A dilemma between Nexus and Rezound

[Vance14]

I have been reading up on both and, while you might think this was a no-brainer in favor of the Nexus, there is just enough to give me pause. Here are my thoughts:

1. I prefer HTC builds to Samsung. I like phones with more heft and I hate "plasticy" feeling phones.

2. I am not worried about Sense because I will immediately put LauncherPro on it, like I have with my current Thunderbolt.

3. The camera seems seriously better on the Rezound.

4. ICS will come to the Rezound early next year, or at least a CyanogenMod version will come. I have no problem rooting and ROM'ing.

5. The screens are comparable, some saying the Rezound is actually the better screen.

But, there is also the concern of not getting future updates in a timely fashion, and I would love to get my hands on ICS sooner rather than later. The extended battery sounds great with the Nexus as well.

Lastly, I could buy the Rezound now, test drive it and if I don't like it, swap it for the Nexus when it comes out (presumably within the return window).

Any thoughts?

 

[PowerThroughLove]

Id buy a Rezound today if it was rooted yet. Still isnt, a month after release. That scares me that it wont have developer support, because there are a LOT of phones for developers to work on right now. I dont think theyll keep waiting.

 

[BigCTM]

There are some great developers working on the Rezound. Very close to S-Off...It will be fully rooted soon.

Id buy a Rezound today if it was rooted yet. Still isnt, a month after release. That scares me that it wont have developer support, because there are a LOT of phones for developers to work on right now. I dont think theyll keep waiting.

 

[DrPancake]

if you get the rezound, when the nexus comes out and its all over the tech sites and everyone is saying how great it is you will be jelly!

at least thats the way I know I am. I was tempted as well but i like how the nexus has no buttons and the hardware was designed for ICS

 

[ManBearPig618]

Correct me if I'm wrong (I may be), but if you run Launcher Pro, GoLauncher EX, etc., aren't these just launchers that are running over the OEM skin? I mean Sense will still be using up resources, right?

 

[Vance14]

Correct me if I'm wrong (I may be), but if you run Launcher Pro, GoLauncher EX, etc., aren't these just launchers that are running over the OEM skin? I mean Sense will still be using up resources, right?

Yes, I am doing that right now on my Thunderbolt, and the good news is that it doesn't seem to effect actual performance at all. Even with less RAM on my TB, it just doesn't seem make a difference.

Dr. Pancake, that is the ONLY thing I am really worried about, I know I am a lot like you in that!! But, there are just a handful of niggling little things about the Nexus. Just like with real estate, location is everything because you can always upgrade the house, for me hardware is the one thing that can't be changed, software is flexible.

The only thing negative they say about the Rezound hardware is that it is heavy, but I actually like that in a phone.

 

[Jeff43]

Lastly, I could buy the Rezound now, test drive it and if I don't like it, swap it for the Nexus when it comes out (presumably within the return window).

This.

 

[Qazme]

I'm in the same boat as is.....the two main things I was really wanting was the screen size, software buttons, and the thinness. Build quality I think will be pretty comparable. The thing that drives me towards the Rezound is a lot of devs from the Incredible have moved to it, and the Incredible had an awesome group behind it the entire time, and still does!

I think ultimately it will come down to do you worry about being able to upgrade the amount of storage with the SD card slot in the Rezound. A camera is a camera in a phone for the most part. Once you hit that 5 to 8MP camera size they all put out relatively good pictures. Some better than others and it's purely personal opinion on which one is better.

I'm looking at the Rezound and have been for about a week or so. It not having a permanent root method is kind of meh, however once it gets it it will be a strong phone. However having a phone built for the new versions of Android (IE software buttons) is a big plus to me as well as getting updates straight from Google. On the rooted Rezound side, you will have updates relatively quickly from the devs eventually, and could be one of the first to run a new version depending on the situation, however you could also be one of the last depending on how early you are willing to adopt a ROM that's in beta. Such as cynaogenmod nightlies etc.

Think I'll give the Nexus the rest of this week before I get serious is swapping it up.

 

[guinnkevinr]

The GN doesn't feel plasticy at all to me. Great feel and compared to the Rezound, it's a real winner to me. Guess it's just user preference as I don't like HTC phones due to a lot of screen issues and the shape of the phone doesn't feel good to me one handed. For as large the nexus is, it feels great in one hand. Every HTC phone I've had has had major dead pixel issues.

I have been reading up on both and, while you might think this was a no-brainer in favor of the Nexus, there is just enough to give me pause. Here are my thoughts:

1. I prefer HTC builds to Samsung. I like phones with more heft and I hate "plasticy" feeling phones.

2. I am not worried about Sense because I will immediately put LauncherPro on it, like I have with my current Thunderbolt.

3. The camera seems seriously better on the Rezound.

4. ICS will come to the Rezound early next year, or at least a CyanogenMod version will come. I have no problem rooting and ROM'ing.

5. The screens are comparable, some saying the Rezound is actually the better screen.

But, there is also the concern of not getting future updates in a timely fashion, and I would love to get my hands on ICS sooner rather than later. The extended battery sounds great with the Nexus as well.

Lastly, I could buy the Rezound now, test drive it and if I don't like it, swap it for the Nexus when it comes out (presumably within the return window).

Any thoughts?

 

[dimsdale]

>1. I prefer HTC builds to Samsung. I like phones with more heft and I hate "plasticy" feeling phones.

Who cares about build quality. The phone needs to last 18 mos - 24 mos. Lighter is better. It's not your d***. It's a phone.

>3. The camera seems seriously better on the Rezound.

If you care about the camera, get an iPhone. Phone cameras are convenience cameras, not to be taken seriously.

>4. ICS will come to the Rezound early next year, or at least a CyanogenMod version will come.

ICS and ROMs ain't out on your phone and running without headaches until they are. If you buy a phone without ICS now, better be ready to accept that the phone may be hopelessly outdated by the time ICS is available for it. "Oh look, I can run ICS now on my Razr/Rezound. And I can also get a quad-core phone with a 2nd gen LTE radio with battery that lasts 50% longer. Yippie!"

>Lastly, I could buy the Rezound now, test drive it and if I don't like it, swap it for the Nexus when it comes out (presumably within the return window).

Nexus could be out later this week. Restocking fee + risk of it for a few days isn't worth it.

 

[Mapex]

if you get the rezound, when the nexus comes out and its all over the tech sites and everyone is saying how great it is you will be jelly!

at least thats the way I know I am. I was tempted as well but i like how the nexus has no buttons and the hardware was designed for ICS

This and what everyone else has said.

I'll address each of the OP's bullet points, though:

1) Try the Nexus out in your hand first before making a hasty decision. There are mixed reports as it is subjective, but the overall trend I am noticing is that people love the feel of the Galaxy Nexus in their hands compared to say the Charge or the Nexus S.

2) Keep in mind that there are some awesome ICS launcher features that LauncherPro/ADW won't have for a while. For instance, grouping apps into folders. Research all the changes to the stock Android launcher before you assume that you'll be happy with LauncherPro/ADW as you have been in the past.

3) It probably is, yes. I however almost never use my camera so the Nexus' weak camera means nothing to me. If you take a lot of pictures, make sure to check out every single review of the cameras between the devices or try them out in store and make a decision from there.

4) Given HTC's track record, you probably won't see an official ICS OTA until 2Q. Furthermore, it will look nothing like ICS - it will still be Sense with the ICS improvements in the background. You also miss out on all NFC-features (Beam, Wallet, ISIS) and other features that the Rezound doesn't support. Keep this in mind because 2012 is going to be HUGE for mobile payment systems, though realistically we won't see a lot of stores possess mobile payment registers until 2013.

Also, again given HTC's track record, any cooked ROMs for the Rezound will probably have major problems. Our ThunderBolt for instance lacks an official, fully stable and functional Cyanogenmod. HTC just isn't hacker-friendly anymore, unlike Samsung who went as far as to employ Cyanogen himself.

5) They aren't comparable and this analysis is very subjective. The Rezound doesn't use PenTile, so it has a better image quality, but the Galaxy Nexus has a larger screen with greater resolution and it is AMOLED. Some people prefer AMOLED for brightness, others the traditional TFT. Some actually do prefer PenTile (battery savings, daylight viewing, etc) compared to Real Stripe and similar RGB subpixel arrangements for better color accuracy and image quality.

This comparison is apples and oranges; don't go by what people say but instead by what you are looking for in a display.


If you don't mind the $35 restocking fee, get a Rezound now. Play with it for a week or two (yes, even if the Nexus comes out on the 15th make sure to keep the Rezound). Get used to the above 5 things you brought up. When you are ready, go to the store and check out the Nexus to see if it matches up in those departments. After this exercise only will you truly be able to discern which device is best for you. Ignore the internet; follow your heart.

 

[davey11]

Save yourself the $35 restocking fee and wait a couple more days (hopefully) and get the Nexus.

Just my opinion, but I doubt the rezound will get ICS soon, maybe by March or April. They said soon just to get you to buy the phone.

 

[Vance14]

Dimsale, I agree with most of what you say, but by "build quality" I don't mean durability, but the feel of the phone itself. I prefer heavier phones, which is one reason I chose the Tbolt over the Charge. I seriously dislike "light" phones. One of my primary concerns with the Nexus is that it will feel to light and not have enough "heft".

 

[Vance14]

hmmm, this really is tough. I have been very, very happy with my Thunderbolt up until recently, when it has been giving me some texting issues which both Verizon and HTC say is a "known issue" and they can't fix it. So, I do need a new phone fairly quickly. I will wait another day and ponder some more . . .

 

[BigCTM]

Not me...I have the Rezound (got if for 49.00) and it is AWESOME! Does everything I need it to do and more...The Gnex does not even interest me at all.

if you get the rezound, when the nexus comes out and its all over the tech sites and everyone is saying how great it is you will be jelly!

at least thats the way I know I am. I was tempted as well but i like how the nexus has no buttons and the hardware was designed for ICS

 

[BigCTM]

Maybe by then all the bugs will be worked out of ICS but I doubt it.

Save yourself the $35 restocking fee and wait a couple more days (hopefully) and get the Nexus.

Just my opinion, but I doubt the rezound will get ICS soon, maybe by March or April. They said soon just to get you to buy the phone.

 

[Vance14]

OK, here is the plan. I am going to get the Rezound on trial. My daughter's phone is about to give and she has been clamoring for my Thunderbolt, so I can give her that. Then when the Nexus comes out, presumably within the 14 day return window, I will check it out and make my decision. If, for any reason, the Nexus does NOT come out within the 14 days and it comes out and I am in love with it, I will simply hand the Rezound off to my wife (who is still on the OG Incredible) and get the Nexus for myself!

 

[tblack2#CB]

lol Vance, handing down all the phones.

 

[ejaymd11]

I mean you pretty much summed it up. What more do you want? If you like sense, htc, the camera, cool with waiting for the update, knows updates will take forever then what more do you want? OH and I've heard nobody say the rezound has a better screen. I have one and can't wait to ditch it.

 

[Vance14]

I mean you pretty much summed it up. What more do you want? If you like sense, htc, the camera, cool with waiting for the update, knows updates will take forever then what more do you want? OH and I've heard nobody say the rezound has a better screen. I have one and can't wait to ditch it.

It was either the Verge or Engadget HD review which was describing the two screens as equal in resolution and overall quality of the image, but leaving it up to particular preference whether you like vibrant (Nexus) or naturalistic (Rezound) colors.

And it is not at all that I like Sense, only that I can get rid of most of it with Launcher Pro.