For those that left the SGS2 for the SGN.... - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Thoughts? Regrets? I'm on the fence, and I can't find any threads anywhere with someone is talking about making the switch.
I would love to see an XDA user that went from SGS2-SGN post thoughts and regrets. Woulda thought it would have happend already, am I missing it??

I am one such person. No regrets man. ICS is light years ahead. Nexus screen is not as bright as that of GS2 but more than makes up thanks to high Res and sheer size. I absolutely hated the visual treatment of TouchWiz though I loved the functionality. Here with Nexus I have my cake and can eat it too.
Everything is better and refined. USB connectivity is such that I can use my phone and at the same time manage memory on PC. HDMI out works brilliantly. Love the blue highlights on wifi and network notifications telling when they are active and not merely connected.
Do I miss something about GS2? Of course. The camera. The Facebook integration. The expandable memory. Not much else. I think Samsung were allowed to cut a corner in hardware specs but even then the trade off is OK. A white GS2 looks miles better though.
So no regrets, God has been kind to me so far!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

I'm using the 2 devices, mainly GN. SGS2 for me is slightly faster especially when there is a heavy usage with multitasking .. but i love my GN and planning to keep using it till they announce the next nexus next year

I owned a sgs2 for 6 months and sold it the day after i got my Nexus and don't regret it at all.
Nexus is the best phone i ever had!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

went from SG2 to SG2 Skyrocket to Galaxy Nexus.
Havent looked back.

I also made the jump.
As for regrets? i wouldn't say i regret making the change, but the improvement wasn't as drastic as I envisioned.
My GS2 had CheckROM v4
My Galaxy Nexus is bone stock, unrooted.
Here are some of the features i miss from my SGS2:
1) Overall, GS2 was smoother. I get slight jitters when scrolling fast on the SGN. Also, running a non-hardware accelerated live wallpaper results in choppiness when swiping between home screens.
2) I miss the camera on my GS2. Although SGN is faster at taking photos, I can tell quality is sacrificed.
3) I miss certain features of TouchWiz from GS2.
a) The Dialer. Why AOSP ICS doesn't have a "smart dialer" is beyond me. (i.e. spell out names with the dial pad). I know there are market apps i can download, but i'm irked that I have to rely on 3rd party apps for such a basic feature.​b) The music player. TW Music player allowed me to play by folder. I'm aware that if I properly tagged my music I wouldn't require such a feature, but I couldn't be bothered with ID3 tagging. In my mind, it's just simpler to drop-in a folder and play it. In Canada, we also don't get the cloud syncing feature, so the stock ICS music player is virtually useless to me. Again, I have to rely on 3rd party apps.​c) I miss having the ability to create folders in the app tray. on ICS, i can create folders on the homescreen, but not in the app tray.​d) I miss the ability to add/remove homescreens. on ICS, we are stuck with 5, with no ability to add more or remove homescreens.​
4) LED notification light - I didn't noticed how much I'd miss having a notification light until I got the SGS2, so the addition of the notification LED on the SGN is nice, but it's flaky. Sometimes it blinks, sometimes it just stays lit, somtimes its white and sometimes its green. If the colours are supposed to mean anything, I haven't figured it out yet.
5) GS2 is lighter and thinner, but SGN is easier to hold
6) Screen - GS2 screen is lower res, but its brighter and colours are "deeper". With the higher res screen, it's still displaying the same amount of content, just smaller and finer. It's not like changing the desktop PC's resolution where you suddenly get more screen "real estate". I still get the same 4x4 home screen grid and same 4x5 app tray, but everything is just "smaller" and "finer". I'm assuming this is due to Android's ability to "scale" for different screen resolutions. Also, the SGN's auto-brightness really needs to be improved - It's way too dim.
7) The biggest thing I miss is the battery life of my SGS2. My SGN is barely able to squeeze out 12hrs before it shuts itself off. My GS2 was able to squeeze out 16+ hours with battery life to spare before I plugged it in at night. With that said, I remember when i first got my GS2, my battery life was poor as well. So as the SGN and ICS matures, I'm hoping I'll see better battery life, just like the SGS2.
If I had a choice to switch my SGS2 for SGN again, I would, simply because having a Nexus phone means unlimited possibilities and a guaranteed 1.5 year support cycle from Google. If you noticed, most of those drawbacks I pointed are software related, and not hardware. Software can be worked around or fixed, and ICS is still new. There will be many ICS updates to come...and after every update, ICS will get better and better.
In terms of hardware, I rate the SGS2 and SGN even. They both have their pros and cons, but in the end, they are pretty damn close.

I was using the TMO SGS2 Hercules, which is similar to the ATT SGS2 Skyrocket, for about 3 weeks prior to the GNex.
The SGS2, after rooting and removing the TMO bloatware and essentially keeping the same ROM, seemed a bit snappier than the GNex and has better contrast + brightness. The GNex is unlocked and a pure Google experience and I don't plan on rooting it. I like getting the updates directly from Google. Had the SGS2 been running ICS 4.0, I would have had to think twice before spending $700+ for the GNex. Where the only real advantage would have been the resolution on the GNex. Both are great h/w platforms. My wife and daughter are using the SGS2 and are happy with it.

There is some good solid info here guys, thanks. I'm still on the fence lol. Switching from the GS1 to the GS2 was a no brainer. But this is really close. I'm thinking that I would be happy either way. So basically do I want to experience ICS now or later. I also paid $750 for my SG2 (from handtec) so I'm sure I would lose a bundle selling it now. The plan was to buy and sell an iPhone 5 on release day to help pay for the SG2, but that never happened. (thanks Apple)
Anyway, good stuff, thanks guys.

Eclypz said:
b) The music player. TW Music player allowed me to play by folder. I'm aware that if I properly tagged my music I wouldn't require such a feature, but I couldn't be bothered with ID3 tagging. In my mind, it's just simpler to drop-in a folder and play it. In Canada, we also don't get the cloud syncing feature, so the stock ICS music player is virtually useless to me. Again, I have to rely on 3rd party apps.​.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have a solutuin for it.
go google a tutorial on using google music outside of US.
im using it in the netherlands now. have almost 2000 music files synced/uploaded,and streaming them to my phone now,turgh 3G.
havent had the SG2 my self.
but did held it in my hand and know TW.
so i dont think allot of people that buy a Gn for the nexus purpose wil ever regret.
as for 4) get light flow. its your answer to it.
and about 7)
remember that you have a custom rom? on your SG2.how do you think the GN will preform with a low bat usage rom?

Looks like most of the gripes are TW related, and I'm an ADW junky, so no problem there...
I've also been a super longtime user of NoLed, but it would be nice to save battery and just use the built in led if it works...
For those selling off your GS2's, where are you selling them and how much are you getting? (roughly)

Ok, stupid question. Watching MobileTechReview's video on the phone, while she is on the home screen, there is only back, home, and multi-task buttons. How do you get to the settings from the home screen with no menu button?

It's at the top of the status bar when you drag it down. (3 little sliders icon)
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

BoostedSR20 said:
Ok, stupid question. Watching MobileTechReview's video on the phone, while she is on the home screen, there is only back, home, and multi-task buttons. How do you get to the settings from the home screen with no menu button?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use a custom rom that integrates an extra settings menu at the bottom at all times. Or there is a settings shortcut built into the notification drop down. Its not right off the home screen but its just as easy IMO

i'll agree with everything except the #6 "low res" part
800x480 was defacto HD (high res) on all devices until the new 1024x720 came out with the GN
older devices with 3.5" screen were running low res
All the games in Android Market or Gameloft you see marked HD are for 800x480
on the SGS2 if you run those non HD games, you will see really blurry crappy pictures because they were made for low res older generation devices
I don't know what the game makers are going to start calling the new games made for 720, but it will definitely need to be something other than HD to no confuse the whits out of our noggins
probably BD (blueray resolution) or SHD (super HD), because HD is staying as is for the DVD resolution (800x480)
Eclypz said:
I also made the jump.
As for regrets? i wouldn't say i regret making the change, but the improvement wasn't as drastic as I envisioned.
My GS2 had CheckROM v4
My Galaxy Nexus is bone stock, unrooted.
Here are some of the features i miss from my SGS2:
1) Overall, GS2 was smoother. I get slight jitters when scrolling fast on the SGN. Also, running a non-hardware accelerated live wallpaper results in choppiness when swiping between home screens.
2) I miss the camera on my GS2. Although SGN is faster at taking photos, I can tell quality is sacrificed.
3) I miss certain features of TouchWiz from GS2.
a) The Dialer. Why AOSP ICS doesn't have a "smart dialer" is beyond me. (i.e. spell out names with the dial pad). I know there are market apps i can download, but i'm irked that I have to rely on 3rd party apps for such a basic feature.​b) The music player. TW Music player allowed me to play by folder. I'm aware that if I properly tagged my music I wouldn't require such a feature, but I couldn't be bothered with ID3 tagging. In my mind, it's just simpler to drop-in a folder and play it. In Canada, we also don't get the cloud syncing feature, so the stock ICS music player is virtually useless to me. Again, I have to rely on 3rd party apps.​c) I miss having the ability to create folders in the app tray. on ICS, i can create folders on the homescreen, but not in the app tray.​d) I miss the ability to add/remove homescreens. on ICS, we are stuck with 5, with no ability to add more or remove homescreens.​
4) LED notification light - I didn't noticed how much I'd miss having a notification light until I got the SGS2, so the addition of the notification LED on the SGN is nice, but it's flaky. Sometimes it blinks, sometimes it just stays lit, somtimes its white and sometimes its green. If the colours are supposed to mean anything, I haven't figured it out yet.
5) GS2 is lighter and thinner, but SGN is easier to hold
6) Screen - GS2 screen is lower res, but its brighter and colours are "deeper". With the higher res screen, it's still displaying the same amount of content, just smaller and finer. It's not like changing the desktop PC's resolution where you suddenly get more screen "real estate". I still get the same 4x4 home screen grid and same 4x5 app tray, but everything is just "smaller" and "finer". I'm assuming this is due to Android's ability to "scale" for different screen resolutions. Also, the SGN's auto-brightness really needs to be improved - It's way too dim.
7) The biggest thing I miss is the battery life of my SGS2. My SGN is barely able to squeeze out 12hrs before it shuts itself off. My GS2 was able to squeeze out 16+ hours with battery life to spare before I plugged it in at night. With that said, I remember when i first got my GS2, my battery life was poor as well. So as the SGN and ICS matures, I'm hoping I'll see better battery life, just like the SGS2.
If I had a choice to switch my SGS2 for SGN again, I would, simply because having a Nexus phone means unlimited possibilities and a guaranteed 1.5 year support cycle from Google. If you noticed, most of those drawbacks I pointed are software related, and not hardware. Software can be worked around or fixed, and ICS is still new. There will be many ICS updates to come...and after every update, ICS will get better and better.
In terms of hardware, I rate the SGS2 and SGN even. They both have their pros and cons, but in the end, they are pretty damn close.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

AllGamer said:
i'll agree with everything except the #6 "low res" part
the new 1024x720 came out with the GN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The GN is 720p, which is 1280x720.
Kidding aside, you bring a good point.

SGS2 vs SGN
I am still on the fence! I have both right now and the one issue I can point out is the form factor. Why they curved the SGN is beyond me, it adds ALOT to the bottom of the phone. Almost makes it seem huge. SGN might be going back! I think you need to spend some time with it before dropping 7 beans. SGS2 will hopefully be getting a leaked ICS soon. Keep that in mind as well.

LarryLars said:
I am still on the fence! I have both right now and the one issue I can point out is the form factor. Why they curved the SGN is beyond me, it adds ALOT to the bottom of the phone. Almost makes it seem huge. SGN might be going back! I think you need to spend some time with it before dropping 7 beans. SGS2 will hopefully be getting a leaked ICS soon. Keep that in mind as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the worst battery phone. But I need the ICS. This is my only reason to sell my gs ii.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

I had the EU SGS2 and the ATT SGS2. The nexus is amazing the only thing that would make the nexus perfect (for me) is if i were able to get the samsung stock keyboard or the motorola stock keyboard. the ICS one just isnt doing it for me.
edit: if anyone knows how to get these keyboards into a nexus please let me know it would greatly appreciated

Jesseownzzz said:
I had the EU SGS2 and the ATT SGS2. The nexus is amazing the only thing that would make the nexus perfect (for me) is if i were able to get the samsung stock keyboard or the motorola stock keyboard. the ICS one just isnt doing it for me.
edit: if anyone knows how to get these keyboards into a nexus please let me know it would greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried anything from the market? I'm a big fan of SwiftKey X myself...
I'm leaning more towards getting the GN... not excited about giving up my $10 unlimited data plan.. but its inevitable anyway. My GF and I both have SGS2's with that plan.

BoostedSR20 said:
Have you tried anything from the market? I'm a big fan of SwiftKey X myself...
I'm leaning more towards getting the GN... not excited about giving up my $10 unlimited data plan.. but its inevitable anyway. My GF and I both have SGS2's with that plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really a fan of the market keyboards. I dislike most android keyboard (except froyo,Samsung, and Motorola).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Related

What makes the Nexus better than the iPhone?

You guys are dropping some serious cash on the Nexus, and for serious cash, I expect there must be serious reasons. What makes the Nexus better than the 4S, for you? I don't just want to hear blanket statements like "more customizability," I'm looking for specific things that effect how you use your phone day-to-day, in a positive way. (hey, it rhymes)
I don't own a GN, but here's some reasons I can think of switching:
-I can turn off annoying animations
-hi-res screen, shows more content
-bigger screen
-no physical buttons
-I can turn off the lock screen
-loads webpages faster
-slightly better browser tabs
-widgets. They'd be slightly helpful
-Flash, for when I need it
-file system. This is kinda crippled now, but whatever.
-better YouTube app
-better Gmail support
-better Google maps
I figure I'll mention the cons, too...
-worse camera
-not as smooth
-no 100% reliable, native syncing for my photos and music
-no comparable suite to iWorks
-less app selection
-bad battery life
-no good solution for security if I lose my phone. Find My iPhone is pretty sweet.
What about you? I'm hoping to hear about some things I didn't think about. Part of me really wants to get the Nexus.
Yumunum said:
You guys are dropping some serious cash on the Nexus, and for serious cash, I expect there must be serious reasons. What makes the Nexus better than the 4S, for you? I don't just want to hear blanket statements like "more customizability," I'm looking for specific things that effect how you use your phone day-to-day, in a positive way. (hey, it rhymes)
I don't own a GN, but here's some reasons I can think of switching:
-I can turn off annoying animations
-hi-res screen, shows more content
-bigger screen
-no physical buttons
-I can turn off the lock screen
-loads webpages faster
-slightly better browser tabs
-widgets. They'd be slightly helpful
-Flash, for when I need it
-file system. This is kinda crippled now, but whatever.
-better YouTube app
-better Gmail support
-better Google maps
I figure I'll mention the cons, too...
-worse camera
-not as smooth
-no 100% reliable, native syncing for my photos and music
-no comparable suite to iWorks
-less app selection
-bad battery life
-no good solution for security if I lose my phone. Find My iPhone is pretty sweet.
What about you? I'm hoping to hear about some things I didn't think about. Part of me really wants to get the Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a 4S and I honestly didn't like it. I don't like the way it handles multitasking or really anything about it. I guess I am also accustomed to larger screens having had a few 4.3" phones before this and the iPhone. My 4S had absolute **** battery life so this is an improvement and it's not bad at all. I don't know where you got that we have no security apps like find my iPhone because we have a dozen or so that work just as well if not better. Documents to go is reliable for when I need to make a quick edit on the go. I find my nexus to be just as smooth as the 4S I had as well. Also in terms of less app selection.. we have most of the big names
Hope this helps quell some of your fears a little
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
because it's not apple. Setting up apps and.screen is lot better over the good old setup. Hw acceleration finally. Bigger screen. Not apple. Higher res. Better sound. And I get great battery life. What you talking about Willis?
And the no. 1 reason is dev support. They pick up where Google and Samsung don't and then some. And some more. Thanks devs without you guys we'd eat more apples.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I haven't had an issue with battery life ever since phone started coming with micro usb. One of the reasons I didn't buy an iPhone is the proprietary usb, with GN (or any other android phone) everywhere you go has a charger.
That and it's a phone with a large screen, I'm not going to quibble over a few hours difference in battery life. It either lasts a month on 1 charge or I need a charger everywhere I go....
My main beef with iPhone is the connectivity, I need iTunes and not just on any computer but an authorised one. I use a lot of computers so that's out...
Apps, camera, OS, battery life its all the same more or less. Like comparing Mercedes to BMW.
The other feature I can't live without is Google Navigation, even though you can download an app on iPhone that does the same, having it fully integrated with Google Map is very useful. I use Google Maps like Yellow Pages now....
The search is also a lot more useful with ICS (wont be GN only feature soon) as it combines searching for apps/music/files on your phone with google search.
All this will be on any ICS phone/tablet, not just GN. So it's not really GN vs iPhone, its ICS vs iOS5.
Oh and another nice feature is having multiple accounts in Market. So if you want your wife/girlfriend to have the same purchased app/game you don't have to buy it twice.
I won't go into a device comparison, but here's what I like about the Nexus/Android:
- Super Amoled HD Screen
- Pentaband & Unlocked
- Widgets and customizability
- Scrolling and/or Live Wallpaper
- Replaceable Battery
- Faster data speeds on AT&T (For my location)
- The best web browsing experience on a mobile device...PERIOD. If you goto Settings->Labs and select Quick Controls and Fullscreen...it's a whole different experience. Full HD screen is used to browse and it's buttery smooth
- I prefer ICS's Task Manager MUCH MUCH better than iOS. It's quick to hit a button and swipe on the android vs. double table, hit small x's and scroll.
- Voice Guided Directions via Google Maps (Improved over previous versions)
- Face Unlock
- Better youtube
- Camera isn't as good as the iPhone, but IMO the app and shutter speed make up for it.
- Syncs beautifully with iTunes with iSyncr app!
- People always bring up selection of apps, or lack thereof as a bad thing. While there are some titles missing from the market, there are apps available that you would never be able to download on the app store. For example mp3 downloads, bit torrent remotes, etc.
- Type as you speak voice recognition
- I find the battery life equal, if not better than the iPhone 4S
- Free mobile hotspot (Don't abuse her)
- NFC
- Built in data usage tracker and limiter. Perfect for those on data caps. Also displays what apps are hogging
- Notice a killer app on the Market only to find out it's garbage after the purchase? 15 min refund window!
Don't like compared to the iPhone...
- Build quality is good but the quality of materials could be better
- Speaker sucks
- Front facing camera may have more pixels, but looks like crap compared to the 4s
- I miss iTunes Match, iCloud and Photostream
Don't get me wrong, the 4S is a sweet device and I've used a ton of Android phones in the past, but the Nexus w/ICS is a whole different ballgame. My Nexus and iPad 2 are a match made in heaven.
I switched from an iPhone 4S to a Galaxy Nexus (and a Galaxy Note between).
First of all I like Apple products, I use an iMac and a MacBook Air for work and have owned iPhones, iPods and iPads. They are usually well designed and do the job at least as well as competitors and yes there is a premium to pay for that and I have always thought that worth paying extra for.
But for me the iPhone 4S was a major disappointment. I had seen some of the renderings of possible designs and they looked exciting but what we got was a revamp of the iPhone 4 with new notifications and Siri.
I still bought one as I like to have the latest tech but after you realise that Siri is a gimmick that last 10 minutes and is then redundant and the pull down notification system has been perfected by Android 100 phones ago, then the same old IOS niggles surfaced.
For me the first time I used the Galaxy Nexus I thought 'this is better'. ICS is smooth and runs quickly on the Nexus out of the box. I have owned virtually all the top smartphones and my one gripe about Android is that to get the very best out of the phone I have to visit XDA and start updating and tweaking.
My main reasons for switching away from the iPhone were lack of Flash support and screen size. So I bought a Galaxy Note and was blown away but the size was just a little too large and when I read up about the Nexus I just had to have one. I can wait a month or so for Flash but otherwise I don't think I have ever been happier with a phone.
Yumunum said:
You guys are dropping some serious cash on the Nexus, and for serious cash, I expect there must be serious reasons. What makes the Nexus better than the 4S, for you? I don't just want to hear blanket statements like "more customizability," I'm looking for specific things that effect how you use your phone day-to-day, in a positive way. (hey, it rhymes)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind that not everyone here is buying it outright for $600+, and keep in mind that a lot of people here wouldn't even consider an iPhone instead of Android in general. This post sounds a bit like flame bait, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
My personal reasons are as follows:
Screen: Not just quality (AMOLED), but size. Ever since I had my Samsung Captivate, holding an iPhone has just felt wrong. Everything feels tiny on the iPhone, watching movies is a significantly worse experience etc.
OS: In a nutshell, I prefer Android to iOS. The notification system is better, the multitasking is better (especially in ICS), the OS gives me more options and doesn't hold my hand telling me I'll break my phone if I'm given any more freedoms.
Widgets: Falls in line with OS, but deserves its own category. Why the hell does iOS not have widgets yet? Why don't I have glanceable data on my homescreens such as weather, calendar, and RSS feeds? This is the killer app for me as far as Android is concerned. iOS simply does not compare.
iTunes: I hate it. Especially on PC. I don't like Apple's music format, I don't like being forced to sync content as opposed to drag and drop, and I don't like how iTunes on PC is so badly coded that it completely freezes up and becomes unresponsive while syncing. Something like iTunes should be optional at best.
TV out: the iPhone simply doesn't have it. Connecting my phone to my TV to output youtube videos, emulated SNES, PS1 etc. games, and pictures is a huge boon for the GN. Yes there are alternatives, no they are not as simple as "connect a cable and the picture literally pops up the next second".
General freedom: No emulators or inappropriate content on the iOS market. Yeah, I don't put porn on my phone, but the next guy may want to and he should be able to do so freely without a company scrutinizing his morals. The Android market allows virtually anything as long as it's legal.
Programming freedom: In the same vein as the above, iOS is extremely locked down. There are no custom ROMs, there's no system level tweaking.
As far as drawbacks go:
Camera: Let's face it. The iPhone 4S' camera is best in class. Yes the GN's is faster, but for sheer quality iPhone simply wins hands down.
Touch response: This one may be a bit subjective, but every time I pick up an iPhone I marvel a bit at how smooth it is. Yes ICS is smooth, but I don't feel that it's quite at the same level.
Applications: For sheer quantity, Android is getting there. Quality however, is just now starting to pick up. More triple A developers are starting to realize that Android is a force to be reckoned with, so this is one that will fix itself in time. For the time being however iOS' app selection is simply better.
GPS: Every iPhone I've tried locks instantaneously indoors to a 10-15 meter radius. Every Android phone takes 5 seconds to forever to do the same. It's a minor gripe at best since the GN's GPS is pretty good but it's still technically worse.
That's about all I've got. Also OP, you'll be pleased to know that Android also has a variation of "Find my iPhone". "Where's my Droid" does basically the same thing.
I thought of getting an iPhone but then I took an arrow to the knee
I don't own a GN, but here's some reasons I can think of switching:
-I can turn off annoying animations
-hi-res screen, shows more content
-bigger screen
-no physical buttons
-I can turn off the lock screen
-loads webpages faster
-slightly better browser tabs
-widgets. They'd be slightly helpful
-Flash, for when I need it
-file system. This is kinda crippled now, but whatever.
-better YouTube app
-better Gmail support
-better Google maps
I figure I'll mention the cons, too...
-worse camera
-not as smooth
-no 100% reliable, native syncing for my photos and music
-no comparable suite to iWorks
-less app selection
-bad battery life
-no good solution for security if I lose my phone. Find My iPhone is pretty sweet.
First off, I'll say that I don't own a G_Nex... yet. I have also thought long and hard about making the jump to the iphone and the other side but a few things have kept me back. And this is my experience with a Droid Incredible which came out early last year so It's based off of an old device with outdated software.
First, I hate iTunes, with a passion. If you like it, cool but I have had such a hard time moving all my media from windows media to itunes I finally gave my ipod away. I'm sure it's a much less stressful endeavor with a Mac but I don't have one of those either so... It just seems way easier to use windows media for me
As far as the camera. I haven't seen it in my hand but there are a few iPhone4s/G-Nex picture comparison and from what I can tell it doesn't look very different. I say that the SGN does have some advantages over the iPhone with the no-lag feature and panoramic photos but that is just opinion. my camera is outdated but like everyone says your not gonna blow up an 8mp photo to put on your wall, it just doesn't make sense.
I don't use it personally but HTC sense has an onlive service similar to Find My iPhone, but without an HTC device your options are limited to apps like Lookout Mobile Security which you can disable everything except for the GPS service so you don't have annoying popups everytime you download an app. I believe they are also apps that can wipe your phone remotely in case your worried about your personal info.
Although I feel like Sense on HTC is just as smooth as an iPhone I've seen the lag and jerkiness of other devices. that said, I think if you check out some YouTube vids of the G-Nex you'll see that there is nothing but smooth butter on 4.0
I agree as far as the battery life goes. sometimes I can go 6hrs before my phone dies but I've settled on the idea that I will need a charger with me everywhere I go work/home/school. But there is a big reason for this: Android does so many other things in the background compared to iPhone. widgets, live wallpapers, etc... look at the animations on a new HTC device with the 3D widgets. it takes a ton of battery to keep all that running and running smooth. Also with the introduction of 4G the battery technology just hasn't caught up with it yet. but give it time.
One thing I will say about iPhone is the quality of apps are way better than Android, but it will not be that way forever. app developers are wanting to make money and if they can expand to another platform they will. There are only a very few app devs that are brand loyal and there are more and more devs porting there apps to Android every day.
To me, Apple did a great job in making a great phone and marketing it to the masses when it first came out. However, there are still a ton of flaws in their ideals. they want to make things simpler but unless you already have a Mac you will struggle. And they don't want to change it because they know most people will get frustrated and just go buy a Mac which makes them more money. and that is something I can't get with.
last but not least I will ask, who's idea was it to design a phone incased in glass anyway? I mean the only way you could've made it anymore fragile is if you made all the componets inside the out of glass as well. I mean really?!
Bad battery life...it is really bad. and also bad reception.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
native syncing for my photos and music - The camera app on the GN can auto matically sync your photos to google+ if you want it to. Also google music can sync your music from the cloud thus meaning you dont have gig's and gig's of storage taken up on your phone.
First of all, generally speaking the main reason that pulled me away from Apple (I had a 3GS) and towards Android was widgets. It might be a minor thing for most people, but I really really love having them on my screen. It just makes things so much easier and faster to accomplish.
Now, focussing on the Galaxy Nexus specifically, the biggest plusses for me where those two:
- The combination of a large AMOLED-screen and the top-notch resolution which takes care of all the "Pentile"-drama that was going on.
- Direct updates through Google (I know, it's the same with Apple, but no other current Android handset offers this, and since your question aimed at why we spend so much money on the GN: This is the main reason why I picked the GN over a Moto or an HTC)
And that's basically it. Mind you, I was almost going to buy the Moto RAZR instead of the Nexus, because I am not a fan of handsets made entirely of plastic shells. But in the end I dismissed the Razr, mainly because of the "Software Update"-reason mentioned above. I could have lived with the lower-res display.
Of course, there are dozens of other reasons why I pick Android over iOS (open platform, costumizability, direct filesystem-access, etc. etc. blah blah), but you probably know them already anyway, so I'm not gonna repeat here once again
Both Android and iOS have their advantages and disadavantages, my take on this is that you should first decide which ECOSYSTEM is better suited for your personal needs and usecases, and after that decide on the actual hardware you're going to buy. Getting a new phone is quickly done, making everything run after an OS transition is much more of a headache (starting with the money one spent on all the apps that become rendered useless the moment you change sides)
only things I miss from my iphone 4 so far are
battery life
quick gps locking
HBO GO!
Screen is beautifull. I just got mine and i Love IT!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Yumunum said:
You guys are dropping some serious cash on the Nexus, and for serious cash, I expect there must be serious reasons. What makes the Nexus better than the 4S, for you? I don't just want to hear blanket statements like "more customizability," I'm looking for specific things that effect how you use your phone day-to-day, in a positive way. (hey, it rhymes)
I don't own a GN, but here's some reasons I can think of switching:
-I can turn off annoying animations
-hi-res screen, shows more content
-bigger screen
-no physical buttons
-I can turn off the lock screen
-loads webpages faster
-slightly better browser tabs
-widgets. They'd be slightly helpful
-Flash, for when I need it
-file system. This is kinda crippled now, but whatever.
-better YouTube app
-better Gmail support
-better Google maps
I figure I'll mention the cons, too...
-worse camera
-not as smooth
-no 100% reliable, native syncing for my photos and music
-no comparable suite to iWorks
-less app selection
-bad battery life
-no good solution for security if I lose my phone. Find My iPhone is pretty sweet.
What about you? I'm hoping to hear about some things I didn't think about. Part of me really wants to get the Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you define as comparable to iWorks? Personally I preferred QuickOffice on my ipad and android also has that.
Besides games I have yet to find an app I need not on the market.
There exist some security things in the market. Don't know how well they work but they are there.
Some pros for the nexus
- custom ROMs do more with your phone nor just what apple tells you
- third party sync with contacts such as Google+ twitter and eventually Facebook when they update the syncing for ics
I came from an iPhone to an atrix before my nexus and I will never go back. It's a personal choice but I like the freedom of android.
Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk
Yumunum said:
I figure I'll mention the cons, too...
-worse camera - Want a better camera, by a SLR, its a phone remember...
-not as smooth - No i find it smooother
-no 100% reliable, native syncing for my photos and musicPersonal preference, i find the syncing very good for mail, photos, contacts, music. The Music sync infact is amazing. I can access my music collection on ANY flash enable browser!
-no comparable suite to iWorks Really, your going to work on the 4.6" screen on documents, spreadsheets? buy a galaxy note, galaxy 10.1 or if you want iWorks, buy an Ipad or Mac!
-less app selection But also the app market is managed by the apple sheep so you actually have access to more apps which are banned on the apple store on the android market
-bad battery life Manage it better then! Its because you can customize everything on an android battery can drain so quickly, if you could do the same on an iphone as you can on an android im sure the iphone wouldnt last 10 hours!
-no good solution for security if I lose my phone. Find My iPhone is pretty sweet. Google an alternative.... like https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mango.findmyphone&hl=en. Also you can encrypt your phone, which is stronger than any solution done by apple at the moment
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Come on, really its down to personal preference. Every pro can be argued with a con, and vice versa
A big plus for me is accessing the app store in a browser!
I'm unclear why the OP said we were dropping serious cash for the nexus, and then proceeded to ask why it's better than the 4S, they are the same price, so what gives?
I'll be the odd one out, this is why I sold my Galaxy Nexus and kept my iPhone 4S:
- I find iOS notifications to be better. Sure, swap to discard is a lot better than the tiny "Clear" button on iOS, but being able to see pending notifications on the lockscreen is a lot better than having to reach up and pull down the list. I never managed to find a working solution to get the same function on ICS. Also iOS categorizes them per app, which I like. I also love push notifications and there's really just one twitter app that does it on Android, and its just not a very good app.
- Browsing. Sorry, but I find the ICS browser to not be very good. Sure, it's fast, but Google still treats pages like a desktop browser and text is TINY when zoomed out. iOS picks up what text is important and increases its size so it's readable on most websites without having to zoom in. Also, double tapping to zoom on Android zooms to the general area you want, but will usually cut off text or images. iOS somehow manages to fit the window exactly to the paragraph you want.
- Battery life. Yes, the 4S is famous for not lasting very long, but at least I don't have to worry about what colors im displaying on it because white will burn the battery out faster than black. With SAMOLED (I've had a Galaxy S, Galaxy S 2 and the Nexus) I always found myself worrying about using apps with mostly a black background.
- Screen. I want to lick the Galaxy Nexus screen, really, it looks amazing. Except when I look at slight dark pictures, where the extreme contrast and black levels will degrade and oversaturate colors. Also PenTile, while less noticeable is still there and makes text look horrible at small sizes. Watching HD video on it was an orgasmic experience, but I honestly never watch movies or series on my phone so I just wouldn't have taken advantage of it.
- Speaker. Its bad, really bad, and positioned in a place where setting the phone on a sofa or any other soft surface will muffle it. Volume+ on the market fixes the problem mostly, but still sounds like a low quality speaker.
- Apps. I love the ICS UI, I love how the google apps look on the GNexus, but I HATE how most third party apps look and function on ICS. Yes, I realize this will change in time, but just picking the iPhone and opening Tweetbot or Whatsapp and seeing how much smoother they were compared to similar apps on ICS made me angry.
- Camera. Photos look pretty good in daylight, but it breaks apart easily when light is low. Mushy colors, no sharpness. I love the 4S camera.
- Size. This one I guess is more personal than the others. I found it to be slighty larger than I like and had to flex my hand too much to use it one handed most of the time.
- Smoothness. ICS has hardware acceleration, fine, and it works most of the time, sure, but it's really noticeable when it's not there and really inconsistent to have it be completely smooth in some areas and really stuttery in others. I guess this will get better over time, but I like having this work "out of the box". iOS is smooth 95% of the time.
I'm not dissing the GNexus, I find it to be the best android phone to date and I really love most of what Google has done to android. However, after more than a year owning several android handsets and then buying the 4S I remembered how pain-free the iOS experience is, and I realized I spent more time changing ROMs and customizing android than I did enjoying it and using apps.
I never had a need for a real filesystem, I have no issues with iTunes and I don't feel limited by iOS' restrictions, though I understand if most of you do. I'll probably go back to android with the Galaxy S3 or whatever, and I guess everything will be more mature by then, but right now I'm happy with my 4S and it suits my needs better than the Gnex did.
For some reason when you own an iphone you start wearing turtlenecks and people start calling you a pretentious douche.
-Flash, for when I need it // Nexus Doesn't support flash...yet
-file system. This is kinda crippled now, but whatever. //Why? Works just like it has on my other Androids?
-worse camera // It's as good as the person using it.. my iPhone wasn't that great.
-not as smooth // Depends on what you have running unlike the iPhone that just randomly shuts apps off.
-no 100% reliable, native syncing for my photos and music //This is why I quit iPhones Itunes is a joke takes fooooorever to sync the it duplicates and deletes... just drag and drop...simple.
-no comparable suite to iWorks // There are many office apps most are the same ones in the app store.
-less app selection // seems like both stores have pretty much the same ones and the billion junk apps
-bad battery life // If you run the screen and skype and video... guess what iPhone or android the battery drains.....The iphone will win not because it has better battery life but because it will quit skype force the screen off and stop the video because it knows what you want better than you do.
I have had every IOS device except the 4S... so I don't dislike them but I do dislike lists like this... Because you really should try out Android (especially ICS) and formulate your opinion. Because its not just about the hardware its about changing from my phone knows best I just expect the battery to last.... To taking the time to set it to do exactly what you want it to....and yes if you have 50 apps running the battery WILL die a quick death...lol
The difference and what makes it better is easy. I am in no way bashing the iPhone. I own it and love all apple products. Here are the facts iPhone is a place that houses all your apps the SN is a OS with apps.

Is galaxy nexus worth buying?

Im standing in a delimma rught now. Im about to choose between galaxy nexus and iphone 4s.
I dont want to hear which phone is better i want to hear about the galaxy nexus, how it feels in your hand, smoothnes etc etc.
This is not another which phone is better thread.
Thabk you
Best regards
Elinho
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
GSM? The phone feels great in the hand because it is light for how big it is. It is kind of slick and will take getting used to if you have never had a phone this big but it shouldn't be too much of a problem.. the screen is good for most people when above 20% brightness. Some people lag on the stock rom but most don't have any problems on custom roms or the latest stock rom. Also battery life for the most part is great.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Size wise I feel the Nexus is small, and no way too big at all. But I had the Epic 4G Touch with 4.5" screen, the Nexus feels smaller.
Build quality is very high, the metal band around it feels solid, and the dark gray color makes it look like a stealth fighter jet. Does not feel like cheap plastic on the Galaxy SII.
High Res screen is on par with "Retina" but with a million times better color.
ICS software is a huge leap forward for Android, makes it more mature and polished and better design over last year Androids.
iPhone LOL 3.5" screen
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I have been an iphone user for years and after spending some time using the Nexus I sold my iphone 4s to buy the Nexus. You will not be unhappy with either but the Nexus is hands down a more up to date and distinguished device for me.
Play with them both and see which appeals more to you. I was an iPhone user for 4 years until I got my Galaxy Nexus and I couldn't go back. That said, the 4S is still a very good phone and definitely has a place. It gets better battery life and has a nicer app selection, but the screen is small, you're much more limited in terms of modification/customization/app and service integration, and I feel like iOS is starting to show it's age.
I love the Nexus' huge screen, I think the design of the phone itself is nicer, and I like ICS way more than iOS.
Zorachus said:
Size wise I feel the Nexus is small, and no way too big at all. But I had the Epic 4G Touch with 4.5" screen, the Nexus feels smaller.
Build quality is very high, the metal band around it feels solid, and the dark gray color makes it look like a stealth fighter jet. Does not feel like cheap plastic on the Galaxy SII.
High Res screen is on par with "Retina" but with a million times better color.
ICS software is a huge leap forward for Android, makes it more mature and polished and better design over last year Androids.
iPhone LOL 3.5" screen
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no metal band..... that said it still feels like a good quality phone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Ex-wife has iPhone 4S and I, the GNexus. No comparison. I feel bad for the ex, with that 3.5" LOL display, and no me. ;-)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Thank you for the replys!
The galaxy nexus here in sweden is expensive. But im considering getting galaxy
Edit: i forgott, the ics dont have autocorrect for swedish lang :/
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Without a case, it's great in the hands. Even with a case it's fine depending on which one though.
But holding it raw is wonderful. The screen is absolutely amazing. Text is so crisp I almost sometimes prefer using it over my tablet! The keyboard is amazing in portrait, because of the size I can type REALLY fast and get almost no errors.
Everything is smooth too. My friend who has had an Evo 4g for a while was amazed at how smooth animations and everything else are compared to his phone.
I have unlimited 4g from Verizon and it is blazing too.
elinho said:
Im standing in a delimma rught now. Im about to choose between galaxy nexus and iphone 4s.
I dont want to hear which phone is better i want to hear about the galaxy nexus, how it feels in your hand, smoothnes etc etc.
This is not another which phone is better thread.
Thabk you
Best regards
Elinho
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have used both. I keep changing my phones regularly. Generally every 3 months. I always have 2 phones regardless.
Now...
Sometimes as my Prof kept saying,
it all comes down to what you are used to the most.
If you are a busy man and just want to get things done and you are used to the iOS platform then go for the iPhone 4s, it really surprises me how consistent they have kept their platform from over 5 years.
But there is a price you pay. For ex when you compare the maps and email/Gmail apps; the iOS apps feel archaic.
Ics is a complete overhaul. There is a significant amount of learning curve. Not much if you are coming from iOS. But to be on the record, it is completely rewarding no matter what platform you come from (keep in mind it takes about a week)
One of the gripes that I have with iOS is that it is not Rewarding to the power user. The speed at which you do things the first time is pretty much as fast as yo can ever be.
Let me address a few issues with galaxy nexus
Size:
Mammoth like if you are coming from iOS
Little big if you are coming from the almost standard 4 inch androids.
But the feel in hand is really good. It is lighter than the iPhone 4s. After a week you wont notice the size but will really appreciate the 720p screen, the real estate that it gives you. I can't go back to the iPhone like screen size after using galaxy nexus, it is like what the first iPhone did to the typical smartphone users back then (who were mainly on windows mobile and palm/blackberry on their 2.4-2.8 inch devices)
Smoothness:
I'm on AOKP rom with Francisco Franco s Kernel and it is the smoothest Android experience.
IOS introduces a lot of delays to keep the os feeling smooth. Just try opening an app as soon as you hit the home button.
And it still lags everytime when you go to the spotlight search by swiping left on the homescreen.
Right now they have just 3 hardware platforms and then can test the heck out of it for delivering 60fps (also known as butter smooth performance) albeit making actual performance sacrifices (though I've heard from internal sources that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so on 3gs)
The point I'm trying to make is that iOS has engineered smoothness at the cost of performance, you will have to decide for yourself if this is OK with you.
IOS vs ICS
I feel that ics and Android in general gives app developers a lot more freedom and versatility in app design (clearly demonstrated by the mlo app which is still in beta on Android but much better than the iOS app).
But app developers go by the penetration and clearly iOS has more than android (again demonstrated by the Mlo app which is still in beta on Android)
And as far as the stock apps are concerned there is no match for ics, just check the iPhone vs galaxy nexus sunspider and browesermark benchmarks on the browser which probably is the top most used app on the smartphone os (tip don't compare the iPad 2 with galaxy nexus as iPad 2 is clocked at 25% more than iPhone 4s, and there are quad core options available in android ics tablets (friend just got pics pushed to his transformer prime ))
And the Gmail app.(
ICS has a lot of potential If you are not porting over your apps from iOS , a lesson for you speed test.net)
Now to conclude I've not gone back to iPhone 4(couldn't stand iPhone 4s as it didn't have a jailbreak and hence my favourite jailbreak app swipenav which avoids the most inhumanly possible HCI design of tapping the left most corner to go back (which is probably the second most used function from going to home screen )
Pradeep.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premiu
m
trincisor said:
have used both. I keep changing my phones regularly. Generally every 3 months. I always have 2 phones regardless.
Now...
Sometimes as my Prof kept saying,
it all comes down to what you are used to the most.
If you are a busy man and just want to get things done and you are used to the iOS platform then go for the iPhone 4s, it really surprises me how consistent they have kept their platform from over 5 years.
But there is a price you pay. For ex when you compare the maps and email/Gmail apps; the iOS apps feel archaic.
Ics is a complete overhaul. There is a significant amount of learning curve. Not much if you are coming from iOS. But to be on the record, it is completely rewarding no matter what platform you come from (keep in mind it takes about a week)
One of the gripes that I have with iOS is that it is not Rewarding to the power user. The speed at which you do things the first time is pretty much as fast as yo can ever be.
Let me address a few issues with galaxy nexus
Size:
Mammoth like if you are coming from iOS
Little big if you are coming from the almost standard 4 inch androids.
But the feel in hand is really good. It is lighter than the iPhone 4s. After a week you wont notice the size but will really appreciate the 720p screen, the real estate that it gives you. I can't go back to the iPhone like screen size after using galaxy nexus, it is like what the first iPhone did to the typical smartphone users back then (who were mainly on windows mobile and palm/blackberry on their 2.4-2.8 inch devices)
Smoothness:
I'm on AOKP rom with Francisco Franco s Kernel and it is the smoothest Android experience.
IOS introduces a lot of delays to keep the os feeling smooth. Just try opening an app as soon as you hit the home button.
And it still lags everytime when you go to the spotlight search by swiping left on the homescreen.
Right now they have just 3 hardware platforms and then can test the heck out of it for delivering 60fps (also known as butter smooth performance) albeit making actual performance sacrifices (though I've heard from internal sources that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so on 3gs)
The point I'm trying to make is that iOS has engineered smoothness at the cost of performance, you will have to decide for yourself if this is OK with you.
IOS vs ICS
I feel that ics and Android in general gives app developers a lot more freedom and versatility in app design (clearly demonstrated by the mlo app which is still in beta on Android but much better than the iOS app).
But app developers go by the penetration and clearly iOS has more than android (again demonstrated by the Mlo app which is still in beta on Android)
And as far as the stock apps are concerned there is no match for ics, just check the iPhone vs galaxy nexus sunspider and browesermark benchmarks on the browser which probably is the top most used app on the smartphone os (tip don't compare the iPad 2 with galaxy nexus as iPad 2 is clocked at 25% more than iPhone 4s, and there are quad core options available in android ics tablets (friend just got pics pushed to his transformer prime ))
And the Gmail app.(
ICS has a lot of potential If you are not porting over your apps from iOS , a lesson for you speed test.net)
Now to conclude I've not gone back to iPhone 4(couldn't stand iPhone 4s as it didn't have a jailbreak and hence my favourite jailbreak app swipenav which avoids the most inhumanly possible HCI design of tapping the left most corner to go back (which is probably the second most used function from going to home screen )
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premiu
m
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your time and effort!
Im considering buying galaxy nexus due the screen, but i like the siri function in iphone and their smoothnes in the games due.
But overall the Gnex is above all much better then iphone.
But as i said erlier the gnex is much more expensive here in sweden :/
Siri is a worthless bum.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I'l give you an honest overview : the phone is SINCERELY NOT THERE to compete as a completely functional device to be honest.
And let me also tell you that I'm an Android fan boy, and I completely ABHOR apple and everything to do with them.
BUT YET. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is NOT EVEN a complete functional device yet, and paying 530 £ or so (in the UK) for such a phone - IS WASTE OF MONEY.
There are MANY glitches that makes the whole experience very unsavoury. To the point that it definitely DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FINISHED phone to me at all.
All the gloss of ICS apart, I have seen stability issues with this phone that just totally kills every thing. And mind you this is only on 4.0.1 GSM version UK (I've others here who have the same issue)
I'm a pretty heavy user. I've had a HTC Desire and worked out the ins and outs of the system and that device was EXTREMELY usable over the years.
This phone has so many problems -
1. The LED light does not even support missed calls by default. If you had a missed call you would not know till you turn the screen on (It is a basic feature was available 2 years back on HTC desire) I dont want to install a complicated APP like Light Flow to do it. This is basic stuff that should come out of the box
2. The phone in landscape mode does not type properly, this is just hilarious. Shame on google. The typing works perfect when you keep your phone straight, but the same phone, same stuff if you type in landscape it is incredibly jittery, you dont see what you wrote for good couple of seconds! This is just SHODDY work. how can screen orientation screw up your typing so badly - i have no idea. Just shameful from google.
3. The SMS dont go many times, and I've seen many threads about the same. Apparently you can screw up the message center settings? I dont know how but I'vent done that still had SMS problems a few times. And I had to restart my phone or send multiple times to make it work.
4. The call quality is the WORST I have seen on ANY phone in my entire life. I've been using the phone in exactly the same locations as I was using my HTC desire, and the call drops so much more often that it is just unbelievable! and needless to say incredibly frustrating. If the call doesnt drop the sound, sometimes (& often), is really pathetic and many a times it is inaudible to either party on the call. Is this a phone?
5. The phone is crashing randomly, this happens every 2 days or so (lately every single day now) and I'm a pretty heavy user. People say it is because I'm still on 4.0.1 - well I dont buy that because if 4.0.3 (the latest version) was fixing so many stability issues, then there is NO reason for Google to delay the release of that version on here in the UK for such a long time. Then some people say it is because I've some app installed, well I uninstalled most of my apps - but this problem doesnt go. And the phone becoming unresponsive due to an APP sounds like a serious piece of cr*pware to me. My settings page becomes unresponsive!! How can that happen? It has NEVER happened on android 2.3.7 with my HTC desire. If an APP is buggy, your home and menu screen buttons work perfectly! your android system doesnt become unstable because a stupid APP is incompatible or buggy! but here the WHOLE PHONE BECOMES UNUSABLE!!
And there's more! The latest of the glitches, yesterday - after the usual while typing the phone crashed, and then on reboot - all widgets on my screen - were all scrambled. No widget was displaying any text but jumbled ASCII characters, when you move the widgets the text would show but not without. I rebooted and it has been okay since.
but how horrible is that to put in so much of your money to get a piece of sht phone that doesnt even work and does basic functions correctly?
6. The phone also starts lagging, and is jerky ... especially with live wallpaper. That was really frustrating to see if you bought the phone to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology!! Samsung galaxy s2 scores much higher even on CPU benchmark tests I downloaded. Galaxy nexus fails to score any more than 1700 on the tests while Galaxy S2 (almost the same hardware) notches up to 3200+ scores!!! and these are basic tests that check cpu performance and your animation rendering capabilities. You cant mess with that really.
Now this could really be because of the high resolution of the screen... which brings me to the only two GOOD points of this phone :
1. Really crisp resolution. It is really just a class apart from older generation phones. Your icons, text, everything looks extremely good!
2. ICS - as everyone already mentioned it is a huge step up in terms of usability, and looks great deal polished. The phone feels good to navigate through, and ICS brings in some other features that make it a good OS. Others can cover on that more.
But anyway, I find those two points as largely ineffective in my choice to buy a phone (but i have unfortunately bought it and got rid of my desire and have been regretting the decision......it has been about 21 days on the galaxy nexus now)
Honestly, STAY AWAY FROM GALAXY NEXUS. The device is not worth it, and ICS evolution (especially bug fixes) and the hardware upgrades later this year would make for a really good and a competitive phone that you can buy!
cheers
Dhruv
Dhruv,
Try Romain's AOKP rom
See if that fixes most of your problems
About performance I think you are comparing quadrant scores. Quadrant is not a good benchmark
Try individual performance like
multi threaded linpack
Mflops scores
Sunspider
Browsermark
Ics has been vastly optimized for performance.
Pradeep.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
dhruvraj said:
I'l give you an honest overview : the phone is SINCERELY NOT THERE to compete as a completely functional device to be honest.
And let me also tell you that I'm an Android fan boy, and I completely ABHOR apple and everything to do with them.
BUT YET. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is NOT EVEN a complete functional device yet, and paying 530 £ or so (in the UK) for such a phone - IS WASTE OF MONEY.
There are MANY glitches that makes the whole experience very unsavoury. To the point that it definitely DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FINISHED phone to me at all.
All the gloss of ICS apart, I have seen stability issues with this phone that just totally kills every thing. And mind you this is only on 4.0.1 GSM version UK (I've others here who have the same issue)
I'm a pretty heavy user. I've had a HTC Desire and worked out the ins and outs of the system and that device was EXTREMELY usable over the years.
This phone has so many problems -
1. The LED light does not even support missed calls by default. If you had a missed call you would not know till you turn the screen on (It is a basic feature was available 2 years back on HTC desire) I dont want to install a complicated APP like Light Flow to do it. This is basic stuff that should come out of the box
2. The phone in landscape mode does not type properly, this is just hilarious. Shame on google. The typing works perfect when you keep your phone straight, but the same phone, same stuff if you type in landscape it is incredibly jittery, you dont see what you wrote for good couple of seconds! This is just SHODDY work. how can screen orientation screw up your typing so badly - i have no idea. Just shameful from google.
3. The SMS dont go many times, and I've seen many threads about the same. Apparently you can screw up the message center settings? I dont know how but I'vent done that still had SMS problems a few times. And I had to restart my phone or send multiple times to make it work.
4. The call quality is the WORST I have seen on ANY phone in my entire life. I've been using the phone in exactly the same locations as I was using my HTC desire, and the call drops so much more often that it is just unbelievable! and needless to say incredibly frustrating. If the call doesnt drop the sound, sometimes (& often), is really pathetic and many a times it is inaudible to either party on the call. Is this a phone?
5. The phone is crashing randomly, this happens every 2 days or so (lately every single day now) and I'm a pretty heavy user. People say it is because I'm still on 4.0.1 - well I dont buy that because if 4.0.3 (the latest version) was fixing so many stability issues, then there is NO reason for Google to delay the release of that version on here in the UK for such a long time. Then some people say it is because I've some app installed, well I uninstalled most of my apps - but this problem doesnt go. And the phone becoming unresponsive due to an APP sounds like a serious piece of cr*pware to me. My settings page becomes unresponsive!! How can that happen? It has NEVER happened on android 2.3.7 with my HTC desire. If an APP is buggy, your home and menu screen buttons work perfectly! your android system doesnt become unstable because a stupid APP is incompatible or buggy! but here the WHOLE PHONE BECOMES UNUSABLE!!
And there's more! The latest of the glitches, yesterday - after the usual while typing the phone crashed, and then on reboot - all widgets on my screen - were all scrambled. No widget was displaying any text but jumbled ASCII characters, when you move the widgets the text would show but not without. I rebooted and it has been okay since.
but how horrible is that to put in so much of your money to get a piece of sht phone that doesnt even work and does basic functions correctly?
6. The phone also starts lagging, and is jerky ... especially with live wallpaper. That was really frustrating to see if you bought the phone to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology!! Samsung galaxy s2 scores much higher even on CPU benchmark tests I downloaded. Galaxy nexus fails to score any more than 1700 on the tests while Galaxy S2 (almost the same hardware) notches up to 3200+ scores!!! and these are basic tests that check cpu performance and your animation rendering capabilities. You cant mess with that really.
Now this could really be because of the high resolution of the screen... which brings me to the only two GOOD points of this phone :
1. Really crisp resolution. It is really just a class apart from older generation phones. Your icons, text, everything looks extremely good!
2. ICS - as everyone already mentioned it is a huge step up in terms of usability, and looks great deal polished. The phone feels good to navigate through, and ICS brings in some other features that make it a good OS. Others can cover on that more.
But anyway, I find those two points as largely ineffective in my choice to buy a phone (but i have unfortunately bought it and got rid of my desire and have been regretting the decision......it has been about 21 days on the galaxy nexus now)
Honestly, STAY AWAY FROM GALAXY NEXUS. The device is not worth it, and ICS evolution (especially bug fixes) and the hardware upgrades later this year would make for a really good and a competitive phone that you can buy!
cheers
Dhruv
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you sell it while it's still "fresh"..? You could easily get a desire for 200£, if not less actually!
dhruvraj said:
I'l give you an honest overview : the phone is SINCERELY NOT THERE to compete as a completely functional device to be honest.
And let me also tell you that I'm an Android fan boy, and I completely ABHOR apple and everything to do with them.
BUT YET. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is NOT EVEN a complete functional device yet, and paying 530 £ or so (in the UK) for such a phone - IS WASTE OF MONEY.
There are MANY glitches that makes the whole experience very unsavoury. To the point that it definitely DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FINISHED phone to me at all.
All the gloss of ICS apart, I have seen stability issues with this phone that just totally kills every thing. And mind you this is only on 4.0.1 GSM version UK (I've others here who have the same issue)
I'm a pretty heavy user. I've had a HTC Desire and worked out the ins and outs of the system and that device was EXTREMELY usable over the years.
This phone has so many problems -
1. The LED light does not even support missed calls by default. If you had a missed call you would not know till you turn the screen on (It is a basic feature was available 2 years back on HTC desire) I dont want to install a complicated APP like Light Flow to do it. This is basic stuff that should come out of the box
2. The phone in landscape mode does not type properly, this is just hilarious. Shame on google. The typing works perfect when you keep your phone straight, but the same phone, same stuff if you type in landscape it is incredibly jittery, you dont see what you wrote for good couple of seconds! This is just SHODDY work. how can screen orientation screw up your typing so badly - i have no idea. Just shameful from google.
3. The SMS dont go many times, and I've seen many threads about the same. Apparently you can screw up the message center settings? I dont know how but I'vent done that still had SMS problems a few times. And I had to restart my phone or send multiple times to make it work.
4. The call quality is the WORST I have seen on ANY phone in my entire life. I've been using the phone in exactly the same locations as I was using my HTC desire, and the call drops so much more often that it is just unbelievable! and needless to say incredibly frustrating. If the call doesnt drop the sound, sometimes (& often), is really pathetic and many a times it is inaudible to either party on the call. Is this a phone?
5. The phone is crashing randomly, this happens every 2 days or so (lately every single day now) and I'm a pretty heavy user. People say it is because I'm still on 4.0.1 - well I dont buy that because if 4.0.3 (the latest version) was fixing so many stability issues, then there is NO reason for Google to delay the release of that version on here in the UK for such a long time. Then some people say it is because I've some app installed, well I uninstalled most of my apps - but this problem doesnt go. And the phone becoming unresponsive due to an APP sounds like a serious piece of cr*pware to me. My settings page becomes unresponsive!! How can that happen? It has NEVER happened on android 2.3.7 with my HTC desire. If an APP is buggy, your home and menu screen buttons work perfectly! your android system doesnt become unstable because a stupid APP is incompatible or buggy! but here the WHOLE PHONE BECOMES UNUSABLE!!
And there's more! The latest of the glitches, yesterday - after the usual while typing the phone crashed, and then on reboot - all widgets on my screen - were all scrambled. No widget was displaying any text but jumbled ASCII characters, when you move the widgets the text would show but not without. I rebooted and it has been okay since.
but how horrible is that to put in so much of your money to get a piece of sht phone that doesnt even work and does basic functions correctly?
6. The phone also starts lagging, and is jerky ... especially with live wallpaper. That was really frustrating to see if you bought the phone to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology!! Samsung galaxy s2 scores much higher even on CPU benchmark tests I downloaded. Galaxy nexus fails to score any more than 1700 on the tests while Galaxy S2 (almost the same hardware) notches up to 3200+ scores!!! and these are basic tests that check cpu performance and your animation rendering capabilities. You cant mess with that really.
Now this could really be because of the high resolution of the screen... which brings me to the only two GOOD points of this phone :
1. Really crisp resolution. It is really just a class apart from older generation phones. Your icons, text, everything looks extremely good!
2. ICS - as everyone already mentioned it is a huge step up in terms of usability, and looks great deal polished. The phone feels good to navigate through, and ICS brings in some other features that make it a good OS. Others can cover on that more.
But anyway, I find those two points as largely ineffective in my choice to buy a phone (but i have unfortunately bought it and got rid of my desire and have been regretting the decision......it has been about 21 days on the galaxy nexus now)
Honestly, STAY AWAY FROM GALAXY NEXUS. The device is not worth it, and ICS evolution (especially bug fixes) and the hardware upgrades later this year would make for a really good and a competitive phone that you can buy!
cheers
Dhruv
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea which galaxy nexus u are using man , but had mine for just about a month now running aokp with franco kernel , And no i didnt use the stock i rooted and slapped a rom on after 2 days if i wanted to use what they gave me i wouldnt buy a nexus device .
this phone is SMOOOTH i mean FLUIIID is keyword here.
ive had 1 crash on phone in a months time , 0 lag
Seriously wtf are u about when it comes to call quality this is one of the best devices ive used when it comes to call quality ive had many other 3 other droids before this .
if only you read, you dimwit you wouldnt open your mouth
GSM 4.0.1 UK, unrooted stock (I dont want to flash with a new kernel I expect Google to do a good job to begin with)
and I've others on here who have same issues. dont chest thump your way up here, this phone is NOT a finished product and you've no clue what you are talking about
here stock kernel 4.0.1 - i'm attaching screenshots.
1. xda not responding
2. then SETTINGS not responding!!! :: native "settings" not responding (I've never seen that on any android before)
3. how my home screen looks
4. how my home screen looked after a crash and a reboot!! (the one i mentioned in the point above as widgets got screwed!)
dhruvraj said:
if only you read, you dimwit you wouldnt open your mouth
GSM 4.0.1 UK, unrooted stock (I dont want to flash with a new kernel I expect Google to do a good job to begin with)
and I've others on here who have same issues. dont chest thump your way up here, this phone is NOT a finished product and you've no clue what you are talking about
here stock kernel 4.0.1 - i'm attaching screenshots.
1. xda not responding
2. then SETTINGS not responding!!! :: native "settings" not responding (I've never seen that on any android before)
3. how my home screen looks
4. how my home screen looked after a crash and a reboot!! (the one i mentioned in the point above as widgets got screwed!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your an idiot nexus is purely aimed to be a developer device.
and all the nexus devices run the latest OS which means some might have issues thats the whole reason they get updates quickly and 4.01 is suppose to be buggy thats why all the good roms are on 4.02 or 4.03 and like how 2.3.3 was the base for all gingerbread roms 4.03 will be the base for all the ICS phones.
People like u should just buy an iphone or a SG2 or some other phones which are tried and tested before they are launched not a nexus device.
just read this thread to see how many problems they have with this phone :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1367807&page=11
and many others about SMS not going, jerky rendering... its all mentioned all over these forums
developers play with custom ROMS which this phone makes easier for you to do, that is not an excuse to dole out a phone riddled with bugs in basic functionalities, just so it looks glossy and cool! that is pathetic
---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:17 PM ----------
and here's for the call quality http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1421232
stop your chest thumping around here for a piece of junk phone
Dont fight guys thank you for your answers!
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

[Q] I just want to browse: should I get a Nexus or a S2?

Hi guys i want a smartphone just for browsing the web. i'll make an intensive use of the browser capabilities of my new smartphone. Camera? Video recording? I don't care! I just want very good browsing capabilities i.e. smooth navigation, pain free browsing...
In theory, the Nexus is the best choice due to its bigger screen however after reading some reviews it is clear to me that the S2 performs better and is more quick when it comes to page loading times and general navigation in websites is better on the S2. also reviewers said that pages with adobe flash elements will load very slow on the Nexus due to ICS issues with adobe flash but they say that there will be an update soon to fix this problem.
is this all true? or the browsing experience with the Nexus could beat the S2 with a proper ROM?
again, i just want very good browser capabilities, not really interested in GPS,camera, radio and stuff like that.
i might also wait for the s3 but maybe it doesn't worth waiting because the s3 is probably going to have a screen size very close to the nexus.
thanks.
I went from a s2 to the GNex and didn't really notice much difference between the two when browsing
Kinda so sounds like you may either want to get a tablet or a galaxy note
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Galaxy Note: too big... I'll look like a nerd holding it on my ear to make a call.
Tablets: even the upcoming GTab 7.7 is too big for me.
Guys please this thread is all about S2 vs GNex for browsing. thanks
GNEX FTW! The browser is amazing, and the higher res screen will make the text clearer.
Correct me if i am wrong, but doesn't higher resolution mean you can fit more on your screen without constantly scrolling and using zoom feature?
not in android. there its only mean u have a better quality and cant see single pixel in gnex. the rest is scaled to same size to view.
the tests i read said that the gnex is faster in browsing but bit worse in grafics.
so for me gnex is best 4 browsing
Only thing I have noticed coming to the Gnex from the S2 is that with the S2 EVERY webpage worked flawlessly (eg BBC iPlayer) with the Gnex quite a few don't work or are laggy... BUT when one does load properly, the screen is gorgeous and the browser is awesome
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I have found the GNEX to be very fast in browsing, but a lot will depend on your connectivity, background apps running, etc.
I own both phones and I find the Nexus better in/for everything...
The Nexus in my opinion is better in all regards. The S3 will probably be close to the specs that the Nexus has (screen wise).
The main thing to realize is that your smart phone use might change. If you want a phone that will be upgraded, is completely changeable, and can do anything you are willing to do to it, then get a Nexus. Think about it- Android will change to the point where hard buttons are not needed- you will already have a phone capable of accepting those changes that will most likely be present in the next overhaul of android.
If you scroll in the S2 browser, the screen movement has a delay compared to your finger movement. Imo its really noticeable and frustrating. GN doesnt have this problem. Paired with the fact that the screen has a higher resolution, Galaxy Nexus is a clear winner in this aspect.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
sadikhov77 said:
Correct me if i am wrong, but doesn't higher resolution mean you can fit more on your screen without constantly scrolling and using zoom feature?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes,
Craiq said:
not in android. there its only mean u have a better quality and cant see single pixel in gnex. the rest is scaled to same size to view.
the tests i read said that the gnex is faster in browsing but bit worse in grafics.
so for me gnex is best 4 browsing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I'd have to disagree with you on this one. Read a review cum comparison of S2 with GNex (side-by-side) on a famous Android blog, and actually compared the two for myself (colleague has S2 and I have GNex)...
If you keep the text size visually the same (i.e. say a 24pt font on one screen and same 24pt font on other screen) then yes, the extra resolution definitely means you can fit more text on the GNex. I mean, even from a layman's mindset - you're fitting in more pixels on the GNex right... so why wouldn't there be more text?
I have a stock Gnex, my partner has a rooted but stock S2.
The Gnex has a bigger screen at a much higher resolution without moving into "phablet" territory (IMO- see thread about the Gnex being "too big" for other opinions).
If you are a big fan of having multiple tabs open while browsing, you definitely will prefer the stock browser on ICS (which is currently only on the Gnex but will be on the S2 soon). The stock browser on Gingerbread only has "windows", limits the number that you can have open, and forgets what is open if you close the browser. ICS has a much improved tabbed browsing system.
IMO a stock Gnex is also faster in general than the S2 because of the lack of TouchWiz bloatware...but that's a personal preference, my partner loves TouchWiz.
But for the improved resolution alone I think the Gnex wins out as best for web browsing.

Impressions of the Optimus G (I switched from the Galaxy S3)

Okay, I've had the Optimus G (OG) for about a week now, and I can honestly say I enjoy it more than the GS3 I owned for a few months. I've lurked XDA a lot but figured I'd post this impressions thread in hopes of helping others out who are on the fence. I know I was definitely deciding between these 2 phones, and these kinds of posts really helped me.
Hardware and build quality are A LOT better. I've already had a few comments from strangers when they see me playing with my phone (case-less for now, eek).. asking "hey what phone is that?" or "that looks sleek"
It feels more premium in your hand and the sleek black with a touch of chrome makes it look a lot better than the cheap plastic of the GS3 in my opinion. The front/bezel is purely black (and by this, I mean when the screen's off, the entire front is pure black) and for whatever reason, it just looks sexy with the rest of the black phone. Also, it feels better in your hand... like you're holding something of quality.
Software-wise, I'll be honest I didn't go default with either phone. I love Nova Prime launcher for the gestures. (I set up double tap screen for opening camera, swipe down to bring up navigation is clutch when driving, amongst other gestures). I can say though, I've used the quickmemo A LOT more than I thought I would. It's nice to just pull it up to scribble down a quick note... I mean that's the only kind of notes that I take on my cell phone anyway. Then, you can store it in your picture gallery or your notepad app. I haven't used Qslide at all... especially because it doesn't work on YouTube and I don't watch movies on my cell phone.
Speaking of software, you will definitely notice how faster, quicker, and instant everything is on the OG. It's a snappy phone. I never thought the GS3 had lag, but after using the OG, you definitely notice it. I've tried to slow/lag it down... opening up navigation, youtube videos, browser, texting, etc at once and everything is just fluid. VERY impressed with the quad core snap dragon.
The screen is noticeably more vibrant. I'm never too picky on screens though.
I really don't have any gripes on the phone itself. My only concern is the lack of exposure it has. Not many cases or accessories if you're into that and not really that much buzz... considering everything this phone has inside.
Having said that, it kind of makes me feel like I have something special in my hands with this phone. It makes it more unique and luxurious... if that makes sense.
As long as it gets software support, I am extremely happy with my decision so far. The GS3 is popular, will have great product support, and lots of people have it... so it has that sense of community (as Apple does). But all of that stuff really doesn't mean much to me in owning a phone besides the product support.
After having this device for a couple of days i thought it was time to post my thoughts on it.
First off... build quality is amazing. Finally feels like I'm holding an expensive device. Was able to get a case for it at best buy the day i bought it. Put a zagg hd screen protector on it so my phone is protected. Sound quality is pretty good and the camera isn't bad once you change some settings.
Software is great too. Love the little things they did and love the layout. I too installed Nova Launcher after playing around with the stock one for a day. This phone is fast and cant wait for some aosp rom to come out or even better cyanogen mod (crossing fingers).
Gaming is amazing too. The Amazing Spiderman game from Gameloft runs with no lag whatsoever. 2Gbs of ram really help out and should be a standard on phones.
The screen is just awesome.
Battery life varies depending on what you are doing or what you use a phone for which is true for any device. I can easily go a full day and still have 50% percent left by turning off sync and data connection and only turning them on when i need to use them. When i play games the battery goes down fast too but im playing graphic intense games and usually am close to a charger when i do.
Playing movies looks awesome and the dolby mobile enhances the sound even more when headphones are used.
Overall this is my six android phone in three years and by far the best I've owned or touch (my wife has a galaxy s3 which i told her to get since she uses her phone as her primary camera). Def recommend it.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
What kind of settings did you change with the camera? I don't think it's all that bad, but am open to suggestions.
I have the default and the Camera Zoom FX app
Also, how do you take screenshots?
Take screenshots by using quickmemo. Just dont draw anything and hit the save icon. I'm not for sure what all i changed since i reset it to default. Just play around a bit you can reset camera to defaults in the camera settings
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
I'm currently on the S3 and I've seen an RF sheet that shows the Optimus G has overall, the best signal strength out of any other device on Sprint. The issue is whether or not I can put up with the lack of development support. I know it's new and all but there's not much action as of yet. On the GS3, we had people upload ROMs before the phone was out!
Also - I just purchased a 32GB sd card that would be useless on the LG so I'm kind of at a stalemate. I'm just torn pretty much. I like the LG Optimus G's performance and UI (Samsung's stock UI is disgusting on Jellybean). Also the quad core would be nice. But I'm kind of a signal freak. I'm a big fan of s4gru and I literally drive to local towers on a week basis to check network vision progress lol. Biggest reason behind wanting an LG is the signal strength. In bestbuy, my phone had varied from -89-99dBm on EvDo while the LG Optimus held a steady -83-88dBm. This means the LG is more secure with holding onto a signal than the GS3 is and that is fact, according the to RF sheets provided by FCC documentation.
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(The higher the number, the better). The LG and Motorola Photon appear to be the best in terms of signal strength. Surprisingly, Samsung's GS3 is of the lowest!
I think if your on the fence about the microSD card. Consider this.
On my previous phone, I had a 64gb microsd card, which housed a large amount of my data-videos, ebooks, music, etc.
However, when I switched to this phone, and was transferring my data, I slowly realized that a lot of that data was useless. They were either books I previously read, songs that I didn't really listen to, so I then got a premium account on spotify, and videos that I should really just delete after I download.
All in all, I was capable of using only 10GB of my 32gb. And, I feel like I haven't missed a beat with storage. And this includes having a PSX emulator, Chrono trigger, and chaos rings on the device.
Also, the response time of apps opening is much faster when stored on main disk.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Plus you have 50 gigs of air cloud too
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
I came from GS3. So I also had 50gb Dropbox. And now with the OG I also have 50gb from box.Net
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
T'was a holiday. Chill on the "lack of development".
MikeEx said:
T'was a holiday. Chill on the "lack of development".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, it hasn't been that long till devs actually had source access+recovery. Can't develop and test very well without those. Or backup stuff...
MikeEx said:
T'was a holiday. Chill on the "lack of development".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've decided to stick it out with galaxy s3 mostly due to expandable battery and SD card slot. Still very tempting though lg!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
So far very impressed coming from 3d, still no root, navigation of screens is a little difficult, but sure when root and dev kicks in this will not be problem.
Big plus for me is battery and most importantly signal. Tried HTC LTE on launch and signal worse on 3d, this is by far the best signal I have had on Sprints crappy. Network in Arizona. Speed and performance amazing, though awesome on 3d with custom kernel and tweaks with antutu at 8000ish, higher now of course with no tweaks.
Want to wait for quad core HTC or maybe Samsung, but need change and BestBuy price last few days $100 decided to try. Thinking will be keeping, next week will determine.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using Tapatalk 2
I'm liking mine very much so far. What do you mean "No Root yet", I've ben rooted for 4 or 5 days now atleast. Anyways it's a shame I have to keep his sexy sleek thing in a case just to keep me from going crazy thinking somethng will happen. I just hope they are willing to develop the software that'll push the 13mp lens to its fullest potential, far better than my Evo3D was but I see room for improvement still. Fast fast fast...just the way I like em, even without tweaks this thing is fast enough for me. Just with root alone I'm happy running my apps like WifiTether, don't need it any faster so I probaby won't run anything custom yet when it comes out. Overall very happy, was wanting an HTC quad core but not willing t wait till next spring so here I am with an LG-OG in my hands

Anyone come back to S3 after using/trying/owning a Nexus 4?

My wife got the Nexus 4, and mine is on the way. I'm not so sure I want it. I had the galaxy nexus and loved it. The nexus 4 is a great device, love it. But there are some things I don't like.
Thinking about buying this phone instead.
I like the removable battery, expandable storage, better camera than n4, kind of like touch wiz a little (especially note the just announced the new update package with cool features)
Also, service at my desk is horrible. Its fine everywhere else. But every T-Mobile phone I've owned has had better service at my desk. Kind of a deal breaker, and I think the s3 will be better.
Thoughts?
Kind of like the ability for USB otg as well. Can't on the nexus 4. Also, nexus 4 feels to fancy, like breakable fancy. I like the s3 feel. Feels cheaper, but sturdier cheaper. Make sense? Like only using fine China on occasion. Use the cheap stuff daily
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
S3 is better, plus you can flash CM10 for that nexus. Only reason why nexus is better is for latest updates.
Lol you basically put down ask the reasons of why get an s3.
Sent from my Rooted Gameboy
I currently have both phones.
My SGS3 is rooted with a highly modified Touchwiz based rom, kernel, etc etc. I am no stranger to CM and AOKP roms and have run them on past phones as well as tried them on the SGS3.
The N4 is now running a AOKP ROM.
There's a lot to like about both devices. The pentile screen on the SGS3 STILL bugs me a little. Any closer than 5 or 6 inches and I can see the cross hatch pattern in certain colors. If you need WiFi calling, stop reading and go buy the SGS3.
The SGS3 IMO is a better all around friendlier device. As you mentioned, it has a micro-SD slot, removable battery, etc etc. As much as people knock it for it's plastic-y feel, the device is solid. Mine does not creak or flex, and the seams line up near perfectly. I think the biggest thing here is the plastic battery door cover that just seems to clip on and off. I don't mind it at all, it's just an interpretation on how to construct a device. Plus, with it's beveled rear the device feels even slimmer than it already is. The Touchwiz argument is also an interesting one to me. The SGS3 has been super easy to Mod. Plenty of dev support for all of it's versions. If you want to run Touchwiz you can, and there are some things to like, especially with the recently announced features. If you want to run something else, that can be done too, and IMO it's a fairly simple process.
The N4 to me is more of a statement. The build quality is excellent. The materials are excellent. If this phone had a microSD card slot and WiFi calling, I'd sell my SGS3 in a heartbeat, but it doesn't. I love to mod my phones so the microSD card slot makes a big difference to me. At 8gb or 16gb, Google is also telling users to move to the cloud for storage. Funny enough, the N4 getting the latest OS can be a hindrance as much as a virtue. Some apps still don't work right on 4.2. Even google's own Chrome browser likes to FC.
In the end, they're both FANTASTIC devices. From a stylistic point of view, the N4 wins. Having used both phones for a few days, I will tell you right now that speed is not an issue with either phone. Setup properly, I dare you to find either one of them flinch or skip a beat. My SGS3 actually feels faster than my N4, but that's a lot like saying a Aventador is faster than a 458. IMO, unless you're a gamer, processor speed is not really a limiting factor for phones at this level.
The N4 does feel "fancier" than the SGS3, but make no mistake, you WILL wince if I told you to drop either of them. One look at what seems like an acre of gorilla glass on the SGS3 and the first thought you're going to have is "I'm going to HATE myself if I ever drop this thing". I'd say from this perspective, the only difference would be is, if you happen to drop the phone on it's back, the SGS3 cover can be replaced easily and cheaply, but if the rear glass on the N4 shatters....... well, ouch.
Simply put, there's no bad choice.
Good luck, hope this helped.
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*Golf Clap*
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
se1000 said:
I currently have both phones.
My SGS3 is rooted with a highly modified Touchwiz based rom, kernel, etc etc. I am no stranger to CM and AOKP roms and have run them on past phones as well as tried them on the SGS3.
The N4 is now running a AOKP ROM.
There's a lot to like about both devices. The pentile screen on the SGS3 STILL bugs me a little. Any closer than 5 or 6 inches and I can see the cross hatch pattern in certain colors. If you need WiFi calling, stop reading and go buy the SGS3.
The SGS3 IMO is a better all around friendlier device. As you mentioned, it has a micro-SD slot, removable battery, etc etc. As much as people knock it for it's plastic-y feel, the device is solid. Mine does not creak or flex, and the seams line up near perfectly. I think the biggest thing here is the plastic battery door cover that just seems to clip on and off. I don't mind it at all, it's just an interpretation on how to construct a device. Plus, with it's beveled rear the device feels even slimmer than it already is. The Touchwiz argument is also an interesting one to me. The SGS3 has been super easy to Mod. Plenty of dev support for all of it's versions. If you want to run Touchwiz you can, and there are some things to like, especially with the recently announced features. If you want to run something else, that can be done too, and IMO it's a fairly simple process.
The N4 to me is more of a statement. The build quality is excellent. The materials are excellent. If this phone had a microSD card slot and WiFi calling, I'd sell my SGS3 in a heartbeat, but it doesn't. I love to mod my phones so the microSD card slot makes a big difference to me. At 8gb or 16gb, Google is also telling users to move to the cloud for storage. Funny enough, the N4 getting the latest OS can be a hindrance as much as a virtue. Some apps still don't work right on 4.2. Even google's own Chrome browser likes to FC.
In the end, they're both FANTASTIC devices. From a stylistic point of view, the N4 wins. Having used both phones for a few days, I will tell you right now that speed is not an issue with either phone. Setup properly, I dare you to find either one of them flinch or skip a beat. My SGS3 actually feels faster than my N4, but that's a lot like saying a Aventador is faster than a 458. IMO, unless you're a gamer, processor speed is not really a limiting factor for phones at this level.
The N4 does feel "fancier" than the SGS3, but make no mistake, you WILL wince if I told you to drop either of them. One look at what seems like an acre of gorilla glass on the SGS3 and the first thought you're going to have is "I'm going to HATE myself if I ever drop this thing". I'd say from this perspective, the only difference would be is, if you happen to drop the phone on it's back, the SGS3 cover can be replaced easily and cheaply, but if the rear glass on the N4 shatters....... well, ouch.
Simply put, there's no bad choice.
Good luck, hope this helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You my friend hit the nail right on the head. I got the SGS3 32GB and I still think I need more space. I take a lot of pictures and videos so I need it. I'm sorry but there is no way tmobile's coverage is good enough to depend on cloud service consistently. For some reason I lose signal at almost every Target locations so I can't even check into Shopkick. If I can't even do that, there is no frakking way I can depend on cloud.
OOTB, the SGS3 will stutter on most things that I do. However, with morfic and FrostyJB_4.1.1, I'm good. The ONLY thing I want for my SGS3 is that screen from N4. Penile AMOLED gets on my nerves occasionally but I can live with it. Lack of space, I can't live with that.
So there. Storage is the most important factor for me. What's yours?
Sent from my SGH-T999
LordPhong said:
You my friend hit the nail right on the head. I got the SGS3 32GB and I still think I need more space. I take a lot of pictures and videos so I need it. I'm sorry but there is no way tmobile's coverage is good enough to depend on cloud service consistently. For some reason I lose signal at almost every Target locations so I can't even check into Shopkick. If I can't even do that, there is no frakking way I can depend on cloud.
OOTB, the SGS3 will stutter on most things that I do. However, with morfic and FrostyJB_4.1.1, I'm good. The ONLY thing I want for my SGS3 is that screen from N4. Penile AMOLED gets on my nerves occasionally but I can live with it. Lack of space, I can't live with that.
So there. Storage is the most important factor for me. What's yours?
Sent from my SGH-T999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree with what you guys say. For me, the micro sd card does it. I have the 16gb s3 and a 16 th card and I'm almost out of space. People use their device for different things and I use them for music. I have my entire music library on my phone and I don't use mp3 but instead flac lossless and if you use them, you know these files are 20-35MB per song. So for me, that's why I didn't sell my s3 for the nexus 4. The screen on the s3 also annoys me. So much, that I.considered sacrificing some songs to get the nexus 4. First pentile screen that I used was the Motorola Atrix 4G and the pentile made the screen garbage. I came with the s3 because it was the best phone t mobile had and I also seen reviews where they said the high pixel density made the pentile not matter. Well it still bus me so now I know for my next phone. I also can't rely on cloud storage because of the inconsistent signal from t mobile. In the mall yesterday, I got 1-2 signal (sometimes none) while my soon to be girlfriend :fingers crossed: had full signal with att. And no matter what carrier you have ,you are limited to data and steaming can make a dent so cloud won't become more useful for steaming for a while. And if I go on a trip, I can't friend in streaming either. A 64 GB nexus 4 child have gone the trick for many people. Although we dislike the sealed battery, many can deal with it and I can, but not with no large memory or sd slot
That's a tough sell
Sent from my Rooted Gameboy
Does anyone think they will use the dual window feature when the new update package comes out?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
LordPhong said:
You my friend hit the nail right on the head. I got the SGS3 32GB and I still think I need more space. I take a lot of pictures and videos so I need it. I'm sorry but there is no way tmobile's coverage is good enough to depend on cloud service consistently. For some reason I lose signal at almost every Target locations so I can't even check into Shopkick. If I can't even do that, there is no frakking way I can depend on cloud.
OOTB, the SGS3 will stutter on most things that I do. However, with morfic and FrostyJB_4.1.1, I'm good. The ONLY thing I want for my SGS3 is that screen from N4. Penile AMOLED gets on my nerves occasionally but I can live with it. Lack of space, I can't live with that.
So there. Storage is the most important factor for me. What's yours?
Sent from my SGH-T999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disabled about 30 apps and typically run 550-750mb of ram at the most. I basically cut the OS down to only the parts I use. It helped a lot to speed things up on the SGS3.
pnut22r said:
Does anyone think they will use the dual window feature when the new update package comes out?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think I'll personally use it that often, but the biggest thing for me is that, if I wanted to, I could (if I stick with the SGS3). There's not telling if any of this will get ported to AOSP/AOKP, but if it doesn't, it means you don't have a choice. As much as people knock Touchwiz and even Sense, they are pretty convenient and come with some cool features. Touchwiz especially with all of the Samsung specific software. If you have other Samsung devices that are compatible, that can also factor in on the decision.
I may end up keeping both phones. haha.
I have both but...
pnut22r said:
My wife got the Nexus 4, and mine is on the way. I'm not so sure I want it. I had the galaxy nexus and loved it. The nexus 4 is a great device, love it. But there are some things I don't like.
Thinking about buying this phone instead.
I like the removable battery, expandable storage, better camera than n4, kind of like touch wiz a little (especially note the just announced the new update package with cool features)
Also, service at my desk is horrible. Its fine everywhere else. But every T-Mobile phone I've owned has had better service at my desk. Kind of a deal breaker, and I think the s3 will be better.
Thoughts?
Kind of like the ability for USB otg as well. Can't on the nexus 4. Also, nexus 4 feels to fancy, like breakable fancy. I like the s3 feel. Feels cheaper, but sturdier cheaper. Make sense? Like only using fine China on occasion. Use the cheap stuff daily
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I have a Tmo s3 and bought a N4. I used N4 for a couple of days and let's just say, I came back to my s3.
- on s3 you get the entire 4.8" of screen so watching netflix and reading flipboard, pulse and web surfing is better imo.(on N4 you don't get the entire 4.7")
- I'm not a fan of on-screen buttons because i have accidently hit home button a few times when I meant to type space bar on the keyboard(super annoying)
- ext. micro sd slot. (hallelujah) . I can keep official touchwiz rom nandroid backup on intenal sd and my all other rom backups on my ext. sd giving me ample space on my internal sd.(I like to switch roms back and forth)
- split screen is getting pushed soon.
- removable batteries.(not a deal breaker but nice to have the option)
- stock camera app on s3 definitely takes better pictures and video shooting has pause option.
- and if i break or brick my phone i only have to pay $130 deductible to get a replacement. /knockOnWood
N4
- has better build feel and look.
- google wallet out the box.
- first to get updates.
- wireless charging capability
- miracast feature with just a cheap on-TV dongle for non smartTVs
- raw power for gamers.(geekbench scores 2050-2085 out the box. iphone 5 gets 1600+)
but ultimately, it all comes down to how you like to use your phone. but for me, s3 > N4.(slightly)
Thanks for awesome message. What time are you using for your S3. I'm looking for a good touch with romantic for my T-999v
Thanks again for your detailed message
Sent from my SGH-T999V using xda app-developers app
I love my S3 and there is no other phone, especially one without an SD card or removable battery that I would user in the world.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
se1000 said:
The SGS3 has been super easy to Mod. Plenty of dev support for all of it's versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha, that's not true. The Cyanogenmod developers seem to dislike the S3. It's crashy when running CM, and glitchy for some people. It's stable enough for most people to use, but if running AOSP is important, S3 support is a worry when buying a phone.
I wouldn't trade my 4 month old S3 with a brand new N4. Personally, I think the N4 looks better and has better screen (oh, and faster chip--> don't care). But the S3 is more practical due to supporting USB otg (Ive read that the N4's hardware don't support usb otg ), memory card, removable battery. Touchwiz is, actually, great after I experienced pure android on the N10. It is more friendly and convenient. Not sure about the N4, but playing media file on the N10 is a pain since it doesn't support many codec (since they are all Nexus so I assume they are the same). THe N4 may be the hottest phone atm, but the S3 is still better. (I ordered a N4 for my bro and it is coming today will have a chance to compare them)
rookiegenius said:
I wouldn't trade my 4 month old S3 with a brand new N4. Personally, I think the N4 looks better and has better screen (oh, and faster chip--> don't care). But the S3 is more practical due to supporting USB otg (Ive read that the N4's hardware don't support usb otg ), memory card, removable battery. Touchwiz is, actually, great after I experienced pure android on the N10. It is more friendly and convenient. Not sure about the N4, but playing media file on the N10 is a pain since it doesn't support many codec (since they are all Nexus so I assume they are the same). THe N4 may be the hottest phone atm, but the S3 is still better. (I ordered a N4 for my bro and it is coming today will have a chance to compare them)
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Click to collapse
Write back when your done
peaceOut()
I'm really torn with the s3. I'm finally due for an upgrade and was planning on getting the s3 but with all of the complaints about the screen and the fact the s4 is on the horizon I just might wait.. I do know that the SD card not being on the N4 is a deal breaker and I won't consider it no matter how great. Shame that Google seems to following in Apple's footsteps in that regards.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
Do not forget about the battery life. Switched back from the nexus after a week of usage. Screen on time is horrible compared to the galaxy.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
While cloud streaming is a great concept, I don't want to be forced to use it since it's not always the best solution for the situation. I like having choice.
No removable battery is also a deal breaker for me. I want to not care if I'm abusing the battery.
I would love to trade screen technology, but then again I like being able to save battery by lowering the brightness past stock settings when I don't need it.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda app-developers app

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