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

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I'm probably never going to play anything more advanced than Angry Birds or Robo Defense on it.

I, for one, couldn't care less that it does not have the latest GPU.

Agreed. I love Angry Birds, but that's about it. I don't think having a crappy GPU is going to mess up my movie watching too much. I don't do it often, but on my OG Droid it looks great, and I think that GPU is much crappier than this supposed garbage one in the Nexus. :p

If I can watch an occasional movie, read an ebook, text, surf the web, and email with no lag whatsoever, I'm happy.
 
Bump.

Thank you.

I think it's hardware-related, almost like a radio. BUT, I'm pretty sure it's integrated into the battery, so if there are any huge advances in NFC technology, maybe they will sell batteries with the integrated chip, and you can just swap it out.
 
Don't get me wrong, I want this phone. If I could go to the store today and get it I would; however, I'm almost convinced a 'Galaxy Nexus 2' will come out by the Spring with updated hardware: 1.5 GHz, bigger battery, etc. Bottom line, I don't want another Android device that is skinned with MotoBlur, TouchWiz or (incredible) Sense. I want a pure, Android experience out of the box, so I think I'll either stick with my Incredible and wait it out some more or jump on this as soon as its released. Also, the fact that it isn't getting ICS ported to it is a plus. It was built FOR ICS versus it being built on a different version and then later getting the upgrade (which always causes delays, bugs and errors given my experience).

Not sure what would convince you of that. The fact that the Nexus S came out last December and the Sprint and AT&T versions didn't land until early and late summer respectively? The only thing added in was NFC and WiMax for Sprint. The Nexus One also released with the same hardware for AT&T a nice 8 months after the original on T-Mobile. There will be no new hardware set until late next Fall.

Google will now focus on updating ICS and developing Jellybean for the set hardware you saw last night. They're not going to start tweaking critical architecture over the next few months, but rather begin planning the next Nexus.

The other thing to remember is that by the time something like the Razr gets ICS 4.0.1 next March/April, we'll probably have had 4.1 and 4.2 on the Galaxy Nexus by then. Kinda like how HTC spent all the effort updating the EVO to Gingerbread 2.3.3 and releasing it after 2.3.4 made it out from Google with native video chat support. The problem is that these companies are supporting legacy, current, and development devices, and are in need of developing/maintaining software at different levels for each device. If the past two years of Nexus have taught us anything, it's that if you want to stay current, you have to be on the stock hardware...or else waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait. I've fiddled around enough with custom ROMs and kernels on the Incredible and now the Charge, and all I can say is that short of CM7, pretty much any attempt to stay with the curve relying on third party developers means you'll be spending your time forever in beta testing.
 
And the Galaxy Note is looking better and better each day ;)

I love the new ICS UI, but I'd definitely take the 1.4ghz exynos over it...



Edit:

@ vandyman Most of us use our phones for roms/ etc. Some of us might even be devs :)
Thanks for your reply. I understand what you are saying, as I am a college cert. C++ programmer. But I just do not understand why the game concept on a phone.
 
Could the fact that this is hardware accelerated hurt the benchmarks? Not that I place any stock in synthetic benchmarks.

Or a better question, should we wait for the benchmark apps to be adapted to the newest SDK such that they properly utilize the hardware through ICS to provide more real world scores? Answer: Yes.
 
And the Galaxy Note is looking better and better each day ;)

I love the new ICS UI, but I'd definitely take the 1.4ghz exynos over it...
Sadly this is looking more and more like a viable option for me as well. I say "sadly" because I have invested so much time and energy into the Nexus lol.

I guess the good thing about this wait is that I can sit back and re-evaluate the situation. Note is going to be much more desirable spec wise for me and I don't mind the wait. Don't particularly want to wait any longer but thats no excuse :)


Leaning towards the Note (Spec wise it's a no brainer)
 
Nailed it.:)
Verizon will not let us know untill a week before release, just like any other phone.
For example ; If it is going to be released on Nov. 3, then we will hear about it on Oct. 27.

And if Verizon screws us, then I will give you full rights to break out the Fruit Loops.;)


Absolutely. When did they announce the Bionic? We all knew it was coming on September 8 or whatever it turned out to be, but they just kept saying "summer" "summer" "summer" until I think a week or two before with their commercial.

I wouldn't be surprised if we don't hear anything until late October.

Samsung and Google have provided enough proof of Verizon's getting it, as well as Steven's Love Tunnel, and BMX (who has a great track record), that I'm simply not worried.
 
Listen,I probably won't be in touch as much anymore. Things are still very tightened down around here,and with other devices coming down the pipeline,I don't want to draw any attention to myself or my coworkers.

I just wanted to share what I knew about the Nexus because I loved it so much,and you guys are a great group.

Take care!

Plenty of thanks to go around. Steven, you handled being the middle man superbly. To VZ...er...the source, THANK YOU for the pipeline and pep talks along the way. I am one who never doubted the source's credibility an realize he was putting his neck on the line to some degree. I really appreciate the information we had.

After my embarrassing flame-out last night regarding a misinterpretation of a P3Droid tweet, I am pretty comfortable that VZW is getting the Galaxy Nexus. I am also leaning very heavily towards purchasing the device.

For me it is between the GNex and RAZR. I know Moto is going to have tons of cool accessories for RAZR and they even mentioned this at their event. How do Nexus devices fare with accessories? I've mad no bones about my disdain for Thunerbolt and as such always considered it a temporary device, hence I don't have any accessories for it. I want to go all in with my next device and a lack of accessories my influence my decision.

Now come on Verizon...we're waiting!
 
Absolutely. When did they announce the Bionic? We all knew it was coming on September 8 or whatever it turned out to be, but they just kept saying "summer" "summer" "summer" until I think a week or two before with their commercial.

I wouldn't be surprised if we don't hear anything until late October.

Samsung and Google have provided enough proof of Verizon's getting it, as well as Steven's Love Tunnel, and BMX (who has a great track record), that I'm simply not worried.


I am sure it is coming to VZW. But if it takes a bit I will live, I won't like it but will live. I am pretty happy with my Charge with launcher pro.
 
I realize this. Realistically we probably are looking at 4-6 months before a Krait device hits shelves. But then I've stuck with my Droid Incredible since April 2010 and I'm willing to wait a little longer if it means skipping an entire micro-architecture and going straight to 28nm. I just personally can't justify paying that much money for hardware that's been around for a year already. 28nm boasts too much savings on space, power, and heat for me to ignore. If I bought a Galaxy Nexus I just know from my experiences with the Inc that I would need an extended battery. Something's gotta give. Either hardware needs to get smaller or batteries do and as far as I know, only one of those things is happening H1 2012--Krait.

HTC is notoriously bad for battery life, so I don't think you can compare battery consumption between them and Samsung.
 
Agreed. I love Angry Birds, but that's about it. I don't think having a crappy GPU is going to mess up my movie watching too much. I don't do it often, but on my OG Droid it looks great, and I think that GPU is much crappier than this supposed garbage one in the Nexus. :p

If I can watch an occasional movie, read an ebook, text, surf the web, and email with no lag whatsoever, I'm happy.
Same here, If I need more then that. I will use my Computer, TV, Blue Ray Player, Wii game console, etc.. LOL..:)
 
Can someone expand to me what the big deal is about have a good bench mark on this PHONE?:rolleyes:

This device is a PHONE and apps that are used in the phone relatated area. This device is NOT a gameboy,etc...:p

People want be able to say that they bought the greatest, fastest, whatever. They want ammunition against friends who use other phones.

They define themselves by their consumer choices.
 
Sadly this is looking more and more like a viable option for me as well. I say "sadly" because I have invested so much time and energy into the Nexus lol.

I guess the good thing about this wait is that I can sit back and re-evaluate the situation. Note is going to be much more desirable spec wise for me and I don't mind the wait. Don't particularly want to wait any longer but thats no excuse :)


Leaning towards the Note (Spec wise it's a no brainer)

And that's fine. To each his own. But if/when (and that's a HUGE if) Note makes it to Verizon, SGSIII will be right around the corner. And when THAT releases, you'll have Nexus 4 rumors begin to heat up. It never ends, man.

A lot of us are getting what we want in the Galnexusaurus. And while being tired of waiting factors into it, I don't think this phone is a "consolation prize". It's freaking amazing, for what I want from a phone.

I hope you get what you want, CK. But eventually you gotta get off the train. Otherwise this will be you in 30 years. :p

6933_4127_l.jpg
 
The GPU for the Galaxy Nexus is good enough for gaming.

Most game developers are not going to exclusively target the best hardware available. There might be one game whose sole purpose is to show off the eye candy of a GPU, but that is just a marketing ploy to sell you more expensive equipment.

Most games are going to be designed to run on the lowest spec machines that they are able to get away. They are targeting a wide range of devices so that they can make the most money. Developers are going to try to find ways to make games look good even on old equipment.

If you buy the best GPU, it will be overpowered for the first year of its life and it won't actually be required in a significant number of games until 2 years after its release. By that time, you are going to be upgrading to a new device anyways.
 
Absolutely. When did they announce the Bionic? We all knew it was coming on September 8 or whatever it turned out to be, but they just kept saying "summer" "summer" "summer" until I think a week or two before with their commercial.

I wouldn't be surprised if we don't hear anything until late October.

Samsung and Google have provided enough proof of Verizon's getting it, as well as Steven's Love Tunnel, and BMX (who has a great track record), that I'm simply not worried.
Yeah. The funny thing is that I can see Verizon doing a Tomb Raider theme in a few weeks.:D
 
yes, glbenchmark, and quadrant.

whats so hard to believe? the sgx540 is from 4 years ago. 2007. the resolution of this device has 2.4x the number of pixels thus it needs to work even harder. an overclock doesnt help it that much.

It's not from 2007. The first SGX540 device was launched in mid-2010. It's a competent GPU, although I do agree that it is getting long in the tooth. It was the best GPU of 2010, and it's being used in a new "high-end" device 1-2 months short of 2011.

But, the Mali400 isn't the answer either. That thing has amazing fill-rate, but poor geometric performance. On a 720p display today, it will outperform the SGX540. But, as you add geometric detail (which newer games will do, the screen on this device will always be 720p), the SGX540 will take no noticeable performance hit, while the Mali will choke.

I personally believe that, due to their characteristics, the SGX540 is the lesser of two evils. It's clearly superior to the Adreno 220 and the GeForce ULP. But, what boggles my mind, is that no OEM decided to use the SGX543, let alone the 543MP2 (iPad 2, iPhone 4s) or 543MP4 (PS Vita).

Also, the benchmarks you cited look questionable to me. We've seen how this GPU performs on final hardware. Let's see how it looks when reviewers get the final unit for testing. Results should be significantly better.

EDIT: Last thing is that the benchmarks on that site you listed are done at the device's native resolution, or so it seems. If this is the case, you're benchmarking a 720p device against a qHD device. That would explain why performance is less than the Bionic, which uses the same GPU at a lower clock speed.

Anandtech has a good write-up where they forced each device to render 720p (off-screen, as it has to be downsampled). This is closer to being an apples to apple comparison. Although it favors high fill-rate GPUs (like the Mali, they should have had a separate test at qHD), it does give a more accurate picture of the weaknesses between the chips.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined/17

Here you can see that anything that is geometry limited, the Mali is horribly weak. In anything that is fill-rate limited, the SGX540 is competent, but falls way behind the Mali. My point is this: As new games come out that are compatible with the Nexus, the fill-rate requirements won't raise drastically. However, geometric use will increase. This will cause the performance hit on the Mali to be far more noticeable. At what point does each GPU become unplayable? My bet is that the Mali does first simply because of how real games are developed. However, that's my best guess. If you disagree with me, perhaps a Galaxy SII is the better device for you.

Had these tests been done at qHD, the fill-rate wouldn't have been an issue, which means that while the Mali wouldn't show better results, the SGX540 would. So, if you're comparing the Galaxy S2 to a Bionic (or RAZR), the slight benefits of the Mali today are grossly outweighed by the future proof design of the SGX tomorrow.
 
I find myself in a strange mood today, as it's very rainy out and I'm coming off of yesterday's high. We had a great party in the IRC chat and I thoroughly enjoyed it!!! Thank you guys.

However, I'm sad that our source is leaving us, but I certainly understand that. Secondly, I'm asking myself if the hardware specs of this phone will last me 18 months. Can I hold out? Source says "new phones in the pipeline." I guess I need time to digest.

I'll be around all day. Stepping out for another cup of coffee to pick me up.

Steven
 
I like the thought of possibly a new Nexus device every year. Hopefully, VZW will buy into the vanilla android experience and let us have our cake as well :)

Or they could do a GNex S refresh next year, then a full iteration, and keep that pattern going. That way no one feels left out because their friends have the latest and they have to wait a year for their next upgrade... :rolleyes:
 
Everybody in the US is already sitting in the seats staring at an empty stage.

No FCC on the device and no official confirmation. I'm not worried, concerned or freaking out. I'm only waiting and not jumping on the bandwagon just yet.

If it was going to be a Verizon exclusive or released on Verizon first somebody at the event would have broke that story by now. Don't you think? Perhaps there is a delay. Perhaps it's nothing more than people wanting to keep it a secret that Verizon is going to be releasing it first and/or exclusively and are waiting for big red to do it themselves.

I don't know anything right now except that we have 2 confirmed carriers and none of them are in the US.

Pretty sure both CK and Hans have a point here.

VZW probably wanted a bigger piece and part of this whole announcement than they got. What I am very curious to see, with the RAZR being the latest and greatest Droid, what sorta public ad and marketing attention the Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound get at all. Won't be surprised at all if VZW goes ahead and gives this a somewhat quiet announcement just as they go buck wild with Moto on RAZR ad campaigns.

I don't really care other than I have wanted an equally presented and marketed Nexus on a massive network ever since the first one and it hasn't happened yet. Everyone hates on the Nexus brand based on it's sales success, but as yet it's never been fairly marketed to compare sales.
 
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