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Day 1 Initial Impressions Of The Verizon Galaxy Nexus [Poll]

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National Galaxy Nexus Day is drawing to a close and whether you’re a new Verizon customer or veteran, you no doubt have been playing with the device nonstop. Not going to lie… I’m a little jealous. So with that, we at Phandroid would love to know… just how are you guys liking your first day with the Galaxy Nexus?

We’ve been receiving a few reports of some general weirdness going on but nothing too wild. I’m sure Verizon just got a few hundred thousand new customers on their network so a little strain is to be expected. But what about the hardware? Is it leaps and bounds better than your old device? Software: does Ice Cream Sandwich fulfill all your wildest expectations? Is Verizon’s network a whole new world of awesome? Basically, we just want your honest feedback. I came up with a handy poll to get a general feeling of how everyone is holding up, so vote, leave a comment with more details and don’t forget… Happy Gnex Day!

[polldaddy poll=5764909]

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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225 Comments

  1. i will be polite and not skew your results today…no vote. my day 1 is tomorrow. 

    1. Lol.. Thanks! And good luck :)

    2. +1

    3. The earliest I can upgrade is Dec 23rd. I hope they don’t run out :(

      1. Try to make friends with one of the reps at your local corporate Verizon store. I was fortunate to find an excellent rep, I called her this morning when I got to work and she saved me one.

      2. they will make more, my friend.  They will make more.

  2. 4th option: WANT IT ON GSM!!!!! 

    1. I hate verizon, but im happy its not att

    2. Totally. Do not understand at all why Google isn’t selling the unlocked GSM version on their site. Hope this exclusivity period isn’t too long.

    3. It’s available for import as an unlocked device, nothing stopping you but the high price tag.  ;)

      1. haha, i know, but that’s quite a hefty price tag! i don’t have 700+ dollars lying around. wish i did though!

        1. Yeah, I’m not paying a $150 premium for Google’s faux pas. Either they get to their original plan of selling it directly, unlocked, or this guy is rethinking his rather dramatic 3GS to GN switch.

    4. that’s not an option. .that’s just damn funny!  HAHAHAHA

  3. Been playing with it all night.  I really like it.  ICS is a little awkward at first if you’re used to older systems, but you get used to it.  Sound, like the reviews have said, is a bit low but I often have it on vibrate anyway.  It was worth it, for me.  Worst case scenario there’s a 30 day return policy.

    1. Oh, and for some reason, I was under the impression that the Galaxy Nexus has Smart Actions but it does not.  I guess that’s a motorola thing?  Looked interesting so semi-disappointed in its absence. 

      1. Yes, just Motorola. Download “Tasker” from the market. It’s a little cumbersome to use at first, but it’s the best app on my phone by far.

        1. Thanks, I’ll check it out.

    2. I have yet to experience an android with a ringer loud enough.  I have great hearing but if the ringer is music and it’s in my pocket, I won’t generally hear it if I’m in a store with crowds.

      1. The sound is no less loud than on my retired Droid X2.

      2. The rezound has excellent sound quality and volume.

        1. Given the Beats audio is supposed to be a major feature, I would hope so.

          1. beats only has to do with headphones being plugged in…

          2. WRONG!

            on the devices that are Beats branded, sound is better PERIOD!

          3. Given beats audio has N O T H I N G to do with the volume of the ringer, it doesn’t matter.

      3. My Droid Incredible is rarely on full volume as it’s a bit too loud. I actually appreciate it too, so this is the only part that’s a bummer to me.

        1. does the incredible the option like my old inspire..you have it laying down ..it increase volume..i like that..it did that if phone was facing my body(screen)..that would be nice feature for the gnex.

      4. I see, thanks for the input.  My original Droid was usually set to 60-70% and I could hear it alright, but never tested it in a store.  I have the Nexus at max volume, but perhaps I just need to find a louder (or custom) ringtone.

      5. you would figure they can do something about this..its not they worry about now but hope someone working for sammy..i give credit to htc you turn down even on low its really loud,,and nokias..just saying i wish i had their volume..but its ok..ive got a gnex!!

      6. ears checked?  OG droid, plenty loud.   Rezound, plenty loud,  Tbolt, plenty loud.   Besides, in your pocket = vibrate mode. It’s common sense, really. No really.

  4. Unicorns and Rainbows have emerged from the sky – it is the most glorious day!

  5. 4th option great but battery life sucks on LTE

    1. Can 4G be turned off?

      1. I think so, I haven’t actually done it one the phone, but I know I have the same question and I vaguely remember finding somewhere that, yes, you can. That will make a huge difference for me, as I plan to turn it off whenever I don’t need it to save battery. I can live with 3G for many tasks.

      2. Yup. go to Settings, then under “wireless and networking” click on “more” Next click on “mobile Networks” then “Network Mode” ..makes a huge difference so far… BTW, does anyone know of any toggle widgets for 4g on off? oddly the one that comes on it says only for HTC phones…

        1. Beautiful Widgets, available in the Android Market, has a toggle for 4G 

          1. Tried it – when you do that, you get a message saying: “This toggle only works on HTC devices running on a WiMax network…”

  6. I find if funny that Ice Cream Sandwich was released into the wild on National Cupcake Day! LOL!

  7. Coming from a Fascinate this is amazing.  My friend tried to say it’s too big and it barely outperformed iPhone 4s. I laughed in his face, he’s 6’1″ I’m 5’5″. 

    Also, I don’t know why everyone says it’s built cheap, this thing is super solid.

    1. I went to a Verizon store earlier to check it out, it felt nice in the hand. Doesn’t have a cheap feel at all.

      1. I was considering HTC when considering moving to an elite android phone but the bulk just wouldn’t go with my small hands, besides I have never been a fan of phone brand interfaces. In love with a pure google phone. Merge that with the always sleek samsung design had me sold since it was announced to come out back in late summer.

        1. HTC would be a good second best for your high end Android phones, though I can honestly say I think I would prefer Samsung. If you don’t like the hideous interfaces that manufacturers decide to overlay on Android, you would probably hate Sense. I do. It didn’t take me long to start messing with custom ROMs because the feel is so much better with stock Google. ICS feels nice. Very pure, even with Verizon it feels nice.

          1. hideous? Sense?

            your hater is showing!

          2. oh Amazon.. you so silly

          3. ^_^

    2. people have this crazy idea that plastic = cheap and metal = quality. had no complaints with the build quality of my Nexus S.

      1. Its only the fanbois from hTC who thinks like that. Its cus they have nothing else on us.

        1. actually HTC does…and there are plenty more to come…this is the first nexus that will be creamed within a month of it’s release…

        2. why does anyone else have to “have” anything on you?  Why is it us vs them?  Kind of passive aggressive

    3. I agree. The build quality is nice and it’s so light. I love that. I barely notice it in my pocket. Although I did come from the OG Droid, so that might be saying something.

  8. Usually takes a few days to find bugs, no?

    1. Not on some other devices… =p

      1. touche :p

  9. I love it, aside from the boot loop, my fault, its running like a dream. I haven’t gotten to do a complete charge cycle on it yet so as you would expect the battery has been getting killed.

    1. Using the phone while plugged in, I’m not able to get it to actually increase in charge. And, without playing with the phone and plugged in, it’s super-slow to charge. So like you, battery is being sucked dry.

      1. plugged into an ac adapter or a pc/laptop?

        1. Using the charger that came with the phone, plugged into an outlet (not pc/laptop).

  10. I got my GNex at 7 this morning and Flash just hit the market with ICS support! Today has been perfect.

    1. If that’s true, that’s great news! I was afraid it was going to be later rather than sooner. That was the only thing keeping me from running ICS. I’ll have to flash it, and see if it shows up.

      1. I can confirm, Flash 11.1 working on ICS. I’m running it on my Vibrant, verrrry smooth! (Must be the hardware acceleration)

  11. Yeah… battery is not so good. Any truth to it getting better after a week of recharges?

    1. All of my Androids got better battery life after a few days of charge/discharge cycles.

    2. I’ve never seen battery life get better down the road.. unless it’s a software update. 

      Usually, day 1 is as good as it’s gonna get. 

      1.  Not true Chris. The phone needs to go through a few full charge cycles in order for the battery to work up to par. What I am willing to be is the problem here is that no one here waited and set their phone to charge for hours today before doing anything. If people are like me they grabbed it and started playing with it.

        1. Mister_Eff is correct, batteries have “warm up” periods, about the first 5-10 FULL cycles.  You’re best to let your phone completely die, then full recharge, etc for the first 10 cycles (for life you can afford to)

          1. @Mister_Eff:disqus @google-a4b305f0077055b4fdcf715067775d5a:disqus Yeah, I know about battery conditioning. I’m actually pretty anal about it too on my phones. 

            But I always thought it was weird though that the first couple of days were always the best for me. Not sure why.. O_o

          2. Does battery conditioning actually work on lithium ion batteries?  They are memory free.

      2. day 1 is usually among the worst since it is a new phone and setting it up/playing with it a ton is not really what people will be doing on a day to day basis.

      3. Yeah, I would also have to disagree, I got my Droid 1 and battery life was horrible on day one, after a few updates it got better, but only after my first leaked update did it really get good.  It only got better form their with custom roms and tweaks.  

        Maybe most of us aren’t patient enough to let it get a full charge before playing with it.

      4. you can calibrate your battery with battery left from the market.

    3. 2 years ago I almost returned my original Droid because battery life was so bad.  After about a week or so of charging from low to full, it became better than I expected.  At peak performance, I was getting 4 days out of it with light use only.

      In short, it will get better.

  12. Most apps have been good. Twitter sucks on the nexus compared to how it was on my droid x.

    1. How so? Scrolling isn’t as smooth?

    2. I also would like to know how so? Twitter in general or the dedicated twitter client?

  13. was disappointed with the graininess of the screen, and battery life could be better.  ICS is awesome though, no doubt about it.

    1. Graininess? lol.  You must have special eyes with magnifying lenses built-in.

        1. Ok I see what you are talking about. i had to turn off the lights and lower the brightness unusually low to notice it.

          It’s just the way these type of screens look with less than optimal light passing through them. It’s not a ‘defect’ but just a byproduct of the technology. It’ll be easier to get used to if you just accept it as is.

          For me this will certainly be a non-issue.

      1. Yeah, the screen is gorgeous.  People see the word Pentile and scream how bad it must be.  I saw a review where under Pros they had listed “Absolutely gorgeous screen, best I’ve seen on a phone”, and then they listed Pentile technology as a Con….Seriously?  If it is quite possibly the best looking display on the market, what does it matter the sub-pixel makeup?  These people wouldn’t be saying anything negative about the screen if they weren’t told it was Pentile.

        1. I had no clue as to whether the screen was pentile or not, I noticed it because I work in a dark environment.  With the auto brightness, the phone looked like it was under cheesecloth.  It went away pretty easily when I pumped the brightness, but, I can’t always do that.

  14. 134 voters are creative baristas xD

    1. cannot like this comment enough

    2. 145 voters should get 4G phones.

    3. I was mad that I found one at Radio Shack, but they wanted 799 off contract instead of 649 like VZ.  Had to order it online so I won’t know yet.

    4. What do [creative] baristas have to do with anything?

  15. gotta say the battery life even on 3G is pretty horrendous.  not like return-this-device worthy, but its noticeable by quite a margin when coming from a device like the droid incredible.. :(

    1. I will never understand the half-wits like you who complain about battery life on
      their very first day (or even the first week) of using a brand new phone.  I can virtually
      guarantee that complainers like yourself have been fiddling with their phones at
      least 50% more than in a typical day…probably even more.

      Nevermind the fact that android’s battery icon requires an accumulation of stat data that is collected during battery run-down in order to provide an accurate reflection of remaining battery.  So, to summarize:  1) Check back in after you’ve accumulated some battery stats in your phone. 2) Come back when your usage habits calm down to normal levels. 3) Probably better if you just keep your trap shut since #2 likely never occurred to you in the first place…or you would have mentioned it in your post.

        1. ustilldoingthatyearslaterbro?

      1. I agree 100%. But damn dude, calm down

      2. Why don’t you crawl out of the guys ass?

        1. why don’t you keep it moving since he’s 100% RIGHT!!!!

        2. says the apple sheep.

      3. RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRR

  16. I need an option between “love it” and “meh” … the device doesn’t work perfectly; even following numerous guides online to get the file system mounted in Linux, it locks up Nautilus until I unplug the device. I don’t want to have to jump through hoops to transfer files, and I’m curious how my rsync backup app will perform when I get home.

    It’s going to be a serious pain in the arse to have to do all file transfers via Dropbox to/from this device.

    Other than that, I’ve wowed several coworkers who have Android devices, one of whom JUST got gingerbread.

  17. It’s pretty damn awesome.  Seriously awesome.

  18. I like the extended battery – with it and it’s special back cover, the phone still fits in the car dock and a regular cheapy snap on case.  In fact, even the original battery cover will fit in a pinch (it’s a tight fit).  What I dont’ like is the verizon car dock doesn’t use the three contact points on the side to bring the power and sound cords to the base of the car mount like in those postings we saw a few days ago from Europe.

  19. I got mine when the store opened doors this morning. Upgraded from the OG Droid.

    So far, my experience has been near flawless in terms of normal usage (pairing w/ bluetooth, browsing, GPS, voice commands, camera, music streaming). 

    I have had a few app-compatability issues… but this is day 1 of ICS, and it will be on every new Android in the coming months, so I know its temporary. Flash and Netflix got updated today, so I’m pretty happy right now.

    The screen is just gorgeous, the phone is very responsive, and I find the size to be a huge difference from my old Droid. I have had to get used to the new width, as I can’t quite hold it in one hand and reach my thumb all the way to, say, the top left corner without some focus… but its a trade off. 

    I got the extended (2100mHr) battery with the phone. Neither it nor the stock battery was over 60% charged when I put them in, and with some pretty heavy usage all day I ran one down to 20% and the other down to 35%. That was with almost 750MB of data used today (lots of streaming and downloading). Unlimited LTE data is going to spoil me…

    1. Batteries, assuming the manufacturer cares, should always be shipped at 50-60% battery life.  Having a battery sit at full charge for weeks with no use on a shelf is bad for the battery.

    2. Actually, ICS has been out for a while :)

      Galaxy Nexus has been out in Europe for weeks.

  20. Hmm, I have only played with the in store display one, but, it was strangely laggy at times. Switching between homescreens couldn’t keep up with my fastest swipes like others phones (razr/resound) perhaps it was just a setting for homescreen swipe speed, but also the app tray would occasionally lag between swipes, and the rotation is weirdly slow. 

    Don’t get me wrong I loved the phone, but it was easier to list the things I didn’t like than the things I liked, there were less of them:)

    1. There was definitely a problem with that unit. Mine has been pure butter…even with a live wallpaper

    2. maybe it didn’t have the newest firmware (4.0.2). perhaps that fixed that problem? *shrug*

    3. I have not had one single lag issue all day.

    4. Awesome, thanks guys, that’s awesome to hear:) I was hoping it was just the unit I was using.

    5. I get lag when entering text.  I type VERY fast but my DINC 2 always kept up no prob.

    6. the demo unit i played with did the same thing.  and it was mind-numbingly slow when rotating from portrait to landscape and vice versa.  it was as slow as my crappy, dying iphone 3g.  it was a deal-breaker for me :(

      1. Wow, all the display devices Verizon has for the Nexus have lag, trying to sway customers to the Razr and Rezound last minute?

    7. The display unt I played with was laggy even with static wallpaper and it was extremely warm….I wonder if its the Verizon display application they run on it….any others have it running hot?

      1. Yeah, the display unit I had was way hot. I’m really hoping this is an issue with just the display units. Imma pop over to Costco tomorrow when they have them in stock and check it out.

  21. Okay so.. i just bought the LG Nitro last week and my sis got the galaxy nexus today so got to compare the phones side by side running them through many tests. The nitro seemed to out perform the nexus in every aspect with the exception of the camera and gallery navigation. And one thing i know doesnt matter much but i could not get the nexus to get over a 1900 on quadrant vs the 2600 on the nitro. I find this very odd especially since the nitro has an ips display. 

    1. Quadrant is not optimised for ICS. Use AnTuTu benchmark, it is much more reliable and the Galaxy Nexus actually scores higher thean the S2..

  22. ONE complaint….First I wanna say the screen looks great. colors are vibrant and pop out like an HD screen should. However, I feel like the Pentile is dragging it down. If you look at the stock green SMS icon in the doc, the top looks like it is lined with red dots that go all the way across. Also, this may just be my phone because I have not seen it mentioned, but when the screen is one sold color, like your loading market place (gray) or…even Phandroid (blue)..I can see slightly lighter lines running horizontally across the screen. From top to bottom. I also don’t think the whites look very …white.. That being said, I still absolutely love this phone…cant put it down lol.

    1. I think the lines are a malfunction or something in the display. From my computer, which has funny white lines running across the screen, I suggest you try and compare it with an in-store phone and see if there is a problem with just your phone.

    2. I have that same problem with the screen. 

  23. Great phone. I upgraded from Droid 1.
    Things that don’t work as well as before:
    – facebook contact info integration
    – twitter contact info integration (link to profile fails)
    – speaker is rather quiet when playing music at max volume

    Most apps have a different layout entirely, in a good way. Getting used to the Menu button being gone. For some apps though they add a “…” menu button to the right of the “Recent” button.

    I dislike the Recent button, and wish i could remove it.
    The new folders are fantastic. Not being able to reorder the icons in a folder previously was a real pain.

    1. I’m a Nexus S user, still on Gingerbread, and I have the same Facebook and Twitter problems. They pulled out the special support for Facebook contact sync in Gingerbread and told Facebook to implement it the standard way.

      The Twitter profile links stopped working just a few days ago with the release of the new Twitter app.

      I imagine the Twitter problem will be fixed, but the Facebook one doesn’t look so promising. I’ve been hoping to find an app to fill the gap (use the graph API to retrieve the info and store it in the contact list in the standard way), but no luck so far. I’ve found a few, but nothing that works well.

      1. friend caster is an awsome facebook app and it will sync your contacts for you

    2. Ya… Recent button needs to be replaced with the settings button.  Really stupid change in my opinion.  Whoever came up with the trade off should be fired!  Not really but it is pretty stupid.

      1. I just realized that “Settings” has a permanent link in the Notification bar. So that pretty much removes the need for your suggested replacement :)

  24. what about “I COULDNT GET ONE CAUSE IT SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE!”

  25. I am having buyer’s remorse already. The camera is not good. My Thunderbolt takes better pics. The browser is just ok. It feels a bit cheap. You have to have the screen brightness turned up way too much, to get the good colors…which drains the battery. My Thundernolt display looks better on lower brightness. Signal is not as good. I really wanted to like this phone, but it has a few too many shortcomings. The camera is what’s really killin it for me. Oh, and it’s huge. It makes the thunderbolt look small.

    1. you say, “signal is not as good..”

      I do not own this phone, but that has been my experience with Samsung phones as well.  I highly doubt my next phone will be a Samsung. I have read countless complaints online from others who have said the same thing about several samsung phones with both Sprint and Verizon carriers, so I don’t doubt you at all.  And, this is the reason why (even thought I love the nexus) I will not get this phone.

    2. My camera is perfect dont know about you. I took sick pictures. As for screen, its awesome, dont know why you would ever take a skinned phone over stock experience….

      1. I totally agree I love mine, I’ve only had  it for just about over an hour. The camera on my phone is working fine, and that no shutter lag is pretty sick, even my old dslrs aren’t as impressive.

        1. I love the camera compared to my old Bionic. It was impossible to take pics on the Bionic due to the ridculously long shutter lag.

    3. Your just holding it wrong.lol

      1. With its size, holding it right is an issue haha

        1. lie…you don’t have one

          1. Ummm yes I do…until morning. You don’t believe the new jesus phone can have issues? I really wanted to like it…but it just is not for me. I can post a pic of receipt. Give me 2 minutes.

          2. We get it, you don’t like it… so return it and get the phone you want. It’s not that hard. 

            You sound like your trying to convince everyone else that the phone is bad. Based on the polls not everyone agrees.

          3. I’m just posting subjective opinions based on my use. There are plenty of others that feel the same way. At least I’m not afraid to admit I don’t like something I over-hyped.

          4. This good enough for ya? http://db.tt/ySRxsbzQ

    4. use it for a week, once the phone got “burned in” everything will work better. that’s what happen with my HTC incredible not S. 

    5. I think the camera is GREAT. The battery life based on one day of constant use is a little disappointing but I’ll see how it goes when I’m back to normal use. The display is gorgeous and bright. The signal is weaker than my OG but I’m hoping that can be fixed. Overall thought, I’m loving my new Nexus.

      1. If you think the camera is great, your old phone’s camera must have been awful. The screen is nice, but only when the brightness is turned up so high, it drains your battery. My Thunderbolt brightness is on 20%. To get the Nexus to look as good, I have to turn the brightness to 50%. Signal is def weak.

        1. stop it…just stop it…the camera IS better than the Thunderbolt’s…#FACT

          you just sound like a blithering idiot!

          1. Oh yeah? Then why do you have to manually focus an AUTO FOCUS CAMERA?

          2. You do realize all the best pro cameras in the world has manual focus. No true photography would rely solely on autofocus. Based on all your rants it doesn’t sound like you actually know much about photography. You probably think 8MP cameras are better than 5MP cameras.

          3. I know MP doesn’t mean a lot…but the horrible sensor does. I never have to touch my Thunderbolt’s screen to focus, nor do GSII owners. Btw, I never claimed to be a photographer…but I know bad pics when I see them. I compared pics from the Thunderbolt and Nexus. All five people chose the thunderbolt as the better pics.

          4. Your tbolt just focuses on the middle… the Gnex lets you tap to choose where to focus. Like said above. Manual focus would require numbered settings or a wheel that manually focuses on a plane. You just tell it what area to focus on and it AUTO focuses on that plane.

          5. The Thunderbolt focuses on the middle, which is usually where it should be. I only have to tap the screen if I want to focus elsewhere. On the Nexus, it’s a blur until I touch the screen.

          6. Omfg… you obviously don’t like the phone.  Take it back!

          7. I did. I exchanged it for the Razr : )

          8. you sound like a tool, Amazon.

    6. Dude this camera is amazing! It’s ten times better than the bolt, just remember to focus the camera by touching the screen. 

      1. First, I did touch the screen to focus. They still come out with the colors looking crazy, and a weird glow. Outside pictures look a little better. Lastly, if the auto focus worked properly, you wouldn’t have to do it manually. Do you not find it odd that you have to manually focus an auto focus camera????????????

        1. Tapping to focus is not manual focus. Manual focus is using a focus ring/slider to find the correct focus for the picture. All you have to do in tap to focus is pick where you want it to focus and then tap, and it auto focuses on it. I’m a huge fan of that feature.

    7. bullsh!t, bullsh!t, bullsh!t, bullsh!t, bullsh!t, bullsh!t, oh…and, yeah, bullsh!t….

      1. Bullshit

    8. If photography is so important to you shouldn’t you be toting an SLR around instead? The best phone camera pales to the worse SLR.

      1. I don’t need a DSLR for everyday pics, but I do need them to look decent….and I’d prefer not to have to tap a screen to focus. The GSII has a great camera…but the Nexus doesn’t
        On Dec 16, 2011 2:46 AM, “Disqus”

        1. I finally got my phone and now I see what you are babbling about. NOW I KNOW you don’t know anything about photography. If you take any good camera and point it at a subject, it is NOT focused. You have to prefocus before you take the shot. Anyone who has taken a decent shot on a good camera knows what that means. 

          The GN is mirroring that. What you see is what you get (in focus, out of focus). What you are complaining about is that other cheapie cell phone cameras are basically point and shoot cameras. The view finder on those cheapos are not capable of displaying what your image will eventually look like. Viewfinders in SLRs are out of focus until you focus in the shot. Its WYSIWYG. Thats why its better. Thats why point and shooters get confuse when they see the image on their cheap screens and it looks focused and can’t understand why it looks fuzzy when the shot is taken. They didn’t focus on the right subject but would never know that because the screen is not telling them so.

          If you want a cheaper camera have at it on another phone. 

          Most reviewer of this phone’s camera and criticizing it should be slapped because now that I have worked with it thoroughly I know those reviewers don’t understand photography. Yeah I’m still going to prefer my dslr but given the choice I rather have the GN’s much more sophisticated lens adaptation than something that is the equivalent of a kodak for kids.

          1. Most people don’t know a lot about photography, nor should they just to get some good point and shoot shots. It should just work. If people wanted to fiddle that much, they’d learn photography and buy a dslr.

    9. Thank you for pointing out the screen brightness. I noticed the same problem with ALL Samsung phones. I really don’t care about the super amoled screen. This is also one of the big reasons why I am holding off from buying anything Samsung. I have an HTC Sensation 4g which I rooted and now runs natively on 1.5Ghz dual core with camera software from HTC Amaze 4G. I think I’ll stick to this one for a longer time.

      1. I got this phone, and yeah the auto brightness setting is set a bit low, but I think it still looks better than my sensation especially with viewing angles. If I angle my sensation slightly, the colors start to wash out.The sensation is an amazing phone once you root it. 

        All the phones I’ve had since the G1 have had custom skins on them, and I am happy to go back to stock (I will never leave again…) because stock is finally polished and i can get updates straight from Google and without delay.

  26. Just got home with it. This is the first phone that I might have sexual relations with, lol. All I know is I’m probably going to sell my Tab 7″ as I no longer feel the increase in screen real estate is enough to justify carrying it around. I was very comfortable browsing on the Nexus – more so than I expected.  My next tablet will be a 10.1″ model but I’ll wait a while to see what 2012 brings in that regard. It will have to have  ICS and 4g capabilities at a minimum.

  27. Likin’ it a lot.  Just getting it all set up.  Gorgeous screen.  Got the car dock — very handy.  I’m using Go Launcher since that’s what I like and am used to, but I will experiment with the OEM launcher later.

  28. Got it this morning at 9:30am est.  Haven’t had a whole lot of time to mess with it yet, but did 2 speed tests with some fabulous results on LTE 34084kbps down/20933kbps up and 31431 down/17627 up.  Keep in mind, this is a fairly uncongested network in South Carolina.  The screen is absolutely gorgeous. It is a phone that fits very comfortably in large hands. I love the new folders and the recently used option.  The only thing that I’ve found to complain about is volume.

    1. 17.20mbps down, 8.59 mbps up here.. Loving it!!!

  29. Can’t afford Verizon’s outrageous data plan. Still loving my G2X anyways.

    1. That… and I couldn’t get by on only 2GB of mobile data a month.

      1. Good news.  You don’t get two gigs, currently.  You get four, if it’s an LTE phone.

        1. only if you are getting a new line or eligible for an upgrade.  Unfortunately thats no me. If I’m not mistaken, this is only for a short period of time… expires this month? 

          1. your situation doesn’t make sense to me. you can’t get by on 2GB a month, so that means you must have unlimited grandfathered or none? You can’t handle verizon’s outrageous data plans, so that means you don’t have a data plan at all? You’re not eligible for an upgrade, so you are a verizon customer?

    2. Same here nick. My G2x still rox just dandy.

    3. Gotta love unlimited…

    4. Yep I pay $7 dollars more a month than my bro who is on Tmobile.. Big whoop!!

  30. guys if you need a louder speaker download a app called Volume+ in the market. Works wonders!

    1. Dont you have to be rooted for that app??

  31. coming from the razr i find A; sound is bad and B; stock ringtones alerts are beyond bad…..the alarm choices are the absolute worst

    1. Who cares about stock ringtones/alerts??  Really, that’s worthy to complain about?  There are multiple free apps that give you literally thousands upon thousands of choices for ringtones/alerts. It isn’t 1998 where you are stuck with whatever ringtones your phone comes with.

      1. lol, how did you get the words out of my skull.  1998, lol thats a good one.  i would have gone further back to like 1988.  ;)

      2. 98 Vikings… DAMMIT!!!!!

  32. Ok can we move on now to when other carriers will get the GN?

    1. save yourself the agony, just order it from negri =/

      i gave up on waiting after seeing verizon only getting it 

  33. Working good for me. Signal is a little low, but supposedly the update to 4.1 helps that. Super smooth and def worth the upgrade

  34. Coming from an og Droid to the g nex the phone is amazing I can’t think of a single complaint

  35. Going from Droid X. To Nexus.The negative- Battery so so. No swype. Cannot sync facebook contacts. Volume a bit low. The positive- The screen size is perfect. Very very very responsive. FFC. NFC. Charging and headphone jack not on the side. Browser layout. Blacks are super crisp (excellent). Buttons on the screen no more clicking noise when laying down becide the wife at night reading Phandroid. ;-). Veryyyyy Quick. I love it. No force Close at ALL!!!!!

    1. THANK YOU!!! I’ve been looking for someone all night having the Facebook sync issue.  Integration is one of the BIGGEST reasons I LOVE Android and the integration seems to be “broken” on the GNEX.  You figure out a fix yet?

      1. I tryed X amount of things and I’ve had zero luck. Im trying not to let it bother me but it just keeps itching when i get a message from someone and there contact info doesn’t come up. Really not happy about this. If you find something out please post here. If i find something ill post. Thanks in advance. If anybody here knows please post here.

        1. did you try unsyncing facebook.  and anyways you should just delete it cuz they be sellin your info and spyin on you.  

          1. You cannot add facebook as a account. It doesnt let you. Downloaded friendcaster from the market and and now facebook will sync!!! Thanks Chris Morris!!

          2. Facebbok needs to update for ICS before it will sync the contacts. That is a big issue for me as well. If its not fixed in 30 days I Might trade for the Razr..

        2. friend caster will sync up for you

          1. Ill try this out. Thanks.

      2. Friendcaster worked!!!

    2. get swype beta.  just as good.  and just as free.  well the free part is that it comes with the phone.  lol

      1. swype beta is not available in the market……??

    3. also if you wanna sync contacts just use friend caster way better facebook app anyways

  36. really?  who said they wanted their phone back?  what did you have before that was even this close to awesome??

  37. This device sucks, It lags to much.

    1. that’s “too” 

      1. trolls don’t know how to spell…so i’ve heard o_O

    2. What?? Are you kidding me?? I hardly notice any lag..

  38. Coming from the Rezound I must say I love this phone! ICS is so smooth, the screen is large and in charge, and the audio is top notch (w/ headphones and built in eq)

  39. Ok first of all I was planning on beat boxing to later find out that it’s not available yet. Damn it. Next, why does it he YouTube app go to g plus and why if I didn’t sync my contacts did it pull 700 from space. I don’t know 700 ppl. Lol.

    I work with android devices all day, this is by far the best I’ve seen yet

  40. tested in a store in boston, i was getting 4g speed of 2-3mbps…. 

    1. in the bay area in cali i got 17 download and 11 upload 

      1. damn, im jelly! 3g speed in boston only around 250kb to 350kb….

    2. Also in “Boston”. I got these numbers while at work yesterday in Boxborough.
      http://www.speedtest.net/android/114086660.png
      Download: 27686 kbps

      Upload: 9919 kbps

  41. Can’t wait for an att lte version. Told the wife today to start saving for me, she told me I needed to start selling devices that I already have. She must be high

    1. lmao, we married to same chic?

  42. I currently have a $300 paperweight for a phone because I cannot obtain a signal on the Galaxy Nexus I purchased today. Other Verizon users at my house including one with a DROIDX and an iPhone 4S both have 3 bars minimum signal where I live. The Galaxy Nexus has 0 bars or a very very weak signal. I can’t hear callers, but the phone will dial out. I have no Internet browsing capabilities. (keeps saying no connection) and can’t even access Android Market. I called Customer Service and after an hour of troubleshooting, they told me that their main tech support won’t even be able to give me an answer as to why I have a $300 paperweight until tomorrow.. I don’t know what the problem is. It may be that I got a bad unit, or it may be that this phone simply doesn’t have a good antenna. Perhaps it has some other software issue. I’m not sure, but if it isn’t fixed by tomorrow, I will forced to return the phone I have waited 3 months to buy..

    1. you were smart enough to walk out of the store with a phone that doesn’t work, huh? yeah…ur opinion doesn’t matter…sorry…oh that’s right, no i’m not…

      1. Not that I should respond to your comment, but just for clarification, the GNex worked in the store. I know that because the Verizon Employee transferred all my contacts in the store and I noticed I had 4 bars of service. I drove home and as soon as I walked in the door I was asked to update to ICS 4.0.2, which it did just fine, albeit slow. Now I have -120dBm and 99 asu. I don’t know what the problem is, I just want it fixed by tomorrow or I’ll have to get a different phone. 

  43. Got mine about 20 min after they opened and went from an OG droid to holding out for this.  Very Happy.  The screen rotation is actually slower than before though.  other then that it is dynamite. I did a speed test with hitting a link at the same time as a razr user and I beat him by about 4 seconds.  not sure why

  44. I haven’t gotten one yet, still not sure if I’m going to pull the trigger or not.  One of the complaints people seem to be having is a weak antenna.  I have the DX right now, and as long as it is equal to or better than that I am fine with it. 

    How about it, any DX’ers upgrade to this and have any thoughts on antenna strength?

    1. The strength is the same for me. I had a Razr for 11 days and I did not get a 4G signal at my house. I don’t get it with the Nexus either so I will still be using WiFi at home. I seemed to get good reception around town (Richmond,VA) yesterday. Installed Volume+, set it to 7 and I am good to go.
      Love the upgrade from DX.

    2. I upgraded from a Thunderbolt, and initially, the Nexus’ antenna did not seem to work well – it worked well initially, downloaded all my contacts, apps, etc.  Then on the way home, I could not get a signal – maybe the update was going through?  Got home, went on wifi, then went out later and got good speeds, in Metuchen, NJ (6+Mbps).  Doing about that in NYC (31 stories over street level in an interior office) this morning

      The phone is very responsive – very bright and clear.

      The battery will be an issue, I think – I can’t put the phone down.

  45. If any of the people that said I want my old phone back and had a thunderbolt let me know ill be me than happy to trade with you.

  46. Samsung phones are terrible.  Lag lag lag lag is always an issue.  I will be sticking with HTC or Moto.

    1. Do you actually have this phone?

    2. I guess you have never used a S2 or Galaxy Nexus..Probably the best android phones when it comes to lag. HTC are good, but not no Nexus for sure, plus Sense is a resource hog..

  47. HTC and MOTO lags too. Get over it bro. Get an iPhone than.

  48. Question: How do you remove the google search bar???

  49. Went to return my RAZR last night with full intention of buying the Nexus.  However, was bummed to find the Nexus was very laggy, especially after hitting the back button or rotating the phone.  It also did not pick up my input very well.  I did multiple compares against my RAZR and the RAZR was *much* quicker every time.  The only thing that impressed me was the screen on the Nexus…wow…just beautiful.  So I went home with my RAZR.  I’ll try another store to see if it was just their demo unit.  I even rebooted it.  Just the basics were running.  :-(

    1. The demo units are not as good, they seem to be slowing them down a little bit. 

  50. Mine has major voice and data signal strength problems. My rep is finding a number of reports of this problem. Samsung quality control strikes again?

  51. Some reception issues here.  The signal seems a bit weak in places it shouldn’t be (i.e. RAZR and Incredible got plenty of signal, but the GN had little or none).  Seems this issue cropped up in reviews before the device was released.  Hoping it’s a firmware issue, not a hardware issue…

    Otherwise loving it.

  52. I’ve only had it since Thursday evening so I’ve only had for 14 or so hours, but I’m really enjoying it. I previously rented a Rezound so I’m comparing it to another high end device and I might be pickier than most.

    Pros:
    It’s as awesome as everyone says it is. The experience is as smooth and user friendly as the hype suggests. It’s very very light and fits perfectly in the hand. It’s not too tall in my opinion but I could see how someone might complain. But that’s the price you pay for such a gorgeous HD screen. Besides, I think they designed the software knowing many people use one hand to operate it. The size of the phone might be huge but they still had the average consumer in mind. I thought the Rezound’s screen was awesome, but this EASILY blows it away especially with the brightness kicked up a bit. The screen is very responsive and all the little animations are great. I have yet to hear a reviewer talk about all the little touches and thoughtfullness packed in. I discover something new and nice to look at everytime I pick it up. It’s not as painfully obvious what the OEM’s will “improve” with their skins. It will be interesting to see where they go with it. Not often mentioned, but I love the quick controls in the browser. I can’t believe google hid them under a menu. What a waste… Turn them on! It’s wonderful! The multitask button is amazing. It’s super easy to switch between apps and kill the ones you don’t need. The browser experience is fantastic and it’s much much easier to switch between window panes. The gigantic screen not only makes browsing and video playback a dream, but the huge (and accurate!) keyboard is a godsend for my clumbsy thumbs. It even knows when I’ve forgotten to put a space and corrects it for me. The space bar is nice and big.

    This phone feel just special. Even to someone who doesn’t know the first thing about Nexus, this phone feels high end and unique to the mobile world. It’s the perfect blend between the best of 2011 hardware and 2012 software.

    Cons: Mostly small stuff that will take some time getting used too. The camera is great, but the Rezound’s was definitely better. The flash is nice and strong, but washes out the picture. I don’t see how it’s really all that much faster. I wish it focused better rather than taking speedy pics. The auto brightness is nice when you’re in a dark room, but everywhere else it is WAY too dim – obviously to save battery power. And that’s fine except the screen is just so gorgeous at brighter levels. The volume button is too easily hit especially when you’re hitting the power/lock button. I haven’t had time to load all my old photos and stuff, but the lack of an SD card slot might be an inconvenience. My old micro USB charger does not work with this phone. I’m very curious why that is and now I’m back to only one charger. The new software buttons take some getting used to and it’s a little scary to not always have a menu and search button. But after 14 hours, I love them. The little animations are pure eye candy every time you touch them. Still, not everyone will like it. The screen is so barely curved that I wonder what’s the point of curving it at all! Overall, the phone is so different from anything else that it has a learning curve. I’m not sure the average user will understand it right away, but what Android phone is as user friendly as an iPhone? None. But the bigger problem is that it may scare off some loyal Phandroids by going slightly more mainstream. Who are they trying to market to here?

    Anyway, awesome phone. It’s easily one of the best phones of 2011. Go pick one up!

  53. can somewone explain why I just cruised the internet for about 15 minutes (on 3G) and my battery is down 12%? Is this normal? I wasn’t even watching video or playin sound, I was reading the news. Does this mean that 1 hour of inernet use means my batter is more than half done?

  54. Camera seems good except I have a yellow tinge on everything. If I use the front camera on the same subject it is gone. Anyone else seeing this?

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