What's So Great about ICS?

[speede541]

ICS uses virtual shutter button in camera apps, so any phone with physical shutter button wont get it.
S2 will ofc get it cuz S2 uses virtual shutter key and have same optical sensor.

onlything S2 lack is barometer sensor comapre to GN.

I'm pretty confident the zero-shutter lag is specifically a Nexus feature, and not anything built into ICS, and nothing to do with the lack of a hardware shutter release button.

The decision to use the 5 megapixel sensor was most likely rooted in the 4460's ability to process an image in one cycle, or inside a determined number of cycles, to prevent any system lag and be ready to capture the next shot.

And in fact, I'd bet money that with the negative consumer & press reaction the 5MP spec has received will drive future ICS devices to stick with 8MP, and forego the zero shutter lag feature -- until processors are able to make up for it, that is.

I read many reviews and note that the reviewer is mistakenly touting an ICS feature as Nexus, or a Nexus feature as ICS. For some of it, we just won't know until the new ICS devices show up. However, specifications like zero shutter lag, lack of hardware buttons, no SD slot, etc., are definitely particular to the Nexus, but not necessarily ICS.

 

[jamisont]

I'm pretty confident the zero-shutter lag is specifically a Nexus feature, and not anything built into ICS, and nothing to do with the lack of a hardware shutter release button.

The decision to use the 5 megapixel sensor was most likely rooted in the 4460's ability to process an image in one cycle, or inside a determined number of cycles, to prevent any system lag and be ready to capture the next shot.

And in fact, I'd bet money that with the negative consumer & press reaction the 5MP spec has received will drive future ICS devices to stick with 8MP, and forego the zero shutter lag feature -- until processors are able to make up for it, that is.

I read many reviews and note that the reviewer is mistakenly touting an ICS feature as Nexus, or a Nexus feature as ICS. For some of it, we just won't know until the new ICS devices show up. However, specifications like zero shutter lag, lack of hardware buttons, no SD slot, etc., are definitely particular to the Nexus, but not necessarily ICS.

How to Check if your Android phone is Ice Cream Sandwich v4.0 Ready?

Zero Shutter Lag-time

Android phones available in market either have a physical camera shutter (which I personally prefer using) or virtual shutter button built inside the camera app. Well, basically, ICS offers zero shutter lag time which means that your photos get clicked the very instant you hit the shutter key.

If your phone doesn

 

[ttaylor0024]

Exynos 4210= Dual Cortex A9 CPUs @ 1.2ghz
OMAP 4460= Dual Cortex A9 CPUs @ 1.2ghz

Is the Exynos 1.5GHz stock? The GNex's OMAP 4460 is 1.5ghz stock, underclocked to 1.2GHz

 

[soy.lor.n]

There's so much bickering about what is ICS and what is Nexus...

What everyone needs to keep in mind is that ICS and the GNexus were built together. The hardware on the GNexus was built for running ICS as flawlessly as possible.

Lack of hardware buttons is a feature of ICS that is found on the GNexus. Going forward many phones will be sans dedicated buttons, but phones designed for GB will obviously still have static buttons. Same thing for zero-lag. Some new phones might implement it, but as was already said, some might be afraid of the backlash the gnex got for its camera. And they obviously won't extend it to hardware that is incapable. Just like with onscreen buttons.

So stop thinking about it in terms of x being a gnex feature and y being an ICS feature, because it's not that straightforward.

 

[Jersey Tom]

ICS has keyboard support, mouse support - you can plug in a mouse/keyboard into your phone and ICS will see it.

Whoa whoa whoa. Say what? Mouse support? This true?

I'm envisioning an Android tablet having a dock with keyboard and touchpad or wireless mouse. That would be the business.

 

[dguy]

I've looked over a list of new ICS features, and so far I'm not impressed. Most of the things are pretty pointless, like Face Unlock and camera right from lock screen (it disables PIN so why would you ever use it). Others are pretty minor, like notification swipe and quick respnse. The only things significant seem to be data management and folders. Other things are even harmful, like only five homescreens. I might be missing some things so please remind me.

All in all, ICS is nice and all, but it's not spectacular enough to skyrocket the Galaxy Nexus into "best phone in 2011." Especially when the Galaxy S2 has better specs in almost everything and will be getting ICS as well.

It's not really any single feature, it's a combination of many little things that together make the phone really, really pleasant to use. Everything is fast, smooth(yes they are two different things), intuitive, and it looks nice.

I also find it odd when people say things like "Galaxy S2 has better specs in almost everything". Let's break it down shall we?

The OMAP 4 is the same processor as the Exynos; they are both unmodified Cortex A9 CPUs with NEON extension support. A lot of people pass along the myth that the Exynos is some magical super processor, it is not, it is just a Cortex A9 coupled with a Mali 400 GPU. The only processing advantage an S2 has is the Mali 400 GPU which is in fact better than what is in the Galaxy Nexus but not by a whole lot. Many Galaxy S2 phones(the highest end ones) use a Snapdragon chipset which has both an inferior CPU and an inferior GPU to the Galaxy Nexus.

The Galaxy Nexus screen completely blows away the screen on the Galaxy S2, no debate here. Higher resolution, higher PPI, larger.

The S2 has a rear camera that takes a bit better photos than the Nexus but the Nexus still takes quite nice photos for a phone. It can take pictures significantly faster than the S2 and it can also take pictures while recording video at the same time. Personal preference on this one; I could see different people caring more about either one of those benefits more than the other.

The S2 uses Touchwiz, not vanilla Android. ICS on the S2 will also be using Touchwiz. Leaked videos of ICS on an S2 show that it looks almost identical to what is on the S2 already. Nonetheless, this is personal preference and can be changed if the user is willing to put some work in. Besides this, the S2 is doomed to be months behind the official Android releases just like every other non Nexus phone.

Galaxy Nexus has Near Field Communication support, the S2 does not.

The GN's 32GB of onboard storage is unified. Meaning all of that can be used for anything: apps, media, whatever. There is no artificially set small partition of a couple GB for apps.

My sister got an S2 yesterday actually. Is it a nice phone? Absolutely, it's incredible. Would I choose one over the GN? Not a chance. Would I use one if the GN didn't exist? No doubt. My $0.02.

 

[soy.lor.n]

The S2 has a rear camera that takes a bit better photos than the Nexus but the Nexus still takes quite nice photos for a phone. It can take pictures significantly faster than the S2 and it can also take pictures while recording video at the same time. Personal preference on this one; I could see different people caring more about either one of those benefits more than the other.

Plus the panoramic camera = sweet. I assume this will be implemented in other phones with ICS (don't know for sure, of course) but since the question was "what's so great about ICS?" I feel fine with stating things that are great about ICS even if they're not nexus-specific.

Galaxy Nexus has Near Field Communication support, the S2 does not.

I thought that the TMO/ATT versions had it built in, even though they don't currently utilize it. I don't remember about the international GSII though

 

[SirKronan]

ICS has keyboard support, mouse support - you can plug in a mouse/keyboard into your phone and ICS will see it.

ICS has mass storage support so you can plug in a hard drive or flash into your phone

Now, I remember reading somewhere that they were planning an adapter that would allow USB input into the SGSII. ICS supporting it does not mean the phone's hardware supports it, but it would be fantastic if the GNEX did have that capability. Do you have any additional info/links on this? My search wasn't very fruitful.

 

[speede541]

How to Check if your Android phone is Ice Cream Sandwich v4.0 Ready?



personally I'd like to see it myself as well. (nexus S got their update)
I dont think it will work on all phones but i dont see any reason why it wont work on galaxy S2. hardwarewise, they are pretty equal with same optical sensor.

Ooooh, That page doesn't come across as very credible. It seems to me the author mad a lot of assumptions in writing that, including the whole zero lag thing. I wouldn't base much that info unless this guy is a known entity -- which I doubt, since there are zero comments to his post. Usually these reputable guys "in the know" have quite the following.