A quick review of the Galaxy Nexus

[donnation]

I picked up the unlocked GSM version a few days ago and have been playing with it for the past couple of days. There are some things I really like about it and some things that I really hate.

Like:
Big Beautiful Screen
Ice Cream Sandwich is a big improvement (although it still has a ways to go).

Fast phone (although it can still lag)

Improved browser (renders pages very well and is very fast over WiFi and 3G).

Hardware wise its a little plastic but feels very solid in the hands

Nice status light - This has been left out by Samsung (or Google) and its nice to see it return.


Dislikes
Android out of the box is still a mess even with ICS and needs a lot of customization to make it look good (this for some is a plus I know, but I get tired of going through the endless customizations just to get icons to be the same size). That and there are endless menu's and submenu's to click through which I guess some people won't mind but to me its tedious.

Volume is AWFUL. Both handset volume and speakerphone volume are terrible. Samsung might as well have just said "we don't want you talking on this phone just texting" because the volume is seriously that bad. The earpiece is tinny and quiet and the speakerphone is unusable. These are two deal breakers for me as I still do talk on the phone.

The Camera is absolutely terrible. For a flagship phone the camera is an embarrassment. You have to have perfect light or the camera is awful. It looks like a camera from 2009 and not a flagship phone in 2011.

That's just my 2 cents. In my opinion the Nexus is not as good a phone as the Galaxy SII and is behind it in every category. To me the Nexus is a decent Android phone with ICS on it and that is the only reason that it should be considered. I would definitely not recommend it to anyone that is currently happy with their Android phone or is thinking of jumping ship from another platform thinking that this phone is worth the switch.

[cbreze]

I agree the speaker and ear piece volumes are really bad, tinny and low. I wouldn't get it just for this reason, but have become quite spoiled by my casio's c771 dual speakers.
The set up is pure android and it does take some work to get it where it needs to be, but once there everything I need is very easy to get to. Just that speaker thing...arrgh!
The build quality tho is something I expect to be very good if I'm shelling out that kind of coin. It was a massive fail for me. I'm keeping my Casio.

[Rickroller]

You did realize that the Nexus is bare bones Android right? The Nexus is designed for the "tedious" customization you dislike.. The amount of dev support this phone has already is impressive..and i'm pretty sure there has already been a sound fix issued (as well as an app for a work around). I havent really heard other complaints about the camera tbh..so maybe its just yours?

I'm curious to know how Android ICS is still a mess? It seems pretty straight forward to me..and of all the reviews i've read everyone seems to rave about it.

[howarmat]

The camera isnt as good as my incredibles was. That was by far the best camera on a phone i have had ever. The nexus is on par with my thunderbolt which i consider acceptable. i was hoping for more but they seemed to have taken the same route as RIM almost with the zero shutter stuff.

Like mentioned its pure android with no skin really. The "icons" should all be the same size. You might have widgets mistaken for "icons" im not sure. Might need to post a screenie. Making it your own is part of what android is about and especially this phone being pure android. For someone starting out i can see it being a pain perhaps but for most who have been running an android its very quick. I can go from complete wipe to all my apps restored via titanium backup and homescreens setup again in about 25-30 minutes

Volume+ from the market helps with the notifications and such if its not loud enough for you. With my ringtones and such i honestly dont need it though. Its loud enough for me. Call volume and quality is OK, i wont say its perfect though.

ICS to me is a huge step forward. It ties up alot of what people nitpicked about before with previous android versions. There is always room to get better though and I hope they keep going with what ICS started

[donnation]

Originally Posted by Rickroller

You did realize that the Nexus is bare bones Android right? The Nexus is designed for the "tedious" customization you dislike.. The amount of dev support this phone has already is impressive..and i'm pretty sure there has already been a sound fix issued (as well as an app for a work around). I havent really heard other complaints about the camera tbh..so maybe its just yours?

I'm curious to know how Android ICS is still a mess? It seems pretty straight forward to me..and of all the reviews i've read everyone seems to rave about it.

Yes, I do realize that and really that is just an issue I have with Android. Don't get me wrong, I like customization, but for me I would at least like the icons to be the same size without having to change them myself.

There isn't a sound fix that has been issued and yes I've tried Volume+ but it really doesn't help all that much (An expensive phone like this shouldn't need an app to make the phone volume usable).

I shouldn't have said ICS was a mess, and I do think its a big improvement over Gingerbread but to me there are still too many menu's and submenu's to get to where you want to go. Again that is just my opinion on ICS and I'm sure that others would disagree.

The Nexus to me is a phone that Samsung really didn't hit it out of the park with but instead just made it mediocre enough to slap ICS on it and label it a "Pure Google" phone.

[darreno1]

Originally Posted by donnation

Yes, I do realize that and really that is just an issue I have with Android. Don't get me wrong, I like customization, but for me I would at least like the icons to be the same size without having to change them myself.

The icons ARE the same size. I'm not sure what you are referring to. Only the widgets are bigger and can be resized. You don't want widgets too small either as it defeats the purpose.

There isn't a sound fix that has been issued and yes I've tried Volume+ but it really doesn't help all that much (An expensive phone like this shouldn't need an app to make the phone volume usable).

The earpiece and ring volumes are not bad, however for me it's the speakerphone / media volumes that seem a little too low. Volume+ helps a bit but you are right, it can only do so much. I suspect a software update is the works. As for clarity, some calls can be a little tinny but the majority are crystal clear. Also remember, signal quality can affect the voice quality.

I shouldn't have said ICS was a mess, and I do think its a big improvement over Gingerbread but to me there are still too many menu's and submenu's to get to where you want to go. Again that is just my opinion on ICS and I'm sure that others would disagree.

I'm not finding this to be true. Settings are just a swipe away and you can have the power widget right on the home screen if so desired. You can also create folders:

Ice Cream Sandwich: Creating folders in the Launcher Dock - YouTube



As for the camera. I agree, it's not up to par with the likes of the SG2 however my advice is to forget about shooting right away and take more time to focus (touch and hold the screen) then shoot (holding very steady). I've found the pictures to be much more consistent and sharp that way. With lots of light, instant shutter is fine, but in low light it's not the best.

Also you can try camera360 from the market. It seems to do a better job with the pics and has more features than the stock app.

[xliderider]

OP, I see in your profile that you have AT&T and Verizon as your carriers. Why did you opt to get the unlocked GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus vs. the LTE version?

[donnation]

Originally Posted by xliderider

OP, I see in your profile that you have AT&T and Verizon as your carriers. Why did you opt to get the unlocked GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus vs. the LTE version?

I use a company issued Blackberry for work with Verizon but my personal line is through AT&T. We aren't allowed to choose at work (except which Blackberry we want to use) or I would have definitely at least tried the LTE Nexus.

[donnation]

Originally Posted by darreno1

The icons ARE the same size. I'm not sure what you are referring to. Only the widgets are bigger and can be resized. You don't want widgets too small either as it defeats the purpose.



The earpiece and ring volumes are not bad, however for me it's the speakerphone / media volumes that seem a little too low. Volume+ helps a bit but you are right, it can only do so much. I suspect a software update is the works. As for clarity, some calls can be a little tinny but the majority are crystal clear. Also remember, signal quality can affect the voice quality.



I'm not finding this to be true. Settings are just a swipe away and you can have the power widget right on the home screen if so desired. You can also create folders:

Ice Cream Sandwich: Creating folders in the Launcher Dock - YouTube



As for the camera. I agree, it's not up to par with the likes of the SG2 however my advice is to forget about shooting right away and take more time to focus (touch and hold the screen) then shoot (holding very steady). I've found the pictures to be much more consistent and sharp that way. With lots of light, instant shutter is fine, but in low light it's not the best.

Also you can try camera360 from the market. It seems to do a better job with the pics and has more features than the stock app.

The icons are not the same size. They are not a uniform size like they are in iOS, and that drives me crazy. Example: The stock gallery app is smaller than the stock camera app. I know you can skin them to make them all a uniform size but it just bugs me you have to do that out of the box (again, I know that this is one of the things Android users love and I have owned several Android phones with the current ones being the SGII and the Nexus).

I think you're being too kind with the volume. It is way to quiet on notifications, handset calls, and especially speakerphone. I hope a software update addresses this but as it stands the phone is almost unusable as an actual cellphone for talking not to mention hearing notifications.

I am very familiar with ICS. I guess I was just expecting more out of it since it was being so highly touted. But the same can be said for iOS whereas I don't think the jump from 4 to 5 was anything major either.

Those are just my opinions of the phone. If it were me I would still recommend the Galaxy SII over the Nexus as in my opinion it is a much better all around device. When it gets ICS it will be head and shoulders above the Nexus.

[howarmat]

ok so you mean the icons dont have backgrounds thus they are not all the same size. to me since the icon txt all line up and they are set to a grid pattern of 4x4 (google search bar omitted) they are the same size. But i agree the can be different sizes the way you look at them

[darreno1]

Originally Posted by donnation

The icons are not the same size. They are not a uniform size like they are in iOS, and that drives me crazy. Example: The stock gallery app is smaller than the stock camera app. I know you can skin them to make them all a uniform size but it just bugs me you have to do that out of the box (again, I know that this is one of the things Android users love and I have owned several Android phones with the current ones being the SGII and the Nexus).

The icons all take up the same amount of space, but like howarmat said, the visible part(s) all don't fill the complete grid. I don't know, maybe you have some OCD issues because it doesn't bug me in the least and to me honest, I prefer it that way to the boring IOS grid look. It's subjective and is not really an OS problem. To each his own I guess.

I think you're being too kind with the volume. It is way to quiet on notifications, handset calls, and especially speakerphone. I hope a software update addresses this but as it stands the phone is almost unusable as an actual cellphone for talking not to mention hearing notifications.

Yes it could be louder but it's certainly usable, for me at least. I'm sure it will be addressed.

Those are just my opinions of the phone. If it were me I would still recommend the Galaxy SII over the Nexus as in my opinion it is a much better all around device. When it gets ICS it will be head and shoulders above the Nexus.

The SG2 is a great device. You won't get an argument for me there, but the fact that it's not a Nexus, will have touchwiz unless rooted and will take longer to get updates were some of the main reasons I steered clear. The other thing was it lacked a notification LED, something I depend on quite a bit.

[donnation]

Originally Posted by howarmat

ok so you mean the icons dont have backgrounds thus they are not all the same size. to me since the icon txt all line up and they are set to a grid pattern of 4x4 (google search bar omitted) they are the same size. But i agree the can be different sizes the way you look at them

Yeah, that's what I meant. It just bugs me that you can have an icon for one app at a certain size and then another app that is much smaller on the screen for another app. This probably doesn't but most people but I like the icons to be one size (which I know you can change using launchers.)

[bigtime2]

OP, how is the notification light?

I don't know if you had Nexus One but is it something like it was on Nexus One? I've read a bunch of reviews and no one mentioned anything about that.

[xliderider]

The notification LED is good, especially if you use an app like Lightflow to control it.

[TurboTiger]

Originally Posted by donnation

Yeah, that's what I meant. It just bugs me that you can have an icon for one app at a certain size and then another app that is much smaller on the screen for another app. This probably doesn't but most people but I like the icons to be one size (which I know you can change using launchers.)

donnation,

Anyway you can post a screen shot of the icons so we can see what you're talking about?

TIA