Is getting a galaxy nexus now a good idea?

[dakid2k6]

I agree about storage. I wish my GNex had 32 instead of 16. But being I have to have GSM phone 16 will do. I come too feel good having 16 and that's my new minimum when it comes to internal storage. As far as liking the new nexus from LG. For my taste as I said before I'm not a fan. But who knows maybe as time goes on it grows on me.

 

[kfilipov13]

Yes! Because when the new Nexus comes out the GNEX will be even cheaper .

But otherwise yeah go for it. If I were you I'd wait, maybe we'll be treated with multiple nexus this year maybe a gnex II

 

[bbarend]

$180??? Off contract??

Just to clarify, it is used.

 

[severinj]

I am honestly shocked by the amount of people reading through this thread and then BUYING A GNEX. Or even the people who bought a GNex in the last couple weeks. Are you guys just ignoring the reasoning to be a smart consumer in this case?

I'm not knocking the GNex, I had one for a while earlier this year but I was not as impressed with it as I had hoped to be. I currently own a Nexus 7 and while JB helps the thing move, the hardware is still a little bit stale in my opinion. The GNex was released with a processor that wasn't top of the crop, a camera that wasn't top of the crop, a GPU that wasn't even in the same league as the top phones of that year, and a screen that people constantly complained about due to pentile issues. The LG Nexus is about to be released and will have the best hardware specs in the phone market accompanied by updated Android software (newer than whatever the GNex will be running) and everyone is.....jumping to buy a GNex? What? I don't even understand that.

Pros for LG Nexus -
SoC
GPU
IPS Display 720p
Camera

Unknowns for LG Nexus -
Battery life
Storage Options

All that leaves the GNex with in the pros category is changeable battery and known storage options. Are those even pros? I don't think so. I think the LG Nexus will have at least the amount of storage options as the GNex, and if the battery on the LG Nexus is good (which it will be, 28nm quad core) then there is honestly no reason to purchase a GNexus at this time. If they announce the LG Nexus and it's $450-500 then yeah go ahead and get a GNex if price is an issue. It will probably be cheaper by then anyways because Google will have no reason to be producing work on a GNex and they will probably try to sell off whatever GNexs they have left.

Again, no offense but these 2 phones will be hugely different. Anyone buying a GNex right now is just....not being a smart consumer.

(Disclaimer: I'm talking about GSM variants.)

 

[cormaster628]

Ok... The galaxy nexus had a dual core 1.2ghz cpu and a mali400 gpu with a gig of ram.... How was it not cutting edge a year ago? It was about as good as anything that came out imo. Doesn't the razr have the same hardware? No one called it mediocre. The nexus didn't break any records for horsepower but it was on par with the phones of the time

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[severinj]

It had an omap chip (which wasn't the greatest) and it did not have a Mali, those are exynos processor gpus.

 

[01011000]

I am honestly shocked by the amount of people reading through this thread and then BUYING A GNEX. Or even the people who bought a GNex in the last couple weeks. Are you guys just ignoring the reasoning to be a smart consumer in this case?

Same here. To each, his/her own but I'm having a hard time also understanding why pull the trigger for a nearly year-old phone that has outdated specs now juxtaposed against the incoming LG Nexus 4... It's really better to be patient and simply wait. Even if the Nexus 4's finalized specs still underwhelm you, at least you know 100% for certain what it is and what it isn't so you can make an informed decision with your money. Again, these specs (as far as us consumers are concerned) aren't final and won't be until Google officially announces the phone. I, for one, am really excited to see what the final specs are going to be for the Nexus 4, am possibly considering it as my next phone, and think LG will make a fantastic device. I had the LG Rumor slider and while it wasn't the bestest phone in the universe, I still loved it, had no problems out of it, and even kept it for three years.

 

[chunkcohen]

After reading all the replies, I can tell you guys really love your GNs despite its shortcomings like the camera, battery and the GPS. I haven't seen ANY other phone getting this kind of praise from its owners. Reading this just makes this phone that much more desirable and I'm REALLY tempted to get it now.

The camera on the G-Nex actually takes very respectable pictures. While isn't 8MP like some of the other monsters out there, the pictures look great (for 5MP) and there's practically ZERO shutter lag. But as with any phone camera, you need a lot of light to get decent exposure because of the small sensor. That tiny LED flash only does so much.

I've found the battery life on my G-Nex (stock battery for now) to be very decent. It gets me through the day with power to spare (but admittedly, I'm not the type that streams hours of video a day, either). GSM G-Nexii get notably better battery life than the LTE variants, despite the slightly smaller battery. Samsung also makes an official 2,000mAh battery if you wanted a little more juice to get you through the day.

The only time I seem to have issues with the GPS on my G-Nex is when I'm sitting under a bunch of trees without a clear view of the sky. Otherwise, it performs significantly better than the GPS radio in my Epic 4G ever did (which was about 30% of the time - no kidding!).

 

[TheLibertarian]

You probably have enough to go on, but I was just in a similar boat and figured I'd share my $.02

The Samsung GNex is still, even compared to the GS3, a very good phone. Yes, the S4 processors are monsters, but the GNex still has a dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. If, like me, you have plans to "modify" the phone (rooting, overclocking), it's even better.

Now, that rumored LG device sounds great (4.7" IPS, HD display, quad-core S4, 2GB of RAM) it's still from LG (which is a big time downer for me).

On top of that, we're just breaking into the quad-core technology, and Motorola is the only manufacturer so far to create a quality battery (RAZR Maxx).

So by my thought process, buying the GNex now for $350 gives me an incredibly flexible device, beautiful HD display, and, of course, vanilla Android. The S4 dual core processors aren't enough to sway me to another device, so I plan on hanging on to my GNex for another year, then reevaluating the market. I expect more power conservative quad-core CPU's and bigger, more efficient batteries.

So as beautiful as that LG device sounds to me, it doesn't sound beautiful enough to warrant a price hike or beautiful enough to lure me from a quality Samsung device to an LG device. Sure, the GNex may be beaten by the next Nexus, S3, One X+, and RAZR HD, but it's still a competitive phone, and that's enough for me.

I'm a college kid, so having a Galaxy Nexus with unlimited everything (Straight Talk) is a wonderful privilege, and I saw no reason to overextend myself for the higher end devices, or inconvenience myself to wait for a rumored Nexus device.

I'm very pleased.

 

[c_hack]

I just picked up a new Galaxy Nexus on ebay (refurb) indistinguishable from new.
- Got 4G and kept my unlimited data and did not have to renew my contract for the cost of a new phone
- Its the best Android phone I've used and I love the fact that it'll keep getting updates (unlike my Moto Droids and Incredible 2 all of which are stuck on GB)
- Despite having an older processor, I feel its just as responsive as my iPhone 4s. The only lag I ever notice is the response from the capacitive buttons along the bottom
- Battery life is acceptable - I would bet a newer Nexus would have better battery life now that CPU dies are smaller and the LTE radios have lower power consumption
- Reception with JB is good - not as good as a Motorola phone, but good enough
- Although the display is pentile, it looks just fine - and I was really bothered by the DX2 low res pentile display
I love smartphones in general and I don't think you can go wrong with a Nexus.
But, if you want to keep an unlimited plan, or stay off contract - the Galaxy Nexus will not disappoint.

 

[cormaster628]

My thoughts too are android is maxed out with a dual core and a gig of ram, so I don't see how the lg can be noticeably faster

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[severinj]

My thoughts too are android is maxed out with a dual core and a gig of ram, so I don't see how the lg can be noticeably faster

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

I don't know what it is but people say stuff like this all the time and yet android software hiccups around all day long. Do people pretend they don't notice it? I have been using Android devices since Eclair and it's just now starting to look like it's running better (visually). I love Android as much as the next guy but please lets not pretend it runs perfectly on the GNex if it doesn't even run perfectly on the Nexus 7.

 

[cormaster628]

Your saying it doesn't run perfectly on the nexus 7? I have a nexus 7 and it does run just fine, other than a lag issue after the storage hit 5 gigs remaining, but 4.1.2 fixed that issue.

People care too much about raw specs, the galaxy s3 doesn't feel any faster, but Samsung put a quad and 2 gigs of ram in because people eat that up. When I had my captivate earlier this year I could play nearly every game on the market with half the ram. My flyer didn't struggle with any game I threw at it and it had a single core snapdragon s2!

I guess if showing off benchmarks to your friends is important than maybe the galaxy nexus isn't enough power. But for me it's fine. I don't even game on my phone, that's what my nexus 7 is for.

Honestly even at 4.7 inches, phones are too small for any game that isn't a basic puzzler or a social game such as words with friends or song pop

Look I noticed a difference between my captivate and my vivid, 512 of ram and a single core isn't enough. But double that and for now it's all android needs. Come 5.0 it may not be enough but in the near future with 4.x its plenty!

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[cormaster628]

It had an omap chip (which wasn't the greatest) and it did not have a Mali, those are exynos processor gpus.

Ok my bad I thought the mali400 and power vr sgx540 were the same. Wikipedia used to have mali listed under power vr chips but they don't now

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[Anroid Man]

Samung Galaxy Nexus (Unlocked) is supposed to run the same OS as the LG Nexus, right? If that's the case I might end up getting a SGN and in the meantime use and enjoy the heck out of it and when the LG Nexus drops in price I may purchase that as well.

I was thinking about getting a Samsung GS3, but we all know how Samsung and the U.S. carriers are with OS updates, so I think I'm just going to go the Nexus route since it gets the latest software updates first. Latest OS > latest hardware as long as it runs smoothly on the older hardware.

 

[cormaster628]

Yeah it's got plenty of power. If you're really wanting to game you might want to consider the new nexus but if you just want a great smartphone with awesome community support and updates straight from Google then grab a galaxy nexus.

But if you really want to play some graphic intensive games then get a Nexus 7. Stick to social and basic time killers on your phone

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