Disclaimer: This is a pure personal review. Fanboys can stop reading this now. Yeah right now. Also all the uploaded pictures of the phone are mine. You are free to copy but do not claim it's yours. :)
So here I'm. The owner of a fabulous super amoled beauty. I've been waiting to get my hands on this baby for a long time. And tell you what, its indeed a pleasure owning one! This is not the general breakdown review where you explain what is there and what is not. This review is from someone who previously owned more than 15 android phones. This is a pure UX review.
I was initially planning to go for the Galaxy S3. The thing which made me not get it was the price tag of course. And also I have like most of you, this love for vanilla devices especially Google made ones. They are more streamlined to fit the software in them. As in they can give maximum out of the software because they are purely made to run them. The dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 was a bit of a concern for me since this can be seriously outdated very soon. But then again, since this was a Google device with plenty of RAM and ROM space, I was convinced that I'd be getting the new updates at least for a year from now.
First Impressions
As soon as I opened the box, the 4.65' Super AMOLED display welcomed me. Yes this is the selling point of this device. The screen will absorb you. There is no turning back though. Anything less than S-AMOLED will miserably disappoint you! You have been warned. The RGBG-Matrix display might be a bit low tech when compared with the display of Galaxy S2 or the Note. Not a big concern to me. Very few people realize that display is the core of the phone. It's the user experience core. Speed and everything else come after it. As soon as I popped my sim in, I have almost everything ready to be synced. My Contacts, Email, Photos from picasa/Google+, Music, Calendar, browser history. You name it and it's there. Installing apps has always been a breeze. I was a also concerned about the 16GB non-expandable storage and let me tell you, I have almost 70 apps currently installed and there is about 13.8GB left. Thats a lot of space. Since all my songs are synced with Google Music, I don't require device space for that too.
The stock ROM (4.0.2) that came with the device wasn't that impressive. I really started enjoying the speed after unlocking the bootloader and flashing a new ROM (I'm on AOKP 4.0.4, Milestone). Before that, It was laggy here and there.
Camera
The camera experience was both pleasant and unpleasant. Pleasant during daylight and vice versa. I'm not completely disappointed with the camera. They Zero shutter lag is something if you know to use it properly. Otherwise you'll just end up with shaky pictures. Camera is not something by which you should judge a phone. Some instagrammers may disagree with this. I use my phone to connect with people and this phone really takes the "connect" to whole new level.
More UX
The phone is really responsive. Really. Easily handles anything you throw at it. Yes it will surprise you if you're coming from a single core phone. The slim build is a bit hard to get used to since I'm coming from Sony Xperia PLAY which is 3x thicker than the GN. I'm still getting used to holding it right. Typing is lightening fast thanks to the fantastic ICS keyboard that rarely let you make mistakes. I judged this keyboard before as useless without actually running it on an actual ICS compatible device. Yes I regret that and I take back everything I said. All in all ICS purely disappoints me when it comes to battery life. If you're really concerned about that, you should carry an extra battery every time you step out.
Social
Connecting with people has never been this simple to me. And the GN does that with class. The sleek lady will be my primary device for at least an year from now. While using GN, I've noticed something things that bug me from time to time -
1. The loudspeaker placement is really not up to the mark. If I keep the phone on the bed or on a soft surface, I'll definitely miss a call. The speaker becomes literally inaudible.
2. Battery life. I get around 8-9 hours. Thats about it.
3. The 3.5mm jack is in an awkward position. So is the charging slot. When I'm on the bed, I can't keep the phone straight and type.
4. The bundled wall charger cable is too short. Not usable.
These are minor inconveniences. Don't ever judge this phone by my review as all of you guys might have your own additions to this device. Let me know if I missed out anything in the comments. I'm really bad at reviews. So help me out :)
So here I'm. The owner of a fabulous super amoled beauty. I've been waiting to get my hands on this baby for a long time. And tell you what, its indeed a pleasure owning one! This is not the general breakdown review where you explain what is there and what is not. This review is from someone who previously owned more than 15 android phones. This is a pure UX review.
I was initially planning to go for the Galaxy S3. The thing which made me not get it was the price tag of course. And also I have like most of you, this love for vanilla devices especially Google made ones. They are more streamlined to fit the software in them. As in they can give maximum out of the software because they are purely made to run them. The dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 was a bit of a concern for me since this can be seriously outdated very soon. But then again, since this was a Google device with plenty of RAM and ROM space, I was convinced that I'd be getting the new updates at least for a year from now.
First Impressions
As soon as I opened the box, the 4.65' Super AMOLED display welcomed me. Yes this is the selling point of this device. The screen will absorb you. There is no turning back though. Anything less than S-AMOLED will miserably disappoint you! You have been warned. The RGBG-Matrix display might be a bit low tech when compared with the display of Galaxy S2 or the Note. Not a big concern to me. Very few people realize that display is the core of the phone. It's the user experience core. Speed and everything else come after it. As soon as I popped my sim in, I have almost everything ready to be synced. My Contacts, Email, Photos from picasa/Google+, Music, Calendar, browser history. You name it and it's there. Installing apps has always been a breeze. I was a also concerned about the 16GB non-expandable storage and let me tell you, I have almost 70 apps currently installed and there is about 13.8GB left. Thats a lot of space. Since all my songs are synced with Google Music, I don't require device space for that too.
The stock ROM (4.0.2) that came with the device wasn't that impressive. I really started enjoying the speed after unlocking the bootloader and flashing a new ROM (I'm on AOKP 4.0.4, Milestone). Before that, It was laggy here and there.
Camera
The camera experience was both pleasant and unpleasant. Pleasant during daylight and vice versa. I'm not completely disappointed with the camera. They Zero shutter lag is something if you know to use it properly. Otherwise you'll just end up with shaky pictures. Camera is not something by which you should judge a phone. Some instagrammers may disagree with this. I use my phone to connect with people and this phone really takes the "connect" to whole new level.
More UX
The phone is really responsive. Really. Easily handles anything you throw at it. Yes it will surprise you if you're coming from a single core phone. The slim build is a bit hard to get used to since I'm coming from Sony Xperia PLAY which is 3x thicker than the GN. I'm still getting used to holding it right. Typing is lightening fast thanks to the fantastic ICS keyboard that rarely let you make mistakes. I judged this keyboard before as useless without actually running it on an actual ICS compatible device. Yes I regret that and I take back everything I said. All in all ICS purely disappoints me when it comes to battery life. If you're really concerned about that, you should carry an extra battery every time you step out.
Social
Connecting with people has never been this simple to me. And the GN does that with class. The sleek lady will be my primary device for at least an year from now. While using GN, I've noticed something things that bug me from time to time -
1. The loudspeaker placement is really not up to the mark. If I keep the phone on the bed or on a soft surface, I'll definitely miss a call. The speaker becomes literally inaudible.
2. Battery life. I get around 8-9 hours. Thats about it.
3. The 3.5mm jack is in an awkward position. So is the charging slot. When I'm on the bed, I can't keep the phone straight and type.
4. The bundled wall charger cable is too short. Not usable.
These are minor inconveniences. Don't ever judge this phone by my review as all of you guys might have your own additions to this device. Let me know if I missed out anything in the comments. I'm really bad at reviews. So help me out :)
Perfect review, from a user point of view. And the best thing is it can be understood by everyone, no technical jargon involved.
ReplyDeleteLoved the review Sidhu :D
*And i like the phone a lil now ;)*
Yaay. Thanks Anku. It means a lot. A good comment from a professional blogger. :)
ReplyDeletePerfect review, from a user point of view. And the best thing is it can be understood by everyone, no technical jargon involved.
ReplyDeleteLoved the review Sidhu :D
*And i like the phone a lil now ;)*
Hahaha i am no professional Blogger ;). But yes, a common man would benefit from your review much more than those tech jargon filled reviews.
ReplyDeleteAnd pics are so crystal clear. Super win :)
Hahaha i am no professional Blogger ;). But yes, a common man would benefit from your review much more than those tech jargon filled reviews.
ReplyDeleteAnd pics are so crystal clear. Super win :)
Is that a notification LED in the first pic? Where is it located? Looks awesome in the middle :D
ReplyDeleteIts located right in the bottom middle. You can set it to any color for different apps. Notification :)
ReplyDeleteThanks anku. means a lot to me.
ReplyDeleteIm a lil in love with my fone after reading ur review, also i wish it provided more and more space! Thats my main concern. Also,the batt. Life leaves me disappointed, i dont keeps my fone aside even fr a bit. And fr a user like me, its a huge disadvantage. Nw i need to carry a portable battery charger wimme.
ReplyDeleteYes thats the only way now. I hope the next version improves battery life :)
ReplyDeleteEntertaining opinion you throw out there... Almost 100% agree with it but for two things.
ReplyDeleteThe SAmoled display, although being gorgeous, has a bunch of failures (ghosting and screen burning the biggest ones).
The thing about having to push a custom rom (regardless the kang you choose) shouldn't be compared with the out of the box one, but with the latest official ota.
Other than that, a pleasure to "be forced to read and comment" your post ;P
Hahaha thanks for the comment. :)
ReplyDeleteAm planning to buy new mobile. am confused with Samsung galaxy nexus and galaxy s2. which is better?
ReplyDeleteNexus is definitely better than S2
DeleteThe Galaxy Nexus ships with Android 4.0.1 has a 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4460 CPU with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage (with no microSD slot). The front camera can take photos at 1.3MP and video at 720p, while the rear camera is a 5MP shooter with a flash, and can record full 1080p video. The Super AMOLED HD display is 4.65″ at 1280×720 resolution (making for a DPI of 315). You also get WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, aGPS, digital compass, a barometer (to assist with GPS accuracy), and NFC. The phone is 135grams, and just 8.84mm in depth. Powering everything is a 1850mAh battery.
ReplyDeletethe samsung galaxy nexus exceede my expectations as a smartphone.