Disappointed .... December 27, 2011

Reviewer:  Selvakumar Victor 

I waited for a long time with iphone 3gs and finally made a decision to upgrade to this phone. Very disappointed overall with this phone, I am already working on the returning it.

The good -
1) large screen
2) Responsive controls, and smooth graphics
3) Very comfortable to hold, I played games on this for 4-5 hours straight, did not feel any discomfort. I can't do this on my iphone, its slippery and not comfortable to hold in that position for long.
4) Email apps are easy to use
5) Very good download speeds over wifi
6) Liked pandora - sounded great with the headphones that came with the phone

The bad -
1) The phone gets really hot (reminds me of my dell laptop), and it so hot that at times I cannot put this close to my ear when making a call. Its not when I am playing games, or have charger attached, just when making a call - wifi is always on at home.
2) Bad signal - not sure if the phone is to blame but expected better from verizon.
3) Battery is really bad frankly speaking(others would say its hard to rate !! .. really ???) - its quick to discharge and verrrry slow to charge back up. You will spend the same time it takes to discharge (approx 6 hours) to charge it as well (I'm using the wall charger not trying to charge with a USB connection).
4) The screen is large, but the real estate is not used well. Just open craigslist on iphone and this phone - you'll know what I'm talking about. The display is grainy, I have to zoom in zoom out scroll etc to get the details I need, iphone is much better.
5) The camera is really bad ... and I'm not talking about the 5 MP vs 8 MP, I know 5 MP is more than enough. The picture quality is really bad, its noisy, white balance is off even with good lighting, pictures look like they are out of an album from the 70s. I did not even want to try the panaromic function.
6) If you have a samsung smart tv like me and want to buy this for the AllSHare capability, you'll be disappointed. This is a google phone apparently (not sure why its called a galaxy), so you don't have Allshare app and cannot stream audio/video to your smart tv.
7) Face recognition is a joke - really .. did not work for me in low light, bright light, when I hold the phone at different angles. I found myself trying 2-3 times before getting it to work, waste of time.

If you are like me thinking about making the big jump ... look for something else. This is a disappointing phone to say the least, trust me ... two years with this phone is going to be a bad marriage.

Other thoughts - Amazon wireless shopping experience has been great. Verizon customer support is excellent as well.

I love this phone!!!I September 25, 2012

Reviewer:  vcwalden 

I love the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G Android Phone! My son recommended this phone for me, I purchased it and I have never been sorry!!! I am not a really technically minded person and I didn't want a big learning curve and this phone didn't disappoint me for a minute.

Even though it has a larger foot print than my last phone (Motorola a855 Droid) it is easy to hold and manage from putting in your pocket, purse, etc. It doesn't feel chunky or heavy to handle or use. The larger screen is wonderful to use. Having the larger screen makes using apps and the internet very easy to use and read.

Today it upgraded to Jelly Bean and it is like using a brand new phone. I have been waiting for the upgrade and I am not disappointed in the least. I was worried there would be another learning curve but there wasn't. I wish Verizon would have released the upgrade sooner but it is well worth the wait! The changes in how the phone works is just like making it a brand new phone but all of your "stuff" is right where you put it!!! No work at all to upgrade!

Would I recommend this phone? Oh ya!!! If you are looking for a new phone this will not disappoint you in the least!

If you are looking for for accessories for your phone you will find a great selection to meet your every need. I was very surprised because I have had lots of problems with this issue with other phones. You can really make it fun to use with the accessories you can find out there!

The apps you can get are great! Just about anything and everything you would want is out there for you. Put a little time and effort into figuring out what you need to make this phone a "personal assistant" and you will upgrade it's worth to you greatly!

I hope you look long and hard at this phone if you are shopping for a new one!!! Everything Samsung says about this phone is true and you will like it if you work with it for a little while......

My son is in the Air Force, works with computers and non-Window programming and he is the one that recommended this phone to me. Him, his wife and lots of other people he works with have this phone, They all love it and recommended it. Since the Air Force employees him and this is what he does for a living I listen to him when he makes recommendations like this! Try it and you will like it!!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!

With great power comes great battery drainage.. July 23, 2012

Reviewer:  Chris 

Let me start off by saying I have been an avid iPhone and iPod touch user for about 4 years. I tried android back in 2010 with the Samsung Fascinate (what a mistake!). I swore off of android and Samsung phones until some better technology came along, since 2.1 and 2.2 were pretty laggy.

Fast forward to 2012 and I have a craving for a new phone. The iPhone 4 is nice, but it's very limited. I wanted an android device that wouldn't be bogged down by TouchWiz, Motoblur, and whatever LG thinks they're doing. Enter the Galaxy Nexus.

This phone is sleek, stylish, fast, and (on contract) affordable. Let me start with the pros list:

PROS:
FAST! This thing can run many apps at a time and still fly back to them. There's a hiccup here and there, but that should be eradicated with the official Jellybean 4.1.1 update.

BEAUTIFUL SCREEN! The AMOLED on my Fascinate was nice, but Super AMOLED definitely takes the cake with colors popping. Plus, it's 720p so it's amazingly clear and crisp with text and pictures.

VERY EASY TO ROOT+HACK! This phone practically begs to be hacked and ROM'd. It's easy to unlock the bootloader, root, and install custom ROMs. I'm running Jellybean right now, VZW probably won't release an official OTA update until at least autumn (and that's being generous). If you know how (or are willing to learn how) to install ROMs, this phone will always be updated with the latest Android firmware, thanks to the dev community.

4G LTE: It's WICKED fast. My first test I got 20mbps download and 18mbps upload! It is 3x as fast as my home cable connection! This can be both a pro and con, however, because you'll burn through your limited data faster.

Very customizable: This comes straight from ICS or Jellybean. There are so many options from different apps, launchers, themes, ROMs, kernels, and everything in between. This is why android is the complete opposite of iOS. And it's amazing to set your phone apart from others, aside from having just a different wallpaper and apps.

Headphone quality: The stock headphones they give you are actually pretty great. Combine it with one of the equalizer apps akin to Beats Audio and this phone can pump out the bass! Way better than iPhone.

CONS:
BATTERY. My iPhone 4 would last through at least an entire day under moderate use. Sometimes even into the next day. The GNEX unfortunately does not. I only have 4G rarely, not at home or work, so the LTE is not draining it. I'm constantly on Wifi at home, 3G at work, and I've seen my battery go from 100% at 3PM to 50% at 6pm. And that's with GPS, 4G, and Bluetooth off. I highly recommend an extended battery if you plan to be away from a charger for long. It's an amazingly powerful device, it's a shame that Samsung only put an 1850mAh battery in, and not something larger like the RAZR MAXX.

VOLUME: The GNEX is significantly quieter than previous phones I've had, including the iPhone 4. I have to search for specifically loud ringtones so that I can hear my alarm in the morning. It sucks that Samsung gypped out on audio volume.

SIGNAL STRENTGH: This has never been a strong point in the recent Samsung smartphones. I had a Samsung Alias 2 back in 2009 and that phone always got 3-4 bars, where my Fascinate and now GNEX get 1-3. My iPhone could even have 1 bar but still send and receive data. The GNEX loses 3G more often in the same spots (namely my job, terrible deadzone). The Wifi is weaker as well, my iPhone would get 2-3 bars while my GNEX gets 0-2 and drops occasionally. Hopefully an official update can fix the radios.

NO SD SLOT: This seems like it isn't that much of an issue, since the phone comes with 32GB of internal memory. However, some apps have an issue from this. DoubleTwist, one of the best iTunes replacement music apps, cannot sync over USB because the GNEX cannot be mounted. I know there is a reason why Google does this, but it's a damn shame.

Conclusion:
Overall I would recommend this phone. I would also highly recommend buying an extended battery, a Seidio or QCell 3800mAh should get you through 1.5-2 days per charge. The 4G, if it's in your area, is ridiculously fast. And the phone is beautiful. If you have $20 to spare on the extended battery, I'd say go for this phone. It's pure android, and it's fast all around.

Recommended apps:
Lightflow, it allows you to change the color and frequency of the notification LED. I have texts light up blue and low battery red, in addition to plenty of other options.
Nova Launcher: This launcher is only for android 4.0+ and it is way more fluid and customizable than the stock launcher. Also, it's free.
PGM Nexus: This app is awesome. It lets you swipe across the screen to unlock the phone, and swipe back across the bottom to lock it again. It's useful if you're like me and not a fan of the side-lock button on Samsung phones.

Great Software-Horrible Phone June 23, 2012

Reviewer:  Howard D. King 

I read all the reviews on Amazon, CNET, and other sites. I thought this was a great price for a great phone. I prefer Android to IOS and was excited about the features this phone offered. The operating system works as expected - with a few minor annoyances. Google music will turn-on at random times without my prompting. It hangs up your phone call when it does. The screen lock turns on when using navigation or in the middle of a phone call. These issues are minor when compared to all the great features of the android operating system.

However, the phone itself is terrible. I've been using it now for 1.5 weeks while travelling extensively across the Southeast. I rarely have a signal - even in a major city with good 4G coverage according to Verizon's website. I can't even count the number of dropped calls. Sometimes, I show a strong signal, but as soon as I dial, the signal strength drops and I get a "no service" message. When I do connect, there is typically a strong echo. Volume is exceedingly low even when turned up all the way.

Finally, battery life. I am averaging about 4.5 hours of battery - about 4 of which are on standby with the screen off. So, that means I get about 30 minutes of use before the battery is dead. I basically only use the phone if it is plugged into a charger. Again, this performance is after only 1.5 weeks of use. I fully charged the battery right out of the box.

Perhaps this really is a great phone, and I received a lemon. I don't know, but I do know this one is going back to Amazon. I would not recommend this phone unless I can see one that actually works as advertised.

A Top Notch Handset With a Few Issues June 6, 2012

Reviewer:  P. Vartanian 

I got my Galaxy Nexus back in December during the initial launch. So after about 6 months with the phone, I feel I have a good understanding of its strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:
It has ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) right out of the box. No need to wait for an update to get it. It's also a pure Google experience. While some manufacturer skins have a few nice aspects to them, in the end, a vanilla ICS experience is the best you can have. ICS has been optimized for the Galaxy Nexus so that should tell you right off the bat it's going to have solid performance. You also do not have to deal with the deluge of bloatware that comes already installed on a Motorola handset for example. I counted a total of 2 on my Verizon Nexus and they were both related to my Verizon account.
ICS itself is a great strength. Easily the best iteration of the Android OS. The most polished and best functionality the OS has ever seen. From the ease of switching between apps, to the enhanced voice controls, ICS is as good as any competing OS. Another benefit for example, is being able to size widgets to your liking on the home screen.
The screen is top notch. There is much debate over which display technology people prefer, Pentile vs. IPS, but the screen on the Galaxy Nexus, which is the former, looks great and has amazing viewing angles. Colors look nice and things really pop off the screen. The screen size is also a benefit too. While the handset itself is a bit on the bigger size, it's worth it to have a nice screen to watch videos, or play a game.
The specs are another strength to the device. Dual core processor, 1 GB of RAM make the device sure to be able to handle the next version of Android, 5.0. Google has a habit of making sure the previous Nexus device is capable of handling the next version of the OS. Other handsets may not be compatible for future releases, but the Galaxy Nexus should be (I think it's a given) able to handle Android 5.0 when it's released in the Fall of 2012.
The Phone is also very thin which is nice. It also gives you the option to remove the battery. Should you need to replace it, add in the extended version, or swap out for an extra charged one on the road, it all can be done.

Weaknesses
The camera is not the best when compared to other handsets. It's only 5 MPs, and does not have the best sensor. The sensor matters more than MPs, but sadly the Galaxy Nexus comes up short in both areas. That's not to say the camera is awful, it certainly is not and it certainly is capable of taking some good shots, it's just not as good as the iPhone 4/4S, the Samsung Galaxy S2, or the HTC One X. The camera does have a very fast shutter, so taking multiple shots is very easy and you do not have to wait for the camera to be able to shoot again. The software is also top notch, a product of the vanilla ICS experience. Panorama mode is also a cool option for shots. The flash does work very well too. Personally, if I want to take great photos, I will use my digital camera.
The phone can run a little hot at times. Many other handsets experience this. Sometimes I will notice it starting to heat up at random times. Nothing too big to worry about, things are just overheating. I usually taper off my use for a little while to let it settle down.
Call quality can be dicey at times. Very phones can provide consistently solid quality and the Galaxy Nexus is no different.
To some, especially those with small hands, the size of the phone might be a turnoff. It's no Droid Incredible, but it's also no Galaxy Note either.

Overall this is a great handset. The vanilla/pure Google experience cannot be overstated enough. It is a great experience compared to the intrusive skins other manufacturers put onto their handsets. The strengths far out weigh the weaknesses. Between that, the top notch screen and the 32GB of internal storage, this device is tough to beat.

Poor reception even with 4.0.4 May 14, 2012

Reviewer:  AL  (Chicago, IL) -

I received my first Nexus at the beginning of January. Verizon's coverage maps showed my house was in the "Verizon 4G LTE Extended" (light red) area and my office was in the "Verizon 4G LTE" (dark red) area. Yet I could never reliably receive a 4G signal. I found some spots where the signal was slighly better and occasionally (mostly at night or at other low traffic times) I could get 2 bars of 4G. But the moment I went to use the connection (either with the phone or with Mobile Hotspot), the connection would switch from 4G to 3G and with no bars. My connection speed would be about 100kbps.

I figured I would give it a few weeks and let Google or Samsung release a software update. After all, this was their flagship phone.

February went by, then March, then April. Now it is May and I am still using the same 4.0.2 software and having the same problems. I called Verizon and they agreed to send me a warranty replacement. The certified like-new one that they sent had a mid-April build date on the label behind the battery. Yet the reception problem was identical.

There is a 4.0.4 rom floating around on the web, so I decided to give it a try. Unlocking, rooting and flashing was very easy. The phoned switched between 3G and 4G much quicker. But there was no difference in reception. And my average connection speed at home was still around 100 kbps.

So I called Verizon again and made them give me a different phone, this time an HTC Rezound. Now I actually get 4G at home and at the office. My connection speed at home is around 3 mbps and at the office is around 10 mbps. Night and day difference. I should have stayed with HTC.

Buyer beware.

Addictive Bleeding Edge Smartphone April 10, 2012

Reviewer:  Michael J. Flores  (Santa Clara, CA USA) -

Today is August 12, 2012 and need to downgrade this phone.
I am on my 4th factory refurbished phone and still is buggy.
Phone audio is terrible. Voicemail breaks with access not allowed or not setup.
I'm going back to Apple as soon as the iPhone 5 is released next month.
Since this phone is now illegal to sale in retail stores now is a good time to unload it.
Any takers on a good used phone?

Pros
Although VZ does not support Google Wallet, downloading a boot leg copy showcases NFC technology at PayPass.
Ignore the "Update Wallet" prompt because it will later break Google Wallet.
NFC chip cannot read through a thick protective case.
Fast 4g LTE speeds 8 to 20 MBPS.

Cons
ICF OS buggy at times impacting the camera and other apps.
"Unfortunately, xyz app has stopped." is a typical error response.
Spotty 4g LTE coverage.

Light users: dont worry, battery is fine! March 18, 2012

Reviewer:  Amit Aggarwal 

I purchased the phone about 3 months ago.

I had many doubts before getting this phone due to the widely noted battery woes. However, much to my pleasant surprise, the battery has not been an issue for me. I am not a power user. I use an app or two, check email, txt, and use gps. So as a light user, I feel I should be able to have a phone that can at least last the day. With so many people complaining about the battery, I was afraid that this phone will not even last that long. However, it has. And I didn't even get the bigger battery as many people have.

Verizon LTE has been impressive. Now you can actually use the web on your phone.

Ice Cream Sandwich is slick enough, but it is buggy. Some apps don't work, some apps crash, sometimes phone crashes and reboots, but its okay. The Nexus series is the phone to have if you want to get the latest version of Android from Google, as other manufacturers often just don't bother making their older phones compatible with new Android versions.

GPS requires more time to acquire a signal lock than my Nexus One. Bluetooth handshake seems to be more reliable than my Nexus One so I'm happy about that.

AmazonWireless is awesome. Amazon's $99 is great compared to Verizon's $299 for this phone! Simple UI and great customer service by phone.

Phone made for me! December 20, 2011

Reviewer:  Rusty Shackleford 

I wanted to give this phone 4.75 stars but, I couldn't find a way to mark that so I just said it instead.
First off the phone is great. (Best I've used) ICS is beautiful and fulfilling. This is by far the best Android software to date. It is extremely fast and responsive with multitasking to be a breeze. The internet browser is easy to use and very fast. When 4G LTE is available I usually see around 10 Mb/s download speeds and 8 Mb/s upload speeds. That makes for a very quick transfer of data and seamless surfing. No more buffering just pure HD bliss (when 4G LTE is available).
The screen on the phone is very nice and feels very nice when sliding my thumb around. The huge display makes typing a breeze in landscape. In call quality is some of the best i've heard on a cell phone. People say they cannot tell i'm on a cell phone even when i'm walking outside. I enjoy playing with some of the video recording features.
Now the bad--- For a phone that has so much and does exactly what it is supposed to do I need to highlight the neg. of this phone.
1) I am very unimpressed with the camera. I think the colors of what I see and what the camera sees are not exactly true. But then I remember this is a Phone made for social media and cruising the net so I am not upset by this but rather enjoy that a camera is not the focus of my device.
2) The only way I can get my phone to last all day is to keep turning the data connection on and off when needed. If left on all day the battery will only last until about 7 or 8 at night. The 4G drains battery very quickly. This has forced me to buy the extended battery and the extra battery with the charging dock so I can always keep 2 batteries with me in case I need to make a change.

Now with that said. I feel this is the best device on the market and if you are on Verizon you should look hard at this device before deciding to buy something else. It is thin sexy and beautiful. It does exactly what it was designed for and makes me happy I waited the 5 months for it to come out.

Great phone, but not for my purposes December 27, 2011

Reviewer:  P. Moran  (New York, NY) -

I was looking forward to this phone because I was still using the original Droid, needed an upgrade and wanted a true (or as close as you can get on Verizon) Nexus experience. I bought the phone on the day that it came out and I was really impressed with the blazing speed of ICS and web-browsing and the remarkable video quality. I would highly recommend this phone to people who like to watch videos or play games on their phones. I have never seen this sort of video quality on another cell phone. However, for my purposes, this phone simply did not work.

The pentile screen just does not work well with my eyes. The whites have a glare and a sometimes bluish effect, especially in low light, and some of the other colors, like grays, appear grainy as if the text was written on paper. I mainly use my phone for work, news and web-browsing, so a poor reading experience just did not justify the expense. The problems were exacerbated by low light and I generally read my phone in low light, whether that be on a dark train during my commute or at night on my couch, so in aggregate, these issues really impacted by experience and led me to return the phone. I understand that this is a byproduct of these types of screens and the trade-off is great video quality, but the reading experience hurt my eyes. In fact, I had an easier time reading on my orginial Droid and that fact alone precludes me from giving this phone a higher rating. The battery life was not that impressive either, but since this is an early 4G phone, it did not really bother me too much. Outside of that, I think that the phone is wonderful, just not for reading or web-browsing. If you're a videophile or gamer, this is the device for you.

Excellent phone, with comparison to the original Droid December 18, 2011

Reviewer:  Kyle  (Tempe, AZ United States) -

[[VIDEOID:mo1CGCPNJ0L5SGF]]Short video showing app loading differences between the original Motorola Droid and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (LTE). Like many I am upgrading from the original Droid that came out about 2 years ago so I thought this would be a good comparison for the video. Note: Droid rooted and running Liquid Gingerbread and cache is cleared for both.

To avoid repetition of the product description, I will refrain from talking about general specs and focus on my personal experience with the phone thus far. Since the OS has nothing to do with the quality of the phone and many phones will get ICS, I will mostly stick to the phone itself and not the OS, with the exception of the "vanilla" nature that's unique to the Nexus.

Positives:
-Some have complained about the screen being of lower quality than phones being released around the same time. Coming from an older phone the screen on the Nexus was a huge improvement so I was very pleased. Watching videos side-by-side with the Droid I could really see the improvement in resolution and colors were much richer and more vibrant. I also bought a Moto Droid Razr ([[ASIN:B0061OQJTK Motorola DROID RAZR 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)]] as a gift so I was able to compare these two side-by-side. The Razr's screen is the Advanced AMOLED screen and when compared next to the Nexus you can see it is slightly better, although it is a very small difference. If I look at my Nexus by itself and then the Razr separately I can't really tell the difference. With that being said--pixels, sub-pixels, etc...who cares? I really don't see what the complaint is about, the screen is gorgeous and if I'm going to watch a movie I will do that on my LED TV.

-Having a Razr (which is basically spec'd the same as the Nexus) made for a nice comparison of the different OS versions. Basically, ICS is much snappier and loads apps and web pages faster than the Razr. It is much more user friendly as well (i.e., less confusing). This is in part due to the "vanilla" nature of the Nexus. It isn't filled with all of that bloatware and it isn't overlaid with buggy software such as what Moto and HTC use. The Razr is an amazing phone, but I found the Motoblur (or whatever it's called now) to cause lag when navigating back to the home screen. So, although phones like this will eventually get ICS, they will still have junky software layed on top of ICS and this is a huge bonus for the Nexus! [Assuming we aren't rooting :)]

-Getting the GPS location is much quicker on the Nexus because of the built-in barometer which allows GPS satellites to gather your location easier.

-Heat dissipation was good and I felt no obvious warmth coming from the phone after continuous use for a few hours.

-Call quality was good and I found no problems with it.

-The zero shutter time is very cool, although without some practice this can be a negative too (see below).

-To my surprise the facial recognition works quite well and really only fails in low lighting.

-Visual it is beautiful and the size/weight are amazing. I forget it is in my pocket and it is very comfortable to hold in my hand. And I really, really like the curved aspect, which I thought I was going to hate. It is very subtle. When the screen is off, the front of the phone is all black and looks sleek and professional. The back is dimpled just enough to give some grip but still feels smooth when you rub your fingers across it.

Negatives

-Radio. I don't know how other Samsung phones perform, but in my house the Nexus always has less signal strength than my Moto Droid and the Razr. And I can't get 4G connection at all, which is probably a limit of the service itself. I get full 4G a few blocks away. Still, 3G and 2G strengths are not as good. This was probably my biggest disappointment with the phone as this is what a phone is ultimately used for-to make phone calls. With that being said, it rarely crosses my mind because it still functions just fine and I haven't had any dropped calls. UPDATE: Just found out that Verizon understands that this is a problem and there is a fix on the way! Great, I guess these little problems are to be expected when early adopting.

-The camera. When I saw that the Nexus was going to be a 5 MP camera I thought to myself "Hmm, that's odd, but who cares because MPs don't matter and if I want a good picture I will just use my DSLR camera, right?". Well, yes, but I still want to be able to take decent picture for uploading to social sites, etc. Unfortunately, the pictures quality just isn't that good. It isn't horrible, it just isn't any better than my Droid, which is two years old. Now onto the zero shutter speed, which is a very cool feature and one I imagine they couldn't do without dropping the camera to 5 MP because of the additional time it would take to store 8 MP (maybe?). It works great; however, there is no dedicated camera button so you must push the button on the screen to take a picture. Well, since it is zero shutter time, by the time I get my hand up to steady the camera after tapping the button, the picture has already taken and it comes out blurry! The only solution I have right now is to really steady the phone with both hands and hit the button with your thumb. Though, the pictures are sometimes slightly blurry even after that.

-The speaker. What a tiny, puny speaker. The speaker on my Droid is at least twice as loud as the Nexus. Turned all the way up, I have a hard time hearing it from across the room. I will never understand why they included such a weak speaker. To keep the size down? They assume we all use headphones or external speakers? Who knows, but it is unfortunate.

-Battery life. Negative? No, not really, more of a neutral. I knew coming in that more processing power and a better display were going to eat battery life. You will be charging your phone midday if you are using it heavily, by which I mean watching videos or listening to music non-stop. 4G/3G really has nothing to do with it. It's just when people use 4G there are watching more video, etc., and thus their battery dies quicker. Get a car charger, spare charger for work, an extra battery, or the extended battery and you should be fine. I have only had to charge in the middle of the day once and that was the first day because of heavy display use. As an example, I charged my phone and unplugged it before going to bed. Waking up (8 hrs standby) there was only ~10% battery used and my battery lasted until the evening with my normal use, which consists of checking email and reading news.

-No USB mount, another neutral. Because of this only media files (music, video, photo) can be transferred via USB from your computer to the Nexus. That means no apps' backup files from you old phone or anything like that. At first I thought this was going to be a huge negative but now it really isn't that big of deal because of a great app called AirDroid that lets you transfer files over you home wi-fi network connection. Or you can use something like Dropbox or Box.net.

Conclusion
No phone is every going to live up to the Holy Grail expectations that people idealize about. So, of course, this phone has some negatives, but the positives really do outweigh the negatives in a big way. Especially if you are upgrading. I feel like I went from a tube to an LED TV. Vanilla ICS is delicious and one of the greatest things about owning the Nexus (again if you don't root). So, if you are in the market for a new phone and enjoy having the latest and greatest then I highly recommend this phone, but you better act fast because I'm sure something much better will be out in 3 months :)

Already malfunctioned after 1 month! June 29, 2012

Reviewer:  jumpy1  (New York, NY) -

These reviews are obviously cell phone store owners! Screen is not working well with green and pink and black lines across it after only one month. The extended battery only goes for four hours, so I have to plug it in everywhere I go and carry another battery. Signal gets lost and calls are dropped in the same areas where the motorola phones don't drop calls, so clearly the signal is weak. The sound is poor also, so poor that it's impossible to use as a GPS because you can hardly hear it unless it's close to your ear. This phone is a debacle. Going back to Motorola, what a joke.

Terrible as a phone, great as a toy April 12, 2012

Reviewer:  Andy Stevens 

I really wanted to like Google's flagship phone; I tried. I've had an iPhone, and am no fanboy of either Google or Apple. But, after nearly 4 months, I just am tired of this thing. It's awesome as a device, but is horrible as a phone. I had a $20 Wal-Mart flip phone for a year (after ditching my iPhone), and the phone quality was much better on that cheap little thing, than this $800 phone. Yes, the nexus can play great video, but it seems Google forgot that at the basis, this is a phone, not a tablet. I signed a two-year contract to get the discount, or else I'd be back with my flip phone, instead of trying to make out the garbled audio, if i'm lucky enough to 1) get reception, and 2) the battery hasn't died yet (ok, i do have a car charger, but seriously, this battery is horrible).

Pros
-fast processor
-great screen/great video
-fast 4G LTE connection
-shutter speed is nice

Cons
-battery life is horrible
-audible quality is terrible (both ways)
-updates NEVER happen...maybe that's Verizon's fault, but I have more respect for Apple now, than I do Google
-signal strength is lacking
-camera is so-so
-$3/month for visual voicemail (am I cheap to rant on that, or is Verizon/Google cheap to charge for this)

I tried Apple....actually, I have more respect for Apple after my experience with the Nexus.
I tried Google...lost a customer (and, I seriously considered moving all of my business over to Google Apps, but it seems they have too much focus on the "next" thing, and not what is at hand).
I am honestly now going to go for WP8 when they move to Verizon on the 4G LTE.

My search for a phone has ended... February 22, 2012

Reviewer:  Thomas S. Paynter "W Random"  (austin, tx United States) -

I've never been a fan of the one size fits all style of the iPhone line. Like many Verizons, I got my first taste of something magical with the original DROID. It was awesome, yet even at the time...lacking. Android still didn't have that polish and though a keyboard option was nice, not for me(Thanks to Swype mostly).
Then I replaced my DROID with a used Samsung Fascinate trying to last to the end of my contract. Then as my contract neared its end, rumors of a Nexus on Verizon began to swell. I finally upgraded to a Razr and then exchanged it for a Nexus. Many things went into my decision, but the most important one was SOFTWARE UPDATES. Google pushes software updates to Nexus phones. Gone are our 6-9 month update windows or the dreaded, will I even get an update. That paired with a truly awesome device was a straight up WIN. I'm in love with this phone. Buy it, unless they come out with another Nexus...then buy that!

Phone Works Great for Me February 21, 2012

Reviewer:  R. Hubert "Happi Henry"  (OC, CA) -

Had my Samsung Galaxy Nexus a little a week now. My first Smart phone, so I had no prior versions to compare to. Had an LG EnV2 prior to this for over 3 years (great phone - built like a tank) - but felt it was time to upgrade. When shopping for this researched all curent 4G models, coming down to this and the HTC Rezound.

My observations:
> Screen size and control buttons. Many comments made on the fact some of the screen space is used for the 3 control buttons at the bottom. True . . . BUT. Found that when I downloaded and viewed a movie in landscape view it used the FULL screen - including where those bottons normally were. Worked fantasically to watch a movie on my plane flight yesterday. Screen looks just great. (To get back to the command buttons you just touch the power button briefly). So you do not lose that screen space - depending on the app.

> Battery life. All comments very valid, but some users have figured out that after a few full battery cycles (and I mean full: complete FULL re-charge to almost total discharge) the battery is lasting mouch longer now. Maybe because I have also learned how to setup apps and data better too. Not that you can get much more than a full day out of it, but do look at your settings. And in reading reviews on ALL other 4G phones almost every reviewer - of every other brand and model - complained about poor battery life on ALL of them - regardless of brand. I do not think this Samsung is any worse than any of them in this regard - and probably better than many. And there is a heavy duty battery available for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus - which is not true of many other models.

> Data usage. My Verizon plan offers 4Gb/mth. As a newbie to smartphones I may not have had settings correct - but on my 2nd day of ownership I used almost 1Gb while setting up my 3 email accounts. Still not sure why, but I think it was downloading all attachments and photos to memory in the background upon install. Just watch your settings - like how many days of messages do you really need to see.

> 4G Lte. Be careful of the hype. Using this phone in Irvine, CA - which is a fairly high-tech area - I rarely saw 4G connectivity. Now I am working in Northern NJ - still do not see much 4G connectivity. I have also had a Verizon 4G Mobile Hotspot for almost a year - I rarely see it connect at 4G either. In my experience - just because you have a 4G device do not expect that you will actually connect at that speed very often. Speed is great when you can get it.... but does not appear that it is being realistically supported as more and more people try and use their new 4G devices. 4g network cannot keep up.

> Case - yes phone is large due to the screen size and very thin, so a good case actually helps give you more to hold on to. (I was also told this about the optional extended life battery - it's thicker shape helps you hold the phone better). Doing some research I found the Diztronic Matte Back Black Flexible *Revision 3* TPU Case for this phone. Adds just enough thickness and rubbery feel to help hold the phone beter while offering some good protection. I also got the Halo screen protectors which fit the front perfectly (but be sure to follow install instructions exactly so as not to get any dust under it). With case phone is marginally thicker, but still thinner than others I have seen, and it fits perfectly in my pants pocket.

> Best feature - the use of voice==>text. In writing texts this works great - even without any voice training. Just speak clearly and it writes it all out for you. Amazing.

> Worst feature - Google Messaging program. Maybe I am not used to it yet, but it works nothing like the Verizon LG messaging I was used. No Inbox, no Sent Box, no way to easily copy or forward propr texts. Will send out a text before you are ready if you hit the wrong key. Not a phone issue (other than this it the programn it comes with) but find Google messaging very confusing and hard to work with.

Would say that most of the reviews here on this phone I would agree with. What is hard for me to know is how this phone really compares to all the competition. The only way to ever really know that is to have each for a couple of weeks to give a thorough test drive.

But so far I like what I see. Am interested is finding some good apps to use on it.

Amazing Software, but horrible phone quality December 31, 2011

Reviewer:  Johnny B  (NY) -

I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Nexus as an upgrade to my HTC Incredible. In terms of software, android 4.0 is a very nice upgrade, however I am disappointed with the build quality and hardware of this phone. The camera quality is OK on this phone, not bad, but not the best camera on modern smartphones. Not a huge issue for me since I don't plan on taking professional photographs with this phone anyway. Another drawback on this phone is the extremely low speaker volume, even on full volume you can barely hear the ringtone or notification sounds, unless you're in a quite room. Also the vibration on the phone is barely noticeable, the phone can be in my pocket and if I am distracted I will not notice the vibration. The AC charger on this phone emits an audible high pitched noise when it is plugged into an outlet charging the phone or not (I am using my HTC charger from my Incredible to charge my galaxy nexus which has no audible noise). My biggest complaint about this phone is the volume rocker/button, it is slightly loose and makes a plastic ticking sound whenever you place the phone down onto a surface or move it back an forth which makes the phone seem very "cheap". A $700 phone should feel solid and not have loose buttons on it. After arguing with Verizon about this loose volume rocker issue for over an hour, they finally decided to issue a "final exchange", I received the replacement device and this one too has the same loose volume rocker issue. This was my first and will be my last phone purchased from Samsung.

Other than those issues listed above, this is an amazing phone.

Great Pure Nexus Device December 7, 2012

Reviewer:  RW 

Let me just say that I wanted to wait a few weeks after getting this phone, so I could do a Real Life review. (Well, I accidentally waited 5 months!)Let me just say that this phone is Awesome, the ONLY drawback is the battery life, in my opinion. This phone has tons of apps (like All Android phones), and the screen is big and Beautiful! Having the On-screen buttons worried me at first, but everything is runs fine. I also almost did not buy this phone, because of no Expandable memory available. I am glad I bypassed that issue, my Nexus came with 32GB of internal storage, and 1GB of Ram! I take plenty of photos, and videos, and still have tons of room for storage. (I still have not began to put music on my phone yet - but 32GB will be able to hold plenty of songs!) Also, just to let you know that whatever was pre-loaded on my phone, there was approximately 28-29GB free storage.
This phone works very fast for me, and everything is very fluid, 95% of the time! I love that it has ICS, and will be getting an upgrade to JB, shortly - (Cannot wait for JB) The absolute best part of this phone was that there is not a ton of VZW, or carrier pre-loaded bloat ware on it! My Nexus came with 3 apps from VZW pre-loaded, and that was it!
A lot of people say that the speake on this phone is not very good, but I just use an app called "volume+ free", to solve those problems.
The camera is listed as a 5mp camera, but in my opinion it is not too bad. As long as you are not using it in low light, or whatever your trying to photograph is moving a lot, then you should be fine. When I am snapping photos of and whatever I am focused on is moving, I just snap a bunch of photos at once, and then go back and erase the blurry ones. (this camera has no lag with the shutter button!) Also, since I'm on the subject of the camera, this phone does have a video camera which can record up to 720P, and it is very good. Also, my Nexus came pre-loaded with an app called movie studio, which is kind of cool, little video editor!
Now, for the one Con, this phone has. It's battery does not ever get me through a full day, but that may just be because of the 4G, I'm ALWAYS running it on, haha! So, I just carry my charger with me, and I keep a charger in my car. At this point I cannot afford an extended battery, but I may get one in the near future. I will admit, I am on my phone A lot also, so for people that may not be on their phone as much throughout the day, they may not need to carry a charger at all times.
Thanks, I hope this review was helpful!

Wonderful phone November 16, 2012

Reviewer:  Michelle 

I bought this a few months ago in April 2011. After receiving an HTC smartphone for work, I can tell you the Nexus is one of the best phones on the market. It's super fast with a smooth, vivid screen and it's ridiculously thin. Yes, I was a little daunted by how big the phone is overall, but I quickly became used to it (even with my small hands). Not to mention, it acts wonderfully as a tablet.

The battery life seems to be the biggest issue with this phone. I ordered the extended battery from Verizon and can't believe it doesn't come with the phone already. I charge mine every night and it lasts through the following day. I'm fortunate that my car has a USB hub and my job requires me to drive all day so I can charge it at any time.

I haven't had any connection issues whatsoever. I live and drive all around Atlanta and haven't had any issues.

Overall, this is an excellent phone.

Great for Geeks. June 21, 2012

Reviewer:  Strick1226  (NC, USA) -

Background:

This is my second personally-owned Android phone. This replaces my Sprint HTC EVO 4G of two years, and I much prefer the Galaxy Nexus to my work-assigned Motorola Droid 4 (physical keyboard or not). I've used Android 2.1 (Eclair), 2.2 (Froyo), and 2.3 (Gingerbread). I ran Cyanogenmod 7 since ~fall 2011 and then 7.2 RC's until replacing the EVO altogether.

Pro's:

--Phone is very thin.

--Clear, vibrant 4.65" Super AMOLED HD screen with higher-than-average resolution (720x1280 vs. the more typical 480x800).

--The ability to use small-sized system-wide fonts on the higher-resolution screen is great.

--Excellent LTE speeds when available.

--Voice quality in phone calls has been above average in my experience.

--Ice Cream Sandwich is rather nice once you get used to it.

--Phone zips between screens and changes between apps with little to no appreciable lag.

--Vibration works well--not overly powerful, nor too weak.

--Boots pleasantly quickly.

--802.11n WiFi radio works rather well for me (although some claim to have range issues).

--You can change out to a fresh battery when charging isn't an option (skipped the HTC One X for this very reason).

--I very much appreciate the mostly "Pure Google" aspect of this phone and lack of bloatware or carrier-implemented restrictions (although, technically, it's not nearly the "Pure Google" experience of a GSM Galaxy Nexus).

Con's:

--Perhaps *too* thin by default? (see next con)

--The smooth, hard, untextured plastic surfaces of this very thin phone definitely are too slippery; I can't hold this tall, wide phone in my largish hands without a case that adds decent grip-ability to the device without constant worry about dropping it outright.

--Super AMOLED HD is a "Pentile" screen; some users hate the technology, others see nothing wrong with it. I have fairly picky tastes when it comes to computer displays and have zero issues with it... but your mileage may vary.

--Battery life is fair-to-good with a decent LTE signal; worse than average with poor or no LTE signal.

--Speaker volume for media is a little too quiet for most of my podcasts.

--Notification light is on the bottom of the phone, not at the top... huh?

--I *almost* miss the SDcard support, but having ~28 GB of internal storage available works pretty well for me.

--On-screen ICS navigation buttons take a little getting used to--but at least they stay in the same place consistently. Unfortunately, the "Menu" button is now a symbol composed of three dots, and can be located at the top of the screen or at the bottom--entirely dependent on the application developer, and prone to be different between different apps. Very annoying.

Final Thoughts:

I really had a lot of doubts regarding the on-screen buttons, since I loved the fixed-in-place capacitive buttons on the EVO. I was also a bit nervous about Samsung phone quality, having read a great deal of rants about its supposedly lower-quality "plasticky" builds. I've been pleasantly surprised by the on-screen buttons not being a big deal at all (aside from the aforementioned "Menu" button's variable location), and the build quality of my phone looks to be just as good as anything I've seen with HTC or Motorola. I'm not a fan of the hard, slippery smooth plastic but that's fixed easily enough with a good silicone skin or textured case of your choice (my favorite: [[ASIN:B00634HDXE Incipio SA-204 Samsung Galaxy Nexus SILICRYLIC Hard Shell Case with Silicone Core - 1 Pack - Retail Packaging - Black/Black]]). ICS has worked well for me, and I've rather enjoyed most of the changes to the Android interface and resulting differences in device operation in comparison to Gingerbread-based devices.

This late in the game it's probably worth checking out the new Samsung Galaxy S3, soon to be available on just about all US carriers. There are many similarities to the Galaxy Nexus, but the new dual-core Qualcomm S4 processor looks to be a nice upgrade.. enough of one to opt for a non-"Pure Google" phone? Not for me. But if that's your primary interest, and you don't have money burning in your pocket, you might want to wait and see what Google's next developer phone is for this year.

Bottom Line:

I really enjoy my Galaxy Nexus overall. It's not perfect, and it has its quirks, but they pale in comparison to the benefits it has over many other 6-10-month old devices. That said, it's probably more for geeks and phone hackers and less for "mainstream" users as it lacks the carrier-provided "hand-holding" software found on many other devices. I've found it to be a solid phone, and I am grateful I was willing to give it a try.

Coming from a DroidX, a few deal killers. And so I went Razr Maxx May 30, 2012

Reviewer:  Momma+2  (Portland, OR USA) -

I wanted to love the Galaxy Nexus, and there's a lot to like coming from a DroidX. ICS is just a very nice visual user interface, and the mechanisms to add apps and widgets to the home screen is very elegant. 4G was incredible, especially with the hotspot. Skype video worked wonderfully.

But there were a few challenges that were such a step back from a 2 year old phone I couldn't do it:

1) What voice command calling there was simply was not as nice as the DroidX or Siri. I very much liked Siri, except for the 20% of the time it would time-out upon my requests. The DroidX seems simplistic in comparison, but it gave all the right prompts (mobile or work, which of these names, etc).
2) Using the voice command with bluetooth was simply catastrophic. Perhaps the upcoming update will fix it, but volume across a headset during voice activation was nearly silent. There are other threads documenting this, and it made it simply unusable. It has about a 60% success rate in recognizing my commands, and when it's wrong, it's still confident and calls the wrong person.
3) The battery life is just OK. I never had to worry about the DroidX w/ the extended battery; the Galaxy Nexus was often running out by the evening (with its own slightly extended battery).
4) Darned if it didn't get a little slow near the end. It took a while to notice orientation changes and otherwise became sluggish. I'm surprised.
5) No full-function car dock, with charging and auto-launch of a car app. I just got used to it, and hated stepping backwards.
6) The camera sucks. How hard is it to get a camera which compares with the iPhone 4S? This one is nowhere close.

I'm on the Razr Maxx now, and really loving it. All the things I liked about my DX, with 4G, faster processor, etc. It's a winner.