Samsung Galaxy Nexus

As the Samsung Galaxy Nexus approached launch on Verizon here in the U.S., you couldn’t pull up an Android site without seeing some sort of rumor, tip or leak that had to do with it. This phone was hypebeasted as if it was the second coming of some religious tech figure. Over the last couple of months, things have been unbelievably wild (both positively and negatively) around these parts, and the majority of the thanks can be attributed to it. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the third incarnation of the Google Nexus series. The first two being the Nexus S and the Nexus One, neither of which sold very well. The Galaxy Nexus hopes to change this though, being the first phone to run the new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

With a 4.65” display, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is much larger than the Nexus S (read our full Nexus S review). It is also noticeably heavier. Depending on the size of your hand, you may or may not like it. We have heard it both ways, but most people like it, and we do too. We are almost a year into the $299 on-contract phone pricing scheme and I’m still not a fan of it. I get that Verizon tested us all with the DROID Charge and a few people actually forked out that kind of change leading Big Red to push forward with this being the standard for high end LTE phones, but that doesn’t mean I can’t complain about it. And I totally get that we should expect to pay a premium for a device we use on a daily basis, yet it still seems a little much.

The latest Google phone will be aimed at the Android purists – the crowd, which doesn’t like launchers or UI tweaks. And also the crowd that likes to get the latest OS updates from Google first. In this aspect, the smartphone is entirely in a league of its own. So is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus a proper flagship for the company, or is it simply an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich flag bearer for Google? This is what we’re trying to find out in this review. Actually, if you are a tech geek that always wants to be on the leading edge of the Android world, you may also want to look to go off-contract and upgrade. After having had both the GSM and LTE versions of this phone for the last month, it has easily become my favorite Android device.

We hope that this review gave you a good sense for how it feels to use a Galaxy Nexus (LTE). If there is something that we have not covered, please leave a comment and we will try to address it as soon as we can. If you found this review useful, Like it, Share it and comment on it. We’re here to help. We continue to cover the this handset, so check the latest Galaxy Nexus stories.

Samsung Galaxy Note

When Apple launched they iPad, they positioned it as a device meant to fill the gaping chasm between the smartphone and the notebook. However, some people thought that a 10-inch device would be too big to carry around so manufacturers started coming up with 7-inch tablets. But then someone thought
related stories. This Samsung Galaxy Note Review represents all the good features that Samsung does very well. The 8 Mega pixel camera takes great pictures and it can also shoot 1080p video, which by any standard for a smartphone is highly impressive.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is just now working its way to the States, but a recent certification by the WiFi Alliance is already stoking the flames of its replacement. Known only as the GT-N8000, it’s thought this device may be the eventual replacement for the GT-N7000. Of course, this isn’t the only plausible explanation, as the new model number may hint at yet another new family of devices.

What’s most surprising about the Galaxy Note is that it’s amazingly thin and light for a 5.3-incher. Even with the gigantic 2500 mAh battery on-board, it doesn’t feel excessively heavy, and actually feels lighter in the hand than the HTC Titan, a 4.7-inch device.

Specifications:

There are a number of unique apps pre-loaded on the Galaxy Note which take advantage of the combination of the S Pen and large high-resolution display. There’s a dedicated drawing app, which Samsung showed off with the help of cartoonists and other artists. Like the HTC Flyer, there’s also the ability to take full-page screenshots and annotate them, or immediately jump into a note-taking app to jot down your thoughts. Samsung’s taken things a bit further in the Galaxy Note software however, by integrating pen input with its photo and video editing software.

Personally, I enjoyed the web browsing and video playback experience on the Galaxy Note. However, I could never really get used to the size. In the end, the size for me was the deal breaker and I could never see myself buying a phone this big.

If, however, you’re honestly fine with the size then the Galaxy Note makes more sense than the Galaxy S II. At Rs. 32,700 (Flipkart) it is expensive but you will only be spending a bit more over the Galaxy S II and for that you get a lot in return. But again, only do this if you’re fine with the size. Otherwise the Galaxy S II is a lot more practical option.