

An Android fan's take on the Galaxy Nexus - techblock
http://www.thetechblock.com/articles/2012/an-androids-users-take-on-the-galaxy-nexus/

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ben1040
I've had a Nexus for two months now (since launch day on Verizon) and I have
only two real gripes about it. Otherwise, performance has been good, the
screen is gorgeous, and I've been happy with ICS.

The camera quality is really bad. When using the flash indoors, the colors
seem to be off by a mile. You can turn off the flash but then images are
(obviously) dark and blurry. It's disappointing because things like the zero-
shutter-lag and panorama features should make this an awesome camera phone,
but it seems like they skimped on the camera hardware. Or maybe I just have a
bum unit and I should make a warranty claim?

My other issue is the size. It seems that every flagship device (that is, one
with specs worth buying at all) on the Android platform is engaged in this
arms race for bigger and bigger screens. Frankly I think the old Nexus One and
the iPhone are the perfect size.

Apple seems to have no problem selling 3.5" screen phones like hotcakes, so I
don't know why the Android manufacturers think that the only way to sell
phones is to have giant devices.

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richworks
Screen size is a matter of personal preference. Few people like yourself fancy
small screen sizes like that of the iPhone.. but for me, 4" screens have
proven ideal and ergonomically the best of the many. Having different screen
sizes is good because it offers the consumer the choice of choosing what
he/she might feel best..

Having said that, I do agree with you on the GNexus screen size. 4.65" seems a
little over the top..

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CrazedGeek
For me, I actually think 4.65" is still a little small -- 5" would be best for
me. Much to my very slight irritation, the only 5" phone currently is the
Galaxy Note, which doesn't use T-Mobile US's 3G or 4G bands.

I do know a few people who prefer smaller screens, but it does seem that 4" is
around the sweet spot for most people.

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lazy_b
I got my galaxy nexus last week, and I am over the moon about it. Came off a
droid x, and it is just hands down awesome. The battery isn't all it could be,
might have to go after market for that, but the screen is great, ics is
finally competitive with iOS, and the fast camera is really nice for shots on
the go. (which is all you should ever use a cell phone for anyways. If you
want a real camera, BUY ONE.) it's not perfect by any means, but I couldn't
find another android device that was comparable.

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jonstjohn
I bought the Nexus One for AT&T about 2 years ago, am totally contract free,
and even grandfathered in on an unlimited data plan at AT&T. I do some develop
on Android, as well as iPhone, and have been trying to figure out what the
best Android developer phone would be to upgrade to in the next 6 months or
so. Preferably, I'd have something like the Nexus One that I can just buy
outright and plug into my unlimited data plan at AT&T even if it costs a few
more $$$. I'm pretty much underwhelmed by all the Android offerings at this
point. What are developers looking forward to in terms of contract-free
developer Android phones in the next 6 months?

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stanleydrew
An unlocked GSM Nexus S or Galaxy Nexus is really the only way to go.

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jonstjohn
I was somehow under the (mistaken?) impression that the unlocked Galaxy Nexus
would not work on AT&T or at least not work on AT&T 3G. A bit of research
suggests this is not the case.

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ben1040
This was an issue for the Nexus One and the Nexus S, but not anymore with the
Galaxy Nexus.

The Nexus S comes in two GSM versions, one that would only do 3G on T-Mobile's
AWS band, and one come in a version that would do 3G on AT&T's 3G band. The
AT&T model would only do EDGE on T-Mobile, and vice-versa. I think the AT&T
version is only sold at Best Buy:

[http://www.bestbuy.com/site/null/Google-
Nexus-S/pcmcat224600...](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/null/Google-
Nexus-S/pcmcat224600050004.c?id=pcmcat224600050004)

The GSM Galaxy Nexus has a pentaband radio and so you'll get 3G on T-Mobile or
AT&T all on the same model.

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stanleydrew
I also get 4G on T-Mobile but not sure if that will be the case on AT&T as
well.

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djhworld
It's upgrade time for me and I'm debating whether to stick with iOS or wait
out for the Galaxy S3. A lot of people have recommended the S2 but I'd prefer
to have the latest model before getting in to a contract for another 2 years

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JshWright
I'm a current Galaxy S user, with an upgrade available. I'm holding out to see
what HTC announces at MWC, and comparing that to the S3.

If HTC really does come out with a Tegra 3, LTE phone, that's gonna be hard to
pass up. Especially when you add in the HTC build quality and unlocked
bootloader advantages.

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dwyer
Let me guess: Android fan tries Nexus, doesn't like it switches to iPhone,
etc. etc.? Somehow I don't think "Android fan tries new Android phone and
likes it" would be as newsworthy.

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mdwrigh2
No, he's still using Android, he's just underwhelmed by the Galaxy Nexus.

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Symmetry
I was a bit underwhelmed too. Both because the menu button isn't always in the
same place anymore, and because the back button doesn't interact in the
expected way with the new way of switching apps.

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chimeracoder
Could you elaborate on the latter?

I'm currently on an Incredible (CM 7 - so Gingerbread), and the back button is
the third from left (home, menu, back, search), and the back button has
unpredictable functionality (depending on the application).

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Symmetry
Lets say I open up the web browser, then I use the application selector to go
to my Twitter app. If I hit back I'll go to the homescreen, rather than the
web browser. The app selection button somehow flushes out the entire back
stack, which is really, really annoying. As to unpredictability regarding
views within apps, its a bit worse but not hugely different.

~~~
chimeracoder
I'm confused - I thought they were trying to get devs to standardize that, and
that they also changed things in ICS?

The way it currently is (for me on Gingerbread) that some apps have the back
button go back to the previous view, but some go to the homescreen. And if I
(say) open a browser link in an app, the back button will take me back to the
application. (That may also be app-specific, but I just tried it out with one
app).

So what's different on the Nexus, and what part of that is ICS-specific
changes (as opposed to things that app developers have to implement
independently)?

(Apologies for the confusion, but I still haven't seen an ICS device, and I
don't develop for Android, so my knowledge of this is fairly passive, as a
consumer).

