I was waiting for this phone to finally come come out just like everyone else. I really wanted to like the GNex but for the money I spent it should have been better. I had the phone for about a week and a half. This write up is meant to enlighten anyone on the fence trying to decide like I was.
Speaker Phone- I kept missing calls as the speaker wasn't very loud and also trying to hear it while driving (I hate ear pieces).
Camera- I'm a Semi-Pro Photographer and know that mp's are not what make a good camera. A combination of things, Lens, sensor and processor are what make the difference. The camera had no focus priority so it just fired whether focused or not. Even when focused, the image quality was sub-par.
Call Quality- This is what killed it for me. I don't make that many calls but 4 out of about 15 calls I made, had some horrible ear piercing noises. It sounded like R2D2 on steroids.
Battery- I found that the battery when given a chance to break in wasn't all that bad. I was used to the battery on the TBolt and the GNex was the same or even a little better.
Software- I liked ICS, but by the time I loaded the apps I wanted it seemed to get bogged down and showed a little lag. So I didn't see the point in the stripped OS. Some of the things I miss are the ability to swipe off apps to close and the LED notifier. I also liked the SAMOLED screen a bit better. I wanted a phone that I will be happy with for at least a year, so anything that bugs me that most likely will not be fixed with an update, (ie -the camera, speaker phone and LTE radio), would drive me nuts.,
Build Quality- I was happy with the build quality of the GNex but HTC phones seem a bit better. I never had the cover come off as some have said, in fact it seems more secure than the Rezound.
Web Browsing- Okay, I admit the GNex is pretty great here, thats where ICS shines except the lack of flash. I don't browse on my phone that much unless I really need to so that wasn't to big of a deal for me.
After returning it and going back to my Tbolt for a bit made me realize I missed "Sense". Who wants a boring stripped OS, I like the cool UI of "Sense". Some people want to remove it to make it faster but it runs just fine for me. Don't get me wrong ICS was cool too but some of the stock apps were a bit bland such as calendar and messaging. The email app overlapped text when set to a larger font, on the inbox list, I'm sure that would be fixed. I had to spend some $ to finally find a calendar app worth while which ended up being free, although not as nice as the Sense calendar. I use reminders daily.
I decided to go with the Rezound and haven't regretted it so far. The camera is awesome. Sense 3.5 is much better with customizable lock screens, revolving home screens and many more cool features. It's not any more laggy than ICS after loading the apps I needed. Battery life is better especially with the 2750 extended battery for going on trips away from a charger. The screen is great but I did like the GNex screen better, easier to read in day light, but the Resound is not bad in that department. So far after about a week I haven't had any issues with call quality or signal strength. I also don't miss the bigger screen of the GNex as I don't watch movies on my phone.
I even thought about getting the iPhone 4s but don't care too much about the icon littered IOS 5 on a phone, and the screen is way too small for my 40+ yr old eyes.
I seem more at home with Sense and HTC and am looking forward to the ICS update.
So now I guess I have to switch camps over to the Rezound forum.
Thanks Samsung, love your TV's. Your phones are getting better and better.
Speaker Phone- I kept missing calls as the speaker wasn't very loud and also trying to hear it while driving (I hate ear pieces).
Camera- I'm a Semi-Pro Photographer and know that mp's are not what make a good camera. A combination of things, Lens, sensor and processor are what make the difference. The camera had no focus priority so it just fired whether focused or not. Even when focused, the image quality was sub-par.
Call Quality- This is what killed it for me. I don't make that many calls but 4 out of about 15 calls I made, had some horrible ear piercing noises. It sounded like R2D2 on steroids.
Battery- I found that the battery when given a chance to break in wasn't all that bad. I was used to the battery on the TBolt and the GNex was the same or even a little better.
Software- I liked ICS, but by the time I loaded the apps I wanted it seemed to get bogged down and showed a little lag. So I didn't see the point in the stripped OS. Some of the things I miss are the ability to swipe off apps to close and the LED notifier. I also liked the SAMOLED screen a bit better. I wanted a phone that I will be happy with for at least a year, so anything that bugs me that most likely will not be fixed with an update, (ie -the camera, speaker phone and LTE radio), would drive me nuts.,
Build Quality- I was happy with the build quality of the GNex but HTC phones seem a bit better. I never had the cover come off as some have said, in fact it seems more secure than the Rezound.
Web Browsing- Okay, I admit the GNex is pretty great here, thats where ICS shines except the lack of flash. I don't browse on my phone that much unless I really need to so that wasn't to big of a deal for me.
After returning it and going back to my Tbolt for a bit made me realize I missed "Sense". Who wants a boring stripped OS, I like the cool UI of "Sense". Some people want to remove it to make it faster but it runs just fine for me. Don't get me wrong ICS was cool too but some of the stock apps were a bit bland such as calendar and messaging. The email app overlapped text when set to a larger font, on the inbox list, I'm sure that would be fixed. I had to spend some $ to finally find a calendar app worth while which ended up being free, although not as nice as the Sense calendar. I use reminders daily.
I decided to go with the Rezound and haven't regretted it so far. The camera is awesome. Sense 3.5 is much better with customizable lock screens, revolving home screens and many more cool features. It's not any more laggy than ICS after loading the apps I needed. Battery life is better especially with the 2750 extended battery for going on trips away from a charger. The screen is great but I did like the GNex screen better, easier to read in day light, but the Resound is not bad in that department. So far after about a week I haven't had any issues with call quality or signal strength. I also don't miss the bigger screen of the GNex as I don't watch movies on my phone.
I even thought about getting the iPhone 4s but don't care too much about the icon littered IOS 5 on a phone, and the screen is way too small for my 40+ yr old eyes.
I seem more at home with Sense and HTC and am looking forward to the ICS update.
So now I guess I have to switch camps over to the Rezound forum.
Thanks Samsung, love your TV's. Your phones are getting better and better.