At last, just a week after a United States federal judge denied Apple’s request to enjoin Samsung from selling its Galaxy smartphones and tablets here, the much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone hits the market today — that’s Thursday, December 15, 2011.
One tidbit you might’ve missed along the way: Android 4.0.1 ICS supports external USB drives, which this smartphone apparently does not. Reviews are trickling out. The consensus: The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is an excellent Android smartphone — to some, the most excellent Android phone released to date — but its 5mp autofocus camera is way lacking.
Folks are loving Android ICS in action so far, though. In the words of an Engadget reviewer, it’s lean and mean. This high-powered smartphone is the ideal showcase for it. I’ve excerpted the Engadget review below.
The Samsung Galaxy is the first smartphone to be built around Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich. The Motorola Droid RAZR will be second, according to Google. Of all the US reviews posted so far — after all, the Nexus has been out in the UK for weeks now — my favorite is from Engadget, the review containing my favorite line: “Design-wise, the Galaxy Nexus looks like what we imagine would happen if we stacked a Nexus S and a Galaxy S II and flattened them with a rolling pin.” I love that about Engadget. Imagination! : )
Here’s an excerpt from that review
via Engadget
There’s absolutely no doubt that the Galaxy Nexus is a big phone. Sure, it’s not Galaxy Note large, but it’s a smidgen taller (and narrower) than the HTC Titan. As such it dwarfs its predecessor, the Nexus S. While this could be an issue for some folks, we didn’t have any trouble fitting the handset in our pockets. Despite its size, the Galaxy Nexus manages to be quite thin (8.94mm / 0.35in) and light (135g / 4.76oz). As a result, it feels wonderful in hand. Design-wise, the Galaxy Nexus looks like what we imagine would happen if we stacked a Nexus S and a Galaxy S II and flattened them with a rolling pin. Last year’s shiny black lacquer gives way to a satiny gunmetal gray finish that manages to be at once more refined and more understated. Build quality is typical Samsung — the plastic construction is durable but looks and feels cheap for such a flagship device.
In front, the Galaxy Nexus is almost identical to the … read the full Engadget review here.
I think I can overlook the plastic body and the camera downsides. The Galaxy Nexus is one of the most gorgeous phones I’ve ever seen! Especially with that curved screen. I think that the face-detection is going to be a cool feature. I ordered a Galaxy Nexus from Verizon yesterday and now I am just waiting for it to get here. The LTE network should be great for downloading and streaming which is what I do a lot of. I have a first generation Droid and it is good, but Verizon’s 3G network isn’t the fastest when it comes to streaming. I subscribe DISH and I like using the DISH Remote Access app for my streaming live TV and recorded shows from my receiver to my phone anywhere I am. Since Verizon’s 3G isn’t the fastest, streaming is a bit painful when I am away from wifi. Working for DISH, I have found that being able to stream is really awesome, but it helps if you have a service that can take fast downloads!