Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone • Hacker News Board

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#21

Post by bryanlarsen » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:45 PM UTC

thomseddon wrote: post #5

After my blackberry died around 4 months ago I've been grappling with the issue of what to replace it with. I really enjoy my Transformer Prime tablet and am 100% sold on Android, but the major issue for me is phone size. Why on earth is every decent phone so bloody big? Now, I've never had a "large screen" phone before so my concerns may be unfounded but I feel that as I don't carry a handbag/manbag and my phone res…

There's also somebody in this thread (Nursie: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4757840) who's not going to get the Nexus 4 because it's too small. After having gotten used to a 4.7" screen (and loving it), I'm inclined to suspect that if I got used to a 5.5" screen I wouldn't be able to downgrade either...

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#22

Post by mgkimsal » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:45 PM UTC

jusben1369 wrote: post #14

It hasn't caught much attention or focus but could this be the first phone that makes any sort of headway in the US against the two year plan/subsidy model? If yes, that has ramifications for the overall industry much greater than any one phone. Anyone in the US know how much you'd save on a realistic smart phone plan if you bought your own vs doing the two year subsidized model?

Not sure what you'd 'save' - any major carrier you want to use with a data plan doesn't offer any (at all?) savings on monthly service plans. Prepaid pricing sucks for data.

Do you want to pay $199 plus $90 month for airtime and data? Or $299 for an unlocked phone and... $90/month for airtime and data?

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#23

Post by csmatt » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:45 PM UTC

csmatt wrote: post #2

I'm considering getting this to replace my Nexus One. However, the lack of an sd slot and LTE really has me hung up. I'd be using it on T-mobile, though, so the LTE probably won't matter for a little while. I love the community support for Nexus devices and the only disappointment about the Nexus One for me was that I didn't get until it was already out for 6 months. Thoughts?

Thanks for the input! After reading here and some other reviews, I think I'm going to pull the trigger on it. Although, I'm sure a 32gb version will probably be available at $350 in 6 months :P

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#24

Post by searbe » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:46 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #11

thomseddon wrote: post #5

After my blackberry died around 4 months ago I've been grappling with the issue of what to replace it with. I really enjoy my Transformer Prime tablet and am 100% sold on Android, but the major issue for me is phone size. Why on earth is every decent phone so bloody big? Now, I've never had a "large screen" phone before so my concerns may be unfounded but I feel that as I don't carry a handbag/manbag and my phone res…

Agreed. I currently hace a 4.3" phone which feels like it is pushing the limits for me. That said, I will be picking up a Nexus 4- because the phone buttons are now on-screen instead of hardware the 4.7" figure is misleading. But I think a 4" phone is the ideal for me, sadly no Android manufacturer is interested in it making a phone that is both powerful and a reasonable size.

The Razr I (or Razr M, depending where you are) is worth a look if form factor is an issue. The Intel processor in the Razr I isn't high-end, but I've not had any compatibility issues and games (Minecraft, GTA III, World of Goo) run fine - not to mention great battery life. Although I would personally go for the Nexus 4 if I hadn't already bought one of these - simply because it has great specs, is "pure Google" and is so darn cheap.

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#25

Post by fudged71 » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:47 PM UTC

I've never been so conflicted between the choice of two phones before: Nexus 4 or Galaxy Note II. Although, I tend to trust AndroidPolice more than most other outlets in terms of Android expertise, and I'm comforted more by their assessment of the Nexus 4's battery.

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#26

Post by pivotal » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:48 PM UTC

csmatt wrote: post #2

I'm considering getting this to replace my Nexus One. However, the lack of an sd slot and LTE really has me hung up. I'd be using it on T-mobile, though, so the LTE probably won't matter for a little while. I love the community support for Nexus devices and the only disappointment about the Nexus One for me was that I didn't get until it was already out for 6 months. Thoughts?

I'm in your exact position. Aging Nexus One that I plan on replacing, using t-mobile. LTE isn't an issue for me for a while, as I don't plan on giving my money to either Verizon or AT&T in the near future. My storage concerns were cleared up when I realized I have ~5gb free on my current 16gb sd card. Would both of those things be nice? Sure, but I doubt I will actually miss them.

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#27

Post by ashray » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:51 PM UTC

itp wrote: post #12

EwanToo wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've no idea what the bandwidth caps are like on t-mobile, but the google music streaming service is pretty nice on android, so it's not like you have to fill up the phone SD card with every song you've ever owned. If you love watching films on your phone (something i never do), I can see the 16GB limit getting annoying though.

Bandwidth caps on T-Mobile vary from plan to plan. The $30/month prepaid option that many people are going with for the N4 offers 100 minutes of voice coverage each month, unlimited text messages, and unlimited data, but only the first 5GB of data is available at HSPA+ 42Mbps speeds. After you exceed 5GB your bandwidth is throttled down to "3G" speeds (but you're not actually cut off).

That's pretty great for streaming music since music can easily be streamed over 3G level speeds. Of course, video is a completely different ball game.

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#28

Post by randallsquared » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:53 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #7

> The other complaint I've heard is that this phone has a glass back, and it will break if you drop it. This is true, but guess what? Every phone will break if you drop it. Electronics aren't made to be dropped. Say what you will about their recent problems, but Nokia made phones that were solid. I dropped them on numerous occasions without problems. I've been pretty happy with the Samsung phone that replaced my Noki…

All the smartphones I've owned (T-mobile G1, Nokia N900, Samsung Galaxy S2) have been dropped repeatedly onto floors, concrete, and down stairs. None had cases, and none were affected in their functionality by this treatment (even the slider G1!). The SGS2 is a bit dented on all four corners and the back and corners are scratched up, but it's never had a problem working. I'm glad I've had the good luck to buy durable phones.

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#29

Post by nnsmk » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 2:55 PM UTC

mgkimsal wrote: post #22

jusben1369 wrote: post #14

It hasn't caught much attention or focus but could this be the first phone that makes any sort of headway in the US against the two year plan/subsidy model? If yes, that has ramifications for the overall industry much greater than any one phone. Anyone in the US know how much you'd save on a realistic smart phone plan if you bought your own vs doing the two year subsidized model?

Not sure what you'd 'save' - any major carrier you want to use with a data plan doesn't offer any (at all?) savings on monthly service plans. Prepaid pricing sucks for data. Do you want to pay $199 plus $90 month for airtime and data? Or $299 for an unlocked phone and... $90/month for airtime and data?

You are being royally ripped off if you buy a SIM-only contract for $90 pcm. In the UK, such a contract ought to cost you more like $16-20

Re: Nexus 4 Review: Beautifully Crafted, Premium Android Phone

#30

Post by Achshar » Thu, Nov 08, 2012, 3:02 PM UTC

fudged71 wrote: post #25

I've never been so conflicted between the choice of two phones before: Nexus 4 or Galaxy Note II. Although, I tend to trust AndroidPolice more than most other outlets in terms of Android expertise, and I'm comforted more by their assessment of the Nexus 4's battery.

For me at least, the nexus brand's long OS support time is more than enough to pull me in. The fact that nexus S got Jelly Bean sounds a very good reason to go for Nexus.