone since they are GSM based and will work in just about any place you travel around the world. But in those instances when you find yourself out of the grid and lacking any networking connectivity, you can opt to switch using their built-in 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi to get you speedy data speeds. In addition, you've got Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR on both smartphones that will get various wireless devices to connect to them.

Camera & Multimedia:

Employing 5-megapixel auto-focus cameras, we find the one with the myTouch 4G excelling over Nexus S. That's because photos exhibit more natural looking color tones with good white balance and sharper fine details in just about every lighting condition. Taking it indoors in low lighting environments, we again witness the same results as it proves to be the more useful handset – plus its flash illuminates shots far better; especially from a distance from 7 feet away. Sure the results with the Nexus S are respectable, but there is no arguing that the myTouch 4G stands higher in this category.

When you're at the upper echelon of the pricing spectrum, there are some must have features that are expected nowadays. And that's exactly what we find with the T-Mobile myTouch 4G with its ability to shoot in 720p – something that's blatantly missing with the Nexus S. In reality, we're only presented with DVD-like (720 x 480) video capture with the Nexus S as it shoots at the rate of 29 frames per second in good lighting. Granted that it's a higher mark than the 28fps rate of the myTouch 4G, we constantly find it too sensitive in adversely changing the white balance. In the end, we still prefer the higher-resolution output of the T-Mobile myTouch 4G – even though it might not be as good as other 720p enabled handsets out there on the market.

Google Nexus S Sample Video:



T-Mobile myTouch 4G Sample Video:



Sporting an unchanged stock Android music player, there's nothing too appealing about the music playing experience with the Google Nexus S. Nonetheless, it's still more than functional at its core, but the myTouch 4G subtly improves the presentation with its cover-flow like interface when playing songs. However, we're appalled by the screechy and painfully crackly tones emitted by the speaker on the myTouch 4G. In this case, the strong and deep tones of the Nexus S are more than appreciated – especially for the ears.



Watching high-definition videos is no problem with either Android smartphones as 720p videos play fluidly and without any jerkiness. But without question, the Super AMOLED display of the Google Nexus S easily provides the wow factor to get your eyes affixed to its radiant output. Naturally, its larger real estate and iridescent color output will be more fascinating.


Sizing up with 16GB of free storage with both handsets, it's actually in the form of a microSD card with the myTouch 4G – which is the preferred medium over the internal storage of the Nexus S. Additionally, the microSD card slot just offers the convenience of instantly sharing content with other devices.

Software:

Out of the box, the Google Nexus S comes with a variety of Google branded apps that aren't found too often pre-installed – like Google Voice, Google Latitude, and Google Earth. Now even though those specific mentioned apps aren't preloaded with the T-Mobile myTouch 4G, you can quickly pay a visit to the Android Market to get them onto the device. However, one app that we find quite useful is the Wi-Fi calling app with the myTouch 4G which enables you to receive and place voice phones calls via Wi-Fi. So if you're lacking sufficient network connection or don't have it at all, you can get this app running to keep you always connected.

Performance:

With its stellar calling quality, the Google Nexus S is the clear winner with its distinctive voices and static-free experience. In actuality, it's far better than the weak audio output with the earpiece of the myTouch 4G – which is riddled with static in the background. Additionally, the speakerphone experience is better with the Nexus S as its provides stronger and audible levels over the shrill tones emitted by the myTouch 4G.

In our findings, battery life seems to be better with the Google Nexus S as we managed to obtain 1 ½ days of normal usage – compared to the single one with the myTouch 4G. More than likely attributed to its Super AMOLED display and Android 2.3 experience, the combination aids in optimizing the battery life of the Google Nexus S.

Conclusion:

Finding themselves at the same price point of $200 on-contract, the overall performance and meaningful offerings with the T-Mobile myTouch 4G far better substantiates itself as the device with the more bang for the buck. Sure there are some impressive hardware niceties with the Nexus S that aren't found with the competition, but the things that matter the most with people are found with the the T-Mobile myTouch 4G – like its better photo taking ability, HSPA+ connectivity, and solid construction. Granted that it's one software version behind the Nexus S, there is no doubt that we'll see Android 2.3 Gingerbread grace the handset down the road as well.

Google Nexus S vs T-Mobile myTouch 4G Video Comparison: