(Decided it warranted a new thread for others who perhaps are considering an unlocked Nexus)
As most people here now know, I went and got myself a Galaxy Nexus HSPA Unlocked to replace my iPhone 4, For others in the same boat (Or the curious) I decided to type up my impressions for all of you....
+++Positives+++
First off, the screen, Holy crap the screen, I dont really see the "newspaper" look that some people talk about, i have it set at about 50% brightness though so thats perhaps why (I HAD it at 75% but when i woke up this morning and went to check messages it practically seared my eyeballs from their sockets), Its gorgeous, its reminds me a lot of a Plasma TV actually, so long as you're in relatively normal light its holy crap fantastic, very contrasty, colors pop off the screen, Also motion is very smooth and fluid on it, I think it looks much better than the Retina display on the iPhone (And im going to get shot for that comment) In BRIGHT daylight sun then yeah, i admit, its kinda hard to see it and read it, but i still managed just fine, and to be honest, most phone displays struggle there.... Not a huge issue to me however as i just shaded the phone with my body to read it
The next thing that impressed me was how fast this thing is, Everything loads and runs VERY fast, its kicks my Eee Pad Transformer to the curb in overall snappiness, which was surprising to be honest, but definitely a good surprise, Also its been rock solid stable, havnt had a single app on the phone crash or stop working (Like happens on the transformer occasionally) Flash performance is smooth and buttery and i honestly cant say I want a quad core processor or anything
The audio quality is quite good, Im not hearing a huge difference between my iPhone 4 and my Nexus using Klipsch Image One headphones, which are pretty good cans for a mobile device, the differences im hearing are more equalization settings than an actual deficiency, Which is fine by me, if i want absolute quality thats why i have a Pioneer Elite SC-27, Polk Audio RTi-8s and Grado SR125s...
I've only made a handful of actual -phone- calls, but so far, call quality is better than the iPhone, people on the other end are nice and clear and understandable, whereas all my iphones were always a little muffled sounding at times and i strained to hear
Data speeds, Im not getting HSPA+ speed on it (Despite having the coverage in my area) probubly due to the fact i had a non-HSPA+ iPhone 4 before, so my SIM card/plan is likely not correct for it, That said, in practice my speeds are still very good, Roughly the same as my old iPhone, and when i tested it out today against my mother's 4S my Nexus actually beat it in the tests repeatedly, Despite her 4S being HSPA+ and the fact I've gotten 7.5mbps on it I was finding that most of the time, its only pulling in about 1.8-3, and my Nexus was usually a good 1mbps faster in just about every test (Using multiple servers) Actually using it, i dont really "feel" like i need to talk to ATT about getting myself setup on a HSPA+ thing either, its VERY quick online, Even loading videos takes a few seconds, So i also question if the Speedtest app is actually reporting correctly (I saw one review with the One X where the speedtest app didnt work at all despite the phone working great it reported 0mbps for some reason..so it can happen)
Signal strength is a hard thing to judge(As the iPhones meter lies), But so far, its working just as good as the iPhones, So cant really knock it, I do live in an area where there really arent any "bad" spots however... That said, i cant kill my Nexus' signal strength by holding onto it without a case, So there is that!
One of the largest surprises for me has been the camera, which most reviews trash and say is garbage, I'm not really finding that to be true, its a cell phone camera but i was honestly stunned by how good it is for a cell phone camera, Sure its not replacing my 7D but out of boredom i decided to experiment a little, Straight from the stock camera app i bring you a selection of 4 photos i shot with it
Galaxy Nexus 1 by Kenjis9965, on Flickr
Galaxy Nexus 2 by Kenjis9965, on Flickr
Galaxy Nexus 3 by Kenjis9965, on Flickr
Galaxy Nexus 4 by Kenjis9965, on Flickr
I dont call those "flat" "lifeless" and "grey" personally, They're nowhere in the same league as my 7D, but i dont think they're garbage or that the One X is necessarily -better- Beyond that, i love having face detection on the AF now, makes taking a self portrait a whole ton easier, and the fact the front camera is AF as well also adds to my enjoyment of the camera system
I love the little notification LED at the bottom of the phone to give me a visual "Hey you have a notification" thing... Thats neat!
Ergonomically, with the stock battery i loved it, it took me a bit to get used to the lock button being on the right, and at first i was constantly hitting the volume rocker, but after about an hour i stopped having any issues whatsoever, With the extended battery on it, i actually find the ergonomics improved for me personally, it gives you a nice "ledge" to grip onto and makes working with the phone even more of a joy, For me, the ergonomics are a LOT better than the iphone, it doesnt hurt my hand to hold onto it for long periods of time, and i can comfortably lounge to watch a video on it without it hurting my arm.. So yeah...
I love stock ICS so far, No desire to change it yet, works great for me, and as i said above, is far more stable than the ICS on my Transformer, So theres that... Compared to iOS i just love how it works a lot more, Who wants just a home key that does EVERYTHING when i have THREE nicely sized soft buttons that are there when i need them and disappear when i dont (Say when im watching a video) This is great as soft buttons wont stop working on you (Well, theoretically they shouldnt..) like a mechanical button would... Given my iPhone 4's home button started acting funky on me a few months ago, this is a nice reassuring thing...
The keyboard works GREAT for me, i can type a LOT quicker on it than on the iphone with fewer errors, Also the voice recognition actually recognizes my voice and i was downright impressed with how well it transcribed what i was saying, Oh, and for those who like the idea of Siri, the Nexus does basically the same tricks without the phone talking back to you from what i can tell, I can ask it for instance "Where can i get a salad" and it pulls up google and finds me restaurant listings, just like it does if i ask Siri on my mom's iPhone 4s (With the added benefit of my Nexus actually understanding me)
In terms of other software, I find the android version of Textplus superior to the iOS version so far, with neat option pop ups that let me immediately reply without even going into the program if i want, VERY cool, it also notifies me -reliably- unlike on iOS where id find iOS killed the thing on me and id have to restart it
I love QuikPic as an alternative to the stock Gallery app that lets me create folders and organize my photos nicely, Something which I didnt like on iOS (I didnt like their "albums" stuff as it really wasnt "organizing" it to me, it was more "labelling" them... I know im being weird but i like folders and stuff!)
I like the stock texting app, with the pictures of people and such in it, Really nice looking and no lag or anything if people send me like 5 texts at the same time...
Of course google chrome is awesome, loads fast, pulls up desktop sites with the touch of a button, and renders the sites beautifully... I like it a lot more than Safari, and the Youtube app is a lot nicer too...
And because its all MTP you get 13.3gb free on it, which is more than most other 16gb Android devices
----Negatives----
Music syncing is kinda an issue, I have to say the iPhone just works better here, I found Doubletwist + Airsync ($4.99) the best option for my Nexus, and while it works well, you are limited to syncing over Wi-Fi.. Which can take a while if you sync large amounts of music back and forth, Until Doubletwist adds MTP support thats pretty much the best option (Unless you like living IN DA CLOUD..) Some of my problems were just misunderstanding -how- Android organizes music compared to iOS, Overall though, it works well but its just not as intuitive or "simple" as iOS
Battery life is Decent, Dont expect iPhone-like battery life from it, and honestly, if battery life is a concern, the One X LTE, HTC EVO 4G LTE, Razr Maxx or iPhone 4S should be at the top of your list, That said, you CAN switch batteries on the Nexus, whereas the above phones do NOT have a replaceable battery, Get 2 batteries for your Nexus and you will get roughly the same life as the above, Personally? I got the Seidio Innocell 3500mah battery, while pricey, it does retain the NFC chip for Google Wallet fun, and personally i found the extra little "bump" to be a welcome feature on the phone, Its easier to hold with it for me (I dont have big hands, just hands that struggle to hold small/thin things) Overall it made my phone about as thick as my old iPhone with the Morphie Juicepack i had stuck on it....But i do understand thats not an option for some people out there
For the record, it should easily get you through a day unless you do nothing but watch video on it for hours, I pulled it out of the charger at like 1:30am and it was at 20% at about 4pm today, That was after doing a bunch of web surfing, video watching, music listening, and all sorts of other stuff on it, with the screen set at 75% brightness for most of it... So yeah...16 hours or so before it really ran down... I'm not disappointed in this performance as the big gorgeous screen is whats eating the battery up in big huge chunks, but it might affect other people so im throwing it out there
Speaking of the stock battery cover is a bit "flimsy" feeling to me, i was concerned i would break it, the Seidio one is actually nicer in my opinion and went in better... it also had a nice finish that felt nice and grippy to my hand (before i stuck it in the Seidio case i bought)
The ringer/notification volume is a little low it seems, Even with the sliders fully maxed... That said, i found it hard to hear my iphone sometimes, That said it didnt wake me up when someone texted me this morning, Thats good AND bad (since sometimes i DO want to reply to those texts) Oh well
===Conclusion===
Overall, it puts a grin on my face everytime i use it, the combination of the Nexus' still very good hardware with ICS and the guarantee of constant updates makes for a perfect combination, is it perfect? no, but for me, the negatives are very minor things I found ways to get around.. I think the last phone I had that made me this happy was the original iPhone... So thats saying something
I havnt found one thing on it that it doesnt do better than my iPhone used to, I feel its more of an upgrade than a 4S would have been (Maybe because some of the biggest problems I had with the iPhone that made me go to android are things the iPhone wont be getting... Like less reliance on ONE button for everything.. and the multitasking sucking at its job..and the fact i wanted a bigger screen)
Would I take a One X over it now? Heck, No... even if i had LTE here I dont think Id get it... What about the Galaxy S3? Nah, I think it looks a bit too... gimmicky, and I hate the look of it (as shallow as that is) Plus the fact ATT will likely heap on the bloatware when it comes to the States... Yeah.. Not really interested...
Feel free to ask questions
As most people here now know, I went and got myself a Galaxy Nexus HSPA Unlocked to replace my iPhone 4, For others in the same boat (Or the curious) I decided to type up my impressions for all of you....
+++Positives+++
First off, the screen, Holy crap the screen, I dont really see the "newspaper" look that some people talk about, i have it set at about 50% brightness though so thats perhaps why (I HAD it at 75% but when i woke up this morning and went to check messages it practically seared my eyeballs from their sockets), Its gorgeous, its reminds me a lot of a Plasma TV actually, so long as you're in relatively normal light its holy crap fantastic, very contrasty, colors pop off the screen, Also motion is very smooth and fluid on it, I think it looks much better than the Retina display on the iPhone (And im going to get shot for that comment) In BRIGHT daylight sun then yeah, i admit, its kinda hard to see it and read it, but i still managed just fine, and to be honest, most phone displays struggle there.... Not a huge issue to me however as i just shaded the phone with my body to read it
The next thing that impressed me was how fast this thing is, Everything loads and runs VERY fast, its kicks my Eee Pad Transformer to the curb in overall snappiness, which was surprising to be honest, but definitely a good surprise, Also its been rock solid stable, havnt had a single app on the phone crash or stop working (Like happens on the transformer occasionally) Flash performance is smooth and buttery and i honestly cant say I want a quad core processor or anything
The audio quality is quite good, Im not hearing a huge difference between my iPhone 4 and my Nexus using Klipsch Image One headphones, which are pretty good cans for a mobile device, the differences im hearing are more equalization settings than an actual deficiency, Which is fine by me, if i want absolute quality thats why i have a Pioneer Elite SC-27, Polk Audio RTi-8s and Grado SR125s...
I've only made a handful of actual -phone- calls, but so far, call quality is better than the iPhone, people on the other end are nice and clear and understandable, whereas all my iphones were always a little muffled sounding at times and i strained to hear
Data speeds, Im not getting HSPA+ speed on it (Despite having the coverage in my area) probubly due to the fact i had a non-HSPA+ iPhone 4 before, so my SIM card/plan is likely not correct for it, That said, in practice my speeds are still very good, Roughly the same as my old iPhone, and when i tested it out today against my mother's 4S my Nexus actually beat it in the tests repeatedly, Despite her 4S being HSPA+ and the fact I've gotten 7.5mbps on it I was finding that most of the time, its only pulling in about 1.8-3, and my Nexus was usually a good 1mbps faster in just about every test (Using multiple servers) Actually using it, i dont really "feel" like i need to talk to ATT about getting myself setup on a HSPA+ thing either, its VERY quick online, Even loading videos takes a few seconds, So i also question if the Speedtest app is actually reporting correctly (I saw one review with the One X where the speedtest app didnt work at all despite the phone working great it reported 0mbps for some reason..so it can happen)
Signal strength is a hard thing to judge(As the iPhones meter lies), But so far, its working just as good as the iPhones, So cant really knock it, I do live in an area where there really arent any "bad" spots however... That said, i cant kill my Nexus' signal strength by holding onto it without a case, So there is that!
One of the largest surprises for me has been the camera, which most reviews trash and say is garbage, I'm not really finding that to be true, its a cell phone camera but i was honestly stunned by how good it is for a cell phone camera, Sure its not replacing my 7D but out of boredom i decided to experiment a little, Straight from the stock camera app i bring you a selection of 4 photos i shot with it
Galaxy Nexus 1 by Kenjis9965, on Flickr
Galaxy Nexus 2 by Kenjis9965, on Flickr
Galaxy Nexus 3 by Kenjis9965, on Flickr
Galaxy Nexus 4 by Kenjis9965, on Flickr
I dont call those "flat" "lifeless" and "grey" personally, They're nowhere in the same league as my 7D, but i dont think they're garbage or that the One X is necessarily -better- Beyond that, i love having face detection on the AF now, makes taking a self portrait a whole ton easier, and the fact the front camera is AF as well also adds to my enjoyment of the camera system
I love the little notification LED at the bottom of the phone to give me a visual "Hey you have a notification" thing... Thats neat!
Ergonomically, with the stock battery i loved it, it took me a bit to get used to the lock button being on the right, and at first i was constantly hitting the volume rocker, but after about an hour i stopped having any issues whatsoever, With the extended battery on it, i actually find the ergonomics improved for me personally, it gives you a nice "ledge" to grip onto and makes working with the phone even more of a joy, For me, the ergonomics are a LOT better than the iphone, it doesnt hurt my hand to hold onto it for long periods of time, and i can comfortably lounge to watch a video on it without it hurting my arm.. So yeah...
I love stock ICS so far, No desire to change it yet, works great for me, and as i said above, is far more stable than the ICS on my Transformer, So theres that... Compared to iOS i just love how it works a lot more, Who wants just a home key that does EVERYTHING when i have THREE nicely sized soft buttons that are there when i need them and disappear when i dont (Say when im watching a video) This is great as soft buttons wont stop working on you (Well, theoretically they shouldnt..) like a mechanical button would... Given my iPhone 4's home button started acting funky on me a few months ago, this is a nice reassuring thing...
The keyboard works GREAT for me, i can type a LOT quicker on it than on the iphone with fewer errors, Also the voice recognition actually recognizes my voice and i was downright impressed with how well it transcribed what i was saying, Oh, and for those who like the idea of Siri, the Nexus does basically the same tricks without the phone talking back to you from what i can tell, I can ask it for instance "Where can i get a salad" and it pulls up google and finds me restaurant listings, just like it does if i ask Siri on my mom's iPhone 4s (With the added benefit of my Nexus actually understanding me)
In terms of other software, I find the android version of Textplus superior to the iOS version so far, with neat option pop ups that let me immediately reply without even going into the program if i want, VERY cool, it also notifies me -reliably- unlike on iOS where id find iOS killed the thing on me and id have to restart it
I love QuikPic as an alternative to the stock Gallery app that lets me create folders and organize my photos nicely, Something which I didnt like on iOS (I didnt like their "albums" stuff as it really wasnt "organizing" it to me, it was more "labelling" them... I know im being weird but i like folders and stuff!)
I like the stock texting app, with the pictures of people and such in it, Really nice looking and no lag or anything if people send me like 5 texts at the same time...
Of course google chrome is awesome, loads fast, pulls up desktop sites with the touch of a button, and renders the sites beautifully... I like it a lot more than Safari, and the Youtube app is a lot nicer too...
And because its all MTP you get 13.3gb free on it, which is more than most other 16gb Android devices
----Negatives----
Music syncing is kinda an issue, I have to say the iPhone just works better here, I found Doubletwist + Airsync ($4.99) the best option for my Nexus, and while it works well, you are limited to syncing over Wi-Fi.. Which can take a while if you sync large amounts of music back and forth, Until Doubletwist adds MTP support thats pretty much the best option (Unless you like living IN DA CLOUD..) Some of my problems were just misunderstanding -how- Android organizes music compared to iOS, Overall though, it works well but its just not as intuitive or "simple" as iOS
Battery life is Decent, Dont expect iPhone-like battery life from it, and honestly, if battery life is a concern, the One X LTE, HTC EVO 4G LTE, Razr Maxx or iPhone 4S should be at the top of your list, That said, you CAN switch batteries on the Nexus, whereas the above phones do NOT have a replaceable battery, Get 2 batteries for your Nexus and you will get roughly the same life as the above, Personally? I got the Seidio Innocell 3500mah battery, while pricey, it does retain the NFC chip for Google Wallet fun, and personally i found the extra little "bump" to be a welcome feature on the phone, Its easier to hold with it for me (I dont have big hands, just hands that struggle to hold small/thin things) Overall it made my phone about as thick as my old iPhone with the Morphie Juicepack i had stuck on it....But i do understand thats not an option for some people out there
For the record, it should easily get you through a day unless you do nothing but watch video on it for hours, I pulled it out of the charger at like 1:30am and it was at 20% at about 4pm today, That was after doing a bunch of web surfing, video watching, music listening, and all sorts of other stuff on it, with the screen set at 75% brightness for most of it... So yeah...16 hours or so before it really ran down... I'm not disappointed in this performance as the big gorgeous screen is whats eating the battery up in big huge chunks, but it might affect other people so im throwing it out there
Speaking of the stock battery cover is a bit "flimsy" feeling to me, i was concerned i would break it, the Seidio one is actually nicer in my opinion and went in better... it also had a nice finish that felt nice and grippy to my hand (before i stuck it in the Seidio case i bought)
The ringer/notification volume is a little low it seems, Even with the sliders fully maxed... That said, i found it hard to hear my iphone sometimes, That said it didnt wake me up when someone texted me this morning, Thats good AND bad (since sometimes i DO want to reply to those texts) Oh well
===Conclusion===
Overall, it puts a grin on my face everytime i use it, the combination of the Nexus' still very good hardware with ICS and the guarantee of constant updates makes for a perfect combination, is it perfect? no, but for me, the negatives are very minor things I found ways to get around.. I think the last phone I had that made me this happy was the original iPhone... So thats saying something
I havnt found one thing on it that it doesnt do better than my iPhone used to, I feel its more of an upgrade than a 4S would have been (Maybe because some of the biggest problems I had with the iPhone that made me go to android are things the iPhone wont be getting... Like less reliance on ONE button for everything.. and the multitasking sucking at its job..and the fact i wanted a bigger screen)
Would I take a One X over it now? Heck, No... even if i had LTE here I dont think Id get it... What about the Galaxy S3? Nah, I think it looks a bit too... gimmicky, and I hate the look of it (as shallow as that is) Plus the fact ATT will likely heap on the bloatware when it comes to the States... Yeah.. Not really interested...
Feel free to ask questions
Tsukuyomi Mk 1
(13 items) |
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Tsukuyomi Mk 1
(13 items) |
