Hi All-Considering Nexus But Have Some Questions

[raf66]

Hi everyone. I've been a member here for awhile but mostly lurk and learn from others' posts. I have some questions and I'm hopeful others can share their views and experiences.

I am really jones-ing to update my phone from my current Droid X (that I've had for 1 1/2 years) to either the Galaxy Nexus or the iphone 4S. I have loved my X for a good while but am really just wanting to move to the next level of performance. I do have some experience with Apple products. Both my teenage kids have an iPhone 4 (not the S, and I have an iMac desktop computer as my home computer. I've also had iPods and an iPod Touch, so I do have pretty extensive experience with Apple products. Frankly I went with the X at launch as Verizon did not carry iPhones at that time, but I have been really happy with most everything about the Droid, including the operating system, for the last 18 mos.

Pros with the iPhone, at least as I see it: I love the screen and form factor of the iPhone, and I understand the camera is the bees-knees. I also like the fact that the operating system never seems to slow down or have lag, something that my X is really starting to suffer with. It seems to be built like a tank, whereas the GN seems to be a little "flimsy".

On the flip side, in my part of the Midwest Verizon has pretty extensive 4G coverage, which the iPhone doesn't have. I enjoy using my smart phone as a pseudo-laptop computer for surfing the web, watching movies, listening to music, and occasionally reviewing/revising docs using QuickOffice. I also love the bigger screen of the GN, and it really has beautiful graphics. And while the iTunes app store is fantastic, I've never felt left out with the 3rd party app support of the Droid community. I also understand that 4G is far superior to 3G for browsing speeds. Finally, I've enjoyed being able to tweak my X (change default browsers, previously rooted in Froyo, etc.), which I understand won't be as easy to do with an iPhone. However, I don't consider this a primary motivating factor given that if the phone itself (and the operating system) is great I won't likely feel the need to tinker.

Anyway, are there any members on here who have spent some quality time with these two phones? Is ICS a much better experience than Gingerbread? More importantly, is ICS better/worse than the iOS? Are there any battery issues I should be aware of? Is 4G really that much of a bump that I shouldn't even consider a phone without it? Is the GN camera/video camera superior in your experiences to the iPhone 4S? Are there any "regular" phone issues that I should be aware of with the GN, such as call quality, drop calls, 4G availability, etc.?

Thanks to everyone for any guidance you could provide.

 

[bsmith0731]

I have an iPhone 4 since it launched with iOS 5.

While its not a 4s its still a good sturdy phone.

I don't pick it up as much anymore because you just have way more optimizations with an android.

If you are all about the battery then stick with the iPhone.

The nexus camera isn't great in my opinion but it gets the job done like it should.

Just a few opinions from my view. I honestly don't think you'll be disappointed in any direction you go.

But as you stated 4g is awesome but its a battery drainer. So you will have pros and cons either way.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using DroidForums

 

[prowler85]

Personally, there's no way I wouldn't go to a 4g device. It is blazing fast. I compare it to going from dial up to cable modem. I click on a netlix video and it's running within 1-2 seconds.

I don't have any experience with an iPhone, but I do a lot of research. The iPhone 5 won't be out until June at the earliest or November at the latest (from what I've read). And I assume it will have an LTE radio. In which case, the above answer probably doesn't apply since I will bet the iPhone 5 will then struggle with battery as well (it's a radio issue, and until there are solutions to that or better batteries, then all 4g phones will struggle a bit with battery). As far as the nexus, I get about 10 hours out of it on moderate-heavy use, but I can plug in at work so it's not a big deal. If it was I'd go to the extended battery and get (I assume) about 14 hours out it, which would get me thru a day.

And I don't know how you could go to the smaller screen. The nexus screen is huge and very clear! I absolutely love it.

I guess my biggest concerns on a phone are screen size and clarity (eyes don't seem to be getting better as time goes on), and having 4g. The battery is sufficient, and far better than most 4g phones out there. And yes, ICS is easy to use and has some very nice upgrades over GB, and with all of the dev support, it's just a matter of time (probably less than a few weeks) until most bugs and issues are resolved.

 

[alm0614]

4g is AT LEAST 10x faster than 3g from my experience. 3G speed tests I was never over 2Mbps while with 4G I have never been under 10Mbps and have even reached 22Mbps. Also, ICS is a HUGE improvement over GB in terms of user friendliness. As far as making the phone yours, the Android OS is hands down the winner.

 

[wolstonc]

4g is AT LEAST 10x faster than 3g from my experience. 3G speed tests I was never over 2Mbps while with 4G I have never been under 10Mbps and have even reached 22Mbps. Also, ICS is a HUGE improvement over GB in terms of user friendliness. As far as making the phone yours, the Android OS is hands down the winner.

3g was never over 1.5 mbps for me, 4g is usually 10-40. I've had an iPhone 3gs as my first smartphone, then tbolt then nexus.

I like the iPhones built in passwordless voicemail. I like the ease of the video chat.
That's all I like better. I didnt have better battery life with an iPhone even though it was 3g. But the 4s is probably better, except that engadget reported many 4s users have bad battery life, while iPhone 4 users did not. They blamed the os, but after the update many didn't have improvements.
I say try both with the extended return policy.
But I prefer android 100x more. IPhone feels so limited... just so little you can do with it. And the loss of a back button frustrates me when I use an iPhone. Plus iPhones DO stutter, and their apps crash, especially since 90% of them don't have true multitasking. You'll go back into an app and it'll restart it, where android keeps it where it was at


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using DroidForums

 

[Liderc]

From reading what you look for in a device, I think you'll be very happy with the GN. My wife has the 4s and It's a very nice device, camera is very impressive while the GN still has a better than average camera.

As for 4G speeds, it is incredibly faster than 3G, if you are in a great 4G location you will see some insane speeds, I'm blown away by 4G browsing.

As for the GN being flimsy, I'd say it's the complete opposite. For a device that many call "plasticy", it feels extremely nice to hold and I never felt like it was too light or cheap feeling. The battery cover is thin and flimsy when it's not on the phone, but once on the phone it's solid as a rock. As for durability, I think the GN would do better in a normal fall than the 4S would, the glass shatters so easily on the 4S.

As for which feels better, I'd have to go with the Nexus now that I've had it for a few days, I really think it's the perfect size. Don't get me wrong it's big, the screen is huge really, but for some reason because they didn't make it super wide it fits really well in your hand(I'm 6ft, average male hands).

You seem like you'll enjoy the customization that comes with Android and ICS/4.0 is a huge upgrade over gingerbread. I don't see how anyone compares IOS to ICS because IOS is so limited in terms of changes you can make, widgets/personal modifications even before any rooting or romming'. IOS is as you said very smooth and user friendly, but it's just so limited and after using Android for the last two years I can't imagine being limited to just watching my icons wiggle on IOS.

My experience with the stock battery has been good, I got 11 hours on 4G my second day with the device, heavy use. Some people seem to be having issues with the battery but I think a lot of those may be people on the fringe of 4G LTE service and so their LTE radios are searching constantly to find a 4G connection and it's killing their battery. Since you say you're in a great 4G area I wouldn't think you'd have that issue since I don't.

Last is the screen, it's so much bigger than the 4s that it's not even a contest. The 4S still has a higher DPI of 326, but the GN nearly matches it at a DPI of 316, even with it being over an inch bigger.

The GN will only get better as Google sends out updates, I'd say go for it.

 

[raf66]

Thanks for the input everyone! Another thing that I love about the Android community is that everyone is so willing to give helpful advice.

I think I'm in agreement with what you guys have posted. My DX has a nice screen size of 4.3" so I've grown very accustomed to the extra screen real estate. My kids' iPhones' screens are a bit more difficult to look at for any extended period of time for sure. I've been reading in these forums that the camera on the GN is leaving some a bit dissatisfied. Now that my kids are in college and high school I don't typically feel the need to run around and snap quick pics of them all day long wearing cute outfits or playing Chutes and Ladders or piggy-back riding on the dog. Therefore I'm not necessarily going to pick a cell phone based upon the quality of the camera. That said, I also would like to have a better camera available to me than what's on my DX, which I assume I would get in the GN. I do snap photos every now and again (which is why it's great to have a camera on a cell phone so you almost always have a camera available) and I'd like them to be of decent quality.

I've also read some posts where people have complained about the GN having spotty service in a side-by-side comparison with other cell phones. Maybe that's a radio problem with some and can be corrected with updates? As far as the battery goes, I know that 4G will likely drain the battery quicker than 3G. Since I likely will only have 4G turned on when I'm planning on being online or sending emails with attachments, is it a pretty painless experience to simply turn the 4G off in order to conserve the battery? I'm assuming 4G has no bearing on making/receiving phone calls, it's just for data transmission.

Anyway, thanks again for your guidance and opinions. Keep 'em coming.

 

[droid_mike]

My wife's iPhone 4s arrived today in the mail. It's so tiny and heavy. Now that I have the big screen, I'm spoiled, and there is no way I'd go back to a tiny phone like that again. I'm not a big fan of Apple's closed ecosystem, and seeing this tiny little phone confirmed it.

 

[alm0614]

I've also read some posts where people have complained about the GN having spotty service in a side-by-side comparison with other cell phones. Maybe that's a radio problem with some and can be corrected with updates? As far as the battery goes, I know that 4G will likely drain the battery quicker than 3G. Since I likely will only have 4G turned on when I'm planning on being online or sending emails with attachments, is it a pretty painless experience to simply turn the 4G off in order to conserve the battery? I'm assuming 4G has no bearing on making/receiving phone calls, it's just for data transmission.

Anyway, thanks again for your guidance and opinions. Keep 'em coming.

There was an article today posted about how the Gnex actually reports the correct service of 4G service, while previous VZ 4G phones were exaggerating signal strength. And yes, switching between the two is, at most, 4 clicks. Settings->More under wireless networks->Mobile data-> Toggle switch. I would guess someone would be making a widget or something soon though

 

[pjkump]

And yes, switching between the two is, at most, 4 clicks. Settings->More under wireless networks->Mobile data-> Toggle switch. I would guess someone would be making a widget or something soon though

You can download the Razr 4G toggle app from the Market that does the same thing with 2 clicks.

About the Nexus vs the Iphone 4 and 4S. I have several friends with Iphones and the small screen is a deal breaker for me. Since being on a 4.3" screen for 2 years and now the Nexus, going on the small Iphone screen is very disappointing. I know some people say they don't like large screens so it is a personal preference, but I absolutely love the size, clarity, and quality of the Nexus screen. Colors just pop and the pixel density in side by side tests is on par with the Iphone. The IOS is a very nice and smooth operating system but ICS is very close, much better than my X2 with Gingerbread.

As far as the camera it is really good if you are careful with focusing it first by touching the screen before shooting the picture. Hopefully the autofocus with the one click picture is better with updates.

Battery life is decent as long as the 4G isn't searching for a signal. I know my buddies 4S has horrible life and he is lucky to get 4-6 hours out of it. As said in other posts as long as battery technology lags behind these dual core/4G phones are going to have just okay life.

4G in the Detroit area has been very good and comparable to my wifi signal. I get anywhere from 12-14mbps and 3G was only 1-2mbps.

All in all I love the phone and would never look back.

 

[raf66]

Thanks again everyone. I've come to the realization that screen size and 4G capabilities are the two most important factors for me when deciding on a new phone Therefore, that pretty much means that I'm set on getting the GN over the iPhone 4S. Playing around a bit with my son's iPhone 4 I just can't get used to the smaller screen size. While I think there are probably some benefits to the iPhone, the fact that its screen is small (in comparison to my DX) and the fact that it's not 4G are deal breakers. Assuming I go phone shopping the day after Christmas, how hard should it be to find a GN in stock? I'm assuming since it's a new phone that I may have some trouble, but luckily I have several Verizon stores (and Best Buys) near me so maybe I'll luck out.

Thanks again to everyone for your comments.