When Google decided to launch its third pure Android smartphone, they decided to give Verizon exclusivity along with arming it with an LTE radio for a faster 4G experience. But this wasn’t just another Nexus bringing new hardware to the table, Google decided to launch its latest version of its mobile OS with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). ICS is the most significant change to Android since its incarnation back in late 2008. Teaming up again with Samsung as their hardware provider for this Nexus, Google aims to grab your attention with the Galaxy Nexus. Is this Nexus all hype? The best Android device thus far? Or somewhere in between? We leave no stone unturned in our complete analysis below.
The Galaxy Nexus is equipped with a 4.65inch Super AMOLED display w/ 1280 x 720 screen resolution. This being the third Android smartphone (or any smartphone) to offer a 720p HD screen to consumers. Initially the colors appear to have a washed, dull tone but thankfully after adjusting the brightness, things got a whole lot better.
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| Nitro HD display Vs. Galaxy Nexus display both at full brightness |
With this being a Super AMOLED display, the Blacks are deep & crisp as it handles darker colors better than the brighter, vibrant ones. So much that it is almost seamless to the bezel. If you don’t take the Nexus off of Automatic Brightness, you will be severely disappointed. Definitely a class by itself with the HD display compared to the Rezound and the Nitro.
The Galaxy Nexus uses a 1.2GHz Texas Instruments OMAP dual-core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. With my experiences with the Nexus, these ingredients were adequate enough to get the job done using normal day-by-day processes. Still came across the occasional stutter/lag in opening apps and moving screens though. I found that devices like the Galaxy S II, Rezound, & the Amaze 4G to offer a more seamless Android experience. Not sure if it is the difference in chipsets or what but I expected this on Google’s latest flagship device. While its not the best, it is far from being the worst.
The newest Nexus come equipped with an 1850 mAh battery w/ NFC technology in hopes to combat the infamous battery drain of Verizon’s LTE network. Within an LTE area with light-to-moderate usage will get you around 7 to 9 hours while moderate-to-heavy usage will only get around 4 to 6 hours of juice. And speaking of LTE, with the Nexus I was able to achieve data speeds of over 12Mbps on the download and 8Mbps on the upload. Pretty decent for an LTE device but expect the second generation of LTE chipsets to handle battery life better.
After reading the specs of the 5MP camera placed within the newest Nexus you maybe slightly disappointed especially after the Galaxy S II has a great 8MP shooter. After spending some time with the Nexus’ shooter unfortunately, the feeling doesn’t change. The 5MP shooter has a continuous auto-focus lens w/ extended depth of field abilities (a la Bold 9900 series) and zero shutter lag. The camera works well in bright, well-lit environments but quite terrible in dark settings. The zero shutter lag performs as described within the specs but sometimes it works too well where your picture is processed as an unfocused blur. The Nexus records video in full 1080p HD and works like the camera in needing enough light to prevent it from becoming a mediocre video. I applaud Samsung & Google for taking the risk of something different but I would have preferred the lens of the Galaxy S II inside of the Nexus instead.
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| Galaxy Nexus sample photos (focused) |
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| Galaxy Nexus sample photos (zero shutter lag & unfocused) |
This is Android’s most significant software update since Froyo. Android 4.0 offer the best of both worlds with combining features from Gingerbread and Honeycomb along with new treats. Say goodbye to physical buttons with ICS. The new software gives you onscreen navigational buttons of Back, Home, and Recent Apps taking Android into an innovative new world of software.
Android took notes from Windows Phone by creating a People app that allows you to view your contact’s social status, phone number(s), emails, and other contact info. Android’s keyboard has been revamped for more cleaner, more accurate typing experience. Auto-correction on Google’s new keyboard is dead on accurate in guessing what you are trying to type. Voice Actions was also updated for more language support and for dictating texts, emails, Google Searches, etc. Google made sure to revamp most of their core apps for Android as well as the new look. Gmail looks cleaner ans matches the desktop version in regards to functionality. The Calendar app allows you to add events quicker along with adding pinch-to-zoom to adjust your calendar view. Google + app now supports mobile Hangouts via Google + Messenger. The browser on Android gets a new polished look as well, giving it a more Chrome-like feel to it. Google Talk also gets a slight facelift and adds the ability to swipe from left-to-right to converge in multiple conversations. You also have the ability to monitor your data usage for those of you without an unlimited data plan, this new feature can definitely come in handy. Google made sure to add cool photo and live video effects to the Camera app for cool points to make up for its lens with the new software. Overall, Android 4.0 (ICS) is a breath of fresh air from the previous forms of the OS. All Android users will welcome the update whenever it arrives to your device in case you are currently locked into a contract.
All in all I think this year’s Nexus is a mix of highs and lows. Google and Samsung were a little behind the times with the specs as some of the them were outdated upon its official release. Design-wise they paid homage to the Nexus S by maintaining the curved glass design but with a bigger display & higher HD resolution. The battery door cover feels cheap and I feel like I’m going to break it everytime I open it. The speaker area is relatively low, even at maximum volume that makes listening to media and phone call on speakerphone a poor effort, while the device is laying down on it’s back. The Galaxy Nexus is still a good Android device. This is actually Android’s finest thus far but its mainly due to the new software. I admit my personal expectations were high for this device and sort of fell short so pardon the nit-picking.
To buy or not to buy: honestly it is a matter of preference. You can pick up the new Nexus for $299 on contract at Verizon but at Amazon, you can snatch one up for $149.99 on contract for new VZW subscribers and $199.99 for those with an upgrade. I personally would wait for ICS to hit the Rezound or the Galaxy S II but like always we recommend you demo the device before making your purchase. You may or may not agree with our analysis on it.
