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[Mafro]

So this thing is really supposed to come out in 4 days -- and nobody actually knows what is going on?

Have all of the big Android phone launches been this messy?

Looks like the new release date might actually be the 21st as rumoured. I hate to bring up the iPhone, but at least when Apple announce a new one, they actually bother to give you a concrete release date and price. Thankfully us here in the UK already know the price of a SIM-free handset, but it's still damn annoying.

 

[gcubed]

Sorry Verizon guys, bloatware confirmed:

http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/galaxy-nexus-discussions/10025-galaxy-nexus-review.html

Its not preinstalled, at least nothing in the article said it was. Its the first thing I usually install though.

That write up was terrible too. Why can't we get someone good to review it.

Edit... I was wrong. Oh well.

 

[sableholic]

Its not preinstalled, at least nothing in the article said it was. Its the first thing I usually install though.

That write up was terrible too. Why can't we get someone good to review it.

Edit... I was wrong. Oh well.

what were you wrong about? Don't see it in the article saying its preinstalled.

 

[kehs]

what were you wrong about? Don't see it in the article saying its preinstalled.

The button you see that says "Enable" should say uninstall.

That's the new "freeze" option in ICS, they don't allow you to remove certain apps, but you can disable them without having root access.

The implication being that that Verizon app is preloaded on the phone.

 

[OriginalThinking]

Its not preinstalled, at least nothing in the article said it was. Its the first thing I usually install though.

That write up was terrible too. Why can't we get someone good to review it.

Edit... I was wrong. Oh well.

Even if it is installed ICS effectively allows you to hide and kill system apps anyway. The only issue with bloatware now is the space it would take up on /system but with 32gigs of internal memory the impact will be negligible.

EDIT: Beaten like a rusty dug.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

So will Netflix, HBOGO, and MAXGO stream HD content to the Galaxy Nexus or is it just going to be upscaled?

 

[kehs]

I think the TI guys said the chipset from the Galaxy Nexus is the only chipset certified* to stream 1080p video.


*lol

 

[Bboy AJ]

I don't trust Google to be product people anymore. They sold their soul to Verizon. I don't know why they have but it can't just be money.

Google doesn't need money from Verizon. There's something deeper here. Between the GN and the Net Neutrality bullshit, something is up.

Fuck you, Google. I know at least Apple wouldn't pull this shit. In fact, they didn't. The OG iPhone had the same issues and Apple came out on top.

 

[SimleuqiR]

Sorry Verizon guys, bloatware confirmed:

http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/galaxy-nexus-discussions/10025-galaxy-nexus-review.html

That's no Google Nexus phone.

The dream is dead.

 

[Tron 2.0]

I don't trust Google to be product people anymore. They sold their soul to Verizon. I don't know why they have but it can't just be money.

Google doesn't need money from Verizon. There's something deeper here. Between the GN and the Net Neutrality bullshit, something is up.

Fuck you, Google. I know at least Apple wouldn't pull this shit. In fact, they didn't. The OG iPhone had the same issues and Apple came out on top.

That they included a universal kill switch in ICS was a pretty good indication that they have moved away from the idea that the Nexus devices would be clean.

Still, I applaud them for including a kill switch. One of my biggest annoyances with iOS is that I can't get rid of the standard Apple apps that I don't want. I can't even hide them, really.

 

[Davidion]

I don't trust Google to be product people anymore. They sold their soul to Verizon. I don't know why they have but it can't just be money.

Google doesn't need money from Verizon. There's something deeper here. Between the GN and the Net Neutrality bullshit, something is up.

Fuck you, Google. I know at least Apple wouldn't pull this shit. In fact, they didn't. The OG iPhone had the same issues and Apple came out on top.

I agree. Whereas I enjoy Google's software products and services, there's something going on with the direction their business partnership and their approach to hardware that I can't quite put my finger on.

I realize that their stance on net neutrality and this whole nexus drama are only anecdotes but it doesn't feel right.

I hate the fact that my consumer choices in the market comes down to trying to choose the lesser of two evils, but with complex technology platforms I guess that's always been kinda the case.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

Everyone with a Nexus should be running a custom ROM anyway.

 

[OriginalThinking]

Chill people. It's just a phone. Just - a - phone.

 

[Bboy AJ]

Chill people. It's just a phone. Just - a - phone.

It's a changing ideal of a company that has and will continue to shape your future in tremendous ways. See the net neutrality discussion.

 

[kehs]

Chill people. It's just a phone. Just - a - phone.

Sorta, I mean, yea it's just a phone, but the direction Google's moving in, is in stark difference from their stance just a few years ago, and this flies in the face of what they were trumpeting with the "Nexus" line.

The US is kinda fucked up in regards to telecommunications and monopolies, so it's small stuff like this that adds up.

 

[alternade]

You know its kinda sad that its now such a rarity to see a stock android device and that only one is released every year. The Nexus brand is dead as far as what it was supposed to be.

I dont know if I can wait much longer or if I even want to wait for a GSM model to come state side. If this thing rolls into 2012 ill just learn to live with a GS2 and roms.

 

[Circle T]

Everyone with a Nexus should be running a custom ROM anyway.

Bingo. They can stuff it full of all the bullshit bloatware that they want. I'll just use TiBu to remove it initially, but will eventually be running CM9 or MiUi or whatever. Every one of my phones has come with some form of bloatware to start, and I really couldn't care less.

 

[DrFunk]

Smh....its all about the implications that can come from this. If google (who is supposed to be governing android), allows this on their brand new baby, how far will they let carriers go? They already don't have users best interest at hand, anything could come from this.

Explains Google's silence, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[OriginalThinking]

It's a changing ideal of a company that has and will continue to shape your future in tremendous ways. See the net neutrality discussion.

Can anyone here say for certain that an unlocked version will not be on the horizon soon in the USA? Maybe not on Verizon but available on GSM bands? Until then, why get so worked up about it? If Verizon make it so that the bootloader is locked then let the shitstorm happen cos that will signify the real change. Verizon putting on a handful of shitty apps which can either be a) easily disabled or b) removed entirely with a custom rom is hardly a signifier that Google are changing direction as a company. The Galaxy Nexus will be piss easy to root, so whilst I can understand some frustration I don't see the reasons for venting in such a furious fashion.

 

[kehs]

Can anyone here say for certain that an unlocked version will not be on the horizon soon in the USA? Maybe not on Verizon but available on GSM bands? Until then, why get so worked up about it? If Verizon make it so that the bootloader is locked then let the shitstorm happen cos that will signify the real change. Verizon putting on a handful of shitty apps which can either be a) easily disabled or b) removed entirely with a custom rom is hardly a signifier that Google are changing direction as a company. The Galaxy Nexus will be piss easy to root, so whilst I can understand some frustration I don't see the reasons for venting in such a furious fashion.

Well, that's the thing, if we were getting an unlocked GSM phone we should have heard it about it...considering it's launching everywhere this week.

Their last two unlocked gsm phones were announce and launched within a week.

 

[OriginalThinking]

Well, that's the thing, if we were getting an unlocked GSM phone we should have heard it about it...considering it's launching everywhere this week.

Their last two unlocked gsm phones were announce and launched within a week.

To my knowledge there is no official launch date on any US carrier yet, though it does look likely it'll be a timed Verizon exclusive. I've no doubt Verizon are contributing to the confusion and the lack of clarity on release info is annoying.

For some it would appear that Verizon's pre-installed apps are the tipping point. I don't really understand why as that really is not where any ire should be focused. It is easily worked around. What isn't easily worked around is the fact that nobody has a clue when this thing will be released and that the launch has been a pigs ear. Get angry at Google for that, not Verizon for being, well Verizon.

 

[DrFunk]

People want a pure by-Google phone. Not a by-Verizon phone

 

[OriginalThinking]

People want a pure by-Google phone. Not a by-Verizon phone

I still don't really get it tho. If it's hard to root, get pissed. If it has a locked bootloader get pissed. If it has a custom skin like Sense or Touchwiz get pissed. If the only thing that isn't stock is few Verizon apps it's not exactly the end of the world is it?

 

[DrFunk]

I still don't really get it tho. If it's hard to root, get pissed. If it has a locked bootloader get pissed. If it has a custom skin like Sense or Touchwiz get pissed. If the only thing that isn't stock is few Verizon apps it's not exactly the end of the world is it?

I guess its the principle of the matter. Verizon's bloatware has always been the ire of many, and now that its on a Nexus device? AW HELL NAW

 

[Bboy AJ]

What can be done is different than what's being done. Like I said, it's a shift in the ideaology of a company that will shape your future in an incredibly profound way.

 

[kehs]

To my knowledge there is no official launch date on any US carrier yet, though it does look likely it'll be a timed Verizon exclusive. I've no doubt Verizon are contributing to the confusion and the lack of clarity on release info is annoying.

For some it would appear that Verizon's pre-installed apps are the tipping point. I don't really understand why as that really is not where any ire should be focused. It is easily worked around. What isn't easily worked around is the fact that nobody has a clue when this thing will be released and that the launch has been a pigs ear. Get angry at Google for that, not Verizon for being, well Verizon.

That's a fair phone, we haven't heard anything official regarding the US launch, but the writing's on the wall for us geeks.

I still don't really get it tho. If it's hard to root, get pissed. If it has a locked bootloader get pissed. If it has a custom skin like Sense or Touchwiz get pissed. If the only thing that isn't stock is few Verizon apps it's not exactly the end of the world is it?

Actually, since it has preloaded Verizon apps, it pretty much means Verizon gets the final say for updates on the Verizon version for the states.

Same situation with the Galaxy S. Any galaxy S that didn't have a US carrier in charge got their updates quickly from Samsung. The rest of the people had to wait for the carrier to push out the update.

The only problem with using custom roms, is that they still rely on official releases for certain things like drivers and libraries. Which means that things like LTE probably won't work on custom roms if you move away from the official firmware.

Cyanogenmod has to reverse engineer the necessary wimax technology(drivers/libraries/etc) to get those phones working on CM. People with those phones weren't even using wimax, just the standard cdma connections.

 

[Mafro]

O2 appear to have confirmed they are selling it from November 17th http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/13/...-be-selling-the-galaxy-nexus-on-november-17th

It goes against what Handtec said about all UK retailers being delayed till the 21st, though...

 

[Unknown Soldier]

You guys should have figured out that Google's corporate motto has changed to 'Only Be As Evil As Any Other Big Corporation' a long time ago. The fact that Google is now in charge of censoring GAF should have been a pretty big flashing red neon light that things have changed at El Goog. Their other recent ideas like trying to cram WebM (nee VP8) down the Internet's collective throats as the streaming video standard in an attempt to replace H.264 with something they control should have been red flags too.

Google is just as evil as anyone else these days, folks. The dream died a long, long time ago.

At this point what will be make-or-break to me on the Galaxy Tuna is the PenTile screen. If the screen looks like shit when I go look at it in the Verizon store, I won't buy it. If the screen looks okay, I will. That's pretty much it.

 

[kehs]

You guys should have figured out that Google's corporate motto has changed to 'Only Be As Evil As Any Other Big Corporation' a long time ago. The fact that Google is now in charge of censoring GAF should have been a pretty big flashing red neon light that things have changed at El Goog. Their other recent ideas like trying to cram WebM (nee VP8) down the Internet's collective throats as the streaming video standard in an attempt to replace H.264 with something they control should have been red flags too.

Google is just as evil as anyone else these days, folks. The dream died a long, long time ago.

At this point what will be make-or-break to me on the Galaxy Tuna is the PenTile screen. If the screen looks like shit when I go look at it in the Verizon store, I won't buy it. If the screen looks okay, I will. That's pretty much it.

Perfect.

 

[gcubed]

Truthfully, custom roms blow on a nexus device. CM7 on my nexus one sucks compared to stock. I don't want to go to an inferior version of the OS on a nexus device. I have no worries that the Verizon nexus will get much slower updates... I expect a few days delay as the xoom has been pretty quick but its just the principle of it. I need a new phone and I'm going to swallow my pride and get this one, but I shouldn't have to talk myself into getting a nexus device

 

[DrFunk]

Wait, I've been busy making sweet love to my Galaxy Note, does the UK version really come out the 17th? That's Thursday!

 

[Angst]

Copernicus got himself banned? Damn

 

[gcubed]

Copernicus got himself banned? Damn

Was only a matter of time

 

[pootle]

does the UK version really come out the 17th? That's Thursday!

O2 and Three are both saying Thursday now.

I've ordered with handtec though and it's getting to be squeaky bum time. Decisions Decisions.

That extra 4 days is weighing heavily. I hope it's released on the 17th everywhere!

 

[D'ultimate]

Techradar Galaxy Nexus Review

Seems like and early build but here are some snippets:

The screen quality of the Galaxy Nexus is as sumptuous as ever when it comes to Samsung screen - it lacked the colour depth of the Galaxy S2 in our eyes, but the sharpness of the screen was unrivalled, so it's clear to see the 4.65-inch screen is going to be a real winner for movies and the like.

However, when we overloaded the notifications menu we noted a real drop in speed, with the OS juddering rather badly. In fairness, we were playing with an older developer build, so we'll let that one slide for now.

Internet browsing speeds were similarly blindingly fast, no matter which sites we threw at it. The sharpness of the screen was also really useful here, as even at full zoom, all text and pictures looked crystal clear and even flash video showed no lag when tapped up on a number of sites. Nice stuff.

We're pretty impressed with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, despite being a little underwhelmed by the specs. That's mostly down to the use of Ice Cream Sandwich, which is a nifty OS indeed, with a number of cool features making it a real next-gen device.

They also write that Phones4U has confirmed a November 17th launch in the UK. Not that it's a surprise.

 

[The Faceless Master]

Some phones have mass hysteria during launch days:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1342637

i guess that wasn't the droid they were looking for?

 

[JonnyBrad]

Techradar Galaxy Nexus Review

Seems like and early build but here are some snippets:

[/URL]

I'm guessing google turned the colours down a bit as on the nexus s. The gs2 colours are crazy oversaturated.

 

[D'ultimate]

Slashgear is speculating that the Nexus and perhaps the Galaxy Note may have Cornings future Lotus Glass for higher resolution displays

What we must assume here is that either Samsung and Google had a special deal going on with a separate company for the glass, or they saw that Corning’s Lotus Glass would be the next big thing to have anyway, and opted for a nameless glass in the interim. Note in that Lotus Glass article that Rue suggests that its possible the high resolution has something to do with the switch as well.

the Galaxy Note is another new Samsung device to refrain from having Gorilla Glass for one reason or another.

Have they opted for the Lotus Glass instead, or have they excluded both Lotus and Gorilla for an unnamed glass?

Slashgear article on Lotus Glass for the lazy

 

[SimleuqiR]

Copernicus got himself banned? Damn

Perfect.

Yup!

Some of us have him on Google+, we can always ask why.

 

[rabhw]

Well Canadians, your nightmare has been confirmed:

Bell to launch Galaxy Nexus:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/11/14/bell-to-launch-the-samsung-galaxy-nexus/
http://galaxynexus.bell.ca/

Virgin Mobile to launch the Galaxy Nexus:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/11/14/samsung-galaxy-nexus-officially-virgin-mobile-early-december/
http://www.virginmobile.ca/en/hot-offers/offer-nexus.html

Virgin is owned by Bell, so this looks like it might be a "Bell family" exclusive.

I have no idea what to do at this point. I might just go to a Virgin store, buy the phone + 1 month of the cheapest plan they offer, and then turn around immediately and say "okay now I'd like to cancel".

 

[zedge]

Well Canadians, your nightmare has been confirmed:

Bell to launch Galaxy Nexus:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/11/14/bell-to-launch-the-samsung-galaxy-nexus/
http://galaxynexus.bell.ca/

Virgin Mobile to launch the Galaxy Nexus:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/11/14/samsung-galaxy-nexus-officially-virgin-mobile-early-december/
http://www.virginmobile.ca/en/hot-offers/offer-nexus.html

Virgin is owned by Bell, so this looks like it might be a "Bell family" exclusive.

I have no idea what to do at this point. I might just go to a Virgin store, buy the phone + 1 month of the cheapest plan they offer, and then turn around immediately and say "okay now I'd like to cancel".

Just buy it outright from best buy or future shop. No contract needed. Bell are always kicking everyones ass when it comes to releasing new android handsets.

 

[rabhw]

Just buy it outright from best buy or future shop. Bell are always kicking everyones ass when it comes to releasing new android handsets.

As far as I'm aware, BB and Futureshop rarely sell phones off-contract do they? Usually they are just basically a retail location for that carrier and a different location for you to sign a contract.

Reference: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/categor...spx?path=686e6818c6c2f6d090b29af6af6768aden01

Unless their website just isn't updated very often and the actual stores have more for sale unlocked?

 

[SimleuqiR]

http://phandroid.com/2011/11/14/goo...ndroid-market-inclusion-free-song-of-the-day/

Google Music

LOL @ this:

Don’t forget that T-Mobile’s logo was found on the event invite, so perhaps they’ll be launching the Galaxy Nexus and be first to include the Google Music Store on their device.

Hope springs eternal!

Spoiler

God I wish!

 

[Sky Chief]

Actually, since it has preloaded Verizon apps, it pretty much means Verizon gets the final say for updates on the Verizon version for the states.

Same situation with the Galaxy S. Any galaxy S that didn't have a US carrier in charge got their updates quickly from Samsung. The rest of the people had to wait for the carrier to push out the update.

The only problem with using custom roms, is that they still rely on official releases for certain things like drivers and libraries. Which means that things like LTE probably won't work on custom roms if you move away from the official firmware.

Cyanogenmod has to reverse engineer the necessary wimax technology(drivers/libraries/etc) to get those phones working on CM. People with those phones weren't even using wimax, just the standard cdma connections.

That's what I'm scared of. It completely negates the main reason I want a GN.

 

[Keyouta]

Well Canadians, your nightmare has been confirmed:

Bell to launch Galaxy Nexus:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/11/14/bell-to-launch-the-samsung-galaxy-nexus/
http://galaxynexus.bell.ca/

Virgin Mobile to launch the Galaxy Nexus:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/11/14/samsung-galaxy-nexus-officially-virgin-mobile-early-december/
http://www.virginmobile.ca/en/hot-offers/offer-nexus.html

Virgin is owned by Bell, so this looks like it might be a "Bell family" exclusive.

I have no idea what to do at this point. I might just go to a Virgin store, buy the phone + 1 month of the cheapest plan they offer, and then turn around immediately and say "okay now I'd like to cancel".

please don't be exclusive.

 

[gcubed]

Google Music

LOL @ this:



Hope springs eternal!

Spoiler

God I wish!

i love android blogs. They pull the most random bullshit they can imagine out of thin air and post it. Its glorious and embarrassing at the same time

 

[SimleuqiR]

i love android blogs. They pull the most random bullshit they can imagine out of thin air and post it. Its glorious and embarrassing at the same time

Tell me about it.
Unless Google pulls a surprise, and sells the phone on their website unlocked, I think this phone will be locked down to contracts (Verizon-US, and Bell-CA).

Live...Bush...Love Battery, Mother Love Bone....

There is a dildo joke somewhere in there...

 

[zedge]

As far as I'm aware, BB and Futureshop rarely sell phones off-contract do they? Usually they are just basically a retail location for that carrier and a different location for you to sign a contract.

Reference: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/categor...spx?path=686e6818c6c2f6d090b29af6af6768aden01

Unless their website just isn't updated very often and the actual stores have more for sale unlocked?

They sell them all the time. i bought my nexus s there. picked up the kodo one as it was cheaper than the rest. used it on bell. The sales man at BB said they kept selling out of kodo ones for that reason. They will sell most phones outright unless specificly told otherwise.

 

[jokkir]

Well Canadians, your nightmare has been confirmed:

Bell to launch Galaxy Nexus:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/11/14/be...-galaxy-nexus/
http://galaxynexus.bell.ca/

Virgin Mobile to launch the Galaxy Nexus:
http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/11/14/sa...arly-december/
http://www.virginmobile.ca/en/hot-of...fer-nexus.html

Virgin is owned by Bell, so this looks like it might be a "Bell family" exclusive.

I have no idea what to do at this point. I might just go to a Virgin store, buy the phone + 1 month of the cheapest plan they offer, and then turn around immediately and say "okay now I'd like to cancel".

Does anyone know if it will use AWS? I'm on Mobilicity and want to just use my phone on it without having to switch to Bell since I have the unlimited everything plan.

 

[zedge]

Does anyone know if it will use AWS? I'm on Mobilicity and want to just use my phone on it without having to switch to Bell since I have the unlimited everything plan.

No Bell is same as rogers and telus hspa . It will work but no data.