My impressions of the Nexus 4, ask anything

[chrlswltrs]

So here are my impressions so far:

Hardware is amazing. I really like the feel of it. Fingerprints rarely show on the screen and when they do a quick wipe on a shirt and they are gone. The phone has a good weight to it and doesn't feel cheap at all. The notification LED works great with many different colors (LightFlow works great to control the LED).

Sound: Speaker is loud and clear. Speaker phone works great and call quality is also good.

Screen: resolution is amazing, colors are vibrant, and no problem seeing the screen outdoors.

Speed: So far this phone has handled everything I have thrown at it without missing a beat.

Camera: I love it. Here are some pictures I posted in another thread http://androidforums.com/nexus-4/648014-i-got-mine.html#post5204913

Battery: Don't ask. I've only had it a day and at work I'm in buildings and tunnels all day without a signal. It will be at least a week until I get a good evaluation on the battery.

Software:

Keyboard: Best Google has ever done. The swiping works really well. Keyboard is extremely easy to use and accurate.

Lockscreen: I really like the setup with being able to add widgets, and the camera is accessed as a full screen widget to the right of the main lock screen. 2 things I wish was different: I wish I could set a separate lockscreen wallpaper, and swiping the lock icon in any direction unlocks the phone.

Notification settings: I really like this implementation. There is an icon at the top right of the notification area when open that opens a page of quick toggles.


Navigation
This is a big one for me. GPS locks quickly, stays consistent and accurate. Voice guidance works great. I had my phone plugged in with my 2mAh car charger and it was able to charge the phone while navigating, streaming internet radio, playing everything over bluetooth, and the screen being on the whole time. The screen remained readable the entire time it was in my dock, even in sunlight. Very impressed with the navigation, especially coming from the GSII which was known for bad GPS.


Battery
It's not a RAZR Maxx, but it is sufficient. I work in areas where I am in underground facilities a lot and have no signal. I am in and out of these areas all the time. Sometimes I have Wifi, sometimes I don't. Even with these conditions I am able to make it through a workday without a charger. My typical workday includes a few texts (10-20), playing a few social games (WWF, Scramble), playing other games (Angry Birds Star Wars HD), and maybe a phone call (<5 min). With all of that and a screen on time of around 20-25% I easily can make it through an 8 hour shift.

The screen is easily the biggest drain on the battery. I can't leave it off to do any real testing, but the battery hardly drains at all when the screen is off.

Overall, I find the battery life acceptable. I wish it was more since replacing batteries isn't an option, but as long as I can make it through the workday until I have a charger available I'm ok.

I do have an external 6000mAh battery charger I picked up on eBay about a month ago in anticipation of getting this phone. It was pretty inexpensive (around $20-25 I think). If you are used to carrying around a spare battery for your phone you might want to pick one of these also.


Any other questions just ask, I'll try to answer them

 

[tonytouch311]

have you put it in your pocket yet? any scratches? just bought the skinomi protector, but wont come in till after i get the phone hopefully.

 

[Pappy35]

So...How's the battery???

Haha...just kidding 'cause I'm jealous.

 

[chrlswltrs]

have you put it in your pocket yet? any scratches? just bought the skinomi protector, but wont come in till after i get the phone hopefully.

Yep, on my pocket all day at work, no scratches. I'm really confident in the Gorilla Glass 2

 

[dunjamon]

Did you get a bumper case with it too? I really want to see some proper images and a review of the thing.

 

[chrlswltrs]

Did you get a bumper case with it too? I really want to see some proper images and a review of the thing.

No, I'm keeping mine naked

Plus I picked mine up at T-Mobile which is why I have it so quickly and they had no accessories for it at all in the store

 

[MartinS]

I would pretty much echo the OP's comments:

Hardware:

Nice and sturdy with no creaks and a well built look and feel. I'm still not sure about the back but that is a matter of taste.
I too am using Lightflow for notifications and the colours are very good.
The screen is fantastic, superb high resolution, colours seem good and so close to the surface. As most have commented it's right up there with the HTC One X (which I have) and Apple's efforts.

EDIT: Camera takes reasonable pics, especially in light, I've managed a couple of decent close pictures (not macro) with the flash too.

Software:

Android 4.2 is great, smooth, functional and now feels coherent throughout. My only negative is the lock screen widgets, I'm not keen on these as it feels a bit too much and can end up looking like another launcher to be honest. The new keyboard is great and swiping works really well. The camera software is much improved, especially the tap anywhere options. Varied results with Photo sphere - but some pictures have come out well.
Chrome is fantastic on the N4. Much quicker than the N7.
Notifications are excellent, as they were in 4.1.2.
I like the 2 finger swipe which brings down quick settings instead of notifications too.

Battery:

Doesn't seem bad at all but I don't want to comment too early. Also my 1 year old GNex battery was terrible so I have a poor comparison. Currently I am not concerned about getting through the day though.

Something else:

When I first took out the N4 and had a play, I was a little underwhelmed and thought it was a small step from the GNex.

I was wrong, this phone is excellent and I'm sure most of you will be extremely pleased with you purchase.

 

[chrlswltrs]

Liamo_210 sent me a PM with the question of usable storage and I figured I would answer it here since I'm sure others have the same question.

I have the 16GB version (only size available on T mobile) and in settings my total space is listed as 12.92GB

 

[shiv81]

Liamo_210 sent me a PM with the question of usable storage and I figured I would answer it here since I'm sure others have the same question.

I have the 16GB version (only size available on T mobile) and in settings my total space is listed as 12.92GB

You also have to make sure to deduct another 500 mb as the system does not allow you to use it for performance reasons.

 

[Banished Angel]

We all know there are a million positives to this phone. What negatives have you found so far? What don't you like about it? Nitpick.

 

[Farru503]

How much did you pay for the nexus 4 at Tmobile? Give me the total please

 

[chrlswltrs]

I just updated the OP with navigation, it is VERY good.

 

[chrlswltrs]

How much did you pay for the nexus 4 at Tmobile? Give me the total please

I payed $494 total for 2 Nexus 4's including tax.

We all know there are a million positives to this phone. What negatives have you found so far? What don't you like about it? Nitpick.

1. There are some things that take some getting used to like the camera controls, but I still think it is an improvement, just different.
2. I can't set a different Wallpaper for the lockscreen (feature I was used to with WidgetLocker, this is the first time in 2+ years I've used the stock lockscreen). If this really mattered I would just go back to WidgetLocker

Don't know much else right now, but I may just still be in the honeymoon phase. So far it has matched or beat all of my expectations (which were VERY high).

I am going to hold off judgement on the battery. Not being able to use an extended battery is the one thing that I am still wary about. That is the only glaring potential negative I have found so far.

 

[Farru503]

I think I just gonna cancel the order and go to Tmobile

 

[chrlswltrs]

I think I just gonna cancel the order and go to Tmobile

Make sure they have it in stock first. Only about half of the Tmobile stores got them. The one I went to I was the first one in line. I got 2, they only had a total of 3 to sell.

 

[Farru503]

Make sure they have it in stock first. Only about half of the Tmobile stores got them. The one I went to I was the first one in line. I got 2, they only had a total of 3 to sell.

Thanks for the advice

 

[BigCiX]

Hopefully all u LG haters can cut it out now. They've always made solid phones. They just lack in the software department.

 

[chrlswltrs]

Hopefully all u LG haters can cut it out now. They've always made solid phones. They just lack in the software department.

Yeah I heard all the LG bashing and had my doubts because of it. I had faith in Google choosing a good phone to be the nexus though. So far the GPS and radios are performing great, way better than my Samsung phone. And the build quality feels incredible!

 

[tdm]

Hopefully all u LG haters can cut it out now. They've always made solid phones. They just lack in the software department.

+1

I love their hardware, the optimus v is indestructible.

But unfortunately they have started locking their boot loaders lately, so this is probably going to be my last LG phone. Pity.

 

[chrlswltrs]

+1

I love their hardware, the optimus v is indestructible.

But unfortunately they have started locking their boot loaders lately, so this is probably going to be my last LG phone. Pity.

You have to type 3 words into a command prompt to unlock a Nexus bootloader. Mine was unlocked before I even left the T-Mobile parking lot (I took my netbook with me)

 

[tdm]

You have to type 3 words into a command prompt to unlock a Nexus bootloader. Mine was unlocked before I even left the T-Mobile parking lot (I took my netbook with me)

Yeah that's why I'm getting it. Wouldn't touch it otherwise. Still makes me feel dirty even buying a phone with the capability to lock the boot loader. Goes against my principles. But for this price, my principles can bend a little lol.

 

[Pappy35]

And those three words are....

 

[RaLeX]

You have to type 3 words into a command prompt to unlock a Nexus bootloader. Mine was unlocked before I even left the T-Mobile parking lot (I took my netbook with me)

i'm hoping it's this easy.

I'm a relative noob- to the hacker side of Android,
Reading how to unlock the bootloader sounds a little like rooting, which is easy, assuming all goes well... for whatever reason I had no problem with ODIN on my AT&T S3, then when I switched to a Verizon S3 ODIN doesn't show up with the yellow bar anymore.

I'm hoping I figure out how to unlock the bootloader without any issues.

 

[chrlswltrs]

And those three words are....

fastboot oem unlock

OK, there is a little more to it. You have to have the Android SDK on your computer and I think some drivers. But that's it. Exactly the same as when I unlocked my Nexus S bootloader a couple years ago the day it was released.

 

[Android802]

I can't wait to get my Nexus 4! But im a little concerned about the photo samples you posted. I am a huge fan of taking pictures on my phone and if those pictures are indeed the quality that I should expect then I am going to be very disappointed.

The phone I have now is an HTC Sensation on T-Mobile. While it doesn't have the best specs or battery life, one of my favorite features has been the camera. While it isn't the best camera it took some really good pictures.

Luckily I have read some reviews that makes the camera actually seem pretty decent. Again, not the best on the market but im okay with that. As long as it can take pretty decent pictures ill be happy with it.