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***Official G-Nex first impressions thread*** Love it? Hate it?

Reception is a little off what the OG would do.

The Volume keys are slightly annoying, almost too easy to press, and with the power button on the opposite side, I find myself switching volumes while turning the screen on and off.

Screen is very nice, however my eyes do detect slight cross hatch patterns on solid colors. Only occasionally, and it isn't bad at all, but I found myself noticing it from time to time.

*THE* best thing I have found so far though is the multitask button. Makes this phone into a BEAST of a workhorse. Switching between apps was simple before with the long press of the home button, but now... I almost feel like I'm working on a desktop. And with the 1Gb of ram and speedy CPU, it seems everything works perfectly.

I need to root and unlock my bootloader... but alas, don't have time to fidget with it and I'd much prefer a simple method rather than loading this and that and fastboot and ADB and blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong, I rooted my OG through methods similar to this, but it just was so much of a hassle finding all the correct drivers and getting everything to work properly.
 
First impressions from a Rezound User (who's been hanging out in the Rezound forums but ended up making the jump to the Nexus!).

1. The ICS experience is excellent so far... and I have to say based on some early stuff I've seen (like TouchWiz overlayed onto ICS), that I think I'm going to really love the vanilla ICS experience.

2. The screen is vibrant and amazing. I still prefer the Rezound screen in many ways though for truest colors (yellows look better for example on the Rezound).

3. I absolutely LOVE the feel of this phone. It surprised me how much... and I very much liked the Rezound. There is something about the thin & light nature of the phone that just made it all feel like it fits together with the ICS experience.

Is it the best specced phone out there? Nope, but it all works together better than most any android phone I've seen or tried so far, and that is worth a LOT in my book.
 
I must just live in a great city for reception/signal as I've never had an issue with my droid eris, droid x or nexus. Reading most of your posts, I feel extremely lucky this is the case. The only time I have ever even seen a weak signal is sometimes while in a moving vehicle and inside a large or underground building. At home, at work and 95% of my normal hangouts have either full reception or close to it. However, I've obviously not had the oppt to try the nexus out EVERYWHERE yet, but I've also not seen the bars anything but full yet either. I'm not trying to brag, just think it's odd that what seems to be a universal issue has not effected me in 4+ years.

With that said, I have but one complaint: Swype. Everything else has blown me away. ICS is fantastic, 4G is irreplaceable, and anyone who doesn't like this camera is just being downright picky. I've taken gorgeous photos, not to mention the extreme speed and quick, accurate focus. So for now I'm trong to get used to SlideIt until a beta for Swype is released. All I have left to say is BRAVO team Nexus, bravo...
 
I got mine a few hours ago but I haven't been able to play with it much. Just phone calls and texting. I like it so far.
 
After coming from an OG Droid I am simply blown away with my new precious. From how fast it starts up to how well it fits in my hand, for me it is the perfect phone. ICS is simply amazing and I only see it getting better.
 
All... for those of you debating the merits of the camera and it's sensor. Can we please take this discussion into a thread specifically about the GNex camera? This thread is intended for discussion of first impressions... not to debate the merits and capabilities of a pin hole camera. Thanks for your understanding and support!
 
So far my experience has been lackluster. I am coming from the Thunderbolt so I am used to disappointment. The OS and hardware seems pretty awesome but I can no hold a data connection for more than 30 or 40 seconds. I live in Metro Detroit and in a SOLID 4g area that I have to drive at least 35 minutes to get to 3g coverage. Unfortunatly my issue isn't just connecting to 4g but 3g and 1x as well. I get 4g for about 30 seconds, then no data of anykind for several minutes. Then I'll get 3g for 40 seconds and back to no data. I know people have said the radios for Samsung kind of suck but this is insane. Any suggestions?
 
looooooove this thing! my only complaint so far is that i keep picking it up upside down. moving the usb and headphone ports to the bottom of the phone (opposite of what i'm used to), combined with the lack of hardware keys mean that figuring out which way is up with the screen locked is going to take some getting used to.

*screen - beautiful, perfect combination of the razr and rezound
*size/weight - again, a perfect compromise between the razr (which was too light, IMO) and the rezound. it feels "solid" without feeling "heavy".
*reception - decent, not quite as good as the razr, but easily on par with my thunderbolt
*battery life - not great, so far, but i have been playing with it non-stop. at least i can swap them, unlike with the razr.
*ICS - fluid and beautiful, but it is going to take some getting used to (especially the on screen buttons).
 
purple_duckk said:
So far my experience has been lackluster. I am coming from the Thunderbolt so I am used to disappointment. The OS and hardware seems pretty awesome but I can no hold a data connection for more than 30 or 40 seconds. I live in Metro Detroit and in a SOLID 4g area that I have to drive at least 35 minutes to get to 3g coverage. Unfortunatly my issue isn't just connecting to 4g but 3g and 1x as well. I get 4g for about 30 seconds, then no data of anykind for several minutes. Then I'll get 3g for 40 seconds and back to no data. I know people have said the radios for Samsung kind of suck but this is insane. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Just curious, what other phones/devices have you had in which you've had the solid 4G signal? I'm just trying to figure out a) how you're sure it's a great 4G area and b) why you'd have THAT much radio trouble.
 
Alright, here is my first impression. The phone is super smooth, navigating between apps, menus, etc. typing is a dream, and the voice-text feature is fantastic (as long as you have a data connection!) I like the new mail apps, everything is bigger and easier to read. Browser is super super fast, like 3-4 times faster loading than my thunderbolt. Multi-tasking is a dream, I loved that they stole some of the WebOS features, as it was the best application I have seen.

The camera IS fast, but you still need to line up the shot and stay still, the zero shutter speed is best for the first pic, not so much after that.

The screen is great, you have to look SUPER close to see any pixels at all, like uncomfortably close. Auto-brightness, off.

The exterior speaker is too quiet. The Thunderbolt was slightly louder, and I missed calls on that all the time while in my pocket. Hopefully the vibration is better on the GNex to make up for it.

Like OTD said, my only big issue is reception. No LTE signal at my desk, which is a disappointment. Wi-fi registers as weak bar-wise, but seems ok speed-wise. Hopefully 4.1 fixes that soon. Really the reviews are spot on IMO, and I have only scratched the surface of the features of the phone.
 
Loving the battery out of it, but lucky for me my early start for Star Wars started 15 minutes ago!
 
I don't have mine yet, so I have a few questions regarding some of the things I've heard & read over the last few rumor filled weeks.

1. Is it true that you cannot dial by name as I could w my DINC2? Is there a workaround?
2. I've seen posts that the Facebook pics used for contacts are very grainy & low res. Again, is this true? Workaround?
3. Battery life is a concern, can you turn off 4g?
4. Sound quality of phone calls?
Thanks!
 
ckelly33 said:
Battery life?
Click to expand...

A possible worry, but haven't gotten a good idea yet. Got the phone at 9:15 AM and it had maybe 1/3rd of a charge. Used the phone lightly to moderately for approx 4 hours before a full, natural drain. It's now been charging for an hour without the power on. We'll see how long it lasts with moderate to heavy use next!
 
xGalaxyNexusx said:
Just curious, what other phones/devices have you had in which you've had the solid 4G signal? I'm just trying to figure out a) how you're sure it's a great 4G area and b) why you'd have THAT much radio trouble.
Click to expand...


I had a Tbolt since the first day of release and I have a MiFi 4g portable hotspot for work. Both of which are rock solid in my office. Like I said I have to drive a good 35 minutes to the south west before I switch to 4g. If you are familiar with Metro Detroit I am in Livonia about 300 yards off of 96 so my reception should be bulletproof here. Another reason I feel like there is something up is ALL data drops out, it doesn't just switch between 3g and 4g. I can shoot you a video of 3g and 4g randomly popping on for a few seconds then long periods of no data at all.
 
AntimonyER said:
Alright, here is my first impression. The phone is super smooth, navigating between apps, menus, etc. typing is a dream, and the voice-text feature is fantastic (as long as you have a data connection!) I like the new mail apps, everything is bigger and easier to read. Browser is super super fast, like 3-4 times faster loading than my thunderbolt. Multi-tasking is a dream, I loved that they stole some of the WebOS features, as it was the best application I have seen.

The camera IS fast, but you still need to line up the shot and stay still, the zero shutter speed is best for the first pic, not so much after that.
Click to expand...

Are you being sure to focus the green square around the subject of the photo? I played with this extensively earlier and gotta admit, I thought it was perfect. Maybe just personal preference!
 
Eventually there will be a bunch of Radios to choose from and upon testing and flashing you should be able to get a radio that gives you the best signal where you reside most.
 
X24 said:
*THE* best thing I have found so far though is the multitask button. Makes this phone into a BEAST of a workhorse. Switching between apps was simple before with the long press of the home button, but now... I almost feel like I'm working on a desktop. And with the 1Gb of ram and speedy CPU, it seems everything works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Could not agree more with this. Absolutely loving the multitask button, makes everything SO much faster and easier and more intuitive. Great, great feature.
 
purple_duckk said:
I had a Tbolt since the first day of release and I have a MiFi 4g portable hotspot for work. Both of which are rock solid in my office. Like I said I have to drive a good 35 minutes to the south west before I switch to 4g. If you are familiar with Metro Detroit I am in Livonia about 300 yards off of 96 so my reception should be bulletproof here. Another reason I feel like there is something up is ALL data drops out, it doesn't just switch between 3g and 4g. I can shoot you a video of 3g and 4g randomly popping on for a few seconds then long periods of no data at all.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying. I would trade the device in for another... Ppl are having some reception issues, but that's very extreme. Especially in a area you're certain isn't like that by default. Wish I could help more.
 
xGalaxyNexusx said:
Thanks for clarifying. I would trade the device in for another... Ppl are having some reception issues, but that's very extreme. Especially in a area you're certain isn't like that by default. Wish I could help more.
Click to expand...

Gah! I was afraid of that. I'm hoping the store I got mine from has more
 
ckelly33 said:
I don't have mine yet, so I have a few questions regarding some of the things I've heard & read over the last few rumor filled weeks.

1. Is it true that you cannot dial by name as I could w my DINC2? Is there a workaround?
2. I've seen posts that the Facebook pics used for contacts are very grainy & low res. Again, is this true? Workaround?
3. Battery life is a concern, can you turn off 4g?
4. Sound quality of phone calls?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Not sure if you've been answered, but I'll do what I can...
You can't dial by name per se, but it's not bad. I'll post a screenshot shortly.
Facebook pics weren't there for me and I've yet to fix that, so hold tight for now.
You can turn off Mobile Data and use WiFi obviously, but I've yet to see anything 4G specific.
Phone calls sound clear, but a tad on the "megaphone" side if you know what I mean. I suspect after a week you wouldn't even notice.
 
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