So I assume the dock is also an MHL adapter. What is missing in the phone's micro USB connector - but it gets from these adapters - that gives it the capability to display video? Is it additional power?


Pretty nice. It looks a lot like the PA countryside I was driving threw this weekend. Also, it's nice to see that cats can appreciate scenic vistas too.

The Galaxy Nexus supports WiFi Direct. I've seen WiFi Direct to HDMI devices, so maybe that's how the HDMI dock connects to the phone for video? I think we'll have to wait to find out. It would be silly to dock the phone on its side for power, but then have to plug in a cable to the micro USB port for video.

The dock where you put the phone on its side is just a charging dock, like for a nightstand. The HDMI dock sits the phone upright and connects to the micro USB port. The HDMI dock has two ports on it, one for micro USB and one is a full (or mini) HDMI.

What I'm wondering, after seeing that dock and the adapter in the video you linked, is what these adapters are adding to the mix that isn't on the phone already. It looks like both the adapter and the dock essentially get two micro USB inputs, then output to HDMI. So I'm wondering if that second micro USB input is necessary at all...

It's probably only necessary for power. The idea being that playback of a two hour movie may tax the device enough that power becomes a concern if you also want to resume using it as a phone for the rest of the day. Especially since the phone is also powering the active converter chip in the dock/cable adaptor.

I'm only basing this off how the iDevices work with their adaptors for VGA/HDMI.

OK, I didn't look at The Verge videos. I was basing my info off of a screen shot for the "multimedia dock" which sits the phone sideways. In that context, I guess multimedia means "stand the phone up in landscape orientation to watch content on the device's screen" rather than "output to another display."

As far as the MHL adapters go, my undertanding is that the microUSB on the adapter is for charging. I believe it's a requirement, but I don't have any such adapter to test with.

Do any of you guys listen to the TechTalkUK podcast? Kev seems to not be very impressed http://www.techtalkuk.com/ (also mentioning because I was the guest on the podcast last week) :p

I'm running ICS on my Nexus S at the moment and I'm very happy with it. Even as an alpha build, it's very usable and fun.

(And "HI!" everyone! A buddy is having an issue with his RioCar so I figured I'd stop in and look around.)

There's more to "vanilla" Android than just the launcher. But I can understand the question about why it's so expensive. That said, I would personally pay more for the touch-contact dock over a fiddly connector any day.

Why were you the guest on his podcast?

OK, I've listened to the podcast and I'll address some of the host's points from my perspective living with the phone for a week or so.

He likes the Galaxy S II hardware better than the Galaxy Nexus
Generally speaking, I agree. I like the squared-off look of SGS2 better and I do like having the physical home button. I also prefer the SGS2 camera to the Galaxy Nexus. However, that's where it ends. I don't get the complaint about not being able to orient the phone right side up when pulling it out of your pocket. This has never been a problem for me. There is a hump at the bottom of the Nexus that helps with orientation in the dark. This issue has never crossed my mind.

The screen of the Galaxy Nexus is better than the SGS2 in my opinion. It's not a tough conclusion to come to. The Nexus is bright and extremely high-res. I will agree that the auto-brightness settings are too aggressive with power saving. But, if that's due to faulty programming, that can be easily fixed. If it's intentionally too dim, then I can just continue keeping the phone on "medium" brightness on the power widget. If find that medium works well in most indoor situations.

The host said he missed being able to bring up a settings button from the home screen. I guess he was hitting the menu key that doesn't exist anymore on the Nexus. Honestly, I know that's a feature of most phones/launchers, but I never use it. I usually have a settings icon on the first home screen. ICS puts a settings icon in the notification drawer anyway. Just pull it down and press that thing that looks like an audio mixer. I've actually put the settings icon on one of the secondary home screens because of this.



Ice Cream Sandwich is "confusing" for non-geeks
The host mentioned that he has bought six SGS2s. Has he ever tried to make a folder in TouchWiz? That is probably the most maddening UI design I've ever seen. On the other hand, ICS works exactly like iOS which, as much as Android fans might disagree, is the proper way.

Maybe he just sticks Launcher Pro on the SGS2 right away. OK, I don't disagree with that too much. I don't find TouchWiz as offensive as Sense, but anything closer to stock is a step in the right direction in my view. But, Samsung's mark is still left on the OS when just replacing the launcher. You still don't have the color-changing signal indicators that inform you when the connection is broken between you and the Google mothership. You still have those cartoonish icons in the settings app. And, perhaps worst of all, you have the Apple-patented snap effect when you over-scroll in lists. Needless to say, I put CM7 on my SGS2 as soon as a public release was available. That, combined with ADWLauncher EX, basically gave me a Nexus S with improved hardware.

As far as Android goes, I've had a G1, HTC Aria, LG Optimus, Dell Venue, Nexus S, Galaxy S II, and now the Galaxy Nexus. In my opinion, the only way to go is Nexus. I don't want to dick around with custom ROMs anymore to get rid of the manufacturer and carrier customizations. I want to have the same device the Google developers hack on. I want the pure Android experience. Those are the main advantages of the Galaxy Nexus to me. That trumps physical home keys and better cameras. I don't doubt that the Galaxy S 3 will be a scorcher in comparison to the Galaxy Nexus. But, ICS was built with the Nexus hardware in mind. I'll be just fine until the next Nexus comes around.

Widgets and the App drawer
Not being able to add widgets to the home screen by holding down a blank area of the wallpaper is a strange omission. It could obviously be there as it has in the past, but the app drawer holds widgets now. It's not a big deal to change your behavior, and an Android newcomer might not even be aware they can add widgets by doing it the old way. Now that they're in the app drawer, widgets are more visible. Being that widgets are a big advantage of Android, this was a good move. Having a preview of what the widget actually looks like before you place it is also a plus of this new design.

The host made a comment about scrolling through the pages of apps in the app drawer to get to the widgets. Then, you scroll through 7 pages of widgets and decide you want to see your apps again and then having to scroll back 7 or 8 pages. Does he not realize you can tap the Apps or Widgets tab to jump straight to those things inside the app drawer?



If you didn't notice that, I don't think you gave ICS much of a chance.

App incompatibility with Ice Cream Sandwich
I haven't run into much of this. The only things that didn't work for me initially were Wolfram Alpha and Tumblr. In the week I've spent with the phone, both apps have been updated.

Early US users wanting to like Galaxy Nexus because they paid full-price
I think there is some truth to that, but I can only speak from my experience. After using ICS, there is no going back to Gingerbread. Like it or not, Galaxy Nexus is the only official way to get ICS at this time. In my view, ICS makes up for the (few) shortcomings of the Galaxy Nexus hardware.

I make full use of Google Voice. I couldn't even tell you what the prefix of my T-Mobile phone number is. I have never given it out, I will never give it out. While this makes almost no difference to the European market, the pentaband radio in the Galaxy Nexus is probably the most important feature of the phone to me. I can finally be carrier-independent without switching hardware when I switch service. AT&T, T-Mobile US, h2o, Simple Mobile, etc all work equally well in this phone.

The Galaxy Nexus is the best all-around phone I've handled to date. I think the iPhone 4S is great, I think the SGS2 is great. For my use and taste, the Galaxy Nexus just blows those two away. The only disappointment so far is the camera being a downgrade from the SGS2. But, most Nexus buyers probably won't be faced with that reality having never owned a SGS2 (in the US, anyway). That's just down to the 2-year upgrade cycle most Americans live by. If you blew your upgrade on a SGS2, you're not likely to be presented with the opportunity to buy a (cheap) Galaxy Nexus. But, the Nexus camera is probably better than what upgraders are coming from, so it will be good enough.

All that said, I respect the host's preference for the SGS2. It's a fantastic phone and likely a better bargain at this point in time. The nice thing about all the Android fragmentation is that you have a bunch of choices that suit your tastes while keeping your investment in a single app ecosystem. I know there are people that love Sense or TouchWiz. It's their right just like it's my right to want the vanilla experience. Right now, Galaxy Nexus is the best tool for the job. I'm very pleased with it and can recommend it over the SGS2 to anyone on the fence.

Rob, have you looked into Republic Wireless? They have a hacked LG Optimus Android phone that does all your voice calling over your WiFi, using the cellular network as a backup. $200 for the phone, $20/month flat fee thereafter. That's not unreasonable.

I've looked into it and I think it's a great concept. It's just not for me. The biggest issue is the Optimus is a huge step backwards. The fallback cell network is Sprint which sucks in my office and isn't GSM.

I basically do the same thing now, but it's a little more hands-on. The T-Mobile plan I'm on has only 100 voice minutes. Since all my calls are routed through Google Voice anyway, I simply set GrooVe IP to connect when I'm on wifi. This way, incoming calls are automatically routed over wifi. Then I just have to use the GrooVe IP dialer to initiate a call. It's a good way to conserve cellular minutes, but hardly necessary in my case. I have 9 days left in this billing cycle and have only used 80 voice minutes so far.

There's nothing *missing*, it's just not HDMI. HDMI is lots of LVDS pairs, and there's simply not the room to put them on the connector.

Hence, the video doesn't come out of the phone as HDMI - the phone doesn't actually have HDMI at all. Instead, it has MHL, which is likely very similar to displayport (high speed with embedded clock) - this needs less wires and so fits on the connector.

There's then a chip in the dock which receives MHL and turns it into HDMI, exactly as there is on iPads/iPhones (there it's displayport to HDMI). This is why the docks/converter cables aren't dirt cheap - they actually have a significant bit of silicon in them.

Ugh. Verizon blocks Google Wallet on Galaxy Nexus smartphone

Yeah, I love that their response has been to the tune of "You think we're blocking it? We're not blocking it! We're just not allowing it to be included with the phone! We have...security concerns...yeah, that's the ticket! No, it's not at all because we've partnered with other companies on a competing 'standard.'"

That about sums it up, I think.

I'm not even a Verizon customer yet and I'm already unhappy with my switch from T-Mobile

If it's something that concerns you, especially on a premiere Android device, maybe the route Rob took is worth looking into yourself. Don't give Verizon business if you feel uncomfortable with them, and have no service needs to switch.

It is worth running the numbers these days on prepaid vs postpaid plans, and buying outright. My own experience doing this recently was very enlightening. I was much closer to being able to switch and save money then I thought I was. The only thing that really killed it for me was the lack of an AWS capable radio in the 4S.

I thought I saw the HSPA+ version is launching in Canada tomorrow or Friday for $650 Canadian. Prices on this phone should be coming down soon.

Did you notice there's no Google logo on the back of the Verizon Nexus? It's obvious who's running the show. Tethering is also a concern since we already know the Verizon Nexus comes preloaded with Verizon apps that can't be removed. LTE is tempting, but at what price?

PS- This post was made on an iPad tethered to my Galaxy Nexus because my cable is out. Thank you, generic unlocked cellphone.

Here's the problem: I actually want to be on Verizon's network! They have the best network in my area, and I need that given the amount of travelling around my area that I do. I can't, like most people, just say "what's the best network at work and at home?" because my work covers all of northern VA. Also, Verizon is the only network that works throughout the Metro subway system. Oh, and I can get LTE with their version of the GN, which is "more 4G" than the other guys' 4G.


How do you do prepaid on a phone of your choosing?

I can't afford $750 for a phone, and I really need a new phone so I can't really wait much longer. The actual hardware of my Nexus One appears to be failing, with bluetooth working half the time and a host of other annoyances. I need a reliable phone because it's my lifeline and the only phone all my business is conducted through.

It's no matter, though, because I really doubt it would make economic sense to go prepaid for me. Like I said, I run my business through my phone, and I don't have a landline. I spend a lot of time on the phone with clients, and I use a lot of data.

With T-Mobile, choose one of their prepaid plans, and for the phone, select T-Mobile Prepaid SIM Activation Kit, which is just a bare SIM card. This is pretty much what I did from day 1 with my N1.

The Verizon GN phone will (so far as we've been told) be a genuine dev phone, meaning it will be trivial to unlock and reinstall with whatever you want. Thus, if you want to remove the two (?) Verizon crapware apps and you want to add Google Wallet, you absolutely can.

What sucks is that this isn't the default for everybody.

Caveat: I have no problem with the "My Verizon" app to help you find out how many minutes you've burned, etc. The "backup" thing is pretty easy to ignore, at least on my Droid X.

Going Verizon on a contract may make more sense then for you. I simply suggested it's worth looking into other options. Just keep in mind you will be paying ~$750 for that phone in either case, just one way splits that cost over a 24 month contract.

Going "pay as you go" is about the only way here in the US to do what is common in other countries, and that is paying only for the service you receive. Contract plans here with the carriers seem to never be discounted when the phone subsidy is paid off. Instead, they just pocket the extra profit. So if you do keep going the contract route, it makes sense from a value perspective to always upgrade as soon as you are eligible to do so. Beyond my own geek tendencies to want new stuff, it's the other reason I have for jumping into the new iPhones when they come out.

There are a number of pay as you go plans out there that run on Verizon's network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_virtual_network_operators would be a good starting place for your own research into what might work out price wise.


Bitt answered the T-Mobile side, and the same is true of AT&T. You simply walk into a store, and ask for a SIM card. Amusingly, T-Mobile even has a Micro SIM available for iPhone/iPad users, and the one store I went into had a tool to cut a normal mini sim down to the micro size.

For Sprint and Verizon, and their associated MVNOs, it's a matter of calling or going into a store, and giving them some CDMA unique ID number for them to allow on their network. It's not as flexible as the SIM route, but usually still possible to bring your own device.

The 4S is still a weird one though with it's CDMA piece. I got mixed answers when I talked to various providers on the ability to provision it.


4G at this point has lost all meaning with marketing abusing it. None of them are true 4G by ITU standards currently. What really matters is that practical speed and latency of the network. T-Mobile's (and to a lesser extent AT&T)'s HSPA+ network is in the same league as the Verizon LTE network. And both the LTE and HSPA+ networks usually have available bandwidth, unlike the heavily oversubscribed WiMax network Sprint and Clear operate as "4G".

Don't get me wrong, the Verizon LTE network is a good thing, and a proper move for them to make to remain viable into the future. The CDMA derived counterpart to LTE died, leaving them with little choice on how to move beyond their existing 3G CDMA network. (and showing this whole G confusion, Verizon and Sprint's 3G networks are somewhat similar to the pre 3G setups GSM providers use, hence the capped around 1-2 mbit speeds and lack of voice/data.)

My one word of caution would be that LTE chipsets are still noticeability more power hungry then the HSPA+ counterparts. Not sure what chipset the Galaxy Nexus will be using.

Google already blew it. There are at least 3 variants of the GSM Galaxy Nexus, only one of which receives updates straight from Google. You can read about some of it here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1376856

The gist is that only phones with "yakju" OS builds are updateable by Google. yakjusc and yakjuxw also exist in the market, but Samsung pushes the updates for these. Guess which variant got the OTA software update and which ones didn't. I would also bet that Verizon will be pushing updates to devices rather than Google.

FWIW, my phone got the OTA fix for 900Mhz 2G networks.


The definition of "reasonable service" is so subjective. I don't really need to tell anyone that, I don't think. Anything you go with will be a compromise and it's going to be very tough to pick something without hands-on experience. You also can't rely on your friends that might have contract service if you're looking at prepaid. AT&T contract plans have greater coverage than prepaid. The same goes for T-Mobile, but the difference is even more dramatic.

AT&T contract coverage:

AT&T prepaid coverage (don't break-down in Nebraska):


T-Mobile does allow prepaid customers to roam for voice and text. But data is a no-no.

T-Mobile contract voice (green) and data (pink):


T-Mobile prepaid voice/text (green) and data (pink):


From my experience (only a few weeks), those grey areas of the prepaid data map are where you can roam on voice/text, but not data. Those are some serious holes. But, I'm not so worried about it because of where I spend most of my time. You live in Texas. Depending on where you are in the state, T-Mobile could be a terrible choice.

Just for fun, we can take a look at Simple Mobile, one of T-Mobile's few MVNOs. Their coverage map mirrors the T-Mobile prepaid data map which basically means there is no roaming off the T-Mobile network for anything. Depending on your needs, however, their $40/month unlimited everything plan might be a dream come true.

"Google already blew it."

(I moved Rob's good coverage post here, mostly since it makes more sense attached to the existing Galaxy Nexus thread, vs being at the bottom of a WebOS thread. Doubt many people are shopping for unlocked Palm Pre's these days

Those maps, while great eye candy, hide a lot of holes.

While tmobile covers the area around me - my house is in a small hole, ~1/2mi,
of marginal signal.

That's quite disturbing. I certainly do not want to rely on Samsung OR Verizon to get me my updates. However, the one positive is that when Google pushes out an update for the version they're able to push to, usually XDA Developers gets a copy out to everyone else anyway. I've used that version to update my Nexus One in the past. I'd hope that we'd be able to use that on all the GN's, but who knows? And I guess there'd certainly be a difference between the LTE and GSM phones... Ugh...


I'd have kind of preferred a completely new thread. It's not like we have too many, and it sort of clutters this one up. We'll hopefully have more stuff to talk about with this phone this week.

According to the first few posts of that thread, he was unable to update his non-Google Galaxy Nexus with the Google Galaxy Nexus update.

I'm not following all that too closely, but I believe someone was able to put the standard Google build on their Samsungified Nexus. Whether it will receive updates OTA or not is probably still up in the air.

FYI, tomorrow (Thursday), this time for realz, is the date for the release of the U.S. CDMA version of the Galaxy Nexus. Finally.

Good luck to anyone out to snag one tomorrow. The phone is awesome and I would be interested to hear about battery life on LTE.

I'm super excited and I'll be in the door first thing tomorrow to pick one up!

That doesn't mean I'm not still pissed at Verizon. The Google alert I have set up notified me of a story today that quoted Verizon as saying something along the lines of "the Galaxy Nexus will be out this year" and "we will be sending out a press release in advance of the phone's release."

Well, fortunately they made it before the end of the year. I didn't see a press release, but the first Google alert I got about the official announcement was at 5:30pm today. Really? A soft announcement the night before the phone is released? Clearly Verizon doesn't care about this phone. Although, when I called my local store, they answered "Thanks for calling Verizon, home of the Galaxy Nexus."

This is one of those areas where I really have to agree with Steve Jobs. The cell phone carriers need to be in the business of selling bits and otherwise just get out of the damn way.