Best and Cheap Android Phones: Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)

Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)

List Price : ~~$799.99~~
You Save : $700.00 (87%)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
The world's first smartphone running on Android 4.0 (a.k.a., Ice Cream Sandwich), the 4G LTE enabled Galaxy Nexus by Samsung for Verizon brings a redesigned user interface with enhanced multitasking, notifications, full Web browsing experience, and more. You'll also enjoy innovative, next-gen features such as Face Unlock, which uses facial recognition to unlock the Galaxy Nexus.
Powered by Android 4.0 and a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor (view larger).
4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED Contour Display (view larger).
Galaxy Nexus by SamsungAt a Glance:

3G/4G LTE connectivity
Android 4.0 OS
1.2 GHz dual-core processor
4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen
32 GB memory
5-MP camera + Full HD 1080p video record
GPS navigation
Wi-Fi Capable (802.11 a/b/g/n)
Stereo Bluetooth
Personal/corporate e-mail

The Galaxy Nexus is outfitted with a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED Contour Display (with curved glass), 5-megapixel camera with zero shutter lag and Full HD 1080p video recording, and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls on the go. It's powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor that speeds up your web browsing, gaming, and multitasking.
The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network provides speeds up to 10 times faster than Verizon Wireless' 3G network. With 4G LTE, you'll enjoy simultaneous voice and data capabilities, allowing you to check e-mail, browse the web, download an app, and check directions on Google Maps while on a call. You can expect fast download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G LTE mobile broadband coverage areas (learn more about 4G below).
You can share your high-speed 4G LTE connectivity with multiple devices--laptop, another phone, MP3 player, and more--via Wi-Fi using the built-in Mobile Hotspot functionality (additional service charge applicable). And the Galaxy Nexus is outfitted with ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking as well as next-generation Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity.
The new Android Beam feature (using NFC connectivity) allows you to quickly share Web pages, apps, and YouTube videos with friends by simply tapping compatible phones together. You'll also enjoy easy access to a full complement of Google mobile services, including Gmail, Google Maps 5.0 with 3D maps, syncing with Google Calendar, a redesigned Google＋ app, and access to more than 300,000 apps in the Android Market.
Other features include a virtual onscreen QWERTY keyboard with enhanced auto-correction and touch recognition for a more natural feel, 32 GB of internal memory, 1 GB of RAM, and up to 12 hours of talk time.
Advanced Photography and Video Recording
The Galaxy Nexus has a full-featured 5-megepixel camera with automatic focus, top-notch low-light performance, and zero shutter lag. Open it right from your lock screen, and fire off a photo instantly. You can also take beautiful panorama pictures--just point and touch the shutter and pan your phone from one side to another. Android immediately stitches together an expansive panorama photo, ready to share.
A full-featured photo editor lets you add filters and effects, adjust color, straighten, reduce red eye, crop, rotate, flip, and even doodle on your favorite photos--right after you take them. Your edits are saved as a copy, so you can always get to the original.
Your photos can upload themselves with Instant Upload, which makes it much easier to share them with family and friends. If you've signed up for Google+, you can enable Instant Upload and share photos with anyone you choose.
Shoot video in Full HD 1080p, and snap still shots while you're at it. Continuous focus, real-time zoom, and time-lapse mode give you the power to shoot stunning videos. When your footage is ready, create your own movie with Movie Studio and upload it to YouTube. When you shoot videos, you can choose from a number of silly faces and other fun effects. Galaxy Nexus is smart enough to recognize individual facial features--give your friends big eyes, squeeze heads, make noses bigger. Or change the scenery with background replacement.
Vital Statistics
The Galaxy Nexus by Samsung weighs 5.29 ounces and measures 5.33 x 2.67 x 0.37 inches. Its 1850 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 12 hours of talk time and up to 150 hours (6.25 days) of standby time. It runs on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network, as well as EV-DO, Rev A 3G and CDMA 800/1900 frequencies where 4G LTE is not available.
What's in the BoxGalaxy Nexus by Samsung handset, rechargeable battery, wall/USB charger, stereo headset, quick start guide
Organize your home screen with folders.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich Operating System
The Galaxy Nexus runs the Android 4.0 operating system (dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich), which adds powerful new ways of communicating and sharing while improving on the best Android features: easy multitasking, rich notifications, customizable home screens, resizable widgets, and more.
The new Ice Cream Sandwich interface features an onscreen navigation bar that replaces the hardware buttons for Back, Home, and Menu found with older Android-powered phones. And with Google+ integration, you can video chat with groups of up to 9 friends as well as easily upload and share photos and videos. Other features include:
Face Unlock
You can now unlock your phone with just your face using the Face Unlock option. It takes advantage of the front-facing camera and state-of-the-art facial recognition technology to register a face during setup and then to recognize it again when unlocking the device. Just hold your phone in front of your face to unlock (or use a backup PIN).
And the lock screen now lets you do more without unlocking. From the slide lock screen, you can jump directly to the camera for a picture or pull down the notifications window to check for messages. When listening to music, you can even manage music tracks and see album art.Home Screen Folders
Quickly access related apps right from the home screen by organizing apps and shortcuts into folders--just drag one app onto another to create a folder.Multitasking
Multitasking is even easier and more visual in Android 4.0. The Recent Apps button lets you jump instantly from one task to another using the list in the System Bar. The list pops up to show thumbnail images of apps used recently--tapping a thumbnail switches to the app.Voice Input
The new voice engine in Android 4.0 lets you dictate the text you want, for as long as you want, using the language you want. You can speak continuously for a prolonged time, even pausing for intervals if needed, and dictate punctuation to create correct sentences. As the voice input engine enters text, it underlines possible dictation errors in gray. After dictating, you can tap the underlined words to quickly replace them from a list of suggestions.
Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Network
The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network allows you to download photos, apps, and games in seconds and entire movies in minutes. LTE (or Long Term Evolution provides significantly increased upload and download speeds over 3G networks, as well as significantly reduced latency (or lag time). Verizon Wireless expects 4G LTE average data rates to be 5-12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2-5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world, loaded network environments.
With these blazing fast speeds, you'll be able to stream HD movies without the annoyance of constant pauses to buffer the video stream--as well as quickly download HD-quality movies right to your phone in minutes. Additionally, you'll be able to download a new song file in about 4 seconds or upload a photo to your favorite social networking site in about 6 seconds.
The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE mobile broadband network will also redefine the mobile office for business users. Business applications that used to require wired networks will be untethered forever, allowing you maximized productivity and efficiency while you're out of the confines of your office. Enhanced security lets you tap into most VPN networks with less waiting, and faster responsiveness enables you to upload 10 MB presentations back to your team in less than 25 seconds.
In areas serviced only by 3G, you can expect download speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps and upload speeds of 500 to 800 Kbps in Mobile Broadband coverage area.
Connectivity

Ultra-fast 4G LTE connectivity via the Verizon Wireless 4G Mobile Broadband network, with expected download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps. Where the 4G LTE network is unavailable, the phone will connect with the Verizon Wireless 3G network.
Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (802.11 a/b/g/n) for accessing home and corporate networks as well as hotspots while on the go.
4G Mobile Hotspot capability allows you to create a Wi-Fi hotspot using your Verizon Wireless 4G LTE connection, which can then be shared among up to 10 Wi-Fi-capable devices (up to 10 devices on 3G).
Next-generation Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity backward compatible with older Bluetooth-enabled peripherals and includes stereo audio streaming.
Android Beam for sharing contacts, web pages, directions, and more via Android Beam to compatible phones.
GPS for navigation and location services
Integrated Google Maps with turn-by-turn navigation, street and satellite views.

Communications ; Internet

Full messaging capabilities including SMS text, MMS picture/video and IM instant messaging
Full HTML browser
Personal and corporate e-mail access with support for Exchange ActiveSync as well as mobile e-mail accounts (Google push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP).

Hardware

Dual-core 1.2 GHz processor capable of opening web pages twice as fast as most other smartphones.
4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED multi-touch screen (1280 x 720 pixels) with Contoured Display.
MicroUSB port
3.5mm headphone jack

Memory

32 GB internal memory (non-expandable)
1 GB RAM for improved multitasking.

Camera

5-megapixel camera with continuous auto focus, zero shutter lag, single-motion panoramic mode, and LED flash.
Full HD 1080p video capture with on-phone movie editing and easy upload to YouTube.
Front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chats and self portraits.

Multimedia

Music player compatible with MP3, WMA, and AAC/AAC+
Video player compatible with MPEG4, H.264, H.263, WMV

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Product Details

Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 2.7 x 0.5 inches ; 5 ounces
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
ASIN: B0061R2A1S
Item model number: Galaxy Nexus

Technical Details

4G LTE-enabled smartphone with Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS, 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display, and dual-core 1.2 GHz processor
Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (with optional Wi-Fi Mobile Hotspot service); Near Field Communications (NFC) capabilities
5-MP camera; full HD 1080p camcorder; front-facing video chat camera; Bluetooth stereo music; 32 GB memory; corporate and personal e-mail
Up to 12 hours of talk time, up to 150 hours (6.25 days) of standby time; released in December, 2011
What's in the Box: handset, rechargeable battery, wall/USB charger, stereo headset, quick start guide

Customer Reviews

There are phones with bigger screens (Galaxy Note), faster CPUs and GPUs (Rezound), thinner profiles (RAZR), more memory and longer battery life, but the Galaxy Nexus (Verizon's LTE version) puts a respectable amount of everything together into one package, and leaves me practically nothing to complain about.
IN SUMMARY: This may turn into one of my longer reviews, so in a nutshell: BIG, but comfortable to hold, though begs to be used with two hands. Screen is awesome (bright and crisp) ; keyboard is accurate. No problems with signal coverage. Average volume levels. Smooth ; fluid Android interface feels polished. Camera very good, but vid cam has a lot of issues. "Typical" LTE battery life i.e. widely variable depending on usage, AT BEST a whole day on one charge.
Android 4.0 Operating System:
Outstanding: The OS feels integrated, speedy and mostly intuitive. Face unlock isn't just a gimmick, it's mostly reliable (though not in bad light), and it's very swift in getting me to the home screen. Swipe-like gestures similar to Palm's failed Web OS are carried over to manage and switch recent apps. The ability to expand widgets and personalize screens is not only fun, but really useful -- for instance, I set up a screen for "home" where I'm more interested in the weather, Facebook ; G+ updates, and feeds from my bike forum, whereas my "work" screen has quick access to certain web sites and apps that I use regularly. Icon animations for screen transitions are subtle but just enough to give the front end interface a sort of 3D effect. The selection of "live" backgrounds is neat, but a few of the more graphically intensive ones slow the phone down just a bit -- and as great as they look, I still opt for corny (and static) photos of the kids. Hopefully, this being a Nexus device, new OS updates will come regularly and quickly from Google, without delay from Verizon -- but be aware that this may be a bit of a beta device since it sees the first wide distribution of everything.
You'll need to know that because the operating system is new, there will initially be application incompatibilities. This isn't a knock against the Galaxy Nexus -- it's something early adopters of a new platform should expect. I expect this to last only a short while, because new Android 4.0 devices are in the pipe for release in the coming months.
Phone ; Signal:
For starters, I like 4.0's big "clean" dial pad. And it's also easy to dial from any of my contacts, as they culled from all sources (personal Gmail, company email via Exchange, G+). But I prefer to use voice dial because I'm often driving when calling, and I'd prefer voice confirmation ala BlackBerry (Android 4.0 still requires me to look at the screen to confirm). External speaker sound quality is loud enough for most uses, but just slightly quiet ; flat compared to other phones (not a problem over my Bluetooth visor-mounted speakerphone or headset), and my voice quality is apparently clear and loud on the receiving end. I live and work in a well covered urban area, so signal strength is rarely a problem with any phone. However, I do have a couple of "dark spots" in the remote areas of where I work, and the GN hasn't dropped a call on me yet. LTE coverage has been equally strong with fantastic data speeds, fantastic, but Verizon's 4G antenna is literally attached to the building I work in. It's not enough to say "faster than dialup" as in some respects it is faster than my home cable (longer latency times, however).
(Note 1/22/12: There have been numerous reports (confirmed by Verizon) of signal problems in either fringe coverage areas or inside buildings. I, personally, have not experienced any problems with this either with dropped voice calls (CDMA/1X) or dropped data connections (LTE/3G) BUT there is a short "no data" time out when the phone switches from LTE to 3G, or vice-versa. HOWEVER, out of curiosity checked my 3G signal strength in Settings About (LTE must be switched to OFF to read 3G signal strength, otherwise 4G reception will be displayed) and observed the Nexus consistently -10 to -15 dBm WEAKER than some other Verizon Android ; BlackBerry devices I had access to. And to restate, I am in a well-covered area and have had ZERO issues with connectivity.)
Camera:
It wasn't too long ago that I scoffed at the notion of a "good" camera in cell phone, but more and more I've come to rely on the photo shooter that is always with me -- and the Nexus is a sharp shooter. Switching to camera mode and shot-to-shot times are off the hook quick, and the output is excellent. Yes, it's an itty-bitty lens and the low-light shots still require a very steady hand as well as a steady subject. Dynamic range is still a challenge in situations that include bright highlights combined with dark shadows. But focus is usually sharp, colors are mostly accurate not overly bright, and grainy "noise" is kept to a minimum -- mainly in shadowy details. While the lens + sensor can't freeze a busy kid in a modestly lit indoor situation, the super fast shot-to-shot times nearly guarantees that at least one shot will come out without motion blur.
"But only 5 megapixels?" Meh... compared to previous phones, these photos look --GRRreat-- at the typical resolutions I view them at on my 24" home PC monitor after uploading to Picasa and Facebook. The flash is wonderfully bright and will adequately light a pitch-black subject, though will over-illuminate a subject that is too close. And photos automatically upload off my phone into the ethereal "cloud" via my G+ account, almost like a Eye-Fi SD Card but one better! And with built-in editing, I can crop, filter and "fix" my pix before I share them.
The camera is, without question, more complicated to use than any other current phone, but in that complication some flexibility is offered. The very fast shutter fires on release (not on press), and the exposure seems to be center-weighted (meaning that the lighting conditions at the center of the image will determine how the picture is exposed). This allows a 5-step picture taking process in difficult lighting situations (i.e. brightly backlit scene):
- 1. Pan the camera around the subject to achieve the on-screen exposure I desire
- 2. Press and hold the shutter button to lock the exposure
- 3. (while continuing to hold the shutter release) recompose the shot, if desired
- 4. (while continuing to hold the shutter release) tap on the subject I want the camera to focus on, which may not be what I originally aimed at or may no longer be in the center of my frame (if desired)
- 5. release the shutter release to fire the shot
Alternatively, I can just blast away at the shutter release and hope to get the shot I want. Honestly, outdoor shots come out great with not so much as a quick press of the shutter release. Decently lit indoor shots and flash shots where subjects are a few arm lengths away are pretty good without too many exceptions. It's those close-in flash shots and dynamically lighted shots that take time and attention to shoot well.
Video Camera:
The video camera, on the flip side, leaves a bit to be desired. The picture is presents is "clean," but the rolling shutter aka "Jello Effect" is most definitely present when panning slowly. There's a sort of wobble that appears that may be an artifact of some sort of electronic image stabilization. There's also a problem of intermittent stutters / pauses -- not bad, just very short and noticable. It's less noticeable when shooting in 720p at 30 frames per second, versus the HD 1080p 24 FPS mode. And lastly, there's a weird fish-eye effect when panning smoothly IF any objects are in close range; not as evident on long shots. If you're planning on using the video camera function a lot, you'll want to check this out in person before buying -- or see if a software update can correct some of these issues. On the plus side, I can attest that the video images are sharply focused and with good coloration.
Video:
I absolutely LOVE the YouTube app on this, which is seamlessly integrated with my desktop YouTube favorites and subscribed lists. Videos expand to take full advantage of the 4.65" screen, and have just minimal buffering at the intro (assuming a 4G or WiFi connection), with no blockiness or artifacting/pixelation associated with my previous phone. Or, with Adobe Flash installed, I can access desktop versions of sites such as ABC or NBC to watch full episodes of TV programs.
Browser:
The stock browser is very speedy and really makes alternates such as Opera Mobile and Dolphin HD unnecessary and, frankly, clunky. Pages pinch zoom smoothly and without lag. Scrolling is equally smooth. Tapping on zoomed text columns reformat them to fit the width of the screen, to eliminate side-to-side scrolling. With Flash installed and Desktop mode selected in the User Agent settings, I have access to just about everything I can browse on my laptop. However, there are some pages which it doesn't render correctly (actually, just one in particular that I use for work) that necessitates Dolphin. Also, there's a browser called ICS Browser Plus available on Android Market that takes the stock Android 4.0 browser and expands on its "Quick Controls," which I highly recommend if you opt to use the... Read more›

Background: I am a Droid early adopter (bought the original Moto Droid the day it was launched). I've owned the original Droid, the Droid X and the Droid X2. My wife switched from her Blackberry Storm to the Droid Pro. My son owns Incredible 2. Daughter's own iPhone 4 and Samsung Fascinate.
I've been waiting for Verizon to launch a high-end bloat free (no Touchwiz, SenseUI or motoblur) since I owned the original Droid hoping that a pure device would improve interface performance. This phone doesn't disappoint. It is fast. At first launch the phone re-installed most apps that were on my X2. Once I set it up with corporate email (Touchdown app), personal email (Gmail), music library (iSyncr wireless) and logged in/setup all apps that typically ran in background on my X2 (weather, Pulse, Twitter, Facebook etc) I tested the response of the UI. No delay, no hesitation, great video response fast all around experience. Been using it for a few days at this point. Not once have I noticed a delayed response to a swipe or tap - this is a huge win for Android. Typically Android devices have some minor 'lag' due to the fact that the OS is so much more functional than competing OS's (except perhaps Win Phone 7).
I own a Xoom tablet so the learning curve on Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) was minimal. If you haven't used Honeycomb there is a learning curve which is managed well by pop ups teaching new tricks. If you learned a previous version of Android you will be up to speed in 24 hours on this device. With that said, this OS is far more powerful than previous versions. Each day since I've had it I learn new features which enhance my ability to interact with the device. I love the group folders that can be put on the desktop. While having 7 'panels' of icons is nice - the group folder feature leaves you one additional tap from launching anything from your homescreen - very nice.
Battery life - this is my first 4G phone. I am a power work user (email ; web) but don't stream a lot of video or play a lot of games. I get through the day and into the evening without issue. My primary concern was being able to get through a 12-13 hour day without needing a charge or to swap batteries. Most days I can get through the work day without issue. I typically get home after a long day with about 20% remaining. Note that I do not take significant measures to manage battery life. I will likely get an extended battery once they are in stock.
Pros:
Pure software - no bloatware
Speed and user interface upgrade with ICS
Groups on desktops - very convenient feature (simply drag an icon on top of another to create a group)
Incredible screen - this is an HD screen. HD provides an additional row of icons her page due to higher resolution
Feels good in hand. I like the form factor. In my opinion it could be a bit HEAVIER to feel more substantial in the hand. I will likely get an extended battery which, for me, will kill two birds with one stone (longer life, more substantial feel in the hand)
Cons:
Lack of accessories at launch - this is likely due it being a new device but I'm used to seeing great accessory support from Motorola at launch. It looks like the car charger doesn't have built in charger but just a 'hole' to use a charger. No desktop charger at launch - if there is one, it's not on Verizon, Amazon, Samsung sites.
Weird setting for volume seems to link notification volume w/ phone volume. I love to set up profiles for volume and then control with Locale. At night I want the phone to be able to ring but I don't want to receive a notification for each email/text. The only method I can find to turn off email notifications is in the Email app which is annoying to have to do each night versus simply swapping profiles.
Limited to 32 gb of storage. I knew this going into the purchase so no star deduction - note to Google, on future devices if you're not going to include an SD card then give an option to buy 64 gb or more internal space on the device.