Android!

[Quinton]

I'm very happy with how Nexus S turned out (been using it as my primary phone since months before it shipped, and have been using the sprint SKU for over a month now), but then I may be a little biased here.  Some people really don't like the shiny black plastic finsh, claiming it looks cheap, but I find the build quality to be quite good.  Compared to the 2010 generation devices it (and the Galaxy series which use the same SLSI S5PC11x SoC) is faaast.  The new multicore stuff may be a bit snappier, but I've yet to feel the Nexus S was underpowered for a WVGA smartphone.  5MP camera is not mindblowing, but is solid and gets the job done. 

Additional upside: Nexus S is the first Gingerbread based device, receives Gingerbread updates first (like 2.3.4 which added video chat in gtalk), has an unlockable bootloader and lots of support for third party roms if you're into that (support for building AOSP on Nexus S went out alongside the OTA: http://groups.google.com/group/android-building/msg/79ccaf7ebfa22744)

[Chimpy]

I really don't care much about rooting, camera features, or even the apps available mostly. I have had the same phone for almost 6 years now and as it is time to upgrade I figured I might as well get a smart phone since I am the only person in my family/social circle that is without one.

I was originally thinking of a Galaxy S (Edge 4G) but the lack of bloatware on the Nexus S seems like it will fit my liking better. There is no 4G in Champaign as of yet (and who knows how long it will be until that gets put in..._) so that does not really matter.

I just want to make sure people who have it actually think it has good build quality and works as advertised.

[Sand]

Ok, so does anyone have a Nexus S?

I am most likely going to buy one sometime next month (they are being released may 8 on Sprint), depending on permanent job situation. Just want to know what people think of it after using it for a while.

As I said above I just got mine a couple weeks ago. Im loving it!

Fast. Beautiful screen. Battery time has actually been very good and Im a frequent email reader/writer and web browser.

Downloaded this game called "Majesty" and its very strategy ala Heroes of Might and Magicish, and the graphics are awesome (for a phone!).

Happiest I have been with a phone since I bought my very first smart phone back in 2003.


PS- My wife has the Galaxy S and has had nothing but problems with it. Shitty battery time (like 6 hours from full to empty with minimal talking) and it continuously reboots itself (I guess the phone version of a blue screen of death). We took it back into today and they factory reset it. If it continue to happen we will dump it under the warranty.

Also if you get the Nexus spend a little bit of extra dough and get the Zagg invisibleShield for the screen. Its not a normal screen protector, its like clear aluminum.

[Xuri]

I'm very happy with how Nexus S turned out (been using it as my primary phone since months before it shipped, and have been using the sprint SKU for over a month now), but then I may be a little biased here.  Some people really don't like the shiny black plastic finsh, claiming it looks cheap, but I find the build quality to be quite good.  Compared to the 2010 generation devices it (and the Galaxy series which use the same SLSI S5PC11x SoC) is faaast.  The new multicore stuff may be a bit snappier, but I've yet to feel the Nexus S was underpowered for a WVGA smartphone.  5MP camera is not mindblowing, but is solid and gets the job done. 

Additional upside: Nexus S is the first Gingerbread based device, receives Gingerbread updates first (like 2.3.4 which added video chat in gtalk), has an unlockable bootloader and lots of support for third party roms if you're into that (support for building AOSP on Nexus S went out alongside the OTA: http://groups.google.com/group/android-building/msg/79ccaf7ebfa22744)

Not enough of an upgrade to convert from this, the most beautiful of phones, my N1.

[Rendakor]

I've got the Galaxy S (ATT Captivate) and other than ATT's usual bullshit I've had no problems with it.

[Pennilenko]

I've got the Galaxy S (ATT Captivate) and other than ATT's usual bullshit I've had no problems with it.

I have one too, I love it. It works well and is fast.

[Tale]

Well, I love my $99 Huawei IDEOS U8150. Froyo modded with FusionIDEOS (adds multitouch and saves battery by underclocking in standby mode).

[MuffinMan]

More Google related than Android but Sprint integrated Google Voice into their service on the 3rd. Sucks that I found out about it today from an Engadget article about issues that people have been having. I activated it anyways because I'm a daredevil and/or stupid.

[rattran]

Jumped from Red to Pink, so I've retired my Droid1 for a shiny new LG G2X. I'll miss the Droid1, first phone I've had that lasted a year, and I didn't hate.

[fuser]

At io2011 its really heavy android. One very cool think so far is dev kit for the android at home and the usb dev kit. Very cool how you now can develop a usb device that will even poke android to get you to download an associated market app. The hardware is realky nice.

[schild]

I need to start fucking going to I/O.

[Bann]

I've been following this thread for awhile as I've known its way past time for me to upgrade my phone. I'm still rocking a RAZR from 5-6 years ago. 

I want a smart phone, and have a preference for android. Both my Girlfriend and I are not under contract (I'm still on a family plan and she is prepaid) and we are looking to get a family plan together for some savings. We are in Chicago, so coverage is not really an issue.

We are looking to commit to something at some point this summer. She has her eye on an Iphone, but could be talked off that, I believe. I currently believe that the Nexus S to be the phone that looks coolest to me, but I thought I'd solicit some opinions here. Seems like people are happy with the Nexus S, but if you were getting a phone in the next 3-4 months, would you pull the trigger on a nexus S now, or is there something coming out soon that you would hold out for?

[Xuri]

Rumors have been going around fpr a while (and more or less confirmed by Google) of a new Nexus phone in the works (possibly running on Nvidia's quad-core mobile CPU (Tegra), possibly being made by LG), though it might not see the light of day until the very end of the year - you probably don't want to wait that long? :P

[RhyssaFireheart]

Since I'm currently disinclined to completely reread the thread, why is the Nexus S better than the Galaxy S phone?  I'm going to upgrade soon (tm), definitely before September and was leaning towards the Samsung Fascinate since we're on Verizon and are perfectly happy with the service we get from them.  But I keep hearing the Nexus S phones are so awesome so now I'm wondering...

[schild]

Anyone want to sell their Galaxy Tab LE from IO? Heh.

Daddy want badly. I just can't stand my iPad.

[RhyssaFireheart]

I just can't stand my iPad.

You can send it my way.  I wouldn't complain about having one. 

[fuser]

Anyone want to sell their Galaxy Tab LE from IO? Heh.

Daddy want badly. I just can't stand my iPad.

Its pretty sweet but I hear rumors the le will being retail market with the white android skin. Really disapointed there was no phones this year as they are pushing nfc. Cool tech demos showing multiplayer link up by putting to nexus s together. It activates p2p on fruit ninja to establish multiplayer bluetooth link.

Heck they gave out nfc tags as a part of the ticketpouch.

[Yegolev]

Rumors have been going around fpr a while (and more or less confirmed by Google) of a new Nexus phone in the works (possibly running on Nvidia's quad-core mobile CPU (Tegra), possibly being made by LG), though it might not see the light of day until the very end of the year - you probably don't want to wait that long? :P

This looks great and all, but I need a Nexus on VZW.  It's not looking like I will be able to hold out for a Super Awesome Kickass Phone, not until Q4 and not even a rumor of VZW so it's Thunderbolt for me it seems.

[ghost]

I just can't stand my iPad.

What don't you like about it?  Edit:  Or, more appropriately, what do you see as the benefits of switching to the Samsung device?

[Koyasha]

Has anyone had any experience with the 'document scanner' apps?  I've seen a few of them and trying to figure out which one will be best for a hypothetical future phone is hard.  The two trial versions I tried (Document Scanner and Scan2PDF Mobile) both had horribly blurry pictures, but I'm trying them on my G1's 3 megapixel camera; I don't know if the image quality would improve significantly (that is, be readable) with newer phones.  I'm attempting to replace my mother's phone and if I can get her to learn to use something like this it'll be good for her - she's constantly lugging around paper that isn't necessary when she could scan documents in and email them as needed.  Anyone have a good suggestion on which app seems to perform well?

Additionally, haven't been keeping up on devices lately - I'm wondering what would be good for her.  Screen size maximized is a must, so she can see as much as possible - I originally had some comments about Verizon phones, but she really wants to stick with AT&T, and I know less about what they have that's any good.  Anyone got suggestions on device to use?  From a quick look it seems like the HTC Inspire might be the best they've got for these purposes - 8 MP camera and 4.3 inch screen.  I'd prefer the largest possible screen so she can see what she's doing.  Anything that's coming out in the next 2-3 months would also be reasonable, since there's no great rush to get this done.

Alternately, perhaps a good tablet would be useful to her as well - hell of a lot more screen real estate, and she could more easily see and read the documents on the device itself.  But I haven't kept up with tablets at all, so if anyone has any good suggestions on that front I'd also welcome those.

[Sand]

Since I'm currently disinclined to completely reread the thread, why is the Nexus S better than the Galaxy S phone?  I'm going to upgrade soon (tm), definitely before September and was leaning towards the Samsung Fascinate since we're on Verizon and are perfectly happy with the service we get from them.  But I keep hearing the Nexus S phones are so awesome so now I'm wondering...

I believe...

A) More on board memory.
B) Direct Google phone meaning they have the better operating system and get updated first.
C) Other than that between my wife having the Galaxy and me having the Nexus we have had far fewer issues with the Nexus and its been noticeably faster with longer battery life than my wife's.

(A and B I completely pulled out of my ass, but believe its what I was told and or read in this thread).

[jakonovski]

Sweet, my Desire HD got the 2.3 update. It's so smoooooooth now.

[caladein]

Since I'm currently disinclined to completely reread the thread, why is the Nexus S better than the Galaxy S phone?  I'm going to upgrade soon (tm), definitely before September and was leaning towards the Samsung Fascinate since we're on Verizon and are perfectly happy with the service we get from them.  But I keep hearing the Nexus S phones are so awesome so now I'm wondering...

If you have the option to go with a same-gen reference device like the Nexus S, you're better off doing it.  The Fascinate isn't a bad phone (I have the AT&T version, the Captivate) by any stretch, but you're going to be stuck at least one major OS revision behind and support for it will probably dry up a lot faster than for the reference phones (or even stuff from HTC/Motorola).

Really, the only trump card it has over what I'd recommend on Verizon, the Incredible 2, is the screen, which is pretty spectacular.  I guess the back of the Incredible might bother you, but I just slap everything in an Otterbox Commuter these days.

[Nerf]

Since I'm currently disinclined to completely reread the thread, why is the Nexus S better than the Galaxy S phone?  I'm going to upgrade soon (tm), definitely before September and was leaning towards the Samsung Fascinate since we're on Verizon and are perfectly happy with the service we get from them.  But I keep hearing the Nexus S phones are so awesome so now I'm wondering...

If you have the option to go with a same-gen reference device like the Nexus S, you're better off doing it.  The Fascinate isn't a bad phone (I have the AT&T version, the Captivate) by any stretch, but you're going to be stuck at least one major OS revision behind and support for it will probably dry up a lot faster than for the reference phones (or even stuff from HTC/Motorola).

Really, the only trump card it has over what I'd recommend on Verizon, the Incredible 2, is the screen, which is pretty spectacular.  I guess the back of the Incredible might bother you, but I just slap everything in an Otterbox Commuter these days.

Is there a release date on the Incredible 2 yet?

[TripleDES]

Rumors have been going around fpr a while (and more or less confirmed by Google) of a new Nexus phone in the works (possibly running on Nvidia's quad-core mobile CPU (Tegra), possibly being made by LG), though it might not see the light of day until the very end of the year - you probably don't want to wait that long? :P

The Nexus phones are to be taken as baseline specifications and are also development phones. I rather doubt that they'll implement a quad core in this one. I mean, it'll be sweet and I'll be buying this in an instant (if it'll be true) if Microsoft continues to piss me off.

--edit: Also, Android manufacturers are still pretty schizo. Google had Samsung make a Gingerbread phone which was released quite a while ago now, and still, new devices, like for instance the Infuse 4G, are still being released with Froyo. 

I hope that update guarantee crap announced at IO has some weight.

[caladein]

Is there a release date on the Incredible 2 yet?

I think they've been out here for a little bit now.

[fuser]

Been using the 3.0.1 release on my Galaxy Tab 10.1 for a few days now and I have come to the conclusion it's still unstable. The networking stack seems to freeze quite a bit timing out apps which makes them hang and force close. It doesn't sound to bad but trying to use google maps and it freezing every-time you pinch zoom it causes total headaches. Some other really stupid things are the date/timezone being grayed out requiring a complete factory reset to to set them. The app store freezes on installs (related to the network connectivity) for long periods of time to transactions timeout.

It's not nearly as polished as 2.x awaiting for the 3.1 OTA update.

[Quinton]

I'm wondering if the network issues you're seeing might not be Tab-specific.  Xoom has been pretty solid for me.  Your 10.1 Tab is wifi-only?

[fuser]

Yep they were WiFi only, and I've been using the Samsung 4g LTE mobile hotspot that was given out. A friends that has a Xoom mentioned some issues along the same (force quits) and its the WiFi only version also.

[Rendakor]

My girlfriend had been having problems with her Galaxy S phone so we decided to format it; before doing so we took out her Sim card and SD card so we didn't lose all of her contacts. However, after resetting it and putting the Sim card back in, her contacts were gone anyway. Going into Sim management under Contacts showed no contacts on the Sim card, despite them all being there 5 minutes before...  

Any ideas on how we can fix this short of typing them all back in by hand? Some googling gave me a couple shady-looking programs, but they all require a Sim card reader which we don't have.

Edit: Nevermind. We started typing in contacts by hand, and after typing in a few the rest all popped back up. 

[Yegolev]

It was testing your resolve.

[Yegolev]

I noticed the Samsung Droid Charge is available and it seems to be a slightly-improved Thunderbolt.  Specifically it has more memory and apparently a better screen, from some quick googling.  Checking the pre-discount price on my VZW account screen (ripoff) they are priced the same.

[rattran]

I was happy with Verizon service while I had it (except the price) but trying to cancel service with them has me raging. I ported my number to T-Mobile for the sexy new G2x phone, and now verizon can't seem to find my records to cancel me. But they sent out a shiny new bill. Fuckers.

The G2x is quite spiffy, if I was still with Verizon, I think I'd wait for the Droid 3 or LG Revo. Charge Review

[Yegolev]

That Charge review was negative enough for me to consider a long-ass wait for something else.  Particularly the TouchWiz part, I am switching phones now simply because of the lag time on my Droid.  I need Google to get on with a (new) Nexus on VZW.

[fuser]

Update on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the crashes on app's are totally WiFi signal strength based. I have been using it a fair bit on good/known WiFi networks and it's been running like a champ. 3.1 notes seem to indicate a bunch of changes with the WiFi so it will probably fix up all the issues experienced.

The battery life is fantastic, under light usage you can get 2-3 days on a single charge(that's with wifi active in sleep mode). Browsing is good but apparently its a limited version of the browser compared to the 3.0 Xoom (people on XDA are trying to get the apk and port it over but its useless till 3.1 is released). There's some weird bugs with the tablet where a co-workers tablet will turn itself off after sleeping for a period of time.

Speaking of which one issue still ongoing is really long mp3's on the tablet (3-4hrs long) the music app just stops playing after a period of time. It's really annoying and random. I have tested the mp3 on a desktop pc with zero issues.