I have a Nexus 4, you have questions. Fire away.

[Phil Nickinson]

Awesome thread, thanks for posting (and continuing to post in) it!

Quick question -- how bright is the camera flash? One thing I admire about my Gnex is the relatively bright flash, which blows away the ones on my old N1 and my dad's HTC Raider. I'd really hate to take a step back with the N4.

More to come in the real camera tests. (Once we get final software.)

 

[ChromeJob]

Whereas the cons (for many) are:
-Non-removable battery
-Only 8megapixel camera
-Back & front glass
-Still only 16GB storage
-No LTE

Not for me. I can use it on Tmo or ATT out of the box just fine.

 

[badbrad17]

I feel bad saying it but the Nexus 4 feels like an "S" upgrade (like Apple's upgrades).
iPhone 4 - 4S added (if memory serves me from when I upgraded from 4 to 4S):
-Minor OS update
-Improved camera
-Improved processor
-Siri
-Pretty much same look
-Same storage
-No LTE

Galaxy Nexus - Nexus 4 added:
-Minor OS update
-Improved camera
-Improved processor
-Improved Google Now
-Pretty much same look
-Same storage
-No LTE


The Nexus 4's highlights seem to be:
-Price
-Photosphere (which outside of Google+ on PC isn't yet widely adopted)
-Quad-core

Whereas the cons (for many) are:
-Non-removable battery
-Only 8megapixel camera
-Back & front glass
-Still only 16GB storage
-No LTE

That said...I'm still ordering it next week, just seems like the Nexus S to Galaxy Nexus was a much bigger upgrade with less complaints than Galaxy Nexus to Nexus 4. I'm hoping Key Lime Pie comes by Summer 2013 but I think it won't until Nexus 5 (Fall 2013) to get the OS updates & release of new Nexus devices back in sync.

As a side-note I wish Google released a 399$ version of the Nexus 4 with global LTE, the 13megapixel camera of the Optimus G & 32GB storage...though that's likely a dream device that would all but kill competing Android devices so it won't happen.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

I don't disagree with you but now that we look back we can all say that the iPhone 4s was the best iphone. Those noted upgrades were important even though you will always get naysayers.

You also have to add build quality to the list as well. This is a Ferrari compared to a Camero.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums

 

[badbrad17]

Hey Phil, will the Nexus 4 work on the Telus network in Canada?

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums

 

[mzanette]

Hey Phil, will the Nexus 4 work on the Telus network in Canada?

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums

Yes it will. TELUS has hspa+ 42

 

[DustyBottoms]

Phil, what is battery life like when not on WiFi? My gnex is awful when I'm not on WiFi.

 

[bunique4life05]

Phil, what is battery life like when not on WiFi? My gnex is awful when I'm not on WiFi.

The battery life is good check out his review on the Nexus 4.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Android Central Forums

 

[MerkurMan]

More to come in the real camera tests. (Once we get final software.)

[ATTA9ACH]

Haha, thanks for that! I'll wait patiently for the final software review.

At least the LED tint appears a little warmer than the purple beast on my Gnex.

 

[anon(580888)]

No pogo pins? How do you feel about that?

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Phil, what is battery life like when not on WiFi? My gnex is awful when I'm not on WiFi.

As always, depends on the signal. Killed it in 3 hours the other night because TMO where I live is awful. (And I'd forgotten how awful.) Otherwise? It's not unusual. Say, 6-10, depending on use?

 

[Phil Nickinson]

No pogo pins? How do you feel about that?

Better than having them and never releasing accessories for them. Besides, this thing has Qi charging.

 

[maniac2403]

I have been a silent reader for a long time, so don't call me a noob

The N4 does not have a removable battery, so how do I get out of situations when the phone is stuck on the google logo or a random freeze up. It's pretty easy on my GNEX, pop the back and remove the battery. How would I do that on the N4?

 

[raazman]

I have been a silent reader for a long time, so don't call me a noob

The N4 does not have a removable battery, so how do I get out of situations when the phone is stuck on the google logo or a random freeze up. It's pretty easy on my GNEX, pop the back and remove the battery. How would I do that on the N4?

Well it doesn't seem like you've been reading properly. You'll have to hold the power button for some number of seconds and it will reboot.

 

[maniac2403]

Well it doesn't seem like you've been reading properly. You'll have to hold the power button for some number of seconds and it will reboot.

Thanks for that information. How did I miss that information, I don't know.

 

[Shadowriver]

I feel bad saying it but the Nexus 4 feels like an "S" upgrade (like Apple's upgrades).
iPhone 4 - 4S added (if memory serves me from when I upgraded from 4 to 4S):
-Minor OS update
-Improved camera
-Improved processor
-Siri
-Pretty much same look
-Same storage
-No LTE

Galaxy Nexus - Nexus 4 added:
-Minor OS update
-Improved camera
-Improved processor
-Improved Google Now
-Pretty much same look
-Same storage
-No LTE


The Nexus 4's highlights seem to be:
-Price
-Photosphere (which outside of Google+ on PC isn't yet widely adopted)
-Quad-core

Whereas the cons (for many) are:
-Non-removable battery
-Only 8megapixel camera
-Back & front glass
-Still only 16GB storage
-No LTE

That said...I'm still ordering it next week, just seems like the Nexus S to Galaxy Nexus was a much bigger upgrade with less complaints than Galaxy Nexus to Nexus 4. I'm hoping Key Lime Pie comes by Summer 2013 but I think it won't until Nexus 5 (Fall 2013) to get the OS updates & release of new Nexus devices back in sync.

As a side-note I wish Google released a 399$ version of the Nexus 4 with global LTE, the 13megapixel camera of the Optimus G & 32GB storage...though that's likely a dream device that would all but kill competing Android devices so it won't happen.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

S in Apple meaning means "we don't change design, but insides" and Nexus 4 have more then that.... it has new design at least

 

[holycrap8]

Hey Phil,
How well do the wifi/cellular/bluetooth radios work while on the wireless charging pod? Curious if the Qi standard will interfere with the signals and affect performance. Thanks!

 

[Lanhoj]

I didn't mean to start s***...just wanted to speak my mind that the N4 seems to move the Nexus line forward less than the GNex did.

GNex brought:
-LTE (yes, on Verizon & Sprint but still)
-ICS
-LED indicator
-Significantly larger screen
-Noticeably different shape
-On-screen buttons
-Dual-core
All of which (other than possibly the LTE versions) were positives.

By comparison the Nexus 4 has:
-An improved JB (though the Lock screen stuff & Quick settings aren't things I'll use)
-Same LED indicator position
-Barely different size screen
-Almost same shape
-Photosphere
-Pinch-to-zoom in Gmail
-2GB of ram & Quad-core
Many of which are just standard these days.

Just seems it's a "safe" upgrade.

I'm not hating the device, I like it, just less enthusiastic about it than I was for the GNex though I'm still ordering it next week.

I like the price but I think the price took higher importance this time around as these specs wouldn't be nearly as impressive if the Nexus 4 was selling for the launch price of the GNex last year - at that price we would have expected/demanded 32GB & a better camera.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[chiporlee]

Phil - I need some decent volume in music playback and haven't had much luck with apps like "Volume+"

I play classical music. Can you tell me if volume is decent? thanks a lot (a devoted listener)
"

- - - Updated - - -

Phil - I need some decent volume in music playback and haven't had much luck with apps like "Volume+"

I play classical music. Can you tell me if volume is decent? thanks a lot (a devoted listener)
"

 

[ChromeJob]

I didn't mean to start s***...just wanted to speak my mind that the N4 seems to move the Nexus line forward less than the GNex did.

... Just seems it's a "safe" upgrade.

I think you're correct, with a caveat. This is the phone that introduces 4.2 (though there are two other devices also showcasing it). But it is also the phone that will be showcasing 4.x for the next year. I think some, perhaps many, of the complaints about what's "not here" on the N4 is a choice of safe, proven, reliable hardware that the AOSP team can develop the next version to run on first, and well. The Nexus 7 is apparently getting 4.2.0 on 11/13 ... pleasing N7 owners to no end, surely.

Safe is good IMHO. I presume that part of the GNex Verizon LTE FUBAR resulted from introducing a phone with proprietary code for a proprietary radio standard, and users go the big ol' shaft and waited for-friggin-ever for ICS and JB updates (has the VZN Gnex even received 4.1.x yet?). I imagined some cursing and door slamming around Google over all that.

So yes, it's not as bold and exciting as carrier-sub'ed phones (Xperia, Optimus G, SGS3, Note 2, fill in the blank). It doesn't have the MicroSD card some users want, etc. It isn't debuting with VZN or AT&T LTE. I take that as par for the course, this is a phone for Jelly Bean and K----- to land on first and should have no idiosyncracies that other Android phones lack.

 

[TheLibertarian]

I think you are drastically undervaluing the N4.

- Not just a quad-core, but a Snapdragon quad-core; if the N4 had a Snapdrgaon dual-core that would be a sizable upgrade compared to the GNex's TI OMAP processor (by the way, quad-core devices are just beginning and are in no way considered standard)
- You keep saying it's the same basic shape, which I fail to see, unless by same shape you mean it has a glass screen and makes phone calls. The GNex has curved front glass and a goofy bulge on the lower rear... the N4 is a clean cut, slab-type phone with glass on the front and rear; in no way do these designs have anything to do with each other
- Sony camera sensor, along with 8MP camera is huge! Again, failing to see how you are undervaluing this improvement
- The screen, while only .5" larger, is an IPS+ display, again, a massive improvement over the GNex's AMOLED
- On top of that, throw in the RAM has doubled and battery increased

What else are you expecting the phone to do? Aside from lack of LTE radio's and an average size battery you cannot build a phone with better specifications; I don't know what other groundbreaking technology Google could have infused this phone with.

The improvements from GNex to N4 are vastly superior to what Apple did from the 4 to the 4S, no contest.

Just my $.02

I didn't mean to start s***...just wanted to speak my mind that the N4 seems to move the Nexus line forward less than the GNex did.

By comparison the Nexus 4 has:
-An improved JB (though the Lock screen stuff & Quick settings aren't things I'll use)
-Same LED indicator position
-Barely different size screen
-Almost same shape
-Photosphere
-Pinch-to-zoom in Gmail
-2GB of ram & Quad-core
Many of which are just standard these days.