Samsung GALAXY Nexus Pro Reviews

It used to be that the Nexus phones were almost an afterthought in the smartphone world. As much as the Nexus One was beloved by hardcore smartphone fans, it sold poorly and was quickly overshadowed by the HTC Desire that it spawned just weeks later. The Nexus S fared much better, but it was always the cognoscenti's phone, the one you got when you were willing to give up a dual-core processor and a larger screen for the sake of the 'pure' Android experience. The Galaxy Nexus changes that. While it may be eclipsed in a few months by faster dual-core or quad-core phones, there's no doubt that it's a bleeding-edge phone and a well-designed one at that. We'd have no hesitation recommending it over the Droid RAZR, Raider, Rezound, Vivid, and in some cases Galaxy S II variants. Witness the frenzy over the Galaxy Nexus' launch date on Verizon. Android fans have been genuinely excited.

Android 4 has much to recommend it, but Samsung’s hardware, for once, isn’t all that it could have been

Thanks to Google making one giant leap forward with Ice Cream Sandwich, the software experience on the Galaxy Nexus can easily rival the one on the iPhone 4S. Both handsets are extremely capable and very fast, which actually makes issuing our final verdict a very hard thing to do. If you expect to hear which phone is better overall, we'll have to disappoint you – there isn't a better phone. However, one of these is certainly better for Jerry, and the other will surely be better for Katy. What we mean is that it all boils down to your personal preference. For example, if you can't stand having to carry around such a massive phone like the Galaxy Nexus, the significantly more compact iPhone 4S will easily turn out to be a better option. However, if you happen to demand as much screen as possible, then the Nexus will better suit you. In case the camera is too important to you, we think we made it obvious that the iPhone 4S is capable of taking overall better shots. The same goes for video recording (to an even greater extent). However, if you are of the type who enjoy tinkering with the software on their smartphone, tweaking various aspects of it, customizing, rooting, etc., etc., then you'll surely appreciate Android's more open approach, which is a kind of freedom that you won't find with iOS. However, this also means that what you get with the iPhone is slightly more reliable, due to the closed and polished nature of the ecosystem. Not that the Galaxy Nexus is an unreliable phone, but if our lives depended on the software found on one of these handsets, we'd prefer it was the iPhone... figuratively speaking.

With a risk of making things sound overly simple, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the better phone. And it should be, because it made it to the stores only recently, while the Galaxy S II has been around for the better part of the year. With technological advantages like a higher-resolution screen, as well as a much better software platform in the form of Android 4.0, the Nexus is currently holding the lead in the Android race. However, the Galaxy S II is not too far behind. Thanks to its simplistic and lightweight design, along with outstanding system performance, it has managed to fight a lot of rivals during the year and keep its status of being one of the best Android smartphones around. And with an upcoming update to ICS, we expect it to retain this status for a while longer. Ultimately, if video recording is too important to you, or you don't feel like putting a 4.65” monster in your pocket, you'll be better off staying with the Galaxy S II, until a more suitable candidate appears on the horizon. In every other case, grab the Galaxy Nexus and enjoy the best of Android right now.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus leapfrogs its rivals and its workmanlike predecessors to become the best Android phone so far. The latest 4.0 version of the Android operating system is packed with improvements as well as a highly welcome new look and feel. Plus, it’s backed up by a superb screen, very fast processor and decent battery life. The camera, while satisfactory, could have been better though. Even so, it’s a top quality handset that will be hard to beat, at least until the Galaxy S3 turns up early next year with its rumoured 1.8GHz processor.

A decent, but not as good alternative is the Motorola DROID RAZR, which is constructed much better, using higher-quality materials, but is also wider and not as comfortable in the hand, and runs Gingerbread (though it will receive an update to ICS later). The HTC Rezound is another suitable alternative on Verizon. And, if you feel like trying something non-Android, feel free to check out the iPhone 4S – it will present you with similar performance and rich ecosystem, but a significantly smaller, 3.5” screen as well.

One of the best Androids on the market, definitely. An iPhone killer, not this time. Sorry Samsung, looks like your Galaxy Nexus didn’t exact have the gusto to take out the iPhone (at least not yet, anyways). While it may sport some very impressive abilities and be the beginning of a new generation of Android phone, it still didn’t make the cut standing up against the highly popular iPhone 4S.

Make no mistake, this is the best Android phone around today. It’s impossible to divorce Samsung’s hardware from the Ice Cream Sandwich experience, for the moment at least. That may change as more manufactures offer Android 4.0 phones, but for now it’s tough to think of going back to a Gingerbread or earlier device. ICS’ finessed software works beautifully with Samsung’s hardware and – with the exception of the camera, perhaps, which can be a minor blot on the Galaxy Nexus’ score sheet – the sum of the two parts is massively compelling. Ice Cream Sandwich will spread, but even then the Galaxy Nexus’ hardware will likely prove a strong argument to go with the Googlephone rather than something else. The 720p HD display is incredible, the dual-core processor swift and the HSPA+ connection fast; that speed will only increase when the LTE version arrives. Those addicted to photography may want to look elsewhere, but everyone else can be reassured that the Galaxy Nexus is one of the finest devices on the market today.

If you're looking for a pure Android experience, then you've probably already decided to opt for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It's a competitive device from a hardware point of view, with a distinct advantage of being Google's baby when it comes to software updates. But as a consumer device there are compromises. The screen dimming seems wrong, although potentially can be corrected by a software update. But we're concerned that as the screen brightness drops, the screen looks poor. It's a shame considering the screen is otherwise so very capable. We also know that the lack of microSD card will deter some. Being able to expand the memory, at will, is important for a lot of users and this is one point that you can't really step around. Otherwise, yes, there are some early software issues, including that volume bug we haven't encountered, and the inevitable delay whilst developers update their apps and offerings for Android's latest OS. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus offers an excellent Android experience that's hugely impressive, but we really believe it will be surpassed by others, like Samsung themselves, within the next few months.

We had real high hopes for the Galaxy Nexus and genuinely expected it to take the place of best smartphone on the market today. But it hasn't. That is not to say it's not a good handset because it is a fantastic piece of kit. But if you were to take away Ice Cream Sandwich, hardware-wise, you'd not have much to write home about compared to what else is out there. ICS does bring a lot of new stuff to the Android table and we are genuinely impressed with the way it looks. It feels savvy, futuristic and both competent and confident. But it just doesn't bowl us over and give us that 'wow' factor in the hand the way it did when we handled it for a few minutes at Google HQ. The fact of the matter is that we think it still lags behind the Samsung Galaxy S2 – albeit not by a massive margin. But this will also be a lot more expensive than the S2 at launch for the simple reason that it's Google's latest device (and being plugged heavily could lead to stock shortages). Put it this way, if we were to find one wrapped under the tree on Christmas morning, we wouldn't berate Santa. But unless you're a massive 'Pure Google' fan, we'd suggest your call St Nick up on Boxing Day, ask if he had the receipt still, point out you'd been exceptionally good this year, then go swap it for a Galaxy S2 - or wait to see what the rest of the manufacturers manage when their creative bods get cracking with Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a big step forward for Android, but it's not the giant leap you may have been expecting. As impressive as it is, Ice Cream Sandwich can be messy, and without it, the Galaxy Nexus is just another Android device.