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Loves2spoon

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 3, 2010
1,081
34
California
I have an iPhone 5 and have had ever single iPhone like most of you since the beginning. I want to try something new and I've played with the GS3 for a couple weeks but returned it due to carrier bloatware and snapdragon dual core processor.

Been wondering if I could live with a Nexus device, it's hard to get away from this damn :apple: lol. I've seen every review and it looks amazing! I think I'm brainwashed and everytime I try to order from the play store I stop myself. iMessage and FaceTime are holding me back a bit. I could care less about iCloud...

I have an iPad 4 so technically it wouldn't be an issue unless I was at work, I text a lot and iMessage is pretty handy. Someone help me pull the trigger! :D
 

strausd

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2008
2,998
1
Texas
I have an iPhone 5 and have had ever single iPhone like most of you since the beginning. I want to try something new and I've played with the GS3 for a couple weeks but returned it due to carrier bloatware and snapdragon dual core processor.

Been wondering if I could live with a Nexus device, it's hard to get away from this damn :apple: lol. I've seen every review and it looks amazing! I think I'm brainwashed and everytime I try to order from the play store I stop myself. iMessage and FaceTime are holding me back a bit. I could care less about iCloud...

I have an iPad 4 so technically it wouldn't be an issue unless I was at work, I text a lot and iMessage is pretty handy. Someone help me pull the trigger! :D

I'd say go for it. I was an iPhone fanboy for a while until I started trying out the competition. Here's my review on the Nexus 4:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1498227/
 

mikegasol

macrumors member
Nov 29, 2012
57
0
I have an iPhone 5 and have had ever single iPhone like most of you since the beginning. I want to try something new and I've played with the GS3 for a couple weeks but returned it due to carrier bloatware and snapdragon dual core processor.

Been wondering if I could live with a Nexus device, it's hard to get away from this damn :apple: lol. I've seen every review and it looks amazing! I think I'm brainwashed and everytime I try to order from the play store I stop myself. iMessage and FaceTime are holding me back a bit. I could care less about iCloud...

I have an iPad 4 so technically it wouldn't be an issue unless I was at work, I text a lot and iMessage is pretty handy. Someone help me pull the trigger! :D

Get a Nexus 4 and then an ipod touch or ipad for imessage and FaceTime, problem solved
 

LSUtigers03

macrumors 68020
Apr 9, 2008
2,089
41
There's a 16gb for sale on the marketplace for $410 + fees and shipping if you want one without waiting weeks.
 

hunterheath33

macrumors regular
Jul 15, 2012
191
0
I would honestly just get the nexus but keep your iPhone for a week,just to see if you like the nexus. And I had a droid bionic before my iPhone and the droid was better for screen size and customizability and you aren't chained to just one ecosystem. Post your decision!
 

monkey28rb

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2010
308
18
The two major things I miss from my iPhone is LTE and the battery life... The Nexus is nice, android is cool, but you deff have to mess around a lot to get things to work for you.
 

ChrisTX

macrumors 68030
Dec 30, 2009
2,686
54
Texas
I've had my Nexus 4 since Monday, and right now my sim card is back in my Galaxy S3. This phone requires more tinkering than I care for in order to get it to work properly on AT&T's network. The reviews for this device are awesome, and it's the smoothest device I've ever used. But it seems to lose it's signal a lot, and apparently I need to downgrade from an LTE plan to a regular 4G Data plan(in order to get better signal) which I'm not willing to do. Too many compromises here for me.
 

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
The two major things I miss from my iPhone is LTE and the battery life... The Nexus is nice, android is cool, but you deff have to mess around a lot to get things to work for you.

The battery life does need tinkering.

But the lack of LTE seems to only matter for speed test sites. I would say movies in HD but that would be just one movie to use up their allotment for most people.

Most of the time I am waiting on the web site (or its app equivalent) rather than my internet speed (I'm talking to you Bank of America).

So just how much time are you saving, realistically, with LTE? As for me, with my average of 250MB of mobile data per month the answer is: not even enough to be noticeable.




Michael
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
I've had my Nexus 4 since Monday, and right now my sim card is back in my Galaxy S3. This phone requires more tinkering than I care for in order to get it to work properly on AT&T's network. The reviews for this device are awesome, and it's the smoothest device I've ever used. But it seems to lose it's signal a lot, and apparently I need to downgrade from an LTE plan to a regular 4G Data plan(in order to get better signal) which I'm not willing to do. Too many compromises here for me.

You shouldn't need to downgrade. I am using the nano sim from my iPhone 5 (with an adapter) in my new Nexus 4 and after adding the suggested HSPA+ APN settings for AT&T (found them both on Android Central and XDA with a quick Google search), I'm averaging between 4-10 Mbps down, depending where I am in town. Never contacted AT&T.
 

monkey28rb

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2010
308
18
What was not working out of the box for you?

I did not like that the notifications is all screwed up.. Screen does not turn on when notification comes in, I had to go through each app and download light flow in order to get things decent. I do not like how pandora does not have native lockscreen controls.

----------

But it seems to lose it's signal a lot, and apparently I need to downgrade from an LTE plan to a regular 4G Data plan(in order to get better signal) which I'm not willing to do. Too many compromises here for me.

The phone does drop signal a lot. Much weaker than my iPhone 5. The Wifi is not all that great either. You do not need to switch from an LTE plan to use HSPA+. I have the iPhone LTE plan, just configure the APN and you'll be good to go.
 

ChrisTX

macrumors 68030
Dec 30, 2009
2,686
54
Texas
You shouldn't need to downgrade. I am using the nano sim from my iPhone 5 (with an adapter) in my new Nexus 4 and after adding the suggested HSPA+ APN settings for AT&T (found them both on Android Central and XDA with a quick Google search), I'm averaging between 4-10 Mbps down, depending where I am in town. Never contacted AT&T.

I was getting as high as 12mbps down, but connectivity is so intermittent. I'm not sure what the deal is. The Speed Test app only gets signal some times, and Pandora oftentimes won't even load. I rely on my smartphone, and until I can figure this out have had to put my sim card back into my S3.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
I'd wait for the S4, especially since you won't get a Nexus 4 for 7+ weeks as it stands now. At least not from Google Play Store. By then, the S4 should be in viewing distance...
 

tiiim

macrumors regular
Jun 14, 2005
203
1
Like the OP I was firm in the iPhone 5 camp, owned every iPhone since the start. Trust me Apple did kickstart the modern smart phone revolution that I don't doubt.

However I purchased an Nexus 7 and endured it with a week (ignored the iPad) and Android won me over. I am now in the process of ditching the 5 and going to switch to the Nexus 4 (when the backlog allows mine to be shipped) and then prob keep it for a year before I move on to another Droid device.

For me Android is moving so much faster than iOS and the stuff you can do is leaps and bounds ahead of iOS. I used to think they were close, they are not.

iOS does have the niceness, smooth and elegant GUI and Android does lack sometimes in the "smooth" department but Jelly mean is so nice and is not slow.

If I was you, just order a Nexus 4 and use it as a test phone for a week and ignore the 5. See if you like it. That what I did with the Nexus 7 instead of the iPad.

I spent years getting told Android is crap (and maybe before 4.X it could of been?) but I decided I was fed up of being told this, and just tried it myself and the OS won me over. :)
 

thatappleguytoday

macrumors 601
Feb 9, 2006
4,099
8,842
Jacksonville, FL
Like the OP I was firm in the iPhone 5 camp, owned every iPhone since the start. Trust me Apple did kickstart the modern smart phone revolution that I don't doubt.

However I purchased an Nexus 7 and endured it with a week (ignored the iPad) and Android won me over. I am now in the process of ditching the 5 and going to switch to the Nexus 4 (when the backlog allows mine to be shipped) and then prob keep it for a year before I move on to another Droid device.

For me Android is moving so much faster than iOS and the stuff you can do is leaps and bounds ahead of iOS. I used to think they were close, they are not.

iOS does have the niceness, smooth and elegant GUI and Android does lack sometimes in the "smooth" department but Jelly mean is so nice and is not slow.

If I was you, just order a Nexus 4 and use it as a test phone for a week and ignore the 5. See if you like it. That what I did with the Nexus 7 instead of the iPad.

I spent years getting told Android is crap (and maybe before 4.X it could of been?) but I decided I was fed up of being told this, and just tried it myself and the OS won me over. :)

You can't compare a N7 to a N4. Sure Jelly Bean is really nice, but is definitely not the same experience from the 2 devices.

First a tablet battery will last much longer than a mobile device. The N4 I used for a week was a pain to use because you had to micro mange the phone just in order to make it through a full day. Had to shut off features just to optimize the battery. Not something I was interested doing.

I enjoyed taking the N7 with me for my Thanksgiving getaway and didn't need to bring my MBA for the ride.

I found myself back with the iP5 after a full week using the N4. Def was a mistake. I find the iOS ecosystem (iCloud) for fluid than the Android ecosystem (Google Drive, Google+). However, the Android ecosystem wasn't bad at all.

Also Android is not leaps and bounds ahead of iOS

My opinion of course, and all user experiences will vary.
 

Vetvito

macrumors 6502a
Sep 30, 2012
532
13
Are the battery issues that bad on the N4? I love my 4S because I don't worry about the battery at all when I'm work. I have a dock at my desk that I rarely use.
 

roxxette

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2011
1,507
0
I can honestly say if your coming from a 4s (like me) you wont have any problems with the nexus 4 battery life.

If you work in a office i dont know why you worry about the battery life.

Comparing nexus 4 and iphone 5 battery is not real, the 2 OS dont work the same way plus screens are different size.

Get a grip :eek: try something different.
 

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,600
37
I own both, and I totally agree. The Nexus 4 is great, but the Galaxy S3 so far has proven more reliable.

Yeah I honestly wished google gave us a galaxy nexus 2. Maybe even in addition to the nexus 4. I just prefer samsung over LG any day. Still the nexus 4 is still a very good phone and most of the issues are related to android 4.2 and not the phone itself. Google needs to get another update out. 4.2 is kind of messy and buggy. 4.12 is much better and more polished.
 

ChrisTX

macrumors 68030
Dec 30, 2009
2,686
54
Texas
Yeah I honestly wished google gave us a galaxy nexus 2. Maybe even in addition to the nexus 4. I just prefer samsung over LG any day. Still the nexus 4 is still a very good phone and most of the issues are related to android 4.2 and not the phone itself. Google needs to get another update out. 4.2 is kind of messy and buggy. 4.12 is much better and more polished.

My biggest issue is getting my phone to cooperate with AT&T properly.
 

strausd

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2008
2,998
1
Texas
My biggest issue is getting my phone to cooperate with AT&T properly.

My Nexus 4 worked perfectly with AT&T. The only problem I had with the phone was that part of the touch screen stopped working. I've been in limbo waiting for my replacement for over a week. I fraking hate Google customer service.
 
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