Short battery life kills it May 2, 2012

Reviewer:  Rich  (Los Angeles) -

I upgraded from an Iphone 3 to this phone. This phone is very fast and powerful, many people have covered this already. The battery unfortunately lasts no more than 6 hours for me with VERY little use. If I talk on the phone say 30 mins, browse a few news apps like AP or NYT for 20 mins; and play MP3s for another 30, than the phone will last about 4 hours. I have cut down on every possible item that could eat away at the battery and it hasn't helped much. I have the screen on the dimmest setting possible cut away wifi and gps tracking and it has done very little in helping to keep the battery from flat out draining.

I downloaded a battery app or widget to help me keep track of the battery life and even with a full battery the app tells me I have a max usage of 5hr 50 mins on a full battery. "Cell standby" and "screen" according to this app eat up by far the most power, around 70%; while phone and apps use around 20%.

I intended on selling my last phone, but now I may have to keep it and reconnect it with my new carrier and give this away to a family member.

Returned for a replacement right away April 23, 2012

Reviewer:  Edward W. Bonner "Dallas Illusions"  (Dallas, TX USA) -

I received my new phone, and was very excited about all of the features. It's a beautiful phone with many extraordinary features, but it couldn't be activated properly by Sprint. I could not activate it on my own or online. I ended up having to contact a Sprint rep who had to try three times before it was activated. After it was activated, I had phone service and was able to receive and send text messages, but no data coverage (3g, 4g, or otherwise) except when I would connect it to my home WIFI. After working with two reps and taking it to two Sprint service centers, they finally gave up and ordered a new one for replacement. I have to give Sprint credit for not giving up. I've spent the better part of two days with them trying to figure out the problem and resolve it, but they finally gave up and decided it needed to be swapped out for another one. This phone is WAY too expensive to have duds. If you're going to roll out a phone with a price tag like this one has, they need to make sure they work.

Amazing phone. April 7, 2012

Reviewer:  M. Scaletta "Dr. Eldarion"  (IL, USA) -

I've been using this phone for a few months now, and I literally have no complaints. It's been solid as a rock, the screen is BEAUTIFUL, and it's very speedy.

Awesome Phone April 6, 2012

Reviewer:  Jesse 

Whats amazing: Screen, camera shutter speed, OS, overall performance, form factor

Whats so so: Battery, you can mitigate issues by turning down brightness and a few other things. But I bought the phone for its amazing screen so oh well.

What I find annoying:
First, notification/alert and ringer volume cannot be adjusted individually. Don't underestimate how annoying this will become at work or late at night. Hopefully a future update will decouple the two.

Second, The external speaker volume (without app boosts) is terrible.

Third, This is probably just habit as I moved from the vibrant. But having the headphone jack on the bottom of the phone is irritating. Wish it were on the top. But honestly in time maybe Ill switch my opinion on this.

Another quality Nexus phone March 12, 2012

Reviewer:  Jeff  (Baltimore, MD) -

I'm so glad I picked up this guy. Another quality Nexus phone.

I've had it for 3 months now and love it! Just wish there were more cases available.

Best phone out period January 14, 2012

Reviewer:  DFresh360 

The Galaxy Nexus is the newest in the line of Google branded phones. Like its predecessors, it is packaged with the latest stock version of Android and the hardware is produced by a 3rd party. In this case the Galaxy Nexus is toting Android 4.0 and was made Samsung.

It's a gorgeous phone, and the Verizon version feels nice in the hands, unlike many other of Samsung's Galaxy phones. The hardware is bordering on being standard with the usual high-end suspects, but with one exception, an NFC radio. But I digress, the star of this show is Android 4.0. aka Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). ICS might as well be considered a completely new version of the software as opposed to a simple upgrade, as the version number's jump of a whole digit would indicate. The OS is vastly improved in nearly all categories: native apps and services, 4G battery life, UI/UX, cohesiveness. Best of all, it runs like butter, especially on the home screen if you aren't using a live wallpaper.

With its impressive performance, massively improved OS, and fast VZW 4G speeds (I regularly get mid to high teens (mpbs) in New Orleans), this is that term that everyone lusts to use: an iPhone Killer!

There are of course a few knocks like any other product, but overall this phone does most things exceptionally well and has no discernable deal-breakers unless you either need a keyboard (get with it already!) or have sync/network preferences. But if you aren't married to Apple, RIM or Microsoft's ecosystem, it is THE phone you should get unless you want to wait until you see what makes it to stores from CES or what Apple has cooking up its sleeve.

Me: Galaxy Nexus, Unlocked and Rooted CDMA version, Verizon Wireless, Android 4.0.2, Nova beta10 Rom/Launcher, extended battery.

Great Phone, Bad Battery, what can you expect with 4Glte January 4, 2012

Reviewer:  AmazonBuddy 

I got this phone and compared it to iphone4s and others. I am amazed in all aspects except the battery life. again, what do you expect your phone to do when you use it like a laptop or a gaming console?

Regardless, I dont mind charging my phone each day, and when at work if I need to use it and it loses charge, I can always plug it in. Best part is that we can put/lug around extra battery, which other phones lack.

On to camera, first I was not impressed with it at all. then I started playing with it. Its good enough camera to take decent shots in bright to medium light, for facebook and electronic viewing. remember, its not a point & shoot or a camera, its a phone and it does its job.

On someone who said it has a plastic/flimsy feel to it, I agree but I ask the question whether you would leave the phone naked without any covers? Probably not! So why worry about it, if it was sturdy and bulky, it would takeaway the option of covers.

Hands down, this phone beats iphone4s,

talk about google navigation built in via google earth, bye bye garmin!

I like this phone and plan on keeping it. for what I use the phone it will be good enough for me for two years for now.

Great phone....plagued with problems February 16, 2012

Reviewer:  kabull23 

I have had this phone for two months now. I waited and waited for this phone to be released. I so want this phone to work. I love the basic premise of the phone, the simplicity etc. Great screen and graphics. Nice size. Very tablet like. It is by far the most advanced of any cell phone. NOW, the negative...sigh. There is a definite antenna issue. I live about a half of a mile from the nearest Verizon tower. I can see it out of my window as I type this. Reception of the signal on my phone is terrible. I rarely ever get 4g. I am lucky to get 3g. Often the bars show a tiny corner of gray. I had much better reception on my original Motorola Droid. Samsung will say that there is a problem with the manner in which the bars show signal. NOT. I routinely drop calls. At least twice a day. If you are on a call for any length you will start to hear small bits of radio type interference and then the whole call goes bad. This happens at least twice a day also. It's very embarrassing especially since my children said you gotta get the I phone. They always have full bars. Talked at length with Verizon, they know of the problem....it's been widely reported. They say they are waiting on Samsung for a fix for this. Talk to Samsung and they say they've never heard of the problem. If Verizon is your carrier and you are thinking about this phone do an internet search Samsung Galaxy Nexus and connectivity issues.

Signal and Hardware issues - Verizon Employee January 27, 2012

Reviewer:  Austin J. Baker  (Omaha, NE) -

I worked for Verizon for 4 years and in wireless for 9 years. I live in Omaha but I grew up in a small town where I havent had many issues getting reception when back home. I am sad, because for as long as I waited for the GNex I had to return it after one swap. The phone has signal/mic isses that neither Google, Samsung, or Verizon will admit.

When talking the other person on the other line will not be able to hear you all of a sudden, but you can hear them perfect. You have to end the call, call back and sometimes reboot. I hate Iphone, Love android, and ICS 4.0 rocks! But the Hardware on the phone is Mediocore at best.

I would wait for potential updates or the next ICS phone.

Not what it seems to be January 27, 2012

Reviewer:  Cboy 

I put this in wiki, with links for you guys to check out as well.
Like i say this phone may be for you , but just be aware of these issues.Samsung is normally great but may have missed it a bit on this one.
Some major issues on this phone.
1.Weak Signal, weak antenna issues. [url][...]
2.Battery Issues. (4 hour drain)
3.Multi touch issues and slow rotation speeds ( when going to landscape mode for a text) [url][...]
4.Only way to unlock the phone is way up on top right button and then slide way bottom of screen to unlock. (super hard to do one-handed)
5.Graphics processor too slow for the size screen. ( see attached benchmark )
6.Flimsy back cover
7.Poor camera and video

That said, this phone may be for you if you stream a lot of video over 4G. thats the only way you will notice faster speeds than 3g is through video. regular browsing, not much different.
If you consume alot of media, maybe. If you need phone to work, and want it to last a while between charges, you may want to reconsider.
You are paying an average of $2000 over 2 yr contract with you phone, so a few hundred at purchase time is nothing. If this was a good phone i wouldnt mind paying $400.
But as it is, I wouldnt buy at $50

Not really a nexus... July 29, 2012

Reviewer:  john  (ID) -

This phone isn't the fastest or the most unique. It's crowning glory is the OS which is marvelous. I think it would have been 5 stars even, but it looks like it's updates are getting the run around with phone carriers. It should be running Jelly bean, but at this time it isn't.

sad to say May 3, 2012

Reviewer:  michael 

I love android just to start off but im sad to say this phone sucks. Had att galaxy s2 skyrocket and it puts this phone to shame. First off no mp3 player except google pay, no facebook contact sync, and verizon doesnt allow google pay, no task killer either. But my biggest problem is reception is the worest ive ever had ever inside or outside. My dinc never had proplem. Oh and the battery is a joke had the g1 nexus s and nexus one and in my opinion this is no nexus phone. Highly disappointed. Oh almost forgot the volume is extremly low even on max. Please give us a major update. Or im going iphone till you do and i hate iphone my fb pic is android peeing on an apple logo. Get the razr if you coming to verizon or the skyrocket if att

To clear up Facebook Sync and a few other things. December 17, 2011

Reviewer:  Walter Ruff "Ronnie" 

FACEBOOK SYNC has not been supported since 2.3.6 Gingerbread. Nothing new there. As to the menu button any one that did not know this has read NOTHING about a major purchase they just made. There are hundreds of reviews of this phoneon the Internet. Bying an expensive device with a 2 year contract without reading about it is plain stupid.

Honest review of an over-hyped phone March 29, 2012

Reviewer:  Debajyoti Roy "Roy"  (New York, NY) -

I regret purchasing the phone, for following reasons:
- Even if you get an extended battery, to last a work day you will have to turn off a whole bunch of things like 4g, screen brightness, location and synch services.
- Camera is awful
- Build quality and material used are cheap, requires a strong case
- Verizon is an equally crappy carrier (switching from at&t in new york i had high expectations). Calls will drop, 4-3g switching will kill the battery, forget about ota updates
- Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.2 is not flawless: Turning on encryption bricks the phone at startup randomly, Weather widget is broken, screen rotates with a huge lag, launcher crashes (i have to use Apex). Overall, has an experimental software kindof feel to it.

The pros and cons are about equal... February 15, 2012

Reviewer:  jaybird  (Washington, DC) -

A phone with modern technology, however with the number of frustations, I probably would not buy this phone again. I switched to the Galaxy from an iPhone 4, I think the full user experience on the iPhone 4 is still superior to this Android 4 phone. Here are the pros and cons:

Pros

* Beautiful screen - the AMOLED screen has vibrant colors and deep blacks. This makes for great display of information, whether your applications, looking at photos or watching movies.

* 4G data - When the data connects, the 4G data services are smoking fast, faster than my broadband connection at home. This makes it possible to download podcasts and music on the go and causes applications to update very fast.

* Fast processor - The 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor allows for fast application processing and the ability to realistically multi-task on a mobile device.

* Fast camera - The camera takes photos at near instant time. Most cameras have a 4-5 second warm up time, then 2 seconds between photos. Android 4 starts quickly and snaps instantly. It's got a neat panorama feature as well.

Cons

* Battery life - The battery life is awful. With 4G data enabled, I get a maximum of 4 hours out of the phone, limited to 3G data around 6 hours. There has been too many occasions in the four months in owning this phone I've been out and couldn't communicate back with folks because the battery died. I now carry two extra after-market batteries with me to prevent being without power in the future. (Side thought: none of the after-market batteries have the antenna for the Near-Field Communications, so I can't use those functions with these batteries. Verizon won't allow Google Wallet to load on this phone, so I guess it's a moot point anyways. Bottom line - NFC not as accessible as marketed.)

* Data connectivity - I have a lot of problems with data connectivity on this phone. Living in the Washington, DC area, Verizon's home, I'm amongst a wealth of cell phone towers all across town. The time to connect to data services (either 3G or 4G) is typically around 3 minutes. Switching between 3G and 4G typically takes another 2 minutes. There are times when the phone doesn't connect at all, in which I have to reboot to get the data services to connect. Never had these problems (with 3G) with the iPhone 4 or Motorola Droid before it. I'd be happy to disable 4G services if it would just connect faster (in fact, due to battery life, I mostly keep it on 3G, using 4G as a "luxury" when I need a large set of data to refresh).

* Size - the phone is huge, it approaches the size of a "mini-tablet" opposed to a cell phone. Very bulky in pants pockets (if it fits at all). Good if you are watching movies on the phone, otherwise its a lot to carry around on the go.

So while it's good to have the latest and greatest on this phone, the downsides equal out those advances, I'd likely go with another phone if I had to do it again.

Poor quality in Dallas February 3, 2012

Reviewer:  Rich1 

I recently purchased a Samsung Nexus, I live in the Dallas, Ft Worth area. 15 minutes after I turned the phone on I lost connection to the internet. I called verizon, they said it was a software issue with the phone. The next day I am driving home listening to Pandora and several time during the trip I loose the connections. This is day 2; That night I take it to a verizon store, the salesman tries to work his magic the phone losses connection in the verizon store: I have about had it by now. I use my phone as an alarm clock, that night I make sure the battery is charged, this phone has a mind of its own and it eats the battery. Needless to say, I wake up late, and discover the battery is completed dead, I make sure all programs are shut off and charge the phone on my one hour trip to work, 30 minutes into my first meeting the phone beeps and shuts down, The battery is dead again. That night I called Verizon and sent the Phone packing. The phone has a great screen, Ice cream is really nice, the phone feels and looks cheap. I have had a 2nd generation motorola android for 2 years, and I never had any of these above issue with that phone. Verizon offered me either another Nexus (not on your life) or a Razor Maxx-- One word describes my feelings about the new phone (Fantastic) in every aspect.

My worst smart phone ever ! June 14, 2012

Reviewer:  RR "RR"  (OH) -

Got this phone to replace an HTC Rezound, which I liked but accidentally damaged (my fault). Had this galaxy nexus for a week. Most of the calls dropped. Several incoming calls went straight to voicemail without a missed call indication. Radio signal strength terrible, worse than any other phone I have had in the same areas. One moment there would be 3 or 4 bars, then would go right down to an 'x', intermittently all day, allowing a random opportunity to make calls and then drop. Battery lasted only three hours without any activity. Went back to Verizon today and got a razr maxx and I am loving it already. I will NEVER buy a SAMSUNG phone again. If your purpose is to have a cool device but primary use is phone, then I would not recommend the Samsung Nexus. If you want a palm size tablet primarily for wi-fi use, then this is good with an excellent screen. Hope this review saves others from the weeklong trouble I endured.

Google Wallet December 18, 2011

Reviewer:  Narutoban  (Chicago, Illinois) -

Please do not believe on everything you read on the blogs. Google Wallet is only available on Nexus S 4g on Sprint. If you want proof go to Google Wallet website. Think about it why the other three major carriers jointly created ISIS.

Don't get this phone until software fix is released. January 27, 2012

Reviewer:  triadtwin 

[...]

Read the forums about the "one-way call audio" issue. If you plan on using this for calls at all please educate yourself on this phone. Otherwise it is an amazing PDA. Software fix not due out until March! Yes there are newer phones, but not ICS phones!! So, why the low price??? This is supposed to be the greatest thing out there. Something is fishy!!

yayarea83 March 14, 2012

Reviewer:  yayarea83 

Just get the RAZR MAXX! The only good thing about this "phone" is ICS. Maybe someday there will be an update to fix all of the signal issues, but that is a big maybe. Verizon or Google won't even admit that a problem exists with the date/phone service. At least when the iPhone 4 rolled out with all of those signal issues Apple owned up to it and promptly sent an update (assuming that it's fixable with a software patch and it's not just bad hardware).

I am just glad to have switched out of the Galaxy Nexus after 3 days...into the RAZR MAXX. If and when ICS rolls out to the RAZR that will just be icing on the cake. The batter life and reception is far better on the RAZR than the Galaxy Nexus...enough said.