Best phone since the OG Droid March 25, 2012

Reviewer:  P. Trappe  (Durham, NH United States) -

I'll keep it brief. This phone is fast, has a great form factor and a sexy screen. Plus, ICS is a very big step forward, and I could not go back to gingerbread, or iOS for that matter, now that I've used it.

Only qualm is that the volume is a little low. "Volume+" rendered that a non-issue, so now we're totally good.

Upgraded from a DX March 24, 2012

Reviewer:  TRON  (AZ-USA) -

I've only had this phone for a short time but I haven't had any issues so far with signal or data. I am a light user so the battery is definitely not an issue for me. I'm coming from the Droid X which I had no problems with. This phone is much faster! I did alot of research on my next phone and it came down to this or the Razr Max. I chose this because of the developer support available which can help solve alot of the issues. I upgraded through amazon wireless and when I received the phone I noticed right away that the botom right hand corner of the screen was discolored pink. It was a 1 inch square area that stayed no matter what screen I cycled to. I called Amazon Wireless help and they immediately agreed to send a replacement, all I have to do is send the old one back within 30 days return postage paid for by them. I only wish that I had contacted them before wasting my time driving to a verizon store!

Love this phone...so cool! February 29, 2012

Reviewer:  AStefanik  (Cheektowaga, NY, US) -

I knew I was ready for a smartphone experience and I wanted the best...and I got more than I bargained for. The screen makes everything come alive...the camera is fantastic! I was concerned about it only being 5 MP but I assure you the pictures are fabulous...thank goodness for the flash. The screen is so big. I am still tweeking settings so as to save my battery life! I considered buying the extended battery but did not want the bulky back cover. I bought a desk top charger with a regular battery...this way the look of the phone will stay the same...nice and thin...but yet I pretty much doubled the battery life and got a stand for my phone/alarm clock! lol

What I wanted to know when I was looking February 12, 2012

Reviewer:  Jon "Jon"  (Richmond, VA) -

I wanted to post a few things in this review that I was looking for the answer on before I bought this phone myself.

Battery is of more importance to me than 4g speeds. The 4g eats battery like nobody's business but toggle it off and go back to 3g which is still plenty fast for me and suddenly battery life is quite good (for a smartphone). I've been getting plus or minus 24 hours (really 24 hours not just saying a work day) out of a charge with average usage (3-4 hours of screen on web browsing/fiddling mostly on wi-fi, light camera usage, checking email throughout day, maps, 30min call time, etc.) Got the 2100mah extended battery coming too which should add a few more hours at least I hope.

The camera is average. Definitely the weakest link and I'm not just saying that because it is a 5mp vs 8mp. I had an open mind about that and was hoping that was all people were focused on was the number but the camera just really isn't that great. I'm coming off the original droid incredible who's camera was...well...Incredible (for a phone).

ICS/Android 4.0 is awesome. User friendly. Quick. Highly functional and easy to use.

The processor is zippy. Definitely the fastest I have used. Will not let you down.

The screen is awesome. Seems a little dim in the auto-mode when I'm in lower light but that is a fair compromise for extended battery life.

It does feel a little big in my pocket particularly when I'm sitting but not at all too big in my hands. The small bezel and thin profile helps fit that large screen in a manageable total package.

Waiting for the 4.0.4. upgrade to roll out (still on 4.0.2) but I haven't really noticed any connection problems/battery drain that I read about in forums. Looking forward to getting the quick updates associated with a nexus device.

Other than the camera I am very happy with my purchase.

Great phone February 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Mojo Howard 

I went from a Nexus One to this. Speeds are incredible, oftentimes loading pages faster than laptops. Battery life is fine, albeit with a car charger. Camera's ability to take quick pictures is a major bonus. Only problem I have with it is that the vibrate is very week, so I often don't notice when I'm getting a call while on silent mode. Love it, highly recommended.

Tomorrow's Phone Today February 3, 2012

Reviewer:  KJT  (Madison, WI) -

I don't ever sit down to write reviews, but I'm so blown away by this phone I had to do this. I've owned and used a lot of cell phones in my life but the Galaxy Nexus is beyond anything I could have dreamed of. The look, feel, and function all blend together to give you the ultimate user experience.

Hardware
Pros:
Curved screen allows the massive screen to fit comfortably in your hand and makes it feel more snug against your face.
Everything looks amazing on the the Super AMOLED screen. Although the screen may not be as bright as some, I actually prefer that because it still looks amazing in all lighting conditions, yet doesn't burn your retinas out when reading it in a dark room.
Simply said 4G is blazing. Seeing how you're signing a 2 year contract on this phone, I think 4G is a MUST as 4G as is the new standard of mobile communications. You have to keep in mind LTE = Long Term Evolution, as in it's going to take some time until it's fully rolled out. 4G on this phone for means it's is ready for the future.
I used to think Motorola phones always had the best call quality, not any more! Calls are crystal clear on both ends.
The notification LED light is easy to see, pleasant to look at, has different colors for each notification (I use LightFlow to control the colors) just like my old BlackBerrys!
Con
Battery life. Because the battery is swappable, I recommend buying an extra battery (the extended-life one) and an external battery charger so you can just swap and go.

Software
Pros
Google really hit one out of the park. So many good things I can't list them. Home screen, apps menus, widget and widget controls, address book, multi-tasking are all amazing to look at, while being extremely functional. The OS really lets the display shine, with full screen high resolution contact photos (when viewing a contact/caller ID), menu transitions, smart buttons, etc.
GMail is as good as the desktop version, Google Talk Video Chat works very well while on 4G, Turn-by-Turn navigation, Google Music, Google+ all bring THE Cloud experience to you in the palm of your hand and it all flows together seamlessly and is fun to use. For the first time Android has the same feel as the iPhone in terms of a cohesive feel throughout, only Android does WAY more then iOS ever will.
Con
Not all third party software is ready for the OS, but all the ones I use have little to no issues.

Bottom line is this is THE phone to own. Samsung and Google are blazing trails that a few years ago would have been deemed impossible. If you want a phone that's fun to use, does more then you can imagine, won't become out of date during your two year term look no further, the Galaxy Nexus is it!

My new favorite gadget January 26, 2012

Reviewer:  A. Blasingame 

I absolutely love this phone. Like many people, I made the huge leap up from the original Droid when my contract came up. I love the huge, beautiful screen especially when I'm watching video. I'm a little disappointed about how the 4G will drain the battery, but that's easy enough to fix.

A word of advice: don't be afraid to root it! Verizon thinks that you shouldn't have Google Wallet so that they can lock you into their service later, but you can root the phone in under 5 minutes and then install it yourself. Totally worth it and works beautifully! I love using it and can't wait until it's everywhere. It's one of those silly moments where you feel like you're living the future if you can wave your phone over a little box and buy yourself a sub.

Amazing phone! Worthy upgrade to the Original Droid January 26, 2012

Reviewer:  Orion "SM"  (USA) -

The Galaxy Nexus is simply fantastic. The hardware is great and Android 4.0 (Ice-cream Sandwich) is an absolutely amazing improvement on the OS side of things. The phone looks gorgeous with its curved glass front, slim design and NO VERIZON BRANDING on the front to detract from the look of the phone.

The phone is snappy, and lag free. The SAMOLED screen is gorgeous and while I was very hesitant to buy a pentile matrix screen, the high pixel density on this screen results in great display quality and none of the traditional complaints against older gen pentile screens.

Battery life has also been great. When on Wifi, I lose around 1.1-1.2% battery per hour and I've gone 2 days without charging and light use.

My only complaint is that the phone can feel a bit slippery in your hands as the plastic is quite smooth. I'd recommend a Diztronic TPU case (Matte Black) to keep the phone protected while minimally affecting the looks and form-factor of the phone.

I couldn't be happier with this phone, and with all the great support from Google and from other developers (if your Root and unlock the bootloader), I am confident that it will easily last me 2 years on my contract without any issues.

Live Comparison to 4GS January 23, 2012

Reviewer:  DW9 

I have had this phone for a little over a month. Recently I was given an iPhone 4S and figured I would give an honest review between the two.

The Galaxy Nexus has it on both screen size and quality. The Nexus just blows away the iPhone on screen quality - just amazingly clear.

ICS versus iOS - Got to give it to Google, things are integrated without me even thinking about it--amazingly intuitive user interface. It also makes the IOS so bland, which surprised me because I was impressed with the iPhone interface when it first came out. ICS is just so nice (and way more stable than previous versions of Android). I am also concerned about the limited amount of pages on the iOS -- where am I going to put my apps? (Maybe there is something to extend this?)

Widgets - enough said, not available on the iPhone. Not a big deal though because there are only a couple I really use. Still nice.

Apps - I was surprised on this one. Some of the free apps I used on the Android platform did not have as many levels or features when used on the iPhone... strange. iPhone users more likely to pay? There are a few apps that just work better on the iPhone, such as the Stock and Weather apps. For some reason my weather widget on the Nexus will not have data available a good amount of the time.
I kept thinking that the number of Apps on iTunes would tip the scales in favor of the iPhone, but not really. All the good ones are available in the Android market. I also noticed several reviews on the iTunes site about crashing apps, which I would have figured Apple's control over iOS and apps would prevent.

Build - I have to give it to the iPhone. I have been so afraid I am going to flex the Nexus and crack the screen when I place it in my pocket. Also, the battery cover is just plain flimsy/a joke. The iPhone at least feels solid - let's see over time.

I am sure I am leaving out a lot of details, but let me put it this way - if you are trying to decide between the two platforms, the Nexus is a much nicer way to go. Under my circumstances I will have to give up my Nexus and keep the iPhone - and I am really depressed about that. I had been looking forward to the iPhone and Siri - but in the end I would have much rather have kept my Nexus.

Best Phone I've Had January 19, 2012

Reviewer:  M S T  (Wisconsin) -

I hated Android. I've had the original Droid for 2 years in 3 iterations, and there were consistently weird bugs in the hardware - headphone jack barely worked, phone wouldn't charge when dead - and the software. Apps freezing, being unable to hang up phone calls, etc. For these reasons, I was very ambivalent about holding out for this phone over the iPhone 4S.

Fortunately, this phone doesn't get in the way of my lifestyle. It doesn't freeze, hang, or do anything 'quirky'. The last phone I had with this trait was the Razr.
- When I want to hear a song, I play it from Google Music, with access to my computer's entire library. It then takes less than a second to stream over 4G or Wifi.
- Opening the camera - done from the lock screen - takes 2 seconds. There is no 'freeze' upon taking a picture.
- Browsing is much faster. 4G helps, but the real star is the processor and memory improvement. This phone will eat up any web page or video you give it.
- The voice recognition continues to be fantastic. You never have to type in directions again. I believe it to be more accurate and faster than Siri from what I've seen.
- Battery life is great as well while its on standby. I've gotten over 27 hours once.
- The 4G signal is extremely weak in my apartment: -105 dBm. Does this make it slow? Hell no.

It also looks and feels great. It's very light for its size, and the back looks slick. The screen is fantastic. The curved nature of the device makes its orientation easily distinguishable in a pocket, enabling you to find the volume up / down buttons.

I don't want to claim this phone is perfect, though. Its flaws are just comparatively minor.
- There's a split second lag for some motions, like swiping between screens. (By the way, Swype is fantastic on this device as well, but the keyboard's text prediction is so advanced it's not really needed.) Compare this to the iPhone 4S - on the Nexus you can swipe, lift your finger, and the device's lag will cause it to react when you're not touching the screen. Fortunately, this isn't as bad an issue as it sounds - once you're using the phone, you won't care.
- I've encountered a weird 'Cannot connect to camera' bug. I randomly get this and have to restart the phone before I can use my camera. My phone might be defective (I got it about 10 days ago). This is actually a really significant issue now that I think about it. Get on it, Samsung.
- Many apps have evolved based on Android's old design interfaces. Visually, the clash will make you cringe. The new Android design style is much better than the old green monster, and some apps will remind you of this.

Overall, this is the best smartphone I've owned, and a worthy extension of my brain to have. I would recommend it to anyone in the smartphone market. Go for this over the iPhone if you think you'd like a larger screen and / or you're covered by 4G.

Fantastic Phone - Can't Wait for Accessories January 10, 2012

Reviewer:  SonnyInJerseyCity 

Read the other reviews for the typical stuff, here are some choice notable points:

1) Not all AC/USB converters are alike. When I used a converter other than what Samsung gave me, it didn't even increase the charge above 68% while heavy-duty tethering 4G overnight. Keep that in mind if you find yours doesn't charge quickly.

2) There are 4 batteries available for the phone. NFC and non-NFC as well as standard/extended. After swapping the NFC for the non-NFC and fixing the situation from point #1, my battery gets phenomenal life. When it doesn't then I can see what is eating battery by the ICS battery monitor built into the Settings. All that being said, the standard battery should easily last you the day unless you're tethering much and/or are streaming video for more than a couple hours.

3) Sometimes the screen is too big. I have big hands and am 6'1". Even I have to sometimes adjust the phone in my hand to reach my thumb across the screen when in portrait mode. A pain, but acceptable considering the larger real estate and 1280x720 gloriousness.

4) I look forward to the dock accessories for the phone. Supposedly one of them has a full HDMI port. Another will charge a second battery simultaneously.

5) Fear not that it doesn't have an HDMI port. MHL is the new spec where you can feed power AND HDMI via a breakout cable. The HTC Rezound has one on their website that you can see and refer to. I would imagine Samsung/Verizon will have one out soon that works. Some allow only HDMI out but will drain the battery. I'd suggest waiting for one that powers the phone and outputs HDMI at the same time.

6) The phone is super slim. You cannot see this phone when it is in the pocket. Similar to the Samsung Galaxy SII's thinness.

7) Bluetooth pairing works great and the 4G LTE tethering is super fast and reliable.

Enjoy!

Best Android Yet - ICS A Great Upgrade! December 18, 2011

Reviewer:  Ryan 

I have been using Android since the HTC Hero came out in 2009, and I have to say this is the best Android phone to date. Ice Cream Sandwich really makes this phone into something very cool. After using this for a couple days, I can't imagine ever picking up another Android phone. It just won't be the same. Go stock 4.0 and ditch the skins.

Here are my favorite parts about this phone:
- Enough processing power and RAM to actually get things done
- Ice Cream Sandwich: A new polished take on Android
- Updates from Google to fix the bugs and annoyances. My last phone took 9 months to get the first update, and never got another
- The screen: It is crisp and beautiful
- Verizon 4G: So fast it is crazy!

Negatives:
- Battery life can suffer a bit with LTE. Just turn it off until you need it, or go with another non-LTE carrier for better battery life.
- Some apps don't work with ICS yet. Should be fixed shortly.

If you are going to get an Android phone, this is the one to get. I felt sorry for all the customers in the Verizon store buying other Android phones. The only other phone out there worth getting is the iPhone, but I prefer Android, and need a swappable battery for work, so this gets my vote.

Not a Grand Slam, But a VERY VERY Solid Phone...PLUS a Battery Life Suggestion December 15, 2011

Reviewer:  The Collector 

Samsung always tries to give a little of everything in their phones. Nexus is a perfect example pf how they market their phones, "a little bit of everything but nothing great". A 1.5 Dual CPU, or a Super Amoled Plus screen would've made this phone a runaway must have, but they held back, and stayed with the pack of their competitors. Nonetheless, still a very solid phone for now,or at least the next 6 months.

Phone has shortcomings, 4.0 appears very very raw (looks and feels like Android 1.0 before the upgrades; and 2.0 were released). The dialer needs to be fine tuned a bit, screens and buttons needs to be a little more user friendly (I keep going in circles trying to find simple functions like apps being used, or apps shut down). I understand that this is a more "pure" Android OS, but I still hope they fine tune it up a bit in future upgrades.

I have my MP3 on 24/7; the speaker is fine IMHO. It's better than my Fascinate and Charge; but then everyone has a different "ear" for the best sound.

Even though this is HD Super Amoled, The quality of the video IMHO is not superior to Super Amoled, or Super Amoled Plus. In fact, I thought video appeared superior on the Fascinate, Charge, and Stratosphere (since returned). I did a comparison with all 4 phones running the same video simultaneously. Nexus has slightly better image definition due the increased pixels quality, but the colors looked worse when compared to the others. Charge and Stratosphere had the best colors and video experience....again JMHO.

Even with the shortcomings, I'd still go with the Nexus because it gives you a little of everything, but nothing superior which would make it a must have. It seems that none of the big 3 phone makers really want to out do each other; and instead prefer a tight race to keep us spending our money on their phones. If HTC had invested in, and put Amoled into their phones, the Rezound with it's 1.5 dual core, and near top or top specs, would have been top dog this holiday season and the phone to have.

LOL...I predict the next Samsung phone will probably have a 1.5 dual, a HD Super Amoled Plus screen, a 4.7 inch screen, Android 4.2, and its price will be 349.99 with a 2 year contract!!!!!!

The Nexus is a overall quality phone with nothing really great about it; except for the smoother and new OS, and the improved hardware; the next Samsung phone will be a much better phone. Just remember how Android 1.0 was before 2.0 was released. With this said, I'm going to keep this phone.

BATTERY PROBLEM SUGGESTION: Folks, remember 5-7 years back, when cell carriers always told us to overcharge our phone batteries within the first day or few days in order to extend and break in a new battery? Well it sill works. When I first starting using the Nexus, it was sucking down my battery within minutes after unplugging the charger. Even when I was listening to my MP3 or watching video while the Nexus was plugged in, the drain was greater than the charging. I've overcharged my battery for 5 days now, and the life of the battery is extending now. Watching video and playing MP3s while plugged, is not draining my battery as fast as when it was brand new. I also get about 1 hour more in life when the phone is unplugged. I also did this with my Fascinate, and my Fascinate's battery lasted longer for me, until it started to get old. I ran my Fascinate into the ground -- literally! Anyway, what's old advice still works, so give it a try. This worked for me twice, and not everyone might get the same results as I did. It all comes down to personal expectations.

Anyway, Good Luck trying and Happy Holidays to All! Enjoy your new cell phones; whichever you finally decide to stick with!!!

It's crap don't buy it July 11, 2012

Reviewer:  J. Booher  (Cleveland, OH USA) -

Have had two - they replaced the first.

Call quality is horrible.

Internet is sporadic.

47 dropped calls in one month...

Don't buy it. These are "known issues" according to Verizon.

don't trust all the bad reviews June 6, 2012

Reviewer:  wayne 

I don't usually write product reviews but felt like I should bout this phone...I've had it for over a week and had no problems which is a relief after a nightmare of problems with two droid razrs....amazon wireless is awesome bout trying to fix any issues even overnighting this phone out to me for free....I've had no real signal issues and have just received a software update which dramatically boosted the 4g signal and speed....all around a fast good phone without all the carrier bloatware......can't recommend the razr as it was always dropping signal getting stuck between 3g and 4g and wouldn't connect to WiFi.....if you want a fast phone with a beautiful big display get this one

Best phone I've ever had! February 17, 2012

Reviewer:  Robyn R. Ortega "BRUTALLY HONEST"  (Placentia, CA) -

I am a phone whore and usually get a new phone at least once a year. Before this phone I had a Motorola Droid2 and about 3 months after I got the phone I had major problems. So I started looking in to new phones. The two phones I was scoping out was the new iPhone 4s and the Galaxy Nexus. I really wanted a keyboard but neither of these phones had a keyboard. I was leaning more towards the iPhone because everyone has one and the accessories for the phone are so cute! But after realizing I'm losing a keyboard there was no competition to the screen size between the two. The Samsung Nexus beats the iPhone hands down! Bigger screen size, same clarity (if not better) photos, gorgeous videos, fast, easier to use touchscreen with the perfect letter sizes to text. I am very happy with this phone and I have made a few of my iPhone friends very jealous.

A Fantastic Phone February 9, 2012

Reviewer:  Joseph 

I got this phone at my local verizon store on launch day. I use my cell phone a lot throughout the day and have never been more satisfied with any phone. The phone is incredibly quick, providing a refreshing twist to android's sluggish performance. It is slim as can be, and fairly light as well. This phone doesnt overheat and doesnt die in 5 hrs of use like the Htc thunderbolt. Screen quality is amazing and I could never go back to a lower resolution. The call quality is crystal clear, my only gripe is the speakerphone is really quiet and is easily muffled. I would reccomend this to anyone looking for a great android phone.

It is not bad but I switched it in the 14 day period February 1, 2012

Reviewer:  reviewer88 "reviewer88"  (nj) -

Had this phone for about a week and a half and switched it out for a HTC Rezound.

Pros
1. Excellent screen. (Really one of the best I have seen.)
2. Ice cream sandwich.(Good solid operating system,not a lot of bloatware on the phone)Better than previous android and htc sense
3. Very thin and light did not feel weird in my pockets.
4. 32 gb of internal memory. (Plenty of memory for the time being)

Cons Compared to the rezound my brother had at the time which I later purchased as well.
1. Audio quality. (the speaker phone did not seem as clear, and the was not as loud in my opinion. the headphones it came with were not as good as well)
2. Camera (Picture quality seemed grainy, and after a couple of days it did not respond and then started working again)
3. No sd card slot
4. Battery life (really poor but many smartphones are,I am not too impressed with my rezounds battery life coming from a normal non smartphone, but not a deal breaker for me)
5. Size (pain to text with one hand, and felt a little weird when talking.)
6. Reception and connectivity (I feel the htc has better reception, and is less likely to drop calls I live in a good coverage area and would have connections on the internet not hold as well as the rezound)
7. Because it is thin and light I felt if I dropped it that would be the end of it.

Ultimately I am happy I switched,because the new phone is a little faster and smaller.However ICS is great, and HTC sense is not as good in my opinion, but I can live with it. The screen on the sense is good in picture quality, but not quite as good from all viewing angles regarding glare, so it is a give and take scenario. The beats headphones are a nice bonus, but not the reason for me to switch.The camera on the sense in my opinion blows away the galaxy though, it is not even a comparison. Hope this review helped, feel free to leave any comments.

Not ready for Prime Time. Voice Dialer Broken, other issues. January 22, 2012

Reviewer:  R. Mcmillin  (Houston) -

Updated 2/3/12: The phone is okay, but not great. So far, call reception has been mediocre, but call quality is usually very clear. Data reception is very poor, for 3G and 4G. It is very pretty and the apps seem to work great. However, as a phone it has some things broken or missing. I use a blue-tooth ear piece to use my phone hands-free, and have been doing so for at least 10 years or so. This phone is the worst at matching of contacts to voice dialing that I have ever seen, so much so it is comical. This is the function of the voice dialer program, not the Google voice command program, which works great. The problem with voice dialer is that it seems to think it knows what I want and will immediately dial it without asking me if it got it right first. This has ended up in the random dialing of just about everyone in my contacts list. Many times I can't just hit the blue-tooth to disconnect because it has already dialed the wrong number. This program needs to be fixed. I called customer service and they said to try another voice dialer program or hope an update comes out soon that fixes it.

The other issue is that I couldn't find the notification that I had voice mails waiting. My wife's Motorola phone has a recorder icon that shows how many voice mails are waiting, and my old LG Dare phone showed them in the messages area and it would buzz me until I would acknowledge it. This phone has a very tiny pull down screen from tiny tiny icons on top of phone. There is also a white LED on the bottom of the phone, but I didn't even notice it for a long time and I'm not sure what will set it off (I think some app updates may set it off). I downloaded a Visual Voice Mail program that helps alot.

Also, the user manual is a joke, but this is probably true for all Android phones. It doesn't explain much of anything at all how to use the phone's features, other than getting the battery put in and charged to get it running. However, I did find out later that they have a few useful videos on their web site, and a user forum (seemed fairly useless to me), but it still leaves so much unexplained about the phone.

As an Android web device it is pretty good. It is very fast and functional for running apps. The 4G service is three times faster than my home DSL line, when I can get the service, which has got me thinking about upgrading our home internet service. There are all kinds of apps that are freely downloaded to make your life easier, and makes the phone fun to play with. I can actually read magazines and books quite well with the Kindle reader app. It is great at keeping you up to date on news and weather and the games are fun. Just wish it did a little better a being a phone.

PROS:
- 4G, when you can get it, is blazingly fast.
- Breathtakingly beautiful screen, which makes looking at my photos on Picasa a real pleasure. Much better than Droid Bionic.
- Has Ice Cream Sandwich.
- 32 Gig storage. For me this is more than enough.
- Fast and responsive.
- Run apps great.
- Looks nice.
- It was easy to activate the phone myself.
- Using the Verizon Backup Assistant it was very easy to move all my contacts from my old LG Dare to the new phone.

CONS:
- Only 5 home screens. My wife's Droid X has 7, and I think most do. I understand you can group ICONs on this phone, so that may reduce the need, but I like to use widgets and they take screen space.
- Poor data reception. My wife's Droid X will have 4 bars and I won't have any reception at all sitting in the same place. It can be also be slow to find service and occasionally the person I am talking to will say they can barely hear me while I can hear them perfectly.
- Horrible battery life. I haven't had it last overnight yet (and I've had it a month and use JuiceDefender). My wife's Droid X last 2-3 days. Some times I only get 3-4 hours of moderate use, and that is just normal stuff, no videos yet.
- It can over heat pretty easily. It can get uncomfortably hot near camera at times, a few times while it was just sitting in stand-by.
- No real accessories. I would like a charging dock and a functional car dock at least. The battery needs charging all the time.
- Almost NO preinstalled apps. Some will think this is a PRO, but for me it is a CON. I had rather have standard apps installed and ready to go rather than go looking for them. Plus, I would expect them to be tested and work perfectly. You can always uninstall if you need the space, but 32 gigs is a lot of space and apps take almost no space.
- VOICE DIALER is broken and you can't set features on it (such as confirming commands before acting on it) or train it for your voice. This is basic functionality for me. Customer service said to find a third party replacement. Please don't confuse this with Google Voice Command, which works great, but doesn't work with Blue Tooth ear pieces.
- Notification for voice mail could be a lot better, but there is some.
- Only 5 megapixal camera. ??? not sure why when they have a good 8 mp camera.
- No SD card slot. Not much of a deal for me, but when I upgrade to the next phone it would be nice to just eject my music and pop it in the new phone.

** If I had it to do over, I would probably get the Motorola Razor Max or iPhone. This phone is not ready for prime time. Some have said a fix is coming out in March. I hope so because I will be stuck with a marginal phone for two years otherwise.

P.S. I noticed that the battery life can change dramatically, and other reviewers have indicated various levels of battery drain. I assume this may be due to apps running in the background that haven't been properly terminated or continue updating. Once I noticed when I pulled my phone out of the holster it was a bit warm, even though it was just sitting on standby for an hour or more, and the battery was very low. Some days it lasts long (50% left at end of 12 hrs), some days not so long (dies after 3-4 hours). I ended up installing a battery saver program (JuiceDefender) and it seems to have made a substantial difference in a stable battery life. The app measures how much batter it saves you, and my short experience has ranged from x1.03 (mostly asleep on charger) to x2. My perception is that it is a fairly accurate assessment, even though some have said that ICS doesn't need battery management outside of ICS.

Update 1/24/12: Someone suggested I try out Google Voice account, which apparently can even translate to text and avoid the need to call Voice Mail at all. Sounds like a great idea to me.

I still am struggling with the Voice Dialer accuracy. It still seems to dial randomly out of my contacts list. I have been trying to work with Samsung customer support, but so far no luck (except they pointed out the activity bar at the top of the screen for voice mail with tiny tiny icons). The nice thing about a Droid phone is that there are so many apps that there is a good chance I might find one that can fix my problem by replacing Voice Dialer, but Samsung should have tested theirs out better before releasing it in the first place. Eventually customer support suggested I find a third-party replacement or wait and hope an update comes out to fix it (they had same problem).

Great Android Phone December 23, 2011

Reviewer:  Sam  (Walnut Creek, CA) -

I am not going to make claims about this phone being the best Android phone or any-phone killer. There are far too many great phones available today IMO to make such claims. Today's LTE phones all offer great performance and distinct features that I believe can be customized to suit almost any user's needs. Brief backgroud on me - I came from the Droid Eris running CM7 (gingerbread 2.3.5) and have used many blackberry devices provided by my work over the years. I have also spend a good amount of time on friend's og DROID (1) and DROID X. There are some things about HTC Sense that I loved (dial pad) and some things about CM that I loved (customization). I have never really taken to motoblur.

For me the Galaxy Nexus (GN) is wonderful. I appreciate the clean and updated ice cream sandwich (ICS) platform. I have loaded maybe 45-50 apps, with 10-15 used daily. The phone is very snappy and apps load very quickly and run very smoothly. This includes several graphic intensive games. Internet speeds are fantastic, especially coming from a slow phone with 3G speeds. Whether one phone has a slight speed advantage is meaningless to me - after all these are LTE phones we are talking about and download speeds are as fast if not faster than my home network. More important are the user features and the interface of the ICS browser is great. I love the swip to delete notification - very handy - and the overall interface is very intuitive. Definitely a step-up from gingerbread. I know the RAZR and other phones will get ICS, but given the industry's slowness in upgrading software I did not want to wait. Other points about the GN - I love the camera, the screen is sharp and the colors really pop. I even feel that the contrast in day light is reasonable as well. As far as battery life, I have been getting about a day's use. I charge the phone at night and the battery has been getting to a 15-25% battery level by the end of the day (18 hours) without any need to charge mid-day. I would call my use light moderate (~2 hrs on phone, no more than 20 minutes/day on games, 10-20 minutes internet/searching, 20 minutes on google maps, 20-30 minutes on various emails/facebook/calendars, occasional pictures. This also includes downloading of apps, which I have been doing more lately because the phone is new.

I have had limited experience with the Droid RAZR and Rezound (about 40 and 20 minutes on each, respectively, at Verizon store). I found the RAZR to be a great and snappy phone as well - but the camera just always seems to give blurry images. I also did not like the fact that you could not switch out the battery (again personal preference). For me, not having a microSD slot does not matter. I agree with the direction google is taking with the GN - all internal memory. I never liked having to manage internal/external memory - the simplicity of the new design is an improvement for me. The Rezound looks good on paper, but it is definitely bulkier than the RAZR of GN. It took great pictures, but I felt the Sense UI added a bit of choppiness to the interface. I have had issues with the Eris with the dialer (it takes sometimes 30-60 seconds to disconnect from one call and get on to another), and the Rezound felt a bit slower in dialing than the RAZR and GN.