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(Q) / Rant

I keep going back and fourth between my gsg3 and galaxy nexus and cannot make up my mind firmly and would like to hoping to get something going to help me weigh my options better. I love the sgs3 everything about it from stock battery life to camera size is good a bit bulky for me even though i have big hands its still something of a getting used to in width far as reaching thumb across the screen.
The nexus love the dev community in terms of selection of roms and such however sgs3 will have aosp as well as tw variants im sure in the future
both have great speed good amount of memory space available for files that is I just keep going back and fourth and cannot make up my mind on this. so any of you that may have both devices as well or put hands on both and have some valid insight and thoughts id appreciate greatly.

mikeew83 said:
I keep going back and fourth between my gsg3 and galaxy nexus and cannot make up my mind firmly and would like to hoping to get something going to help me weigh my options better. I love the sgs3 everything about it from stock battery life to camera size is good a bit bulky for me even though i have big hands its still something of a getting used to in width far as reaching thumb across the screen.
The nexus love the dev community in terms of selection of roms and such however sgs3 will have aosp as well as tw variants im sure in the future
both have great speed good amount of memory space available for files that is I just keep going back and fourth and cannot make up my mind on this. so any of you that may have both devices as well or put hands on both and have some valid insight and thoughts id appreciate greatly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from the GN to S3.. I have not yet turned back. S3 has done everything that the GN has and have done it better. Are there options that you dont like on the S3? The only thing that i didnt like on the S3 was the Messaging software. I like the one from the GN better. I ended up flashing SlimRom on it and all is well. There are a few flaws here and there, but nothing majorly noticeable.
As for size.. I agree that it is bigger. With the GN i never had a case for it, and so i was use to the slim feel. I got the S3 and was amazed that the phone was the same thickness almost. But i ended up getting an Otterbox and so i made it more bulky than i prefer. But awesomeness comes with a price. I love my S3. and will not turn back.
Good luck on making your decision.

I had the Gnex and switched to the S3
first I hated the middle button only for the first 3-days tho after that I got used to it and like it. My wife still has the Gnex and every-time I'm doing something on it I try to push the button in the middle which it obviously doesn't have.
10 quick easons why the S3 is the BIG winner for me.
1. Super AMOLED screen
2. Gorilla Glass (better agains scratches)
3. The build quality, I love the rounded screen style and color
4. it seems lighter and better to hold.
5. 1.5GHz-stock vs 1.2GHz-stock on the Gnex
6. Battery Life (I doubt it's just me, but I had the extended battery on the Gnex which was 2100mah just as the S3's stock battery but my S3 beats the Gnex ANY DAY I'm running Synergy's ROM and I get 3h screen on time with about 1-1.5h of calling time and my phone still has about 10% at the end of the day)--Opened Stock Kernel--
7. call quality
8. the build in speaker sooooo loud & even on head-phones there's a reason when you bump up your volume it says "loud music may harm your hearing if you listen to it for a long time" Beats Audio...WHO?!
9. Way better 4G connection with no dropps my Gnex always used to get on & off 4G in my Apt well with the S3 I even have 4G in the deep garage
10. It's newer and SAMSUNG's FlagShip device
Thought I throw this together quick since no one answered. OHH never-mind iSpyder was 1min quicker hahaa

galchristian said:
I had the Gnex and switched to the S3
first I hated the middle button only for the first 3-days tho after that I got used to it and like it. My wife still has the Gnex and every-time I'm doing something on it I try to push the button in the middle which it obviously doesn't have.
10 quick easons why the S3 is the BIG winner for me.
1. Super AMOLED screen
2. Gorilla Glass (better agains scratches)
3. The build quality, I love the rounded screen style and color
4. it seems lighter and better to hold.
5. 1.5GHz-stock vs 1.2GHz-stock on the Gnex
6. Battery Life (I doubt it's just me, but I had the extended battery on the Gnex which was 2100mah just as the S3's stock battery but my S3 beats the Gnex ANY DAY I'm running Synergy's ROM and I get 3h screen on time with about 1-1.5h of calling time and my phone still has about 10% at the end of the day)
7. call quality
8. the build in speaker sooooo loud & even on head-phones there's a reason when you bump up your volume it says "loud music may harm your hearing if you listen to it for a long time" Beats Audio...WHO?!
9. Way better 4G connection with no dropps my Gnex always used to get on & off 4G in my Apt well with the S3 I even have 4G in the deep garage
10. It's newer and SAMSUNG's FlagShip device
Thought I throw this together quick since no one answered. OHH never-mind iSpyder was 1min quicker hahaa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cant forget the camera quality!! I thought the GN was a bit grainy. But the S3 has given perfect shots so far. LOVE LOVE LOVE the camera.

I am so happy I got rid of the GNEX for the S3. When I first bought my S3 I still had my GNEX and when I had them side by side the GNEX just looked dated. I know people say the GNEX is so sleek with no physical buttons but up to my white S3 the GNEX was the ugly duckling.
They both have Super Amoled screens but Samsung did the S3 write with the way they tweaked it and really screwed over the GNEX users. Luckily you can tweak the GNEX screen but I still think the S3 screen spanks it. Even the blacks look better on the S3.
Camera, in good lighting situations and mostly outdoor lighting the GNEX camera looks just as good as the S3. Once the sun goes down or you go indoors you might as well pack up the GNEX's camera and wait for the sun to rise again. Low light pictures were terrible and grainy. There are phones that came out a year before the GNEX and can take much better low light pics. Samsung should have no sacrificed the picture quality for no shutter speed. I would have been happier if they just used the GS2 camera in the phone but they didn't.
Battery life. Does the GNEX even know it has a battery in it? I think sometimes when I used it no one reminded it there is something powering it and it can actual stay on for a little bit. With the 2100mAh battery I was lucky, and I mean lucky if I could hit 2 hours on on screen time over 4G. The S3 with a higher clock speed and larger screen can give me 3-4 hours on screen time over 4G over a 15 hours time frame. That is just perfect. Can't imagine myself using the phone on an average day on strictly 4G for over 4 hours on screen time.
I was also not a fan of the on-screen buttons of the GNEX. The screen was not large enough for me to be ruined with buttons. I can see it on the Note or something of that size, but for a phone I am not a fan.
Oh, and TW is pretty sweet as well. I liked it on my S2 and like it even more on the S3. I feel no need to jump onto an AOSP rom. It offers nothing more then we already have. All I need now is some fully working TW JB!
Would love to hear what it is that is keeping you using the GNEX because I can't think of anything........

Those are some long and well thought out replies. I'm another that was happy to go from the gnex to the s3. Had the unlocked BL not been leaked....it may have been a different story.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

got556 said:
Those are some long and well thought out replies. I'm another that was happy to go from the gnex to the s3. Had the unlocked BL not been leaked....it may have been a different story.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I had high hopes for the BL to get unlocked. I was about to cancel my pre-order when i found out the news. All in all, Everything worked out.

I had the Galaxy Nexus and I went through 5 of them! The first one I had overheated really badly. The second one lasted me a good six months but then it had a screen burn in issue. After that Verizon had sent me 3 crappy CLN devices and I complained and complained for them to give me a Galaxy SIII. Here is why the S3 is better.
1) Battery Life-Oh my God! The battery life on the Nexus was horrible...sometimes my phone would drop to 40% within one hour.
2)The Screen-even though the screen technology is the same...the difference are like night and day. All the problems with the Nexus's screen. Samsung ironed out with the S3's screen. Such as this grainy effect on low brightness.
3)The camera...i dont really care that the camera on the Nexus was 5mp...but the quality was just plain horrible especially in low light.
4) Signal! I get 4G in places I never got it with my Nexus
5)Call quality is waay better.
6)Sound quality- you can barely hear ANYTHING out of the loud speaker on the Nexus
7)Build quality-Both phones are made of plastic, but no matter which Nexus I had my battery door never seemed to fit correctly on any of them. Also the generic "fortified glass" on the Nexus gets scratched really easily.
8)Specs-The S4 and the 2gb of RAM make this thing blazingly fast...even faster than my Nexus was on a JellyBean ROM with project butter.
9) I cant believe Im saying this...but there are things in touchwiz that I like better than stock android such as the swiping motion to take a screenshot...however I did have to download the stock ICS keyboard because the touchwiz keyboard sucks and I installed nova launcher over the touchwiz launcher. Also, the way I figure it is the VZW Nexus isnt a true Nexus anyway, so updates arent really on the top of my list. However I do miss some of the ROMs for the Nexus. JellyBean ROMs were out right away with the Nexus and right now all we have is beta
software.
So anyway, I would highly recommend going with the Galaxy S3 or waiting for the next Nexus or Nexi

I thank everyone for there input so far I think for me the biggest thing about the s3 is I am not a fan of tw however love smemo and the camera app with smile detection and such with a 3 month old I use that a lot but as of right now seems so to speak I can't have my cake and eat it to and I prefer the nav keys on the Nexus
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

After having sense, I really have no love for tw anymore either. I do not like the on screen buttons much, I really don't get the love for them.
Throw apex or nova on the SGS and most of the tw issues are gone with the benefits of the underlying apps
Sent from my thumbs with no brain censorship

I've found TouchWiz to be more configurable and natural for me than Sense, and really don't need AOSP JellyBean at this time. I'm content to wait for Samsung's JB update.
I never owned a Galaxy Nexus but have used them and my S3 feels better in the hand for me, despite its size.
- ooofest

Most of everyone hit the nail right on the head as far as comparing the two devices... I still have my Galaxy Nexus because it is a GREAT inexpensive backup LTE phone and it is still FAST as hell!! I do like the fact that it has on screen nav buttons that can be themed in ANY way you would like depending what rom you are using... With JellyBean on the Gnex it is just as fast as far as scrolling speeds and opening and closing apps (IMO) as the SG3 is... BUT, the camera SUCKS on the Gnex and the battery life is terrible no matter what rom you are running unless you just use it a few times a day to answer calls and text. Now if you start diving into multiple apps and running some heavy games then you will KNOW that you have the SG3... The Gnex bogs down fairly quickly trying to keep up with multitasking and gaming is a no-go as far as I am concerned... I did go through about 3 Gnex's myself because of screen burn in and intermittent loss of signal but I finally got a keeper and I still flash roms on it cause I am a flashaholic! My Daily Driver is my SG3 with CleanRom & his Kernel and that combo can't be beat for me right now... I run Nova Launcher so I can swipe up to clear my running apps and do other things so that I don't have to keep hitting that damn physical home button that I have not fell in love with as of yet but it is a matter of preference as far as that goes and with all the apps out there are several ways to combat anything that you don't like on the SG3. With all that being said I am in LOVE with my SG3 and my Nexus but if I had to pick one it would def be the GS3!! :victory:

I think im done with my One S

So im officially done with this phone. and i need some advice on which phone to switch to.
Nexus 4 or the Galaxy Nexus. I've been hearing bad things about the nexus 4 so i'm hesitant to get it. what do u guys think?

blackhartct said:
So im officially done with this phone. and i need some advice on which phone to switch to.
Nexus 4 or the Galaxy Nexus. I've been hearing bad things about the nexus 4 so i'm hesitant to get it. what do u guys think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an option to buy the Gnex or the One S. I chose this device simply because its much more powerful than the Gnex. Gnex uses quite an old chipset compared to the 28nm S4 Krait in the One S.
Nexus 4 is a real upgrade from the One S... But yes, it does have loads of issues. Cracking glass, yellow tint on screen after device heating up, and loads of such complaints. I'd prefer you wait a few months until good devices are released. MWC 2013 is just a month away..
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

Wait for the gs4 or get an gs3. Bout to trade my one s for a gs3
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda app-developers app

If I were to swtich device - which Im not, I love the S, I would only trade it for a padfone2, because I love the idea of having a phone/tablet combined.

No point switching to either of them IMHO.
Nexus 4 - more of a side step
GN - downgrade overall
The one S camera is far better than both in every area.
Audio is more or less the same for the nexus 4 and one S.
Screen is personal preference:
SAMOLED:
blacks are black, vibrant/saturated colours, infinite contrast ratio
not as good whites, bit pixelated when you look closely, not as sharp on the whole
VS
SLCD/IPS
natural colours, better whites, sharper and clearer on the whole
Poor black levels (but then again every LCD is poor when compared to sAMOLED), some people report that there nexus 4 display is too washed out compared to other LCD screens like the one X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And of course the larger screen of the N4 is an advantage as well as more screen real estate due to the higher res.
The hardware in the N4 is better than the one S, however, with JB and S4 chipsets in real world usage I doubt you will notice much, if any difference. My one S feels faster/snappier/more responsive than a GS 3, note II (exynos powered devices), all running with JB in real world usage (not a huge difference but noticeable enough). The multi-tasking will be much better though due to stock android and 2GB RAM though. Haven't used a Nexus 4 yet.
The NLED on the N4 will be far better too.
Looks are subjective.
Build/perceived quality are more or less the same, think an aluminium uni-body is better than glass back and front though.
Software subjective.
Too hard to say about battery life, the nexus 4 in theory should be much better but due to poor software/driver optimisation it isn't as good as the one S and you will be able to buy the 2040mAh from the X+ battery for the S at some point... You can get good battery life from the N4 but you need to switch stuff and tweak it or better yet flash a custom kernel.
Also, the N4 doesn't support USB OTG.
Unless you badly want a stock android nexus device or/and don't want to spend much, I would wait for the next lot of phones or at least until the Sony xperia Z or get the HTC DNA.

Personally, I would wait to see what's going to be announced in the next month...
I have both the One S and the Galaxy Nexus, and the One S is better than the Gnex in everything except NFC, screen resolution and the fact that the Gnex has vanilla android.
The build, battery life, screen colors, camera, download speeds, and processing speeds are all better with the One S.

This is my first HTC device and im not gonna lie the cam is amazing but i hate sense. I thought i could live with it but after 6months with this phone im sick of it.
I've used an s3 recently and touchwiz is def weird and im sure in 6months time ill be sick of it too.
I just really want vanilla android and updates on time. Now that im looking around it seems like it will be cheaper to get a new n4 than buying a SGN.... ugh.. the n4 just seems like a device that will crap out on me.. too many issues right after release.

If you want stock android and more timely updates and since you're rooted etc. already then why don't you flash CM or some other jellybean ROM based on stock android?

Terminator19 said:
If you want stock android and more timely updates and since you're rooted etc. already then why don't you flash CM or some other jellybean ROM based on stock android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cuz they are buggy and don't work reason i'm usually running a PA build from Nov (which is hella buggy but is the only cm based rom that has working bluetooth) or a sense based rom. right now running jb+ but prob gonna flash viper 2.0 since it finally came out.

blackhartct said:
Cuz they are buggy and don't work reason i'm usually running a PA build from Nov (which is hella buggy but is the only cm based rom that has working bluetooth) or a sense based rom. right now running jb+ but prob gonna flash viper 2.0 since it finally came out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running latest CM10 nightly and everything but tether works for me. Thing flys and no issues with BT at all
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

Switching from One S to Galaxy Nexus is a major downgrade. You'd have to be nuts to make this move.

RockR172 said:
I had an option to buy the Gnex or the One S. I chose this device simply because its much more powerful than the Gnex. Gnex uses quite an old chipset compared to the 28nm S4 Krait in the One S.
Nexus 4 is a real upgrade from the One S... But yes, it does have loads of issues. Cracking glass, yellow tint on screen after device heating up, and loads of such complaints. I'd prefer you wait a few months until good devices are released. MWC 2013 is just a month away..
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here; I was in my provider's store to get the Gnex but then saw the One S
I compared the specs and I was impressed with the One S
Plus, I prefer the size of the One S to the Gnex's.

i have owned the nexus and one s. Personally, I always go back to one s beause it's smaller, slimmer which makes it easier to carry around. i felt One S screen is also better than Nexus (though I do love Nexus's bigger screen and higher res, the only thing I really like about nexus). For the performance, i felt one S is faster in every way despite hte sense overlay. This is most likely due to the newer CPU. Of course this is comparing the One S vs Galaxy nexus. With Nexus 4, you should get better screen, higher res, better performance and pure android experience.
GS3 is also a good upgrade. While you are not getting better CPU, you do get better screen and RAM, which I think makes more impact in the performance than CPU. The only issue I have with samsung phone in general is that after using One S, I am spoiled with the build quality where I think One S is simply way much better in the overall design than Samsung.
I think if software is your thing, then nexus 4 is the better upgrade than Nexus.

PUTALE said:
I think if software is your thing, then nexus 4 is the better upgrade than Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The funny thing is build quality was one of the main reasons i got this phone. Hell i've dropped it 100+ times by now and it only has a few scuff marks around the charging port and edges. Screens in tip top shape no scratches or cracks. i make fun of iphone users cuz they drop their phones once and they shatter lol.
Well i would order my self a nexus 4 cept googles out of stock. guess ill play the waiting game

justaway2 said:
Switching from One S to Galaxy Nexus is a major downgrade. You'd have to be nuts to make this move.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well to be honest the only part of that switch im not too sure about is the fact the SGN doesnt have 42+. I'm a power data user. (37GB last month WOOO going for 50 this month!!!) So for the majority of the time when i am using my phone i am either tethering, streaming music to my car stereo via bluetooth, checking emails, surfing xda ect.....

Stick with your One S.
I also was deciding between Gnex and One S and there was just one answer: One S, it's better in all aspects: Hardware internals , Build quality, Camera... it just smokes Gnex. Only upside is stock android, but there are downsides as well... htc provides more features than stock android.
Why would you change Aluminium One S for a Plastic S3? Not so much of a difference in daily use (performance wise). Some difference in benchmarks (Krait is a very good architecture).
N4 it a bit more stylish but besides stock android and having the latest software (which is kinds huge) It's a bit dissapointing... falls behind Optimus G which is virtually the same phone, i don't know how it's possible, have some issues and, while the glass looks very premium, you're taking a big risk with it...
Conclusion: One S it may not be the best phone out there, but I think it's the best choice

Well, I'd say go for the Nexus 4 but don't be disappointed about battery life that's even shorter than your one s'.

It's impossible to has a perfect phone, really every android phone have problems here and there, sadly. If you understand this fact, you will know that only change your phone when you very disappoint it. Get a new phone usually will solve some existing issues but on the other hand, it will also introduces new problems.
Nexus4 get the best updates but got some trouble on hardware side. BTW, N5 is already leaking news.
I personally will stick with One S for a while because the hardware isn't outdated yet, only the screen isn't as good as others. Moreover, I prefer small phone. All new phones are now just too big, gonna wait for some smaller phones to out.
HTC JB is better than Sony and Samsung in my experiences. Samsung JB on SGS3/Note2 is just a mess, I got some friends using them. It won't as good as Nexus, never, but already second the best.

blackhartct said:
Cuz they are buggy and don't work reason i'm usually running a PA build from Nov (which is hella buggy but is the only cm based rom that has working bluetooth) or a sense based rom. right now running jb+ but prob gonna flash viper 2.0 since it finally came out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gs iii has some solid cm and such very little if any noticeable bugs. Also have you tried using a different launcher? I mean sense can be a pain but if it's just the notifications and the settings menu I can imagine it affecting you too heavily to switch phones. Just my opinion
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

HOS is great phone, This android like it was made just for HOS (fast, smooth).. Rare cell phone, for which we can say, it works great with 4.0.4/4.1.1..
I had a Sony Xperia S and SGS3, But HOS it's still faster than the two (SGS3, SXS).. The only drawback of this phone is the battery...

Post Your First Impressions

Always curious to hear.
Got mine yesterday.
It's all screen! Lighter, thinner than GS3. Feels more like a small, thin Note 2 which is a good thing to me. Not so bubbly as GS3. Screen is amazing. Bloatware is out of control. The back looks kind of like snake skin.
The speaker is much louder than GS3. So far, I love it. Haven't even tried the features yet!
Anyone else?:good:

Got mine yesterday as well. Extremely nice screen! Gorilla Glass 3 resists finger prints better then advertised in my opinion and the overall 5 inch display is incredible. Super zippy but yes, comes loaded with Samsung and AT&T Apps but this shouldn't be too surprising as Samsung did advertise there software quite a bit. Only natural they put there mark in it. On the flip side all this is easily fixable once a root is out but EVEN with this stuff the phone manages to handle it's memory well and work fast.
Overall I am glad I waited and after a couple of weeks I think there people freaking out are really gonna kick themselves for getting all worked up over stupid problems that are easily dealt with.

Got mine yesterday. see my bloatware thread.
Hardware is amazing and top notch. Software is so bloated and bogged down that, when combined with locked bootloader, I will strongly consider returning.
People might flame me for this, but even with the bloat disabled and using Nova launcher, my gs3 running slim bean is faster on everyday tasks.
Just hit 5% battery life and the phone just automatically reduced brightness to a point that I can barely use it, and phone won't let me crank it back up. Just way too much garbage.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337

WMguy said:
Always curious to hear.
Got mine yesterday.
It's all screen! Lighter, thinner than GS3. Feels more like a small, thin Note 2 which is a good thing to me. Not so bubbly as GS3. Screen is amazing. Bloatware is out of control. The back looks kind of like snake skin.
The speaker is much louder than GS3. So far, I love it. Haven't even tried the features yet!
Anyone else?:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
screen is mind blowingly good, i had a HTC one for 3 days before i got my GS4 and honestly the one was closer to the s4 then i thought it would be. the one had less bloat and it stutter a bit less (after freezing bloat my phone has gotten ALOT better). camera is awesome love the quality and wow this phone is so small for 5 inches. coming from a note 2 and a temporary lumia 920 this thing feels tiny and light, honestly one of the major selling points of the gs4 is it's bezel less design (imo). if bootloader stays locked for long i am selling it or trading it for the one or octa core version.... its a shame that the stock rom is so bloated, i traded the one back because i thought sammy software would blow htc out the water but it didn't . One more thing, the GS4 tv remote works 10000 times better then the htc one. htc could not sync to my sound bar or u-verse box no matter what i tried, the GS4 had that working in seconds. i have 3 remotes just for my bed room and the fact that i do not need them is a huge plus.

phositadc said:
Got mine yesterday. see my bloatware thread.
Hardware is amazing and top notch. Software is so bloated and bogged down that, when combined with locked bootloader, I will strongly consider returning.
People might flame me for this, but even with the bloat disabled and using Nova launcher, my gs3 running slim bean is faster on everyday tasks.
Just hit 5% battery life and the phone just automatically reduced brightness to a point that I can barely use it, and phone won't let me crank it back up. Just way too much garbage.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might need to play with the settings some more for the auto brightness settings. As for the lag, AOSP ROMs have always been faster (in my experience) to Touchwiz Roms. I'm going to put up with the stock Touchwiz for as long as I can before trying out the first releases of AOSP on the GS4. I'm hopeful we will see some crazy development action if it's true the Quad-core international version ROM's can easily be ported to the US versions and vice versa. The international GS3 had so much to chose from. I was perfectly happy on my GS3 using AOKP, but I'm sure I'm not going to regret moving over to the GS4. I had the same debate when switching from the GS2 to the GS3.

I dont get mine till tonight, but I found one in a best buy mobile store and was surpised at how much stuttering I saw just going through the homescreens.
Im hoping that when I disable all the eye tracking stuff that will all run better.

porkaysi said:
the GS4 tv remote works 10000 times better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sold
I tried the htc one remote control feature and liked it. Only thing I really liked, glad to hear the gs4 one is better. Definitely comes in handy.
How is the camera? Especially the dual shot feature(I feel I'll be using this alot )? And the other camera features?

SysAdmNj said:
I'm sold
I tried the htc one remote control feature and liked it. Only thing I really liked, glad to hear the gs4 one is better. Definitely comes in handy.
How is the camera? Especially the dual shot feature(I feel I'll be using this alot )? And the other camera features?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just got the phone yesterday but i have not played with it a lot, studying for finals . but i did dual shot and it is cool and i could see it being fun to use. have not tried all the shooting modes but i am flying to NYC tonight and i plan on taking a bunch of photos and playing with the camera in depth over the weekend

SysAdmNj said:
I'm sold
I tried the htc one remote control feature and liked it. Only thing I really liked, glad to hear the gs4 one is better. Definitely comes in handy.
How is the camera? Especially the dual shot feature(I feel I'll be using this alot )? And the other camera features?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are some photos I snapped this morning in challenging conditions: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oll6vneulv13mz6/TZcApg0pCD
Overall, better than Galaxy S3 by a decent margin. But I used to have an iPhone 5, and my initial impression is that the IP5 takes better pictures than the GS4, at least in these conditions. I feel like it was extremely rare that I got a bad photo out of that phone, even in a relatively dark room as in these pictures, but as you can see in my link, several of these are pretty bad.

porkaysi said:
just got the phone yesterday but i have not played with it a lot, studying for finals . but i did dual shot and it is cool and i could see it being fun to use. have not tried all the shooting modes but i am flying to NYC tonight and i plan on taking a bunch of photos and playing with the camera in depth over the weekend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well good luck with that, and post some of the pics when you can
phositadc said:
Here are some photos I snapped this morning in challenging conditions: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oll6vneulv13mz6/TZcApg0pCD
Overall, better than Galaxy S3 by a decent margin. But I used to have an iPhone 5, and my initial impression is that the IP5 takes better pictures than the GS4, at least in these conditions. I feel like it was extremely rare that I got a bad photo out of that phone, even in a relatively dark room as in these pictures, but as you can see in my link, several of these are pretty bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your pics look pretty good to me. I'm viewing them on my 24" monitor at work though. Cute dog btw. I'm sure compared to the ip5 the gs4 will have better detail due to the higher resolution in normal conditions? Is there an exposure setting? Or other settings to help low light conditions?

SysAdmNj said:
Well good luck with that, and post some of the pics when you can
Your pics look pretty good to me. I'm viewing them on my 24" monitor at work though. Cute dog btw. I'm sure compared to the ip5 the gs4 will have better detail due to the higher resolution in normal conditions? Is there an exposure setting? Or other settings to help low light conditions?
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Now that I've taken a second look, I guess you are right that they are pretty decent, except for one of them. I'm so used to looking at things on a small screen that when I blow it up on a big monitor I expect it to be just as sharp on a big screen as it was on a small screen!

phositadc said:
Now that I've taken a second look, I guess you are right that they are pretty decent, except for one of them. I'm so used to looking at things on a small screen that when I blow it up on a big monitor I expect it to be just as sharp on a big screen as it was on a small screen!
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i agree. those pics you posted dont look that bad. that's the problem with the htc one camera (i own one) when you increase the resolution of the pic, the quality suffers due to only being 4mp. the gs4 is 13mp so it wont be as bad when you increase it's resolution (although there will still be some kind of quality drop off).

Just frickin' awesome. After having the Note this "cheap" plastic feels luxurious

Got mine today. Coming from an LG Optimus G. Here's a few thoughts.
1. I really like the keyboard. But since I've been a swiftkey user for a long time that's no surprise.
2. Screen is very good. Wish it was a little brighter when using auto brightness, but it is very good nonetheless.
3. Maybe I'm just not that picky, but I don't notice any lag. At least not anything bad enough to complain about.
4. Seems to charge pretty fast with the included 2 amp charger.
5. It might be plastic, but I can tell you I like the light weight and the feel in my hand better than my LG Optimus G...
6. I thought the 'swapped' menu and back buttons would bother me. But to be honest, I kind of like it better...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

I have a few questions,
1. Does the speaker have 'stereo sound' like the HTC one? Can you hear the base? What about hooking up to the headphone? Does it sound better than S3?
2. Anyone here uses Allshare cast? I have a Samsung LED Smart TV that I stream movies directly from my phone to the TV with a touch of a button on the S3. It does have occasional lags, however. Does the S4 do the same?
3. Does the S4 have the same amount of ringtones like the S3?

JasonJoel said:
6. I thought the 'swapped' menu and back buttons would bother me. But to be honest, I kind of like it better...
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I actually really like the button setup. When I got my first smartphone like three years ago, it was a Blackberry, and it had a similar button arrangement. It went [PHONE][MENU][HOME/SELECT][BACK][END CALL]. My current Galaxy S2 is [MENU][HOME][BACK][SEARCH]. So the S4 will be the same as I am used to, and I will appreciate not having to get used to a new setup.

two issues.
1)wifi keeps on disconnecting... very annoying
i have another device on the same wifi, but it's not disconnecting at all.
2) RAM. even if i clear everything, i'm at 1.2GB ish.. i always notice the homescreen widgets refreshing themselves due to low RAM.
anyone else?
everything else is fine.
speedy, beautiful screen, good speaker, very nice camera, etc.

Speaker is very good; coming from S2
Bloat... Blah
Android without root, is like a day without sunshine.

fargonaz said:
Android without root, is like a day without sunshine.
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This is a great comment! I agree 100%.

rsmolen said:
This is a great comment! I agree 100%.
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I honestly dont feel a need to root with the One S4 I can see being pretty much the same. Too me stock is way more boring =/

Any regrets?

Any one coming from an S4 regrets getting the nexus 5?

None! It was my biggest worry but I defnintely don't regret it. I love not having all the bloat that the S4 had. Even with a smaller battery, I'm getting better battery results than I ever did on the S4 as well. I honestly don't see a difference in the camera either.
My absolute biggest worry was losing all the space. Coming from a phone with a 64gb external sd card worried me a lot, but I finally gave in and subscribed the the Google Music service and I couldn't be happier.
Once all the ROM's fix the Sprint data issue, this phone will be even better, but I have no regrets.

Coming from an S4 too, gods I hated that phone, the bloatware, the knox (introduced after I bought it).
The battery life i find is better on my Nexus 5, seem strange but it's true, it waste very little battery power when on stand by.
The only thing I miss of the S4 is the camera. the Nexus' one is a clear step back, but I don't mind really I don't take many photos.

now i currently have an htc one with a cracked screen and i want to replace it.. Im an att user and well can get the s4 for like $150 but can always sell it buy the nexus and still have money left.. But one of the main issues i had with the HTC one is that no one! made accessories for it... like i was never able to find a waterproof cover, etc etc.. Im a bit worry that it will be the same with the nexus 5, that because it is not as popular it wont have many accessories

The only thing I miss is the AMOLED screen from my S3. It's a far better quality of colour reproduction. The N5 is a bit washed out.... but it is far sharper. Oh... and the camera SUCKS on the N5 in anything but perfect lighting conditions. I miss the shutter speed on the Samsungs. But this should be fixed in the next update.
Battery life isn't nearly as bad as I was lead to believe.

I like my S4 better. My S4 has better reception, I stripped off the extras I did not like. I currently have a 4.4 rom on my S4 so spare me the updates line, I unlocked it and added the TMobile band. What I hate about N5 is the body. Its a nightmare. Sharp edges where the glass meets plastic, the lens mount, power button is too high, feels cheap and feels horrible in my hand. As for price, with etf+tax+1st month, my S4 was only $30 more. Not much in savings
It's not a bad device once you get past the body, seems plenty fast, takes ok pics, battery life is ok. So it's not horrible and is starting it's life with top end hardware specs unlike the N4. It's just not for me. If it came in a similar body to the N4 or would have shaped the glass like the S3, it would have been a home run.

trendiggity said:
The only thing I miss is the AMOLED screen from my S3. It's a far better quality of colour reproduction. The N5 is a bit washed out.... but it is far sharper. Oh... and the camera SUCKS on the N5 in anything but perfect lighting conditions. I miss the shutter speed on the Samsungs. But this should be fixed in the next update.
Battery life isn't nearly as bad as I was lead to believe.
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From the S3? I had 2 of those and came to this. Not even comparable. The N5 destroys the S3 in EVERY way. Low light pictures, sunny day pictures, the camera is better on the N5. The S3 is supersaturated and does not reproduce color accurately at all.

I've had a n4, s4 and now have n5. Think they are all brilliant phones. I think I can certainly feel the performance on the n5 though and I really like the screen. It has such an understated no frills look about it and that really appeals to me. I loved the s4 but it was a bit blingy for my liking and I didn't feel like it was so much as a blank canvas as what the nexus 5 is if that makes sense.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Alo also trying to get into custom room and apps development... Is there any advantages on using the nexus instead of the samsung? I

SuperMiguel said:
Any one coming from an S4 regrets getting the nexus 5?
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I'm on my 2nd day with the 5 coming from an S4 running and early CM build of Kit Kat. So far, the only thing I really miss about the S4 is the screen. I guess I'm used to that super saturated AMOLED display. The Nexus display is sharper but like some others have said, a little washed out looking by comparison. The Nexus is noticeably faster and the battery life is about the same which is impressive considering I had a 3000mah battery in the S4. I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins. The Nexus will be much more future proof than the S4. Getting new versions of Android on the Samsung will always be a bit hacky.

fallingd0wn said:
I'm on my 2nd day with the 5 coming from an S4 running and early CM build of Kit Kat. So far, the only thing I really miss about the S4 is the screen. I guess I'm used to that super saturated AMOLED display. The Nexus display is sharper but like some others have said, a little washed out looking by comparison. The Nexus is noticeably faster and the battery life is about the same which is impressive considering I had a 3000mah battery in the S4. I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins. The Nexus will be much more future proof than the S4. Getting new versions of Android on the Samsung will always be a bit hacky.
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any issues running this phone on att? and how come only tmobile and sprint got it?

My S4 had better/stronger signal and a more HD intensive screen. I don't know how to explain it.
My N5 is faster definitely, but camera is kind of laggy though. The vibration motor is weaker, but still good.
Depends on budget, I'd go for a Note 3 over S4 for the price range.
But for $350, there is nothing better than the Nexus 5.

fallingd0wn said:
I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins.
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I think this is a great comment. Coming from the Sprint S4, for some reason, the dev community never really sped up like I thought it would. Sure, there were some great ROM's, but it was pretty much between a couple Touchwiz ROM's and hoping that 3minit would work, or you had AOSP based ROM's where you were happy to have working data.
While working data on Sprint with some ROM's is an early challenge, it doesn't look like it will be an issue long term (there's already a flashable fix) and we already have a wide variety of ROM's available.
I definitely don't miss Touchwiz whatsoever.

dicecuber said:
My S4 had better/stronger signal and a more HD intensive screen. I don't know how to explain it.
My N5 is faster definitely, but camera is kind of laggy though. The vibration motor is weaker, but still good.
Depends on budget, I'd go for a Note 3 over S4 for the price range.
But for $350, there is nothing better than the Nexus 5.
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Im eligible with att for upgrade, so i can get the S4 for like $150, either way ill get it... Then sell it and back the rest, while i care about dev, im more worried about accessories availability, like for example a waterproof cover, i take my phone alot in my boat, and its wet alot..

I am starting to have regrets as I'm having issues with push notifications that I can't resolve. I might end up having to return the phone for a refund. If that issue can be fixed though, then I would have no regrets at all. I think the Nexus 5 is an otherwise great phone.

SuperMiguel said:
Im eligible with att for upgrade, so i can get the S4 for like $150, either way ill get it... Then sell it and back the rest, while i care about dev, im more worried about accessories availability, like for example a waterproof cover, i take my phone alot in my boat, and its wet alot..
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Funny you say that, because my first S4 was water damaged in a boating incident lol. it was deemed unrepairable by 5+ cell phone repair shops. So I purchased a Note 2 afterwards. Sold that and bought another S4. I loved that device too much. My device was then stolen so I had to use a old POS non-smartphone for 2 months. I couldn't see myself spending another $600+ to buy another S4. So I jumped on buying a nexus 5. I love the Nexus 5 now. 1080p 5inch screen quad core processor 2gb ram to name a few.

I have the n4 and s4 sitting next to me currently my s4 is on sprint while my n5 is on straight talk att. And I can tell you IMO that my n5 in ALL areas is better than both devices. One area that is extremely noticeable is the all around speed and smoothness of the n5 when compared to the other phones. Also typing and touch seems a lot more responsive on this device as well. Often times I would find typing on the s4 to be choppy and laggy and often couldn't keep up. And I am running the latest official 4.3 release from sprint all stock. Tried swapping keyboards too on it and its just not the same as the n5. I do a ton of multi tasking on my phone. And this is where the n5 really shines. I can jump between texting and surfing the web and checking emails without a single hitch. And I really love that. I have owned all the major Samsung phones and after the n4 I have been pretty much hooked on nexus devices. As for the camera I actually find it on par with my s4 a lot of people talk about shutter lag but I find the shutter speed to be about the same as it is on the s4. So not much of a difference there. And in a lot of my low light shots my n5 out performed my s4. So all around I am a pretty happy camper. Oh and service on at straight talk is so much better than sprint for me. I get consistent LTE everywhere.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

From reading the more in-depth reviews the Nexus 5 screen has some of the most accurate colours on an LCD beating out iPhone models even which are known for their calibration. It however does not have as high of a contrast ratio as even the LG G2 or the saturated colours AMOLED screens are known for. That mixed with the slightly smaller usable screen space when including the Home bar on the N5 would give the S4 the brighter and more stand out screen at first glance and on store shelves.
Myself I prefer accurate colours versus over saturated ones and only use high brightness settings when being used in direct sunlight. That being said after seeing AMOLED's "completely off" black levels (and the features it can bring such as Glance support and 24/7 Daydream) no black screen on IPS can ever look as dark.

I hated how weak the s4 would feel. I was afraid to put it in my pocket becausw it would break. And i hated the screen. You could see there were 2 0arts of the screen and the digitixer was glued under a piece of plastic. While with the nexus everything is so nice. I know in 4 months I will get bored of aosp roms and miss some tw features but whatever there is time till then.

i just found out that the S4 is at a very bad spot at the moment, if you have their latest baseband you cant use custom kernels, etc.. So that may lean me more towards the s5

Coming from the S4, thoughts?

Looking to get a Nexus 5, If I sell my s4 I can ultimately gain an extra $40 from it as well. I was using a N4 prior to my s4, only thing I hated on the N4 was the washed out display and weak camera. My reason to switch again is Stock Android which I do miss with fast updates and great community for rom development, and also if the camera is great for decent shots (indoor, outdoor) I've read reviews but there all mixed. Please share some experience if you have any

If you search you will find what you are looking for. Also the s4 sells for $300, I don't know how you will gain an extra $40

Not sure where you are from but a pentaband version has a high price where I'm from.. and thanks I shall search

My experience with the nexus 5 has been brilliant so far, of course the are some drawbacks because of the price such as the camera but unless you are demanding a good camera its fine. Performance has been excellent and the only time the phone got unbearably hot was when I was backing up the phone on twrp.
Nexus 5, CM11, Franco kernel and Xposed framework

i sold my s4 with spigen tempered glass which was perfect condition for $405. I made a good choice moving to N5. only thing that I miss is the all the gimmicks that I rarely used. (wave to answer calls and such)
this is my opinion comparing the two.
N5 screen seems washed out when brightness is on max since LCD back light bleeds through. 60 - 80% brightness can cover that and get you a good contrast ratio (to my eyes) yet still brighter than S4 display. I do miss that true black color but I prefer whiter whites than blacker blacks.
Removable battery is a nice option but frankly, I've never taken apart to swap batteries. I'd rather grab battery case to extend my current juice than swapping it out. Even with smaller N5 battery, i can go all day. I'm a heavy email user and make nearly 0 calls. so N5 battery is no problem for me.
Samsung's Android update is pretty unpredictable. you'll never know when they'll push updates and not all regions get the same update. your region might even skip that update. Carriers blame samsung and samsung blames carriers for update screw ups. you are just stuck in the middle hoping to get some sort of update.
N5 has nearly 0 function if you move from Samsung. IR controls, surround group musics, touchless motion gestures aren't avail to N5. but N5 has one thing that I use the most - NFC, which is nice so I got that going.
I could keep going with pros and cons, but when it comes to pros, N5 has more advantages in my honest opinion. we can't really make decision for you, we can only provide our thoughts. I hope you choose whats right for you instead of choosing something just because that's what everyone gets. just do what I just did, make pros and cons see which weighs more.

Coming from a S3 : the nexus camera is impressive with HDR+ enabled and also in low light conditions. I expected weak battery but it is good enough and very very low power use with the standby mode (if you keep location reporting off)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I came from a Samung Galaxy SIII. I notice a huge and I mean huge difference in performance all around including camera. The only thing I miss is the instant shutter on the camera on the S3. Camera quality is great in my opinion. I am on ATT with my nexus 5 and love the network speed. The screen is better in m opinion to and easier to see in direct sunlight. From my short experience with a nexus phone. I will never go back to a non nexus phone ever again
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I made the switch from s4 as well to N5 and love it. The s4 is just gathering dust now, I should probably sell it ...

Lowkey1 said:
Looking to get a Nexus 5, If I sell my s4 I can ultimately gain an extra $40 from it as well. I was using a N4 prior to my s4, only thing I hated on the N4 was the washed out display and weak camera. My reason to switch again is Stock Android which I do miss with fast updates and great community for rom development, and also if the camera is great for decent shots (indoor, outdoor) I've read reviews but there all mixed. Please share some experience if you have any
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I went from a Galaxy Nexus, and then to a temporary Nokia Lumia 521 for a month or so until grabbed this Nexus 5.
My girlfriend has a Note 3 and I used that thing extensively, and I find my Nexus 5 to be so much better.
It feels better, looks better, and is small enough to be large but still usable with one hand (with some shimmying).
Highly suggested that you get a Nexus 5.

And what about batery life compare to s4 or s3?

layt said:
And what about batery life compare to s4 or s3?
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My wife has a s4, and I would say it's about the same as my nexus 5 if not a little better due to the bigger size.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

layt said:
And what about batery life compare to s4 or s3?
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My battery life with the N5 has been at least as good or better than the S4. I liked my S4, but the N5 is a superior phone in almost every way and I don't for a second regret making the switch.