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An iPhone user's take on the Galaxy Nexus

I do not have enough experience with Android devices to be sure the review was not biased, but it did seem thorough and it was interesting. I keep wondering whether Android/Samsung will surpass iOS/iPhone, but so far it seems simply that Android and iOS appeal to people with different values (for instance the reviewer values highly the design of the interface, while I am sure others would focus on raw functionality).
 
While I've never owned an Android and have no desire to do so, this article offers a nice perspective on the situation. Thoughtful review, thanks for posting.
 
Thanks for the link, I read some other reviews on this blog, and he has a very balanced, though admittedly biased, approach.

With so much crap out there, it's hard to find the good stuff - this is good stuff!

:apple:dmz
 
dmz said:
Thanks for the link, I read some other reviews on this blog, and he has a very balanced, though admittedly biased, approach.

With so much crap out there, it's hard to find the good stuff - this is good stuff!

:apple:dmz
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It's a good site. Just bookmarked it and subscribed to the podcast. And it's okay to be biased, just don't be rude and ignorant and crass like most the Android users who have infested this site.
 
KentuckyHouse said:
Did anyone notice in the screen shot of the lock screen, it says "AT&T"? I didn't have a chance to finish the entire article, so maybe he talked about taking a Galaxy Nexus for AT&T for a test-run, but if not, I'm confused. I thought only Verizon had the GN for a while?

http://www.thetechblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/screenshot_home.jpg
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You can import one from Europe or Canada with the AT&T bands. The 3G one selling in Europe and Canada is actually penta-band meaning compatibility with both AT&T and T-Mobile.
 
sentinelsx said:
You can import one from Europe or Canada with the AT&T bands. The 3G one selling in Europe and Canada is actually penta-band meaning compatibility with both AT&T and T-Mobile.
Click to expand...

The Nexus pentaband works very well on the AT&T network. The phone section audio is not near as good as my iPhone 4S but other than that, the Nexus is as slick as it gets!
 
THe scrolling in the video at the end of that article looks horrible. That must be what people mean when they say the scrolling in Android is horrible, but I don't understand why I never get that with my Galaxy S2. Scrolling is smooth. :confused:

I kinda disliked the new ui Google seems to be adopting (icons only) at first with gmail and google+, but you soon get used to them. I agree it's not intuitive though. Some of the icons aren't obvious at all.

Pretty good review, can't really fault it, although I do prefer Android slightly.
 
At the end of the day if you don't have a preference for larger displays and/or LTE connectivity Android doesn't have a whole lot to offer over iOS. Whenever somebody says Android is "ugly" and iOS is "beautiful" I always wonder what they're talking about. I do think iOS is more polished but it looks basically the same as it did in 2007 and I don't consider it beautiful.
 
matttye said:
THe scrolling in the video at the end of that article looks horrible. That must be what people mean when they say the scrolling in Android is horrible, but I don't understand why I never get that with my Galaxy S2. Scrolling is smooth. :confused:
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Although Apple doesn't put every single feature in a phone as Google does, when Apple does do it, they make sure (most of the time) that that feature works well. The review says that Google does a good job in many respects, but fails in execution. I think that's the big problem right now. Love the review. Great photos!
 
"The Gmail app was frustrating, thanks to those unlabeled menus. And the icons Google picked to represent certain tasks like composing an email aren’t nearly as obvious as they are in iOS. In iOS, for example, the “compose” button is marked by a readily identifiable pen. In Android, however, that same button is represented by an envelope with a plus sign next to it. "

This is a topic that's near and dear to my heart.

Obviously the user started with iOS, as neither the plus sign nor the pen is any better to a newbie. My mother could not figure out how to compose a message on her iPad because the thin slash that's supposed to be a pen didn't mean anything to her.

Personally I hate any icon that doesn't also have text on it, and refuse to allow unlabeled icons on our field apps unless its action is very obvious and has a confirmation. It's ridiculous to think that everyone cues off the same image... or is even a visual non-textual user like that.
 
Stealthipad said:
The phone section audio is not near as good as my iPhone 4S but other than that, the Nexus is as slick as it gets!
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Can you elaborate what you are referring to here? I honestly don't know. Ringtones? Sound quality over the built-in speakers? Sound quality over a headset? I honestly do not know. :eek:
 
lordofthereef said:
Can you elaborate what you are referring to here? I honestly don't know. Ringtones? Sound quality over the built-in speakers? Sound quality over a headset? I honestly do not know. :eek:
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I am referring to the sound quality of the voice while making a call. I find the sound quality of the iPhone to be superior to most phones I have used.

My Nexus has a hollow or tinny sound in comparison. My office manager also says that the iPhone sounds better to her when I call her from it.
 
Stealthipad said:
The Nexus pentaband works very well on the AT&T network. The phone section audio is not near as good as my iPhone 4S but other than that, the Nexus is as slick as it gets!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the answer. It honestly had me confused, but I forgot about the pentaband feature. That explains it! :D

matttye said:
THe scrolling in the video at the end of that article looks horrible. That must be what people mean when they say the scrolling in Android is horrible, but I don't understand why I never get that with my Galaxy S2. Scrolling is smooth. :confused:
Click to expand...

I agree. My GSII is smooth as can be. Just a smidge less smooth than my 4S, but overall, I was impressed with how well the GSII scrolls.

kdarling said:
"The Gmail app was frustrating, thanks to those unlabeled menus. And the icons Google picked to represent certain tasks like composing an email aren’t nearly as obvious as they are in iOS. In iOS, for example, the “compose” button is marked by a readily identifiable pen. In Android, however, that same button is represented by an envelope with a plus sign next to it. "

This is a topic that's near and dear to my heart.

Obviously the user started with iOS, as neither the plus sign nor the pen is any better to a newbie. My mother could not figure out how to compose a message on her iPad because the thin slash that's supposed to be a pen didn't mean anything to her.

Personally I hate any icon that doesn't also have text on it, and refuse to allow unlabeled icons on our field apps unless its action is very obvious and has a confirmation. It's ridiculous to think that everyone cues off the same image... or is even a visual non-textual user like that.
Click to expand...

I agree for a n00b, it can be very confusing. But after using my GSII for a while and then rooting it and installing a custom ROM (IScreweD) that has the Jkay mod where you can remove icon labels, I find that I like the look better without the labels. Obviously, you have to know the icons and know what they're for (which is why I leave the labels active in the app drawer), but on the homescreens, I always remove the labels. It's just a personal preference. The labels on Android can be hideously ugly...they don't resize and just scroll into nothing under the icon. That's one thing I can't stand to look at. But you make a great point for people that are new to a platform.

Stealthipad said:
I am referring to the sound quality of the voice while making a call. I find the sound quality of the iPhone to be superior to most phones I have used.

My Nexus has a hollow or tinny sound in comparison. My office manager also says that the iPhone sounds better to her when I call her from it.
Click to expand...

I would agree with this too. While the sound quality on my GSII is good, it's not as good as the sound quality on my 4S. I've also found that I don't particularly care for the speaker being on the back of the GSII as compared to the bottom of the 4S.

One thing I don't get at all, and the reviewer touched on this, is the camera. While I know megapixels aren't everything, my GSII has a 8-megapixel camera, just like my 4S. Both are GREAT cameras. Why in the world they seemingly took a step back with the camera on the Galaxy Nexus is beyond me.
 
matttye said:
THe scrolling in the video at the end of that article looks horrible. That must be what people mean when they say the scrolling in Android is horrible, but I don't understand why I never get that with my Galaxy S2. Scrolling is smooth. :confused:

I kinda disliked the new ui Google seems to be adopting (icons only) at first with gmail and google+, but you soon get used to them. I agree it's not intuitive though. Some of the icons aren't obvious at all.

Pretty good review, can't really fault it, although I do prefer Android slightly.
Click to expand...

The twitter app had not been updated for ICS thus the hardware acceleration is off. You can actually make it default to hardware acceleration in the settings menu of the phone. When you turn that on, apps that haven't been updated like the Twitter app run smoothly.
 
I actually switched to one on Verizon. I didn't want a 4s, just not enou different for me. I think apple really needs to step its game up next year..they do that and I'll come back. The nexus does things that I like and don't like. Best thing I miss about the iPhone, the camera was simple. Best thing about the nexus are the widgets, 4g, screen size, and google sync. I do own an iPad and it has been about seamless with both devices syncing certain things.
Voice control may not be as cool as sirii, but the nexus does plenty as far as voice alarms, and other fun stuff.


Overall if apple improves their home screen, and adds a bigger screen and 4g I'll be back. I wanted something new, and I love tinkering.
 
I am sure samsung engineers have a reason but i don't like how they gave galaxy nexus and the sgs2 an inferior audio setup compared to original galaxy s series. When it comes to listening music through headphones i have found the iPhone and Galaxy S phones (with voodoo enhancements) to top the quality section provided you use some decent headphones, not the stock ones in both cases. I was a bit disappointed by the hiss and music clarity on the SGS2 and the nexus shares the same setup.
 
One thing that amazes me is that the one thing that is FREE to copy from Apple but few if any do is CARING.

Samsung, HTC, etc... they just want to churn out as many phones as possible and don't care about whether or not you like the aesthics, user experience of the device and so on.

It's why the QuikTrips, Chick Fil A and Apples of the world dominate the competition in mindshare and profit earnings.

Wierd... if I were a business I wouldn't hesistate to copy. At least one has seemingly learned from the above... Race Trac.
 
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