Much hay has been made about the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the device which just a few weeks ago we were calling the Nexus Prime. If you're new around these parts, this is the big new Android phone for 2011 and at least most of 2012, thanks to it being the first with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and few Android smartphones have had such an insane level of hype to live up to. The Galaxy Nexus is supposed to be the phone that has everything -- a shiny new version of Android, combined with the best internals and display tech Samsung has to offer.
Already Internet discussion abounds, splitting hairs over this spec or that, but how does the phone look and feel in person? Is this really a perfect storm of next-generation Android and top-class hardware? Check out our full write-up and video walkthrough after the jump.
YouTube link for mobile viewing
In the flesh, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a suprisingly unnassuming beast. Like its predecessor, the Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus's front is pitch black when turned off, and the back is furnished in a modest grey plastic, with a Galaxy S II-style textured battery door. It's not the thinnest phone around, but it's pretty close, at just 8.94mm. And the screen is curved with the same subtlety as that of the Nexus S -- it's not something you'll notice in normal use.
While we're talking about the screen, let's get this one out of the way -- you don't need to worry about PenTile this or Gorilla Glass that. The Galaxy Nexus' display looks gorgeous -- end of story. It's really, really difficult to make out individual pixels, and even under the bright lights at today's Samsung World Tour event, we could make out small details just fine. At 4.65 inches diagonally, the Galaxy Nexus sounds monstrously huge. In reality, it's barely any bigger than the average 4.3-incher, mostly thanks to the fact that the buttons are now software-based, rather than requiring chassis space below the screen. You can check out our comparison pics showing the Nexus lined up with the LG Optimus 2X, SE Xperia Arc S and HTC Titan to get an idea of its actual size.
Aside from the screen, the real star of the show on the Galaxy Nexus is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. We've all seen the the exhaustive feature demos of ICS, but what hasn't been commented on all that much is general OS performance. We found the device to be speedy throughout . Task-switching using the Honeycomb-style dropdown was quick and effortless, and the browser is every bit as fast as the Galaxy S II's.
Android veterans are going to have to re-wire their brains once buttonless ICS starts to become the new standard though -- on more than a few occasions during our time with the Galaxy Nexus we found ourselves accidentally tapping below the screen to hit a non-existant home button, or accidentally hitting the task-switching button thinking it was a 'menu' key. We're sure we'll get used to it with time.
The Galaxy Nexus launches in the UK on Nov. 17, with other European territories following shortly afterwards. Stateside, Verizon Wireless has yet to officially announce a launch date for its version of the Galaxy Nexus.
Reader comments
Samsung Galaxy Nexus hands-on [updated with video]
This is ridiculous.just wanted a wallpaper.not all this targeted info
I can't wait to see Motorola/Verizon's Nexus phone.
{{-_-}}
Iphone!!?? Come on now, who cares how much lag a Iphone has or does not have? You will go blind trying to read that tiny little screen it has! The Iphone is a nice little phone do not get me wrong, have fun asking it a bunch of questions. Let's just wait a see this phone in person and then judge it, I have already played around with the Iphone and no thanks I will keep my EVO instead.
For those of you who have not used Honeycomb yet. This ICS will be a big jump, and a hell of a learning curve. Buy or play with Honeycomb, the next chance you get. You need to practice. I have been using HC since spring, and I am still not 100% sure I like it? But what are ya going to do about it?
Where is the Menu Key!!?! I want and need the Menu Key, NOOOOO. Still want this Nexus though.
All the bells and whistles in the world ain't worth nothing if it can't hold a charge. It's like your dream car getting 1 mpg. Still waiting for real world battery life discussion presumably to happen after release. Until then, it's a lot of the same tech info being rehashed.
Hopefully that search widget can be moved. Think ill get my wife one and I shall stick to this galaxy s2/Epic touch. Sure wish they'd come out w the thing and quit talkin about it. lol.
It still looks laggy :'( the animations aren't as smooth as there are in an iphone =/
Where are you seeing lag on this phone? It's flying with nary a hiccup. Iphone5 better be awesome otherwise ICS is gonna eat their lunch and dinner. What worries me more is the f*up that the odm's are going to do to ICS to make them stand out. And not sadly in a good way.
Laggy? Heh, its probably not a good idea to try and lie and call it laggy, when there is a video in 720P that we can all look at, and see that you are lying. That thing is as smooth as hell. None of the storied Android hitches, lagging or ANYTHING. Its a smooth 60FPS UI through and through, which is to be expected because the OS is now fully hardware accelerated.
You just lost your strawman buddy.
I'm wondering about actual white balance on the display. Every picture I've seen so far, there is a bluish color in areas where there should be pure white.
In the area surrounding the phone in each of the pictures, the white balance looks good, so I don't think it's an illusion, but then I haven't seen the actual display for myself.
Hardware Acceleration, WOWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwwwww
iphone 4s and iOS 5 is toast and old news!!!
Did you hear the guy, ZERO LAG. Google for the WIN!
IT'S sooooooo BEAUTIFUL!!
I am on Sprint, so I have no option but to wait on this phone. What I really want to see materialize is an aluminum battery door with the ability to add text styles via laser etching. You know, to really personalize the device! Would this material interfere with the NFC or wireless radios?
Either way...this phone is a major WANT for me. I hope to hear this 'Exclusively on Verizon' rumor nullified soon!.
This phone LOOKS great, but one question that video did not answer is how well the GPS on that phone works. Samsung Galaxy phones launched with huge GPS problems, that may have never been addressed. I have a Samsung Droid Charge with those same GPS woes. I can have my old Motorola Droid with no Verizon service right next to the Samsung phone getting a perfect GPS signal down to what corner of the house I'm in, and the Samsung phone can't even get a lock outside with a clear sky. This bug has gone unaddressed just like the old Galaxy phones. I won't buy another Samsung phone until I know they are fixing the issue that seems to effect all of their handsets.
This was only a problem on the original Galaxy S and its derivatives. Your Charge is a derivative of the original Galaxy S. All Galaxy S II derivatives have a fracking amazing SiRFstar IV GPS chip. Pretty much the best GPS you can get in a smartphone.
About the sd card and removable battery: I'm glad that at least you have a removable battery. 32gb would be enough for me.
I like what I see. The phone and the ICS operating system look amazing and fast!.
Phone looks great hardware wise and speed.
The new ICS apps are awesome. The GUI though needs work. The four icons at the bottom of the screen don't feel like they are from the same family and are gaudy imo. Needs finesse. And fixing a google bar at the top of the screen is heavy handed.
I'll be replacing the default launcher as soon as a Go-launcher alternative is available for ICS.
no mentioning if it is the 4G LTE version or the GSM version. I really want to know how much thicker the LTE version is.
The one being shown in Europe is the GSM version HSPA+.
Europe doesn't have LTE just yet (I believe Asia, USA and Canada have LTE currently), so there's no need to show off the LTE version at a European launch.
Wow no Lag! Some of the earlier videos had me concerned so I held onto my White GS2. Now I am in no doubt I will be getting the GSM version even if I have to import it. Looks awesome!
I really hope they start making high end phones with smaller screens(4" or smaller) again. These giants slabs are so bulky looking. I love Android but at this rate there will not be a phone that meets my needs next year even though there are dozens of new phones being released every month it seems.
Maybe WP7 will have a corner of the market seemingly being abandoned by Android. I realize it's the manufacturer's making the hardware but the OS is clearly being designed with tablet-sized screens in mind.
This phone may be awesome for many, but for me, meh, the hardware is ugly, especially the back of the phone which looks cheap and slippery (typical Samsung design). While the vanilla Android OS looks ok, don't care for the soft buttons of ICS. I prefer the four capacitive buttons that are always there.
WOW! As someone who returned the Nexus S because it was well... meh... This phone looks smoking hot and fast! Hopefully ATT will get it by New Years or I may have to jump ship to Verizon...not really but I want this phone!?!
that video's so laggy (LTE)
probably so many people all trying to stream it at once for the ICS goodness
hmm, i had no issues viewing from my PC. maybe youtube app fail.
Android Central: "Check back soon for a full video walkthrough of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus"
Have been checking back since yesterday, where's the video?
It's at the top!
Amazing phone - can't wait
Why isn't there more of an outcry over the Gorilla Glass thing. I know the authors of these articles think it is an insignificant feature, but if you currently own a phone that has it, you know why it is absolutely required of a high-end phone. Sure the screen looks gorgeous now, but you have to make a choice. Either enjoy the beauty an unprotected screen for a few months before it's scratched to hell, or apply a screen protector which ruins the beauty and makes the touch screen difficult to use.
I guess what people need to realize is that this is a matter of opinion. For me, no Gorilla Glass is a deal breaker, period!
Blah blah blah, been done to death, it will have fortified glass, if that isn't enough for you then go buy something else.
FFS with these broken record arguments.
Next you'll cry about the camera being "only" 5mp.
I feel for you if this is how you react to everyone whos opinion differs from your own :(
WTF. what kind of answer is that. you are worse than an apple fanboy.
he should complain about the 5 mp if he wants to. nowadays that is below average.
Considering that theres 0 (thats Zero) quality difference between a 5 and 8 mp cam, it isnt below average.
Dont believe me?
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/21pogues-posts-2/
The only difference is one gets more pixels than the other. Big deal, unless your printing massive posters of your pictures, you'll never notice the difference.
Same thing with the glass. It doesnt matter. Its the same as gorilla glass except for the name.
You and everyone else need to calm down. You have no idea what kind of glass this thing is using. There are other types of glass that are scratch proof.
Yea, there is a lot of chicken little going on. It is a similar type of glass from a different manufacturer. It has the same anti oil/fingerprint coating. There are other glass companies in the world. It could be Dragon glass from Japan, which is as good or better than the Corning glass. Samsung has their own high end glass manufacturer as well. People need to take a chill pill. I saw tons of uniformed BS about the pentile display because 4 years ago the pentile displays that ppl used didn't look that good and we all know that nothing changes in tech in 4 years right? Here we have confirmation that all of that worry about the display was for nothing. Relax, when it comes out you will see how awesome the GNex is!
This is Samsung hardware we are talking about here. I have 0 confidence in the glass they have used if it is anything like the cheap materials they use on the rest of the phones they have produced.
I haven't really heard lots of people complaining that Samsung phones break all the time. I think the plastic they use is a conscious choice to keep the phone light and cost efficient. I don't think it's a reflection that the hardware is crappy.
On the other hand, people rave about the premium materials used on the iphone, yet I see so many iphones with cracked glass backs. I'll take durable plastic over glass, thank you.
Finally, gorilla glass is just a brand. I'm not sure that gorilla glass has advantages over every other high performance glass out there. But they have a great brand and you, my friend, are an example of how successful branding works its magic on the masses.
First hack I want: search key from the launcher and no search box.
I like the four keys, and i mean keys since i have an OG desire. I'll be happy to adjust to the evolution as long as i can still get a search key and long press it for voice searching like i've always been able to do.
Word search in the browser would be nice too.
What lag? On the Nexus? Crazy talk.
given the choice: Galaxy nexus or Galaxy note??
How about the lag with saw during the conference? are these problems fixed?
True true, was being silly.
Perhaps they are delaying the video out of respect?
Too soon?
What respect? He's probably asleep lol.
Either this person has really small hands or this phone is HUGE... what happen to the days of the startac? when smaller was better :D At this rate we are going to be putting an iPad to the side of our face to make a call.
Aight it's been 6 hours, still no video. Just wanna make sure Alex is still alive and well...
I'm really curious how they'll handle hard buttons on older phones... Are they gonna force us to lose screen real estate to the new soft buttons? Or are they gonna hide the soft buttons and map multi-tasking to home button long press? Hopefully it's the latter...
If there are hardware buttons, there's no software buttons.
Back -> Back, Home -> Home, Menu -> showing the options that would otherwise be in the dropdown menu at the top, Search -> launching the search app. And yes, long-pressing Home brings up the task switcher.
All the hands-on GN videos seem to be with the GSM versions. I want to see Verizon's Galaxy Nexus in action. That poor Xperia ARC looks like a runt compared to the other touchscreen devices.And it's not like the ARC is small with a 4.2" screen.
Really looking forward to that video....any minute now...
Well this hands on article, dont see the video, does not tell us anything. Is it awesome, live up to our hype, best phone ever, or a let down? you said others have not talked about the feel of the performance, but I dont see that you have written much about it....
Tell us how it was
Damn, are you guys uploading the video over dialup or something?
Phil was making fun of people complaining about the phone lacking certain hardware items. Being a Nexus phone owner, both Nexus One and S, I missed the sd card on the Nexus S. Just not enough memory. Phil asked if people changed their SD cards, Having a 32 gig model 6 SD card which is very fast and expensive I do change it to my favorite phone at that certain time. Having that much extra memory is just fantastic. I enjoy loading several great movies to watch during the day at lunch time.Yes I have Netflix, I'm talking great old Movies I enjoy rewatching. Just sucks no sd card, 16mb is just not enough memory, who knows when the 32mb will be for sale. Nexus is suppose to point Android to the future of the Mobile industry, cutting out important hardware just sucks. You can downplay it as much as you want but the fact remains, no sd card just sucks and stupid. When the I-Phone was released with no sd card every laughed and said just dumb, it is.
You can still use your micro USB card. Put it in a USB adapter and connect to the micro USB port of the Nexus.
Doesn't make much sense to externally connect an sd card when the phone should have it inside. A dongle hanging out the bottom of my phone for more memory isn't acceptable.
For those who are worried about not having an external memory card, I read somewhere and in a couple of posts that the micro-USB port on the Galaxy Nexus will support USB OTG (USB On The GO), which basically allows you to access your movies or documents from a flash drive or external hard drive. I saw a video of it in YouTube being demonstrated on a Samsung GS II. I would much rather have that than having to remove my battery to get my card out which is what I have to do on my Droid X now. Another feature of the Nexus is the micro-USB also supports MHL, which is basically connecting your phone to an HDMI cable to your TV and have it charge at the same time. I would like to know if there are any confirmations on these features.
Dismiss ALL notifications easily ? i see everyone dismissing notifications by swiping one at a time, can you still dismiss all notifications like previous versions of android??? you better be able to, that will be annoying at times.
Surely there will be a clear all button. Its a little X at the top if I remember correctly.
Its just useful to be able to clear 1 or 2 and leave the rest.
heres hoping we have the option. iv been watching these videos and cant make a dismiss all button out. hopefully im just missing it. guess we'll know soon enough.
It's a small thin blue X in the top right where the 'Clear' button typically is.
Video?
I'm glad to hear that the Pentile screen isn't an issue, but I'm wary about the lack of gorilla glass. I've been spoiled with being able to toss change in the same pocked as the phone with reckless abandon (and the fact that I can even say that sentence says something for some of the other screens out there. Is it simply that the difference with the GG isn't as much as necessarily perceived, or is there actually something there? I hate to say that screen material might be the deciding factor in a purchase, but seeing as everything that's coming out now will eventually have ICS on it (and I'm sure we'll be seeing ICS AOSP roms for that pure-google experience that everyone wants), does it make sense to wait for something that might have a better chance of surviving the length of that contract intact?
i dunno man... im still gonna buy this but ppl keep saying its not that huge... but man, 4.3" on S2 is already pretty huge to be honest. n GN is gonna b 10mm longer n heavier... therefore, GN is a pretty giant phone. i can see in the picture already how huge the phone is.... sigh..... wish it was 4.3" 16x9....
I have a AT&T GS2 not but this phone is making me have a change of heart. One question though...Why the Omap processor? My GS2 processor is an all out beast. Is ICS tailor made more tward omap processors? But anyways cant wait to get this phone!!!!
Because that's what they developed ics on and may have something to do with the 3d ability and I am sure there are other reasons.
Any idea how the battery will hold up? What is the timeline for battery use? Hopefully it's nothing like my tbolt..
Styling wise I still prefer the Droid RAZR escially the since Moto devs have been able to ROM every Moto phone.
The real test is having the phone in my hand. Results thereafter.
Here are a few other nice little features I've found in the ICS SDK emulator:
1) The browser has a minimum font size you can set in an accessibility section (I've wanted this for a long time)
2)There is an area to place a message you want displayed on the lock screen "Show owner info on lock screen"
3) There is a "Storage" item in the settings that gives you a really nice graphical bar representation of how much space your phone is using what is using it and what remains.
4) The battery area in the settings has a History details screen which a graphical representation of your battery and a graph of its usage.
5) The browser has these awesome "quick controls" in the Google Labs settings area for "Slide thumb from left or right edge to open quick controls and hide app and URL bars." This is bad ass, you get little half radial menus to quickly control your browser while getting max real-estate. This is the way to go folks. I love this browser.
Mail & Calendaring are just awesome.
Been playing with that browser radial some more.
Basically you press your finger near the edge of the screen and a little radial appears. From the radial menu you can do 3 things:
1) open the settings
2) view the browser bar with the URL (if you have it hidden)
3) Slide your finger over the radial item for tabs at which point the tabs appear in a little accordion control with the titles stacked. As you slide your finger over the accordion little thumbnails appear. When you let go the tab you selected comes forward. So basically you can change tabs with one single sliding L shaped gesture. Genius.
1) That may or may not be a new feature in ICS.
2) That's in Honeycomb as well.
3) That first showed up in Gingerbread I believe.
4) That also showed up with Gingerbread.
5) That showed up in Honeycomb. But on a tablet they're like 12 options to choose from when it comes up.
Not to belittle these features' awesomeness, just noting that they're not specifically new with ICS. I'm guessing you haven't played in Honeycomb much - and maybe not Gingerbread either?
But yeah, Quick Controls in the browser is awesome, I can't wait to use that feature on my GN :)
Most of that isn't new to ICS, my HC tablet has 2-4... Heck, my EVO 3D has the same battery graph too, I believe that was added in GB.
Perfect words.. PURE ANDROID... No verizon BLOATWARE or SAMSUNG related garbage.. Best thing possible.. Here I come my first pure android device
Any idea what those 3 buttons on the side of the GN are for? You can see them in the picture where the GN is compared to another phone in size.
They look like contact nubs for a dock charger to me. I bet you just set it in gently and it charges.
They're for plug-less dock charging.
With the USB port on the bottom of the phone I bet it will have some nice desk and car docks. I can't wait.
Thank you Alex! Also, can you (or anyone that has seen the device in person) please confirm if it does indeed have a LED NOTIFICATION light? I have yet to see any evidence of this.
It does.
Holy crap!! Awesome!!! No longer care about the glass, gpu, size, price, or non sd issues. Lol. Come on T-MO!!!
I think you are really going to like that notification light if you haven't seen it.
And the notification LED is multicolor unlike the garbage one on my HTC DESIRE HD :-)
still super excited for this device!
Looking forward to the video review
isn't it too early for a hands on?
Too early for who?
When will we see hands on for the Note which will be available far sooner that the Galaxy Nexus. I realise that people are excited about the first phone with ICS but I would like to see/hear/read more about the Note which was officially launched in Europe at the same event.
Can you please open up the gallery app and the music app, also can you see if there is a equalizer already in there. Can you please go to a heavy content website and jerk your finger around to see the responsiveness of the browser. Um, can you check if you can move the search widget. Can you take off live wallpapers and see if the screen moves any different from live wallpaper to static.
it looks awesome but is it going to have the same slow ass samsung file system that the droid charge had it was very slow! or will it be standard android?
Samsung only made the hardware. There will be no Samsung software on the Galaxy Nexus. It is a pure Google phone.
Famous last words...
I was actually hoping that it would have Samsung's media hub...
Is that really a question? Its a Nexus. There's nothing but stock ICS here.
I'm curious. With no menu button, how do you access the menu for apps that were built for Gingerbread and before?
The menu button appears in the softkey area when necessary. it appears the new guidelines call for the menu button to be placed on screen when it is available.
This is a good change as there were many places in Android that had menus where you might not have otherwise known. This update fixes that problem. Now when an app has a menu available, there will be an icon within the app for it.
and often the menu button was disabled, so this will be a nice reference point.
That is pretty sweet!
I think I saw a vertical dotted line which is used in other areas as a menu button next to multitasking button when apps require a menu button.
Yep the three vertical stacked squares is the universal menu icon in ICS.
It'll show up just like it does on honeycomb.
The intent for the future is that apps will no longer be configured to use a menu key.
So is the battery removable or not? Haven't seen any word on this.
Looking at the photo of the back, it looks like a "nail slot" just above the camera on the back, it would seem only the flat, textured area is removable?
Anyone confirm/deny?
I was JUST about to ask that same question sir. haha.
Yeah. I'm gonna need an add on batter with the amount of time i'm going to be using this baby.
hmmm.. certainly looks like a removable battery. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be. The lack of SD card slot is probably intended to drive the herd toward the cloud but the battery limitation would just be cutting off a major sales opportunity for the manufacturer, when everyone knows that phones are disposable after 1-2 years.
And don't think that the manufacturer didn't think about these things and that they just "forgot" to add an SD card slot or a removable battery.
Striking the balance between pleasing you and meeting their goals is the name of the game.
Yes the battery is 100% removable. The SIM slot is under the back door too.
yes
It is removable and replaceable. See video posted here:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-galaxy-nexus/129386-video-unbox...
The Battery is definitely removable.
Waiting on that video....
Thanks for saying something about the Pentile display, Alex.
I linked this news article in the long pentile display debate thread in the nexus forum ;-)
p.s., wish you put it up next to a Samsung Infuse...I find that 4.5" phone too big :-P
it is larger than the infuse.
It is narrower and thinner than Infuse, but slightly taller. Overall, it is actually smaller than Infuse. On top of that, because of the curved top and bottom you may not feel that it is taller by about 3mm, but you will definitely feel that it is 3mm narrower in hands.
I think I mostly thought the Infuse was too wide....felt like a big glass panel instead of a phone.
If it's as narrow as a 4.3" phone like the HTC Sensation, I think it'll be fine...that's about the max for what feels natural to make you think it's a "phone" on the side of your face...
How responsive is ICS versus IOS5 on an iPhone 4s? I am new to Android but heard that older versions were very laggy compared to IOS.
That's absurd. Every Android device I have used is every bit as snappy and fast, if not faster than Iphone devices.
I am a die-hard Android fan having the Hero and now the Evo 4G and Galaxy Tab 10.1... Android is laggier than iOS with scrolling, hands down. That doesn't mean I don't think iOS is light years behind.
Yeah, I agree. My brother had an iPhone 4 (now using LG Thrill). iPhone 4 just has that sliiiight upper-hand in that department. It's barely noticeable at times though. Android still lags, but I want to stress it's not like LAGGG it's like a teensy weensy little bit of lag and every now and then. Nothing bad at all, and something only tech geeks would probably even notice a difference between when using both devices.
It's most likely due to (my guess) integrated hardware/software, and no widgets and all, just rows of simple icons.
The lag is due to manufacturer frame work overlaid atop of android OS + bloatware (as you mentioned). Strip any android phone of those 2 sh*tty elements and you're left with a lag free phone that keeps up with the best of them... oh, and that's provided that their a phone with at least in the gig hertz range.
Nope. Even with CM7 android phones, at least the ones released so far are laggier then iOS*. Hopefully ICS will resolve that.
* Your milage may vary.
Not absurd. Even my HTC Incredible with Gingerbread on it still can have a slight bit of lag that I don't see on iPhone (just sayin' it like it is). And older phones that ran 2.1 were pretty jerky on the slide animations.
That said however these new generation phones do not have that lag. They are smooth as butter.
I disagree. Even recent phones like the Sensation have noticeable lag when compared to the Samsung Galaxy S II for example (I have the Sensation). It can be improved or even eliminated with custom ROMs but that's not to say it doesn't exist, especially with Sense-based phones. I just don't think you can achieve the same snappiness in the UI without system-wide hardware acceleration. Have you spend much time using an iPhone? It really is very smooth but of course it's crippled in other areas. But ICS does have hardware acceleration so the Galaxy Nexus should be just as smooth as the iPhone.
why wouldn't it lag with 768 ram, and HTC's ram eating Sense, they are almost worse than motorola, ram wise. I prefer Sense over anything Manafacturers put
^agreed.
Very happy to hear the size of the phone isn't as large as I thought it would be. Screen is gorgeous, great news. Only thing that really bothers me is no sd card?????????? II have a habbit of keeping 10 great movies on my phone at all times, I have Netflix but Im talking about great flicks I always keep on file. If the int. space is 16 or 32 mb with no expansion possibilities that really sucks. How much would it cost to ad sd card expansion?? Gives the phone so much more,, everyone wants added memory, I sure as do. That is the only part of this hardware that bothers the hell out of me. Might go with the razr, ICS on that hardware would be fantastic. I have not made up my mind, no sd card really sucks and IMO very dumb on the design of a future device.
I agree. Also I guess my question is, would say a class 10 sd card be faster than the onboard memory of the galaxy nexus?
There's no way to add the support for SDcard. 16 or 32gb internal. your choice.
He wasn't literally asking how much it would cost to add an SD card. He was rhetorically asking how much the incremental increase in cost would have been if Samsung had bothered to include an SD card slot.
As far as Samsung's side, they figured there wasn't enough room, and internal storage was gonna be enough.
and how much is left after the ROM (Thunderbolt=2gb useable of 8gb internal storage)? (genuine concern)
~~i hate to think 24Gb useable on the 32GB internal model.
Yes The Razr with ICS, Motoblur, city ID, blockbuster, vz nav, madden nfl 2014, need for speed down shift: and slow updates will be EPIC! oh can't forget v-cast apps, them are my favorite!
Blur isn't bad at all. And as for bloat apps: root,. freeze, hide. NBD.
Blur is that bad. And you must root just to use the phone like you want and get updates.
Moto gets updates out faster then other manufacturer reason there skin isn't bloated like sense or touchwiz. Sorry u live under a rock. Blur is way better then what u think it is.
Video :D and c'mon for t-mobile :D
Man, can't wait to play with ICS and this phone. Thank goodness I already started reprogramming my brain to deal with a buttonless design with my Honeycomb Transformer.
you don't need to worry about PenTile this or Gorilla Glass that. The Galaxy Nexus' display looks gorgeous
If the glass holds up to scratching when you accidentally drop it into your pocket with your keys, THEN I'll stop worrying about Gorilla Glass.
In the meantime, I'm going to baby it. Soon as I can get it, that is.
You should always baby a six hundred dollar device.
meh, my favorite thing about my Incredible (besides the fact that it's totally AWESOME) is that I can throw it around as if it's just an extension of my hand. No scratches after, and I hate to admit, quite a few drops and kicks. Let's hope the G-Nex can hold up to everyday living and not cramp my style by forcing me to "baby" it...
Now THAT's worth 600 smacks!
Why should I baby a $600 device? It isn't a baby. It is a phone; something that gets used more than anything else in most people's day to day lives. Why should we accept that it is okay for these to be fragile? Why the hell is it okay that the iPhone is pretty much dead on impact?
If you feel you have to baby your phone, then maybe we as a whole are communicating the wrong message to manufacturers. Screen protectors/cases should not be a mandatory accessory for the majority.
The problem is not that we "accept that you have to baby your phone". It's that we demand that the phones be thin and light with ridiculously gigantic screens.
With today's technology, that kind of device is necessarily going to be fragile. Now, you can always put a hard case with screen protector on it, and it will be durable again, but it will also no longer be thin or light.
That's not to say that there aren't things that the phone makers could do to make the phones more durable. The problem is that most (if not all) of those things would dramatically increase the cost of the devices, well beyond what most people would be willing to pay for them. Imagine an ON contract phone for $600 US. (You don't want to know what off contract would be.)
To put it another way;
There are four pieces of the smartphone pie.
Pick any THREE:
1 - Thin
2 - Large Screen
3 - Tough
4 - Cheap
there's an XKCD about this topic. baby a phone, buy screen protectors/cases, be OCD about the care of the phone--go to sell the phone and it's still only worth nearly 1/10th of its full value even in immaculate condition.
to quote Durden, "things you own end up owning you"
can't wait for this phone. i'll take the risk
Absolutely agree.
While I will, to a degree, take steps to protect my phone, I think the more OCD we get the less we are able to appreciate the design of these devices.
The sex is in the details.
Unless you buy a iPhone. If nothing else they do hold their value pretty good
OR
Apple users are crazy and will pay high prices for older devices.
Thankfully those of us who bought Galaxy S devices(which im now ashamed of) when they first came out will probably have this come out on AT&T/Tmobile/Sprint right when we can upgrade.
I'm not ashamed of my Epic at all but I am looking forward to getting a nexus device.
Dang, you almost read my mind exactly. Especially with the whole upgrade thing b/c my next upgrade is actually Jan2012. I'm a bit curious what ATT is going to do about LTE b/c its supposed to be turned on in the Wash, DC area before the end of the year. Unfortunately, the GN should be out already which would probably mean its not coming to ATT as a true flagship device on their LTE network.
Do yourself a favor and get off AT&T while you have the opportunity to do so!
I haven't used any Honeycomb devices so I'm curious what is done with the lack of a menu and search key. I use both of those a lot. What do you do instead?
Those keys are graphically there, on screen when needed, left off when there is no need.
Go look at any honeycomb screen shots such as the one in this article and you will see what I mean: http://www.androidcentral.com/motorola-xoom-family-edition-official-comi...
I downloaded the ICS SDK the other day so I could poke around. It seems that they have hard locked the search field to the top of the home screens. I could not remove it, it is not a widget. I guess they mean for that to be the primary way to search.
The menu buttons seem to be built into the apps on screen when they are available, however if your phone has a hard menu button it will still work. It's an interesting change.
I'd really like it if they allowed you the ability to modify your soft keys so you can add search or menu buttons if you want them. We'll likely have to wait for things like Go-Launcher to enable that functionality.
I find this a bit odd as it seems to me one of the major advantages of using soft-keys at all is that you could allow the user to customize, but it doesn't seem that this is Google's thinking. Guess we'll see what developers can do.
I'm not a fan of the search bar being forced on every home screen, so will likely replace Google's launcher with Go-launcher or some other equivalent.
Google needs to take to heart that the strength of their platform is freedom. Sure ship a default UX but let your users do what they want after that point Google. Allow us to create themes by default and allow us to change icons by default. If Google added these customization capabilities at the base OS level the response from the public will be insane. Google needs to fully embrace that which makes them NOT Apple.
That said the apps are awesome and had great features. I can't wait to get my hands on a Galaxy Nexus. This is a powerful beast of a phone.
i hope i can remove or at least move that search field widget. i don't think i want it stuck to the top of my home screen.
I think they are reacting to Bing. LOL
I think they are reacting to Bing. LOL
The menu button will be present in the app itself, there wont be any more hidden menus to be shown with a hard or soft "menu" button.
the search key is irrelevant, as the Google search box is present at the top of the phone at all times on the homescreens.
The search key doesn't seem irrelevant. When using the SDK emulator there are quite a few areas where you can hit one of the hard buttons for search and get an action.
For example when viewing email or calendar there is no on-screen search or menu button. However if you press the hard buttons on the emulator you can search for events or mail, etc.
I'm not sure how you execute these actions without a softkey for them in these cases.
Unfortunately the emulator does not display the softkeys, so I cannot see if they are changing dynamically per the need.
The idea is that they will be implemented within the app where necessary.
The search key is not irrelevant. Why should there be an extra step to seach (go to the home screen). What about apps like gmail that use the search button -- without one you have to hit menu and then search, which is another useless extra step. What about holding the search button to activate Voice Commands while driving?
Like I noted above, it is expected to be implemented within the app. there will obviously be a transition period of using old apps in ICS, but we'll see when time comes.
As for speech, the mic icon is on the right side of the Google Search box.
One of my favorite things to do on my Evo is hold down the search key in the car and say "open pandora." Vlingo magically opens pandora and it's playing without me having to look down. I'm all for the software keys but I'm hoping there is or was going to be a hardware button that would launch voice control apps.
i'm guessing there will be an on-screen gesture to pull that off
oh yeah. really good point. The custom gestures should cover any special cases like that.
Much hay has been made..... Yeeee hawwww