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Better notifications: I'd say identical.
Safari Reader: Android doesn't need this because it has text-wrapping.

Others, I have no idea. I generally agree, both are great operating systems.
 
More complete? There are plenty of things in iOS that ICS doesn't have and vice versa. I wouldn't say that any is more complete. I've already pointed out some features like better notifications, safari reader and others like airplay, AirPrint, better music syncing (opinion - I do not like drag and drop, I'd rather have it done automatically) and support for full local backups and of course a much better app selection. I'm sure there's more as well.

Usability is also debatable. I think your meaning of "robust" is better customisation and freedom to install and modify just about anything you want.

Notifications IMO are not better due to the fact that they lack in the most important category...notifying me! As I stated earlier, the fact that I don't get a reminder icon that tells me to take a look at the notifications is a huge flaw. Basically if I choose not to address a notification at the time it comes in, then there's a chance I may forget about it since there's nothing to remind me to look.
Safari reader, this is another one we've both been over. Reader does it in a different way (as far as formatting) than the android browser which saves the page complete with formatting. However, in the end they accomplish the same thing, they just go about it two different ways.
Airplay, is basically a similar concept as dlna except that it doesn't work on much. DLNA is a much more prevalent technology and works with many late model televisions. It also works with Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and computers. DLNA is much better to have for the simple fact that you can actually use it with a lot more products (it's more compatible).
Airprint's equivalent would be cloud print. The difference is that airprint requires you to be on the same wifi network as a particular printer, whereas cloud print can print to a printer without you being on that printer's network (it's done through the cloud). Both solutions have their pluses and minuses. Of course if one just really wants to use airprint, they can always just install it on their phone. Note: You can also use cloud print in iOS. Long story short they are at par in this category because both platforms have the same options available.
Music syncing.....well I don't particularly care for tethered syncing. I find it to be very inconvenient. However, my phone's music stays synced with my computer through the cloud. I never have to connect my phone to the computer to do this. Google music automatically uploads any new music I add to the designated folder to the cloud, which in turn is immediately available to my phone. In other words, when I'm on my computer I just simply download a song from the web, and it's automatically available on my phone without me having to do anything. NOW THAT'S how syncing should be. No wires, no having to actually go and do the syncing, it's all done automatically without me having to do anything.
Basically the things you mentioned as being an advantage, some of them aren't even really an advantage and are done in a more complete, deeper, and more thorough way. This is just an example of what I meant when I said more robust. Then there are a few of the things that I said earlier in this thread also. Does this help to clarify things a little bit more now?
 
Notifications IMO are not better due to the fact that they lack in the most important category...notifying me! As I stated earlier, the fact that I don't get a reminder icon that tells me to take a look at the notifications is a huge flaw. Basically if I choose not to address a notification at the time it comes in, then there's a chance I may forget about it since there's nothing to remind me to look.
IMO, that is not a feature that worries me. Doesn't negate that iOS Notification has many features that Android does not have. Where is your Android depth?

Safari reader, this is another one we've both been over. Reader does it in a different way (as far as formatting) than the android browser which saves the page complete with formatting. However, in the end they accomplish the same thing, they just go about it two different ways.
IMO reader is useful for long multipage articles where you do not need to hit previous/back buttons to read the whole article.

Airplay, is basically a similar concept as dlna except that it doesn't work on much. DLNA is a much more prevalent technology and works with many late model televisions. It also works with Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and computers. DLNA is much better to have for the simple fact that you can actually use it with a lot more products (it's more compatible).
DLNA is not built into Android, you will need to download a client. DLNA is also available in iOS if you wish to have it.

Airplay is not the same as DLNA. Sure you can stream music and videos but Airplay can also:
- stream the entire iPhone screen
- stream a game
- stream a game to the screen and have the controls of the game on the iPhone (for example show the circuit map on the iPhone screen)
- stream a game to the screen and have multiplayer game on the screen with multiple iPhone/ipod as the controller.

Airprint's equivalent would be cloud print. The difference is that airprint requires you to be on the same wifi network as a particular printer, whereas cloud print can print to a printer without you being on that printer's network (it's done through the cloud). Both solutions have their pluses and minuses. Of course if one just really wants to use airprint, they can always just install it on their phone. Note: You can also use cloud print in iOS. Long story short they are at par in this category because both platforms have the same options available.
I have not used Google print so won't comment too much. I do know that AirPrint is extremely simple as there is no setup required.

Music syncing.....well I don't particularly care for tethered syncing. I find it to be very inconvenient. However, my phone's music stays synced with my computer through the cloud. I never have to connect my phone to the computer to do this. Google music automatically uploads any new music I add to the designated folder to the cloud, which in turn is immediately available to my phone. In other words, when I'm on my computer I just simply download a song from the web, and it's automatically available on my phone without me having to do anything. NOW THAT'S how syncing should be. No wires, no having to actually go and do the syncing, it's all done automatically without me having to do anything.
iTunes can sync wirelessly on the same network. Can also be synced using iCloud. If you download music on your iPod, it can be setup so that it is automatically added to any device that has your iCloud id associated with it. This also applies to photos, app data and even application downloads.
i.e take a photo on your iPhone it will automatically sync to your iPod, iPad or mac.
play a game or your iPhone on the commute home from work and continue that game on your iPad at home

Basically the things you mentioned as being an advantage, some of them aren't even really an advantage and are done in a more complete, deeper, and more thorough way. This is just an example of what I meant when I said more robust. Then there are a few of the things that I said earlier in this thread also. Does this help to clarify things a little bit more now?

I wouldn't say any OS is more feature complete than the other.
 
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They're both very nice phones and which one is "better" depends on you. Both phones run very fast, theres rarely any lag in opening applications or playing games on either, and both have relatively good battery life.

Aside from that, there's a few benefits to each:

Galaxy Nexus:

Android 4.0 and all that it includes such as facial recognition, NFC, and such.
0 shutter lag camera
Large HD screen

iPhone:

Much better camera
iOS5 + Siri
Better App Store
 
I don't care about syncing or backing up my music. Most important is backing up of ALL of my settings, and in-app data.

As far as I know iOS allows you to backup EVERYTHING to your computer via iTunes, or nearly everything (without the videos in camera roll, I think) to iCloud.

For android, to my knowledge, cannot do this, unless you root it. Please correct me if I am wrong. Nowadays people put their entire life in the smart phone. I can't imagine losing it and not having a really easy way to recover the data from backup. This is a major flaw for android in my opinion.
 
They're both very nice phones and which one is "better" depends on you. Both phones run very fast, theres rarely any lag in opening applications or playing games on either, and both have relatively good battery life.

Aside from that, there's a few benefits to each:

Galaxy Nexus:

Android 4.0 and all that it includes such as facial recognition, NFC, and such.
0 shutter lag camera
Large HD screen

iPhone:

Much better camera
iOS5 + Siri
Better App Store

sorry to say matey iv got a canon ixus 1100 hs..a camera that puts the iPhone camera to shame....say no more....any decent smartphone camera is good enough for the point and shoot,wether it be the iPhone or the nexus,for a proper camera you have to forget the smartphone.....a phone is a phone and for all the hype and wot not about phones cameras etc....my nexus takes perfectly good pictures for what i want,for proper ones the canon comes out,and no smartphone can get anywhere near it.....
 
sorry to say matey iv got a canon ixus 1100 hs..a camera that puts the iPhone camera to shame....say no more....any decent smartphone camera is good enough for the point and shoot,wether it be the iPhone or the nexus,for a proper camera you have to forget the smartphone.....a phone is a phone and for all the hype and wot not about phones cameras etc....my nexus takes perfectly good pictures for what i want,for proper ones the canon comes out,and no smartphone can get anywhere near it.....

Yes, and any laptop puts your nexus screen, processor, and ram to shame using your argument!?
 
sorry to say matey iv got a canon ixus 1100 hs..a camera that puts the iPhone camera to shame....say no more....any decent smartphone camera is good enough for the point and shoot,wether it be the iPhone or the nexus,for a proper camera you have to forget the smartphone.....a phone is a phone and for all the hype and wot not about phones cameras etc....my nexus takes perfectly good pictures for what i want,for proper ones the canon comes out,and no smartphone can get anywhere near it.....

This is a pretty poor analogy. Why would you compare a smart phone to a professional grade camera? Not everyone has a DSLR and also for many people the camera on phone is important because it is the only camera they have. And in the end the best camera is the one you have on you. If you are one of these people then the quality of the camera on a smartphone is important to you. Why would you not want the best one?

Up until recently I use to carry with me a Sony point and shoot on trips. After testing it against the iPhone 4S I am confident that I can leave the point and shoot at home when I go on trips. Score, one less thing to carry! I, along with others, may not feel the same with other camera phones.
 
This is a pretty poor analogy. Why would you compare a smart phone to a professional grade camera? Not everyone has a DSLR and also for many people the camera on phone is important because it is the only camera they have. And in the end the best camera is the one you have on you. If you are one of these people then the quality of the camera on a smartphone is important to you. Why would you not want the best one?

Up until recently I use to carry with me a Sony point and shoot on trips. After testing it against the iPhone 4S I am confident that I can leave the point and shoot at home when I go on trips. Score, one less thing to carry! I, along with others, may not feel the same with other camera phones.

While I understand what he's trying to say, I have to agree with you. If we look at things the way, the other guy does then there is no point of having a convergent device. We might as well tote mp3 players, video players, cameras, laptop, ebook reader, and a phone all at the same time....because you could make the argument that the device that is made specifically for that task might do a better job. The whole purpose of a convergent device is to have the convenience of not having to tote so many different things. The quality may not be 100% as good as a device specifically made for that particular task, but it should at least be acceptable. In this case I do find it to be acceptable. but I do disagree with the other guy's assertion that he'd just bring his camera.
 
Bottom line on Android. If it were so great than Android Tablets would also be taking over the market. But do you know why they aren't?

Answer: Because all of the key differentiators of Android phones are muted on tablets. Things like physical keyboards, carrier availability, price, and larger screens don't play a role in tablets that compete against the iPad. All the aforementioned reasons are why one would consider a flagship Android phone. Not the OS itself, unless you live in GMAIL, you buy those phones in spite of Android not because of it. That and normal people don't know any better. It's like a buying toaster for them...whatever is cheapest.
 
Bottom line on Android. If it were so great than Android Tablets would also be taking over the market. But do you know why they aren't?

Answer: Because all of the key differentiators of Android phones are muted on tablets. Things like physical keyboards, carrier availability, price, and larger screens don't play a role in tablets that compete against the iPad. All the aforementioned reasons are why one would consider a flagship Android phone. Not the OS itself, unless you live in GMAIL, you buy those phones in spite of Android not because of it. That and normal people don't know any better. It's like a buying toaster for them...whatever is cheapest.

...OR it could be the lack of marketing. Fact is people aren't prone to spend $500+ on a tablet they haven't heard of or know anything about. Heck even the employees in stores like Best Buy tend to not even know much about them themselves. People know what they are shown and told, and that's what they buy.
 
...OR it could be the lack of marketing. Fact is people aren't prone to spend $500+ on a tablet they haven't heard of or know anything about. Heck even the employees in stores like Best Buy tend to not even know much about them themselves. People know what they are shown and told, and that's what they buy.

Marketing really? I can't go one commercial break without seeing an Ad for Android device. Problem is over saturation and week efforts. They keep pitching these high end specs but even a Porsche isn't a Porsche when its pulling 18 foot trailer behind it that is Honeycomb.
 
Marketing really? I can't go one commercial break without seeing an Ad for Android device. Problem is over saturation and week efforts. They keep pitching these high end specs but even a Porsche isn't a Porsche when its pulling 18 foot trailer behind it that is Honeycomb.

Have you ever seen a commercial for an Android Tablet?
 
The Nexus don't have microSDHC slots.

The 2011 Xperias are getting ICS.

The white Neo V is very pretty.
 
OP, I really appreciate this thread, since it's something I'm weighing heavily at this point too. I posted about this decision here on MR previously, and I wrote a (too long) summary of my thoughts at the time. Take with massive amounts of salt since my pros and cons for the Galaxy Nexus were based on previous experience with Android in general and were assembled prior to the phone's release.

Here it is:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=13871244#post13871244

In the 3-4 weeks I've now been using my iphone 4s, I think the key areas where I'm hoping for improvement in Android from previous models (including GS1, GS2, and a pretty in depth experience with the G Note) is in the following areas:

1. Smoothness of UI.
2. Browser "smoothness" and speed. Yes, this is listed separately from above since it's that key - I dislike how previous versions of Android had browsers that effectively stutter somewhat when you scroll through a page.
3. The "double tap to zoom on a specific area" feature of iphone is leagues ahead. This is an _invaluable_ feature when I'm one-handed browsing. Also, it seems like it just has better "target recognition" than Android. I don't seem to click on something I don't mean to hit as often with iphone (this can probably fit under #2, but it's big enough that I feel it warrants it's own)
4. Phone usage. iphone interface is simple and just works amazingly well and responds _instantly_ when I do things like press number keys or the "hang up" button. Previous android phones I've used do not.

If ICS and the Nexus can even moderately address most of these areas, I feel it's probably gonna get my vote over the iphone.

Just my 2c

As an aside, I previously thought I wouldn't think much of the iphone 4s, but now I'm thinking to myself, "if Apple had only put a 4" display on this thing and kept PPI the same, Galaxy Nexus probably wouldn't even get a thought from me". So yeah, if they do that with a iphone 5, it's got my money for sure
 
So an underclocked "inferior tech" processor at 800mhz is still keeping up with the 1200mhz from the galaxy with 1gb of ram vs. the "paltry 512mb har har".

Just found it interesting. The iPhone is still keeping up nicely. That speaks volumes.

Specs don't always matter
Unless you are a fandroid
 
Specs don't always matter
Unless you are a fandroid

All that matters is end results. The argument that Android phones have superior hardware specs means little when a user goes to scroll and have the display stutter.
 
This thread could end up being endless debate between Android and iOS (for the 1millionth times) .. so please OP, just tell us here what's your final decision? Nexus or 4s? And how do you feel about it? Satisfied? Or sorry?
 
Specs don't always matter
Unless you are a fandroid

Or one of the many fanboys from the threads defending the 4S after its release.

But I agree, specs aren't the most impt thing.

----------

All that matters is end results. The argument that Android phones have superior hardware specs means little when a user goes to scroll and have the display stutter.

I agree with the first sentence, but why is everyone assuming this is the case with Android?

A couple of years ago, sure I would agree with you. But my Droid Charge running a custom ROM is smoother and faster than my GF's iphone 4 when it comes to scrolling between screens, and up and down in menus and in the browser. I can only imagine what the Nexus is like. I don't expect it to be 100% flawless, but the iphone isn't either.

And to imply that the iphone never stutters: well, it's smooth, but it does stutter occasionally.
 
I agree with the first sentence, but why is everyone assuming this is the case with Android?

A couple of years ago, sure I would agree with you. But my Droid Charge running a custom ROM is smoother and faster than my GF's iphone 4 when it comes to scrolling between screens, and up and down in menus and in the browser. I can only imagine what the Nexus is like. I don't expect it to be 100% flawless, but the iphone isn't either.

And to imply that the iphone never stutters: well, it's smooth, but it does stutter occasionally.

Most Android phones up until _very_ recently all seem to suffer from massive hardware lag. iPhone on the other hand seem to take better advantage of, what seems to be inferior when compared to an Android phone released around the same time, hardware than Android.
 
Or one of the many fanboys from the threads defending the 4S after its release.

But I agree, specs aren't the most impt thing.

----------



I agree with the first sentence, but why is everyone assuming this is the case with Android?

A couple of years ago, sure I would agree with you. But my Droid Charge running a custom ROM is smoother and faster than my GF's iphone 4 when it comes to scrolling between screens, and up and down in menus and in the browser. I can only imagine what the Nexus is like. I don't expect it to be 100% flawless, but the iphone isn't either.

And to imply that the iphone never stutters: well, it's smooth, but it does stutter occasionally.


And without the custom Rom?
 
Why are you so insecure? Is Apple your company or what? Just don't post here if you are so much bothered.

Never really get this.

Lol i use a galaxy S captivate. I don't need to defend apple. In fact i don't "defend" a company ever.

I just don't see the point. You want Gnexus. You get it. Your posts clearly say you are not impressed with the 4S. So why the need to validate your preference with a forum?

For the last year i have tirelessly "defended" various android phones that i used on many sites, but i am over it. And planning to grab an iPhone soon. Despite everyone and their mother telling me android is great. Why? because i tried both and found iOS to be better for me. Case closed.
 
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