We gave the screen on the iPhone 4 the gong over the Google Nexus S because of its retina-searing sharpness and clarity, and now the boffins in the CNET US lab have gone and backed us up with some proper science-y measurements.
Our amusingly accented cousins from across the pond strapped on their stars-and-stripes lab coats and subjected the iPhone 4, the Nexus S and the HTC HD7 to a battery of display tests.
First, they measured the screens' maximum brightness, the blackness of the blacks, and the contrast ratio using a chromameter. In this test, the iPhone 4 blew away its competition with its brightness, but the blackness on the Nexus S was as dark as the heart of a black hole with the lights turned off and one of those aeroplane sleepy masks on.
Once its lab rats' pupils recovered, CNET used test patterns to reveal jaggies, pixellation, jankiness and other image problems with names we didn't make up. The patterns included colour scales, gradients of colour, and fonts of various tones. The iPhone 4 impressed again, although it struggled to display the darkest colours. The Nexus S had problems displaying accurate greys and smooth gradients, but came out on top for displaying text without any blur.
But, as Marie Curie said, "A scientist in his laboratory is not a mere technician: he is also a child confronting natural phenomena that impress him as though they were fairy tales." Word up, Marie. So the next test was eyeballing a photo of a Coca-Cola can next to the real thing and playing a bit of Raging Thunder 2. This revealed the HD7's washed-out colour, while the Nexus S was deemed to be oversaturated.
Overall, the iPhone 4 was the screen battle's winner, with the HD7 and the Nexus S in hot pursuit. If you're keen to read all the details of how the phones were tested, we recommend you pop over to CNET US.
Of course, the screen is only one factor is how you choose a phone, so be sure to read our full reviews to get the whole picture.
Photo credit: Eric Franklin/CNET.com
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Comments 12
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Dean Shepherd 23 December, 2010 19:23
wow...and the point Cnet for this WAS??
we already knew when the iphone came out that nothing was gonna come close to it...hell the 1024x768 resolution LG phone next year still wont match it in terms of DPI so iphone will still have that...why do we keep having this kinda "oh look...iphone beats something yet again" kinda stuff.....who cares?!?!....it still fails as a phone...the primary means of what its for..
the point Cnet here is why these pointless show downs and 'science like' tests....just review the phones with opinions rather than pointless "iphone beats everything" mentality all the time...
neilalexander 23 December, 2010 20:33
Dear CNET,
We get it, you guys like iPhones. You seem to like iPhones to the point where it doesn't feel like a single week goes by where you haven't posted a new article comparing a new device with the iPhone, but seriously, the iPhone is NOT a benchmark for how a smartphone should be, and frankly I have grown tired of constantly reading articles where every new device gets slammed for not being an iPhone.
I mean, honestly, I really don't care that the iPhone's screen is a few cd/m2 brighter than the Nexus S or the HD7, because the Nexus S and HD7 are undisputedly better phones for anyone who actually values freedom, consumer choice or usability.
Please go back to reporting real tech news.
Yours,
Faithful reader.
anonymous 23 December, 2010 22:18
iphone cnet fanboys club strikes again.
really, don't you think this record is stuck, about time you talked about something new and interesting?
Anonymous 24 December, 2010 01:29
Apple's competitors still haven't managed to unseat the iPod. What hope do they realistically have of bettering the iPhone?
Apple are just too far ahead now. The rest of the industry can only copy what Apple have already released. But Apple have stuff in their labs the photocopy-boys can't even imagine.
Anonymous 24 December, 2010 10:18
funny thing is most phones had "applications" that came with their phones, basic ones but good-ish. steve jobs must have had the same frustrations as me when he went to buy further apps to find. 1. they were all silly expensive, 2. hard to find, 3. rubbish but with potential. always good to have a multi billion company to carry out ones ideas!! i just cant believe how quickly we went from Nokia and Sony Ericsson battling it out for smartphone supremacy to today, anyone remember the p800 and p900? amazing phones but no vision on developing them, shame.
Anonymous 25 December, 2010 04:14
Iphone is a gadget and not a smartphone. Why is a smartphone can't message to more than one users and you need to message one by one. You also can't delete select entry in your call log. You can't remove your battery on an iphone. You can't play flash in an iphone. So many restriction and you can it a gadget but how you can it a smartphone if they don't even do simple features mention above.
Anonymous 26 December, 2010 21:43
Yes yes yes.... another page of unnecessary drivel from cnet... i mean, seriously, have you guys run out of serious and important stuff to report? Ooh look.. the iphone4 ... ooh its still shiny.... ooh it still beats the crap out of other phones..... Please spare us from drilling your love for iphone down our brain.... please??
Anonymous 28 December, 2010 20:53
It seems the screen is the only thing good in Iphone 4. It can't make calls properly, lacks flash, wouldn't play different music formats, seriously why is it a smartphone? And don't tell me about facetime because Nokia phones have been making video calls since I can remember. I have a blackberry but I crave HTC Desire HD even in my dreams (just that am tied to one danm contract!), the irony is, I never liked touchscreens untill now. So enough with the Iphone crap, give me a smartphone that is intelligent and complete too....HTC Desire HD!!
billfred 29 December, 2010 17:00
Well put last anon.
Anonymous 29 December, 2010 18:15
I always wondered if the screen on the iPhone or the HD was better - now I know. I'm surprised there was no mention of the iPhone's reception problems or the war in Afghanistan tho.
Anonymous 31 December, 2010 11:06
I agree with the majority of the comments above please please please stop this rubbish iphone this iphone that,oh I have bought a new pair of shoes but their not as shiny as the iphone shame.People might think your on apple's payroll and be totally honest as a proper smartphone its not that good,or compare the screen to a samsung super amoled screen then see how good it is.And I've seen em both side by side the super amoled is much better period.
Anonymous 3 January, 2011 19:03
i was once a nokia supporter and was waiting for them to come up with the goods. still waiting and now lost my faith in them. android phones are good but and the end of the day the iphone4 beats them all as a cool gadget an not just a phone. those of you who are complaining about cnet being biased towards iphone are misguided cos there is nothing else out there that beats it in most areas. by the way you can send multiple texts or emails.