Android and Me » nexus one

Nexus One “too old” to be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich

Anthony Domanico — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:01:52 +0000

It seems the trusty Nexus One has made it into the legacy column. Google has confirmed what we have long suspected; the beloved Nexus One, Google’s original Nexus device, is too old to be fully and officially upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich.

Fortunately, many people who purchased the Nexus One were individuals who wanted to root their devices. Though Ice Cream Sandwich will not be officially brought to the Nexus One, we’re quite confident that Nexus One owners will see an unofficial version of Ice Cream Sandwich come to their devices.

Who out there is still using the Nexus One as your daily driver? Are you disappointed that Google couldn’t find a way to make it work, or did you largely expect this move? Any developers out there planning to port Ice Cream Sandwich to the Nexus One? Sound off below.

Tegra 2 CPU and GPU benchmarks, Motorola Atrix 4G vs LG Optimus 2X

Taylor Wimberly — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:17:32 +0000

The first dual-core Android phone has finally hit the market and more are on the way. NVIDIA promised big performance gains with their Tegra 2 system-on-a-chip (SoC), so we put two of their superphones through a series of benchmarks to see how they stacked up. Check out the results after the jump and then download the benchmarks to see how your Android phone compares.

The test lineup

We have a lot of phones laying around the A&M Labs, but we just went with six models for this round of testing. Devices we tested include both the Tegra 2 phones that are currently available (Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X), both phones with Android 2.3 (Nexus S and Nexus One), the T-Mobile G2, and the popular Motorola Droid.

Each device was given a clean reboot before testing and they are all running unmodified, stock versions of Android. An active WiFi connection was turned on to simulate real-world experience.

Neocore

About: Neocore is an OpenGL-ES 1.1 graphics performance benchmark for Android devices. It shows off some of the techniques that are possible on accelerated platforms such as 1-pass light maps and bump mapping. [Download]

Neocore is one of the oldest GPU benchmarks and measures OpenGL ES 1.1 performance. The LG Optimus 2X easily came out on top with a score of 77.2 frames per second. The Motorola Atrix 4G fell behind in this test because it has the highest resolution (960 x540), which means it has to process the most pixels and do more work.

Nenamark1

About: Set your GPU on fire with NenaMark, an OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark! NenaMark is a benchmark/demo of OpenGL ES 2.0, using programmable shaders for graphical effects such as reflections, dynamic shadows, parametric surfaces, particles and different light models to push the GPU to its limits. [Download]

Nenamark1 is another popular benchmark that has been around awhile which measures OpenGL ES 2.0 performance. The Optimus 2X once again smokes the competition and is followed by the Nexus S.

Smartbench 2011

About: Smartbench 2011 is a multi-core friendly benchmark application that measures the overall performance of your smartphone. It reports both Productivity and Games Index to suit both productivity users and 3D gaming users. [Download]

Smartbench 2011 is a new benchmark that has been updated to be multi-core friendly. Note that the Tegra 2 offers about 3x the productivity performance over all the single core phones. In the games score, the Optimus 2X is once again the leader.

GLBenchmark 2.0.3

About: GLBenchmark 2.0 has been designed from the ground up to demonstrate and measure the true potential of OpenGL ES 2.0 Hardware. The built-in shader code (GLSL) generator enables real-time performance tuning and de-compositing. This is an in-valuable feature for OpenGL ES 2.0 Hardware vendors and Handset manufacturers. [Download]

No surprises here. The Optimus 2X leads the competition when it comes to GPU performance. The Nexus S is able to once again eclipse the Atrix 4G thanks to its lower display resolution.

Linpack

About: Speed test your Android device and ROM with this standard CPU benchmark. Check the speed of your Android device and compare it to other Android devices. Results in millions of floating point operations per second (MFLOPS). Save results or post to the website to beat the best times. [Download]

In Linpack we see no performance advantages for the Tegra 2 devices. This test does not appear to be multi-threaded and all the 1 GHz cores perform about the same. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips generally perform well in this test thanks to their FPU (SIMD/NEON/VFP) instructions. The real world performance between a G2 and Nexus S is pretty similar, so I’m not sure how relevant this test really is.

Sunspider Javascript 0.9.1

About: This benchmark tests the core JavaScript language only, not the DOM or other browser APIs. It is designed to compare different versions of the same browser, and different browsers to each other. This test mostly avoids microbenchmarks, and tries to focus on the kinds of actual problems developers solve with JavaScript today, and the problems they may want to tackle in the future as the language gets faster. This includes tests to generate a tagcloud from JSON input, a 3D raytracer, cryptography tests, code decompression, and many more examples. [Download]

Both the Tegra 2 devices lead the pack in Javascript performance.

Conclusions

Benchmarks are not the end-all, be-all of real-world performance, but they can help us measure how different platforms stack up. It is really hard to provide an apples-to-apples comparison of the GPU performance since there are so many different display resolutions, but we can see that the GeForce GPU inside the Tegra 2 offers the fastest performance for what’s currently available on the market.

In the couple of weeks that I have spent with both Tegra 2 phones, I can say they generally feel much faster than the single-core competition. Not many apps are optimized to take full advantage of multi-core processors, but there is definitely a noticeable difference in the overall responsiveness of Tegra 2 devices when multiple apps are running.

Even though the LG Optimus 2X has half the RAM of the Atrix 4G, it easily out-performs the competition in GPU benchmarks thanks to its lower resolution. The qHD resolution of the Atrix 4G is a nice spec to have, but there is a performance hit in most games since the GPU has to do more.

We can clearly see the performance gains of Tegra 2 in benchmarks that are multi-threaded like Smartbench 2011. This should be a good indication of what Tegra users can expect in the future as the Android OS and applications are optimized to take full advantage of dual-core processors.

For everyday use, the Nexus S can still hold its own against newer dual-core phones. I expect the Nexus S will continue to be competitive for the rest of 2011 thanks to it always having the latest version of Android. Look for Tegra 2 (and other dual-core CPUs) to take the lead in the second half of this year as the software catches up to the hardware.

Update your Nexus One to Android 2.2.2

Taylor Wimberly — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:51:24 +0000

Today Google started pushing out an update for the Nexus One that brings the firmware up to 2.2.2. The file is only about 550 KB big and the build number goes from FRG83D to FRG83G, so all signs point to this being a minor update. I haven’t seen the release notes yet, but the update is said to fix the SMS bug that has received a lot of attention lately.

You can wait for the update to hit your phone over-the-air, or you can download it from Google and manually install it now.

To manually install Android 2.2.2 on the Nexus One, perform the following steps:

Download the update file from Google’s server: FRG83G-from-FRG83D
Copy the file to the root directory (aka not inside any folder) of your microSD card and name it update.zip Tip: Be careful not to name it update.zip.zip
Power off your phone.
Hold down the VOLUME DOWN button and power it back on.
Wait for your phone to load the skating Androids screen. Scroll down to recovery and press the POWER button.
When you see the “/!\” symbol, press the POWER button and the VOLUME UP button at the same time. You should be presented with a menu and one of the options should be “apply sdcard:update.zip”.
Use the trackball to navigate to “apply sdcard:update.zip” and select it.
When you see “Install from sdcard complete”, select “reboot system now”.

The whole process takes about five minutes and I did not encounter any issues when I flashed it on my phone. If you run into any problems, just leave a comment and we will try to help out.

Unfortunately, there is nothing new to report on the Android 2.3 update that should be starting soon.

Android 2.3 update for Google’s Nexus One “should be starting soon” [maybe]

Taylor Wimberly — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 01:34:34 +0000

Most people who own a Nexus One assumed they would have Android 2.3 running on their phone by now. Google employees began tweeting back in December that an over-the-air(OTA) update should arrive in the coming weeks and the official @GoogleNexus account also tweeted that message as recent as January 4th.

When Google released the source code for Android 2.2, an OTA update for the Nexus One was available just six days later. The source code for Android 2.3 was released on December 17th and now a month later people are still patiently waiting.

Now JR Raphael of Computerwold reports that a Google representative told him “there have been no unexpected hurdles and that the rollout should be starting soon.” I just checked our vault and this is the fourth story we have run that says the Nexus One 2.3 update is “coming soon” so I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting.

Even though Google claims there have been no unexpected hurdles, I have to wonder if the random reboot bug found in the Nexus S could be the source of the delay. The Nexus S is the only device that is currently shipping with Android 2.3 and comments from Google suggest that the bug is software based and will be fixed with a future OTA update.

Hopefully Nexus One owners should not have to wait that much longer. There are quite a few custom Android 2.3 ROMs already available, but I know many people just want the stock build from Google.

How much longer do you think it will be before Google pushes out the official 2.3 update?

Nexus S GPU benchmarks, significant improvements over Nexus One

Taylor Wimberly — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:33:01 +0000

Do smartphone benchmarks even matter? A lot of people would say “Nope” and I would agree with some, but we still like to run them every time a new version of Android is released or when a new processor hits the market. This last week Google launched the Nexus S with Android 2.3, so we ran it through some GPU benchmarks to see how it stacked up. Results are after the jump.

GLBenchmark 2.0

After several months in testing, GLBenchmark 2.0 is finally available for anyone to download. This benchmark suite contains over 30 tests to measure OpenGL ES 2.0 performance. We ran the Egypt and PRO tests (no FSAA) and the results were about what we expected.

The Nexus S offers the same performance as the Epic 4G (Galaxy S) because they are both based off the same Samsung Hummingbird processor, which features the PowerVR SGX540 GPU.

Note the huge performance increase of the Galaxy S phones over the original Nexus One. The first-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon found in the Nexus One is beginning to show its age and we have found that its Adreno 200 GPU is not able to keep up with most of the newer 3D games.

An3DBench

Next we ran An3DBench which is freely available in the Android Market. It runs a series of seven tests (from fill rate to complex scenes), then spits out a composite score at the end. The Nexus S came out on top, just in front of the Epic 4G.

3D Mark Mobile

We have tried 3DMarkMobile produced by Rightware in the past, but they just sent us a new build so we thought we should check it out. The scores we got this time were a lot different from last time and I’m not sure how reliable it is. The 3DMarkMobile benchmark is not publicly available, so I’m not sure if we will continue to keep using it.

This time the G2 with its 800 MHz second-gen Snapdragon and Adreno 205 GPU came out on top in the Taijii test and it was competitive in the Hoverjet test. The G2 normally falls behind the Galaxy S phones in other benchmarks, so I have no idea why it performs well in this one test.

For some reason the Nexus S actually scored lower than the Epic 4G, so you can see why I am hesitant to trust this benchmark yet.

Conclusions

When it comes to 3D games, I have not noticed any real difference in performance between the Nexus S and other Galaxy S phones. The PowerVR SGX540 is still the fastest GPU we have tested and it will continue to hold that belt until early next year when the first multi-core processors arrive.

If you go grab the GLBenchmark 2.0, please share your results for the Egypt and Pro tests (no FSAA) in the comments below.

Nexus One update to Android 2.3 still happening in the coming weeks

Taylor Wimberly — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:37:16 +0000

Several of us expected the Nexus One would receive an update to Android 2.3 by now, but Google is still working on the latest release and just tweeted that it should be available “in the coming weeks”. If you are really impatient several cooked Gingerbread ROMS are available, but most are half-baked and still missing some features.

Some have speculated that Samsung had some kind of exclusive window on the release of Android 2.3 with the Nexus S, but it sounds like Google just needs the extra time to properly test it on the Nexus One to make sure it is a quality release. I’ve been using the Nexus S for almost a week now and I have experienced several force close errors with some of the native apps, so there are definitely some bugs left that the Android team needs to squash.

If you have a Nexus One, all you can do right now is hang tight and wait for the official release. When you consider most Galaxy S owners have been waiting over 6 months for an Android 2.2 update, a couple more weeks doesn’t sound that bad.

Android 2.3 coming to the Nexus One in the next few weeks

Taylor Wimberly — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:33:01 +0000

Several reports came in this morning that Android 2.3 was rolling out to the Nexus One when Google released the SDK, but it appears those stories jumped the gun a little. Android Developer Advocate at Google, Reto Meier, just tweeted that an over the air update to Android 2.3 for the Nexus One “should be coming in a few weeks.” If we had to pick a time for the OTA update, it sounds like December 16th might be a date you would want to circle.

Is Gingerbread Android 2.3 coming in the next few days?

Taylor Wimberly — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:30:25 +0000

The “Nexus Two” might have been delayed, but there is still a possibility that some lucky users might receive Android 2.3 this week. Our friends from Android Police spotted a tweet from an Open Handset Alliance member that suggest Google could release the next version of Android soon.

Translated from Spanish – the tweet from Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez reads, “Prepare your Nexus One (Developer version) for Android OTA update 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the next few days :-D.”

We last expected Samsung’s Nexus phone to be the first device with Gingerbread, but we heard that Google has Android 2.3 builds for most of the stock Android phones (Droid 1, Nexus One, myTouch, etc.) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they went ahead and released it without waiting on Samsung.

Over the weekend I contacted Google to see if there were any Android-related press events this week and their response was that nothing is planned. Google normally holds some type of gathering to tout their new Android features, so either this is a silent launch or the above tweeter got a little anxious and spilled the beans early.

Phil Nickinson from Android Central also posted over the weekend that Adobe has scheduled an update to Flash Player 10.1 for November 9th to ensure it works with “future OS updates”. We recently found that Google Maps was also updated to work with Gingerbread, so clearly the actual release is looming.

What do you think Google will do? Will they wait on Samsung and the “Nexus Two” to launch Android 2.3? Or will they go ahead and push it out to existing devices this week?

Android 2.2.1 hits the Nexus One, manually install it now

Taylor Wimberly — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 03:13:12 +0000

A new over the air update starting rolling out to the Nexus One and if you are impatient of waiting (like me) you can manually install it now. The build number is FRG83 and it updates the firmware version to Android 2.2.1. The file size is only 3.9 MB so it appears this is a minor update.

Details on the changes are limited at this point, but it has been reported that it patches the vulnerability that allows Universal Androot to work. Several users with alternative keyboards have reported some issues, but a simple reinstall of the keyboard app appears to resolve all problems.

This update is only intended for those running the latest stock version of Android 2.2 (build FRF91). If you have a hacked ROM installed, then please consult your ROM author and see if they have issued their own update.

To manually install Android 2.2.1 on the Nexus One, perform the following steps:

Download the official Android 2.2.1 firmware for the Nexus One from Google’s server here.
Copy the file to the root directory (aka not inside any folder) of your microSD card and name it update.zip (newb warning: not update.zip.zip)
Power off your phone.
Hold down the VOLUME DOWN button and power it back on.
Wait for your phone to load the skating Androids screen. Scroll down to recovery and press the POWER button.
When you see the “/!\” symbol, press the POWER button and the VOLUME UP button at the same time. You should be presented with a menu and one of the options should be “Apply sdcard:update.zip”.
Use the trackball to navigate to “apply sdcard:update.zip” and select it.
When you see “Install from sdcard complete”, select “reboot system now”.

Enjoy and once you’ve had a chance to play with it for awhile let us know what you think. I installed it on my T-Mobile Nexus One in about 10 minutes and have not experienced any issues so far. I’ve read that users in other countries have also received this update so it should be good for any Nexus One model that is running Android 2.2, build FRF91.

Developers buy out remaining Nexus One stock

Clark Wimberly — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:46:45 +0000

Some sad news today from the Android Developers Blog: the Nexus One is out of stock. We’ve known for some time that the supply for the general public had run dry, but the blow was alleviated by the fact that the phone would continue to be available to developers.

Well, that was the plan, at least.

A couple of weeks ago, we arranged that registered developers could buy an unlocked Nexus One via their publisher page in Android Market. We think it’s a good development platform and a nice phone. Apparently, you agree. Somewhat too many of you, in fact; we blew through the (substantial) initial inventory in almost no time, and they’re back-ordered from HTC, who are doing a pretty good job of managing runaway success amid a worldwide AMOLED shortage. Everyone appreciates that it’s important to the platform to get phones in the hands of developers, so we’re working hard on re-stocking the shelves; stand by.Tim BrayAndroid Developers Blog

Hopefully they’ll be able to get their hands on another batch and meet the demand but with screen shortages and a new phone coming out every few weeks there’s no telling how long we could be waiting.

It’s Friday, boys. Pour one out for the best phone your friends have never heard of.