Android Cup Game 2: Google Nexus One vs. Samsung Moment

Not too surprisingly, the Droid Incredible pretty much walked away with the win against the Samsung Behold II; the latter phone got just 73 votes to the Incredible’s 2,720. Will today’s match between the Google Nexus One and the Samsung Moment be more competitive, or will we see the second Samsung phone fall in as many days?

When it released the Nexus One, Google tried to mix things up, by offering it subsidized through T-Mobile for $179, or unlocked for $529 from its own site. That didn’t work out so well. Regardless, the phone itself is fantastic: it has a large 3.7-inch, 800 x 480-pixel AMOLED display and a 1-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU inside a sleek 4.6-ounce body that has a soft-touch finish. When we reviewed it, the Nexus One was running Android 2.1, but it was one of the first phones to get the Android 2.2 upgrade (a.k.a “Froyo”), which means support for Flash and the ability to use the phone as a mobile hotspot. In our hands-on testing, we found these new features worked well, too.

Compared to the Nexus One, the Samsung Moment is a bit bigger and bulkier (5.7 ounces), owing mainly to the fact that it has a slide-out keyboard. While its 3.6-inch AMOLED display is nearly as large as that on the Nexus One, it has a much lower resolution, at 480 x 320 pixels.

The Moment runs the ancient Android 1.5 OS, which means, among other things, no free Google navigation and you can only sync one account with the phone. However, Sprint Navigation comes free with the Simply Everything service plan.  As mentioned, the Moment has a full QWERTY keyboard, but since the buttons are laid out in a honeycomb fashion, we found it somewhat awkward to type on for extended periods. The Moment has Wi-Fi and 3G EV-DO Rev. A over Sprint’s network, and users can watch videos, such as the NFL Network, using the included Sprint TV. The Moment costs $99 with a 2-year contract.

So, which of these phones deserves to move on to the next round?