Droid fans... if you missed my posts on Facebook yesterday

[ReVOLver]

Verizon finally rolled the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and after some cajoling by my company president, I went and picked one up.

Thoughts...

• It is a BIG phone but I always liked the size of my X so that's not an issue for me. You have small hands? It's probably too big for you.
• Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich / ICS) is awesome. It's very fast, and because this is a Nexus, it's the Google flagship phone meaning there are no irritating Motoblur or HTC Sense type loaders to deal with. It has face recognition security software that actually works once you spend some time refining it. No built-in Swype, and I couldn't find Swype in the marketplace, but I installed something called SlideIT and it's easily as good. Also the soft keyboard is very precise and rivals the iPhone's soft keyboard even without SlideIT / Swype.
• 4G is amazing. This is my first experience with it. Yesterday I got right at 20 Mbps down at the office and then got almost 22 Mbps down last night at home. However, it's not something you can leave on all the time because it is a battery killer. I bought the extended battery; I left home this morning at 6 with a full charge and by 10:30 I was at 39% with just normal phone usage.
• The screen is amazing. I'd put it just under the iPhone's retina display for quality, but it's right there.
• The phone is built to integrate with Google+. I have a Google+ page of course but I've never done anything with it. It gives you the option to blind-sync any pictures taken with Google+ (sort of like iCloud) into a private album. Interesting, but I'm not syncing with any other devices, so I'll continue doing manual backups.
• They have FINALLY given us a quick built-in way to do a screen shot, similar to the iPhone method.
• Hello actual real Exchange support, including the ability to granularly select email folders to sync. Yes, everything from Froyo on had decent Exchange support without having to buy Touchdown, but this is light years different.
• On my X I had grown weary of browser crashes so I had migrated to DolphinHD. I'm holding off on Dolphin to play with the stock version but the Android version of Chrome still seems a little buggy. I've already had a couple of crashes.
• The built-in SMS client is typical Android SMS... vanilla and boring. I will keep it for a little while and then probably go back to HandCent.
• They've improved the speech to text. It seems a little more accurate, it prints words while you are still talking and while it is still accepting input, and it doesn't close the mic when you stop speaking. I already thought their voice support was pretty solid... they just made it a little better.
• It does not come with a microSD card; it has 32 GB of internal storage (like an iPhone). I don't even think it has a microSD slot. It would have to be under the battery, which I haven't pulled, and the manual doesn't reference it.
• It comes with a decent set of Samsung in-ear earbuds.
• I have not tried out music, maps, or nav yet to see if there are any improvements there. Nav looks the same visually.

All in all I'd give it 4.5 stars out of 5. It's not perfect (4G battery life!) but it's a true iPhone competitor for those of us who want a more customizable experience. My only real fear with the iPhone is that I wouldn't like how the base OS can't be messed with (unless you jailbreak it). That's fine for most users, but I'm willing to deal with bugs to be able to play around with my phone and customize it without doing stuff that isn't supported by the manufacturer. For now, I'm perfectly happy with the balance of owning Android and owning an iPad.

Of course the company president said, "Get this phone now and get the iPhone 5 when it drops if you want it." So... we'll see.

[Black Diamond Vol]

I think if I were upgrading now, I'd get the Droid Razr.  But by the time I'm eligible to upgrade in March, HTC is supposed to have a quad core phone out.  And maybe the iPhone 5 will be out too.  So I'm still in wait and see mode before I make my decision.  I know one thing, I'm definitely ready for a new phone.  My DX has really bogged down lately.  I don't know if I have too many apps installed or what, but it's not the same phone I bought last year.

[ReVOLver]

I think if I were upgrading now, I'd get the Droid Razr.  But by the time I'm eligible to upgrade in March, HTC is supposed to have a quad core phone out.  And maybe the iPhone 5 will be out too.  So I'm still in wait and see mode before I make my decision.  I know one thing, I'm definitely ready for a new phone.  My DX has really bogged down lately.  I don't know if I have too many apps installed or what, but it's not the same phone I bought last year.

The Razr over the Nexus? I can't get behind that. Specs are similar but the Nexus screen, upgradeable battery, lack of Motoblur, and ICS all made me decide on the Nexus.

I agree with you about the X. I think the last Gingerbread patch slowed it significantly.

[ReVOLver]

One note... Apparently changing the default keyboard changes the default speech engine. The one that enabled for me after I installed SlideIT is more like the traditional one. I might be able to change it back, but not sure yet.

[Black Diamond Vol]

The Razr over the Nexus? I can't get behind that. Specs are similar but the Nexus screen, upgradeable battery, lack of Motoblur, and ICS all made me decide on the Nexus.

I agree with you about the X. I think the last Gingerbread patch slowed it significantly.

Well, the nexus definitely edges the pack right now, because if you want ICS, it's the only game in town.  But once it starts rolling out for other models, the field will be leveled a bit. 

The Gorilla Glass and kevlar case on the Razr are big selling points for me, because I'm absolute hell on my phones- my DX is only about a year and a half old, and it looks like it's been to Fallujah and back.  Plus, the camera is supposed to be better on the Razr, and you can't beat the form factor.  When comparing the Nexus, Razr, and HTC Rezound, you're really just splitting hairs anyway (especially when the latter two get ICS).  But like I said, I'm waiting for the next gen phones to roll out before I upgrade.  I look forward to seeing what comes next.  Hopefully, Apple will come out with a viable alternative.  I was really disappointed with the 4S.

[ReVOLver]

Well, the nexus definitely edges the pack right now, because if you want ICS, it's the only game in town.  But once it starts rolling out for other models, the field will be leveled a bit. 

The Gorilla Glass and kevlar case on the Razr are big selling points for me, because I'm absolute hell on my phones- my DX is only about a year and a half old, and it looks like it's been to Fallujah and back.  Plus, the camera is supposed to be better on the Razr, and you can't beat the form factor.  When comparing the Nexus, Razr, and HTC Rezound, you're really just splitting hairs anyway (especially when the latter two get ICS).  But like I said, I'm waiting for the next gen phones to roll out before I upgrade.  I look forward to seeing what comes next.  Hopefully, Apple will come out with a viable alternative.  I was really disappointed with the 4S.

I'm really wary of any Droid with a non upgradeable battery. But the camera is definitely better on the Razr.

My thought on ICS is that the ICS experience will be much truer on the Nexus than on any Moto or HTC product. That being said, the Razr is a sexy phone.

[GreggO]

Good Lord, I must be as slow as constipation in a homeless drunk 'cause you guys are just way over my noggin! Got the EVO 3D and I'm happy; well, sort of. I hate that everyone can find me! Not sure I like the Google format because I'd love to have my ITunes loaded on the phone for the truck instead of carrying the IPod. Oh well, guess that's why I have an IPod.

G

[BigOrange Maniac]

I was really disappointed with the 4S.

I've been really pleased with my 4S. It's a lot smoother and less buggy than my Droid 2 was.

The big draw to iPhone for me is iOS. Much like OS X vs. Windows, I just prefer iOS over Android. I had an iPad but sold it because it wasn't really very practical, but once I got acquainted with iOS, I knew my next phone would be the iPhone. With a doubled storage capacity, significant camera upgrade and Siri, I felt like 4S was enough of an upgrade over the 4 to justify the purchase. Part of me wanted to wait and see if the iPhone 5 would be released sometime in 2012, but since we don't have 4G around here and probably won't for several years yet (and I don't really do much traveling), I figured the 4S was plenty good enough. There were some things about Droid I liked that Apple can't do, but the only thing I really miss is Swype.

[Volznut]

I've been really pleased with my 4S. It's a lot smoother and less buggy than my Droid 2 was.

The big draw to iPhone for me is iOS. Much like OS X vs. Windows, I just prefer iOS over Android. I had an iPad but sold it because it wasn't really very practical, but once I got acquainted with iOS, I knew my next phone would be the iPhone. With a doubled storage capacity, significant camera upgrade and Siri, I felt like 4S was enough of an upgrade over the 4 to justify the purchase. Part of me wanted to wait and see if the iPhone 5 would be released sometime in 2012, but since we don't have 4G around here and probably won't for several years yet (and I don't really do much traveling), I figured the 4S was plenty good enough. There were some things about Droid I liked that Apple can't do, but the only thing I really miss is Swype.

My daughter loves her new 4S. I am jealous of it, I need to upgrade