So is the Nexus 4 the best android phone?

DroidXcon

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Meh fair enough. I like the fact that I have a clean stock phone and I will get updates straight from google, maybe some people don't like getting updates instantly? ;)
updated does not mean the best, if a phone works great as it is i think most people will over look updates.


Or maybe they think gimmicks like multi-windows are actually useful:O (i kid, I kid I just prefer getting fast updates.)
Multi window is not a gimick it freaking rocks i spend hours sometimes watching my shows on hulu and responding to the forums at the same time. Ill forgo updates forever for functionality like that .
 

Topgonzo

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Nexus 4 has the updates by google which is pretty nice.. But i would say my Note 2 is far better than my Nexus 4..

1. Bigger screen
2. Faster processor
3. Bigger memory (up to 128GB)
4. Huge badass battery
5. S pen
6. Some Samsung Features
7. Better TouchWiz than old one (i personally use Nova Launcher for the Launcher part)
8. And MANY more things i didnt mention.


The note 2 is more expensive than Nexus 4, so what nexus 4 has is good for its cheap price, also it has google stock latest updates which ia prettu cool..

But a phone for +2 years, i choose note 2..:)

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 (GT-7100)

Ok.. First when comparing the note to the nexus 4.
Maybe having a bigger screen in some cases is not a benefit. Personally I would not like the size of the note..
I don't want a s pen. No fancy meetings or power points.
Bigger battery for a bigger ass screen.. You need it to power that note 2.
As for touch wiz..No thanks..



Sent from my EVO 4G LTE
 

DroidXcon

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As for touch wiz..No thanks..

Sent from my EVO 4G LTE
This is what custom roms or launchers are for.

And the big battery gets great battery life. It's not like its a tiny trade off.

As for the size if you don't like movies or games then yeah you may not need or want a large screen.


From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk
 

xlDeMoNiClx

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updated does not mean the best, if a phone works great as it is i think most people will over look updates.



Multi window is not a gimick it freaking rocks i spend hours sometimes watching my shows on hulu and responding to the forums at the same time. Ill forgo updates forever for functionality like that .
Hell yeah.
 

Chex313

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I one upped you. No contract. No voice plan.

I got my 5gb of data, my Skype number, and my unlimited Skype minutes. 53$ a month and it covers my tablet and phone. I only have two issues with my setup. #1 I need to carry a mifi device. #2 I only use 3gb. I should only be paying 33$ a month.

Also. I don't know what speeds you guys get but I get 15-20 megabytes per second due to using a 4g mifi.
You mean Megabits...
 

Kevin OQuinn

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I think it's a perfectly fine metaphor when the point is to demonstrate that adding something hard to remove does not necessarily change what something is.

Not to belabor the point, but GAPPS are explicitly not part of Android. Android is open source, gapps is not. This is why for CM ROMs you have to flash GAPPS separately.

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Yeah but you didn't address Sense and Touchwiz being closed source, which is polar opposite of Android.

GAPPS are also closed source, yes, and not having them is a big deal. Who cares if it's Android or not if it doesn't have the Play Store?

I guess it'll be settled when Samsung forks Android and starts calling their phones Touchwiz devices instead of Android devices. :)

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
 

msavic6

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I'm still evaluating 3G life, but the latest faux123 kernel based off 4.2.2 is delivering positively CRAZY battery life when on wifi. How crazy? How about nearly 40 hours with 3-1/2 hours screen time crazy. (My previous one-time best was 24 hours with about 2 hours screen on.) There's a known wakelock bug that Google's been slow about swatting with the N4 due to the way the radio and USB is wired or something. 4.2.2 brought a new radio, but faux says nothing was done with the HSIC bug, but the jump - make that quantum leap - I appear to be getting indicates differently. We'll see.

3 and 1/2 hours of screen on time is nothing amazing. With a 2100mah battery and LCD screen and no LTE, and no bloat. The battery should be way better, my dads RAZR HD has LTE and motoblur and still manages to get way better battery life then the nexus 4. My galaxy nexus gets 3:30 screen on time with a 1750Mah stock battery also without LTE.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums
 
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Lol its as illegal to use the N4 lte as its as illegal to root it. Especially if T-Mobile is rolling out BAND 4 lte. Its nothing to change the baseband.

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

Except T-Mobile can't prevent you from rooting. T-Mobile can block all Nexus 4's from accessing its LTE at the account level, and it is in their best interest to do so expressly because the Nexus 4 does not have FCC approval to access LTE. Look at what happened to the T-Mobile Galaxy S3.

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zmann

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This is what custom roms or launchers are for.

And the big battery gets great battery life. It's not like its a tiny trade off.

As for the size if you don't like movies or games then yeah you may not need or want a large screen.


From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk

I had a evo lte and my note 2 blows that thing to pieces. Multi screen no gimmick. I also watch movies and surf these forums and fb at the same time. The magic that is the s pen I could not quickly explain here but it really is outstanding.

Note 2, it's true, ,size is everything!
 

ryanr509

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3 and 1/2 hours of screen on time is nothing amazing. With a 2100mah battery and LCD screen and no LTE, and no bloat. The battery should be way better, my dads RAZR HD has LTE and motoblur and still manages to get way better battery life then the nexus 4. My galaxy nexus gets 3:30 screen on time with a 1750Mah stock battery also without LTE.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

RAZR HD has a 2500mah battery. Also lte isnt nearly as bad on battery life since the snapdragon chips. 3:30 screen on time is pretty average amongst smart phones.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums
 

llamainmypocket

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I had a evo lte and my note 2 blows that thing to pieces. Multi screen no gimmick. I also watch movies and surf these forums and fb at the same time. The magic that is the s pen I could not quickly explain here but it really is outstanding.

Note 2, it's true, ,size is everything!

That's why you get a tablet.

Why would I want a tablet and something trying to be a tablet. BTW. That s pen must be miserable on a 5.5 screen.
 

msavic6

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RAZR HD has a 2500mah battery. Also lte isnt nearly as bad on battery life since the snapdragon chips. 3:30 screen on time is pretty average amongst smart phones.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

The battery is only 16% larger yet the battery can last easily 50% more then the nexus 4. If you use the razr HD throughout the day you can get upwards of 5 hours screen on time on the RAZR. Some people with galaxy nexus' are able to also hit 4 hours screen on time, I consider anything under 5 hours screen in time poor.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums
 

DroidXcon

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That's why you get a tablet.

Why would I want a tablet and something trying to be a tablet. BTW. That s pen must be miserable on a 5.5 screen.
So you are saying that it's always better to have two devices instead of one.

And I'm pretty sure a device doesn't try to be anything more then what it is.

Its not like a football player trying out for water polo. It is what it is

From my Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk
 

ultravisitor

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I get the idea that stock Android is different from the modified versions, but to say that only it is Android is contrary to the very nature of Android. And I say that as someone who has owned the Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus (GSM) and now proudly own the Nexus 4. Even before that I rooted my phones to put CM on it so I would get as close to stock Android as possible. I love stock Android. But that doesn't mean that these other phones aren't Android phones.

Vic Gundotra himself has referred to the Galaxy SIII as being an "Android-based" phone.

I think I'll defer to him.
 

msavic6

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That's why you get a tablet.

Why would I want a tablet and something trying to be a tablet. BTW. That s pen must be miserable on a 5.5 screen.

I have a Motorola Xoom and I get awesome battery life on it, 7-8 hours screen on time even while gaming. I would love a phone with battery life like this, my closest bet would be the note 2 or future note 3 on battery life like this.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums
 

chubb

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Yes it is the best pure Android phone out. I prefer quick updates, no bloat, no skins, pure Android. Way better battery life than the LTE Nexus I had. I could never get more than 14 hours on that with the 2100 mah extended battery. It is quick and responsive, even with project butter my GNex would stutter at times and lag. Screen is very nice, whites are white again, and no blue ghosting that the GNex samoled had. Storage is fine for me, I have a 16 GB. I have about 300 of my most listened to songs, about 20 of my must have apps, and still have 9.3 GB left. On my 32 GB Nexus I never had more than 14 GB full. It is also very light, but I think balanced well. Sound from the speaker is ok at best. But at $299/349 off contract it can't be beat. But it is not a phone for everyone. Sometimes cutting edge has it downside. Sometimes things get broken, some apps are not updated quickly. Lack of LTE, micro sd, and non removable battery are dealbreakers for some, and if they are, you have dozens of other options out there. At the end of the day, buy the phone that appeals to you. I know there are phones out there with better specs, but I know that pure stock, and quick updates are way more important to me than anything else.
 

yfan

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Yeah but you didn't address Sense and Touchwiz being closed source, which is polar opposite of Android.

GAPPS are also closed source, yes, and not having them is a big deal. Who cares if it's Android or not if it doesn't have the Play Store?
So wait. Adding one set of closed source stuff on top of Android (GAPPS) still makes it Android, but adding another set (Touchwiz) disqualifies it? Alright then, carry on...

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums
 

yfan

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Vic Gundotra himself has referred to the Galaxy SIII as being an "Android-based" phone.

I think I'll defer to him.
Mhm. But Android Central lists the Galaxy S III under Android phones in this forum. So if we're going to use appeal to authority as our debate tactic, we can keep going. And please provide context, which is everything. I rather doubt that Vic Gundotra distinguished the GS3 from the Nexus line along the lines of Android vs. Android based.

Once again, in the context of this thread, it is patently clear that the OP is asking about both stock Android and other Android phones.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums
 

ryanr509

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The battery is only 16% larger yet the battery can last easily 50% more then the nexus 4. If you use the razr HD throughout the day you can get upwards of 5 hours screen on time on the RAZR. Some people with galaxy nexus' are able to also hit 4 hours screen on time, I consider anything under 5 hours screen in time poor.
I just came from gnex on att and would get around 2.5-3 screen on time. I think with most of the top end androids that I think 3 would be a good average. 5 is high. 2 would be low
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

50% more? I get 4 hours screen on time on my nexus 4 on 3 g only. I've had a lot of android handsets and most of them were around 3hrs of screen on time. If anything under 5 hours is poor then u have high expectations. The only phones I know that come close to that would be the RAZR HD and maxx HD and galaxy note 2.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums
 

Tayman52

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I had a evo lte and my note 2 blows that thing to pieces. Multi screen no gimmick. I also watch movies and surf these forums and fb at the same time. The magic that is the s pen I could not quickly explain here but it really is outstanding.

Note 2, it's true, ,size is everything!

The one thing I don't like about the note 2 is the size.... But that s-pen is something really nice. Too nice to ignore . I'm considering the note 2, but i wanna see the s4 first.

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2