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Why I’m Not Buying a Galaxy Nexus

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Yet.

For those who think it is because I’m an Apple fan boy, hear me out. It has nothing to do with the fact that I’ve been an iPhone and iOS user for some time now. I’ve been reading quite a bit about the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich. I have to admit, I’m impressed by what I’m seeing and hearing from some folks who have gotten their hands on the phones and the OS and offer opinions and impressions that I have come to respect. Those impressions were so lasting that I spent the better part of my spare time over the last 7 or 8 days wondering through Verizon (and other carriers) stores and checking out Smartphones with larger screens.

That’s my first stumbling block and it boils down to a personal preference over screen size. I’m not a fan of larger screen phones. I characterize anything larger than 4 inches as a larger screen. This is both a visceral and a psychological thing with me. While I’m impressed by what the larger viewing area offers on some of these phones, they just don’t feel good in my hands. I have average sized hands so this isn’t about the reach that some talk about. It is literally about the size of the phone in my hand and how that feels.

Psychologically, and this may seem a bit foolish, the larger form factor Smartphones seem to call more attention to themselves. I think we’ve passed the point where Smartphones make folks heads turn when they see one being used. That said, in watching other folks use larger size phones they just look out of proportion when I see them holding them up to their ear. Yeah, I know I’m crazy. And this comes from a guy who has no problem wearing a Blue Tooth headset everywhere I go.

I’ve been very intrigued by Ice Cream Sandwich since Google unveiled it. I think Android may have finally grown up from a design and usability standpoint based on what I’m seeing and reading. I’m thrilled if that’s the case. Admittedly my Android experience has been limited to Tablets so far and as readers here know I’ve been unimpressed so far with those experiences. I know that Android on a phone is a different beast. I”m not sure why that’s the case, but I know that it is different. That said, ICS seems to offer some significant evolution over what we’ve seen in the past. Significant enough for me to have been pinching pennies for a bit in case I wanted to pull the trigger. (Thanks to all the delays, I’ve pinched enough.) ICS is the first time that I’ve really felt the pull to Android on a phone that has me considering another carrier contract. Sure I could buy an unlocked version, but I’m still got to work with a carrier and add some cost to the monthly bills.

But there’s another stumbling block, and that’s why the first word of this post is “yet.” I don’t live in a LTE area. I do travel to some areas that have Verizon’s LTE available. But that’s not enough of a reason for me to jump on the early adopter bandwagon at this point given that most of the reviews I’ve read have been about phones that don’t operate on Verizon’s LTE network. I figure by the time we have enough real world experiences dotting the Internet, I’ll have a better idea about how the LTE radio impacts battery life and what I should expect from Verizon.

And that’s stumbling block number three. As much as I hammer AT&T about its many problems, I’ve also never had a good experience with Verizon. Paying the monthly freight to any carrier is an obligation like paying alimony. You’re always swallowing a bit of bile when ever you write the check because you feel like you’re paying for a past mistake. I don’t think that will ever change with US carriers, but I just can’t be happy about adding what amounts to a monthly payment to a second company that has never done me any good, no matter how much I’d like to use the product they are peddling. At least my experiences with AT&T’s customer service have been better than my past ones with Verizon.

So, about that “yet.” I’ll wait this one out. I’ll see what Adam and the many others like him have to say. But not tomorrow. I’ll wait until after the blush and glow of the first date has long faded. How this all looks in a few months will be a big indicator as to whether or not I’ll take this plunge. But that’s assuming I can hang on to those pennies I’ve been pinching in the meantime.

18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. tjn9999

    12/14/2011 at 8:38 pm

    I purchased one from expansys as a thanksgiving toy to play with (no LTE).  Within 12 hours it fell out of my hands six (6) times.  I like large screens but all the buttons are difficult to select and the overall build quality is cheap (the back cover is really bad).  I like the fact that there were no logos on the front of the phone; however, the android store has too much advertisement and I was always looking for an iPhone replacement app that didn’t’ exist.

    • Anonymous

      12/14/2011 at 9:43 pm

      iPhone replacement app? What are you talking about?

    • Anonymous

      12/15/2011 at 5:07 am

      This post brought to you by AppleShills, inc.

    • Anonymous

      12/23/2011 at 5:33 am

      you must have baby hands…. or… you’re 13 years old…
      I haven’t dropped it once… and i phone is now just used for gaming.

  2. Asdasda

    12/14/2011 at 9:24 pm

    an iPhone replacement app?

  3. Anonymous

    12/15/2011 at 12:50 am

    Lets be honest here. I have both ios and android. The nexus owns the iphone in everything. Although i agree 4 inches should be about the biggest size inwant to go. But this is not that big. Its that the iphone was too small to begin with. And youve been using ios the whole time? Yeah your opinion is biased no matter how much you deny it :)

  4. Nosmop

    12/15/2011 at 3:39 am

    I own an HTC N1 and I think Galaxy Nexus would be a great upgrade, no doubt about it, but I feel Samsung is trying to make money too easily, capitalizing on ICS while cutting costs here and there (5Mp camera, PenTile technology for the screen, plastic body, missing microSD slot, 16Gb of memory here in Europe ecc. ecc.)
    Samsung is not new to such a behaviour, the 32GB variant of the SGSII had been cancelled due to the high costs of production over a low profit margin. But at least it has a microSD slot!!So, I’ll pass and get an HTC Edge, quad-core support, micro SD slot, true HD screen  ecc. ecc.

    • Anonymous

      12/15/2011 at 8:54 am

      I agree with you on the SD slot, that’s a dealbreaker. On the other aspects though, It’d rather have plastic than glass (breakable) or metal (heay and bulky) especially since it seems the S2, which is built the same, is quite sturdy. That’s a perceived, not real, issue. Same for Pentile, my Note’s screen is pentile too. Is was worried but it turns out that at that high a DPI, pentile is not an issue at all. As for the camera, I’d rather have a godd 5mp over a bad 8mp, and actually 5mp is good enough for most everything.

    • Jasonchilders20

      12/17/2011 at 10:26 pm

      galaxy nexus has a true hd screen

  5. Anonymous

    12/15/2011 at 5:07 am

    You’re right not to buy it: the Note is better ^^

    • Bigmouth

      12/15/2011 at 8:44 am

      I’m holding out for the Note myself.

  6. Chris Clancy

    12/15/2011 at 11:39 am

    Just being honest here…. why does anyone on the internet care if you are getting one or not?

    • Anonymous

      12/23/2011 at 5:37 am

      @ author…
      no on cares what you think.

  7. Josh Montano

    12/20/2011 at 5:14 am

    To hell with you, Apple fanboy. (:

  8. Isaacmomperousse

    12/20/2011 at 8:43 am

    I got the phone and I love it, anyone who complains about the screen simply hasn’t seen one in person.  The body is a little cheap feeling but since its plastic it also lighter. 

    But most importantly the phone is fast, everything is so quick and smooth.  I did a speedtest(speedtest.net) and I got 43mbps down and 15mpbs up…Simply amazing

  9. Westend

    12/21/2011 at 8:21 am

    This article is awesome and your opinion is well thought out and important to me now…

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