Gadgetory

how do a Google phone and a facebook phone compare I'm Taylor Martin this is PocketNow and this is the Google Nexus 4 versus the HTC first depending on who you ask there is simply not enough stock Android devices available for purchase sure you can hack stock Android onto virtually any Android phone and even some non Android devices but that's not the point a very small fraction of Android phones ever hit shelves how Google envisioned the platform the one line of devices we all count on to always deliver the latest pure stock Android experience is the Nexus line the latest Nexus phone being the Nexus 4 of course running unadulterated Android 4.2.2 another device that isn't necessarily marketed as a stock Android device is the HTC first mainly because there are some technical alterations at play namely the HTC first is the first device to ship with Facebook home pre-installed the first in the Nexus 4 are geared towards starkly different consumer bases the first was intended for those seeking a cheap smartphone solution with an extensive Facebook experience those who don't necessarily need or want a powerful mobile phone the Nexus 4 targets the nerdiest of Android nerds the purists who want to hack and mod their phone to no end but these two devices actually have more in common than what meets the eye both the Nexus 4 and the HTC first feature exceptional build quality they're made of quality materials glass and soft touch plastic the first is notably smaller than the Nexus 4 measuring one hundred and 26 millimeters tall by 65 millimeters wide and eight point nine millimeters thick the Nexus 4 with its 4.7 inch display is 7.9 millimeters taller 3.7 millimeters wider and zero point two millimeters thicker it's also 15.1 grams heavier than the first the design of the first is the epitome of minimal it's a matte finish design with no remarkable features the sides and back are mostly bare and the face is also minimal with Facebook and HTC's own take on the typical Android button scheme three capacitive buttons a leftward arrow for back circle for home and a short line for menu the Nexus of course features on-screen buttons so its face is also fairly minimal but the plastic chrome trim around the edges Chrome buttons and speckle glass pane on the back make it a more flashy device it also has chamfered edges in the soft touch trim both fit nicely in the hand and are easily used one-handed though the Nexus 4 does call for a little more stretching to reach opposing corners as far as design and build quality concerns go the Nexus 4 and HTC first are evenly matched though we have to get the first a plus one in the durability Department as the glass on the back of the Nexus 4 has proven problematic for some we also have to take a point away from the HTC first for the awkwardly placed microUSB port smack dab in the middle of the right edge even though the Nexus 4 is often considered a high-end device a flagship if you will the specifications are fairly evenly matched as well the Nexus 4 packs a 1.5 gigahertz quad-core Snapdragon s4 pro chipset 2 gigabytes of RAM either 8 or 16 gigabytes of built-in storage an 8 megapixel camera 1.3 megapixel front facing shooter 2100 milliamp hour battery and HSPA+ connectivity the first comes with a 1.4 gigahertz dual-core Snapdragon 400 chip 1 gigabyte of RAM 16 gigabytes of fixed storage a 5 megapixel primary camera 1.6 megapixel front-facing camera 2000 million power battery and HSPA+ and AT&T LTE connectivity they also have your standard connections Bluetooth 4.0 Wi-Fi b/g/n and NFC but the Nexus 4 also has wireless charging built in with the chief standard the Nexus 4 has a leg up in horse power but the first comes with LTE onboard and its display is noticeably sharper and more vibrant the HTC first display measures 4.3 inches diagonally and hosts a 720p resolution the Nexus 4 has a 4.7 inch display with a resolution of 1280 by 768 pixels the difference in density on the first and Nexus 4 is 342 pixels per inch to 318 pixels per inch respectively but the density is only a small part of the equation the colors pop a lot more on the first Super LCD panel and it offers wider viewing angles that said the blacks on the Nexus 4 is true HD IPS plus panel are closer to true or black though both are more of a dark gray in terms of specs alone we give the edge to the Nexus 4 but make no mistake the HTC first holds its own especially for it being considered a mid-range device out of the box the software on these two devices is quite different the Nexus 4 comes with completely stock Android version 4.2.2 it gets its updates directly from Google and is promised to be among the first devices to get the latest firmware updates it comes with a traditional launcher we're all very used to by now seven pages of which can be filled with application icons folders and widgets of your choosing you can also set the wallpaper of course the HTC first comes equipped with Facebook home as the default launcher instead of the home screen being filled with applications or widgets it's filled with your Facebook newsfeed meaning the content on your home screen is in the hands of all of your Facebook friends and the pages you have liked and follow the wallpaper is either the picture associated with a friend status update or their cover photo and applications are accessed by pressing the home button or tapping in a blank area on the home screen and dragging your profile photo over the apps button from there the user to find quick access to favorite applications appears and the full application drawer is to the left beneath these Lite customizations however is a mostly pure version of stock Android not the typical since UI found almost other HTC devices as we explained in a video earlier this week you can either temporarily jump into the stock launcher by selecting the more icon at the bottom of the full app drawer or you can disable facebook home either partially or entirely you can set facebook home to appear when you take your phone out of standby as a makeshift lock screen meaning the stock launcher will appear when you press the home button or totally disable Facebook home in the Facebook home settings if you do this the software on the Nexus 4 and HTC first is nearly identical well it would have been prior to Android 4.2.2 the first runs Android 4.1.2 meaning there are some newer features missing such as the quick settings page in the notification shade lock screen widgets daydream miracast support the new camera interface with HDR mode and photosphere and gesture typing in the stock keyboard fortunately a small point update would bring the first up to speed also keep in mind that this difference affects some application support as well the first for example is not compatible with one of our favorite widgets that works just fine on the nexus 4 - clock widget and that's where the Nexus 4 truly has a software advantage over any other non Nexus Android phone it will always throughout its lifespan beyond the most current software the Nexus 4 with a quad-core CPU clearly has more power behind it but that doesn't mean the HTC first is dead in the water not by a long shot in fact out of the box the HTC first scores higher in the quadrant standard synthetic benchmarks than the Nexus 4 a 55 25 - the Nexus fours 45 53 in the end - to test however the Nexus 4 took the cake consistently scoring above 14,000 to the first 60 147 outside of benchmarks and in the real world both devices performed notably well they power through games and everyday tasks without breaking a sweat but Facebook home only HTC first has its way of bogging down the phone from time to time we spent some time with Facebook home enabled and disabled with it enabled the device legs especially when returning home after spending several minutes in an app when Facebook home disabled the phone runs just fine rarely ever sputtering battery life on the two devices is comparable as well the Nexus 4 manages just about a day of moderate usage it needs to be charged every night and if you're going to go out at night you might want to top off the battery before leaving especially on days of heavier usage the HTC first with its 2000 milliamp hour battery is about the same if not a little better we're still putting it through the test so keep an eye peeled for the full review early next week for more on the firsts battery life one major difference between these two phones is connectivity the Nexus 4 sold unlocked or by t-mobile comes with only HSPA+ connectivity the speedtest.net application doesn't work on the Nexus 4 so we tested the speeds by tethering to an external device and running a speed test and in the Charlotte metro area it managed around 4 megabits per second down and one megabit per second up the AT&T LTE equipped HTC first reached staggering speeds of 56 megabits per second down and 18 megabits per second up speeds clearly vary based on location network and signal strength but the first is clearly capable of much faster speeds than the Nexus 4 finally the cameras on these two phones are underwhelming to say the least the Nexus 4 has an 8 megapixel camera around back our own branded minimum scored the Nexus 4 camera below average in his full review in November and nothing has changed the level of detail is under par the saturation is low images appear warm and unnatural and the software is a tad clunky that said the stock Android 4.2 f/2 camera several more features than the 4.1.2 camera app and the five megapixel camera on the HTC burst is even worse than the Nexus 4 the saturation was higher and the colors were more accurate but there's a serious lack of detail in most photos it's also quick to blow out whites and anything but perfect lighting neither of these cameras are worth writing home about but they get the job done fairly well it may be easy to discredit the HTC first seeing as it's not the most powerful device to hit shelves of late but neither was the Nexus 4 even when it was brand new it's a pretty balanced fight between these two what the first lacks in power and performance it makes up for it with a better display and LTE connectivity and the Nexus 4 has an edge in RAM camera performance wireless charging and speedy updates directly from Google if you're after a stock Android phone both the first and Nexus 4 should at least be on your radar if you're not a fan of the recent trend of ultra large smartphones the HTC first may be your best bet the only true sacrifices are RAM and the camera but if you need the latest software on your phone massive development support and a little extra display real estate for some larger digits the Nexus 4 is the way to go that about does it so if you liked the video be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe and follow us in all the normal places Twitter Google+ and Facebook and pocket now stay tuned for more HTC first coverage including a full review early next week I'm sailor Martin and I'll see you next time you