I got the chance to play around with the Galaxy Nexus for a few moments and I must say that sucker is fast. Really fast! I was zipping along through all the apps and opening and closing and swiping – it was all such a breeze. By now, you know all the specs already. The screen was pretty large and the fact that there are no buttons really made a difference in the screen size since Samsung was able to capitalize on the extra space. The glass was indeed curved, but you had to look for it. It wasn’t hugely noticeable. The device felt really solid, but I can’t stand that flimsy back cover that Samsung has been adding as of late, but it did cut the weight down. I didn’t mind it so much since the device itself was so sturdy.
I managed to snap a few pictures, and the there really was no shutter lag. You have to use it for yourself to really understand how blazingly fast taking a picture was. I tried panorama out, but I couldn’t really think of too many cases for when I might use it, but it was still cool to have, and I’ll take it.
All-in-all, Android 4.o is a good forward step. The upgrade definitely feels like a true upgrade and not just Honeycomb 3.5. Everything is re-done, but it still somehow doesn’t feel finished. I would definitely make the Galaxy Nexus my next device, but I’m really looking for the next iteration. Jelly Bean is it?
So Samsung and Google just announced the Galaxy Nexus and below are my thoughts on the device which will ship with Android 4.0 or “Iced Cream Sandwich” if you will. Let me be the first to say that I liked the code name “Nexus Prime” much better than Galaxy Nexus. I suppose Samsung had to get some branding recognition since Google seems to be using them as the handset maker of choice for their pur-bread Android experience.
That said, there are a few things that I’m excited about:
Camera Improvements
Not only can you zoom while taking video, but you can snap a pic while taking video as well
You can unlock straight to the Camera
You can take Panoramic shots
Instant shot meaning no shutter lag
Face Recognition Unlock
Phone will unlock only if it recognizes its owner…sometimes
HD Super AMOLED
4.65 inch super bright screen. Definitely want to check that baby out.
Photo Editing
All the standard stuff you find in the app store like cropping, color, angle change, red-eye reduction, etc
People App.
Connects all your information on a single contact. You can manipulate which address or number you text or email by modifying your contact’s “people card”
Android Beam
Transmit data wireless via NFC which means you can exchange personal info, websites, Youtube videos etc by tapping phones together.
I gotta say that I’m intrigued and will probably get this phone, however, I still don’t feel that “magical” felling yet. All of the new features are amazing, yet, I still feel somewhat underwhelmed for some reason. I don’t feel like anything ground-breaking has happened. I just feel like Android is being continually polished and this is a step in the right direction. What are your thoughts?
We happened to get our hands on Google’s new phone made by Samsung called the Nexus S. It’s running the company’s latest version of Android…Android 2.3. Check below to see what we thought!
Likes:
We loved the overall sleekness of the design. I’m a simple man and I was totally impressed with the form factor. It’s all black and unassuming, yet when you look at it, you know there is something special about it. The buttons capacitive buttons light up only when the device is on so when it’s asleep it’s just a dark black device in your hand. When you turn it off, it kinda flickers off in the same way your old CRT TV used to which we thought was a nice touch. There is also a really cool burst of orange (wish you could change the color) that happens when you get to the top or bottom of a long list…i.e the bottom of your contact list. It’s those little things that let us know that the folks over there at Google are doing good work.
The phone is really thin and light weight. This can go either way, but I don’t mind light devices if they work though the phone did almost slip a few times with simple gesturing. The call quality is nothing special, but the speaker phone was a little better than I was expecting. It’s by no means the best speaker phone we’ve ever heard but it held it’s own which was surprising. These light-weight devices usually have terrible speakerphones.
The camera was ok – I really liked the HD2’s camera to be honest, but this one will do. Still 5 MPs with single LED flash. Some devices have dual LEDs which is nice, but I didn’t find myself missing the second LED.I found the shutter a little slow but I can’t really complain too much because its a phone however, some mobile devices are getting better at this. I also liked the front facing camera, though it may not be of much use if you don’t know anyone with compatible software.
The Operating System is great. It was quite zippy and I had no problems scrolling through long lists. As you may know, Android offers near seamless integration with your Google life. It picks up all of your Google Contacts, Calendar Appointments etc… This pure Android experience also offers wireless tethering to other devices via wifi or a hard connection. I wish there was a quick shortcut to the tethering functionality like the palm devices on Verizon, but a hotspot is a hotspot and I’m not complaining. We didn’t get to try out its NFC powers, but we knew it was there. We think this will be big in the near future, though it’s not very prevalent in other devices just yet. However, it may be something you wish to think about when making your next phone purchase.
Dislikes:
Data speed. I have a G2 and though it’s only coming in at 800 MHz while the Nexus S has a 1 GHz processor yet many times the G2 felt faster because I spend a lot of time downloading information on the web. Because the G2 takes advantage of Tmobile’s 3G+ network, I was bringing up pages and downloading apps much faster on my G2. This is the one jinx in the armor so-to-speak for the Nexus S. I also didn’t like the plastic feel of the back cover. It makes the device quite light in comparison with other smart phones in the same size range, but it makes the phone feel a little cheaper than it should. Also, Samsung – please stop putting the lock button on the right side! I ended up going into the Android boot-up sequence by pushing the power button and the down volume button at the same time! I also kept changing my sound settings accidentally because of this.
Lastly, my 3G conked out towards the end of use. Not sure if this was because the phone was a trial phone or what, but after a while, I was unable to reach 3G speeds at all on the device.
Overall:
Overall, the device is solid and would love to have it for the front-facing camera, sleek look and feel, along with the pure Google experience. Other than a few hang-ups like network speed, I found this phone to be quite useful and a pleasure to use. Not sure about that 3G issue though. That may be a major issue if it is widespread. However, if it’s isolated – then I’d just replace the phone for a new one as I found very little to be disappointed with.
If you have T-mobile and have been a loyal customer for years…than you can’t upgrade for a discount on this phone. Sorry – suck it up. Its available at 179.00 for people who are starting a new line and there is only one type of plan you can get if you are buying at discount. For ballers, you can get the phone unlocked at 529.00 and just add a simcard with whatever plan you want and be done with it all.
Here is the phone break down:
Hardware:
1Ghz Snapdragon processor with 3.7 inch capacitive display. It has 512 MB of Flash Memory and 512 MB of RAM. It comes with 4GB Micro SD card which you can upgrade to 32 GB when you get the urge. Camera is 5 Mega-pixels with LED Flash and 2x zoom. Its got Blue-tooth/Stereo Blue-tooth and Wifi as well. With all of that it only comes out to be about 11.5 mm thick!
Software: Runs Android 2.1 (Eclair). Google’s newest iteration. With such a fast processor, I’m guessing this phone will most likely see its fair share of upgrades.
Distinctions: What makes this phone different from say…the iPhone? It can multitask. Also, it doesn’t have multi-touch capabilities. It has voice recognition and dictation elements native only to this device. Not a whole lot else. What this means is that you can’t pinch to zoom in on web pages or photos, but you can say “Navigate to McDonald’s” and it will give you turn by turn directions to the nearest McDonald’s which I think is pretty sweet. You can also dictate a note or a text message which can come in handy for those who just can’t seem to stay away while driving.
Interface seems clean and snappy from what I can tell. Really like the moving wallpaper. They even respond to interactions! You can check the video below to see for yourself:
So all in all a pretty solid phone. Good-looking, but not terribly sexy in my opinion. Great functionality, but not quite ground-breaking or game changing. Smart phone? Yes. Superphone? Nah, not quite.
Update:
Eligible users with data plans can now upgrade to the Nexus One on T-mobile for $279. Those who paid $379 will get 100 bucks in a rebate check from Google. Sounds good to me!
Have you guys heard yet? Google is coming out with a “Google Phone” called the Nexus (as of right now). According to the rumors floating around, they will be selling the phone themselves much like Apple is doing their iPhone. Gizmodo.com seems to have uncovered the price for this puppy and its about what you would expect. According to the leaked documents, the phone can be had for about $530 unlocked and $180 with a two year contract on T-mobile’s network. The clincher is the fact that you only have one choice and its not even the best plan! No unlimited Data. I suspect Tmobile is trying to take it slow and not cripple their network and make it as sucky as ATT’s. Perhaps its a wise move. At any rate, the phone is a beast with its 1Ghz processor and snappy android 2.1 UI. Check Tmonews.com for more pics and vids.
Update:
Those bastards at Engadget have gotten their mitts on their very own Nexus phone! They also have a pretty nice video of it in action. It looks super fast, and full of interesting little UI tweeks that we havent seen before on an Android device like interactive wallpapers and a separate applications screen. A drawback in my opinion is the same old dusty keyboard (can’t they just use the one from HTC’s Sense UI???) Also saw a microphone on the keyboard…dictation abilities anyone? You can check it all out for yourself here
