Galaxy Nexus Rated 4.16 out of 5 by Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus arrived on the Verizon network and reviewers were so excited about it that they named it as one of the top best smartphones of 2011 even before it was released. It made it to the Wireless and Mobile News' best smarpthone lists, too. When reviewers spent time with the new superphone formerly known as the Droid Prime, they found a few cons along with some great compelling features.
Most reviewers found the pros of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to be new Android OS(4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich), fast 4G LTE data speed, fast camera software and Super AMOLED touchscreen.
Reviewers didn't like the lack of microSD storage expansion, Google Wallet and HDMI connection(requires an adapter). The call quality was not liked by all and the battery life was considered poor. Although we found tips to reduce battery drain, the main reason the battery drains so quickly is accessing 4G LTE data.
Many reviewers didn't like the thin plastic case. The audio speaker volume was deemed too low by one reviewer.
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich offers so many enhancements it is considered the best reason for buying the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. There are no hard buttons but now the virtual onscreen navigation buttons move with the screen in landscape and portrait modes. Google+ and Twitter contacts integrate easily and GMail has been revamped. The camera editing features were well liked. See all Android 4.0 features.
Early adopters have already made the Samsung Galaxy Nexus top non-iPhone model on the Verizon network in December. They will also have to wait for an update that fixes the 4G LTE data bars to display like other Verizon smartphones and a large capacity battery. Coming to Verizon in the near future are the Droid 4 with a keyboard and the LG Spectrum with a faster processor. The Droid RAZR is more durable, thinner, has a microSD and is water resistant but doesn't have a removable battery. The HTC Rezound offers better audio listening.
The smartphone landscape is ever changing and there will be newer better models in the coming months. The bottom line is you wan to be the first, you can have it now with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Verizon Wireless sells the Nexus for $299 with a contract. Amazon Wireless on January 26, reduced the price of the Galaxy Nexus for new contracts to $99.99. LetsTalk and Wirefly offer some discounts.
Features of the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus:
- 1.2 GHz dual-core TI OMAP4460 processor with HTML web browser.
- First 4.65" HD Super AMOLED touchscreen.
- 5MP camera with zero lag, 1.3MP front-facing camera.
- Wi-Fi.
- 1850 mAh battery.
- Mobile hotspots for up to 5 connections.
- Textured back cover.
- Bluetooth 3.0.
- Connects to 4G LTE or 3G.
- Android Beam to other Android phones.
Sascha Segan at PCMag rated the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4/5 for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and excellent 4G LTE speeds. He didn't like poor call quality and HDMI output. He thinks that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is not as good as the Droid RAZR. ICS has better GMail, faster browser and folders on the homescreen. He calls it "a giant piece of well-engineered plastic." The screen is too big for small-thumbed people to use one-handed and it lacks a memory card expansion slot. There were network dropping problems. Downloads speeds ranged from 5.2Mbps up to a stunning 20.7Mbps, and uploads ranged from 4Mbps to 9.5Mbps. Photo quality is adequate and the camera is fast.
Kent German at CNET rated the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4.5/5 and gave it Editors' Choice for ICS, 4G LTE, fast performance and beautiful screen. He didn't like the lack of expandable memory, not-the-best camera, and lack of Google Wallet. The Verizon version has more than the unlocked version including a larger battery and 32GB of storage. On-screen controls rotate with the screen. The keyboard spacious but lacks Swype support. Voice commands work well as well as the fast lagless camera features and photo editing software. Photo quality was mostly satisfying. Video recording fast motions were blurry. Facial unlocking is insecure and worked with photo on another phone. Call quality was respectable. Download speeds in San Franciso were 6Mbps up to 17Mbps. The most liked aspect is the new Android 4.0 software.
Michael A. Prospero at Laptop rated the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4/5 for the fast data speed, fast camera, multitasking and display. He did not like the poor battery life, lack of Google Wallet support and flimsy back cover. The audio speaker is not as powerful as the RAZR or HTC Rezound. He called Android 4.0 intuitive and sleek. The keyboard has improved auto correction and inline spell checker. The Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus delivered excellent, but not best-in-class, benchmark results. Data speeds averaged 23.8 Mbps down and 9.2 Mbps up. The camera is fast some photos were blurry. Call quality was clear. The battery only lasted 3 hours and forty minutes surfing LTE at 40% brightness.
I've had the Gnex now for about a week. I can confirm the battery issues.
Signal issues haven't been a problem.
Google Wallet can be installed (a simple .apk download/install takes care of this).
For HDMI support, there's a cable adapter you can purchase.
For Swype (again, a simple .apk download/install from a community member and swype is running beautifully on mine).
I agree the camera quality isn't stellar, but it's certainly not poor. I've taken some beautiful shots with it.
Overall, I'm in love with this phone. ICS is incredible and the phones positives definitely out-weigh the negatives.