I recently purchased an extended battery for my Galaxy Nexus, I thought I would detail my experience.
First, my phone is the Galaxy Nexus GT-i9250, this is the GSM version similar to the one you could purchase at one point on the Google Play Store (now replaced by the chronically out of stock Nexus 4).
The GSM Galaxy Nexus (GT-i9250) battery is 1750 mAh. For comparison, the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 both have batteries somewhere in the 1400 mAh range. Continue reading
As many are aware, with iOS6, Apple favored their own mapping solution over Google’s. “The Amazing iOS 6 Maps” has been lampooned by many, and a Tumblr has been dedicated to some of its more obvious faults. Apple has even apologized.
Does it really deserve the hate some give it? The answer is, it depends on your needs. For example, the new map lacks a lot of functionality the original program had, such as directions via public transit. But it gains in other ways, such as turn-by-turn voice prompted navigation. It loses Street View, but it “gains” Flyover.
The other problem people have cited with the new Maps is simply, incorrect data. Objects in the vector map are not located where they are in the real world. Examples? What follows are some pictures I’ve taken with my sister’s iPad 3 of different places around Chicago.
So here we have a restaurant, Moretti’s. Let’s touch that icon.
My dad upgraded his iPhone 3GS to an iPhone 5 (white, AT&T, 32GB) this past week. I helped him transfer over his data to the new phone, and briefly (a couple of hours) played with it. I was deeply impressed and pleased with how easy my dad was able to move his data from the 3GS to the 5.
If anyone is curious, my dad’s iPhone 3GS was running iOS5 and backing up to iCloud. I also then backed it up to iTunes. I was worried that when restoring to iPhone 5 (which is running iOS6), there’d be a problem given the different versions of the operating system. My dad did not want to upgrade his iPhone 3GS to iOS6 as he wants to retain Google Maps (he plans to use this phone internationally, as he can now unlock it and use a regular ol’ SIM). But the restore process, even if the backed up data was under iOS5, was PAINLESS. I simply turned the new iPhone 5 on (which was already charged), clicked on “Restore …” from a previous iPhone, and plugged the iPhone 5 into iTunes and the restore process began. The basic data took no more than 5 minutes, and the 140+ apps my dad has on his iPhone 3GS (yes, I know, he is a hoarder) took a while longer, but also went smoothly. (EDIT: Disappointingly the backup did not include any of the WiFi passwords my dad had saved including his home, his work and his place of worship; this is something that Android does backup into your cloud).
Not everyone I know had this experience. Some people lost their contacts, etc. Some of those people used iCloud, but I don’t know if that is why it happened. Why didn’t I just use the iCloud backup? I still don’t trust Apple knows how to do the cloud well *cough* .Mac, MobileMe *cough*) and also I did not want to download nearly 4GB of data in the restore process.
Now, what about the phone? What follows is a die hard Android fan’s impression of Apple’s new phone.
Thanks to the ClockworkMod team I had a very easy, painless way to install Jelly Bean. I was an idiot though, and in spite of backing up my ICS ROM I forgot to enable root keeper, thus I lost root. Good news, the main reason I had root was to allow 3G Video Chat over Talk which seems to be working on this Jelly Bean build, so no problems.
Jelly Bean:
My wife was at the local Michael’s Crafts store shopping for crafty things (?). Anyway I was browsing the internet on my Galaxy Nexus and I noticed things were loading pretty fast. My phone was registering as getting HSPA+ (the “H” next to the signal bar, as opposed to ‘”3G”).
So I ran a speed test using Speedtest.net. Ah-mazing:
This is AT&T’s network at Village Crossing (where Niles, Skokie and Lincolnwood intersect). I should clarify that I am running on the stock radio (XXLA2), though occasionally I will run around with the North American radio UGKL1 or UGKK7. Try new radios here.
This test was done basically at the same time as when I took the picture of my dock (previous post). The upload speed is ridiculously slow, but of course I get different download/upload speeds at different places around Chicago.
I had pre-ordered the official Galaxy Nexus dock (the one with POGO pins) from Expansys months ago, but they had no idea when it would be in stock. Then last week when I got an email that they were in stock and all I had to do was reply to verify I wanted it. Your other option is now the Play Store.
Voila:
I have a GSM Galaxy Nexus, bought it from a local store (which got it from overseas). Any GSM Galaxy Nexus will work with this dock. The accessory comes with a car charger.
Last night I decided to try out Google Wallet. I ran into a 7-11 (that, and CVS are the only place I knew of that accepted Wallet) and purchased a bottle of water (with the $10 free with my Galaxy Nexus).
