yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ArtyCarl:
I switched from an iPhone 4S to a Galaxy Nexus (and a Galaxy Note between).

First of all I like Apple products, I use an iMac and a MacBook Air for work and have owned iPhones, iPods and iPads. They are usually well designed and do the job at least as well as competitors and yes there is a premium to pay for that and I have always thought that worth paying extra for.

But for me the iPhone 4S was a major disappointment. I had seen some of the renderings of possible designs and they looked exciting but what we got was a revamp of the iPhone 4 with new notifications and Siri.

I still bought one as I like to have the latest tech but after you realise that Siri is a gimmick that last 10 minutes and is then redundant and the pull down notification system has been perfected by Android 100 phones ago, then the same old IOS niggles surfaced.

For me the first time I used the Galaxy Nexus I thought 'this is better'. ICS is smooth and runs quickly on the Nexus out of the box. I have owned virtually all the top smartphones and my one gripe about Android is that to get the very best out of the phone I have to visit XDA and start updating and tweaking.

My main reasons for switching away from the iPhone were lack of Flash support and screen size. So I bought a Galaxy Note and was blown away but the size was just a little too large and when I read up about the Nexus I just had to have one. I can wait a month or so for Flash but otherwise I don't think I have ever been happier with a phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ljwnow:
Bad battery life...it is really bad. and also bad reception.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mklass:
native syncing for my photos and music - The camera app on the GN can auto matically sync your photos to google+ if you want it to. Also google music can sync your music from the cloud thus meaning you dont have gig's and gig's of storage taken up on your phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sneets:
First of all, generally speaking the main reason that pulled me away from Apple (I had a 3GS) and towards Android was widgets. It might be a minor thing for most people, but I really really love having them on my screen. It just makes things so much easier and faster to accomplish.

Now, focussing on the Galaxy Nexus specifically, the biggest plusses for me where those two:

- The combination of a large AMOLED-screen and the top-notch resolution which takes care of all the "Pentile"-drama that was going on.

- Direct updates through Google (I know, it's the same with Apple, but no other current Android handset offers this, and since your question aimed at why we spend so much money on the GN: This is the main reason why I picked the GN over a Moto or an HTC)

And that's basically it. Mind you, I was almost going to buy the Moto RAZR instead of the Nexus, because I am not a fan of handsets made entirely of plastic shells. But in the end I dismissed the Razr, mainly because of the "Software Update"-reason mentioned above. I could have lived with the lower-res display.

Of course, there are dozens of other reasons why I pick Android over iOS (open platform, costumizability, direct filesystem-access, etc. etc. blah blah), but you probably know them already anyway, so I'm not gonna repeat here once again :-)

Both Android and iOS have their advantages and disadavantages, my take on this is that you should first decide which ECOSYSTEM is better suited for your personal needs and usecases, and after that decide on the actual hardware you're going to buy. Getting a new phone is quickly done, making everything run after an OS transition is much more of a headache (starting with the money one spent on all the apps that become rendered useless the moment you change sides)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] TroyBoy30:
only things I miss from my iphone 4 so far are

battery life

quick gps locking

HBO GO!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] K.D.M.:
Screen is beautifull. I just got mine and i Love IT!!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] termleech:
What do you define as comparable to iWorks? Personally I preferred QuickOffice on my ipad and android also has that.

Besides games I have yet to find an app I need not on the market.

There exist some security things in the market. Don't know how well they work but they are there.

Some pros for the nexus

- custom ROMs do more with your phone nor just what apple tells you

- third party sync with contacts such as Google+ twitter and eventually Facebook when they update the syncing for ics

I came from an iPhone to an atrix before my nexus and I will never go back. It's a personal choice but I like the freedom of android.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] nick w:
Come on, really its down to personal preference. Every pro can be argued with a con, and vice versa

A big plus for me is accessing the app store in a browser!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ejkeebler:
I'm unclear why the OP said we were dropping serious cash for the nexus, and then proceeded to ask why it's better than the 4S, they are the same price, so what gives?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] JustusIV:
For some reason when you own an iphone you start wearing turtlenecks and people start calling you a pretentious douche.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Danny80y:
-Flash, for when I need it // Nexus Doesn't support flash...yet

-file system. This is kinda crippled now, but whatever. //Why? Works just like it has on my other Androids?

-worse camera // It's as good as the person using it.. my iPhone wasn't that great.

-not as smooth // Depends on what you have running unlike the iPhone that just randomly shuts apps off.

-no 100% reliable, native syncing for my photos and music //This is why I quit iPhones Itunes is a joke takes fooooorever to sync the it duplicates and deletes... just drag and drop...simple.

-no comparable suite to iWorks // There are many office apps most are the same ones in the app store.

-less app selection // seems like both stores have pretty much the same ones and the billion junk apps

-bad battery life // If you run the screen and skype and video... guess what iPhone or android the battery drains.....The iphone will win not because it has better battery life but because it will quit skype force the screen off and stop the video because it knows what you want better than you do.

I have had every IOS device except the 4S... so I don't dislike them but I do dislike lists like this... Because you really should try out Android (especially ICS) and formulate your opinion. Because its not just about the hardware its about changing from my phone knows best I just expect the battery to last.... To taking the time to set it to do exactly what you want it to....and yes if you have 50 apps running the battery WILL die a quick death...lol
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] falconeight:
The difference and what makes it better is easy. I am in no way bashing the iPhone. I own it and love all apple products. Here are the facts iPhone is a place that houses all your apps the SN is a OS with apps.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ChongoDroid:
The fact that it runs android and not ios
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] DeezNotes:
This is a really good post. Hats off to everyone who posted a well thought out reply. I've been considering switching to ios due to a few frustrating things mentioned in this post and the things that keep me with Android have also been mentioned.

The main gripe I have with android that was mentioned twice is that I wish it was optimized from the start so we wouldn't have to rely on xda for roms and kernels. I'm seriously considering basing my next purchase around MIUI for easy customizations rather than a Google experience phone. Plus, I have a personal hatred for Samsung. They seem to consistently make mistakes in places they shouldn't which doesn't give me confidence in spending $6-700 on a device.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jhericurls:
Imo "Where's my Droid" is just as good if not better than "Find My iPhone".

I replaced the iPhone 4 with the GN and the iPhone is one of the best phones I've ever owned. It's hard to say which is better, as I would be happy to own either.

The iPhone does have a nice screen, the retinal display is amazing and you can't see any pixels. The GN screen is just massive and more vibrant, making browser and watching videos a very nice experience.

The only let down for me is the battery and materials. The battery could easily last a day with the iPhone with heavy use, but the GN it would be dead after 8 hours.

The Galaxy is a premium product, but doesn't have the same wow factor of materials used on the iPhone.

Also the general quality of apps is better on OSX, but Android apps are cheaper and much more free apps.

For the time being, I'm happy with the GN. Lets see what the iPhone 5 brings.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] falconeight:
Nothing makes it better. Im just bored to death with IOS
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] sianhulo:
I haven't used neither gn nor 4s, almost everything have been said so I will talk about software.

Wave launcher,afaik is not on ios and is very good if you want to improve your productivity (our just launch games faster :P)

Go launcher ex, I don't know how 4s changed, but I didn't like ios4 personalization and with custom launchers in android you can put as you like (even like iOS LOL).

Swype,I CANNOT live without this bad boy, Swype is way faster than conventional keyboards.

I haven't read about 4s multitasking, do I suppose is the same as ever(I never liked it)

Someone talked about android's browser, and I think safari is better, however, there are a lot of browsers in android you can try(I like opera and life browser v2)

The only app I miss from iOS is epic win (dude, I'm lazy)

Enviado desde mi GT-I5700
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] @rbiter:
Epic win. Lol. No wonder reality is a lost concept for current society.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] case0:
Another reason if you're in the UK is that it's a hell of a lot cheaper.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] LordGrahf:
I switched mainly to get a bigger screen, waited forever to see if apple would somehow make a bigger display but they didn't deliver.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Yumunum:
*sigh* This is what I want... A big screen
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] CraigP17:
i gave up trying to convince people to go either way. at work. to friends. online.

if you want an iphone, get one. my 2 cents.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] 21stNow:
Most of my reasons have already been posted, so I'll list but won't discuss them at length.

Galaxy Nexus specifically:

Large screen with beautiful display and crisp text

Fast updates from Google

Unlocked to work with AT&T's and T-Mobile's high-speed data (I am a customer of both).

Android highlights (I have more preferences but these are my top ones):

Widgets!

Choice of keyboards. I'm waiting desperately for Swype to be ready for the Galaxy Nexus. However, it's not an option at all on an iPhone.

Real Talking Caller ID apps available (not Santa!).

Someone mentioned losing purchased apps if you cross platforms. Check with the app developers when you have this case. I had a set of paid apps from one company on my iPhone 4. There was a way for me to use this app and all of my purchased information on Android that wasn't obvious to me before they explained it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] samizad:
Coming from an HTC HD2, I have come to learn that by rooting and flashing the latest ROM, you don't need to consider regular updates from manufacturer. I had gingerbread on HD2 two weeks after the Google Nexus S.

Having said that, I just love the GN because it is not an iPhone in any way.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NexusDro:
But don't ROM developers need the official ROM and drivers in order to make the ROM work properly?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] wendellc:
Ordering my nexus hopefully this week. My last iPhone was a 3gs and never going back to apple. I'm sticking with android, its my preference. The nexus screen served with ice cream sandwich are the main reasons I am getting it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] samizad:
The drivers generally work between updates or are sometimes ported from one device to another (HTC Desire to HTC HD2 etc). For example, right now, the only driver missing from ICS port for HTC HD2 is the camera driver. Other than that, it is a functional ROM for daily use.

And the manufacturer ROMs are full of bloatware. I refer to the AOSP ROM direct from Google, or other ROMs from Cyanogenmod etc. The performance always improves with non-manufacturer ROMs.

I am using my Galaxy Nexus with Android Revolution HD 1.3.1 by mike1986. It is faster than stock ICS!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] [GO]Bobster:
having used various XDA's over the years i switched to a 3Gs 2 years ago and was pretty happy with my iPhone, but after about a year i really started to dislike some stuff - iTunes got right on my tits..

anyway Nexus, my thoughts after 3 days of owning one

Pros : Everything!

Cons: no Baby Monkey!

i love the Android Marketplace - so easy and quick compared to iTunes Apps Store (man that is junk after using Marketplace!!!)

the Apps on Android have a more finished feel compared to the iOS equivalent.. for one FB doesn't randomly crash! and Twitter is just totally amazing on it!

got to love the ability to upload an image to a number of accounts with the gallery..

the syncing of Gallery with G+ is genius!

"contacts" is great, seeing a list of everyone from twitter, google account etc is a nice touch

i actually find ICS smoother than iOS5 on my 3Gs and 5 is an improvement on 4..

i was bowled over when i turned my Nexus on and it said it was updating the OS - gave a really nice animation to show what was happening too - love that!

so far im loving my Nexus vs 3Gs..

i was going to get an iPad2, but changed my mind and going for a Transformer Prime next month instead! :D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NexusDro:
It's called the Android Market, not Marketplace :P That's Windows Phone's name for their app store :P [/nitpicking]
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kawaski47:
I gotta give props to all of you for keeping this whole thread flame free! This could have gone so many ways but it didn't. This is how all of XDA should be.

I personally am using the iphone 4s on sprint. My old phone was the EVO. Im using the evo as a mini tablet when I'm on wifi at home (which I'm using right now).

I love my iphone. I kept switching back to the evo but I always ended up coming back to IOS. I was drawn to the fluidity and smoothness of ios5 and how fluid the apps were as well. Like flpboard, that app is amazing! The battery life is so so. It can go days with no recharge but since I use the facebook, twitter, and flpboard all the time, my battery generally only goes 10-12 hours.

I will always have a place in my heart for android though. I will keep my EVO until it dies and still browse the xda forums to keep up with the latest. (which is why I'm here, to keep up with the GN news!)

Since I am on sprint I won't be getting a GN but since its android I will keep my eye on its growth here in the states.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] vash1053:
Let's be honest. The 4S is a ripoff. It has already been shown than an iPhone 4 can run Siri at speeds identical to the 4S. Past that, you get a dual core processor and a slightly better camera. I see people selling their iPhone 4 devices for the 4S and I honestly can't see why.

That said, I find it hilarious that I can buy a flagship device (Droid Charge) in June, and it's already ineligible for an update announced in October of the same year. That alone should highlight a major problem of the platform. If you buy a Verizon subsidized GN here in the US, who's to say you won't get a similar treatment? To Verizon, "Nexus" is just a marketing term, and Google isn't going to do a damn thing about it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kawaski47:
Oh and you can't forget the third party accessories available for the iphone! I have the Lifeproof case on my 4s and I think I love the case more than the phone! The slimmest waterproof case on the market and it's military spec shock resistant as well. It's a bit pricey at 85 shipped, but I consider it an extra insurance policy to protect the phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] [GO]Bobster:
ok thanks :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] acPIZZA:
I thought the case was great as well... Except you literally could NOT SEE THE SCREEN in ANY form of natural light.

I've been back and forth between android devices and iOS plenty times over the years. I will be grabbing a GN tomorrow at least just to try out. I'm hoping it will become my daily driver - fingers are crossed. Not selling other phone until my trial period is up and I can make a unbiased decision (when the new-device-awe wears off).

Does anyone remember when the extended holiday return period ends for Verizon?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] kawaski47:
Hmm I have not experienced that problem with my case. I actually make a point to have the film NOT touch the screen since when it does, it causes the rainbow effect. And when I go outside I turn up the brightness to see the screen easier. Which I do with any of my phones, case or no case.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] HWOW:
It's a rare phone. I like to be the few to own this phone. Everyone has a iPhone and I want to be different. Before I had the nexus s (white) and the nexus one all unlocked. I'll get reactions about my phone and I love it. :)
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rock7632:
I'm having the strangest issue. Last week when I got the phone I unlocked the bootloader via fastboot and it worked perfectly. Now when I go into fastboot and connect the usb cable to the phone and my pc, fastboot doesn't recognize my phone. I look under device manager and its there under Android Devices I believe but there is a yellow exclamation mark next to it. tried to uninstall and reinstall Samsung Drivers (same ones I had installed when I unlocked the bootloader) and still doesn't work. I also tried 2 different usb cables and nothing. Can anyone help?

edit: forgot to add that my gf's HTC Amaze gets detected just fine on fastboot and it shows up when i do fastboot devices
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Danny80y:
You don't have the correct drivers if its still yellow. Try this or PDA Net.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1379875
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] rock7632:
I don't know about that. like I said it worked just last week with those same Samsung drivers. but I'll try pdanet when I go home today from work, hope that works
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] HyperEscape:
Well,

I have just got my new samsung galaxy S-II white. For a start i know what is rooting and why it should be done to unlock the potential of the phone. Have read quite some threads in various forums over here, just to get more confused :-).

I am mainly tangled in the variety of ways and numerous methods of doing the same thing, or apparently the same thing with different objective and consequences.

Hence I need help to clear up the confusion with a simplified path to explore the device:

1. ROM, Kernel, Firmware..........are these different names for the same thing, or are they different. If they are different, at which level does rooting work, do I need to update all of them or some or one to get the rooted phone.

2. What are the different versions of ROM , Kernel and Firmware available and which ones are recommended. Is Gingerbread 2.3.4 a ROM or a firmware.

3. I have read a lot about custom cooked ROMs. For a newbie like me is there any recommendation. I am thinking about getting on to Cyanogen Mod, is it a ROM or a kernel or a firmware and is it the best all rounder in battery/performance/features ratio. If not then any other recommendations.

5. Insecure Kernel....?, is it a mandatory requirement for rooting, or rooting can be done without it. How do I find the one which is compatible with my phone version / region.

6. CF-Root, SuperOneClick, ROOT APP ????? which one is the safest with easier possibility of recovery (if anything goes bad) and most recommended.

7. Nandroid, ClockworkMod, Odin ???????????? what are these used for. Is it mandatory to use them before rooting to make phone backup images. Which one is the easiest and safest to use in case of a recovery situation.

8. Can I or do I update the original Samsung OTA firmware updates, once I have rooted the phone or if i have flashed with custom ROM/firmware/kernel like Cyanogen Mod.

Thats it for now. My Phone details are as follows (Settings -> About Phone):

Android Version:

2.3.4

BaseBand Version:

I9100XXKI1

Kernel Version:

2.6.35.7-I9100XWKI4-CL575468 root@DELL 143#2

Build Number:

GINGERBREAD.XWKI4

Would be really thankful if anyone can guide me and lot others like me to a more clear path to making our way through the world of Android and SGS-II.

Best Regards,

Cheers.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] AzureusPT:
Lets see if I can answer all of your questions...

1. ROM is the software of the phone and kernel is the core of that software. As you might think, rooting ocurs in the core, so it affects the kernel.

2. ROMs you have a lot in this forum, as well as different kernels. Recomended are several (CM7, MIUI or Hypedroid for example).

3. CyanogenMod is a ROM, but cooking ROMs is more a term of changing the visual (icons, battery stats, animations, etc) more than building a ROM itself. You can build a ROM from it sources, but it's a totally different thing from cooking a ROM. If you want performance, you should seek a minimal ROM or some ROM that could let you easily add/delete components, to avoid having much load on the ROM and thus improving the phone. Also the kernel works a great deal in battery performance, you can see several discussion threads in the forum about them.

5. I think any rooted kernel is considered an insecure kernel, but I might be wrong on this one...

6. I would say CF-Root, its not complicated to follow and the result is the desired.

7. ClockworkMod is a custom recovery used to backup the phone (nandroid), flash ROMs and many other things. Odin is a PC flashing software used to flash directly to the phone. For a recovery you should use CWM.

8. If you update a stock ROM (or OTA update) into a rooted kernel, the kernel will be overwriten and you will loose root. You can follow the same steps to achieve root from there.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] JJEgan:
Guide

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1125282

jje
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Themes and Apps] inertiaholic:
hi i understand there is still no BLN for Galaxy note yet but there is for galaxy S2. Is there any way to flash S2 kernel on note? Or is there any tutorial on add bln to any kernel? thanks!
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Themes and Apps] andjohn:
No. And No, or it would have happened. BLN will requires a dev to get it working SPECIFICALLY for our hardware. People always suggest, 'can we just grab that kernel' and no, never.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Themes and Apps] The_Steph:
bLED (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1389394) is on the way to replace BLN...
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Themes and Apps] inertiaholic:
thanks for the info. unfortunately for me, right now, BLED not only lights the touchkeys but also the entire screen up, which sort of defeats the purpose of lighting the touchkeys.
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Themes and Apps] watch_mania:
lit the entire screen up? where did you get that assumptions? did you even tried it?
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Themes and Apps] inertiaholic:
It really did but probably some conflict with another program. Fortunately after a full wipe, and reinstall of rom and bled, it's now fine! Thank you!
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Themes and Apps] watch_mania:
No worries. Glad it worked fine now. Please post anything you find on the bLED thread. So far 0.2 had been working veeery stable on mine now :)
[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Themes and Apps] inertiaholic:
Same for me , just terrific! And contrary to some, I really like it blinking instead of permanently lit! Keep up the great work. If not for your bled, I may have gone back to s2!!
[G2 and Desire Z Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Blubberor:
Hi

I got a new Desire Z but after one or two days I realized that the loudspeaker tends to have a loose contact.

I think I remembered people having the same issue and there was a solution for this but I cannot find it.

Maybe you can help me with this?

Cheers!

Blubberor
[G2 and Desire Z Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] killj0y:
What are the symptoms?