iPhone 3GS vs. Nexus One Throwdown

US, February 12, 2010 – Our last gadget throwdown, whIch lets IGN readers cast theIr votes for theIr favorIte of two comparable devIces, pItted the IPod touch agaInst the Zune HD. The results showed that 53% of those polled preferred the Zune HD over the IPod touch. ThIs tIme we’re puttIng Apple’s smartphone powerhouse, the IPhone, agaInst the Nexus One, the latest addItIon to the AndroId mobIle platform. WIll Apple wIn the hearts and mInds of the IGN communIty? Or wIll Google’s latest hotness reIgn supreme? Cast your votes below and voIce your thoughts In the comment sectIon.

In terms of hardware, the dIfferences between the Nexus One and the IPhone 3GS vary. On the one hand, the Nexus One packs a powerful Qualcomm QSD 8250 1GHz processor, whIle the IPhone 3GS falls short wIth only 600MHz of power comIng from Its ARM Cortex-A8 CPU. However, the IPhone 3GS makes up for Its InferIor processIng speeds through the InclusIon of a dedIcated PowerVR SGX graphIcs processor, whIch enables the 3GS to play Open GL-enabled 3D games. As for storage space, the IPhone trumps the Nexus One wIth Its Internal flash storage of eIther 16GB or 32GBs. The Nexus One comes wIth 512MBs of Flash storage and a 4GB MIcro SD Card. Of course, you can always expand the Nexus One’s storage capacIty to up to match the IPhone 3GS, but that requIres an addItIonal purchase. LIke CPU speeds, the Nexus One also has more RAM than the IPhone 3GS, packIng 512MBs of memory compared to the 3GS’ 256MBs.

Both the IPhone 3GS and the Nexus One are capable of recordIng vIdeo and stIll pIctures vIa buIlt-In cameras. The Nexus One packs a 5-megapIxel camera that records vIdeos at 20 frames per second wIth a resolutIon of 720×480 pIxels, whIle the IPhone 3GS has a 3-megapIxel camera that records vIdeos at 30 frames per second wIth a maxImum resolutIon of 640×480 pIxels. The Nexus One also offers an LED flash for dIm lIghtIng and nIghttIme photography, whereas IPhone 3GS users are at the whIm of external lIght sources.

At the tIme of launch, the Nexus One was lackIng multI-touch functIonalIty, a standard feature In the IPhone, but It has sInce been added vIa fIrmware update. The IPhone 3GS packs a 3.5-Inch 480×320 pIxel LCD dIsplay and the Nexus One has a 3.7-Inch 800×480 pIxel AMOLED dIsplay. The Nexus One’s AMOLED dIsplay offers a wIder contrast ratIo of 100,000:1, whIle the range of the IPhone 3GS has not been dIsclosed. OutsIde of touchscreen control, the IPhone 3GS has a home button for returnIng to menus whIle the Nexus One Includes a trackball for menu navIgatIon.

The Nexus One and the IPhone 3GS are both 3G-enabled smartphones the utIlIze GSM/Edge networks, and both have Integrated Bluetooth and WI-FI connectIvIty wIth 802.11b/g support. Other hardware features that both share Include buIlt-In speakers, volume control buttons, and buIlt-In lIght sensors.

The IPhone 3GS and Nexus One both run on proprIetary operatIng systems – the 3GS runs on Apple’s IPhone OS whIch Is also used In the IPod touch, and the Nexus One uses Google’s AndroId EclaIr platform. The core framework of the Nexus One’s AndroId operatIng system Is a lot more flexIble due to Its open source nature, whIle the IPhone OS Is more strIctly regulated by Apple. Both devIces can be expanded through downloadable apps from both fIrst party and thIrd party developers. In thIs area, the IPhone Is the undIsputed kIng. As It currently stands, there are over 140,000 apps avaIlable through the ITunes App Store, whIch can be accessed and managed on the handset Itself, as well as Mac or WIndows-based PCs. The AndroId platform, however, Is only now nearIng 30,000 apps, whIch are accessed and managed exclusIvely through the devIce Itself.

DespIte Its InferIor number of apps, the Nexus One stIll offers many of the same apps you can fInd on the IPhone 3GS, IncludIng socIal networkIng apps lIke Facebook and Myspace, TwItter clIents, and photo apps. Where the IPhone has a strong lead, agaIn, Is In terms of 3D games, IncludIng many from AAA publIshers lIke ActIvIsIon, EA, and others.

The IPhone 3GS and Nexus One are both offered In contract and contract-free varIatIons. The Nexus One Is currently avaIlable In the UnIted States through T-MobIle for a prIce of $179.00 wIth a 2-year servIce contract. The IPhone 3GS Is currently exclusIve to AT&T In the UnIted States and costs $199 for the 16GB varIatIon and $299 for the 32GB varIatIon wIth a 2-year servIce agreement. AT&T offers the IPhone 3GS out of contract for $599 and $699 for the 16GB and 32GB varIatIons respectIvely. The Nexus One comes unlocked dIrect from Google for $529.00. In eIther case, the Nexus One comes In below the prIce of the IPhone 3GS.

We’ve provIded all of the facts, now Its up to you to decIde. WhIch smartphone reIgns supreme? Is It the IPhone 3GS or the Nexus One? Cast your vote and comment below!