[BenjaSands]

Not only because it is 99$ with a 2 year upgrade... but because it also comes with an extended battery and it seems that is the biggest problem the phone has judging by what ive read.

My biggest concern is getting through a day with my phone on light use. Lets say to just answer important calls or reply to important texts, all the extra stuff like twitter, games... I can do at home. I had the Nexus S 4G and it frustrated me that it took like 5 hours to charge fully after the battery was near empty is it the same with this phone?

All I pretty much am concerned about is battery life and I mean I dont need a super great camera but I mean I would mind a decent one that atleast takes OK pictures in the day. Aside from those two things I mean I am not picky.

That is all. I dont really care that the phone is a year and something old, or the cheap build, or the lack of a micro sd slot, I am in L.A so I can also live without the 4G LTE for now I guess... Do you guys think The Nexus is the way to go for me? And would it satisfy my minimum requirements for a phone? (get through the day with light use, and decent pictures in the day)

I would really like some input from those of you who have had it for a while or even those that just got it. I was looking around at the phones Sprint is offering and I really want the Nexus

*** my previous phones

(HTC Inspire (loved it but hated the fact that if I used it for 5-10 mins consecutively my battery would be dead by midday when I would leave the house at 8am with a full charge)
Nexus S 4G (loved it as well but same thing with battery. Used it 5-10 mins and the battery would be dead by midday, the only difference would be that with the Nexus S 4G it would take around 3-4 hours to fully charge which made things really difficult.)

Photon 4G is my current phone. It is a great phone in my opinion it pretty much does what I want. The battery normally lasts me through the day on a full charge in the morning and if it dies it charges back up fully pretty quick. The pictures are great. The only knock if any is the quality of the screen and well I want to upgrade because I have droppped this phone so many times it is all beat up haha)

[betafan7]

My Gnex is in the mail, so I can't answer any of your usage questions. I would suggest you take a look on ebay, I got one in(allegedly) excellent condition with all the chargers, wired headset etc for 149.00 shipped. I have an upgrade,too, but I wouldn't use it on such an old phone, I just wanted to have an lte phone in anticipation of Sprint flipping the switch in my market.

[ratsttam]

You should keep an eye on the ads in your area. I picked up the Nexus a few months ago for free on upgrade. The upgrade prior, I picked up the less than a year old Epic 4g (slider) for free. Unless you need to be at the cutting edge of hardware, OR your current phone is broken, time is on your side, just wait for the device you want to hit a special promotion, usually just a couple months after launch. Paying 99 for the gnex now would be foolish IMHO.

[nexus4ever]

I don't think paying $99 is a good idea either, I have seen it free or $49 several times at Best Buy or on Amazon. If you're not in a 4G area you can change it to 3G only and you should get better battery life. I'm in a 4G and I can tell you LTE can destroy a battery with heavy use. I'm typically near my office or in a vehicle so the battery life doesn't affect me like it does some. Performance wise this is is still a great device. With 4.2.1 its a new phone all over again. I say go for it.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[tommyjoesanders]

I don't think paying $99 is a good idea either, I have seen it free or $49 several times at Best Buy or on Amazon. If you're not in a 4G area you can change it to 3G only and you should get better battery life. I'm in a 4G and I can tell you LTE can destroy a battery with heavy use. I'm typically near my office or in a vehicle so the battery life doesn't affect me like it does some. Performance wise this is is still a great device. With 4.2.1 its a new phone all over again. I say go for it.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I agree with nexus. price always changes with GNEX . but, If you do get one. Please upgrade your software too 4.2.1 . Battery life is alot better. Just run 3g only and it will help alot as well.. Hopefully with GA02 LTE radio the battery life will be somewhat better If your 4G area

[BenjaSands]

Thanks for all the input guys.

[BenjaSands]

My Gnex is in the mail, so I can't answer any of your usage questions. I would suggest you take a look on ebay, I got one in(allegedly) excellent condition with all the chargers, wired headset etc for 149.00 shipped. I have an upgrade,too, but I wouldn't use it on such an old phone, I just wanted to have an lte phone in anticipation of Sprint flipping the switch in my market.

Wow. I had no idea it was that cheap on ebay. I know we dont have LTE in Los Angeles but yeah that is smart and kinda the reason I want an LTE phone too. My friends have LTE devices on Sprint and they say they get LTE in some areas of LA County but who knows it thats true...

[BenjaSands]

You should keep an eye on the ads in your area. I picked up the Nexus a few months ago for free on upgrade. The upgrade prior, I picked up the less than a year old Epic 4g (slider) for free. Unless you need to be at the cutting edge of hardware, OR your current phone is broken, time is on your side, just wait for the device you want to hit a special promotion, usually just a couple months after launch. Paying 99 for the gnex now would be foolish IMHO.

Yeah that is why I am kind of hesitant to just get it right away. I figured man this phone is pretty old and it seems like they are bouuuund to give better deals on it. Free sounds great haha and that is kind of why I want to wait cause its bound go down in price but who knows how long Sprint will take until it is Free on Upgrade. And yeah I checked out the other phones and the only one that catches my eye is the Nexus. I dont really like the Optimus or the iPhone 5 and it seems like Sprint is never getting the Nexus 4 or anything worth getting anytime soon (who knows I may be wrong) ... and yeah its cause the back cover of my phone doesnt click into place and the front edges of my screen are cracked. It is usable but yeah it is on its last legs...

[BenjaSands]

I don't think paying $99 is a good idea either, I have seen it free or $49 several times at Best Buy or on Amazon. If you're not in a 4G area you can change it to 3G only and you should get better battery life. I'm in a 4G and I can tell you LTE can destroy a battery with heavy use. I'm typically near my office or in a vehicle so the battery life doesn't affect me like it does some. Performance wise this is is still a great device. With 4.2.1 its a new phone all over again. I say go for it.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

There is 4G in my area but LTE is spotty I believe according to friends and things I have read online. It seems like I am still getting it I guess now the only issue and a good point you guys bring up is maybe waiting to see if the price drops... and I had NO IDEA OS upgrades actually helped battery life I thought all that was just some kinda myth

[BenjaSands]

I agree with nexus. price always changes with GNEX . but, If you do get one. Please upgrade your software too 4.2.1 . Battery life is alot better. Just run 3g only and it will help alot as well.. Hopefully with GA02 LTE radio the battery life will be somewhat better If your 4G area

Yeah I think I can do with 3G when I am out and about. And yeah I heard about that update on here. I already was set on getting it and when I heard about the update I said **** it why not! Now to find a deal on it

[gencoabandando]

I love my Gnex! I have no complaints.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

[chuza]

Did you manually flash 4.2.1?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[betafan7]

Wow. I had no idea it was that cheap on ebay. I know we dont have LTE in Los Angeles but yeah that is smart and kinda the reason I want an LTE phone too. My friends have LTE devices on Sprint and they say they get LTE in some areas of LA County but who knows it thats true...

Yeah, most auctions I watched they were going for about 180.00, and most Buy it Now listings are close to 200.00. Guess I got lucky! We'll see what shape it's in, from a top rated seller with a 30 day guarantee so I'm feeling good about it. Looking forward to my first Nexus(been on the epic 4g(og) since launch day)

[GranPaSmurf]

My usage should match yours, but I just can't help myself. This is a very excellent computer/toy that also makes phone calls. I wanted to stay close to stock, but just couldn't resist the apps. As of yesterday I had well over a hundred apps on my Sprint Galaxy Nexus. The battery life was getting really bad, about 1/2 a day with my play attitude. I also carry a juice vault that will give about 2 recharges if I need it. When it was stock I got about 2 days of use, a few calls per day and perhaps a few texts. So last night I just restored the gNexus to factory stock, 4.1.1. Guess what, only a couple of percent drop in the 4 hours I have had it off charger. So to answer your question, as long as I stay disciplined the battery life is acceptable, but hey, the reason I went with Nexus in the first place was to have a "pure Android" without the bloatware. (better toy for the tweaker in us all, right?) BTW, Sprint has or at least had a free extended battery program for the gNexus:
Re: How can i get my free Galaxy extended battery ? To get your free battery go here - PHONE_ID=SPHL700KIT&categoryRefName=Chargers+%26+Batteries&selectedAccessoryID=BXS3780Q
Add the battery to your cart, Place BATTERY1 in the promo code area, Apply, It will charge you $6.50 for shipping only.
As for me, I am perfectly satisfied with the Sprint Galaxy Nexus with one exception. Next time I will just save up the money and buy directly from Google. I get dangerously impatient waiting for Sprint to send me an Android update.

[gencoabandando]

Did you manually flash 4.2.1?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

No... not yet

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

[GranPaSmurf]

Me neither. I have rooted and un-locked. But I am Stock 4.1.1. Since I am Sprint Galaxy Nexus, is there a way to manually flash 4.2.1? If so, is it chancy? I need tutorials that are really hand-holding. I was thinking I would just wait for Sprint.

[jrsharp70]

I would never get sucked into a contract over a device that can be had for $100 on Craigslist.

Now a note 2 on the other hand...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

[piizzadude]

You can check on lte coverage on sensorly. Com, and there is no way that I would go on contract for that phone.

It will be 3+ years old when you are done, some things are very lacking with it, and better phones can be had for 150$ or less.

Sent from the nexus of the Android world, the SGS3.

[GranPaSmurf]

As to battery life, I use the extended battery. Since I just restored my gNexus to factory default a couple of days ago, we can get an idea of battery life. You can see on the attached screenshot that I am a bit over a day and a half with about a third of the battery left. I had about a half dozen calls, 3 or 4 texts and I checked and returned email about 5 or 6 times during this period. I hope this documentation helps your decision making process.

[BenjaSands]

Yeah, most auctions I watched they were going for about 180.00, and most Buy it Now listings are close to 200.00. Guess I got lucky! We'll see what shape it's in, from a top rated seller with a 30 day guarantee so I'm feeling good about it. Looking forward to my first Nexus(been on the epic 4g(og) since launch day)

Damn you did get lucky. Heres to it being in great condition

[BenjaSands]

As to battery life, I use the extended battery. Since I just restored my gNexus to factory default a couple of days ago, we can get an idea of battery life. You can see on the attached screenshot that I am a bit over a day and a half with about a third of the battery left. I had about a half dozen calls, 3 or 4 texts and I checked and returned email about 5 or 6 times during this period. I hope this documentation helps your decision making process.

WOAH. That is STELLAR battery life. Sounds impressive. Light usage sounds about what I would do with it probably with a few more texts but regardless thats really really good. My current Photon 4G and my old Nexus S 4G are the types of phones that even without being used AT ALL and just having them sit idle somewhere the battery just dies by the afternoon (fully charged in the morning) and does not last more than a day EVER... as opposed to my old Blackberry Tour 9630 that would last a couple days on the battery if I just used it lightly and a damn week if I just left it idle haha

[BenjaSands]

You can check on lte coverage on sensorly. Com, and there is no way that I would go on contract for that phone.

It will be 3+ years old when you are done, some things are very lacking with it, and better phones can be had for 150$ or less.

Sent from the nexus of the Android world, the SGS3.

Good point. I guess it is going to be a decision I make once I am at the Sprint store. Who knows if anything else will be released though in the coming weeks.

- - - Updated - - -

I would never get sucked into a contract over a device that can be had for $100 on Craigslist.

Now a note 2 on the other hand...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

Speaking of the Note 2 my friend just got one on T-Mobile. I have yet to ask him for his opinions on it though.

[BenjaSands]

My usage should match yours, but I just can't help myself. This is a very excellent computer/toy that also makes phone calls. I wanted to stay close to stock, but just couldn't resist the apps. As of yesterday I had well over a hundred apps on my Sprint Galaxy Nexus. The battery life was getting really bad, about 1/2 a day with my play attitude. I also carry a juice vault that will give about 2 recharges if I need it. When it was stock I got about 2 days of use, a few calls per day and perhaps a few texts. So last night I just restored the gNexus to factory stock, 4.1.1. Guess what, only a couple of percent drop in the 4 hours I have had it off charger. So to answer your question, as long as I stay disciplined the battery life is acceptable, but hey, the reason I went with Nexus in the first place was to have a "pure Android" without the bloatware. (better toy for the tweaker in us all, right?) BTW, Sprint has or at least had a free extended battery program for the gNexus:
Re: How can i get my free Galaxy extended battery ? To get your free battery go here - PHONE_ID=SPHL700KIT&categoryRefName=Chargers+%26+Batteries&selectedAccessoryID=BXS3780Q
Add the battery to your cart, Place BATTERY1 in the promo code area, Apply, It will charge you $6.50 for shipping only.
As for me, I am perfectly satisfied with the Sprint Galaxy Nexus with one exception. Next time I will just save up the money and buy directly from Google. I get dangerously impatient waiting for Sprint to send me an Android update.

Yup this sounds like me! One of my biggest concerns about the battery is it dying without me even using the phone. I remember my old Nexus S 4G would die without even being used that was the most frustrating part cause if it dies without using it imagine I try to download an app or somethin? And Thanks for that free battery promotion Link I am hoping if I decide to get the Nexus I can still get that free battery. Another poster posted a screenshot using an extended and the battery life seems grreeeat with it

[shaggie04]

I bought mine on Amazon Wireless for $50 new a few months ago, but it did lock me in for two more years (I don't care about that). Right now, it says an upgrade will run you $39.99. The only difference between buying it from Amazon vs Sprint is the return policy, which wasn't a concern for me. So far, I don't have a lot of battery issues using the standard battery. I cruise the web quite a bit (over wifi), listen to a lot of music (on-device via bluetooth in the car, mostly, not streaming unless over wifi), text, and talk, and rarely have to recharge before the end of the day. Several times a week, I use the GPS for tracking my runs through the neighborhood (Map My Run app) while listening to on-device music with minimal drain. With heavy surfing, sometimes I'll give it a quick boost before I leave work or in the car on the way home, but today for some reason I have resisted charging, and after 7 hrs on battery, 71% remaining after some light browsing, a few texts, and a few calls. For what you say you want to do, I think you'll be just fine, especially with the extended battery. I've also noticed that it charges fairly quickly, especially with the charger you get with the phone.

[BenjaSands]

I bought mine on Amazon Wireless for $50 new a few months ago, but it did lock me in for two more years (I don't care about that). Right now, it says an upgrade will run you $39.99. The only difference between buying it from Amazon vs Sprint is the return policy, which wasn't a concern for me. So far, I don't have a lot of battery issues using the standard battery. I cruise the web quite a bit (over wifi), listen to a lot of music (on-device via bluetooth in the car, mostly, not streaming unless over wifi), text, and talk, and rarely have to recharge before the end of the day. Several times a week, I use the GPS for tracking my runs through the neighborhood (Map My Run app) while listening to on-device music with minimal drain. With heavy surfing, sometimes I'll give it a quick boost before I leave work or in the car on the way home, but today for some reason I have resisted charging, and after 7 hrs on battery, 71% remaining after some light browsing, a few texts, and a few calls. For what you say you want to do, I think you'll be just fine, especially with the extended battery. I've also noticed that it charges fairly quickly, especially with the charger you get with the phone.

WOW. Everytime I second guess getting it a post like yours comes along and I go back to being hell bent on getting it haha... I was going to go through Amazon to get it for that cheap but it seems it is really complicated to order it through Amazon so I might not even try it