Samsung Galaxy Nexus : the review ( Finally)

So I have been meaning to do this for quite some time.... so here it goes.


The Galaxy Nexus: When it first came out I was like this

..... well, if you take out the rainbows in the back that is. Anyways, It seemed like a pretty nice phone and but at the time i had no idea I would have my own Galaxy Nexus. Fast forward a few months and my LG Eve ( I am not going to be nice with this one, so if you work at LG you may want to look away) fully crapped out on me. It was one of the worst phones I have ever used. Even the Nokia C3 that I got as a loaner when my phone was gone for repair the SECOND time was better. This time the main problem was a touchscreen that thought you wanted to press 4 instead of 1 and various lag issues. So anyways, I decided I had enough of the Eve and started looking for a new phone... that's when I decided to get the Nexus. And thus, a few days later a fresh Galaxy Nexus arrived at my door step. I open the box and turn on the phone. I am greeted with the friendly "Google" written on the boot screen , which reminded me one of the reasons I bought this Phone. Most Android phones these days have a complete nightmare scenario when it comes to updates ( The update monkeys at Carriers/device manufacturers are always busy filling the OS with bloatware). The Galaxy Nexus is one of the few phones that skips the middle man ( for the most part) and gives you direct updates. This is updating the way it should be done. Anyways, enough about my journey to obtain this epic phone... lets get down to the finer details


Appearance

The Galaxy Nexus has a fairly large screen and overall size, which makes it slightly hard to get used to at first. But once you do, all the other "smaller" phones seem miniscule. The phone fits nicely in my hands and the feel of the back cover is a nice touch ( rubber/plastic). There are no physical buttons on the front of the phone giving it a clean aesthetic. There is however, a notification LED that you dont even know its there until it starts slowly fading on and off. The LED has a pretty neat touch to it as well. It can sometimes change colour based on what app has a notification. An example would be that the LED is blue when there is a notification from Facebook. The buttons on the side blend in nicely with the phone and are fairly ergonomic. The Headphone and USB ports are at the bottom like in most phones these days ( except for the super hipsta iPhone which has the headphone jack on the top). The Phone is fairly strong and has survived ( without a single scratch or crack) numerous drops that my clumsy hands/ horrible pockets have subjected it to. My only complaint is how finger print infested the phone becomes ( I can easily see all kinds of neat lines on my fingers by just looking at the phone).

UI

The phone comes standard with Android 4.0 but can easily be upgraded to Android 4.1. The UI is different than most phone's with the same OS however, due to the lack of physical buttons which are replaced my onscreen buttons. These onscreen buttons are fairly nice and automatically "minimize" when in certain apps or when watching full screen video. The most significant feature of Android 4.1 is Google Now. This is like Siri.... but different( lets call this one Bob). Siri is a household maid that likes to be told what to do and cannot think for herself. she is slow to pick up what you meant and does not use any of the tools she has at her disposal unless you tell that B**ch ( pardon my language) what to do. Bob is the smart guy. He recognizes when you are about to leave for work and plans accordingly. If he sees that there is traffic, Bob will notify you in advance so you can leave earlier. Bob also does the same for the commute home. Throughout the day Bob also tells you when you have an appointment coming up and offers directions ( note you do not have to specifically state to Bob to be reminded). Bob also tells you the weather for where ever you currently are and tells you if there is any places of interest nearby. Bob also looks into your google search history and offers directions as well as a traffic report to any place you may have looked up. Bob also does not rely on 3rd party apps as much as Siri does when it comes to searching the web. The search results are shown within the Google Now app instead of opening up a browser window.

Hardware

This phone is over 9000% faster than the LG Eve. Everything is quick to open and there is virtually no lag unless you try real hard to lag the phone. Wifi Reception could be improved since the Antenna is weak and constantly loses connection... but it might be a software problem. The Phone comes with a rear 5 mp camera and a front 1.3 mp camera. Both Camera's deliver outstanding results during the day and work decently at night provided there is enough light. the 1080P video is also very good and the audio does not sound like you recorded with a toaster ( like the LG). The live video effects are nice but mostly useless for everyday use. The flash is decent but I mostly use it as a flashlight for when I am too lazy to turn on a light... or when performing maintenance on a car in low light conditions . The Panorma mode is very easy to use but is easy to make the picture distorted/ blurry if you go too fast or dont keep the phone at the same level and angle the whole time The speaker is not too loud but its loud enough to be heard in a semi crowded area. The microphone quality is also great. The battery can last anywhere from 24 hours to 48 hours depending on usage. It is not the best but it is enough to get you through the day. Overall the Peformance in this phone is very good ( much better than that shit box LG Eve)



So thats about it for this slightly longer than usual review of the Galaxy Nexus. Overall, the phone is a 9/10 and I am very satisfied. If you have any further questions, I will gladly answer them in the comments below.