Calling all OG Droid/Nexus S owners to GN

[samix]

same here, og is barely hanging on by a thread

nothing but random reboots, force closes, powering off when receiving phone calls, etc, etc

here's hoping my patience pays off with the nexus

 

[anon(174838)]

I have an Og Droid and finally will be replacing it with a phone worthy of replacing it: the Galaxy Nexus

 

[iandouglas]

I switched from an iPhone AT&T to TMobile to get the Nexus One, and stayed with them for a Nexus S, but I think I'll be switching to VZW for the Galaxy Nexus when it lands. I've been a fan of the Nexus S, though I always found the wifi to be a little underpowered.

What remains to be seen, of course, is whether Samsung and Verizon TRULY make this an AOSP phone... that is, pure vanilla android, no skins, no bloatware, and include all vanilla settings such as usb/wifi tethering, unlockable boot loader, etc.

 

[iandouglas]

Sorry, hit submit too quickly.

My biggest beef with the Nexus S was lack of removable SD storage. Granted, the internal memory was crazy fast, but when my Nexus S needed to be RMA'd, I lost everything on my "SD" storage partition. That, and lack of 4G on T-Mobile, of course. But Gingerbread was always a great vanilla Android experience.

I'm not crazy about the idea of what I consider to be a significantly larger screen, but as long as the hardware is solid, I'm really looking forward to it. Whether I'll be able to truly utilize a dual-core phone is left to be seen as I'm not much of a gamer on mobile devices.

 

[Pixel]

My OG has been through hell and back with me. It's been slammed in a car door and dropped multiple times. Still runs like a champ (minus the memory problems! )

Can't wait to trade up for the G-Nex though.

 

[anon(489241)]

The old girl (OG Droid, that is) has been ticking along since shortly after launch. Thanks to Peter Alfonso and his GPA ROMs, my two year old device is more up-to-date than most phones are out the door today. She keeps getting slower with each passing day, though. Back at this year's CES I marked the Bionic as my next device, given the ridiculous build quality of the OG Droid and now my Xoom. Then with the whole Bionic delay debacle and the very existence of Blur, I decided to wait to see how the rumors of the "Nexus Prime" would pan out. Boy am I glad I did. I could have upgraded back in August and I've been valiantly fighting my tech lust since then. Needless to say, I intend to have a GN on launch day.

 

[SuperMarioVT]

OG Droid owner here.. sign me up!

 

[kca2000]

I tried to replace my OG as well with a Bionic. Kept it the full 14 days, but after constant reboots and data drops i returned it and went back to the OG Droid.
The best part about the phone is there is so many ROMs to work with, So reloading it with a different ROM every month has kept me busy.

Went from GPA to Liquid, to Simply Stunning, over to project elite and now im back at GPA18 probably until the G-nex is released since its ROCK stable and does everything i need it to.

The fact that me and so many people have gone through hell with their OG Droids (Dropped, damaged, Overclocked, ect) really is proof as to how great this phone is.

 

[berkmanmd]

I switched from my Evo 4G to a Nexus S (Sprint) over the summer and I personally LOVE the Nexus. The screen is brilliant and I feel it has the perfect form factor. I don't miss my SD card slot at all, and it the performance is find IMO. I would be keeping it and enjoying the quick upgrade to ICS if it weren't for the HORRIBLE wifi/cell strength.

I will GLADLY switch to Verizon to ensure that I get a signal where I live. While I'm not looking forward to the relatively large size of the new Nexus, I feel that it is the only way to go for an Android phone. If the iPhone ran Android, consider me sold. It's all about battery life, build quality, and Android for me.

 

[jerrod6]

Hate to ask this... and I am a bit daft.... but what is an ASOP phone? I've seen the term all over these forums but just can't match words to these letters.

 

[hyperdude]

Hate to ask this... and I am a bit daft.... but what is an ASOP phone? I've seen the term all over these forums but just can't match words to these letters.

Should read "AOSP" : Android Open Source Project.
Refers to a phone running pure, stock Android (no manufacturer skins over it) or a ROM built directly from Android source code.

Welcome to Android | Android Open Source

 

[somerussianguy]

Nexus S owner here! Original T-Mobile version. Had it since day one. Can't say I love it, but I do like it. About 2 weeks ago I've rooted the phone and installed CM7, it's like a brand new phone now

...but as far as what I like & don't like in the original, unrooted version...

The good stuff:
Excellent screen! Might not be HD or even qHD but I've yet to spot any pixels! The colors pop, the blacks are actually black and not just dark-grey like you see on some LCD screens. The viewing angles are great - colors don't wash out when you tilt the phone. Honestly, I've seen the qHD LCD displays on HTC & Motorola phones, the Retina display on the iPhone, and the SAMOLED display on my Nexus S still looks the best to me.

The feel in the hand. The curved display, the rounded edges, the "hump" in the back. It's like a perfect fit in your hand. The Galaxy Nexus looks about the same as the Nexus S, only bigger, so it should be very comfortable to hold. I think the button on the right-hand side of the phone is actually in a better position than if it was on the top because this way you don't have to stretch your finger all the way to the top and hold the phone in an odd way every time you unlock it. Some people don't like that hump on the back, I like it actually. It's useful for grabbing the phone out of your pocket.

The camera. Even though this phone is almost a year old and the camera is "only" 5 MP, I think it still takes great photos. Make no mistake, smartphones of today are not gonna replace your real camera, but for online photo albums, sharing with people, they will do. So if Samsung's first Nexus is anything to go by, Galaxy Nexus' camera should be on par or even better than today's 8 MP cameras on other high-end devices.
Here's some samples of mine:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4drVRbZXP5felcK2-WpoPB5AeV8cDqnPqsJffS2PdHg?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uTxbJWrJ_LPG0d4kYlmA8h5AeV8cDqnPqsJffS2PdHg?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wgobEBM10Y7weZlOxi1GYA?feat=directlink

The "neutral" stuff:
This is neutral because this is my first smartphone and I can't speak about others since I have no experience with them with these things.
Samsung is known to have pretty good battery life with their devices. Like I said I'm not sure about other phones but this is my usual school day:

Phone is charged to 100%. I unplug it right before I leave for school. It take about 50 minutes to an hour to get to class. Listening to music on my phone all the way there (using Winamp), and checking tweets. I use my phone in class (only 1 class a day): playing games or browsing the web or using calculator (Andy-86) and reading a book on PDF. On my way back it's music time again. When I get home, my phone's battery is at around 60%.
....So if that's good or not, I'm not sure. I do have a lot of customization crap running on my phone - Launcher Pro, multiple widgets on 5 screens (LPP widgets, Winamp, Elixir, TweetDeck, Desktop-visualizer icons, Beautiful Widgets clock/weather)

The speaker is "good". I mean it sounds good but same as above, I haven't tried any other phones on speaker.

The bad stuff:
The cheap, plasticky feel of the phone. Even though I said the phone feels comfortable in the hand, the fact that this phone is made of that slick plastic just takes away some of that comfort. When I'm walking with my phone I always hold it with a death-grip because it feels like it might slip out of my hand. The Galaxy Nexus looks like it has a textured back-side, so I'm not sure how it compares to the Nexus S.

The glitches. Now I know that every phone has some glitches here and there and I expect the Galaxy Nexus to have a few as well, however, the only reason I mention glitches is because I think there should not be any on the Nexus devices...these are THE Google phones after all. Not some half-assed budget devices. I'd expect Google to address the issues promptly. The main glitch I had was the Android Market update glitch where it would randomly say "insufficient storage" while updating. I was on version 2.3.6 and still had that! Also I did experience some random shut-downs, but they were rare. Also my wifi kept dying.
Root and CM7 seemed to have fixed both of these.

The speed. With all that customization stuff I have running this phone just can't keep up. It slows down from time to time. I guess this one is kind of irrelevant since the Galaxy Nexus is a lot more powerful.


Wow, that's a long post, sorry. That's my experience with my Nexus S. Me personally, I'll wait a while for something better. The Galaxy Nexus is a great device but it's not THAT special. The way I see it, it only has 2 things that stand out: HD screen and Ice Cream Sandwich. The specs are on par with other high-end devices.

 

[TargaAllDay]

I had an OG Droid, got it the first day it was released, it was the best phone I ever had. I had it with me during a bass fishing tournament. I got splashed and drench all the way through the tournament and it still work until the end when I was releasing the bass after the weigh in. I slipped on some wet twigs that were on the shore and my foot went flying up in the air, along with that half of my body and the fish's went into the lake. Unfortunately the phone was not water proof.

I'm now on a Palm Pre+ that I got off of craigslist for 37 bucks. I like the card system of the WebOS, and the inductive charging of the battery cover, but everything else on this phone just plain suck. It keeps rebooting on me through out the day, and it will freeze when I try to open emails or webpages. Plus I hate the tiny little keyboard and screen. The GNex just cant come soon enough..

WTH?!?! My droid got wet on a trip to the beach and now I'M on a Palm Pre+. But yeah, can't wait for the GN.

 

[TuxDotKing]

I've been through three OG Droids... the first stopped working after falling out of my jacket pocket. The refurb they sent me developed a touchscreen issue. The second refurb had another touchscreen failure a month ago.

The OG Droid was definitely not a tank for me, and I wasn't putting it through any sort of hell. That said, it still was one hell of a phone and I wouldn't have traded it for anything less than the Galaxy Nexus.

I love my Nexus S, I almost even switched to T-Mobile for it. It's a great phone in nearly every aspect; design, performance, screen, audio quality, durability, and so on. My biggest pet peeve though has to be the low power Wi-Fi radio; I can barely even keep a signal in my own house. Ironically enough my Galaxy Tab 10.1 has one of the best Wi-Fi radios of any device I've used, so I don't know how or why Samsung dropped the ball there, but I hope it's not going to be representative of the Galaxy Nexus's connectivity.

I can't wait to get the Galaxy Nexus; it's basically everything I wanted from my next phone from what I've seen so far. Thank you Google/Samsung!

 

[lakreda]

i've been having major screen ghost effects with my OG droid for the last 5 months or so. my upgrade was ready in august but i held out hope for the gn and i can't wait to finally be able to get one. my og droid has been so frustrating for the last 5 months that im considering shooting a video of me smashing it with a sledge hammer once i get the gn.

 

[Centro85#AC]

I had 2 OG Droids when they had the buy one get one free offer in February almost 2 years ago. My ex-wife still has her original OG droid sitting in a drawer somewhere, she switched the sprint and the epic 4g slider when the divorce went through a month or so ago. My OG Droid had a touchscreen that was freaking out, wouldnt stop touching itself (which I later found out is a motorola trademark in hot or humid weather) and was replaced by verizon to a D2 for free. I have really missed the ASOP og droid, MUCH less buggy, but I must say having the little speed increase with the 1ghz processor is nice. The OG droids definitely felt extremely sluggish and a little long in the tooth a while ago. lol. Tank is definitely the word though. I put mine through hell and back, never had a problem except the screen which turns out wasn't even necessarily a problem. More of a normal touchscreen issue I guess you would say. And the ex wifes.... well, you know how women treat their phones! I'm surprised it's still in 1 piece.

 

[msndrstood]

I've had the Nexus S for about 3 months and had the Gingerbread update pushed to my phone as I was leaving the store.

Pros: Love, love love the design. The curved design is very cool, fits in my hand perfect. I have a glossy black protective TPU skin on it and it feels secure and protected. The screen is brilliant. I have tons of apps loaded including Go Launcher with the ICS skin, fantastic. The call volume is adequate, the speaker is a tad weak, my BB Bold 9700 had a booming speaker so I do miss that aspect. It's fast switching from screen to screen. I installed the Assistant App and it does pretty much everything accurately as long as there is not a lot of background noise. Siri; no need to apply, thanks. Android has this one.

I also have the multimedia dock that I got at Best Buy on sale for 20 bucks, it sits on my nightstand and the Nexus doubles as my bedside clock and alarm. I love it that I can roll over in the morning and check emails, my Twitter feed, Facebook feed, news and weather without getting out of bed. Priceless. :-*


Now,

The Cons: Note to Samsung: what did you do to that wifi radio, dudes?! It is pitiful. I have a Galaxy Tab 7 and it has excellent battery life and wifi radio. Don't know what happened to the Nexus. I live in an outlying area and have 3G and 1-2 bars on my Nexus everywhere in my house. The tower is about 4 miles away on the other side of a hill/mountain and I still get service on all my Sprint devices. The wifi router sits on my windowsill in the living room, I sit about 10 feet away and usually get 1-2 wifi bars. I know this is an ongoing issue, I hope Samsung deals with this in the next incarnation, it truly needs a stronger wifi radio, software won't do it, in my opinion.

The battery life is ok, par for smartphones. I have power cords everywhere, living room next to my chair and I keep it plugged in at home. In the car, I plug it in as soon as I get in. I also purchased a non OEM 2800 mAmp battery backup charger that plugs directly in the phone to give me two full charges just in case I am out at an event or such where no other power source is available.


Overall, I am thrilled with the Nexus S, I would choose it again. The form factor is the biggest + for me, looks cool, fits in my hand perfectly, screen is gorgeous. Fix the wifi radio and boost the speaker sound and it would be 5 star perfect for me! Let's push that ICS update please!

 

[philly]

my brother is on his 3rd epic 4g. His most recent replacement had the screen basically go dead on him completely.. not sure what happened he wouldnt elaborate.. for all I know it could of been his own fault.

still trying to convince him to get off the horrible sprint network.. he doesnt even get service in his house.. Verizon adding a data cap isnt helping my arguement though.

 

[whoster69]

I have an OG Droid that I can't wait to replace with the GN.

Same here.

 

[jerrod6]

i've been having major screen ghost effects with my OG droid for the last 5 months or so. my upgrade was ready in august but i held out hope for the gn and i can't wait to finally be able to get one. my og droid has been so frustrating for the last 5 months that im considering shooting a video of me smashing it with a sledge hammer once i get the gn.

My OG droid is slow and out of space but I will never smash it. When it is retired it will take it's place next to my previous phones, and well, I might even still play some games on it. It is a beautiful piece of a device.
I still have every cell phone I have ever owned in pristine condition.