Official Avail. Nov 13th - Android 4.2 - LG Nexus 4 - Asus Nexus 7 - Samsung Nexus 10

[Eug]

the Android devices run at the top clockspeed the proccy is capable of(which is bad for battery life)
iPhone 5 has it's processor underclocked for the interest of battery life. Apple has done a better job with HW and SW integration.

Apparently LG may have better performance management in their Android Optimus G than Google does for the Nexus 4 too.

 

[basslover1]

This is very surprising and disappointing. My Galaxy Nexus gets about 12-13 hours and that's with LTE which is supposed to be a big battery suck. I thought that without LTE, the Nexus 4 would do much better. I don't get it, how do my iPhone friends have 20+ hours of battery life?

It's about on par with my GSM Gnex, which is about 16 hours off the charger with 2.5-3 hours screen on time.

I was hoping for better than that to be honest. I bet if I turned off Google Now, I could go close to two days without needing to charge it, but I like the features it offers.

 

[Eug]

Nexus 4′s Glass Back, the Worst Idea Since the Last Phone With a Glass Back

But back to these two cracked backs – both of which cracked without a drop. Let me say that again – both the Optimus G and Nexus 4 cracked in my possession without ever dropping them. You know what did it? Setting them down gently onto my room temperature stone countertop. That’s it. The temperature change after it went from my warm hand to a room temperature countertop was apparently enough to split both devices’ glass backs almost directly down the middle.

 

[Zink]

I took my phone from inside out into the sub 0C winter and put it back down on a small patch of snow on a metal table and it survived. Unfortunately it didn't improve my benches. Sounds stupid now but it is oddly relevant to this thermal cracking article.

 

[zerocool84]

Nexus 4

 

[Fire&Blood]

Please clarify this statement. Are you saying the phone is showing 1% used after running the battery hard and leaving it unplugged overnight?

I posted a screenshot showing the opposite. What I was trying to say is that the phone uses very little power when it's idling.On most other phones, if you only have 10% battery left and a few hours before you get to charge, you are likely not going to make it, no matter how frugal you are when you try to preserve the battery. For me, even GNex was good about that but N4 is even better. 10% juice left can be stretched to last a lot longer with frugal usage than most other phones. Again, jut my usage pattern results and comparisons vs GNex. I've been told my battery life is much better than the average/


FWIW, I loved my GSM GNex and I still think it's a great phone. I found a perfect match for it in a custom ROM that also helped alleviate the speaker volume issue. I still think it looks sexy and I wasn't bothered by the plastic back. I think it's more durable than N4 and should fare better in most drop scenarios, get away with scratches and dents.

I find the N4 to be faster in all usage scenarios, from booting to browsing. N4 also pulls down higher speeds, both wifi and cell and has better battery life.
The design is also a step beyond the GNex but it also repsents some durability issues.



As for N10, I'm having a inconsistent user experience. At times it acts like a powerful desktop, devouring any tasks before it and then it drops frames with seemingly easy tasks. Battery life seems ok but charging takes quite a while.

There are just enough apps to hold together the tablet experience but venture new grounds and you'll be saying WTF a lot. Speed test app looks terrible, some of the phone apps that scale up work well but some are just windowed, look bad scaled up or are distorted to point where they are simply unusable on the N10. I''ve an ipad2 for a week here too and while it's not a fair comparison N10's SoC advantage is somewhat negated by the lower res ipad2 is pushing. Ipad is smoother in mundane tasks yet it's destroyed in all high CPU usage tasks.

IMO, N10 has the hardware/price combo to compete with the ipad but the software is not there yet. It's not a bad tablet just because it's worse than the ipad but for the platform agnostic buyer it won't even get a chance due to low exposure. Android should explore variations of the N7 formula and get the tablet specific ecosystem up to speed before it's a legitimate ipad competitor. That being said, not being better than ipad is far from being not a good buy.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Nexus 4′s Glass Back, the Worst Idea Since the Last Phone With a Glass Back

But back to these two cracked backs – both of which cracked without a drop. Let me say that again – both the Optimus G and Nexus 4 cracked in my possession without ever dropping them. You know what did it? Setting them down gently onto my room temperature stone countertop. That’s it. The temperature change after it went from my warm hand to a room temperature countertop was apparently enough to split both devices’ glass backs almost directly down the middle.

Why I am ordering a couple of different cases for mine - a soft gel and hard shell cases.

I think it's funny how much folks blasted Apple for having a glass back but folks here can't wait til they get N4. Thing I wish Google also had was an extended warranty plan. I had to replace my iPhone two times both times I was in and out of the Apple store in less then ten minutes with a new one.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Nexus 4′s Glass Back, the Worst Idea Since the Last Phone With a Glass Back

But back to these two cracked backs – both of which cracked without a drop. Let me say that again – both the Optimus G and Nexus 4 cracked in my possession without ever dropping them. You know what did it? Setting them down gently onto my room temperature stone countertop. That’s it. The temperature change after it went from my warm hand to a room temperature countertop was apparently enough to split both devices’ glass backs almost directly down the middle.

what kind of retard puts glass on both sides of a phone. that guarantees that the first time you drop it, no matter how you drop it, it will break. i always thought its funny that they gave jon ivey a knighthood for industrial design. he design a phone with a glass back for christ sake...

 

[TuxDave]

Nexus 4′s Glass Back, the Worst Idea Since the Last Phone With a Glass Back

But back to these two cracked backs – both of which cracked without a drop. Let me say that again – both the Optimus G and Nexus 4 cracked in my possession without ever dropping them. You know what did it? Setting them down gently onto my room temperature stone countertop. That’s it. The temperature change after it went from my warm hand to a room temperature countertop was apparently enough to split both devices’ glass backs almost directly down the middle.

Go figure, it actually takes some effort to build a phone with a glass back. No one tested thermal stress???

 

[lothar]

Why I am ordering a couple of different cases for mine - a soft gel and hard shell cases.

I think it's funny how much folks blasted Apple for having a glass back but folks here can't wait til they get N4.

Thing I wish Google also had was an extended warranty plan. I had to replace my iPhone two times both times I was in and out of the Apple store in less then ten minutes with a new one.

What's even funnier is all the people claiming that Samsung build quality cheap flexible plastic sucks ass. Now that their glass shell is cracking in the Nexus 4, everyone wants to run back to Samsung.

 

[Fire&Blood]

What's even funnier is all the people claiming that Samsung build quality cheap flexible plastic sucks ass. Now that their glass shell is cracking in the Nexus 4, everyone wants to run back to Samsung.

I never understood the issue. While I do appreciate the look/feel of N4, the "plastic" GNex never bothered me and it didn't scream cheap at me at all.

Basically what happened here is Google went through same progression as Apple did except for insisting to go through through the glass issues themselves rather than learning from Apple's example. If glass was really doable it would be removable as well but it always implies a sealed enclosure.

A case helps, both with thermal and impact issues but it's a solution for a problem that shouldn't exist to begin with. I don't mind having a case but it would have been much better to have the option for a nice flip case that uses a custom battery cover, an option that was traded away with the sealed enclosure choice. Then again, a flip cover isn't really sufficient protection for that much glass anyway. Weighing in the price, performance and benefits of a Nexus device, the use of glass contributed less to the phone than it took away but I can easily overlook that.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

What's even funnier is all the people claiming that Samsung build quality cheap flexible plastic sucks ass. Now that their glass shell is cracking in the Nexus 4, everyone wants to run back to Samsung.

I hated the ip4 with the glass back and I dont like how the N4 has a glass back either. Ive seen too many cracked phones from the slightest drops. I dont prefer the plastic back either. IDK why its so hard to make a phone with a good aluminum back.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

What's even funnier is all the people claiming that Samsung build quality cheap flexible plastic sucks ass. Now that their glass shell is cracking in the Nexus 4, everyone wants to run back to Samsung.

Come on. I think we went over this before. Feels cheap and plasticky is different from being durable. I bet you something soft like an article of clothing is probably more durable than a hunk of metal in a drop test. But what's the point? What are you proving there?

The feel of an iPhone 4S is nice. The weight might come into play, but if you judge on just solidness and the quality of build its nice. That doesn't mean it will sustain a drop. Now take my SGS2. It creaks. It even kinda bends. It feels a bit cheap. The SGS1 phones were worse IMO (see Verizon Fascinate), but yeah all these phones survive drop tests.

It doesn't mean Samsung's plastic build sucks or rocks. It might feel like crap, but it might do great in a drop test. They're mutually exclusive characteristics.

I don't doubt that people would love a good balance. Something that feels solid yet is durable. I think HTC's One series achieved that quite well. This is actually one of the things I love about my electronics--balance. People here will cream their pants over S4 Pro and quad cores and 2GB of RAM. That's all great, but I think I would've been just as happy with a dual core S4, 1-1.5gb RAM, LTE and removable storage. I'd prefer a balanced product.

 

[bearxor]

what kind of retard puts glass on both sides of a phone. that guarantees that the first time you drop it, no matter how you drop it, it will break.

No it doesn't. I dropped my iPhone 4, caseless, plenty of times on concrete, gravel, tile and carpet and while it always came up with a new scratch or a new chip in the glass, it didn't crack. It took almost two years and a toddler for my back glass to crack, and in the iPhone 4/4S's case, replacing the back glass is trivial and cheap if you want to DIY.

So no, a glass back does not "guarantee" that it will break every time you drop it.

 

[Eug]

Yeah, and my Nexus 7's screen cracked the first time I dropped it.

 

[Viper GTS]

Anybody had any success connecting a 4 to a Kenwood headunit for A2DP? I never had any issues with the GNex + 4.1.x. I haven't had opportunity to try the GNex on 4.2 maybe it's a 4.2 thing but I cannot for the life of me get the 4 to pair with my headunit. It never prompts me for the security code & just cycles between offering me two different headunit names (both of which are valid).

Viper GTS

 

[Capt Caveman]

fwiw - just got this email from the PlayStore

"Nexus 4 will be available for purchase later today!

Order yours from Google Play starting today, November 27 at 12:00 noon PST (U.S. only)."

 

[ponyo]

fwiw - just got this email from the PlayStore

"Nexus 4 will be available for purchase later today!

Order yours from Google Play starting today, November 27 at 12:00 noon PST (U.S. only)."

I did too. I laughed when I saw the email. I hope they got more than couple phones. If not, they deserve the hate and ridicule.

 

[vshah]

i've already dropped mine 3 or 4 times (more than i ever dropped my gnex, wierdly enough). not a scratch so far, knock on wood.

 

[Eug]

I didn't get such a notification in Canada, and I registered under two different addresses.

US only? WTF?

 

[Zivic]

What's even funnier is all the people claiming that Samsung build quality cheap flexible plastic sucks ass. Now that their glass shell is cracking in the Nexus 4, everyone wants to run back to Samsung.

I am not a fan of the back glass on the N4. But that said, the plastic on my GN was beyond slippery. didn't like it much with either in terms of feel.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I did too. I laughed when I saw the email. I hope they got more than couple phones. If not, they deserve the hate and ridicule.

I know. It would be funny as hell if the ordering experience is the clusterfuck it was on launch day.

Well, yesterday, I also got a notice that my N4 and N10 are finally supposed to ship out this week. It will be nice to experience what everyone else has had been having with their new stuff. Plus, I'm coming from Apple, so it's going to be a completely different experience.

Sad thing though, I was playing around a lot with the iPhone interface on my car this weekend, it's going to suck to not have it anymore.

 

[Red Storm]

Apparently my N4 delivered yesterday but my brother didn't bother to tell me (T-Mobile never gave a tracking number). Can't wait to go home!

 

[pm]

Anybody had any success connecting a 4 to a Kenwood headunit for A2DP? I never had any issues with the GNex + 4.1.x. I haven't had opportunity to try the GNex on 4.2 maybe it's a 4.2 thing but I cannot for the life of me get the 4 to pair with my headunit. It never prompts me for the security code & just cycles between offering me two different headunit names (both of which are valid).

For what it's worth, I had no problems pairing my Nexus 4 with the bluetooth system in my Prius, the Ford C-Max rental car I had last week, or my wife's Subaru. It plays music fine, and navigation works fine too. My only minor complaint is that when you press the bluetooth button, I don't get Google Voice Actions, but instead get some faint robot woman saying "Google voice dial, say call and a person's name or number". I'd rather that it just let me do anything that pressing the microphone button in the top let's me do. I also didn't get navigation audio in the Ford C-Max, but I do in my wife's Subaru and my Prius.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I did too. I laughed when I saw the email. I hope they got more than couple phones. If not, they deserve the hate and ridicule.

methinks they waited these days to stock up to a reasonable amount... something they should've done to begin with.