AUKevin's Review

[AUKevin]

You know, I am tired of the usual reviews of battery, speed, display, size, etc. We all know the battery life of an android, especially running on 4G is going to be less than 6 hours while being used moderately.

The real reviews are about popular application compatibility, wireless capability, Bluetooth configuration, etc. The fine details that people in the android community should be concerned with are always overlooked. How well does flash work with ICS ? IMO, not well at all. I have benchmarked against a jailbroken iPhone forcing Flash, and the browser crashes more frequently on ICS than iPhone.

I have run every phone from the Droid X to the iPhone 4S and now the GNex, and I like the GNex. It offers more advanced operability than the iPhone, obviously, but lacks the much needed preparation to insure seemless upgrades for droid users.

The bluetooth is still an issue with all droids. When using Bluetooth, music should not start back playing after any text or phone call. They fixed this with ICS, but the Razr is horrible in the fact that audible notifications temporarily stop the BT stack from processing. Upon reconnection, previous apps run like they were never exited. In the case of the GNex, the wireless connection has to be disabled as it constantly searches for connectivity when BT is active. For example, you are listening to music in your car via BT and get out to shop. When you get back in your car and automatically reconnect to BT, the wireless agent will also poll about every 20 seconds and hinder the BT connection. This should have been corrected pre-release.

The lack of imbedded photos in email is extremely terrible. There is no reason that a flagship device should not be capable of showing embedded images, always, in email. The hassle of going to find the image on internal storage is one that a basic user would annoy their local guru to help them with.

If you need specifics on the GNex, I can give a lot more details on most every aspect of the phone. The underwhelming of details about the display and battery are unnecessary.

For the users that aren't tech savy, please stick with or go to the iPhone. That phone is very basic, while extremely robust. IMHO, the droids are for ONLY the ones that never have to ask friends, family, or heaven forbid the Geek Squad, for help on a PC.

 

[complexx]

The bluetooth is still an issue with all droids. When using Bluetooth, music should not start back playing after any text or phone call. They fixed this with ICS, but the Razr is horrible in the fact that audible notifications temporarily stop the BT stack from processing. Upon reconnection, previous apps run like they were never exited. In the case of the GNex, the wireless connection has to be disabled as it constantly searches for connectivity when BT is active. For example, you are listening to music in your car via BT and get out to shop. When you get back in your car and automatically reconnect to BT, the wireless agent will also poll about every 20 seconds and hinder the BT connection. This should have been corrected pre-release.

Thanks for your comments. It's always nice, like you say, to get a real review once in a while regarding usability features, rather than just a spec dump and opinionated rant about why the specs are good or bad.

However, regarding bluetooth, I find that they way it functions aligns well with the purpose for these devices. I like that when I receive a message while using bluetooth audio, that it interrupts to let me know. My messages received are more important than the audio. However, it would be great to be selective about what messages interrupt, etc.

Regarding the wireless agent, are you saying that if you leave WiFi on, and attempt to reconnect BT, that the WiFi agent prevents the BT from establishing connection? That does seem like something is broken.

 

[Holsum]

You know, I am tired of the usual reviews of battery, speed, display, size, etc. We all know the battery life of an android, especially running on 4G is going to be less than 6 hours while being used moderately.

The real reviews are about popular application compatibility, wireless capability, Bluetooth configuration, etc. The fine details that people in the android community should be concerned with are always overlooked. How well does flash work with ICS ? IMO, not well at all. I have benchmarked against a jailbroken iPhone forcing Flash, and the browser crashes more frequently on ICS than iPhone.

I have run every phone from the Droid X to the iPhone 4S and now the GNex, and I like the GNex. It offers more advanced operability than the iPhone, obviously, but lacks the much needed preparation to insure seemless upgrades for droid users.

The bluetooth is still an issue with all droids. When using Bluetooth, music should not start back playing after any text or phone call. They fixed this with ICS, but the Razr is horrible in the fact that audible notifications temporarily stop the BT stack from processing. Upon reconnection, previous apps run like they were never exited. In the case of the GNex, the wireless connection has to be disabled as it constantly searches for connectivity when BT is active. For example, you are listening to music in your car via BT and get out to shop. When you get back in your car and automatically reconnect to BT, the wireless agent will also poll about every 20 seconds and hinder the BT connection. This should have been corrected pre-release.

The lack of imbedded photos in email is extremely terrible. There is no reason that a flagship device should not be capable of showing embedded images, always, in email. The hassle of going to find the image on internal storage is one that a basic user would annoy their local guru to help them with.

If you need specifics on the GNex, I can give a lot more details on most every aspect of the phone. The underwhelming of details about the display and battery are unnecessary.

For the users that aren't tech savy, please stick with or go to the iPhone. That phone is very basic, while extremely robust. IMHO, the droids are for ONLY the ones that never have to ask friends, family, or heaven forbid the Geek Squad, for help on a PC.

THese are all the unnecessary things that most could care less about. anyone that is serious about phones or music wouldnt use bluetooth to stream it, they get decks with aux ports. embedded photos ? Why does this even matter to the basic user. The iphone cant even save attachments that isnt an issue but a personal gripe that you have.

antenna, screen, call quality, etc are EVERYDAY issues that ALL users can relate to. This is why they are the most common things reviewed.

I would be willing to bet there are A LOT people that NEVER use bluetooth on their phones. I was one of them until i purchased a new cd deck for my car. Its a perk not a main feature.

 

[AUKevin]

The BT does reconnect, however the wireless agent does interfere once a reconnect is established.

I agree, I like norifications during streaming, but when you have music stopped prior to, the musuc shouldn't restart withour prompting.

Being a controls engineer, I assure you a basic user has no business owning a droud.

 

[nemov]

I'm so thankful someone finally posted a "real" review. I was starting to get worried.

 

[Forgetful]

Droids.........
Hard to take seriously

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[mlb2305]

I would be one of the people that utilizes BT audio all the time. Do they even make a BT ready car stereo that doesn't have an aux line in? The OP is just making an observation as to how something should work if designed correctly. Everyone has things that are important to them.

 

[drewfus0929]

As soon as you called all android phones "droids", you lost essentially all of your credibility. Sorry.

 

[AUKevin]

Basic users do call them androids...sorry for the confusion. For those that have actually owned and tested numerous phones, and have written similiar backbone code, it's a droid.

Also, sorry for using words such as agent and stack when referring to wifi...oops wireless network interface controller, and Bluetooth. It's confusing for those that can't operate a PC without help.

Need to tell Samsung that the notifications wav needs to say "Android" instead of "Droid"....damn them.

 

[Friend-O]

Elitist and condescending...way to endear yourself to the community, AUKevin.

 

[willlayb]

Basic users do call them androids...sorry for the confusion. For those that have actually owned and tested numerous phones, and have written similiar backbone code, it's a droid.

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the GNex is not a droid...

 

[cp33]

Why everybody calls it a flagship device? It is not. It's a reference device. It sports the things that Google thinks most phones will have the next year or so. This phone is what developers are supposed to test on when they develop for ICS. It is not meant to be a big leap forward, it should not be. The assumption is that only present phones in similar level will be updated to the new OS, and the upcoming phones will be on par. It would not make sense for Google to make a super-phone and develop for that super-phone, but to establish a baseline. I love this phone, as I loved my Fascinate before that. I could not care less that it is the greatest or not, I've yet to see an app that actually, really overwhelms a phone. If you are using your phone for intensive 3D gaming, good for you. I cannot see myself playing any seriously with something below 10 inches (and that is already pushing it). The most intensive thing I do is playing videos, and this does not stutter in HD. This solves my usual frustrations with respect to updates. I think a lot of what is being said about the phone comes from excessive expectations.

 

[philly]

we all have our own preferences.. signal/radio strength is something that alot more reviewers need to pay attention to. it is pretty pathetic what reviers focus on in reviews.. almost as if they are just writing some nonsense to fill up a page instead of focusing on whats really important.

as far as preferences.. id like every review to end with a conclusion on the phones durability.. these are test units so throw the thing against the wall a few times.. scratch (attempt to atleast) the screen.. let us know how well it holds up to a beating.

 

[cp33]

As for durability, the phone is obviously new, but it's very similar to the Fascinate in build, maybe more solid. My Fascinate, a year and three months later looks just like new, was dropped a number of times, battery holds just like it did then, or better, since software fixed some issues. It was never in a cover, and I did not use a screen protector (I don't like them). But you must be out of your mind if you think I am going to throw this beauty against a wall.

 

[llasch]

Elitist and condescending...way to endear yourself to the community, AUKevin.

lol

Do you ever get hungry AUKev? Or are you this full of yourself all of the time?

 

[whthotg8]

Basic users do call them androids...sorry for the confusion. For those that have actually owned and tested numerous phones, and have written similiar backbone code, it's a droid.

Also, sorry for using words such as agent and stack when referring to wifi...oops wireless network interface controller, and Bluetooth. It's confusing for those that can't operate a PC without help.

Need to tell Samsung that the notifications wav needs to say "Android" instead of "Droid"....damn them.

What DROID phone does ATT have? T-Mobile? Sprint? They have Android phones, but DROID is Verizon marketing and does not include Android phones as a whole. Just sayin

 

[AUKevin]

I simply wrote a review of the more technical aspects of the phone, and everyone started bashing, which is trying to overshadow their own lack of expertise. Again, for the typical users, there will never be a comparison between the droids and iPhone for simplicity. This includes picture quality, battery life, applications. I like the droid line for the open platform, nfc, configurable UA String, plain and simple.

I am sorry that I got the simpletons upset. I won't post any technical issues here.

 

[greydarrah]

My GN is amazing and does everything I expected it to. If anyone that wanted an Android phone asked me for a recommendation, I would tell them that this is the phone they should get. Some will have issues, but I believe that most are caused by app conflicts. Our Android open market is both the pro and con of this platform. While the majority of apps out there are great, there are plenty of poorly written ones that cause problems with any phone.

 

[Cory Streater]

The lack of imbedded photos in email is extremely terrible.

What exactly are you saying here? Someone sent me an email this morning. It has an embedded image, and I am looking at it right now.

The hassle of going to find the image on internal storage is one that a basic user would annoy their local guru to help them with.

Are you referring to the process you need to go through to attach an image? I just started a new email. I clicked the 3 period icon in the upper right corner, I choose gallery, browsed & selected my photo, and it is now in the email. I can repeat as often as necessary.

For the users that aren't tech savy, please stick with or go to the iPhone. That phone is very basic, while extremely robust. IMHO, the droids are for ONLY the ones that never have to ask friends, family, or heaven forbid the Geek Squad, for help on a PC.

You should have seen how appalled I was when I discovered I couldn't attach a document inside the email application on an iPhone. Pictures yes - documents no. Have they fixed this yet?

I was even more appalled when I couldn't replace said email app with an alternative that did provide this functionality. In the Android Market there are several email app alternatives, including Roadsync and Touchdown that add even more functionality.

And if anyone chooses the iPhone for its superior bluetooth functionality, they are in for a rude awakening.

 

[willlayb]

I simply wrote a review of the more technical aspects of the phone, and everyone started bashing, which is trying to overshadow their own lack of expertise. Again, for the typical users, there will never be a comparison between the droids and iPhone for simplicity. This includes picture quality, battery life, applications. I like the droid line for the open platform, nfc, configurable UA String, plain and simple.

I am sorry that I got the simpletons upset. I won't post any technical issues here.

dude, you say you are being technical when you don't even know what to call ANDROID phones. DROID is verizon only marketing for some of their phones. they all have the "droid" notification sound and the droid eye boot screen and widget. know what you are talking about before you start spewing crap.