3 ms·

Linus got a Nexus One

79 points by nuclear_eclipse 17y ago

datura 17y ago
oh!
ig1 17y ago
I'm surprised Google didn't send him one as a freebie
- cdibona 17y ago
  Believe me, he didn't need to buy one.
  - buro9 17y ago
    But it's a lot nicer that he did. I much prefer hearing that people were not given things to make a good review, but chose to purchase one and loved it. The latter makes me want to buy one, the former puts me off a little bit as I can't be sure that the good review is untainted by the freebie.
amichail 17y ago
I wasn't enthusiastic about buying a phone on the internet sight unseen, but the day it was reported that it finally had the pinch-to-zoom thing enabled, I decided to take the plunge. Is pinch-to-zoom really that important?
- herval 17y ago
  isn't pinch-to-zoom already available on the iphone for, like, 3 years...?
  - Jach 17y ago
    Except the iPhone doesn't run Linux, which is what Linus actually wanted.
    - cowmix 17y ago
      While the N900 is a nice phone it still requires too much screwing around for someone that wants an easy device to use. The Nexus One is that sweet spot of usability between the iPhone and the N900 and still runs the Linux kernel.
  - Locke1689 17y ago
    No need to downvote this guy into oblivion for asking a question guys.
  - bad_user 17y ago
    It is, but Apple is using patents to prevent others from using these gestures. I'm actually surprised they activated this on the Android.
- thwarted 17y ago
  Not as far as I'm concerned. Thankfully it's not the only way to zoom on the nexus, because it pretty much requires two hands to use, one to hold the phone and the other to pinch. I don't think any other function requires two hands on the nexus, although it is sometimes faster to type with two hands. (This messages was typed on my nexus).
  - scottjackson 17y ago
    On the Nexus, can you double-tap an area on a web page to zoom in to that area? That's one way of zooming in with one hand that I like on the iPhone. I'm just curious to see if Google brought that gesture to Android with the recent update.
    - riahi 17y ago
      The default zooming actions prior to the addition of multitouch zoom exactly like you describe.
- potatolicious 17y ago
  Having handled both the Android Maps app (sans pinch) and the iPhone Maps app... yes, yes it is. Hitting the "plus" and "minus" buttons work, but so does clicking on the arrows at the end of your scroll bars. To me it qualifies as barely functional, not the right solution at all.
- lg 17y ago
  It is to me. I've gotten so used to all the iphone gestures that when I have to go back to pushing buttons I get really frustrated. I can't even use a Kindle now.
- jodrellblank 17y ago
  Yes, or he's lying...
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
randallsquared 17y ago
As someone said on the comments to the blog, it seems surprising that he didn't buy a N900 instead. It's far closer to being a full Linux machine than the Nexus One.
- tumult 17y ago
  Sometimes you want a phone and not a really bad small PC.
  - holygoat 17y ago
    Apparently he didn't really want a phone: more a GPS!
  - ez77 17y ago
    I got one N900 and I don't see why it's a bad small PC, let alone a really bad one. Granted, most interesting tasks involve accessing a remote machine via ssh, but you can still toy with (for example) ipython, the shell and, in general, a good number of Debian packages. What is bad about it? (Pricing shouldn't qualify as part of the diagnosis.) If anything, I'd say it's a so-so phone =).
- michaelneale 17y ago
  I understand what you mean by a "full linux" machine - but Linus, of all people, would see GNU/Linux as being what it really is: the kernel, and nothing more. The community has wrapped lots of things around it, but really, they aren't linux. I think it is good that him and people like him still realise that. Android makes a linux phone. Period.

datura 17y ago

oh!

ig1 17y ago

I'm surprised Google didn't send him one as a freebie

cdibona 17y ago
Believe me, he didn't need to buy one.
- buro9 17y ago
  But it's a lot nicer that he did. I much prefer hearing that people were not given things to make a good review, but chose to purchase one and loved it. The latter makes me want to buy one, the former puts me off a little bit as I can't be sure that the good review is untainted by the freebie.

amichail 17y ago

I wasn't enthusiastic about buying a phone on the internet sight unseen, but the day it was reported that it finally had the pinch-to-zoom thing enabled, I decided to take the plunge. Is pinch-to-zoom really that important?

herval 17y ago
isn't pinch-to-zoom already available on the iphone for, like, 3 years...?
- Jach 17y ago
  Except the iPhone doesn't run Linux, which is what Linus actually wanted.
  - cowmix 17y ago
    While the N900 is a nice phone it still requires too much screwing around for someone that wants an easy device to use. The Nexus One is that sweet spot of usability between the iPhone and the N900 and still runs the Linux kernel.
- Locke1689 17y ago
  No need to downvote this guy into oblivion for asking a question guys.
- bad_user 17y ago
  It is, but Apple is using patents to prevent others from using these gestures. I'm actually surprised they activated this on the Android.
thwarted 17y ago
Not as far as I'm concerned. Thankfully it's not the only way to zoom on the nexus, because it pretty much requires two hands to use, one to hold the phone and the other to pinch. I don't think any other function requires two hands on the nexus, although it is sometimes faster to type with two hands. (This messages was typed on my nexus).
- scottjackson 17y ago
  On the Nexus, can you double-tap an area on a web page to zoom in to that area? That's one way of zooming in with one hand that I like on the iPhone. I'm just curious to see if Google brought that gesture to Android with the recent update.
  - riahi 17y ago
    The default zooming actions prior to the addition of multitouch zoom exactly like you describe.
potatolicious 17y ago
Having handled both the Android Maps app (sans pinch) and the iPhone Maps app... yes, yes it is. Hitting the "plus" and "minus" buttons work, but so does clicking on the arrows at the end of your scroll bars. To me it qualifies as barely functional, not the right solution at all.
lg 17y ago
It is to me. I've gotten so used to all the iphone gestures that when I have to go back to pushing buttons I get really frustrated. I can't even use a Kindle now.
jodrellblank 17y ago
Yes, or he's lying...

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

randallsquared 17y ago

As someone said on the comments to the blog, it seems surprising that he didn't buy a N900 instead. It's far closer to being a full Linux machine than the Nexus One.

tumult 17y ago
Sometimes you want a phone and not a really bad small PC.
- holygoat 17y ago
  Apparently he didn't really want a phone: more a GPS!
- ez77 17y ago
  I got one N900 and I don't see why it's a bad small PC, let alone a really bad one. Granted, most interesting tasks involve accessing a remote machine via ssh, but you can still toy with (for example) ipython, the shell and, in general, a good number of Debian packages. What is bad about it? (Pricing shouldn't qualify as part of the diagnosis.) If anything, I'd say it's a so-so phone =).
michaelneale 17y ago
I understand what you mean by a "full linux" machine - but Linus, of all people, would see GNU/Linux as being what it really is: the kernel, and nothing more. The community has wrapped lots of things around it, but really, they aren't linux. I think it is good that him and people like him still realise that. Android makes a linux phone. Period.