Working at a phone retailer, I frequently get asked which device is better, the Rezound or the Galaxy Nexus; that’s something that obviously requires a lot of subjective evaluations, and deserves a more thorough comparison. Let’s delve into that and see if either phone can hold the title of "Best Device on Verizon."
Quick History:
The Galaxy Nexus is the latest device on Verizon’s network, the newest Samsung device, and this year’s Nexus device. The phone came out just over a week ago, and was designed by Google for their latest version of Android. This device is certainly a powerful addition to the market.
The Rezound was also released pretty recently. The Rezound is HTC and Beats By Dre’s first product to hit America. It comes with Beats by Dre software and a pair of headphones to compliment the sound quality of the phone. This device is the latest from HTC, and considering HTC has the second highest customer satisfaction behind Apple, it's possible this phone can stand up to Google’s phone.
Hardware Comparisons:
Screen-
The Galaxy Nexus joins the battle with a 4.5 inch curved display that puts out 720p full HD resolution. This screen looks quite nice when watching movies because it’s built on Samsung’s Super AMOLED plus technology, so you’re getting some of the best quality video playback on a mobile phone.
The Rezound comes in with similar specifications. The screen may not be Samsung’s famous Super AMOLED plus display, but it also offers you 720p resolution, and actually looks a bit better. The screen is not 4.5 inch either, but it does offer pixel density that surpassed any other phones in the market—including the iPhone. Movies look just as amazing, on the Rezound screen.
In this round - The Rezound and Galaxy Nexus have equal advantages and disadvantage. It primarily matters what you want more of from your display; a bigger screen with the Nexus or a slightly better one with the Rezound.
Camera-
The Galaxy Nexus has one of the coolest camera’s I’ve ever used. The no-lag shutter speed and the one click panoramic picture taking software make it a great camera for traveling and taking lots of pictures. The quality is not that great on the other hand. The camera’s resolution was limited to 5 megapixels, and pictures taken from the Galaxy Nexus aren’t as clear or vibrant to me as other phones I’ve used.
The Rezound on the other hand, is another story. This device has probable the best Camera I’ve ever used on a phone. The 8 megapixel back-lit camera makes for extremely vibrant and nice pictures. It does not offer the no-lag feature, but it does quite well in getting you a quality shot in about a second or so. Recording 1080p on the Rezound also looks much better and it has great sound quality as well, even when it’s windy outside.
In this round - the Rezound takes the Galaxy Nexus to the mat.
Size, Build Quality, Processer, Battery-
The size of the Galaxy Nexus is actually pretty nice. The phone is not too big for most hands and feels okay while holding it. The build quality looks pretty nice from the front, but when you actually hold it, it doesn’t feel so nice after all. The phone feels too lightweight. The light weight of the phone is deceptive though, since the device packs a lot of power under the hood. The device's dual-core processor, clocked at 1.2 Ghz, offers you lightning speed! The Battery life on this phone is one thing that I’m shocked about, and pleasantly so. The device actually offered me awesome battery life when I used it all day, and I was on LTE the whole time. The battery life on this phone is one of the best I’ve ever experienced.
The Rezound seems to walk the same line as the Galaxy Nexus in some respects. While the phone is a bit thicker than the Nexus, it is a bit easier to hold and adds to the build quality of the device. Holding the Rezound, I feel like it can handle much more than any most other phone and that it’s a premium device that won’t break so easily. The processor of the Rezound is clocked at 1.5, but you would be hard-pressed to notice a difference, because they’re both really fast devices. As far as battery life goes, it is an HTC device, so you’re not getting better battery life than the Nexus, but it’s not that bad (Thunderbolt anyone). One thing that I noticed with the Rezound is that when compared to the Nexus, the speedtest.net test always ended with the Rezound getting better speeds both up and down; I don’t know how to explain this occurrence.
These devices both have really great hardware, but I think the Rezound won this one. It offers a faster processor, better build quality, and better size. The battery life on the Nexus did offer you more than the Rezound.
[video=youtube;Lt17TP7XDBY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt17TP7XDBY[/video][video=youtube;Sxcgd2LRQ48]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxcgd2LRQ48[/video]
Watch in 1080p
Watch in 1080p
Software Comparisons:
This one of something I cannot go too in-depth in. The software on these devices are on opposite levels so it’s basically comparing apples and oranges. The HTC with Sense on the Android 2.3 is quite nice, and adds a lot of value to the Rezound. The addition of the Beats Audio software on the Rezound is also a big plus for those that love listening to music.
But, The Galaxy Nexus offers the great gift of Ice Cream Sandwich just like Google intended. It has nothing Verizon made, and it certainly doesn’t have a ton of bloatware. The phone is nearly perfect in the OS department and is a blast to use.
It's nearly impossible to go too in-depth with the software portion of this comparison because they aren’t truly comparable, but when the Rezound gets the 4.0 update, I’ll gladly edit this and compare them on even grounds.
As nice as the HTC phone with Gingerbread is, Ice Cream Sandwich is the next generation and takes things to a whole new level of awesome.
[video=youtube;KCraXdvNleo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCraXdvNleo[/video]
Final break-down:
Over-all the Rezound seems like a better device, but the Galaxy Nexus is still a better buy because it's essentially future proof, and you can't go wrong with the latest Android 4.0. Of course, it is probable that sometime in 2012, the Rezound will receive ICS, and then it basically just stands above the Galaxy Nexus in a several ways. It boils down to choosing between "what you have to have now", or "what you can live with until later."
Ratings:
- Speed and Multitasking: G10/10 R10/10
- Camera Quality: G7/10 R10/10
- Browsing Experience: G10/10 R10/10
- Music Playback: G 8/10 R10/10
- Build Quality: G7/10 R10/10
- Size: G8/10 R8/10
- Network: G10/10 R10/10
- Pricing: G8/10 R8/10
- Sexiness: G10/10 R8/10
- Overall Rating: G8/10 R9/10
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