***Official Galaxy Nexus Pre-Release speculation thread**

[Karuk]

At this point, with HTC coming out with a new phone every couple of weeks and Motorola following suit (Droid 3, X2, Bionic, Spyder, etc.) it doesn't surprise me.

I just hope that these frequent releases don't dilute the product quality, but I can't see how they won't.

I almost wish that these companies would follow Apple's plan of releasing one phone per year, but make it a top-notch phone every time. It's a pipe dream, I know.

I have to disagree with you on this point. Variety is what makes Android exciting. You are given a choice of form factors and functionality. I believe that people who are blindly loyal to the iPhone have a mental defect. They can't handle thinking for themselves and the idea of having several phones to choose from causes their brain to shut down.

These are usually the same people that are unable to quickly pick something from a lunch menu.

 

[bldgengineer]

I have to disagree with you on this point. Variety is what makes Android exciting. You are given a choice of form factors and functionality. I believe that people who are blindly loyal to the iPhone have a mental defect. They can't handle thinking for themselves and the idea of having several phones to choose from causes their brain to shut down.

These are usually the same people that are unable to quickly pick something from a lunch menu.

I agree with you to an extent.

The problem is 95% of cellphone users don't know what they have when they buy something like the thunderbolt, a droid "anything" or a Galaxy phone. They want something that works the way they want it to out of the box.

Take that video a few posts up. Its true, its ALL true but every Apple fanboy and "normal" cellphone user will probably tell you that they didn't know half that stuff was on an android phone. Even through Sense or Touchwiz. From my experience, its almost like everybody just wants a "prettier blackberry" or "fancy blackberry" (i kid you not these are the terms I hear on a daily basis)

If everybody out there knew how to handle a vanilla android device then yeah, android would beat the hell out of iOS and steal its lunch money on a daily basis but the fact is iphones are pretty and apple has always been good at marketing and THAT is how you get people to buy your product. Not specs. Specs sell to that 5% sitting on this forum waiting for a phone that nobody knows anything about yet.

 

[Sandroidfan]

Actually Samsung is very close to Apple's way of developing, marketing smart-phone. They release major new ones in late Q2 (SGS, SGS2) and refreshed versions in between (like Nexus S, Charge, Infuse, Celox, etc). SGS2 was giant step forward from SGS in performance, features and loaded with TW 4.0 appealing to folks wanting easy UI. I think SGS3 will follow this pattern next year but I'm not waiting that long. I will be fine with Prime (or whatever name it is).

 

[bldgengineer]

Actually Samsung is very close to Apple's way of developing, marketing smart-phone. They release major new ones in late Q2 (SGS, SGS2) and refreshed versions in between (like Nexus S, Charge, Infuse, Celox, etc). SGS2 was giant step forward from SGS in performance, features and loaded with TW 4.0 appealing to folks wanting easy UI. I think SGS3 will follow this pattern next year but I'm not waiting that long. I will be fine with Prime (or whatever name it is).

That would put it in line with the reason why Samsung is the #3 device manufacturer. VERY shortly behind Nokia for second place.(I really don't see Nokia keeping this spot very long at all).

Keep it simple and appealing to the masses and all the little lemmings will flock to it.

 

[HanSolo]

I have to disagree with you on this point. Variety is what makes Android exciting. You are given a choice of form factors and functionality. I believe that people who are blindly loyal to the iPhone have a mental defect. They can't handle thinking for themselves and the idea of having several phones to choose from causes their brain to shut down.

These are usually the same people that are unable to quickly pick something from a lunch menu.

And I, kind sir, must respectfully disagree with you. The only real variety I see in phones is internal specs and UI skins (which I promptly overrule with my own launcher anyway). If you put two android devices and wanted me to identify them at a length of 5 feet, I wouldn't be able to. Put an iPhone in there and I'd pick it out immediately. Yes, the UI and internal specs mean a great deal to us, but not to most people.

And those who are blindly loyal to iPhone are most likely simply people who fall for the simple, bright, clean image that Apple projects. Most people would, if they didn't care much for the phone's internals. Most people who are on the iPhone bandwagon are simply people who want a nice looking phone that doesn't bug out all the time, and leave it at that. They don't put their phone as a major priority in life.

We Android enthusiasts are by far a tiny minority. This is to be expected. There are avid enthusiasts of all walks of life. Occasionally, for example, I will buy what I think is a nice Beringer Merlot at Target to go along with our nice NY strip steak dinner. If I invited a wine enthusiast friend to that dinner, I could probably expect him to berate me for not getting a Rodney Strong Vineyard 2003 Merlot, and for screwing up any wine pairing by not preparing a rare Filet Mignon instead of a trashy NY Strip. But I could care less about getting the best wine and best piece of meat, probably because my taste buds don't really care, and because I don't want to spend $90 for a bottle of wine.

A lot of people simply don't care about processing speed, HD screen, 4G vs. 3G, because all they use their phones for is texting and the occasional call, as well as occasional web browsing if they're caught in a situation where they have to wait for someone and are bored. They use their computers and TV's for movie watching and web browsing, and they use books for reading.

Combine that with cool iPhone commercials saying "If you don't have an iPhone, you don't have an iPhone", and it's not surprising why Apple is making so much money. A lot of people don't care for variety in phones.

 

[Ynomrah]

At this point, with HTC coming out with a new phone every couple of weeks and Motorola following suit (Droid 3, X2, Bionic, Spyder, etc.) it doesn't surprise me.

I just hope that these frequent releases don't dilute the product quality, but I can't see how they won't.

I almost wish that these companies would follow Apple's plan of releasing one phone per year, but make it a top-notch phone every time. It's a pipe dream, I know.

An agenda like that IMO would make Android less optional to more people who have different price limits, personal device interest, ect. It seems like your implying that since Apple releases a device once a year, that their products are of more quality-- which i beg to differ. My sister's IP4 feel out of her bag when we were walking, from a height of 3ft and shattered. Prior to that, she had to get it replaced due to constant freezing issues. Whilst my friend who rages everytime he loses a basketball game, threw his Epic 4g at a concrete wall, and barely scratched the plastic. I'm all for more quality, but i certainly don't feel that reducing the amount of devices in production increases quality.

 

[Ynomrah]

And I, kind sir, must respectfully disagree with you. The only real variety I see in phones is internal specs and UI skins (which I promptly overrule with my own launcher anyway). If you put two android devices and wanted me to identify them at a length of 5 feet, I wouldn't be able to. Put an iPhone in there and I'd pick it out immediately. Yes, the UI and internal specs mean a great deal to us, but not to most people.

And those who are blindly loyal to iPhone are most likely simply people who fall for the simple, bright, clean image that Apple projects. Most people would, if they didn't care much for the phone's internals. Most people who are on the iPhone bandwagon are simply people who want a nice looking phone that doesn't bug out all the time, and leave it at that. They don't put their phone as a major priority in life.

We Android enthusiasts are by far a tiny minority. This is to be expected. There are avid enthusiasts of all walks of life. Occasionally, for example, I will buy what I think is a nice Beringer Merlot at Target to go along with our nice NY strip steak dinner. If I invited a wine enthusiast friend to that dinner, I could probably expect him to berate me for not getting a Rodney Strong Vineyard 2003 Merlot, and for screwing up any wine pairing by not preparing a rare Filet Mignon instead of a trashy NY Strip. But I could care less about getting the best wine and best piece of meat, probably because my taste buds don't really care, and because I don't want to spend $90 for a bottle of wine.

A lot of people simply don't care about processing speed, HD screen, 4G vs. 3G, because all they use their phones for is texting and the occasional call, as well as occasional web browsing if they're caught in a situation where they have to wait for someone and are bored. They use their computers and TV's for movie watching and web browsing, and they use books for reading.

Combine that with cool iPhone commercials saying "If you don't have an iPhone, you don't have an iPhone", and it's not surprising why Apple is making so much money. A lot of people don't care for variety in phones.

I agree a bit. But what you said there at the end would make a lot more sense if android devices weren't outselling iOS devices.

And I don't really see android enthusiast as tiny minorities these days either. I would say there are as many of us as their are them.

 

[HanSolo]

An agenda like that IMO would make Android less optional to more people who have different price limits, personal device interest, ect. It seems like your implying that since Apple releases a device once a year, that their products are of more quality-- which i beg to differ. My sister's IP4 feel out of her bag when we were walking, from a height of 3ft and shattered. Prior to that, she had to get it replaced due to constant freezing issues. Whilst my friend who rages everytime he loses a basketball game, threw his Epic 4g at a concrete wall, and barely scratched the plastic. I'm all for more quality, but i certainly don't feel that reducing the amount of devices in production increases quality.

Argh, I hate being so disagreeable with everyone.

I believe what you said about your friend having to replace her iPhone due to freeze issues, but I really think that this type of experience is not very common with iPhones.

I am by no means an iPhone fan. I can't stand the tiny screen, the Apple locked-way of doing things, no adobe flash support, and I hate hate hate iTunes. However, in the smoothness and bug-free department, iPhone wins hands down. They have spent a lot of time perfecting what they do, and it's hard to beat. Compare the stories of lag, freezes, and random reboots of Android users vs. iPhone users and you'll see. It's ridiculous. Is the iPhone the handset to beat? Hell no. But is it almost perfect for what it's trying to be? Yes.

As far as shatter-proof or whatever, I agree that most Android handsets are great in this department. But I'm talking internals mostly.

 

[HanSolo]

I agree a bit. But what you said there at the end would make a lot more sense if android devices weren't outselling iOS devices.

I feel that Android devices are outselling IOS devices (in the phone department; it's not even close in the tablet department) for only a short time frame. Wait til iPhone 5 hits and it will be a much different story. New phones every week will result in a sales spike, but I don't think it's sustainable.

And I don't really see android enthusiast as tiny minorities these days either. I would say there are as many of us as their are them.

I don't feel we're so much of a minority either, but that's because I spend a lot of my work day surfing this forum and tech sites, so it seems like we're more than what we are. Occasionally I try talking about this stuff to my family, wife, work-mates, friends, and clients, and they have no idea what I'm talking about. I think we're a speck in the pond.

 

[magdelaine]

Why would they release two Droid_ phones so close together? I thought Droid3 was pretty much a success among QWERTY users...

The answer to this is pretty obvious to me. In a nutshell...

1. Droid 3 was released too close to the advent of LTE availability. Those that were looking for a new phone when it came out (like me) had to pass because of lack of LTE.
2. Moto has caught on the fact that the Pentile Matrix screen in it's current form (D3, Bionic, etc.) REALLY SUCKS. Releasing new phones now may actually save those enthusiastic D1 fans who wouldn't touch a new Moto phone because of the screen.
3. Big Daddy Google. Can you imagine the enthusiastic cheerleading and "yes, let's do it!" coming from that direction regarding the release of new handsets? (A wild conjecture, I know, but plausible.)

I welcome the idea that rumored handsets like the Droid RAZR and D4 will come out in the next couple of months and make the Bionic just a bad memory.

 

[r4yN]

Upcoming iPhone Could Sport a New High-Definition GPU | TechnoBuffalo

Seems like the iphone 5 comes with 2 GPUs... 1 PowerVr SGX535 for energy-saving and 1 brandnew PowerVr SGX545 for extreme power...

thats a good point at first thoughts, so the iphone 5 doesn't spot a PowerVr SGX543MP like the iPad 2 does... the iPad 2's GPU beats the SGS2 by far and so i guess the Nexus Prime, too

But im still nervous, a brandnew powerful GPU, but the Nexus Prime is rumoured to have a lame PowerVR SGX540 GPU (there are like dimensions between the SGX540 and the SGX545, the SGX544 [of the OMAP 4470] is around 2.5 times as fast as the 540 of the Omap 4460... and the 545 of the iphone 5 seems to be a bit faster than the 544....)

gaaah im totally freaking out, Gaming is very important for me, i got a ipod touch 2g (yeah old one ) until it got stolen

now i want to buy a new smartphone that combines pretty 3D-Games and of course the phone-attributes...

i really hope that the Nexus Prime is going to be (at least) equal in gaming-quality as the iphone 5 though the Prime has a 720p-screen so it's GPU has to be a little bit more powerful :S

course otherwise i think i'll get a brandnew ipod touch 5g and some cheap smartphone like the nexus s or the galaxy s... but i really don't want to have 2 seperate devices for Gaming / phone calling, SMS

so samsung/google don't screw this up and make the prime better than the iphone 5 (as its expected!)

Ps: damn im always writing so long articles and especially my personal interests, that (i guess) no one here cares

oh and btw 2 seperate GPUs (1 for power-saving and the other 1 for performance) sound like a good idea, hope the prime's got sth like that, too [the nVidia Tegra 3 has got a 5. secret core for that, too ]

 

[Ynomrah]

Argh, I hate being so disagreeable with everyone.

I believe what you said about your friend having to replace her iPhone due to freeze issues, but I really think that this type of experience is not very common with iPhones.

I am by no means an iPhone fan. I can't stand the tiny screen, the Apple locked-way of doing things, no adobe flash support, and I hate hate hate iTunes. However, in the smoothness and bug-free department, iPhone wins hands down. They have spent a lot of time perfecting what they do, and it's hard to beat. Compare the stories of lag, freezes, and random reboots of Android users vs. iPhone users and you'll see. It's ridiculous. Is the iPhone the handset to beat? Hell no. But is it almost perfect for what it's trying to be? Yes.

As far as shatter-proof or whatever, I agree that most Android handsets are great in this department. But I'm talking internals mostly.

I know I know. But one thing i have come to realize about "lag" on android devices, it usually stems from comparisons mostly. Yes Apple devices may be more smooth than android devices for the most part, but that at all doesn't/shouldn't take away from the experience on the platform (but of course for most people it will anyway). The animations for most, if not all, high end android devices should be more than acceptable overall. Just when people compare them to iOS, it seems buggy or laggy to them. Thats not to say freezing doesn't exist, cause it sure as hell does, and I'm sure its more often than iOS device might.

But going back to internal specifications though, i wouldn't put the IP4 specs reasonably at higher quality than what was released by android OEMs at the time, or throughout the year either though-- build quality aside.

I feel that Android devices are outselling IOS devices (in the phone department; it's not even close in the tablet department) for only a short time frame. Wait til iPhone 5 hits and it will be a much different story. New phones every week will result in a sales spike, but I don't think it's sustainable.



I don't feel we're so much of a minority either, but that's because I spend a lot of my work day surfing this forum and tech sites, so it seems like we're more than what we are. Occasionally I try talking about this stuff to my family, wife, work-mates, friends, and clients, and they have no idea what I'm talking about. I think we're a speck in the pond.

True, but i don't think the IP5 will be enough of a different story to increase apples OS share +20 percent. No problem with a little disagreeing though.

 

[HanSolo]

No problem with a little disagreeing though.

I concur.

 

[ckeegan]

Why would they release two Droid_ phones so close together? I thought Droid3 was pretty much a success among QWERTY users...

Who knows why Motorola does what they do? Droid 2 was released in August 2010, Droid 2 Global 3 months later, and Droid 3 only 8 months after that.

 

[cereal killer]

I don't care what anyone says and I am NOT an iPhone fan at all but they do it right. One phone a year with the latest and greatest. After 2 years you get yourself the latest and greatest again.

With us Android devotees we get the latest and greatest every 2 years only to be outclassed the next month. As much as a huge fan of Android that gets tiring. I want a phone that remains at the top for at least a year and Apple would provide that if I chose to move over.

I think it's terrible that we have come to accept that when we buy a phone today it will be "old" tomorrow. To say "well thats tech" doesn't make it any easier to accept.

I for one am tired of the circus..........

 

[cereal killer]

Sort of off topic but not remember our conversation about how some of us are fed up with Verizon and their device line-up? Seems AT&T has a VERY happy customer base because of their selections of phones. Yes people care and are not ignorant of great phones. They may not understand specs but they know great product.

Verizon do you hear us now?

"DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — More smartphone customers choose AT&T* and now a study from market research leader Nielsen shows that across the nation AT&T smartphone owners are more satisfied with their handsets than similar subscribers of other major wireless carriers"

Source:BGR

 

[Ynomrah]

I sort of feel like people think that way because of the fact they like having the feeling their device is the latest and greatest. Like being on the edge of the latest trend for as long as possible, or boasting to people how amazing their phone is. But what does that really even matter if you have a completely capable device? If your phone gets out-classed in a few months so what?

It's also worth noting its more of a technological problem with manufacturers, as opposed to it being an android thing anyways.

Don't get me wrong though because i really hope that google/samsung steps up with the nexus line, and pushes the internals far above what can be done by other manufacturers for atleast a bit longer than the usual. Ya know to kinda lead the pack in that manner.

 

[Sandroidfan]

Sort of off topic but not remember our conversation about how some of us are fed up with Verizon and their device line-up? Seems AT&T has a VERY happy customer base because of their selections of phones. Yes people care and are not ignorant of great phones. They may not understand specs but they know great product.

Verizon do you hear us now?

"DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/

 

[huskerkate]

Sort of off topic but not remember our conversation about how some of us are fed up with Verizon and their device line-up? Seems AT&T has a VERY happy customer base because of their selections of phones. Yes people care and are not ignorant of great phones. They may not understand specs but they know great product.

Verizon do you hear us now?

"DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/

 

[cereal killer]

But what does that really even matter if you have a completely capable device? If your phone gets out-classed in a few months so what?

In all honesty....I'm embarrassed to say it but I am a spec prostitute (would use a more colorful word but it's not family friendly)

Yup I said it what the heck I believe in honesty.

I would love to own a phone that remains top tier/cutting edge for at least a year. Heck even 7 months I'd settle for.........

 

[cereal killer]

CK railing against VZW - ahhh, the more things change...........

Husker!! Welcome aboard dude!! Awesome to see you here.

Gentlemen you will love this guy he's great and is just as nuts as us lol

 

[Millinium]

FYI ~ Little video of Ice Cream Sandwhich. Ice Cream Sandwich gets a two-minute tour, courtesy of a lucky eBay shopper (video) -- Engadget

 

[daygo718]

I don't care what anyone says and I am NOT an iPhone fan at all but they do it right. One phone a year with the latest and greatest. After 2 years you get yourself the latest and greatest again.

With us Android devotees we get the latest and greatest every 2 years only to be outclassed the next month. As much as a huge fan of Android that gets tiring. I want a phone that remains at the top for at least a year and Apple would provide that if I chose to move over.

I think it's terrible that we have come to accept that when we buy a phone today it will be "old" tomorrow. To say "well thats tech" doesn't make it any easier to accept.

I for one am tired of the circus..........

I don't think I agree with this. I had an iphone until I switched to Verizon and bought my Incredible. While waiting for the Inc, I kept asking myself why Apple took so long to upgrade their phone when there were multiple Android phones to choose from (even more so today). I like the choices we have on multiple carriers even though I may wait until my upgrade period to switch phones. Other reasons I switched were for the crappy AT&T service in my area and I was just bored (and still am) with iOS.

At the end of the day, each person has their own choice to make. If you like one phone a year with the latest and greatest, that's perfectly fine. I am happy we have many choices as Android users even though there is something new every couple months.

Also, going with the one phone a year theory, wouldn't that mean we have one Android phone, one iphone, one Blackberry phone, etc. There wouldn't be much to choose from. I think that would be horrible.

 

[daygo718]

AT&T just got SGSII, nearly the same as international one. Soon they are getting Atrix 2 with 1.2Ghz OMAP4, non-pentile qHD, LTE SGSII (Celox) by holiday season. Plus they are supposedly getting GT-I9250 Nexus Prime soon after verizon! Their android lineup looks stronger than ever. If verizon really pisses me off with their Prime and Vigor is only other decent option, I might switch to AT&T.

I understand the frustration, but being a former AT&T customer and suffering through their spotty coverage, I could never go back. I would be perfectly happy with a SGS2 HD LTE variant running ICS on Verizon for the next 1-2 years. Dropping calls while talking to clients was not fun!

 

[huskerkate]

AT&T just got SGSII, nearly the same as international one. Soon they are getting Atrix 2 with 1.2Ghz OMAP4, non-pentile qHD, LTE SGSII (Celox) by holiday season. Plus they are supposedly getting GT-I9250 Nexus Prime soon after verizon! Their android lineup looks stronger than ever. If verizon really pisses me off with their Prime and Vigor is only other decent option, I might switch to AT&T.

i, too, hope that vzw doesn't screw up the Nexus and try to release it as a bloated up Droid Prime or something. personally, i think the time has come (and i think vzw recognizes, as well) for a pure Nexus device on vzw.

however, more to the point of your post, if vzw screws up the Nexus, the device i'm really looking at is the Moto Spyder (aka the Droid RAZR or Droid HD) - that thing looks mighty impressive. i would almost certainly take that before jumping to at&t for a Nexus.