Is the Gnex a phone even a non-techie should want?

[greenmonster14]

I have been following the main thread for the Gnex ever since the SGSII was nixed by Verizon. I have been reading every post and trying to keep up with the overload of information presented on a daily basis. I currently have an old ENV Touch and am ready for my upgrade to a smartphone. Here is my question. This phone has allure to the techie community. I just want the best phone out there and have always assumed that the GNex is the phone to get. Is this true even for non-techie sorts?...(I will try rooting and unlocking even though I am still pretty clueless about the benefits to a non techie) Is the Gnex the one to get over the Rezound? (I am a father to a 2 year old so I utilize the camera function often....so is the Rezound better?) I am pretty sure I am going to get the GNex but I guess I just wanted some reassurance.

Thanks all

 

[pool_shark]

In my opinion there is no such thing as the "best phone out there". It's all a matter of what features are needed by an individual.
The Nexus is a smartphone pretty much like any other smartphone. You don't need to be a tech geek in order to operate it, you don't have to do any mods to it in order for it to work properly, but if you want to do that there are options available.

 

[BigRedNole]

As the pp said, it depends on the user. I have a co-worker that just moved from a dumbphone to a smartphone. His only criteria was "a phone that could get on the internet". I told him if that is all he wants, get what ever is free. He wound up with a Rezound but has no idea of the use and function of a smartphone.

 

[speede541]

Having been around various "smartphones" (eeh) and PDAs for a while, but an Android virgin, I say you're looking at a mixed bag.

There's nothing revolutionary about the hardware -- it's all pretty well vetted.

But the OS is a mixed bag. In the "pro" column, it definitely appears to be faster and easier to use than previous versions in many respects. It has an innate level of polish to it that previously was available with skinned versions from the manufacturers and mods. But in the "con" column, it's going to have teething pains as bugs are squeezed out, and application incompatibilities are discovered and, over time, corrected.

But then again, what phone doesn't have a few bugs to sort through upon launch? The pros outweigh the cons in my book, but then again, I wouldn't exactly describe myself as "non-techie."

 

[Romparoo]

I have been following the main thread for the Gnex ever since the SGSII was nixed by Verizon. I have been reading every post and trying to keep up with the overload of information presented on a daily basis. I currently have an old ENV Touch and am ready for my upgrade to a smartphone. Here is my question. This phone has allure to the techie community. I just want the best phone out there and have always assumed that the GNex is the phone to get. Is this true even for non-techie sorts?...(I will try rooting and unlocking even though I am still pretty clueless about the benefits to a non techie) Is the Gnex the one to get over the Rezound? (I am a father to a 2 year old so I utilize the camera function often....so is the Rezound better?) I am pretty sure I am going to get the GNex but I guess I just wanted some reassurance.

Thanks all

I wouldn't consider my self a techie. I only know how to follow instructions which is why my phone is rooted.

I have owned 3 HTC devices, HTC Touch with Windows 6, Eris and Incredible. I am very pleased with HTC products. If it was not for the GNex I would have already bought the Rezound. HTC Sense is a great UI, runs smooth. I am just looking for a change and the GNex has exactly what I am looking for in a phone (thin, fast, display, other).

I have children as well, the camera quality on both should be great. I personally prefer and am looking forward to the GNex zero shutter camera so I can quickly take pictures of my children. On my current Incredible I have to wait 2 or 3 seconds before it snaps a picture, and as you know, with children you more than likely miss the shot or get a blured image because they turn their head.

I understand you wanting to get rid of your current phone. My HTC Touch was on it's last leg (almost half the screen would not respond to touch). I held out for 2 months for the Nexus One to hit Verizon, never happend, the Incredible took so long and Verizon gave away bogo phones then, got me and my wife the Eris for $99 total as opposed to spending $400 on two Incredibles. I would suggest to at least wait until the re-rumored release date of this Thursday the 15th to see if the Nexus comes out, then compare them both in person before you decide which to go with.

Either way, I am sure you will be incredibly happy with which ever you get.

 

[BRM10984]

As the pp said, it depends on the user. I have a co-worker that just moved from a dumbphone to a smartphone. His only criteria was "a phone that could get on the internet". I told him if that is all he wants, get what ever is free. He wound up with a Rezound but has no idea of the use and function of a smartphone.

These are the types I point toward an iPhone...

I love Android, but I wouldn't point some (most?) of my coworkers to anything even remotely Android-related.

 

[greenmonster14]

Thanks for all your detailed responses. I really appreciate it. Another question for all of you. Has it been confirmed that Google will be sending out updates directly to the GNex or is it going through Verizon? I thought that I heard rumblings of Verizon interfering somewhere on the monster thread.

Thanks

 

[darkestred]

These are the types I point toward an iPhone...

I love Android, but I wouldn't point some (most?) of my coworkers to anything even remotely Android-related.

You're creating a great injustice by doing that. I'd love to see less apple appeal and this is only adding to it.

Besides, you get to the internet the same way on android. It's not like android is this complex beast. The way i see it you have 3 ways to get to the net. 1) quick launch 2) homescreen 3) app drawer.

Doesnt really get much harder than that.

 

[BRM10984]

You're creating a great injustice by doing that. I'd love to see less apple appeal and this is only adding to it.

Besides, you get to the internet the same way on android. It's not like android is this complex beast. The way i see it you have 3 ways to get to the net. 1) quick launch 2) homescreen 3) app drawer.

Doesnt really get much harder than that.

I'm far less concerned about that than many of you here probably believe I should be. These are not technically-savvy people I'm talking about, and I'm not looking to be their support base when they manage to get into something by accident. The iPhone provides a much more locked down experience that will get them (and subsequently me) into much less trouble.

The two can, should, and will co-exist. Until Android becomes more locked down like iOS, or until iOS becomes much less locked down, there's a quantifiable need for both of them. I'll probably never own an iDevice, but I realize there's a benefit to them being in the marketplace.

 

[jroc]

As with most, if not all Android phones....they can be as simple or as complex as you want.

Also dont let the mention of it being a developer phone scare you. If you just take it, use it for the same things my GF does: Youtube, GPS, web browsing, texting, games, calls, camera.....you will be fine. She even ventured into using it to check Hotmail. Shocked me, I didnt know she had it in her...lol Although I think I had a Hotmail app on my phone...

 

[jamor]

AS they said, you don't have to be a techie to exploit Android.

The developers do the real hacking We just mooch and pretend we're techies!

 

[darkestred]

I'm far less concerned about that than many of you here probably believe I should be. These are not technically-savvy people I'm talking about, and I'm not looking to be their support base when they manage to get into something by accident. The iPhone provides a much more locked down experience that will get them (and subsequently me) into much less trouble.

The two can, should, and will co-exist. Until Android becomes more locked down like iOS, or until iOS becomes much less locked down, there's a quantifiable need for both of them. I'll probably never own an iDevice, but I realize there's a benefit to them being in the marketplace.

As jroc has said. An android can be as simple or complex as you make it to be. I don't think you need to be tech savy to know what button is the app draw and that you have to use your finger to open said app.

The real difference is apple says here stupid, you can't miss these and android says, oh btw, click this to get your apps to show.

What can they really get into? Right off the bat, both phones offer no file manager. One you have to jailbreak to get one and the other you don't but if you've gotten that far then you have some idea about a file system. Aside from that, i can't think of what a user could do to mess their phone up on a non-rooted non Super User account. As far as making calls, using apps, playing videos or music. In rhetorical honesty, what is the need for IOS when there is Android?

One runs linux the other a version of unix. Redundancy?