Samsung Galaxy Nexus (global)
Average Ratings
Nice Google phone!
I've had this phone for several months and have been impressed with it since day one. It is my 6th smart phone, 4th Android phone, and it is a pleasure to use.
Pros:
- removable battery and decent battery life
- Android Jelly Bean (4.2.1)
- large screen
- uniquely designed (curved screen, body shape)
- pretty scratch resistant
- Android UI works very well with this device (screen, memory, CPU). Using the device is a pleasure when navigating apps and data.
Cons:
- as others have noted, volume is a bit of a problem
- the case feels somewhat flimsy compared to other Nexus devices (Nexus One comes to mind as a solidly built phone).
- Google voice not exactly a shining example of a functional app for voice communications. frequently have problems with call quality once connected using it. standard "carrier" provided calling works very well.
Bought my Samsung Galaxy Nexus from Google Play when it was available in the US market. Since then it has had 3 OTA updates (4.2 and 4.2.1 ... then 1 patch). I enjoy getting updates first and directly from Google. And I would also own an LG Nexus 4 if they were more easily available because of Google software support.
That aside, the device performs very well overall. The battery always lasts me an entire day (15 hours of use) and charges up quickly when not in use. The phone OS reacts beautifully on this device and has a great level of functionality for every day use. The "one dot" off is for the flexible / plastic everywhere design. Though it is great to grip, it doesn't feel like a high quality piece of phone engineering (which the HTC Nexus One was). This phone was not cheap through Google Play, so my expectations were for a higher quality device.
This phone has held up well so far, but I don't expect it to have the durability of the HTC Nexus One.
gnex Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4.1 i9250M
I'm using JB 4.1.2 on gnex. Excellent phone.
Radio is not quite up to par with Motorolas, but everything else is way ahead, and finding a proper bluetooth for this is proving to be difficult. (Most bluetooth headsets are quite bad - no fault of the phone).
Pros:
- Android rules
- Jelly bean is the best android
- Screen is great
- OS is great.
- Adblocking is awesome, its easy to unlock the boot loader and gain root. I used Wug's nexus root toolkit, zero issues.
- Straight Talk BYOP/BYOD (SIM) is quite useable in the SF Bay area. Not much for dropped calls.
- Durable - has survived a few drops without a cover and minor blemishes were all that resulted. An iphone would have shattered from the same height.
- $350 on play, and $320 on sale somtimes. Bargain!
Cons:
- Need more volume. the 1-7 setting, 7 isnt loud enough.
- No SD slot (16GB is plenty though).
- No LTE (unlocked global gnex on Straight Talk is decent, HSDPA/HSPA gives about 3mbit down 1mbit up or so on Straight Talk. I've seen up to 6-7 Mbit on HSPA/HSDPA.
- CDMA tech is much better at penetrating buildings. However, CDMA phones cant talk and do data at the same time. Frustrating. It would be nice to see CDMA or GSM voice, while the other band or LTE was used for data. This is not the phones fault.
- GPS locks could be better / faster. Old blackberry used to lock much easier.
- Default battery is on the weak side. If a bigger on is needed, but this one:
"Samsung Extended Battery And Cover for GSM Galaxy NEXUS (Li-ion 3,7V, 2000mAh) SKU: 226962, EAN: 8806071857299, Mfr: EB-K1F2K, Brand: Samsung"
This works with NFC, is an OEM samsung, and comes with a google nexus door for the 2000mah batter for the i9250m.
This phone is great. Straight Talk ATT MVNO is 45/mo. Google voice keeps the number from being owned by a carrier, and phone itself is superior to a 4S, but slightly inferior to an iPhone 5 in mechanical and radio terms, but in OS terms, IOS 6 is garbage compared to JellyBean.
Fantastic Device called Freedom
This devices has been great for me. I ported my number to Google voice and then received this devices and jump on T-mo network with H+. It has been great on data speed and network. I had both US model from sprint and Verizon. Verizon signal strength was horrible and sprint is working in their network issue here. But I have had GREAT battery life with running CM10 nightilies and jelly bean is a God send software.
Camera is awesome and I love the way the devices is so much lighter in weight size as well.
The only disappointment that I saw was the battery were different from the US Variant but I have been OK with that since I get about 13 hours of consist use of the devices.
Order one if you can because I can't see my self with other devices because this one works so well.
Nexus Jelly Bean
This phone replaced an iPhone 4...and I don't regret it one bit. Jelly Bean is a fantastic! I'm using the phone on T-Mobile's $30 4g plan and see a huge data speed increase from the iPhone on at&t. I only wish it had a microsd slot. I played with the SIII before purchasing, but Touchwiz wasn't for me. I'm hooked on stock android.
My favorite so far!
I have had just about every android device for at&t over the past 2yrs. This has been by far the most consistent performer yet. The day that I turned it on it received the 4.0.4 update. I tried it on T-mobile for 4 days and found the signal performance to be all over the place. Once I switched it to at&t it has been great. Battery life has been pretty good too. I love that there isn't any crap ware on it. The camera is very good outside, but misses the mark indoors. Video quality is good outside as well. Samsung should have went with an 8 MP shooter. Hopefully we'll get jelly bean soon. ICS works very well on this device.
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Great Reference Device
I've been using this phone the past 6 months and use it on AT&T. Overall, this device works quite well. It's my favorite phone so far from various Android phones and iPhones. The battery life is good. The specs are good. The screen shows videos quite well. Android 4.0 is a pleasure and I'm sure Jelly Bean will further enhance the Galaxy Nexus. It does take a little time to lock onto service sometimes. Unlike the S III's half baked additions, this pure Android device just works. Definitely recommended!
Samsung Galaxy Nexus GSM
Excellent device. I had the Verizon version and could not hold LTE signal, so I returned it. I went out and bought the global GSM version and have never dropped signal. Works excellent on at&t network.
Camera takes great photographs
Screen is as good as the retina display
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is a huge improvement over prior dated versions of Android.
My only knock on the device is that it does not have expandable storage.
GSM version Highly recommended.
Should say "Global except US"
While this "global" phone may be available nearly everywhere in the world, it is not officially available to those of us in the US. If you do end up finding one, either locally or abroad, what you'll actually end up with is a phone that was intended for a foreign market. But hey, it's a pentaband GSM phone that works just fine on both AT&T and T-Mo, so no big deal, right? Wrong! All Nexi are not created equal.
http://androidandme.com/2011/12/devices/not-all-gsm-galaxy-nexus-devices-will-be-updated-directly-by-google/
Do a quick search for "nexus yakju". So far, at least eight different software builds have been found in these phones, only one of which is from Google, meaning that it should receive timely OTA system updates directly from Google as they roll out. If, how, and when the others, all Samsung builds, will get their updates is still unclear. No big deal, just make sure to buy one with the Google software, right? Well, that's easier said than done. No one seems to know how to tell which is which by the packaging. Surely there must be a list showing which IMEIs have which build but I haven't found it. Yes, the phone is hack-friendly, so it may be possible to get around this issue, but after spending 2/3 of a grand for a "pure" Google phone, I didn't feel I should have to fix it as soon as I opened the box.
So you decide to buy one anyway, and happen to end up with a warranty issue... Bummer! Samsung Support is region specific so don't look to Samsung US for help with this phone. You may as well be talking to them about a rock that you picked up from your front yard. Your IMEI will not come up in their system. No information, no support, no warranty, nothing. They can't even tell you which market your phone was intended for so you can try there! But hey, at least it's a human telling you they can't help, which is one up on Google.
Botched consistency, distribution, and support overshadows what should have been the phone to have.
worst volume ever
Pros
Liked he design, sleekness and on top of it. battery life, latest software but inspite of all this, the basic purpose of phone is 'to talk' has below cons.
Cons:
in call volume is worst, google and samsung together needs to work and fix but they don't even acknowledge
the other worst part is, the buyersmorse period is just 15 days from the day its shipps, I didn't really noticed as they intentionally send the phone at max volume level so u can't push it more.
tried some apps to boos volume, but not much help as new os update puts in square 1.
Did I Get a Bad Battery?
I just returned my Galaxy Nexus to O2 UK. The main reason I returned it was the abysmal battery life.
For example, I fully charged it last night, unplugging it at 10PM. I played a few games for perhaps 30 minutes total last night, then left it locked (but not turned off) next to the bed. This morning, I checked email and the news, and by 11AM, I got the 14% battery warning.
Pros:
+ Beautiful screen with great viewing angles
+ Very thin; fits easily in pocket even though long
+ Extremely fast downloads on WiFi and 3G/HSDPA
+ Ice Cream Sandwich is a *great* OS
Cons:
- Difficult to use one-handed
- Worst battery life I've ever experienced on a smartphone
- Screen rotation was not very good; no way to lock orientation easily
- No SD card support
- Very slippery without a case (O2 had no cases as phone had just arrived)
- Volume buttons constantly being pressed while in landscape orientation
