iPhone 4 (not s) vs. Samsung Galaxy Nexus

[Fardringle]

So my wife agreed that it's finally time to get rid of my ancient phone and upgrade to something more modern and useful. However, the budget is still limited so stuff like the Galaxy S3 and iPhone 4s are out of range.

Two phones I'm currently looking at (I'm open to other suggestions) are the original iPhone 4 8GB and the Galaxy Nexus 16GB. Both phones look good, have nice features, and are currently free (Nexus) or $49 (iPhone) with a Verizon contract through Best Buy. I've looked at quite a few online reviews and I'm leaning toward the Nexus simply because of the larger and better quality screen and because it has twice as much memory, but I'd like to hear from people that have actually owned and used either (or both) of these phones to help me decide for sure.

My primary needs are:
Must be Verizon since they are the only carrier that has coverage in places that I go regularly.
Must be inexpensive/free - new contract is OK.
Good screen so my 'old' eyes can actually read what is on the screen.
Wireless hot spot to pass Internet access to my laptop and my wife's non-3g iPad when we're away from home.

 

[dguy6789]

Galaxy Nexus >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> iPhone 4S >>>>> iPhone 4. Might as well be asking should I get an Ivy Bridge or an Athlon 64 X2 if they are both within my budget.

 

[Fardringle]

That's pretty much the impression I got as well, but I wanted to get a few more opinions before heading to the store.

 

[s44]

LTE makes a huge, huge difference. *Especially* if you're tethering.

 

[cl-scott]

I've owned both, and honestly my biggest complaint with the GNex is that the size of the unit is kind of pushing the limits of one handed use. Now granted Apple, in it's infinite "wisdom" decided to put the "back" button in the top LEFT corner of the screen... Not sure what "genius" came up with that move, considering most people are right handed, and so that is the corner hardest to hit with the thumb without compromising the security of your grip on the phone (which is generally tenuous at best because of the glass covering both sides).

I also rather dislike the fact that Apple will prevent anyone from competing with its own bundled apps. The iOS email app is one of the worst I have ever used, but as long as I'm using an iPhone, that's the one and only option I get. Same with web browsers (Opera Mini doesn't really count as a web browser IMO). Plus Apple set themselves up to be the only ones who can use the revamped JavaScript engine... HTML based apps on iOS are stuck using the older, slower, rendering and JS engines.

Then, for all the talk of "retina" displays, the GNex has a higher pixel density than the iPhone with a 720p display.

Finally, while I will certainly say Android still has a little more growing up to do, it has been making huge strides in a very short time. Android 4.0 was a pretty major overhaul that significantly closed the gap with iOS. For all its talk about being an innovative company, Apple is really a company that has one or two really good ideas every 5-6 years, which they then milk for everything they're worth. However, given the number of lawsuits Apple has been firing off at Android device makers, my guess would be the Apple idea well is suffering from the same drought afflicting big swaths of the US.

But I digress. Since you seem to be something of a laggard, the GNex is most definitely the way to go. You can replace your own battery, it's 4G, dual core CPU, and 1GB of RAM. Which means that it should serve you quite well for a long time to come. Even better is that it's a Nexus device, so rooting it and loading custom ROMs on it is pretty trivial, and being a Nexus device means that it is likely to receive official updates significantly longer than other devices if custom ROMs aren't your thing.

 

[Eug]

Wait one month, and then decide. The iPhone 5 might be out by then, which may mean the 4S will drop down a level in terms of cost.

I personally prefer the iPhones, but yeah, the lack of LTE is annoying.

 

[TuxDave]

I also rather dislike the fact that Apple will prevent anyone from competing with its own bundled apps. The iOS email app is one of the worst I have ever used, but as long as I'm using an iPhone, that's the one and only option I get.

That's not true. You can use the Sparrow email app. It's pretty amazing (but not free). Too bad Google bought them out so you won't be getting any updates anymore but it's still available from the app store. It's not slow at all and I would say it's far far better than anything I've seen on any platform.

To the OP, I would lean towards the GNex. Looking at the hotspot part alone, given that you have to use Verizon and you want to use tethering, Verizon's non-LTE network is stupidly terrible. So you would have to go with the GNex on that basis alone. Mind you my friend usually leaves LTE disabled when he's not plugged in on the basis that his GNex battery life craps out REALLY quick on LTE. You're kind of stuck in a weird situation where the iPhone4 doesn't have LTE and the GNex doesn't have the power optimized LTE radios in the current generation of phones. But if you need one now, GNex > iP4

Edit: Oh, and one more thing... make sure Verizon LTE covers your area of interest.

 

[Red Storm]

LTE alone trumps the iP4, let alone the rest.

 

[vshah]

if you have battery life issues with the gnex, there's an official extended battery that helps a lot.

 

[s44]

Just carry a spare and swap. That way you can pretty much tether all you want.

LTE drain depends on reception. Most of the time in NYC there's four bars and LTE doesn't eat much more battery. If you're deep inside a building trying to pick up that one bar for an hour or two... yeah, not good.

 

[Eug]

LTE alone trumps the iP4, let alone the rest.

Well, I personally would still choose the iPhone 4 over any current Android lower-cost phone, but that's me, and I realize that LTE is very important for a lot of people.

In fact that's one reason I didn't bother with the 4S, even though it's much faster than the 4. I may get the 5 when it is out, because it is faster, bigger (but not too big), and has LTE.

 

[TuxDave]

if you have battery life issues with the gnex, there's an official extended battery that helps a lot.

This is just my personal opinion and it equally applies to the #1 reason I dislike the new iPad. Extended battery helps but then it also increases charge time. I'm not quite sure what the cutoff is before I get annoyed (new iPad is definitely over that limit).

I'm super bad at remembering to plug my phone in every night but I do take advantage that I could plug my phone in for an hour and get over half my battery ready to go.

 

[vshah]

This is just my personal opinion and it equally applies to the #1 reason I dislike the new iPad. Extended battery helps but then it also increases charge time. I'm not quite sure what the cutoff is before I get annoyed (new iPad is definitely over that limit).

I'm super bad at remembering to plug my phone in every night but I do take advantage that I could plug my phone in for an hour and get over half my battery ready to go.

well, you'll get just as much charge in an hour as you would have with your old battery. so the extended battery really isn't hurting anything, only giving you a possible upside of longer total runtime. The ipad comparison is a bit different since it came with such a large battery stock due to higher power consumption.

in any case, it's not much more capacity. would probably add 10% to your charging time. probably still under 3 hours for a full charge.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

From your last criteria alone you have to go for the Nexus.

 

[Dulanic]

Wait one month, and then decide. The iPhone 5 might be out by then, which may mean the 4S will drop down a level in terms of cost.

I personally prefer the iPhones, but yeah, the lack of LTE is annoying.

Why? He want's a free phone not new tech. 0 chance the 4s will be any cheaper, and it is still no LTE. CDMA 3G is a joke speed wise.

 

[Eug]

Why? He want's a free phone not new tech. 0 chance the 4s will be any cheaper, and it is still no LTE. CDMA 3G is a joke speed wise.

Well, it might not be cheaper the day the iPhone 5 is out, but around here, the generation old iPhones drop in price after the new generation iPhones come out. Not immediately, but after a little while. This thread is an example. The current iPhone top-of-the-line is the 4S, yet the iPhone 4 is only $49 on contract.

LTE is a great feature to have, but not the only feature. It also depends on your service. At my home and my mom's old home, 3G is decent. However, during the day downtown, it's not so OK, and people report that LTE is a big improvement.

 

[Red Storm]

Getting any smartphone today on Verizon's network that's not LTE capable is just a bad idea period.

 

[Eug]

Sprint Drops iPhone 4S Price to $49 With Rebate and New 2-Year Contract

A couple weeks after dropping the price of the iPhone 4S to $149, Sprint has further slashed the price to $49 after a mail-in rebate for a $100 American Express gift card. Apple will price-match Sprint's offer, giving buyers in retail stores a $100 Apple Store gift card. All these purchases require agreeing to a new two-year contract.

NB. Online, new customers only.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

With the iPhone 5 on the verge of release (less than 1 month away), it's a no go for the 4. Even the 4s is questionable. I consider the 4 to be a Galaxy S1 era phone. Can you imagine recommending an SGS1 for purchase? An SGS2? Perhaps... if you can get it cheap. And since an SGS2 is like an iPhone 4S, perhaps you should wait for the 4S to drop in price.

But honestly, I don't get this. When people are ready to fork over $30/month for data, is forking over $200 versus $100 upfront for a phone really an issue?

 

[Phynaz]

I also rather dislike the fact that Apple will prevent anyone from competing with its own bundled apps. The iOS email app is one of the worst I have ever used, but as long as I'm using an iPhone, that's the one and only option I get. Same with web browsers (Opera Mini doesn't really count as a web browser IMO).

There's plenty of alternative to the Apple apps available in the App Store.

 

[BladeVenom]

Finally, while I will certainly say Android still has a little more growing up to do, it has been making huge strides in a very short time. Android 4.0 was a pretty major overhaul that significantly closed the gap with iOS.

Android is more reliable. http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/02/02/does-ios-crash-more-than-android-a-data-dive/

 

[openwheel]

Why would anyone consider the iPhone4/4S on CDMA carrier (Sprint/Verizon)?????
If you want an iPhone, the only way to go is ATT or StraightTalk.

 

[openwheel]

With the iPhone 5 on the verge of release (less than 1 month away), it's a no go for the 4. Even the 4s is questionable. I consider the 4 to be a Galaxy S1 era phone. Can you imagine recommending an SGS1 for purchase? An SGS2? Perhaps... if you can get it cheap. And since an SGS2 is like an iPhone 4S, perhaps you should wait for the 4S to drop in price.

But honestly, I don't get this. When people are ready to fork over $30/month for data, is forking over $200 versus $100 upfront for a phone really an issue?

Yes I can. Galaxy S variants are still going strong with custom ICS and JB. They also have the best audio output quality of any phone.

 

[jiffylube1024]

I'm biased because I own one, but I greatly prefer my 4.65" galaxy nexus, running android 4.1 to the 3.5" iPhone 4 that a lot of my friends and family own.

The hd screen on the gnex is brilliant, android 4.1 is the best Android os by far - it runs faster than the galaxy s 3 with Android 4.0!

 

[Eug]

But honestly, I don't get this. When people are ready to fork over $30/month for data, is forking over $200 versus $100 upfront for a phone really an issue?

I don't pay $30/month for data. I pay $20, but then again I only get 1 GB.

I'm not in the US though.