Nexus 4 comapred to Note 2; Who's owned both ?

Tig Bitties · Feb 5, 2013

I do not want to start a flame war, on which is the best, but real peoples opinion if you have owned both, or at least played with both real hands on experience please.

My past phones have been; Galaxy Nexus...Nexus-S...Nexus-One...iPhone 3G...iPhone. As you can see I have liked the Nexus line of phones.

Right now I have the Note 2, I bought couple weeks ago, because I could not buy the Nexus 4, as was sold out everywhere, last month.

I have tried out a dozen ROM's on my Note 2, but settled on a CM10.1 ROM, because I just love stock Android so much. I like the S-Pen and Touchwiz widgets for the S-Pen, but in two weeks, just didn't use it like i thought I would. And I HATED Touchwiz, with no Group MMS, no quick reply for texting, two things that Samsung should have included stock. I hate the Touchwiz dialer over AOSP dialer and contacts.

But the Note 2 does have a great screen, amazing battery life, very fast on CM10.1. But the size is a mixed bag still, sure it's awesome for YouTube, and reading news sites, and doing e-mails, but it is also hard to one hand operate still, I need to be able to text one handed, or pick up the phone quickly one handed and make a call. The Note 2 is hard for one handed stuff, the weight of it in one hand sometimes almost topples over. Or with one hand, try to reach the notification bar with your thumb, near impossible.

I know the Nexus 4 size, would be similar to my Galaxy Nexus, which was very easy to one hand operate. But how's the battery life on the Nexus 4 ? My Note II has crazy good battery life, my Galaxy Nexus had crap battery life, like 50% less than my Note 2. On my Note 2 I get 6 to 7 hours screen time easily, with 24+ hours standby no problem, my Galaxy Nexus was lucky to get half that, is the Nexus 4 better ?

Overall, if you have owned or played with both the Note 2 and Nexus 4, which do you prefer for everyday use ?

Thanks

Fed · Feb 5, 2013

I've owned both. I originally bought the Galaxy Note II as my first Android device and utterly loved it. Despite the rather gimmicky stylus and a few bits of (at least in my opinion) bloatware, it was a cracking phone. However due to a faulty screen, and Amazon not being having any more in stock, I had to return it. The Note II's strengths are obviously the gorgeous screen and ridiculous battery life... not to mention performance.

I then set my sights on the Google Nexus 4 and monitored the Play store for a couple of weeks until it was back in stock. It arrived last week and again, I've been utterly thrilled with it. Excellent design, very responsive OS experience and is excellent value for money. The only complaints, 4-5 days in, is the camera and battery life. Why, oh why, you can't autofocus during video I'll never know. And the battery life, whilst to be expected, is still disappointing. But, for £279 I am not complaining.

In terms of picking between the two I think it's rather simple. If you're a power user who doesn't have much access to charging points throughout the day, Note II - hands down, no question about it. It will do everything you want and more... with half a dozen hours of juice left. Alternatively, if you want the pure Android experience with zero bloatware, no gimmicks and excellent value for money... Google Nexus 4. Simples.

mattopotamus · Feb 5, 2013

If you look through a few of the nexus threads you will see that many people, myself included, got rid of the nexus 4 largely due to the battery life. I would say I am a moderate to heavy user and would have to charge the phone by noon each day. Even if I didn't really use it that often I would not come close to a full day (7am - 5pm) without needing a charge.

vikingjunior · Feb 5, 2013

I think we will see a S4 by April if you could wait.

tbayrgs · Feb 5, 2013

mattopotamus said:
If you look through a few of the nexus threads you will see that many people, myself included, got rid of the nexus 4 largely due to the battery life. I would say I am a moderate to heavy user and would have to charge the phone by noon each day. Even if I didn't really use it that often I would not come close to a full day (7am - 5pm) without needing a charge.

Count me as one of these people. I liked used a Nexus 4 for a month and liked many things about the device--beautiful design, feels great in the hand, smooth and fast, vanilla Android. Problem was the battery performance was atrocious, the camera is terrible, and I missed LTE speeds (an AT&T user so there's a big difference between HSPA+ and LTE in my market).

I switched to a Note 2 about 3 weeks ago and have zero regrets, absolutely love it. I quickly rooted and flashed CleanROM ACE to enjoy a bloatware free experience but as I really don't use the S-Pen at all, may give CM 10.1 a go as I generally still prefer stock Android.

maxosx · Feb 5, 2013

I have both at the present time. Except for battery life the Nexus 4 is my absolute favorite. Yet only by the smallest of margins. I plan on keeping & enjoying them both till the upcoming S4, and Nexus models are released.

At that point I plan to buy each of those, then decide which suits me best at that juncture. I'm expecting a bigger gap in the differences between those two.

2298754 · Feb 5, 2013

I had a Nexus 4 for a couple days. Sold it for a profit.

Didn't really like it. Poor RF performance, battery life, etc. I prefer my Note 2.

Tig Bitties · Feb 5, 2013

Just went to the T-Mobile store near me, to play with a real Nexus 4.

KEEPING MY NOTE 2 FOR SURE NOW

I am a big Nexus fan, but the Nexus 4 now after having the Note II for couple of weeks, feels very small, and toy like, almost felt like an iPhone to me ( which is not good ) The screen colors looked washed out, and drab, the build of it, looked nice, but not crazy awesome like i hear people say, the iPhone 5 still the best industrial tight designed phone to me, the Nexus 4 sort of comes half close to that, but then the plastic chrome ring around the edge looked cheesy. The exterior design and build seem a mix bag of designs, just strange looking all around, not one single design. I like the glass back and pattern, but then the rubber edges and chrome ring seem out of place, and then the top black plastic doesn't go with the mirrored glass back, hmm...

Running CM10.1 on my Note II looked and felt way better than the Nexus 4, the size and design, just didn't seem right to me on the N4. Call me crazy, but I like the Galaxy Nexus better, minus the outdated components of course.

Google better get HTC, Sony, or Samsung on the next Nexus, LG made a boring average device, in my first impression.

mattopotamus · Feb 5, 2013

maxosx said:
I have both at the present time. Except for battery life the Nexus 4 is my absolute favorite. Yet only by the smallest of margins. I plan on keeping & enjoying them both till the upcoming S4, and Nexus models are released.

At that point I plan to buy each of those, then decide which suits me best at that juncture. I'm expecting a bigger gap in the differences between those two.

You sir have set yourself up to never have a phone more than 3 months

The iGentleman · Feb 5, 2013

maxosx said:
I have both at the present time. Except for battery life the Nexus 4 is my absolute favorite. Yet only by the smallest of margins. I plan on keeping & enjoying them both till the upcoming S4, and Nexus models are released.

At that point I plan to buy each of those, then decide which suits me best at that juncture. I'm expecting a bigger gap in the differences between those two.

Well the battery life is about to get substantially better on the Nexus 4, so it sounds like you'll like it more.

Tinmania · Feb 5, 2013

I got a Nexus 4 as my first Android phone, after having an iPhone for well over 5 years (since the beginning).

I loved the freedom that I experienced with the Nexus 4 and I knew it would be hard to go back to an iPhone.

But I was carrying a spare external battery and charging cord everywhere I went--the battery just wasn't up to my usage pattern. Plus, in order to maximize battery life I was leaving the LCD on auto or under 25%. At those levels, to me, the screen just doesn't "pop" or look as vibrant as my iPhones. In order for me to enjoy looking at the N4's screen I need it at 50% or higher, which really hurts the already marginal battery life.

Then I picked up a Note 2 (I really love the amoled screen). The battery life and screen size were a big factor. I assumed I would not like Samsung modifications to Android but to my surprise I liked it better than the plain vanilla Nexus 4. I actually like TouchWiz (like it more with CleanROM).

And the battery life of course is much, much, better than my Nexus 4. On top of that, I picked up two spare batteries for under $15 on Amazon. I like having that "just in case."

So in my case I would gladly choose the Note 2 over the Nexus 4. I am already looking forward to whatever the Note 3 brings (as well as the S4).

Michael

KAB2010 · Feb 6, 2013

The iGentleman said:
Well the battery life is about to get substantially better on the Nexus 4, so it sounds like you'll like it more.

Why is it going to get substantially better?

akuma13 · Feb 7, 2013

Yes i would like to know too. Had my Nexus 4 die in the middle of use, with about 84% power left on the indicater. Obviously this wasnt true since my battery was pretty much dead and needed to be charged. This is the 3rd time this has happened to me.

The battery life is atrocious for what is suppose to be a multitasking communicator. Really thing of selling mine soon.

jrswizzle · Feb 8, 2013

akuma13 said:
Yes i would like to know too. Had my Nexus 4 die in the middle of use, with about 84% power left on the indicater. Obviously this wasnt true since my battery was pretty much dead and needed to be charged. This is the 3rd time this has happened to me.

The battery life is atrocious for what is suppose to be a multitasking communicator. Really thing of selling mine soon.

That's odd - I'll admit, my battery life isn't anything to sneeze at and falls short of my iPhone 5 - but with JuiceDefender giving me a little boost I was able to pull 3-4 hours of screen time and close to 10 hours overall yesterday before it needed a recharge.

Really hoping 4.2.2 comes out soon and addresses this - apparently its a known software issue. I'm not a heavy user and simply would like to make it 7am - 9pm on a single charge with about 5 hours of use in there.

Tig Bitties · Feb 8, 2013

Owning the Note 2 for a few weeks now, I have gotten used to a phone, that gives me 6h - 7h screen time, and total of 16 - 18 hours use on a heavy workday, using the phone pretty much non stop, all day and night of use. And light weekend use with WiFi, my Note 2 goes 36 hours.

On workday with my Note 2, I unplug off the charger when I wake up, like 6:30am, use it non stop all day, and doesn't go into the red, needing a charge, until like 9/10pm.

I highly doubt the Nexus 4 is anywhere near that good with battery life ?

So my next phone will either be the Note 3, or a Motorola MAXX type phone, that's still thin, put packing a huge 3000mh + battery. And the rumors of the upcoming Goorola Super-Phone due out in June, running Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, 5" 1080p screen, designed by Motorola, but Google's very own phone, will most likely be mine

The iGentleman · Feb 8, 2013

KAB2010 said:
Why is it going to get substantially better?

The next update.

Tig Bitties · Feb 20, 2013

Any more thoughts, on people with real world use with both the Nexus 4 and Note 2 ?

I have the Note 2 for a month now, and it really is a great phone, but the 5.5" size I still have not gotten 100% used to yet. I one hand text a lot, and this phone is near impossible to use one handed fully. Hard to reach top of the notification bar pull down, and texting one handed is extremely difficult.

Other than that, I love the N2, fantastic device for media, watching videos is like a TV in your hand

Web surfing easy to read news sites, and e-mails easier to read and compose. Plus the battery life is AMAZING. And the phone is faster than Warp factor 9.

But again, this 5.5" screen is just a hair too large for me. But when I play with my old phone, the Galaxy Nexus, and my Wife's international HTC One X, both having a 4.7" screen, they feel very small, and tiny, and hard to use. I think for me, the perfect screen size would be right around 4.9" to 5.1" or so. Not sure I can live daily with this 5.5" beast.

dinggus · Feb 20, 2013

Wrong thread.

mattopotamus · Feb 20, 2013

Tig Bitties said:
Any more thoughts, on people with real world use with both the Nexus 4 and Note 2 ?

I have the Note 2 for a month now, and it really is a great phone, but the 5.5" size I still have not gotten 100% used to yet. I one hand text a lot, and this phone is near impossible to use one handed fully. Hard to reach top of the notification bar pull down, and texting one handed is extremely difficult.

Other than that, I love the N2, fantastic device for media, watching videos is like a TV in your hand Web surfing easy to read news sites, and e-mails easier to read and compose. Plus the battery life is AMAZING. And the phone is faster than Warp factor 9.

But again, this 5.5" screen is just a hair too large for me. But when I play with my old phone, the Galaxy Nexus, and my Wife's international HTC One X, both having a 4.7" screen, they feel very small, and tiny, and hard to use. I think for me, the perfect screen size would be right around 4.9" to 5.1" or so. Not sure I can live daily with this 5.5" beast.

What about one handed mode in settings?

Tig Bitties · Feb 20, 2013

mattopotamus said:
What about one handed mode in settings?

That does help slightly, but not really. The overall size of the phone is just difficult to use fully with just one hand. The notification bar way up at the top, reaching over the left side of the screen if you right handed is really hard.

Basically you need to teach your hand to cradle the phone in the middle almost, and balance it just right in the middle, to be able to reach all areas of the phone with a single hand. But I am always stretching my thumb way over to the side or top to use it one handed, while the phone teeters in your hand. I've gotten used to it, but it's not comfortable

Now two handed, this phone is a beast, and amazing, but I prefer to use my smartphone one handed, and the Note 2 just can't easily be used with just one hand, all the time

Gaugerer · Feb 21, 2013

I bought the original Note in order to have a larger screen and stylus for mobile browser based stockmarket trading using charts but discovered the ppi was not good enough to display the charts with enough precision and detail.

When the Note 2 was released with no better ppi I sold it and bought a Nexus 4 which I now use for trading and although the screen is smaller and has no stylus I am able to trade because of the higher ppi and the tripple tap zoom so I don't need the stylus.

So for some applications such as my stockmarket trading using charts then it is not just the screen size which is important, but the ppi as well.

However, if the Note 3 has a ppi of 320 then I'll return to that in due course as I like the larger screen and stylus.

mattopotamus · Feb 21, 2013

Tig Bitties said:
That does help slightly, but not really. The overall size of the phone is just difficult to use fully with just one hand. The notification bar way up at the top, reaching over the left side of the screen if you right handed is really hard.

Basically you need to teach your hand to cradle the phone in the middle almost, and balance it just right in the middle, to be able to reach all areas of the phone with a single hand. But I am always stretching my thumb way over to the side or top to use it one handed, while the phone teeters in your hand. I've gotten used to it, but it's not comfortable

Now two handed, this phone is a beast, and amazing, but I prefer to use my smartphone one handed, and the Note 2 just can't easily be used with just one hand, all the time

I have never even tried the one handed mode, just knew it was an option. I think I always have two hands on the note. When I use the iphone 5, the only time I use two hands is when texting.

The Game 161 · Feb 21, 2013

Tig Bitties said:
Any more thoughts, on people with real world use with both the Nexus 4 and Note 2 ?

I have the Note 2 for a month now, and it really is a great phone, but the 5.5" size I still have not gotten 100% used to yet. I one hand text a lot, and this phone is near impossible to use one handed fully. Hard to reach top of the notification bar pull down, and texting one handed is extremely difficult.

Other than that, I love the N2, fantastic device for media, watching videos is like a TV in your hand Web surfing easy to read news sites, and e-mails easier to read and compose. Plus the battery life is AMAZING. And the phone is faster than Warp factor 9.

But again, this 5.5" screen is just a hair too large for me. But when I play with my old phone, the Galaxy Nexus, and my Wife's international HTC One X, both having a 4.7" screen, they feel very small, and tiny, and hard to use. I think for me, the perfect screen size would be right around 4.9" to 5.1" or so. Not sure I can live daily with this 5.5" beast.

What kind of size are you looking for? the new S4 is said to be 4.99 or 5 inches..that better than the 5.5?

mattopotamus · Feb 21, 2013

The Game 161 said:
What kind of size are you looking for? the new S4 is said to be 4.99 or 5 inches..that better than the 5.5?

like he said in his previous post....when you are talking about ~5" a .5" difference is pretty big. I mean I can't even stand to use an iphone 4S after using a 5, and that is only .5"

Tinmania · Feb 21, 2013

Tig Bitties said:
That does help slightly, but not really. The overall size of the phone is just difficult to use fully with just one hand. The notification bar way up at the top, reaching over the left side of the screen if you right handed is really hard.

Basically you need to teach your hand to cradle the phone in the middle almost, and balance it just right in the middle, to be able to reach all areas of the phone with a single hand. But I am always stretching my thumb way over to the side or top to use it one handed, while the phone teeters in your hand. I've gotten used to it, but it's not comfortable

Now two handed, this phone is a beast, and amazing, but I prefer to use my smartphone one handed, and the Note 2 just can't easily be used with just one hand, all the time

I have rather large hands so have gotten the cradling thing down pretty good now. I even was able pass my "airport test" where I needed to text while running through an airport--Note 2 in one hand and carryon in the other. I did surprisingly well. While I could certainly use my iPhone easier with one hand the more-advanced keyboard I use on my N2 more than made up for that. Far fewer mistakes.

I did buy, and really like, Switftkey 3--and I love the new flow feature. But, I seem to do better with Swype. Never thought I would say that as I just didn't think I could get used to it. Swiftkey Flow is similar but it seems to get my words wrong a lot more frequently than Swype. I was showing a friend how fast I can "type" with Swype and she thought it was a trick. Till I asked her to say a random phrase and--zoom--there it was.

As for my Nexus 4... I just sold it so that chapter is now closed. It was a great phone, albeit not good enough battery life for me, and it showed me how good Android has come to be.

Michael

Nexus 4 comapred to Note 2; Who's owned both ?

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