So I am a launch day user of this phone. Well, I shouldn't say that. I am on my SECOND Nexus. I returned the first in hopes of improving battery life or signal. In any event, I've had the phones for a while now. This is my third Android PHone (OG Droid, Droid X). I haven't rooted this phone, but I rooted the two previous and have flashed many ROMS and used many alternatives such as Launcher Pro, Miui, etc. The phone is my only phone, and I use it a lot for work. I am in real estate, and on the road a lot. I make anywhere from 5-25 calls / day and receive up to 100 emails in a day. In addition, I use the phone to take business notes and sink with my Evernote account. Finally, the phone is my entertainment (browsing, games, etc.) while on the road and between appointments. In other words, I'm a heavy user who rarely can use wifi. My thoughts:
Pros:
1. ICS
2. Phone Design / form factor
3. Loudness of in-call speaker (not external speaker).
4. Screen size / clarity
5. Quickness / response.
Cons:
1. Battery life
2. Loss of data connectivity at times.
3. Inability to retain phone signal in lower quality areas.
4. Poor camera quality.
5. Lag between screen switching landscape / portrait.
6. Poor keyboard (lag in landscape mode, lack of keystroke accuracy).
Regarding the cons, I feel that I've done all I can to save battery without sacrificing functionality. I have turned off 4G for most of the time, a shame. I've run the battery dry and charged several times. I use wifi when I can. I keep the brightness on auto and never override and I still only get until 1-2 in the afternoon on a business day before the battery is below 10%. Ridiculous compared to my DX under the same circumstances.
Camera quality - well, I've seen the "it's the photographer" posts, but this camera cannot take pictures any better than my DX, and that's only when I try. If I don't fiddle, it takes far worse pictures than the DX, and that's without any changing of the settings.
Keyboard - I've tried a couple of other keyboards - all of them have been no-gos for one reason or another.
I really want to love this phone. I love the pure google experience and the cool factor of ICS. But the battery it killing me. The other things are really annoying. I gave up my DX because it was getting laggy and slow after about a week on any new ROM I would load. Unusably laggy. I waited for the GNex as I was hoping it would be perfect, and it isn't even close.
No way I'm going to defect to a fruit phone. Their app store is nice but I can't stand to be locked down and without my widgets.
I fully intend to keep the phone until the 15th, so I'm not bailing, but man, VZW better come out with some fixes before then.
Pros:
1. ICS
2. Phone Design / form factor
3. Loudness of in-call speaker (not external speaker).
4. Screen size / clarity
5. Quickness / response.
Cons:
1. Battery life
2. Loss of data connectivity at times.
3. Inability to retain phone signal in lower quality areas.
4. Poor camera quality.
5. Lag between screen switching landscape / portrait.
6. Poor keyboard (lag in landscape mode, lack of keystroke accuracy).
Regarding the cons, I feel that I've done all I can to save battery without sacrificing functionality. I have turned off 4G for most of the time, a shame. I've run the battery dry and charged several times. I use wifi when I can. I keep the brightness on auto and never override and I still only get until 1-2 in the afternoon on a business day before the battery is below 10%. Ridiculous compared to my DX under the same circumstances.
Camera quality - well, I've seen the "it's the photographer" posts, but this camera cannot take pictures any better than my DX, and that's only when I try. If I don't fiddle, it takes far worse pictures than the DX, and that's without any changing of the settings.
Keyboard - I've tried a couple of other keyboards - all of them have been no-gos for one reason or another.
I really want to love this phone. I love the pure google experience and the cool factor of ICS. But the battery it killing me. The other things are really annoying. I gave up my DX because it was getting laggy and slow after about a week on any new ROM I would load. Unusably laggy. I waited for the GNex as I was hoping it would be perfect, and it isn't even close.
No way I'm going to defect to a fruit phone. Their app store is nice but I can't stand to be locked down and without my widgets.
I fully intend to keep the phone until the 15th, so I'm not bailing, but man, VZW better come out with some fixes before then.