Droid Charge to Nexus...back to Droid Charge

[dman2275]

Hi everyone.

I thought I would share my experiences with the members here since I always read posts (on numerous forums) asking the same question. Should I buy the Nexus or not? I had been going back and forth since the Nexus came out in December on whether to buy one or wait for the next best thing.

I pulled the plug on February 29th and picked one up for $149 plus the extended battery. A smoking deal in my opinion for the flagship VZW phone. My main concerns were signal strength, dropped data and battery life.

I played with the phone for ten days and realized the Nexus was going back. There are so many good things about the phone - ICS, screen is very nice, phone is sleek. The development community is incredible on this phone. So many roms to choose from. There are a lot of things to like about the phone. Battery life was not an issue at all for me. I installed BB rom after a few days and I could get the whole day with the extended battery.

Signal strength - not nearly as good as my Charge. Many places I would normally have a strong signal, my Nexus had a weak (or no) signal. Data was soooo slow when the signal is low.

Profiles - I always use Quick Profiles on my phone to shut off notifications at night. I could not get anything to work with ICS (hopefully they will fix this in the future with a software modification).

Accessories - the lack of accessories, mainly a desktop charger. I use the desktop charger at night so my phone is my night clock (and I charge my extra battery). The OEM Samsung Nexus desktop dock is $99 (and not even available yet....three months after the phone came out). Too much cash for me.

In conclusion, I could not keep the Nexus mainly due to the low signal strength of the phone. I know a lot of people do not have signal issues. Perhaps the coverage is better where they live, but in my area my Droid Charge gets a strong signal no matter where I go. I wish the Nexus did the same. I will definitely miss ICS.

 

[breadnatty08]

You seem to be the ROMing type. Have you tried flashing the 4.0.4 radios? It's helped my signal strength a bit but results will vary.
The accessory side is absolutely befuddling, but not a concern of mine. I hope you're happy going back to your Charge.
Also, for shutting off notifications, you can try the app Tasker. It can do that and lots more.

 

[dman2275]

Hi Dread,

I actually did flash several ROMs. I used stock for 3-4 days and ended up on Peter Alfonso's Bugless Beast. I flashed the 4.0.4 radios and it did not seem to make much of a difference. I didn't experience the dropped calls with the second phone. My main issue was data.

The dock was just secondary but I really like using a charging dock at night. I could not see spending $99 on the Samsung one. My Charge dock cost me $30 and it included a spare battery.

I do like my Charge. I have Eclipse ROM installed and it runs smooth (although not as smooth as the Nexus). I will miss ICS - I liked it overall.

I will keep watching to see what 4.0.5 does for the signal strength. Hopefully it will boost the signal. If it does, I may pick up another Nexus then.

 

[offanairplane]

I came from a Thunderbolt to the Nexus and I've noticed the same thing.
Fortunately I live in an area where the signal strength is pretty strong, so even though my signal is half what it used to be on the Thunderbolt, half is still adequate for me. I am hoping the next update will fix this.

 

[Dubbin1]

Seidio makes a charging dock that is much cheaper (29.95).

 

[dman2275]

I did see the Seidio dock but I was not sure it would work like the OEM one (automatically go into clock mode on). My main issue was the signal strength. Even at my house (which gets 4 bars around -68 dbms I think) my Nexus never got over 2 bars (never stronger than -93 dbms). Wifi was not as strong either. The only time I had a full wifi signal was sitting in my office next to the router. I did not try tasker but if I buy another one, I will defintely check it out.

Hopefully the new update will have updated radios that improve the signal. TBH, I really liked the phone but the signal was a deal breaker for me. The other issues were minor and could have been overlooked for the many positives of the Nexus.

 

[Demache]

I'm not sure if my Nexus is doing worse on signal or not. If anything, I'm thinking its about on par with my Eris. I still get the same data speeds on 3G (ie, slowwwww) and 4G, even with it having a "poor" signal in my basement does circles around 3G at high strength. I haven't experienced dropped calls.

If I ever go back up to my friend's cabin, that will be a true test of the radio, since getting a stable 2G signal is considered amazing.