Would the Nexus 4 be a good intro to Android?

[Scouseman]

I'm a Windows phone user. I want to see how good Android is, and I don't want to splash a whole lot of cash. I've heard the stories of how "laggy" Android is, but I find it hard to believe that all their phones lag. I also don't use lots of apps or play lots of games on my phone. Just wanted some opinions on the device before I purchase. Any other suggestions are welcomed, thanks

 

[WeAreAllUnique]

It's a great smartphone, but there is a learning curve. And there is lag. But how much it bothers you will be based on your experience with it.

Note in my house!

 

[Crashdamage]

The Nexus 4 is still a good phone. Big plus is it's a Nexus. It will get the updated to the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. It lacks 4G LTE but it has HSPA+ semi-4G which is fast enough. You won't miss LTE much.

If you can pick one up for a reasonable price you should go for it.

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[HiiPower]

Keep in mind the battery life and camera may not be too good.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Crashdamage]

My Nexus 4 (now retired to spare duty) never had lag problems. Battery life and camera are just fair by current standards, but adequate for a budget starter phone.

A well made, solid overall performer, certainly a good used value compared to anything available new for the same money.

Possible new alternative at a similar price: Moto G, but the camera is worse than the Nexus 4. Or Moto E for a little more money. Or a Nexus 5, or...

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[SactoKingsFan]

Battery life and camera suck compared to recent flagships. Would only use N4 as backup phone. For a bit more you can get used S4 or G2.

Sent from my LG-G2 running Vanir 5.0.2

 

[Scouseman]

Keep in mind the battery life and camera may not be too good.

Posted via the Android Central App

Battery life I do care about, camera not so much.

 

[Scouseman]

My Nexus 4 (now retired to spare duty) never had lag problems. Battery life and camera are just fair by current standards, but adequate for a budget starter phone.

A well made, solid overall performer, certainly a good used value compared to anything available new for the same money.

Possible new alternative at a similar price: Moto G, but the camera is worse than the Nexus 4. Or Moto E for a little more money. Or a Nexus 5, or...

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

Thanks for the feedback.Certainly glad to know you never had any lag issues. I've thought about the Moto G also. I don't care much for cameras tho.

 

[Scouseman]

I'll look into the S4 or G2. Perhaps it'll come down to choosing between the S4 or Moto G.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

If you want something entry level (cheap) I'd definitely get the moto G. The nexus 4 is great, I still use mine, but they're over two years old. Same with a second hand S4.

And if you need battery life the N4 is definitely NOT for you

Wubba lubba dub dub!

 

[HiiPower]

Performance isn't lag free on my G either. It's definetly very reliable, but I wouldn't put it into the fluid category. Like someone said earlier, look into older flagships such as the S4, G2, etc

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[drew_t]

The Nexus 4 is still a good phone. Big plus is it's a Nexus. It will get the updated to the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. It lacks 4G LTE but it has HSPA+ semi-4G which is fast enough. You won't miss LTE much.

The phone's guts are actually capable of using one LTE band. I think the story is that Google didn't obtain FCC certification for the LTE capability, so the code to operate the LTE radio had to be left out. However, you can add it via flashing. I did it after Lollipop came out, and LTE works very well for me on T-Mobile.

 

[Crashdamage]

Yeah, I know but the OP is an Android rookie looking for a phone to learn with. I was just keeping it simple.

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[Jibily]

I inherited a Nexus 4 two weeks ago.

My only experience with smartphones prior to this was with windows phone. I had a Lumia 710, 822, and 925. I still have my 925. It's been my daily driver for over a year now. I love it. It's snappy and responsive and the cameras it takes are amazing. Because I haven't had experience with other smart phones other than lower budget windows phones, I never saw an issue with my Lumia 925.

So I've been running with the Nexus 4 as my intro device for about a two-ish weeks. Half of the time, though, was spent without a sim card so I only used it for the apps/ecosystem while my Lumia was used for calls and texts (This was due to inheriting a cyanogenmod ROMed Nexus 4 and it having bugs with sound over calls).

Eventually I got fed up with carrying two phones and just looked up how-to guides on unrooting/reflashing the stock Nexus 4 os. So no more Cyanogen mucking up the works.

They are both great phones. If you have a Nexus 4 without any non-Google roms, I can't see why you would have any difficulty figuring things out. And the learning curve people seem to warn about is probably aimed more towards iPhone users, I would guess. It seems like Apple Products in general just breed dumber users who can't noodle around briefly to figure out how to do things. I had no issue figuring things out.

There are a few annoying things that I miss from WP8.1 that I cannot seem to replicate on my Nexus 4 via setting menu spelunking or through apps.

The biggest annoyance is that you can't edit and silence notifications from applications through any menu, like you can in WP8. You have to actually open each individual app and turn off notifications, or notification sounds... And sometimes you can't just turn off the sound, so you have to turn it off completely.

Another thing I miss from WP8 is the people hub. The default contacts app on android does not, for whatever reason, have the ability to quickly jump to specific letters of the alphabet to filter our contacts. You have to manually type in "m" to bring up the M names, instead of tapping a letter and then choosing a letter from the alphabet screen. I don't know if I made any sense for this point, but you can't sort by letter nearly as efficiently on Android.

Make sure you look into widgets. You will miss live tiles. You can fill the void with some good widgets. Weather widgets and calendar widgets.

Also if you're coming from Windows Phone, Google refuses to play nice with Microsoft - so if you use Microsoft's services (Outlook/Live mail, Onedrive, Bing Rewards, etc...) You are gonna have to deal with google ******** at you whenever you try to set those services default instead of theirs.

Also, I don't know the reason for your desire to switch, but I know lots of people seem to rag on Windows Phone for having no app support.

Now that I'm playing on my Nexus 4 I find myself opening Google Play Store, scrolling through apps, and wondering what I thought I was missing. There's nothing interesting or new that you can't get on WP8, save for Snapchat, and major business/corporation apps. I thought it was going to be an oasis of awesomeness that was gonna open my eyes to some whole new world of Apps... It's not. Though Facebook's android app is better than the one on WP8.

But overall I think the Nexus 4 is as simple as you can get on Android. Though it is quite slippery.

 

[drew_t]

Settings - - > Sound & notification - - > app notifications. You can also long-press on a notification that unexpectedly pops up and, IIRC, tap the "i" that comes up to go right to a screen to control notifications for that app.


Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[Scouseman]

Thanks for the thorough response. My apologies for being so late in my reply. I'm a bit uncertain if I'll get the Nexus now based on the responses I've been reading.

 

[gr56]

It's a pretty cheap phone with compelling specs and it's got Lollipop. The only downside for me is a terrible camera.

 

[Wireless Gadget]

They are both great phones. If you have a Nexus 4 without any non-Google roms, I can't see why you would have any difficulty figuring things out. And the learning curve people seem to warn about is probably aimed more towards iPhone users, I would guess. It seems like Apple Products in general just breed dumber users who can't noodle around briefly to figure out how to do things. I had no issue figuring things out.

Damn, my thoughts the same, I'm using a Nexus 4 and Sony Xperia Z Ultra, my IT dept asked me to use an iPhone 5S to test an email app. First of all what a small phone, I felt everything on the iPhone is dumbed down.

To me the Nexus 4 is the Goldilocks phone, just right size and zippy still.

I have the moto G 2014 as a back up (unopened) to the Nexus 4 because of price, size and specs...more or less comparable.

I agree with the majority, get moto g (4.5" / 5") it will serve u well with second gen including expandable memory. Nexus 4 is 2+ year old phone battery holding a charge may be concern unless u carry a battery pack or charger.

Welcome to Android.

Posted via the Android Central App on my Nexus 4