iPhone 4S/Galaxy Nexus challenge

dwaynewilliams#WN

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I have had my iPhone for a while but was able to come across s Galaxy Nexus. I decided to give the Nexus a try for a while. To see how III like both it is the first time that I have actually had two phones to play with for as long as I want and make a decision.

Even though the two phones and systems basically do the same things, they are done in very different ways in some cases. Starting with iTunes and the Google Play store; I am more comfortable with iTunes. The last time I used the Google Play store (Then it was just the Android Market) the ecosystem hadn't evolved to where it is today. Outside of podcasts and music videos, I believe the offerings are about the same. I like the Google Play store setup better. And I like that the music is streamed instead of housed in your device. That leaves a lot more room on the phone for other things. I did buy a magazine from the Google Play store and was surprised that you can read the magazines in text only format. This really makes it easy to read and with the bigger screen the experience was better. The iPhone magazines only do this with some publications that have been formatted specifically for the iPhone. Bu t I would think that this feature would be welcomed on the iPad as well. I don't like that there aren't paid offerings for some apps. Even though free sounds good, for some apps I would like to use them without seeing ads. I also like that the apps auto update on the Google Play store. One of the things I like most about the Google Play store over the App store and iTunes is that when I download an app I don't have to put in my username and password every time and it doesn't kick me out of the store so I can update or download as many apps as I need to at one time.

The difference in hardware is noticeable. The screen on the Nexus is significantly larger. I always thought the size of the iPhone is ideal for universal use,but for media consumption,the extra phone real estate is a plus. The screen n the iPhone looks sharper, but I like the colors on the Nexus. The build quality on the Nexus seems fine. I have a case on it so it doesn't matter too much on either device as far as durability. The iPhone feels bette to hold in the hand. They seem to be equal as far as speed of the operating system. I do see a speed difference with the browser. The Nexus browser seems to be faster in all situations. The camera in the iPhone seems to be a lot better, but video capture seems to be about even.

The phones' features are visually and functionally different. I like the messaging system of the Nexus better. The notifications are done well and aren't intrusive. I do like the keyboard on the Nexus better too. The voice to text is just as accurate on the Nexus as on the iPhone. I like that I can see my words transcribed as I talk instead of waiting to see what it has calculated when I am all done. The iPhone keyboard seems to register my taps more accurately. But I don't like the predictive type on the iPhone. The phone dialed is visually better on the Nexus. And the contact pictures are bigger. call quality for both devices seemed to be the same. GPS navigation is better on the Nexus. The weather app on the iPhone is better. I like that it is in the notification center and that I can swipe to the side to see the five day forecast. There isn't a notes application natively on the Nexus which is a bummer. I have come to rely on the iOS notes app for general note taking. Universal search is a wash for the two operating systems. The music app on iOS is s lot better than the google music player. But I do like that the music is streamed with google. Email seems to be the same on both platforms. I was able to sync multiple emails and calendars on both.

The apps in general are better on iOS. They seem to be of a higher quality. But the apps on Android still do the job in the same way, they just don't look as good. All of the apps that I use on iOS are on Android.

Battery life hasn't been bad on my Nexus. I think that it is about the same or a little worse than the iPhone.

So far, I still don't know which one I like better. I'm going to keep the Nexus activated for a little while longer.




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NoYankees44

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It's refreshing to see a purely subjective comparison between the two rival phones from what seems to be a very honest and non bias individual.

Something to look into sense you seem less familiar with android, is that you can replace things like the stock messaging app and keyboard with stuff from the market. I personally recommend the SwiftKey keyboard. I won't go back to a stock one on any phone after using it lol. Things like that it takes a while to uncover on your own, but it is one of the greatest aspects of the os. Customization is the name of the game ;)

Look forward to you future thoughts :popcorn:

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dwaynewilliams#WN

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As I'm going through the phone I am noticing other things that are different. I like that on the Nexus, e. YouTube app plays in high definition even when using the cellular data. On the iPhone, you only see HD when on wifi.


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dwaynewilliams#WN

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Noticing the sound on the Nexus isn't that loud. Much louder on the iPhone. I have been watching the WatchESPN app. Wish it were louder but the video quality is gorgeous.


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lpt2569

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Noticing the sound on the Nexus isn't that loud. Much louder on the iPhone. I have been watching the WatchESPN app. Wish it were louder but the video quality is gorgeous.


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There are lots of volume boosting apps.

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dwaynewilliams#WN

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Just updated my iPhone to iOS 6. I like the new iTunes , played around with the new maps application, haven't tried the Passport app yet, but everything seems to be good. I still like Google Navigation on Android better. The Facebook integration on iOS is a big plus. One other thong that I noticed is that the contacts pictures are blurry on the Nexus and they are really sharp on the iPhone.

I have to say though, since using the Nexus, I haven't had the urge to switch back to my iPhone just yet.

Regarding the keyboard, another thing I like better on the Nexus is how there are punctuation keys at the top. That makes it easier and faster to type.

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ice2008

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A long time ago when i switched from apple to android (so things may have changed since on both sides) i was trying to use android the way it came out of the box and it sucked compared to ios, once i had spent some time customising android to my liking it turned into the far superior solution.

I can kind of understand why grandmas and such may be happier with ios as its far more useable put of the box.

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dwaynewilliams#WN

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A long time ago when i switched from apple to android (so things may have changed since on both sides) i was trying to use android the way it came out of the box and it sucked compared to ios, once i had spent some time customising android to my liking it turned into the far superior solution.

I can kind of understand why grandmas and such may be happier with ios as its far more useable put of the box.

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That'd not what I'm finding here though. I am using stock Ice Cream Sandwich and the phone seems to be just fine. Everything seems to work properly. I haven't had to change keyboards or launchers. It seems to be good just as it is. And it seems to be just as smooth as iOS. I'm still assessing all of the features and how my usage differs with each phone. So far, my usage doesn't seem to be any different and I seem to be able to do the same things with approximately the same effectiveness.

The one thing that I have discovered that doesn't work on Android is the Firstclass app. This is for my work email. It kinda worked on my iPhone. I could get messages but they weren't pushed to me. On Android, the app doesn't work at all.

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dancing-bass

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I was very happy with my stock Gnex (4.0.4), and even happier with Jellybean (4.1.1). Imagine how thrilled I was once I discovered I could customized EVERYTHING! I currently run a custom ROM but the one thing I just couldn't get used to was the stock keyboard. First I tried GO keyboard (slightly bigger keys, a few extra features), but now I've got Swiftkey's keyboard and I love it. (search for swiftkey, they have a free trial).

Interesting to read this though. Last weekend I was debating with my bro about which phone would be best for him (Galaxy SIII vs iPhone4s) He has his reasons for choosing those specific phones and not the iP5.... and in his case he wants something more compact and pocketable (he's an electrician, so he wants a smaller form factor so he can put a case on it and it won't be HUGE). Also he's already somewhat invested in Apple's ecosystem.

I tried to be honest as I could about Android's pros and cons. While he appreciates the endless customization that's available -- it's not something that he really has time or energy for. He just wants to be able to grab his phone and have it do what he wants. Although... I think if he could get a phone with the SIII's specs in a smaller form factor (close to iPhone's size) he'd try Android. But it was good to read this. I think I might send him the link for this thread.
 

dwaynewilliams#WN

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I was able to sync all of my music from iTunes over to Google music. That as a big plus. It was painless. I do have an issue with my Windows Live mail not syncing to he email widget. I don't know what that's about but I just had all of the mail forwarded to my Gmail. I like having the Gmail widget. And I like the power control widget as well. I am really starting to like this Galaxy Nexus. I found a note app that I really like, ColorNote. I can make reminders and post them in the notification bar. From a multimedia standpoint, I like that the Galaxy Nexus is 16:9 aspect ratio. Makes watching videos more enjoyable. So far, the Galaxy Nexus has been a good phone. I'm going to try to o one more week to see if I miss my iPhone. If I don't feel the need to reactivate my iPhone 4S then I won't and will keep the Nexus on. If not, the nexus will be on eBay. It has been fun comparing. One if the biggest problems I thought I was going to have was video chat. My wife uses FaceTime on her iPhone and my daughter uses it on her iPad (she's 4). But I downloaded vTok and we have been able to video chat like before and over the cellular network too.
Seems like I have everything covered. It is funny hearing all the news about how bad the maps app is on iOS 6. I just used Google navigation today and it ran so beautifully. It is the best navigation experience I have ever had. I haven't used the iOS 6 maps app yet, but I will.

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Dreamliner330

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This thread is refreshing.

I actually was 98% decided to get the iPhone 5, but after I heard it won't do simultaneous data/voice, I just couldn't do it.
 

dwaynewilliams#WN

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I have to admit, before I got this phone I had heard that the camera wasn't that good so I was anticipating that it would be bad. The first few pictures I had taken with it was in low light and as a result they didn't turn out well. So I thought well I guess what I had heard was correct, the camera sucks. I took a bunch today in good lighting and the pics came out awesome. I have been having a little trouble with my LTE. When I have it on, data will cut out and u will even drop calls. When I switch to 3G that doesn't happen. I have to say, this phone is pretty darn good. So is my iPhone 4S, but I think that I'm leaning toward keeping the Galaxy Nexus.

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