Direct sunlight on Nexus one screen

[Dan C#WN]

Hi,

I'm a long time reader first time poster from the UK and I'm really happy I can order the N1 , but I'm worried about the OLED screen - particularly engadget's coment about the difficulty to view in direct sunlight. It could be a pre-production model as it seems that new OLED screens have better direct sunlight performance Samsung's Omnia II vs Nokia's N900 in direct sunlight. If anyone here has got (or when they get) the N1, could you check it out and post your thoughts here?

I've previously been really annoyed with my mp3 player which is practically unusable in any sunlight despite hardware buttons so a phone that relies on it's (beautiful) screen would be even worse.

Thanks a lot

Dan

 

[frunkiss]

I'm really interested in this also. If anyone can please post once they get their phone it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[H_D]

This is also my concern...
From ENGADGET's REVIEW:

"Oh, and using this thing in daylight? Forget about it. Like most screens of this type, the Nexus One is a nightmare to see with any kind of bright light around, and snapping photos with it on a sunny day was like taking shots with your eyes closed."

 

[TaeKwonDonkey]

Don't forget that the Engadget review was heavily biased towards the droid, well at least it was in my opinion

 

[richxps]

Same here , im intersted in this as well

 

[inrelief]

Don't forget that the Engadget review was heavily biased towards the droid, well at least it was in my opinion

Agreed, that's how it read to me as well.

 

[TGuy]

Has ne one with an N1 been able to bravely(without the security of carpet or a soft pillow) use take it outside in direct sunlight? If so whats the outcome.

 

[dtboos]

I have. Its a little harder to read than my Blackberry 9000 bold, but its really not that bad. And its brilliance in any other light / darkness more than makes up for it. Its really only bad with the sun pointed right at it, and in certain angles. But the great thing is you can turn your body, move the device a little and its all good

 

[frunkiss]

any chances of posting some photos from your Nexus on the other thread? Indoor and outdoor?

 

[dtboos]

Yah I'll be doing that here in a little bit. Shoulda taken the day off today, but such as it is I gotta work too

 

[hawonjung]

I want to test this out too but I haven't seen a sunlight past few days.

 

[Jeremy]

I've heard it's pretty bad from some other users. I personally have not had a chance to check it out. May have something to do with the AMOLED screen.

 

[dman91]

Here's a video showing the N1 in sunlight.
YouTube - Google Nexus One Android Phone - Hands-On

From what I see, it's not bad at all. Either the people who claim it sucks in sunlight have bad eyes or they just need something to degrade the N1.

 

[herki]

Looking at the video, it looks like the screen is visible at full brightness, while being in his shadow on a overcast day. But that's not too shabby really.

I'm guessing that the screen performs in sunlight just like any other OLED screen works. The lack of a backlight means that they cannot get all the way up to the brightness needed to perform truly well in direct sunlight, like some (key: some) LCD's can manage.

However, I'm sure the power savings and screen quality are sufficient tradeoffs for only being able to use their phone on cloudy days or in shadows for many people.

 

[ILoveBlythe]

i had mine in direct sunlight today, it wasnt that great but wasnt that bad either. when i say direct sunlight that is what it was, sunny, 48 deg, not many clouds at all. i could still see the screen on full bright but it wasnt as good as my iphone which i pulled out to test it against. Now this was a little unfair to the N1 as i have a screen protector on it designed for the itouch and anti-glare(cant remember the name of them right now) but they suck bad. distort the screen a little as you can tell it has a protector on it. the guys at the iphone store raved about them and said it made the ones i use on my iphone feel like cheap plastic. they we're wrong, so i'll do another test after i get another protector on it, the same as the iphone but i dont think it will fair as well. I dont think it is as bad as some are making it out to be though.

 

[billbobaggins]

Everyone here keeps calling the N1 screen as an OLED, IT IS NOT an OLED screen. It is an AMOLED screen. You owners of the phone should know that.

 

[dtboos]

AMOLED is a type of OLED screen there mr baggins.

 

[ILoveBlythe]

I changed my screen protector yesterday to pdo for the itouch and cut to fit. Not hard as you use just about the whole screen protector. Went out side and it is in my opinion not bad. The iPhone side by side is a little bit easier to see but ill give that slight bit of difference up to have this kind of picture quality.

 

[LCW]

bright direct sunlight definitely makes it tough to see the screen... i guess that's the downside of AMOLED???

this is one area that my iphone shined (shone?).... screen was always readable in the brightest of sunlight... i guess the TFT (trans-flective)...

BUT... if you crank the AMOLED to 100% it's still usable.... although battery life would suffer tremendously if using out in the sunlight for extended periods... which I don't foresee it being that huge of a problem (if it's super nice out, I won't be spending lots of time on my Nexus! )

however - in any other condition, the AMOLED blows TFT away! i had my Nexus next to a guys Moto Droid here at work yesterday... he was at like 90% brightness... I was at like 25%.... The Nexus' screen BLEW it away!! Sure the Droid's screen is a bit "smoother"... maybe call it "softer" ? But certainly looked completely washed out in comparison... it's like the Droid's screen wasn't even lit when compared to the Nexus. And AGAIN, his was at like 90% (he showed my the brightness panel). Mine was at 25%.... AMOLED (aside from in sunlight!!!) blows current LCD's away!!!

Very HAPPY with my Nexus One's screen!! SO beautiful to look at!!! lol

 

[Yahma]

I use my Nexus One in direct sunlight.. It's not bad. Certainly alot better than my old Sharp Zaurus. The AMOLED screen is gorgeous and really easy on the eyes in dim light.