Nexus Shamu

[Ravynmagi]

It looks like a fairly weak rumor at the moment, but apparently there are some references to a possible 5.9 inch Motorola phone code named Shamu. And that it could possibly be the next Nexus phone.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/0...mu-a-possible-nexus-phone-with-a-5-9-display/

Nexus 4 was 4.7 inches, Nexus 5 is 5 inches, so sure, Nexus 6 should be a 6 inch phone. Why wouldn't it be?

I'm currently using a Note 3 and have grown to like the large phone size, so would welcome a larger Nexus phone. And it seems like it should be Motorola's turn for a Nexus phone. So it all sounds plausible.

There is also mention of a fingerprint scanner. Hopefully someone will show Samsung how it's suppose to be done.

 

[Raduque]

I would gladly trade a gimmick fingerprint scanner for a 64gb minimum option. That would FINALLY make a Nexus phone attractive to me. Till then, you can cram everything and the kitchen sink into it, and I still won't care.

Nexus phones are crippled for me by not having uSD slots - they should bump the included storage space for the same prices, to compensate.

$349 for 32gb, 399 for 64gb, and I would probably buy it day one.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Hopefully the fingerprint scanner (if it has one) won't be a gimmick. Samsung's implementation is a gimmick, but the way Apple did it, it's a very useful feature.

Hopefully they'll have a fingerprint scanner that is easy to use and can be used from different directions, etc.

For me 32GB seems to be enough. But yeah, I think we are getting to the point that 16GB entry models on flagship phones needs to die. Nexus doesn't have flagship pricing, but usually, other than storage, has had flagship specs. And with Android L ushering in the 64 bit era for Android, it's probably time for the Nexus phone to bump up the storage to 64GB.

Though it wasn't that long ago they launched a Nexus 7 with 8GB of storage with the apparent idea to push the cloud on us. So who knows.

 

[Trombe]

Shamu is on my watch list regardless of whether its a Nexus 6 or a Moto "XL"

 

[RossMAN]

Gimme 5.9", 64GB option and for $399.

<insert shut up and take my money image>

 

[Lyfer]

5.9" is too big for a phone. Might as well lug around a 7" tablet.

 

[Insomniator]

Just like the new moto x... why does it have to be gigantic?

4.5-5.0" with almost no bezel please.

 

[Red Storm]

I am intrigued by the size but I worry that Google is going to put out a phone with large bezels. Other than that I am excited to see Shamu out in the wild.

 

[cronos]

5.9" is too big for a phone. Might as well lug around a 7" tablet.

Your statement makes no sense. If you want to carry a phone and one with 5.9" screen is too big for you, why would you rather lug around a 7" tablet that doesn't make phone calls? Clearly the two items have completely different use cases.

I understand that you (and I'm sure many other people) don't like big phones, I'm just commenting on your statement above.

 

[s44]

Other than that I am excited to see Shamu out in the wild.

*slowclap*

Anyway, too big for me. The most interesting part is the news that the head Android Silver guy seems to be leaving el Goog:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/0...ports-shamu-is-a-motorola-made-nexus-phablet/

In the last year, Google might have cancelled Nexus and started Silver, then killed Silver and restarted Nexus.

Seems more probable by the day.

 

[sweenish]

I am intrigued by the size but I worry that Google is going to put out a phone with large bezels. Other than that I am excited to see Shamu out in the wild.

Nexus phones are among the best overall when it comes to the bezel/screen ratio. Top three, I believe.

 

[Red Storm]

Nexus phones are among the best overall when it comes to the bezel/screen ratio. Top three, I believe.

True, but I feel like that's mostly because their last few phones have been with LG (who understand that minimal bezel is good), and when it comes to large phones pushing 6 inches, every millimeter of bezel counts.

 

[Sheep]

Personally I hope Shamu is not the only next Nexus phone. There's a mockup floating around the Verge forums showing how big a 5.9" screen would be super-imposed on a Nexus 5, and even with no bezels it's too big for my tastes.

 

[dawheat]

Nexus phones are among the best overall when it comes to the bezel/screen ratio. Top three, I believe.

Good but not nearly the best. The newer LG phones are better as is the Note 3.

The potential leaked phone of the X+1 doesn't seem nearly as good as the LG G3 in this area.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Seems more probable by the day.

I think the issue is no OEM wanted to play along with Silver, and I can see why. Too bad, silver was the best chance for me to buy a non-Nexus anytime soon.

 

[luv2liv]

every year, i've always wanted a Nexus phone. but no microSD expansion nor 64gb version is a real deal killer. let's hope this year will be different...

 

[Ravynmagi]

every year, i've always wanted a Nexus phone. but no microSD expansion nor 64gb version is a real deal killer. let's hope this year will be different...

I'm guess... 25% chance we'll see a 64GB Nexus phone.

25% reason why it might happen. 64 bit Android is coming, apps will be getting bigger. And we've been stuck on 16/32GB for a while now.

75% reason why it probably won't happen...
1. Nexus is a developer platform and that much space isn't needed for it's target audience.
2. Google doesn't want to compete with it's partners. One of the things holding the Nexus phones back is it's limited storage options that all it's partner phones can do better.
3. Keep costs down, Nexus phones are about half the cost of most flagship phones.
4. Google wants to use it's platform phone to showcase reasons not to use local storage and use it's cloud solutions instead.

And 0% chance of micro SD slot.

 

[Raduque]

Hopefully the fingerprint scanner (if it has one) won't be a gimmick. Samsung's implementation is a gimmick, but the way Apple did it, it's a very useful feature.

I disagree. Fingerprint scanner is a gimmick, period.

For me 32GB seems to be enough. But yeah, I think we are getting to the point that 16GB entry models on flagship phones needs to die. Nexus doesn't have flagship pricing, but usually, other than storage, has had flagship specs. And with Android L ushering in the 64 bit era for Android, it's probably time for the Nexus phone to bump up the storage to 64GB.

Though it wasn't that long ago they launched a Nexus 7 with 8GB of storage with the apparent idea to push the cloud on us. So who knows.

I think for most it's ok. My dad has a 32gb HTC One M7 and I know he enjoys loading games on it, but my mom is more than fine with a 16gb S5 Active. She uses a 16gb uSD card to store music on, though.

More storage is simply better, and I really wish Google would understand this. The cloud is also a bad thing over cellular - fine for PCs and wifi-only tablets, but no bueno on phones. Duarte needs to pull his head out of his ass and stop pushing cloud to cellular users.

As for me, I'm starting to get pissed at AT&T for making Samsung lock the bootloaders, so I'm starting to consider other device. As I said previously, a 64gb Nexus with a 5.9" display for $400 might cause me to seriously consider leaving Samsung.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I disagree. Fingerprint scanner is a gimmick, period.

Why is that? Some of us need to secure our phones for work. It's annoying having to type in a pin number every time I want to use the phone. I love that on the iPhone 5S I can push the home button and it immediately authenticates me and unlocks this phone. This is no gimmick for me.

 

[Red Storm]

Why is that? Some of us need to secure our phones for work. It's annoying having to type in a pin number every time I want to use the phone. I love that on the iPhone 5S I can push the home button and it immediately authenticates me and unlocks this phone. This is no gimmick for me.

Typing in a pin is definitely annoying, but pattern unlock is a lot faster and should be an option on most if not all Android phones.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Typing in a pin is definitely annoying, but pattern unlock is a lot faster and should be an option on most if not all Android phones.

But why would you even want to draw patterns on your screen when it can be unlocked with a single touch?

 

[TiredEngineer]

I have a Nexus 5, but also have had a Note 2. This news excites me.

My N5 is 32GB and still have plenty of storage...local storage on a phone means almost nothing to me anymore. I do agree that 32 GB should be the baseline in 2014 (heck, really starting in 2012). $50 increments for 64/128 would still net them a nice margin and it would make *MOST* people happy.

If the fingerprint sensor is done right I will be even more excited. I encrypt my phone and having a single press instead of a PIN/pw is good news.

 

[Red Storm]

But why would you even want to draw patterns on your screen when it can be unlocked with a single touch?

Not everyone wants to store their fingerprint on a device? It's nice to have options.

 

[Insomniator]

Fingerprint would only work for me if its the push button iPhone type (assuming that works well, I've never used it.) The fingerprint feature on my Galaxy S5 was on for about 1 day before I disabled it and will never use it again. So annoying.

 

[dawheat]

But why would you even want to draw patterns on your screen when it can be unlocked with a single touch?

A good, always on scanner like the iPhone is one thing. A mediocre one that requires the phone to be turned 'on' first like the S5 and then swiped isn't more convenient.

Not sure how any other OEM can get as good an implementation as Apple unless they're willing to have a pretty big hardware button like the iPhone, much less a phone with only OSB.

But I do dislike pattern unlock - I've seen far too many phones with pretty clear fingerprint lines along their pattern. Not very hard to figure out.