Google Nexus 4 First Impressions/Reviews

[mm625]

While I love the aesthetics of the N4, there is one thing that completely drives me crazy: the chrome rim around the front. Like my iPods and iPhones of old, it looks pretty at first. However, it quickly descends into a scratch-covered wasteland, as if you threw the phone into a bag. Filled with cats.

 

[badbrad17]

While I love the aesthetics of the N4, there is one thing that completely drives me crazy: the chrome rim around the front. Like my iPods and iPhones of old, it looks pretty at first. However, it quickly descends into a scratch-covered wasteland, as if you threw the phone into a bag. Filled with cats.

Buy a total wrap for it. That way you can protect the sides too. Something like this http://www.bestskinsever.com/google-nexus-4-skin

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[aust_himself]

Love it. Crazy fast. Super light perfect size for me. The only problem... I honestly feel like lg spent too much time on the software and hardware and looked past materials. My power button no longer works, out of the box it rattled around , if you tap around it you can hear it rattle. Don't get me wrong this is an extremely badass phone , but damn I've had this thing for a month and the design flaws are starting to show I might be one of the first to experience this but once the nexus starts becoming easily available others will start to notice too.

 

[nandaaft]

I am using it for 3 weeks and I love it. It serves the purpose for which it is purchased.I am able to take decent photos,videos,surf the net,play games - all at a satisfactory scale.But the problem with the threads in this forum is that they do anatomy of the phone and compare with the best in the market and post negativities.You cannot compare it to a digital camera or camcorder or a tablet pc.By paying $391 people expect to have all in one with top most performance.If at all compared with other smart phones compare with unlocked phones availabe at $391 in the market and not with iphone 5 or galaxy S 3.With this price if Nexus 4 is competing with iphone 5 or S 3 gracefully accept it.This amply proves that people are never content.

 

[spacecasespiff]

+1

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[badbrad17]

I am using it for 3 weeks and I love it. It serves the purpose for which it is purchased.I am able to take decent photos,videos,surf the net,play games - all at a satisfactory scale.But the problem with the threads in this forum is that they do anatomy of the phone and compare with the best in the market and post negativities.You cannot compare it to a digital camera or camcorder or a tablet pc.By paying $391 people expect to have all in one with top most performance.If at all compared with other smart phones compare with unlocked phones availabe at $391 in the market and not with iphone 5 or galaxy S 3.With this price if Nexus 4 is competing with iphone 5 or S 3 gracefully accept it.This amply proves that people are never content.

You can buy 2 Nexus 4's for the same price as an iPhone 5. If it lasts a year then mission accomplished. But I expect mine to last much longer.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[spacecasespiff]

Not all phones are made equal. No issues with mine. Worth every penny

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Horaland H]

20 hours with " fairly heavy use"? Screen shots? If you're having signal issues in poor reception areas doesn't that eat your battery? Since the phone is looking for a signal.

I get the feeling that the phone gives up looking for a signal eventually. Certainly if I go into airplane mode then out again it often gets a signal.

 

[Kmasum]

Received nexus 4 for my wife yesterday , simply love it I currently own iPhone 5, and let me tell you android has matured a lot , I had droid x, it was constantly crushing and battery life was very poor, so I ended up switching to iPhone 4s and now iPhone 5. "Google now" is awesome !! I am using this phone a lot and letting go my iPhone to my wife... There's specifically one app I am missing in android market is a good reddit app. I love my ios "alien blue" app.. I looked at market and there's no reddit app comes close to alien blue...how long we gotta wait till a good reddit app comes to android ?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[siriusnoodles]

It is possible, just be careful while you're doing it, try to do it over your bed so that if you drop it, it won't break. However, you do have to take off the back protector, sorry.

 

[Darrkman]

Received nexus 4 for my wife yesterday , simply love it I currently own iPhone 5, and let me tell you android has matured a lot , I had droid x, it was constantly crushing and battery life was very poor, so I ended up switching to iPhone 4s and now iPhone 5. "Google now" is awesome !! I am using this phone a lot and letting go my iPhone to my wife... There's specifically one app I am missing in android market is a good reddit app. I love my ios "alien blue" app.. I looked at market and there's no reddit app comes close to alien blue...how long we gotta wait till a good reddit app comes to android ?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Give Reddit Sync a try. It's been getting good reviews.

Sent from my HTC One S

 

[dbareis]

This is my 3rd day with the phone so its definitely first impressions (and compared against my previous Samsung galaxy Nexus)...

GOOD:

• The GPS is fantastic, very quick to get a fix and then with many satellites
• WiFi seems better
• I think the battery will last longer
• Thinner phone which I'd rather was fatter with a bigger battery.
• The notification light's white appears to be white

BAD:

• The default SMS "Messenging" app is not matching phone numbers to contacts (phone app works on same people). SMSDroid matches the numbers OK.
• The notification light is low power (maybe saves on battery power?) and tiny. Basically much harder to see at a glance, particularly if not looking straight on.

 

[pitchersduel]

i just got the nexus 4 few hours ago...real rough first impressions:

let me preface by saying this is my first android/google phone. i am coming from an iphone 4.

first, WOW. this thing looks awesome, screen is amazing, i think it feels great in my hand and love the bigger screen. switching between screens, apps, so buttery smooth (iphone 4 is that way, i do think nexus is a little faster in that regard)

the thing is light as heck..my iphone 4 feels like a brick compared to it. simply amazing.

again thats just real quick, i havent really downloaded much. i'll update once i play with more features

 

[TURBOSPARTAN]

Got this last night. Bought it Tuesday, arrived Thursday. My initial impressions, after only playing with it for a couple of hours, comparing it to my GS3:

- Phone is insanely fast/snappy.... so much faster than the GS3 when opening things and flipping between screens. And the GS3 is pretty damn snappy as is.
- Camera disappointing compared to the GS3. GS3 easily takes great photos. I've been playing around a little and you need to keep a few things in check to get decent pics.
- Sort of disappointed with the pure Google experience. Seems like a very basic "launcher" on this phone (at least thats what I've read). I know you can download a new launcher, but I was expecting to do nothing and have everything right out of the box.
- In regards to the above, I think I sort of actually like Touchwiz on the GS3. I like my toggles being at the top of my notification bar. I know you can drag 2 fingers and get to quick settings, but no GPS toggle or Sync toggle or a few others available via Touchwiz.
- Don't like how limited the settings are. Can't delete homescreens (stuck with 5)? I can't seem to find out how to turn haptic feedback off.
- Like the Swype keyboard on the GS3 better than the stock 4.2 keyboard. Swype is more intuitive.
- I like Touchwiz because almost EVERYTHING is customizable. Fonts, chat bubble colors, vibration patterns, etc.
- Gesture controls on Touchwiz: swipe left to message, swipe right to call, etc.
- Build quality seems very good, the only issue I see is that it seems like there a lot of gaps where dust/dirt can get into.
- Screen is nice. I'm used to the saturated GS3, but I can tell this is a very high quality screen.
- Sparkles on the back aren't as girly as I thought they were going to be. Actually couldn't even get them to come up when showing a co-worker... need a direct light source to see them.
- I am not too fond of the icons. Example is the notification of a text message. Little smiley face in a bubble thing... I'd prefer just a regular envelope or something.

So the above might have seemed pretty negative, but that is only because I'm comparing it to the GS3 which I consider the best phone you can buy right now. So customizable and intuitive. I almost wish I could get some of the Touchwiz features and put them on this phone. Again, this is a great phone, especially for $350 (16gb) I just think it could have used a few more features to make it perfect. I'm sure I'll find some more things I like once I play with it a little more.

 

[chubb]

To turn off haptic feedback just touch something that opens the keyboard. Hold the microphone for a few seconds and highlight the getting menu that appears. Go to keyboard settings, scroll all the way down to advanced. Touch that then about half way down set the vibration to 0 ms. You can also uncheck vibrate on key press on the first setting screen.

On another note. On the stock keyboard, if you look t the keys some will have the three dot menu on them. Those you can hold and extra options will show.

Sent from my Nexus 4

 

[mr_hicksta]

I just got mine today, and I am impressed. I went to the AT&T Store and had everything transferred to a micro sim and have had no issues. I was on an unlimited data plan on my iPhone and the reps at AT&T found the equivalent HSPA+ unlimited data plan and added me to that. I love the interface, and I the build quality is impressive. I'm still trying to decide if I want to use the bumper case or the Rearth case. I'm going to swap them out to see which one suits me best. I'm enjoying my first Android experience though and while I haven't sold my iPhone 5 yet, I'm pretty sure I will.

 

[spacecasespiff]

Is having a hspa+ plan cheaper then a lte plan.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Elysion76]

Prior to this phone I had the Sony Ericsson X10, which I bought when it came out. I think it was their first android phone, and man what a phone it was. Slow, buggy, bloated, and just overall an awful phone that had infamously slow updates. Resistive screen, the list goes on. This much needed update is like a dream for me.

Typing this using the touch gesture keyboard, takes some time getting used to but it's really fast.

 

[iamthenewno2]

Got my N4 yesterday, my previous phone was a Desire HD.

The good: It is gorgeous, the build feels smooth and expensive in the hand, the screen comes so close the edge of the unit and the clarity is miles better than the DHD. Also, and this one is a bit daft, I love the effect when you tap the power button to turn off the screen, just like an old CRT, wonderful!
The bad: When the phone is flat on its back, say on a desk, the ringtone is lower as the speaker is flat on the surface.

 

[gavo360]

Had my N4 for a week and and still loving it. I had the iphone4 and 4s the last 2 years and I don't miss them one bit. Happily sold my 4s to cover the cost of the N4.

Screen is great and makes the iPhone look so small.

Google's ego system is as good as apples and probably better in some areas. I had about 100 apps on my iPhone and I've easily replaced them on the N4.

The feel of the phone is premium quality. I'm used to all glass phones and thankfully I haven't drop one yet.

My contract is due to end in 10 months and when it does I will go to a pay monthly tariff which is half of what I pay now and stick to future nexus phones and buy them sim free with no branding.