The long - look , much - hyped , Android 4.0 flagship is here at last . You already knowwe like Android 4.0 ( Ice Cream Sandwich ) , but what about the first speech sound to bear it ? We ’ve talked software package , it ’s meter to hit the computer hardware .
Android Ice Cream Sandwich Review : It ’s Man Versus simple machine
take down : Original examination was conducted on the European version of the Galaxy Nexus . We have now reviewed the US Verizon interpretation , and you’re able to see those specific notes at the end of this mail .
Why It Matters
It matters because it ’s a Nexus . nexus ( Nexii ? ) are designed by Google ( and a manufacturing collaborator — in this display case Samsung ) to be the received - bearers , to show what ’s possible from the Android OS . In this fount , it was designed specifically to show off Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich . Not only is it currently the only phone that has ICS , but it ’s probably one of the few phone that will ever have a pristine version of Android the Fourth , unspoiled by producer ’ unpleasant skin .
Again , I just desire to channelize out that this is a hardware review , not a software brushup . you’re able to and shouldread Mat Honan ’s full review of Android 4.0to get wind all about the package . I ’ll add a act here and there , but as much as possible — and it ’s not alone possible — I’m going to be isolating the ironware from the software system .
Using It
The speech sound is big , but surprisingly light — without feel trashy . The iPhone 4S feel tiny in comparison , like your fingers suddenly grew at niggling bit . But do n’t let that with child 4.65 - inch covert scare you . The phone ’s body is almost exactly the same as the HTC Rezound , which has only a 4.3 - inch screen . And in reality , most of the time , the usable part of the screen is the same as a 4.3 - inch screen , with the bottom domain being used for a revamp lot of navigation buttons that are no longer separate from the screen . But trade on a picture or a secret plan , and the nav buttons fade away leaving an awe-inspiring full - screen experience in their position . There ’s more metal on the phone than there is on a distinctive Samsung gimmick , which pass water it finger more solid than common . Also , despite its size of it , it ’s actually 5 grams lighter than the iPhone 4S ( 4.76 ounce vs. 4.94 ) . It ’s thinner , too : 0.35 inches vs. 0.37 .
The micro USB port is center on the bottom , decently where it should be . But then — what the heck?!—the headphone input is down there too . The bottom of the phone is actually its buddy-buddy part , and there ’s a glowing LED notification illumination down south as well ( have a page from the trackball on the Nexus One ) . It ’s almost as if you ’re supposed to keep the phone upside down in your scoop . The telephone set lacks a consecrated camera clitoris , which is deeply stupid and motor me sick .
Like
The CRT screen is gorgeous . It ’s the first Super AMOLED HD screen ( with full 1280×720 resolving power ) . It does n’t have quite as eminent a pixel density as theHTC Rezound(316 ppi vs. 342 ppi ) , but it cook up for it by being far bright , having more vivid colour , and inky , rich blacks . What about against the iPhone 4S ? The pixel density is slightly lower ( 316 ppi vs 330 ppi ) , but the colors are more vivid , the blacks are blacker , and it ’s more than an inch bigger . For catch an HD movie or diddle an HD game , the Nexus has the best sieve you could get . Call quality ( both for myself and the receiver ) was absolutely superb . It also packs an NFC radio , so it ’s ready for the mobile payments gyration which may or may not be on its way . And it has a barometer ! Nobody really knows what that ’s about yet , but it ’s still cool . Oh , and electric battery life is fantastic . Now , bear in mind that this is n’t the CDMA / LTE version of the phone , which is generally tougher on batteries , but in 3 G mode ( on T - Mobile ’s web ) I almost always get through a whole daylight despite very heavy use . The other Modern Android heavy , Droid RAZRand theHTC Amaze 4 G , just ca n’t compete in this department .
HTC Rezound Review : discontinue , Look , and take heed
Speed . It is very firm , but this is where we get into murky territory . Because the Galaxy Nexus is presently the only sound natively running Android 4.0 , it ’s tough to tell whether these speed enhancements are coming from the new OS or if the hardware ’s a smoker . And judging it against other Android phone is compare apples and orangeness . That caveat away , here ’s what I witness : The user experience is extremely fast and runny . Scrolling around webpages is quicker and smooth than any other peregrine browser app I ’ve used ( and with all of its novel enhanced feature , I would call ICS ’ adaptation of Chrome the best mobile browser app out there ) . It also has the degraded tv camera shutter out there , easily beating even theiPhone 4Sand the rest ( in speed ) .
iPhone 4S Review
The closest affair to a Nexus Galaxy is the Galaxy S II — an older handset ( also made by Samsung ) that has been the reigning Android champion all summer . matter is , the S II is in reality faster than the Nexus in some respect . Others , not so much . One aspect of functioning that regular masses will find a lot is Javascript and BrowserMark speed — an objective measure of how quickly the phone parses the code that makes up the Internet ( many apps , too ) and turn it into the stuff that hu - mon eyes can sympathize . In this area , the Nexus trounces the S II ( and the iPhone 4S too ) . But when it comes to raw phone number - crunching , the sort of stuff and nonsense that has a major effect on graphics performance , the S II gets its revenge . In Quadrant Standard trial , the S II slaps the Nexus slaphappy with an average score of 3316 versus the Nexus Galaxy ’s 1785 . And the S II is quicker at set out up and opening apps too . Take that , new child . ( NOTE : It is possible that the Quadrant app has not yet been update for ICS . I ’ll update if the scores change . In the lag , day - to - solar day thing like apps loading a lot faster rest inhuman grueling fact . )
What gives ? If I were a look humanity , I would say that the combination of the Exynos processor with the superior Mali 400 GPU in the S II is just simply way quicker than the OMAP processor and SGX 540 GPU in the Nexus . Why did n’t Google / Samsung use the Exynos / Mali in the Nexus ? Good freakin ’ interrogative sentence . Some speculate that there are compatibility issuance , but I have n’t seen compelling evidence for that yet . All that said , you ’re not going to feel a speed deficiency in the Galaxy Nexus unless you ’re doing some really heavy gaming . In which fount , you do n’t involve a cellphone anyway because you ’re 13 years honest-to-god and nobody call you . ( I pull the leg of , I josh . )
And I ’ve resisted , but it must be said , Android 4.0 is better in almost every single way . It ’s still supremely customizable , but it ’s right smart more visceral , more exploiter - friendly , and , as Mat aver , “ more human ” than any other Android edition by a tremendous allowance .
No Like
The Galaxy Nexus is one of the few Android devices that does n’t have a micro SD add-in slot , which means that you ’re stuck with what you ’ve got in term of storage . The volume on the international verbaliser is sub - par . The light-emitting diode notification lighting pulse rate too slowly and subtly , making it well-situated to miss . The lack of a strong-arm camera push button is madden . The only other thing is I just ca n’t sway the feeling that they should have go away with the Exynos / Mali CPU / GPU you find in the Galaxy S II .
And for all of Ice Cream Sandwich ’s improvement , it ai n’t perfect yet . Not all of your old apps are going to play nicely with it ( yet ) . Some just have small quirks , others force - conclusion like a mofo . Other anomalousness :
• Under “ Accounts and Sync ” you have the option to sum up a Facebook account , but pressing that clitoris does n’t do anything .
• Face Unlock is a coolheaded feature , but it only worked about 40 % of the time despite my righteous and recognisable Movember ‘ stache ( update : it turn about 90 % of the time on the Verizon edition ) . If you ’re at all backlit ( which you normally are , when you ’re looking down at your telephone set ) the photographic camera adjusts to the brighter lightness behind you , or else of the light on your face .
• Though generally middling good , Google Musicintegration has some germ . Sometimes it just fails to go to the next track , ostensibly for no reason .
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-google-music-5861366
Oh , and the worst thing about this phone : The camera , the camera , the television camera ! Sweet Jesus Diaz , what were they thinking ? When I take heed they ’d function with a 5MP sensor instead of the now - standard - on - high - end - phone 8MP sensor , I promised I ’d reserve judgement until I ’d prove it . The camera does middling okay in shiny daylight , but it does n’t come anywhere near its competition , plain and simple . coloring are washed out , low - lighting shooting is a noise - fest , and it ’s not nearly as sharp-worded . Why would you altogether revamp your tv camera software , make it fast and awesome , include metre - backsliding , prospect , and really fun font - morphing video features , and then put a slice of crap photographic camera in there ? It ’s utterly baffling . Do n’t take my word for it , though . Check the full - res results of the 4 - direction camera comparison I did with the Nexus , the Galaxy S II , the iPhone 4S , and the HTC Rezound .
Click here for the full - resolving power equivalence picture gallery and other Galaxy Nexus blastoff .
Watch the video in 1080p , if you could .
Should I purchase It ?
Yes , you should purchase it . The only genuinely bad affair about this earphone is the camera . Even with that , I ’m comfortable calling this the best Android phone . But that ’s only because it ’s the only Android earpiece you may get with a sporting physical body of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich , and that supercede all of its faults . The improvement over Gingerbread really is that big a deal . But it need to be said : This phone should n’t be getting kick - slapped by a previous - gen French telephone from the same manufacturing business . If that ’s Google ’s idea of a flagship , it should consider whether it wants to take its armada to war .
Galaxy Nexus Specs
OS : Android 4.0.1
Screen : 4.65 - inch 1280 - by-720 Super AMOLED HD
Processor and RAM : 1.2 GHz three-fold - core TI OMAP processor / 1 GB tup
Storage : 16 GB or 32 GB
Camera : Back : 5MP/1080p HD , Front : 1.3MP
weightiness : 4.76
Battery : 1750 mAh
Price : ( US pricing not announced )
Giz Rank : 4 Stars
UPDATE : The above was written for the international version , but I ’ve now pass the last week with Verizon ’s 4 G LTE version , and here are my finding .
The phone is thicker than the Euro version but almost negligibly so — about the same as a Galaxy S II , which is plenty svelte . As you would expect , Verizon ’s 4 G LTE is scrumptiously fast . I have examine crown focal ratio of 23Mbps download and 12Mbps upload , which is face - disappear prompt . Even in an area where I only had 1 - 2 bars of 4 G reception , I still average 9.94Mbps download and 5.36 upload speeds , which is would be a very near day for most web with 4 bars .
We expected the barrage fire life to take a significant smash on the 4 gigabyte LTE web , but I ’m well-chosen to report that it was n’t as bad as I expected . With 4 gibibyte on I was able-bodied to make it most of the elbow room through the day , even in less than good reception areas , which tend to strain the battery . When I switched to 3G - only I was able to power through the whole twenty-four hour period , which phones like the RAZR and Rezound still scramble with . 3 G is plenty fast for most thing , and it ’s easy to flip back and forth using an app likeLTE Switch . Overall , I ’d say battery life on the Nexus bests the other 4 G sound on Verizon , though perhaps that will change when they get their own Ice Cream Sandwich updates .
Unfortunately , and I did comment some of thesignal issuesthat’ve been reported . It was rarified , but it happened . toggle Airplane Mode on and off ( under the power button menu ) fixes it . It ’s somewhat annoying but it ’s by no way a deal - breaker and Verizon is working on a fix . Also , while Verizon hasdone its best to keep Google Wallet off the Nexus , I ’m felicitous to account that it waseasy to instal the hacked version(no root necessitate ) , and it work like a charm . Props to the XDA - Developers !
Verizon ’s Galaxy Nexus Is Having Signal Problems
Everything else is the same . Same lovely screen , same sub - par television camera , same really nice experience . I will say that this interpretation ’s facial unlock put to work much better than it did on the other version , and it recognizes me about 90 pct of the time . I do n’t know if this is something that came in the 4.0.2 software program update or if it just did n’t care my hideous Movember moustache . Regardless , this telephone set is still very recommendable.[Verizon Wireless ]
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