Concerns seem to be building

[revickulous2001]

I have been following this device since rumors first surfaced about its existence. Throughout this entire team, this device has been rumored to be a "super phone." That coupled with ICS made this phone purchase a no-brainer.

However, as more and more information is released, it seems like (from the hardware perspective), this phone is anything but a "super phone."

From the hardware perspective, I am concerned about the following:

1) Outdated GPU.
2) Unimpressive CPU (The Rezound is rumored to come with a 1.5 ghz processor)
3) No Gorilla Glass. Gorilla Glass has been very good to me in the past.
4) No microSD card slot.
5) PenTile screen (Why outdated technology?)
6) Rumored issues with battery life. I don't think I've seen a single picture taken of the Galaxy Nexus with more than 20% battery life.

From the software perspective, this phone seems to be top-notch. However, ICS will be releasing on most modern phones shortly. And fixing bloatware and UI skins is a simple matter of rooting. The hardware is definitely the more lingering issue to consider.

 

[Adrynalyne]

1) Outdated GPU.

--It is nearly twice the speed of the original 540GPU.

2) Unimpressive CPU (The Rezound is rumored to come with a 1.5 ghz processor)

--Based on older tech, which is less efficient, and will be running on a single core optimized OS. Mhz is not the name of the game.

3) No Gorilla Glass. Gorilla Glass has been very good to me in the past.

--Marketing hype. A grain of sand will scratch GG as quick as reg. glass. There are other brands of fortified glass out there. Don't be scared because its not the brand you only know of.

4) No microSD card slot.

--Noted. Of course, all of my music is in the cloud, and that frees up most that space for me.

5) PenTile screen (Why outdated technology?)

--Battery life.

6) Rumored issues with battery life. I don't think I've seen a single picture taken of the Galaxy Nexus with more than 20% battery life.

--A bit circumstantial don't you think?

 

[ManBearPig618]

+ Pentile isn't with the white subpixel. And is HD. It's been reviewed as a very, very nice screen.

 

[Adrynalyne]

And for the record, the RAZR has the same GPU, but clocked 80mhz slower. Maybe we should grab our pitchforks.


Nexus devices are not meant to be super phones. Just a nice set of hardware and bleeding edge software.

 

[thirsy1258]

1) Outdated GPU.

--It is nearly twice the speed of the original 540GPU.

2) Unimpressive CPU (The Rezound is rumored to come with a 1.5 ghz processor)

--Based on older tech, which is less efficient, and will be running on a single core optimized OS. Mhz is not the name of the game.

3) No Gorilla Glass. Gorilla Glass has been very good to me in the past.

--Marketing hype. A grain of sand will scratch GG as quick as reg. glass. There are other brands of fortified glass out there. Don't be scared because its not the brand you only know of.

4) No microSD card slot.

--Noted. Of course, all of my music is in the cloud, and that frees up most that space for me.

5) PenTile screen (Why outdated technology?)

--Battery life.

6) Rumored issues with battery life. I don't think I've seen a single picture taken of the Galaxy Nexus with more than 20% battery life.

--A bit circumstantial don't you think?

I think you answered these very well. Not to mention the cpu gpu are to be optimized for ics. The week after this phone comes out somethin else will be around the corner. All concerns are non of mine. Gorilla glass is a brand I don't care as long as its somewhat protective.

sent from my thunderbolt

 

[VideoEngineerAJS]

The CPU in the Rezound apparently isn't as good even though it's 300Mhz faster. Supposedly the 3rd generation Snapdragon isn't nearly as good as the OMAP.

 

[Adrynalyne]

I can honestly say, that of all the phones I have had with Android on them, none have NOT had Gorilla Glass.

1. Droid 1 --No scratches.
2. Droid Incredible --Scratches.
3. Samsung Fascinate --Scratches. All SGS phones have GG.
4. HTC Thunderbolt --Scratches.
5. Samuns Continuum --Scratches. All SGS phones have GG.
6. Droid Incredible 2 --No scratches.



So far, GG hasn't met its expectations for me.

 

[Adrynalyne]

The CPU in the Rezound apparently isn't as good even though it's 300Mhz faster. Supposedly the 3rd generation Snapdragon isn't nearly as good as the OMAP.

Remember the AMD of old vs. Intel?

They leapfrog each other.

Simplified (Models of each leapfrog each other too)

Omap3> S1, S2> Omap3, Omap4 >S3, S4> Omap4 and on par with Omap 5 (that we know of).

We won't see S4 Phones for at least 4-6 months.

 

[Jaycemiskel]

1) Maybe you're a big gamer but I'm pretty sure for the most part this thing will handle what you throw at it.
2) The CPU will probably easily be overclocked to 1.5. However, now that Android is hardware accelerated it will still run quite smoothly. An HTC phone with a 1.5ghz processor will probably have to be plugged up at all times with their history of battery life lol.
3) I'm pretty sure the screen will still be durable. I don't believe they have curved gorilla glass do they? If not, gorilla glass wasn't even an option.
4) 32gb is enough with all the cloud options. I currently have a D3 which has like 16gb and I have a 16gb card in it. The 16gb card is filled with videos which I never watch and the phone still has like 8 or 9 gigs available because all my music is on Google Music. Micro SD cards are really not needed anymore.
5) Yeah it's pentile, but the pixel density is so high that the screen will still look great. If I recall correctly the first amoled screens that Samsung made were pentile also so it'll probably be a while before there are sAMOLED HD screens that are non pentile. My D3 has a pentile screen which is actually noticeable. Can I tell? Yes, but honestly it doesn't really bother me so I really doubt there will be any problems with the screen on this device.
6) We'll have to see how it is when we actually get it in our hands. I might actually underclock mine depending on how snappy it is.

What exactly do you consider launching on most phones shortly? It'll probably be at least 3 months before any other device gets it and on top of that these devices have hardware buttons. I considered waiting for my D3 to get upgraded but I honestly would rather have no capacitive buttons on my phone if they're no longer needed. Especially since the onscreen buttons don't correspond to the buttons on screen. I'm quite interested to see how this works on phones that actually have buttons. I wonder if the menu will be used as the apps button and then you'll still have search functionality or what. I would just rather use it as designed which is why I plan on upgrading. I'm sure it won't be an issue with the phone I get in a few years because those phones probably won't have the capacitive buttons at all. Also, as was said above, Nexus phones aren't supposed to be Nexus phones. They're just supposed to show off what the new OS can do and be able to utilize all of it. You can bet that there won't be anything anytime soon that can't be handled by this phone.

 

[kev24k]

I have a streak 5 that has GG and zero sctratches. Ive had it since day 1 with no screen protector and it has zero scratches. I regularly have my keys and phone in the same pocket. GG is very good, but there are other products that are just as good.

 

[Mr. Poppalopolis]

It's pretty funny that everyone is making generalizations about the phone being slow, having never held one before. PenTile isn't "old" technology, just different from RGB. It has advantages such as improved battery life, but the main problem is that there isn't an RGB screen of the same size and resolution currently. I'll take a 720p PenTile over a WVGA or qHD RGB any day.

One question for you, have you used PenTile phones before? Most people have, but usually a 4.3" WVGA screen. I can tell you that it's not that unbearable on the Incredible. I do notice some jagged edges, but unless I'm looking hard for them and a few inches away from the screen, they don't bother me at all.

Also same stuff everyone else is saying about the processor. If 300MHz is that big of a deal, just root and overclock. If you don't want to root, don't worry about the clock speed. An average user will see no difference between 1.2GHz and 1.5GHz anyways.

 

[Hilbe]

3) No Gorilla Glass. Gorilla Glass has been very good to me in the past.

See Samsung's response:

https://www.facebook.com/SamsungMobileUSA/posts/10150320290026786

 

[CynicX]

Only one of your concerns that concern me is the lack of gorilla glass....in the winter I'll occasionly conceal carry in my Xoom's bag. A few times I've accidentally slid my Xoom in the wrong pocket and then carried the bag around all, tossing it around and such. The screen looks brand new still, hell I've used it as a coaster.

While it might not be impervious to damage its in a league of its own vs the competition.

 

[Crispy]

The whole spec war has gotten out of hand. These are devices, not spec sheets. The only thing that matters is can it do the things you want it to, and give you a good user experience. What does it matter if it has a 1.2 or 1.5ghz cpu or XYZ tech inside? The only reason specs matter is people try to predict how long it will last, and real world use is very different from specs in many cases.

 

[Adrynalyne]

CynicX, let me ask you, what on that gun would scratch normal glass?


Just wondering.

 

[ManBearPig618]

Only one of your concerns that concern me is the lack of gorilla glass....in the winter I'll occasionly conceal carry in my Xoom's bag. A few times I've accidentally slid my Xoom in the wrong pocket and then carried the bag around all, tossing it around and such. The screen looks brand new still, hell I've used it as a coaster.

Click to view quoted image


While it might not be impervious to damage its in a league of its own vs the competition.

Have you in fact fired at the screen? That is the only test I will accept.

 

[Simonbarsinistr]

CynicX, let me ask you, what on that gun would scratch normal glass?


Just wondering.

I can answer that, the slide.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. Poppalopolis]

See Samsung's response:

https://www.facebook.com/SamsungMobileUSA/posts/10150320290026786

I find this quite funny. One person refusing to accept that Gorilla Glass is not the only glass capable of surviving day to day use.

Also Simonbarsinistr beat me to it. The slide could easily scratch the screen.

 

[johnnieeve]

The Nexus Prime will be sold with no second party OS lurking in the background, Motoblur, for example. The phone will be free of bloatware, too. This alone should improve user experience.
Also, Google adds a new font which should also provide sharper text.

 

[qnet]

Some of you guys really get into the specs because, I don't care about any of those things. I just want this phone. As long as it runs good, has a good signal, can make & receive calls, with everything else I've seen of it, I'm getting it.

It's your money so, if you don't like the specs; I can't blame you for not purchasing it. The only thing I might not like is, if they didn't change the music app but, even that's not a deal-breaker for me. I don't play games on it, except angry birds. I'm mainly using it for business and a little fun.