A few questions for a soon-to-be Nexus user :D

[TauSigmaNova]

I'm gonna be using my GSM Galaxy Nexus on TMos 30 dollar a month plan. It's cheaper than my 35 dollar Virgin plan and the phone is WAY better than my Optimus V I live in New York City so I hope internet will be fast (anyone wanna give me insight?).

Is the HSPA+ technically 4G?
Is the call quality good?
Where the hell are all the ROMs?
Does the phone scratch easily/is it tough? I've accidentally dropped my phone ALOT and it's like nothing happened so I'm just curious.
Should I buy a case/screen protector-(Is is really worth it)?
Can I play lots of games on it? (Think i can, specs are similar or better than my Sam Galaxy Tab 10.1)
and I think that's about it
Oh yeah, how much will the SIM card cost me? I dont mind this much but it'd be nice to know. I love the stock Android way and I love the design of the Nexus.

The 5 MP shooter is still a good improvement from my 3.2MP crappy flash-less camera on my Optimus

Thanks guys, looking forward to contributing to the community

 

[rob1261]

1. yes hspa plus is tmo 4g pretty fast in good markets i usually get atleast 6mbs download which is more then enough
2 call quality is good if your in a bigger market
3 its a nexus! alot of people like roms but i just dont see the point when we have the lastest and greatest version 4.1.1 jellybean theres no need for any rom imo
4 yes it can scratch and the screen isnt gorllia glass its just regualr glass i thought i would be ok without a screen protector and i manged to get 2 small scrathes on my screen and i treat my phone like its my son so yes protect the thing!
5 yes the specs arent up there with the s3 and htc one x but i havnt found a game that doesnt play well, and it plays Playstaion one emulators and n64 games flawlessly
6. the sim card from tmobile is free right now shipped they still ask for a credit card for some reason but its free
7. dont listen to specs when it comes to cameras the 5mp camera on the nexus is great and takes some fast pics
8 enjoy the best phone out there right now hands down

 

[TauSigmaNova]

Yeah, Im gonna be digging the 4.1.1 and will prob build my own of my Virtual Machine but I always liked Cyanogenmod. The extra features like screenshotting and themes are great though I LOVE the stock JB look.
I'm gonna get off my lazy ass and walk to the TMo store and get my SIM there in early Sep when I get the phone. Ill be playing lots of Temple Run/Shadowgun/Nova 3 probably

E: Does GNex support only HSPA+ 21 or HSPA+42? And what's the difference/big deal between em? Which one is better?

 

[Andrew Martonik]

Is the HSPA+ technically 4G?

Technically, anything over 14.4mbps-spec HSPA+ is 4G.

Is the call quality good?

Carrier and location dependent. I've never had problems.

Where the hell are all the ROMs?

All over the internet. There are tons of ROMs for this phone...

Does the phone scratch easily/is it tough? I've accidentally dropped my phone ALOT and it's like nothing happened so I'm just curious.

Any phone scratches if you drop it a bunch.

Should I buy a case/screen protector-(Is is really worth it)?

If you drop it a lot, then probably... this is personal choice.

Can I play lots of games on it? (Think i can, specs are similar or better than my Sam Galaxy Tab 10.1)

Its got completely fine specs for any game out.

Oh yeah, how much will the SIM card cost me? I dont mind this much but it'd be nice to know. I love the stock Android way and I love the design of the Nexus.

The Monthly 4G SIM Activation Kit is free right now. It usually bounces around anywhere between $0.00 and $1.99 depending on the day. Buy it here, activate here.

 

[TauSigmaNova]

Thanks guys. Can't wait to get this. So pumped!

I know there are plenty of ROMS for this phone, it's a damned Nexus, duh! I just wanted to know where the majority of them where. I'll check up on XDA and RootzWIki

 

[Andrew Martonik]

I'm gonna get off my lazy ass and walk to the TMo store and get my SIM there in early Sep when I get the phone.

You can't buy a SIM or activate this plan in store. You MUST buy the Prepaid SIM Activation Kit from the prepaid site and activate it online. This is a new customer and online only plan.

Does GNex support only HSPA+ 21 or HSPA+42? And what's the difference/big deal between em? Which one is better?

21mbps HSPA+. Obviously 42mbps is faster... about twice as fast (there ya go).

 

[cavemandaveman]

Thanks guys. Can't wait to get this. So pumped!

I know there are plenty of ROMS for this phone, it's a damned Nexus, duh! I just wanted to know where the majority of them where. I'll check up on XDA and RootzWIki

This is a great site for any nexus user (this is the JB page):

http://www.thesuperusersguide.com/everything-jelly-bean.html

It includes a ton of 4.1 roms for ya!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[goldeneye7]

Hey all! Im in the same boat as the OP--ordered a nexus, and sim card from T-Mobile with hopes of using the $30/month 100 minute plan. My question is this: When I go to the activation page on T-Mobile, I see you're required to enter THREE numbers: The SIM number, the Activation code that came with the phone(?) and the phone serial number.

Since I ordered the phone directly from Google, does that mean I will only have 2 of those numbers (the sim and the phone serial)? Or am I missing something? Apologies if I'm completely nuts here. lol I just want the activation to go smoothly when it gets here

 

[chunkcohen]

Hey all! Im in the same boat as the OP--ordered a nexus, and sim card from T-Mobile with hopes of using the $30/month 100 minute plan. My question is this: When I go to the activation page on T-Mobile, I see you're required to enter THREE numbers: The SIM number, the Activation code that came with the phone(?) and the phone serial number.

Since I ordered the phone directly from Google, does that mean I will only have 2 of those numbers (the sim and the phone serial)? Or am I missing something? Apologies if I'm completely nuts here. lol I just want the activation to go smoothly when it gets here

The phone itself (since it's carrier unlocked) won't include an activation code. You'll get that with the prepaid SIM card kit you ordered.

 

[Andrew Martonik]

Hey all! Im in the same boat as the OP--ordered a nexus, and sim card from T-Mobile with hopes of using the $30/month 100 minute plan. My question is this: When I go to the activation page on T-Mobile, I see you're required to enter THREE numbers: The SIM number, the Activation code that came with the phone(?) and the phone serial number.

Since I ordered the phone directly from Google, does that mean I will only have 2 of those numbers (the sim and the phone serial)? Or am I missing something? Apologies if I'm completely nuts here. lol I just want the activation to go smoothly when it gets here

They'll ask for a phone IMEI. You get that off your phone box or on the sticker under the battery. The activation code is the one on the card that you get in the activation kit.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[goldeneye7]

They'll ask for a phone IMEI. You get that off your phone box or on the sticker under the battery. The activation code is the one on the card that you get in the activation kit.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

When you say "they'll ask," do you mean I will have to call to do this? Not that I mind, I'm just curious if my buying the Nexus and not having that third number will prevent me from simply doing it online.

By the way, thanks to you guys for answering my questions--I am very new to this whole process, as I've been on an ancient Verizon plan for what seems like forever!

 

[goldeneye7]

The phone itself (since it's carrier unlocked) won't include an activation code. You'll get that with the prepaid SIM card kit you ordered.

Ah--so there are two numbers in that kit? Thanks so much for clarifying this. Like I said, I just want to be up and running as quickly and smoothly as possible

 

[chunkcohen]

Ah--so there are two numbers in that kit? Thanks so much for clarifying this. Like I said, I just want to be up and running as quickly and smoothly as possible

Yep, there will be a unique number for the SIM card and a number on the activation card that comes in the same kit. Enter those two along with the IMEI of the phone and you should be good.