A week with my Nexus S 4G, my complete thoughts.

[Dreamliner330]

I came from an EVO 4G to the Nexus S 4G. I wanted to type out whats been going through my head about this phone.

Phone status:
Rooted, running GPA17, underclocked to 800mhz (save battery).

Amazing, MUST HAVE apps:
* Voodoo Display Calibration.
* WidgetLocker Lockscreen.
* Dialer One T9 contact list search.
* QuickPic Instant load photo gallery.
* BLN menu keys as notification LED.
* Pure Calender Agenda widget.

My primary uses for the Nexus S (in order of usage):
Voice calls (70%)
Emails
Calendar
Web Browsing
Music (local, not Internet, FLAC)
YouTube
Navigation
Games
Camera

Thoughts thus far:
Pro:
* Sleek phone, lightweight & very pocketable.
* Amazing headphone audio quality, near/matches COWON quality. (Wolfson DAC)
* Very fast (even underclocked).
* Great display contrast (deep black, punchy colors).
* Excellent camera quality.
* Good haptic feedback.
* Stable.

Cons:
* Weak Radios (Drops Wifi, drops calls, EVO NEVER did this).
* Poor radio management (slow to pickup wifi, 4g, occasionally gets stuck on 1x).
* Echo on speakerphone (other person on call hears if I use speakerphone).
* No LED indicator (BLN works, but menu keys are still very dim).
* Battery does not last an entire day if heavily using phone (Dies by 5pm without 4G or GPS).
* GPS slow to lock.
* Built in speaker too quiet.
* Grainy Display (can easily see pixel spacing).
* Slow Charging (2% per 3 minutes)


Summary:
I find dropped calls to be completely unacceptable, it is rude and shows massive incompetence to whomever you are dropping calls on. I will never be satisfied with any display type other than IPS-LCD (unfortunately only available on the iPhone). It should NOT take over 2 hours to charge a phone. I am very pleased with the headphone audio quality (HTC is very very poor in this area). I am also delighted that even with a 20% underclock (to conserve battery), the speed is massively faster than my previous EVO.

Conclusion
Based on everything I've read about the Galaxy S phones, the Nexus S phones and Samsung in general. I will NOT own another Samsung device unless the 'Cons' I have listed are addressed and fixed. All of my negatives regarding this phone are directly related to Samsung hardware. With phones like the S2 and Nexus Prime...this concerns me greatly.

I'd purchase the Photon, which has none of the cons of this phone, except the screen. PenTile suffers very similar problems as AMOLED.

What am I going to do?
Wait. I will make a phone change once I learn about signal strength, display and build quality of the Nexus Prime, iPhone 5 and whatever else Sprint releases. If nothing new bests the signal strength of the Photon, I may simply deal with the poor display and very lame interface and purchase the Photon.

What do I want?
iPhone screen quality, 4.3" screen, 720 Resolution, Motorola quality reception & speaker loudness, fast GPS lock, quick charging, and long battery life...with the Nexus S audio quality.

 

[Thrasherx2k1]

I came from an EVO 4G to the Nexus S 4G. I wanted to type out whats been going through my head about this phone.

Phone status:
Rooted, running GPA17, underclocked to 800mhz (save battery).

Amazing, MUST HAVE apps:
* Voodoo Display Calibration.
* WidgetLocker Lockscreen.
* Dialer One T9 contact list search.
* QuickPic Instant load photo gallery.
* BLN menu keys as notification LED.
* Pure Calender Agenda widget.

My primary uses for the Nexus S (in order of usage):
Voice calls (70%)
Emails
Calendar
Web Browsing
Music (local, not Internet, FLAC)
YouTube
Navigation
Games
Camera

Thoughts thus far:
Pro:
* Sleek phone, lightweight & very pocketable.
* Amazing headphone audio quality, near/matches COWON quality. (Wolfson DAC)
* Very fast (even underclocked).
* Great display contrast (deep black, punchy colors).
* Excellent camera quality.
* Good haptic feedback.
* Stable.

Cons:
* Weak Radios (Drops Wifi, drops calls, EVO NEVER did this).
* Poor radio management (slow to pickup wifi, 4g, occasionally gets stuck on 1x).
* Echo on speakerphone (other person on call hears if I use speakerphone).
* No LED indicator (BLN works, but menu keys are still very dim).
* Battery does not last an entire day if heavily using phone (Dies by 5pm without 4G or GPS).
* GPS slow to lock.
* Built in speaker too quiet.
* Grainy Display (can easily see pixel spacing).
* Slow Charging (2% per 3 minutes)


Summary:
I find dropped calls to be completely unacceptable, it is rude and shows massive incompetence to whomever you are dropping calls on. I will never be satisfied with any display type other than IPS-LCD (unfortunately only available on the iPhone). It should NOT take over 2 hours to charge a phone. I am very pleased with the headphone audio quality (HTC is very very poor in this area). I am also delighted that even with a 20% underclock (to conserve battery), the speed is massively faster than my previous EVO.

Conclusion
Based on everything I've read about the Galaxy S phones, the Nexus S phones and Samsung in general. I will NOT own another Samsung device unless the 'Cons' I have listed are addressed and fixed. All of my negatives regarding this phone are directly related to Samsung hardware. With phones like the S2 and Nexus Prime...this concerns me greatly.

I'd purchase the Photon, which has none of the cons of this phone, except the screen. PenTile suffers very similar problems as AMOLED.

What am I going to do?
Wait. I will make a phone change once I learn about signal strength, display and build quality of the Nexus Prime, iPhone 5 and whatever else Sprint releases. If nothing new bests the signal strength of the Photon, I may simply deal with the poor display and very lame interface and purchase the Photon.

What do I want?
iPhone screen quality, 4.3" screen, 720 Resolution, Motorola quality reception & speaker loudness, fast GPS lock, quick charging, and long battery life...with the Nexus S audio quality.

I've had 4 different Nexus S phones and it is anything but slow to lock on GPS. It is by far the fastest locking phone for GPS I have ever had. Doesn't matter if you are indoors or outdoors it picks up within 2 seconds everytime. Never have experienced any echo problems either myself and there is a NOLED app that works better than BLN. If this phone has a grainy display then what do you call the Evo's? This thing reproduces gorgeous colors and I cannot see any pixels unless I have my eyes within 4-5 inches. I have seen the Evo 3D,Evo,Photon, and this phones screen and this phone beats them all every time even with the QHD displays on Photon and Evo 3D. Photon has a horrible looking pentile display and the Evo 3D along with the Evo just cannot produce rich colors like the Super Amoled display. One last note also I get 15+ hours battery life with heavy usage with games,texting,calls,browsing, and using numerous apps everyday.

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Take the good with the bad. They all have them.

 

[cohoman]

I've had 4 different Nexus S phones and it is anything but slow to lock on GPS. It is by far the fastest locking phone for GPS I have ever had. Doesn't matter if you are indoors or outdoors it picks up within 2 seconds everytime. One last note also I get 15+ hours battery life with heavy usage with games,texting,calls,browsing, and using numerous apps everyday.

I actually have GPS locking issues, where it could take more than minute to get a GPS signal. Also, the GPS location update is slow, which make it tough when using it with a navigation app. So far as battery life, I can get about 13 hours with light to moderate usage (no phone calls or WiFi, but just email and web browsing). If there's such a difference as being reported, maybe I need to switch out my Nexus S with a newer one?

 

[joebarkho]

Pentile is CRAP, there is nothing wrong with nexus' amoled screen, its amazing if anything and has no problems. i say the only thing better is qHD and thats only on a few devices. The nexus S is the only 1ghz phone that can compete with a dual core for all I know. There is a way to make gps lock faster google it, its like a setting adjustment and thats it. Root your nexus and reap the rewards.

 

[Thrasherx2k1]

I actually have GPS locking issues, where it could take more than minute to get a GPS signal. Also, the GPS location update is slow, which make it tough when using it with a navigation app. So far as battery life, I can get about 13 hours with light to moderate usage (no phone calls or WiFi, but just email and web browsing). If there's such a difference as being reported, maybe I need to switch out my Nexus S with a newer one?

Yeah I would say swap it. If you have the $8 TEP on your plan just call the national line up and say blah blah it doesn't get a lock blah blah blah then they will probably ask you to do a hard reset on the phone. Then after that if it's still doing it tell them and they will get you to the advanced exchange department and a like new refurb will be on its way. Like I said I've had 4 and they all locked FAST. Only reason I've gone through so many was because I was trying to get a newer 11.05 model with improved reception. I got one finally and its better but still not great...

 

[Dreamliner330]

I find it interesting that I would get blasted for this pretty much unbiased assessment of the phone.

I dislike PenTile, I never stated I thought it was good, that is my main complaint on the Photon. How some of you can claim to see the imperfections of PenTile yet think the AMOLED display is perfect is completely beyond me. They both have major design flaws; neither come close the the clarity of IPS-LCD.

Some of you even cycle through replacement Nexus'...yet they have 'no problems'...really?

All of the issues I've had with my Nexus are well documented problems on this forum and others, in no way are the issues I am experience unique to me.

You do realize, your defending a phone...right?

 

[beserker15]

Haha some people can get pretty spirited about phones. I recently did the switch myself, EVO 4G -> Nexus S about three weeks ago. I am wondering if you have tried a different kernel with your Nexus? Or possibly swap to another rom? I'm generally saying this because my experience in the swap has been pretty much all positive (though I do miss the bigger screen and the kickstand sometimes). In terms of phone quality (calling, 3G, signal, etc) it seems on par with my old EVO. My EVO had the fastest GPS lock times I have seen on a phone (almost instant), but my nexus is only about 3-4 seconds slower, hardly an issue for me.

I'm personally using the MIUI rom and love it.

 

[Paul627g]

My only real comment is the display... The Samsung AMOLED display is the best hands down in the business... The entire Galaxy S line, Nexus, they are tops and what all the other devices wish they had...

Your assessment of graininess could of been the images or for other unforeseen reasons because reading and seeing everything I do as an Adviser here at AC the number one complaint on all other devices is they all wish they had the quality of the AMOLED display.

The other complaints, well look at the age of the hardware too so sure there are a few things that could be a bit better but we are dealing with hardware that is now well over a year old and in need of an update ala "Nexus Prime" if we get it... But the hardware to software optimization/gel factor on the Nexus is very well when compared to other devices with carrier/device maker UI's like TW or Sense that mess things up.

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

The colors in the Super Amoled display are great but you can see a lot of pixelation. When I first got my Nexus S I tried using my EVO 4G and the screen looked horrible to me.

 

[DakotaDAllen]

That Super AMOLED screen was what kept me from getting the EVO. After using the Nexus S for a while, and messing around with a friends EVO looking at different colors compared to on the Nexus (especially black), I knew I was happy with my Nexus.

 

[Dreamliner330]

Well I just about threw my out the window this morning. I wanted the phone to navigate me to the airport. Hit the voice search button and said "msp airport", it found it in maps right away. I chose the "directions to" option and it said cannot find address (complete address written out).

So pissed. I eventually long pressed on the map near the airport and navigated to there.

So glad to know Google couldn't figure out directions to the Minneapolis Saint Paul INTERNATIONAL airport.

It sure doesn't help that with any amount of light at all I cannot see the buttons on the phone.

I'm getting tired of the quirks.

 

[djw39]

Weird, that search worked for me no problem (all the way from North Carolina). Are you sure you have the car icon selected for "driving" as opposed to public transit or bicycle or something?

Google Maps generally does a pretty good job, and of course that wouldn't be any different on an iPhone. I guess you could use Bing if you really are fed up but...really?

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[MarkHirt]

I'm getting tired of the quirks.

Enjoy your Apple product

 

[Dreamliner330]

Weird, that search worked for me no problem (all the way from North Carolina). Are you sure you have the car icon selected for "driving" as opposed to public transit or bicycle or something?

I'm sure its some really dumb mapping glitch, but it seriously annoyed me today.

Enjoy your Apple product

I've had Android phones for 3 years, and Blackberry before that. My iPod touch has worked flawlessly. I will absolutely be looking at the iP5, but I am still uncertain what I will choose. I don't use 4g very often, and when I do, it kills battery, not a good thing on a phone that takes 3 hours to charge.

 

[s14tat]

I honestly thought Dreamliner's review was extremely well structured, and I can see how its possible for him to have those problems. I mean this guy doesn't seem like your typical fan boy that just parrots other people. He has real world experience with the phone, and seems to be more knowledgeable than your typical user.

 

[steveh552]

I went from the evo to the evo3d which did nothing for me and had i not sold the evo i would've went back to it. I ended up with a nexus 4g and liked it at first but grew to hate it more due to the unreliable battery life and signal issues and what killed me most was it locking up with the screen on and not being able to do anything but a battery pull. I got so fed up with it i added a line to get the photon which iv had no issues with.

------------------------------------------
Sent from my Motorola Photon using Tapatalk

 

[Dreamliner330]

^Agreed, the Evo never suffered as a 'phone's, this does and its frustrating.

I honestly thought Dreamliner's review was extremely well structured, and I can see how its possible for him to have those problems. I mean this guy doesn't seem like your typical fan boy that just parrots other people. He has real world experience with the phone, and seems to be more knowledgeable than your typical user.

Thank you. I honestly try and be as 'real' as possible, my opening post is absolutely based on experience. Its great to know people recognized it.

 

[AndroidOne]

I have a Nexus S and an Evo 4G both active on different numbers and I can concur with some of the issues expressed by the OP. First, I do like the Nexus' display, form factor and size better than the Evo. The Nexus is certainly snappier as well.

However, I agree with issues such as low speaker/ringtone volume, long battery recharge times and low visibility of the hardware buttons as compared to the Evo. Regarding the GPS, my Evo's is faster to lock by only a few seconds, but the Nexus' is just as accurate and functional for navigation - no major issue there. My wifi reception is generally good, and my battery life is at par with the Evo's.

My major problem with the Nexus is the cell/data radio: my Nexus exhibits constant cell signal fluctuation and has dropped calls several times - never experience this with the Evo. Regarding 3G data connectivity I have similar signal variability issues sometimes loosing connection for no reason; while the Evo is working well on the same network at the same time, the Nexus data speed drops to 1x levels or looses connectivity completely.

When my Nexus works, it works very well, but the problem is lack of cell/data signal consistency which has drove me to "re-adopt" the Evo as my primary cell despite the wash-out look of the LCD display. I understand this is not a problem all Nexus' out there seem to have, but is the main problem I have with mine at the moment.

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

^^i agree that the EVO is better as a phone. The weak radios and the speaker are the only weaknesses.