Most popular Android phones

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

amazing review. im worried though because the big 3 here in canada seem to be sticking with a 32 gig version. i dont know if a 64 exists in america or outside out borders but how can 32 gigs seem to be enough? i have to compress my music to make that work. boo. boo urns. boo urns i say.

64GB is an AT&T exclusive (at least temporarily) unless you get the unlocked developer edition.

For my music library 64GB isn't even close either so I've pretty much embraced the cloud (Google Music) and streaming (Rdio). Especially with LTE on the One, it's a pretty seamless experience.

[GreenLantern2814]

I'm looking at various android handsets in the next month, second hand off Kijiji; need to replace the POS windows phone I bought when my iPhone 5 was stolen. What would be the benefits to going with a Galaxy Nexus as opposed to an S2? Or vice versa? I don't want to spend a ton of money as I'm going to be able to upgrade for free in about 8 months. That said, I may just bite the bullet and get an S3 for another fifty bucks.

[MickMcGeough]

I believe the CPU/GPU/RAM/internal storage are identical between the two (although there are a few versions out there of both).

S2 has Samsung's awful TouchWiz launcher (and associated bloatware) and expandable microSD memory.
The Galaxy Nexus has a larger, higher resolution display (720p/300+PPI), a bigger battery, (subjectively) superior build quality/feel, and sweet, sweet vanilla Android 4.2.2. That's the biggie for me - immediate Android OS updates straight from Google.

[Galakanokis]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I'm looking at various android handsets in the next month, second hand off Kijiji; need to replace the POS windows phone I bought when my iPhone 5 was stolen. What would be the benefits to going with a Galaxy Nexus as opposed to an S2? Or vice versa? I don't want to spend a ton of money as I'm going to be able to upgrade for free in about 8 months. That said, I may just bite the bullet and get an S3 for another fifty bucks.

The Nexus is a great phone and has a tonne of development on it to keep it fresh. Some of the custom ROM's nowadays are just crazy with the features they pack in there and keep performance up.

[GreenLantern2814]

Thanks guys; I'm convinced. Galaxy Nexus on the next paycheque.

On a similar note, can you guys also tell me what a custom ROM does on a phone (very generally, of course)?

[Galakanokis]

Custom ROMs usually give you a little more control over the phone than stock. Customize icons, LED colours, status and nav bars. Kernels allow you to over/underclock for performance or battery saving. Features like DPI control or pie for navigating. Some really spend the time and do a number of code clean ups to improve performance.

Rooting and adding a custom recovery for flashing ROMs and kernels could not be easier than on a Nexus.


Should add that Nexus phones are factory SIM unlocked which can come in handy.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Galakanokis

Custom ROMs usually give you a little more control over the phone than stock. Customize icons, LED colours, status and nav bars. Kernels allow you to over/underclock for performance or battery saving. Features like DPI control or pie for navigating. Some really spend the time and do a number of code clean ups to improve performance.

Rooting and adding a custom recovery for flashing ROMs and kernels could not be easier than on a Nexus.


Should add that Nexus phones are factory SIM unlocked which can come in handy.

To further display my ignorance, what does rooting actually accomplish (or mean, for that matter), and is it something you can do on the phone, or do you need to do on your computer? (I'm on a macbook)

[Rathji]

Rooting means you get privileges to install software or access data that you would not normally be able to install. This will enable you to install certain apps from the App store that need these privileges and/or install custom ROMs (Think Operating System) and kernel (Think Drivers-almost).

With my phone (Galaxy S3), to root, I installed a program on my computer, downloaded a few files, plugged my phone in and followed the directions on XDA. Once that was done, you could install some software/ROMs/Kernel as rooting by itself doesn't strictly do anything earth-shattering.

[Galakanokis]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

To further display my ignorance, what does rooting actually accomplish (or mean, for that matter), and is it something you can do on the phone, or do you need to do on your computer? (I'm on a macbook)

It looks like Rathji pretty much covered it. Rooting allows to gain Root privileges over your operating system, basically SU. not sure if there are programs for Mac, but there might be XDA is the place to check out, use the Galaxy Nexus Toolkit for all your needs.