Should I upgrade to the G-Nex?

[warped1987]

I currently have a pretty beat up Dinc2 and my early upgrade is just around the corner, august 8th! Best Buy is currently selling the phone for free with 2 year contract so I have been strongly considering getting it.

I was wondering more about it. Does it not have removable SD? Does the battery life with the standard battery really suck that much? I have been looking at the extended batteries on eBay and Amazon, but the 3,800 mah's make the phone look stupid. So if I decide not to get an extended will the standard suffice? I currently have an extended with my Dinc2 and hate to use the standards.

Any other warnings, or words to make me get this phone? What is everyones opinion? I've been trying to find a reason to not early terminate VZW and switch to a POS straight talk to cut back on my monthly bills, someone get me back on track!

 

[dezymond]

No removable SD card. Stock battery life is pretty much mediocre.

Are you into rooting and ROMing? If so this is definitely the phone for you. The dev support for this phone is amazing. For example, while other phones are finally catching up and getting ICS, we've already got JB through ROMs.

And ROMs help with battery life as well. Stock ROM I was maybe getting 6-8hrs of battery for the day. I admit I only remained stock for 5 days tops, but those 5 days it was plugged in charging, ALOT. Now that I'm rooted and ROM'd, depending on my use, I won't have to charge my phone til around noon the next day and even then I'm hovering around 35%, ROMs make a huge difference for this phone.

Have you checked the phone out yet? Some say the phone feels cheap with it's plastic, I think it's a higher quality plastic than they put in some cars tbh, doesn't feel cheap at all. It is a bit slippery though because of the backing. Radios are less than average, so if you live in a weak signal area, that could be a deal breaker.

Other than that, it is easily the best phone I have owned. Big beautiful screen, blazing fast (and even faster on JB), battery life is better than my Dinc ever was even when ROMd, and it has a nice slim profile. It really is everything and more I expected from a Nexus and I am as happy with it as I was the day I picked it up. And for the record, I use the standard battery and push the battery that far, I admit I use it differently every few days (light vs heavy use), but after I've ROMd, battery lasts me all day, easy.

 

[cupfulloflol]

I currently have a pretty beat up Dinc2 and my early upgrade is just around the corner, august 8th! Best Buy is currently selling the phone for free with 2 year contract so I have been strongly considering getting it.

I was wondering more about it. Does it not have removable SD? Does the battery life with the standard battery really suck that much? I have been looking at the extended batteries on eBay and Amazon, but the 3,800 mah's make the phone look stupid. So if I decide not to get an extended will the standard suffice? I currently have an extended with my Dinc2 and hate to use the standards.

Any other warnings, or words to make me get this phone? What is everyones opinion? I've been trying to find a reason to not early terminate VZW and switch to a POS straight talk to cut back on my monthly bills, someone get me back on track!

No removable storage, unfortunately. It does have 32GB of internal storage which can be used for anything (~28GB usable).

Battery life depends on so many factors, including your usage. All of which will be different for every person. I feel I get decent battery life with the standard battery. It gets me through the day, with what I considered . But will it for you? No clue. What do you do with your Dinc2 on a normal day? How much screen on time? Is the reception good in your area?

My main warning is that you will be losing your unlimited data plan, if you have it, when you upgrade. Just as a heads up if you weren't aware of that.

If you don't really use features of a smartphone a lot perhaps it would be wiser for you to drop to a different plan. What do you use your Dinc2 for? For example I have thought about getting my wife a smart phone for a while, but she calls people or texts. That is it. She perhaps would use some of the features, but it would for the most part be a waste of money. So she still has an old flip phone that she loves.

I am sorry I didn't really answer most of your questions/concerns. But really they are impossible to answer properly. The battery would basically require you to try it out to see if it is acceptable for yourself. And the do I need a smartphone question is definitely something you need to answer yourself.

 

[warped1987]

Alright, where to start with my response, lol. I will try to hit each point one by one.

Dezy: I am planning on Rooting this phone, and doing my first ROM. I owned the D2G before and it was rooted because back then z4 was the easy way to do things, when I got my Dinc2 and it went to GB I couldn't do the z4 anymore and I didn't want to get into the more complex root methods. That won't be the case if I get the Nexus because it appears to be easy enough to root/unlock and get into these ROMs and Kernels.

As far as checking out the phone, it's been a while since I've tinkered with one. I always rush to the VZW Kiosks or stores when a phone first comes out to give it a run for a few minutes, but they seem to all keep out Dummy phones now that I can't play with I did like it when I played with it, I might try and find someone who will let me play with a real one for a while. But anything is better than my busted up Dinc2 at this point, lol, so I'm sure I will love it regardless. I'm sure the material quality can't be that bad in comparison to my Dinc2, the back is plastic, although it is a nice rubberized plastic, the shape of the battery cover has always been weird to me, so I assume the Nexus back will win that round too. I plan on slapping a case on it anyways, something with grip but not so much grip that I look like I'm training for Olympic Wrestling trying to get it out of my pocket. Service in my little city is good, so that's fine, I don't spend much time calling people anyways, I'm a txt'r.

Cupfull: So basically I'm going to lose all my SD Card stuff I have on my 16gb card when I get the nexus, unless theres and easy way to transfer it to the new phone? I've heard about the VZW Cloud, I need to look into that and see what it's all about. The 32 on board will be more than enough, I don't fill my phone up with too much junk.

On a normal day with my Dinc2 I'm on Facebook a lot, might watch a video or two, checking instagram, the amazon appstore, surfing the market for new apps, texting a lot. With a new phone though, I tend to spend a lot of time on it at first checking things out. And I've always been a keep my phone on the charger type of person, even if it's only at 90% lol, I like it full at all times when I can. I keep the brightness pretty dim too to help with battery. Reception is decent in my city.

I too am bummed for losing my Grandfathered data, i had to fight for it too when I left my ex's phone plan and got on my own, they took it from me and I had to get it back. I knew right away that I would lose it when going to best Buy, and I read it on here for confirmation. BUT, I don't go near the 2GB data, since I stay on wifi while at home, and even where I work offers free wifi. I try not to do much on 3G because I hate the speeds, lol. Wish my area had 4G, apparently it might be getting it soon which is another reason I want to get this phone.

I tend to like using an app or two that requires root. I loved getting the theme changing apps like Go Launcher, etc when I had my D2G rooted, but if I get this phone rooted I'm going with a ROM eventually. I tend to download things that change the phones look and feel around, like different keyboards different messaging apps, like I have iPhone Notifications app because I like the look and functionality of it.

I would love to get more into the overclocking and stuff like that, I am a learn as I go type of person. So I think this phone would be great for me to get more involved in all of that.

 

[cupfulloflol]

Dezy: I am planning on Rooting this phone, and doing my first ROM. I owned the D2G before and it was rooted because back then z4 was the easy way to do things, when I got my Dinc2 and it went to GB I couldn't do the z4 anymore and I didn't want to get into the more complex root methods. That won't be the case if I get the Nexus because it appears to be easy enough to root/unlock and get into these ROMs and Kernels.

Yeah rooting is relatively painless process, depending on your knowledge of course. A thing to keep in mind is that unlocking the bootloader (the first step to rooting and ROMing), automatically wipes the device...including the "sdcard". The "sdcard", isn't really an sdcard, as I mentioned before there is no removable storage. But it is just a symlink to /data/media in your device, as many apps use the /sdcard for things. Wipes in a custom recovery, like factory resets that are generally required don't hit the sdcard. The unlocking and locking of the bootloader do wipe that section though.

Cupfull: So basically I'm going to lose all my SD Card stuff I have on my 16gb card when I get the nexus, unless theres and easy way to transfer it to the new phone? I've heard about the VZW Cloud, I need to look into that and see what it's all about. The 32 on board will be more than enough, I don't fill my phone up with too much junk.

Once you plug your phone into your PC, you can transfer things to it via USB. If you plan on transferring a lot of files, or larger files, you may want to use adb or wifi to transfer as they usually are quicker. Someone here, or myself, can go into more detail about what I am talking about here if you want (this post is already going to be long).

I have never used VZW's cloud offerings. I do use Google Drive, Google Music, and Dropbox on my phone from time to time though. Tons of options out there for various cloud things. Make a note that whatever you upload to cloud you will then have to redownload or stream to your device, which with unlimited data going away....this could be a potential problem.

On a normal day with my Dinc2 I'm on Facebook a lot, might watch a video or two, checking instagram, the amazon appstore, surfing the market for new apps, texting a lot. With a new phone though, I tend to spend a lot of time on it at first checking things out. And I've always been a keep my phone on the charger type of person, even if it's only at 90% lol, I like it full at all times when I can. I keep the brightness pretty dim too to help with battery. Reception is decent in my city.

As I said with so many things that come into play it is really hard to say how battery life will be for user to user. I think you would be fine though, especially if you are around a power source to top off or gather a few extra percents. There are plenty of tricks you can do, especially if you root and ROM, to get more out of your battery too.

I too am bummed for losing my Grandfathered data, i had to fight for it too when I left my ex's phone plan and got on my own, they took it from me and I had to get it back. I knew right away that I would lose it when going to best Buy, and I read it on here for confirmation. BUT, I don't go near the 2GB data, since I stay on wifi while at home, and even where I work offers free wifi. I try not to do much on 3G because I hate the speeds, lol. Wish my area had 4G, apparently it might be getting it soon which is another reason I want to get this phone.

I hear you. I am not looking forward to the day I lose my unlimited data myself. I think I can control myself and stay under 2GB if necessary (not happily though haha), as I rarely go too far above it. My daughter on the other hand refuses to connect to wifi, and regularly goes over 2GB, which is the main reason I am not looking forward to that day.

I tend to like using an app or two that requires root. I loved getting the theme changing apps like Go Launcher, etc when I had my D2G rooted, but if I get this phone rooted I'm going with a ROM eventually. I tend to download things that change the phones look and feel around, like different keyboards different messaging apps, like I have iPhone Notifications app because I like the look and functionality of it.

I would love to get more into the overclocking and stuff like that, I am a learn as I go type of person. So I think this phone would be great for me to get more involved in all of that.

Indeed there are a lot of options out there for this device. The development community for this device is pretty crazy. There are probably about 20 different ROMs that have been updated in the past week or two. Kernels, themes, and various other tweaks also give you tons of things to play with and try. I definitely never feel bored with this device from a rooting perspective. There are quite a few custom launchers and keyboards that are nice on the larger screen too.

 

[warped1987]

I wish Best Buy offered the double data for 4G phones like VZW does, then I wouldn't have to even consider worrying with 4GB of data per month, lol

 

[cupfulloflol]

I wish Best Buy offered the double data for 4G phones like VZW does, then I wouldn't have to even consider worrying with 4GB of data per month, lol

I thought I read something where VZW was giving the GN away for free for a few weeks, or for a really cheap price (like $1). I could be wrong though.

 

[Crankintopwater69]

I thought I read something where VZW was giving the GN away for free for a few weeks, or for a really cheap price (like $1). I could be wrong though.

I thought like 0.01,I may be wrong.



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[wcjeep]

Have you considered buying a used Nexus or new outright from Vzw? This would keep your unlimited intact. Its cheaper for me to buy a phone outright than pay for the data usage. Used Nexus are about $350 on swappa. There's also your local Craigslist. The Nexus will go for awhile on battery if you turn off 4g.

 

[warped1987]

Hmmmm, well if VZW is offering it for that price maybe I will check them out before bestbuy, hopefully they are still doing the double data with it.

I wouldn't drop the cash on a used or nexus just to keep my unlimited, it wouldn't make any sense for someone who uses the amount of data as me. I've only used .465 GB of my unlimited plan, and my cycle ends on the 7th lol

 

[wcjeep]

My slow month is 6gb. I was just in a local Vzw on Monday. It's all about share data.

 

[warped1987]

Went to the mall today, VZW kiosk doesn't even carry the Nexus anymore! Grrrr. The guy was trying to sell my the SGS3 until I told him Best Buy had the nexus for free with 2 year and he was talking about going over there himself and picking one up. lol

So I have another question now, what are the 3 metal spots for below the power button on the right side?

 

[ntrddragn]

Went to the mall today, VZW kiosk doesn't even carry the Nexus anymore! Grrrr. The guy was trying to sell my the SGS3 until I told him Best Buy had the nexus for free with 2 year and he was talking about going over there himself and picking one up. lol

So I have another question now, what are the 3 metal spots for below the power button on the right side?

Don't worry about the 3 metal dots. You wont need or use it. Hahahaha..jk. so you can charge and do cool stuff with the dock and car dock but unfortunately Samsung CDMA version doesn't offer one. Just the gsm version. So people have to hack it.

 

[warped1987]

don't worry about the 3 metal dots. You wont need or use it. Hahahaha..jk. So you can charge and do cool stuff with the dock and car dock but unfortunately samsung cdma version doesn't offer one. Just the gsm version. So people have to hack it.

lame!

 

[cupfulloflol]

Went to the mall today, VZW kiosk doesn't even carry the Nexus anymore! Grrrr. The guy was trying to sell my the SGS3 until I told him Best Buy had the nexus for free with 2 year and he was talking about going over there himself and picking one up. lol

So I have another question now, what are the 3 metal spots for below the power button on the right side?

Yeah with an older phone, some of the smaller stores or kiosks may not carry it. You can try online, over the phone, or at a larger store if you have one. That is if you still want to go through VZW.

They are dock connectors, for power, data, audio. Making it so you don't have to plug in USB and audio cables. Official Galaxy Nexus Car Dock with TRUE 3-pin functionality! (06-06 Update!) - xda-developers <-- there is a thread there with more recent info on where you can find them, or if you can find them. As the official ones from Verizon don't use the 3pins.