Galaxy Nexus vs HTC Rezound

[clichename1221]

Which one should I get?

I was going to get the Galaxy Nexus, but my friend told me that Samsung is somewhat bad with Android phones?
He mentioned some download cache or something, and after researching a bit on the internet, I discovered that Samsung implements a cache that limits the download of a file to 30 MB.
Also, the biggest flaw I believe the Galaxy Nexus has is the fact that it has no SD card slot.

However, the Galaxy Nexus comes loaded with Android 4, and I think that since it AOSP supports it, ROMs will come out much faster than on other devices, such as the HTC Rezound (CM still isn't out for the bionic!) Also, I hear it's the fastest Android so far.

I'm perfectly comfortable with getting either, but what are your opinions?

To sum it up...
Galaxy Nexus:
Pros:
Comes with ICS
If the rumors hold, only $199
ROM support
Fast
Cons:
No SD card slot (biggest con, in my opinion)
Samsung's download cache (confirm, please?)
No HDMI slot (I don't really care about this one)

HTC Rezound
Pros:
Good speakers
(Not much else I can think of)
Cons:
Android 2
To me, it felt a bit thick, and I think it should've been at least as thin as the Razr.

 

[Yeahha]

Welcome to AF

I believe the 30 MB download cache limit on samsung phones is just for market apps. I am not sure if that feature affects Nexus phones or I've got a friend with a Nexus S 4G and he said he doesn't have any issues with downloading apps over 30 MB. If you must have removable storage then the Nexus will not allow for it. But it will be available with 32 GB. I don't think the price will hold out at $199 seeing as best buy had it on their website for $299, I think that was a black friday sale that just didn't happen due to the release date (I could be wrong and hope I am )

While the Rezound doesn't have ICS currently HTC has confrmed they will bring ICS in the form of an OTA to the Rezound. As for good speakers, I don't think the speakers in the phone are upgraded very much. Beats audio is a software eq and a pair of headphones that come with the device (it has received mixed reviews from everyone I have spoken with, I have never actually used beats headphones but I have played around with the EQ). Currently there is no rom support on the Rezound but if the bootloader gets cracked there will be.

As for you saying the Rezound is thick, it comes in at 13.65 mm this, this is actually a bit smaller than my Thunderbolt, if you chose the Rezound that is something you will get used to quickly. It should be noted the Razr is the thinnest smartphone available and the Verizon version of the nexus will come in at 9.47 mm.

I am planning on going with the Nexus sometime in the next month or so. If you like HTC sense then you may want to go with the Rezound, I personally don't so that makes up my mind for me.

 

[clichename1221]

Welcome to AF

I believe the 30 MB download cache limit on samsung phones is just for market apps. I am not sure if that feature affects Nexus phones or I've got a friend with a Nexus S 4G and he said he doesn't have any issues with downloading apps over 30 MB. If you must have removable storage then the Nexus will not allow for it. But it will be available with 32 GB. I don't think the price will hold out at $199 seeing as best buy had it on their website for $299, I think that was a black friday sale that just didn't happen due to the release date (I could be wrong and hope I am )

While the Rezound doesn't have ICS currently HTC has confrmed they will bring ICS in the form of an OTA to the Rezound. As for good speakers, I don't think the speakers in the phone are upgraded very much. Beats audio is a software eq and a pair of headphones that come with the device (it has received mixed reviews from everyone I have spoken with, I have never actually used beats headphones but I have played around with the EQ). Currently there is no rom support on the Rezound but if the bootloader gets cracked there will be.

As for you saying the Rezound is thick, it comes in at 13.65 mm this, this is actually a bit smaller than my Thunderbolt, if you chose the Rezound that is something you will get used to quickly. It should be noted the Razr is the thinnest smartphone available and the Verizon version of the nexus will come in at 9.47 mm.

I am planning on going with the Nexus sometime in the next month or so. If you like HTC sense then you may want to go with the Rezound, I personally don't so that makes up my mind for me.

Thanks for the welcome and advice!

I'm quite new to Android phones, so would it be possible to partition the internal phone storage to allow for a mock-sd-card-like thing? I'm not talking about USB mass storage (I believe it supports MTP), but I'm quite worried about how flashing ROMs will work out.

 

[Yeahha]

No problem. Actually on an android device that doesn't support external storage the internal memory is already partitioned to have part of it act as an SD card so you can flash roms without having to wipe your SD every time. You will flash a rom just like you would on any other Android device, as long as you don't tell recovery to format your SD (yes there is an option for that) then it will leave that partition alone.

I think you are correct with MTP vs USB mass storage as well.

 

[jikhead]

I think the camera hardware of the Rezound is going to end up being better than the one on the GN. The GN has the advantage of the ICS's additional camera software. I think we'll find that once the Rezound has ICS, it's camera will overall be better in the end.

Both phones support HDMI; they use MHL thru the micro USB. You then plug a HDMI cable into the MHL cable/adapter.

 

[Yeahha]

For info about steaming using MHL check out this thread http://androidforums.com/htc-rezound/451525-has-anyone-tried-mhl-hdmi-out.html

You may also want to see http://androidforums.com/htc-rezound/445578-pros-cons-htc-rezound-vs-galaxy-nexus.html

 

[clichename1221]

I think I've decided on the Galaxy Nexus.
Thanks for the advice, guys!

 

[Brucew0617]

definitely galaxy nexus! It's awesome!

 

[pkopalek]

I think some important things are missing from this, besides the SD card thing.

Gingerbread does not address more than one processor core. So the HTC Rezound is effectively an overclocked HTC Thunderbolt (albeit possibly faster memory and graphics chip).

Once ICS comes out, the Rezound may well be a lot smoother and faster.

Right now, IMO, it is the best phone money can buy. Here are some of the reasons I chose the Rezound over the Galaxy Nexus

-Voice and data at the same time: Until 4g is everywhere (for data) and voice calls go over it, this is relevant. If you're in 3g areas, only the Thunderbolt and Rezound do voice and data simultaneously. This is NECESSARY for work for me, and a dealbreaker about the Galaxy Nexus
-The Galaxy Nexus is made by Samsung: As yet, Samsung has not produced a phone with a quality GPS or cell phone antenna. Consistently, (for example), the Galaxy S series of phones would lose 3g (or all) reception in places where even my old HTC Eris kept a fine 3g connection. It was pathetic and sad. And kind of strange.
-Build quality of HTC phones is (and always has been) incredible. My experience with samsungs is a cheaper build, a more plastic-like feel, and awkward quirks. HTC is consistent and (with the exception of that HTC Thunderbolt reboot debacle)

I had two reasons for considering the Galaxy Nexus that I was waiting for (until I met the rezound/vigor).

-Screen size (4.65"? that's obscene! I want it) and SAMOLED (which they should sell to other manufacturers, not just themselves and one other -- they stopped selling AMOLEDs to HTC)
-NFC communication (but since Google Wallet is not thought to be coming to ANY other carriers but Sprint anytime soon, this was a non-issue). I was really hoping my phone to do something MORE than my 2009 HTC Eris did. These new phones only have bigger screens, faster processors, and a camera flash. Save 4g LTE, that's it. Nothing new. No more capability. NFC (and therefore being able to use PayPass-like technology on my phone instead of carrying my credit/debit cards everywhere) was what I thought the future would be (like it is in Europe). Big banks are fighting this, and we give them so much power here, that it's doubtful this technology will come by.
-ICS will not be smooth as glass. It's brand new. Like Android 2.0, there will be bugs that will be apparent when the masses get hold of the software. That's getting hashed out largely in Europe right now, but the amount of applications that will possibly be unusable and other quirks will be a turn off to me in the short term. I'm not very excited about ICS, at all, to be honest. It'll come to Rezound anyway!

That is all. I'm sure the GNX will be a great phone. I just chose the Rezound for HTC's quality product, HTC Sense (which I think blows away aosp, and even when I go to Cyanogenmod, I wind up back on Sense after a while), voice-and-data-at-the-same-time (which I'm surprised no one writes about), and the antennas (GPS instant locks, reception EVERYWHERE, the entire back of the phone is the antenna).

 

[jerofld]

-Screen size (4.65"? that's obscene! I want it) and SAMOLED (which they should sell to other manufacturers, not just themselves and one other -- they stopped selling AMOLEDs to HTC)

I thought the new Razr had a SAMOLED screen, so they do sell to other companies. I think it's really just HTC being stubborn from the Evo 4G days. The Evo 4G had AMOLED screens, until Samsung couldn't supply them fast enough, and HTC was forced to go to LCD.