And also impressions from long-term use

One of the main novelties of the end of last year and at the same time the first smartphone based on Google Android 4.0 OS - Samsung Galaxy Nexus (which can also be called Google Galaxy Nexus: the name of both companies is written on the device itself).

The name of both companies on the back of the Galaxy Nexus is not located by chance: this device is the fruit of cooperation between Samsung and Google. And the purpose of this collaboration, as you might guess, was to create a reference smartphone based on Google Android 4.0.

Google has taken these steps before. In 2010, Nexus One was released, created in collaboration with HTC. The next “nexus” was already made by Samsung - it was called Nexus S. The current model is the successor to Nexus S. Let's look at the technical characteristics of the new product, and since the Nexus i9250 is quite different from the Nexus S, we will compare it with smartphones from other companies - namely, with those models that today claim to be flagships.

* The price for models with 16 GB of flash memory is indicated for one of the largest retail chains in Russia (data from February 23, 2012). The official price, as well as the cost when ordering in Russian or foreign online stores, may differ significantly from that shown in the table. Current price at the time you read this article, look at the end of the material.

In fact, comparing top devices with each other is not so easy. Because they are too different. Completely different screens, completely different hardware and software platforms. Therefore, we will refrain from making any conclusions - in the case of devices of this class, each reader must decide for himself what is more important to him and what is more suitable.

Design

The smartphone arrived to us for testing without any packaging, “bare”, so it’s better to find out about packaging and accessories in the store before purchasing. We will focus on the design of the smartphone.

The first thing that strikes you is that the Nexus i9250 is quite large. Not in thickness or even in weight, but in the length and width of the body. This is explained, first of all, by the screen size: 4.65 inches is, perhaps, the maximum for “just a smartphone” (for comparison, the iPhone has a screen diagonal of 3.5 inches). Larger (from 5 to 6 inches) is already a kind of intermediate device, for which there used to be a universal, but very vague designation MID. Today the term MID is not particularly used, but there is a well-known example of such a device - Samsung Galaxy Note. Can the Galaxy Nexus compete with the Galaxy Note? Yes and no.

On the one hand, both devices are aimed at the same category of users - men who prefer serious universal devices with a screen larger than that of a standard smartphone. On the other hand, the Galaxy Note is still “almost a tablet,” while the Galaxy Nexus is just a big smartphone. Which, by the way, fits perfectly into a narrow pocket of men's jeans, not to mention trousers, a jacket, etc. And this, in our opinion, is a big plus. Perhaps, for a man who does not need (or who already has) a tablet, but wants a smartphone with the largest possible screen, the Galaxy Nexus i9250 is ideal.

The screen occupies almost the entire front surface of the smartphone. On the sides of the screen there are very narrow frames. The frame at the bottom is also small - fortunately, now there is no need to place buttons there (they are displayed in the OS itself, which we will talk about later). The frame on top is larger, but it houses a speaker for phone calls, a proximity sensor and a front camera.

The rear surface of the device looks quite elegant and fresh: a slight rise at the bottom makes the shape more interesting. We won’t describe it in detail, we just suggest you look at the photo above.

The surface of the back cover is very unusual. Finely ribbed, pleasant to the touch. Under the cover (which is quite thin and easy to remove) there is a SIM card slot and a battery. There is no slot for microSD - and this is a big minus.

The edges of the device are rounded and quite minimalistic in terms of connectors. On the left side we see the volume rocker, on the right - the on/off button.

The top is empty, the bottom is Micro-USB for charging and connecting to a PC, as well as a microphone hole and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

It's a pity that there is no HDMI - I think there would be a place for it here (as well as for microSD). But I’m glad that the smartphone is charged from Micro-USB, and you don’t have to carry a special charger for it.

Overall, the Nexus i9250's design is commendable despite the lack of microSD and HDMI. The smartphone is pleasant to hold in your hands. He knows how to please, he has his own charm and style. However, the design would have deserved a lower rating if not for one feature that is even more than a feature: the Nexus branding (the previous model also had this). We are talking about a curved screen. The bending angle is very small, but it is enough. This is the very detail that catches you and makes you pick up your smartphone and look at it once again.

From a functionality point of view, it is, of course, difficult to explain the advantages of this feature. It can only be noted that with this design, the microphone into which we speak during a telephone conversation is located a little closer to the mouth than if the screen (and therefore the front side of the case) were absolutely straight. However, this is unlikely to provide any significant benefit in terms of sound capture by the microphone.

Screen

Since we started talking about the screen, we must talk about its other features, in addition to curvature.

Firstly, the screen has a high dots per inch density (316 ppi), which gives a very natural picture in which individual pixels are almost indistinguishable. In this parameter, the Nexus i9250 is close to the Apple iPhone 4/4S and iPod touch 4g/5g. However, the screen size of the Samsung Nexus is much larger than that of Apple devices, and the resolution as such is also higher - 1280x720. This means that sites are much more convenient to view on it, and they will be displayed more naturally.

The screen is made using Super AMOLED HD technology, so things like viewing angles and black color saturation are excellent. I was also very pleased with the naturalness of the picture, the lack of oversaturation and “intrusiveness” of colors. However, this is largely a subjective parameter - some people just like brighter colors. Therefore, before buying a smartphone, we advise you to look at it “live”, compare it with the same Galaxy S II on Super AMOLED Plus and understand what you personally like best.

The brightness reserve on the Nexus i9250 is sufficient; at maximum brightness in a lit room it is difficult to look at the device, so even on a sunny summer day, we must assume that the image on the screen will be quite legible. Automatic brightness adjustment works quite correctly, almost instantly setting the optimal mode (in the case of an artificially lit room, this is about half of what is possible, judging by the settings slider).

Platform

The smartphone runs on SoC TI OMAP 4460 (based on ARM Cortex-A9).

This is a completely modern solution, the great advantage of which is its support for Full HD video playback. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Nexus i9250 does not have an HDMI output, but Micro-USB supports MHL technology, which means that using a special adapter or docking station you can connect your smartphone to a TV or monitor via the HDMI interface. Thus, support for Full HD video playback becomes completely unnecessary. If you don’t use accessories, then you can watch 720p video on your smartphone screen with one-to-one quality - let us remind you that the Nexus screen resolution corresponds to the 720p standard. Thus, the issue of HD video playback is quite acute.

But before we start directly testing the video, let's look at the results of the smartphone in various benchmarks.

Benchmark testing

Let's start with benchmarks. The result in Quadrant Standard is very respectable: 1514 points.

In the SunSpider 0.9.1 browser test, the smartphone showed a very decent result, comparable in level to tablets (the table below shows the results of seven-inch tablets on different platforms). This means that sites on it will open easily and quickly.

Note: The stock Android browser was used for testing. The table shows the best results demonstrated by the devices.

Unfortunately, some tests (such as Super Pi) did not run correctly on the smartphone. Therefore, we do not present their results.

In the comprehensive AnTuTu Benchmark, the tablet scored 6260 points. The results of seven-inch tablets are in the table. Comparison with them seems quite correct to us also for the reason that the resolution of the Galaxy Nexus is almost the same as theirs.

But in the Android version of the multi-platform benchmark GeekBench 2, which tests the processor and RAM, the smartphone did not show the most outstanding result. The Nexus i9250 was noticeably inferior to both tablets, as well as the iPhone 4S, but confidently outperformed the iPhone 4.

We tested graphics performance in NenaMark2 (v2.2). The result is 24.7 fps, which is quite good.

So, in the benchmarks the Galaxy Nexus i9250 performed very well. This is truly one of the most powerful smartphones available today. But let's see how it does with video playback.

Video testing

Since this is the first smartphone that we test using this method, we will not compare the results with other smartphones, as well as with tablets (if you wish, you can see the results of similar testing of tablets in articles about ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Huawei MediaPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7).

Well, we see that if we use Dice Player, we will be able to watch almost any video. Only one video could not be played (by the way, it turned out to be too tough for most tablets; it’s a rip from an HD-DVD). As for using a standard video player, its main problem is support for audio codecs (AC-3, DTS). But overall, the Nexus i9250's video playback results must be considered very good. The smartphone is indeed capable of decoding Full HD video, including BD remixes, without any lag. Thus, if you have an adapter or docking station, you can easily use it as a media player. And, of course, you can watch videos on the screen of your smartphone itself (on the road, for example).

Operating system and applications

As already noted in the introduction to the article, main feature Nexus i9250 and, in fact, the reason for its appearance should be considered the Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. The Nexus i9250 is designed to demonstrate this OS in all its glory and in its original form, that is, there are no shells or add-ons (which, in particular, Samsung loves to do). Just as there are no Samsung branded applications - only what comes by default as part of the OS is installed. However, the innovations of Ice Cream Sandwich themselves are quite enough not to consider the smartphone boring or unfinished (in terms of software).

First, let's tell you a little about Android 4.x. On our website, which included information about Android 4.x - however, with an emphasis on the tablet version. Now it's time to look at the smartphone option. At the same time, we will repeat those details that are important to us in this context.

The fourth version of Android united two branches of development of this OS: tablet and smartphone. As we remember, until the spring of 2011, manufacturers of Android tablets were forced to use the smartphone version of Android 2.x, which in many ways was not intended for this and had a number of specific requirements (the most obvious is the control buttons on the body, whether touch-sensitive or not). But in the spring of 2011, Google released a new version of Android specifically for tablets - 3.0 (Honeycomb). It was already designed for devices without control buttons (except for Power and volume control), offered an improved interface and a number of nice new features (for example, displaying thumbnails of open applications). Tablets running Android 3.x began to actively appear in the spring of 2011, but smartphones still ran on Android 2.x, since Android Honeycomb was intended only for smartphones (there is not even an application for calls and SMS, although some manufacturers apparently , by agreement with Google - they circumvented this limitation by installing Android 3.x on 7-inch tablets with a GSM module). And it was the fourth version of Android that was supposed to combine the two branches of the operating system and become a common solution for both tablets and smartphones.

Quite expectedly, it turned out that the tablet version of Android 4.0 is not so different from Android 3.x. On the one hand, this is good - full compatibility, a familiar interface. But on the other hand, users love new things, and when instead of a new one they are given a slightly improved old one, not everyone is happy. However, if the differences between Android 4.0 and 3.x are really not so fundamental, then the difference between Android 2.x and the smartphone version of Android 4.0 is obvious.

Firstly, the appearance of the system (fonts, icons, various visual effects) has changed. In my opinion, in better side. Android 2.x in its original form (without shells and launchers) was not the most aesthetically pleasing system, but now Google's OS is not repulsive in its appearance.

Secondly, a number of very convenient interface elements have appeared. First of all, the buttons Back, Home And Running applications. Thanks to the button Running applications You can not only view the list of applications in the background (or recently opened applications), but also delete unnecessary ones with a simple swipe. In addition to the three buttons above, a secondary menu button sometimes appears. And the butt All applications now in the bottom center (above the button Home in vertical orientation).

A long-awaited innovation that was not even in Android 3.x is the ability to collect application icons into folders. True, this is possible only on the main screens. There are no folders in the list of all applications, and you cannot even change the order of applications.

As for the folders themselves, when closed they look slightly different than in iOS or MeeGo: as if one icon is on top and the rest are below it (and, therefore, it is almost impossible to understand which icons they are). Of course, you can name your folders yourself.

The list of available widgets is now as easy to access as applications. The Widgets tab is next to the Apps tab. It’s also very convenient that the icon Market is now placed separately from the rest - in the upper right corner.

You can now launch an application directly from the lock screen Camera. True, on the Nexus i9250 it still doesn’t launch at lightning speed.

By the way, you can now unlock your smartphone using the facial recognition function. It works simply: you select the appropriate item in Settings, then the front camera will take a photo of you, after which you will be asked to draw a line (unlock pattern), with which you will unlock your smartphone when it does not recognize your face (see screenshot on the right) . That's it, after that you can use this opportunity.

Note that facial recognition really works, and the smartphone recognizes you, and not another person who looks at the camera from the same angle. But there are a number of nuances that prevent you from using this function in everyday life and taking it seriously. Firstly, the smartphone will only recognize you if you look at it from the same angle as when you took the photo. It takes time - you have to raise your hand with your smartphone, look into the camera... And it looks especially ridiculous on the street. Secondly, in the evening on the street, when there is not enough light, or in a dark room (doesn’t it happen that you woke up in the middle of the night and decided to look at the time on your smartphone?) the smartphone will not be able to recognize you. Thirdly, in winter, when you walk down the street wearing a hat, scarf or high collar, the smartphone will again save the day. Thus, in general, this is rather a curious experimental possibility, of little use for ordinary life.

We have listed only the most basic and striking innovations of Android 4.0. Of course, this list is far from complete, but it allows you to get an idea of ​​the scale of the changes that have occurred. We also decided not to talk about changes in pre-installed applications— they also have many small improvements, primarily in terms of the interface, but it’s hardly worth considering them in detail, since the general vector is already clear. We just note that in the set of pre-installed software, predictably, more attention has been paid to Google+. Now there is a client for this social network, and a messenger for communication in it.

Camera

What disappointed us about the smartphone, and what does not correspond to the top level, is the quality of taking photos using the rear camera. And it’s not even a matter of resolution, although 5 megapixels is still too little (by today’s standards) for a smartphone more expensive than 20,000 rubles. It's all about quality.

Yes, if you don’t zoom in to 100%, the pictures look quite natural. But zooming in reveals that clarity is lacking. In the frame below (this is a fragment of the picture above), we cannot make out the license plates of even the row of cars closest to us. Although the shooting was carried out on a clear sunny day (as much as possible in winter).

The smartphone removes sheets of text normally, and it is quite possible to recognize what is written later. This is if you remove the sheets by placing them on the windowsill so that direct daylight falls.

But shooting in a room that is not lit so favorably, or in a room with artificial lighting, already forces the camera to show its weaknesses.

However, the camera also has strong point— shooting speed. According to subjective feelings, it is at the level of the iPhone 4S and Nokia N9.

It’s also worth saying about shooting panoramas. This, however, is the merit not so much of the camera as of Android 4.x, where this feature is implemented, but the panoramas turn out to be really very nice, and this is done in an elementary way: just slowly move the smartphone along one line, gradually turning it, and you get an even, smooth image natural panorama. And as a minus, we note the very low resolution of the picture.

As for shooting video, the smartphone can shoot Full HD videos, although for this you need to change the settings: by default, for some reason, shooting is carried out in 720p. Color rendition and other parameters are pleasing, the video is really high quality.

Autonomous operation

“How quickly will a smartphone with such a high screen resolution and such powerful hardware discharge?” - a logical question arises. The answer will not please those who were expecting miracles, but it will not cause indignation either. We observe the standard for Android smartphones for more than a day in the case of this device. This is if you use the device moderately: a small number of conversations, SMS, a little Internet, occasionally checking email. With active use (regular checking of mail, cards, some games, a lot of telephone conversations), a day will be the maximum. By the way, we advise you to be careful with games: Angry Birds Seasons drains the battery in four hours.

Conclusions and impressions from operation

At the time of writing this article, I have been using the Galaxy Nexus i9250 for about two months. Of these, I had it as my main smartphone for a month and a half. And during this time, I managed to form a fairly comprehensive understanding of this device - not only from the point of view of traditional testing, but also based on the results of real everyday use.

Overall, the smartphone leaves a very pleasant impression. It has no problems with communication (funny, but this is still often a problem with smartphones, which, what’s most offensive, is not always revealed during standard testing), it has good stability. True, this does not apply to all applications. For example, Google Maps for some reason repeatedly sent my smartphone to reboot when I tried to build a route. Crashes were also observed in other applications (although not so critical). But the phone and SMS have never failed. And this is the most important thing.

I really liked the Nexus i9250's screen. Perhaps, for a serious male smartphone, this diagonal is optimal (especially if the resolution is appropriate). It still fits in your pocket and fits perfectly in your hand, but viewing websites is already more comfortable than even on an iPhone. Well, I also liked the other features of the screen (matrix, brightness, color rendition).

The operating system also pleased me. I can't say I was a big fan of Android. But Ice Cream Sandwich evokes extremely positive emotions. The only thing that confuses us is some little things: for example, for some reason SMS can only be written up to 180 characters. From 181 characters there is already an automatic switch to MMS. I wonder if this is a feature of the OS as a whole, a specific firmware/version, or a specific smartphone? Also annoying is the non-disabled spell check in SMS and mail (or this disablement is hidden very deeply). Sometimes she just drives you crazy! But this is still a small thing. More global complaints are the camera quality and battery life. You really can’t rely on the camera: it will fail in difficult conditions and will not be suitable for espionage activities. Therefore, if you need a camera phone, look for something else (by the way, not necessarily more expensive). Well, short battery life is a common problem with all Androd smartphones, so there’s nothing surprising here.

To summarize, we must congratulate Samsung and Google on the successful demonstration of Android 4, which appeared in the Nexus i9250, and recommend this device for purchase by those people who love interesting design solutions and the latest new products. Despite some shortcomings in both software and hardware implementation, the Nexus i9250 is an undisputed flagship that will retain this status for at least another six months. Therefore, if you are thinking about buying a smartphone that costs more than 20,000 rubles and are ready to put up with the above-mentioned disadvantages, be sure to take a closer look at the Galaxy Nexus i9250. Perhaps he will be the one who will win your heart.

I think it won’t be much of an exaggeration if I say that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has become one of the most anticipated smartphones of the end of last/beginning of this year. The main factors that make real geeks salivate over this device are the SAMOLED screen with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels and the latest operating system Android 4.0 (also known as code name Ice Cream Sandwich). In addition, Galaxy Nexus support is not provided by Samsung, but by Google. This means that users are guaranteed timely updates to the device's firmware for at least a year and a half. (Not that I have anything against Samsung, but the company is doing very poorly with firmware updates.)

Specifications Samsung Galaxy Nexus

• Ranges: GPRS/GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS/HSPA 900/2100.
• Form factor: keyboardless monoblock.
• Operating system: Google Android 4.0.2.
• Display: 4.65 inches, Super AMOLED HD, 720x1280 pixels, 16 million colors, touchscreen (capacitive matrix).
• Camera: 5 MP, autofocus, geotagging, video recording (1920x1080/30p), LED backlight.
• CPU: TI OMAP 4460, two ARM Cortex A9 cores, clock frequency 1.2 GHz; integrated video accelerator PowerVR SGX540.
• RAM: 1 GB.
• Flash memory: 16 or 32 GB.
• Multimedia capabilities: MP3 player, FM receiver, video player (supports MPEG-4, Divx, Xvid, H.264), video editor, YouTube integration.
• Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n with support for mobile hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0 HS.
• Interface connector: microUSB, 3.5 mm headphone output.
• GPS: yes, A-GPS support, Google Maps support.
• Dimensions and weight: 136x8x9 mm, 135 grams.

Appearance and design features

The Galaxy Nexus is one of the most beautiful Android smartphones I've ever laid my hands on. The curved profile of the case, the slightly convex protective glass and the complete absence of stupid logos on the front panel create a very harmonious image. The sides and back cover are made of dark gray plastic, and the battery cover has a corrugated pattern that effectively hides scuffs and fingerprints. According to the manufacturer, there is a metal frame inside the device. The Galaxy Nexus is indeed significantly heavier than the Galaxy S II, which is close in size, and due to this it does not give the impression of a cheap, lightweight point-and-shoot camera - unlike its stablemate.

The Nexus fits well in the hand, both due to its ergonomic shape and its small thickness. However, it is worth considering that my rake is quite large, so people with a smaller finger span may find the device inconvenient. For example, my wife complained that it was uncomfortable for her to hold her smartphone with one hand.

The layout of the keys and connectors generally corresponds to that of the Galaxy S II and other modern Samsung phones. The only exception is the headphone jack, which has moved to the bottom end of the device.

Equipment

In terms of hardware, the Galaxy Nexus makes a mixed impression. On the one hand, this phone has one of the best screens currently available, with a diagonal of 4.65 inches and a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. The display is made using Super AMOLED technology, subpixels are arranged according to the PenTile scheme, but with such a pixel density this has virtually no effect on image detail. The only drawback of the screen is almost complete “blindness” in the sun, but this is the difference between almost all screens that do not have a mirror backing. On the other hand, Samsung and Google chose the TI OMAP 4460 chip with an integrated PowerVR SGX540 video core as the processor. The same video core was used in the year before last Galaxy S. Modern graphic solutions(Mali-400MP, PowerVR SGX543MP) are far ahead of him. The rest of the equipment is typical for top-end smartphones: the RAM capacity is 1 GB (of which 780 MB is available to the operating system), and the built-in storage capacity is 16 or 32 GB (I tested the 16 GB version). The device is equipped with all possible and impossible radio modules, including Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS and NFC. The audio output from the Galaxy Nexus is of excellent quality - when used quality headphones it's a noticeable improvement over the Galaxy S II. At the same time, I would like to separately note the call speaker that disappointed me: it is very quiet. I missed calls several times simply because I couldn’t hear the phone in my jeans pocket.

Performance and autonomy

Let's start with the good news. Compared to the Galaxy S II and other top Android smartphones, the Galaxy Nexus means you don't have to worry about your phone not lasting until the end of the day. With my usage pattern (listening to music, some games, cards, active use of Twitter and always-on email synchronization), the Galaxy S II has to be charged twice a day - at night and during the lunch break. Galaxy Nexus stays calmly for 24 hours under the same conditions. When using an extended battery (with a capacity of 2000 mAh instead of the standard 1700 mAh), the device can even survive until lunch the next day. True, an extended battery makes the smartphone thicker and heavier. The bad news is that the Galaxy Nexus is slow. In particular, all animations are displayed with twitching. In the Quadrant Standard benchmark, the device does not even reach 1500 points, which is a ridiculous result for 2012. Poor optimization of the new OS is primarily to blame for this. Apparently, the situation will be fixed in Android 4.0.3.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED backlight. It takes pictures very well, although it is inferior in quality to modern 8-megapixel modules in the Galaxy S II and iPhone 4S. However, you can evaluate the quality yourself from the pictures from our test gallery.

On the positive side, I would like to note the fantastic speed of the camera. The Galaxy S II camera shoots very quickly by phone standards, but the Galaxy Nexus has virtually no shutter lag at all.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Galaxy Nexus runs Ice Cream Sandwich - absolutely new version Android, which has finally united the “phone” and “tablet” branches of the OS. In terms of appearance, Android 4.0 has little in common with previous versions - every menu, every icon has been redesigned, to the point that a new font called Roboto was developed specifically for ICS, noticeably different for the better from the tired Droid Sans. In my opinion, with the release of the new version, Android has finally begun to acquire that luster that only iOS could boast of until now. But, as they say, it’s better to see once than to read three hundred times, so we have prepared a short video demonstrating the main features of Ice Cream Sandwich and system applications.

Bottom line

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a very good smartphone with an excellent high-resolution screen, fresh software and, most importantly, good time battery life. I think this combination of advantages may encourage many potential buyers to part with their hard-earned $800 in cash and become owners of a 2012 Nexus. The advantages of the device also include good quality headphone output and guaranteed timely updating of the operating system in the future. The disadvantages include a very quiet call speaker, weak graphics (which is not very good for games) and the behavior of the screen in the sun. In my opinion, these disadvantages are unable to spoil the overall positive impression of the device.

A year and a half ago it might have seemed that after the failure Nexus phone One Google will stop producing “branded” smartphones, putting everything in the hands of third companies. However, a new partner was found in Samsung, the approach to distributing the phone was changed, and voila - we meet the Nexus S.

The Nexus S did not differ in anything innovative in terms of hardware - it was the popular Samsung Galaxy S redesigned in a new way, but with a new version of the operating system. Afterwards, it became clear why Google needed “its” smartphones - with their help, the next version of the OS was introduced. The phone complements the system, making it immediately accessible to anyone, not just manufacturers and developers. We all know about main problem Android - along with the new version, a host of new devices appear, and if the old ones are officially updated, it is only after a few months.

However, the Nexus One has already gone under the knife - it will not receive Android 4.0, although its characteristics are largely the same as the Nexus S. And it is not known whether the new “Android” will be on the Nexus S. One thing is known - for some time the only one The smartphone with Android 4.0 inside will be the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Galaxy Nexus is the most advanced device to date. In it, Samsung has implemented almost all of its achievements, among which the main thing is the Super AMOLED HD screen with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. However, the company has a very similar smartphone, the Galaxy S II HD LTE, also supplemented with an LTE chip. However, it is not as widespread as the “original” S II and Galaxy Nexus. And again, Android 4.0 is only available on the latter.

We just got the Galaxy Nexus at our disposal and are now ready to present our view of the future of “robots”. Of course, the new version of Android is of no little interest, but the tested device had a rather crude version. Nevertheless, we were able to evaluate its potential and new opportunities. But first, let's describe the phone itself.

Design

Both previous “nexuses” cannot be called anything special in terms of design. Nexus One was similar to modern ones HTC flagships, and the Nexus S, although it has a completely original appearance, cannot be called outstanding. The only curious and unusual element is the concave screen (more precisely, the protective glass). Samsung has not repeated this technique anywhere else in its Galaxy line. Except Galaxy Nexus.

As planned, the curvature of the display improves the ergonomics of working with it. In our opinion, there is not much difference. Especially when you consider that the screen is curved only at the bottom, and also less significantly than that of the Nexus S. What makes the phone even more straight is the fact that it is noticeably larger.

In all the promotional photos, the phone looks very solid and massive. However, once in our hands, all its “charm” disappeared somewhere. No, from the front side everything is fine, but we look at the smartphone not only at an angle of 90 degrees, right? Its body is made of gray plastic, which is the main problem. Perhaps the reason is that the choice of color is not very good - it really emphasizes the plastic origin of the case. It looks like an inexpensive craft, although this is a flagship.

At the same time, the Galaxy Nexus feels very durable and well-built. It is not scripted anywhere, there is no play, nothing bends in any way. However, the phone desperately lacks solidity. Even the back cover enhances the effect of a budget product, although its design, on the contrary, emphasizes the elitism of this model. The cover is made of rubberized flexible plastic, can be easily removed and is very pleasant to the touch, but until you touch it, you won’t know about all these wonderful qualities.

Despite its impressive size, the Galaxy Nexus fits well in the hand. This is facilitated by a small protrusion on the bottom of the rear panel. In addition, the phone does not “tear” the palm with its width - the main increase was in its length, it has become more “widescreen” - the screen has an aspect ratio of 16:9 (1280x720), while common WVGA displays (800x480) are 5:3. To this it remains to add a weight of 135 grams. In our opinion, for the most advanced phone in the world with a 4.65-inch screen, this is a very impressive figure.

Total Samsung design Galaxy Nexus is, as they say, “nothing.” It does not correspond to the level of the device - from a distance it is not clear that this is a flagship. Yes, and up close too. Until you manage to hold a smartphone in your hands, look at the excellent HD screen, find out its impressive characteristics, you will not be able to recognize it as a representative of the premium class.

Connectors and controls

If you look at the first generation of Google phones, you remember with sadness their physical control buttons under the screen. They were so embossed, they were so easy to find by touch. But progress moved in a strange direction and the buttons became touch sensitive. Only a couple of companies, including Samsung, left one or two physical devices in their devices. Nevertheless, “progress” has not stood still and is not standing still, and therefore now everything has become even “deplorable.” Suffice it to remember that the main feature of Android 4.0 is the combination of the Android 3.x tablet interface and the Android 2.x smartphone interface, the first of which involves the complete absence of hardware buttons. It was this solution that was transferred to the new generation devices.

The Galaxy Nexus is generally devoid of any hardware buttons - both physical and touch. In our opinion, the solution is not very good. Yes, touch buttons seem to be no different from software buttons in terms of subjective sensations when touched, but the psychological attitude towards them is different. The hardware buttons are always in place and their behavior is always the same and predictable. Software ones “jump” across the screen depending on the position of the phone in space, and even change their orientation, sometimes disappearing completely (more on this below).

However, there is no need to be upset about this yet - so far, none of the manufacturers have shown a smartphone without buttons. Of course, there are no models with Android 4.0 pre-installed yet, but those devices that are promised an update to this OS (for example, HTC Rezound) have buttons.

At the top of the front panel of the device there is a speaker covered with a small metal mesh, a second camera lens and a light sensor.

At the side ends of the elements there is the bare minimum. On the left there is only a button for adjusting the volume. On the right is the power button.

The top end is empty, and at the bottom there is a microUSB connector and a 3.5 mm audio output for a headset, as well as a microphone.

On back panel The camera lens is extended and there is an LED flash underneath it. At the bottom, right on the ledge, there is a fairly loud speaker.

As we wrote above, the battery cover is removed quite simply - the manicure is unlikely to be damaged. It itself is thin and flexible. Underneath were the SIM card slot and battery. There is no need to remove the battery to insert a SIM card, which is a plus in our opinion. There is no slot for a memory card, which, in general, is not a disaster - the phone has 16 GB of its own memory.

There was nothing under the battery. The battery comes out very easily - you don’t even need a special hole to remove it, just shake the phone lightly and the battery will fall out on its own. There is even concern that this could happen even with the lid closed, but nothing like this has happened in the entire time we have had the device.

Screen

The screen is the most trump card part of almost any Samsung smartphone. With advanced display manufacturing, the South Korean company can afford such a competitive advantage. Moreover, it is most noticeable in phones with Super AMOLED matrices. As for the Galaxy Nexus, it has the most modern AMOLED display.

The new generation of LED technology is called Super AMOLED HD. The “HD” prefix is ​​chosen very well and clearly indicates a high screen resolution. It really is - 1280x720 pixels - the highest for a 4.65" diagonal." It is appropriate to remember here that most modern 10.1-inch netbooks have a screen resolution of 1024x600, and most 10.1-inch tablets running Android 3.x have 1280x800 (16:10 aspect ratio) However, the pixel density record has not been broken - the iPhone 4/4S with a 3.5-inch display and a resolution of 960x640 has 330 ppi (dots per inch), while the Galaxy Nexus has a density of 316 ppi. noticeable. And it is unlikely that manufacturers will continue to increase the density further - for the human eye this is practically the limit; it cannot physically distinguish a clearer picture.

However, the Galaxy Nexus screen is stunningly clear. At first this is not noticeable - after all, the icons are proportionally scaled. But when small text is displayed on the screen, then “your eyes pop out of your head” - only typographic printing can compare with such clarity. This is especially noticeable in the browser when the page is oriented vertically, when it is displayed entirely on the screen, or in the list of recently opened applications, when their reduced screenshots are displayed. Out of habit, you don’t pay attention to a block of dark pixels - on a screen of lower resolution they merge, but if you look closely, it suddenly turns out that they are distinguishable, which is very impressive.

Viewing angles, color rendition, contrast, brightness – all of this is at the highest level on any AMOLED display. If any distortion is introduced, it is more likely due to the glare of the protective glass than due to shortcomings in the screen technology. As for modifications of the Galaxy Nexus with an LCD display, as was the case with the Nexus S, there are none yet. They may not appear if Samsung is already capable of producing the required volume of LED displays.

Camera

The Galaxy Nexus camera doesn't set any records with its resolution. A 5 MP sensor was used, which in a sense is even good - it has long been known that high resolution is not a guarantee of a high-quality image, especially if the size of the matrix is ​​let down. Next to the lens is an LED flash, which, using a special application, can work as a flashlight.

Samsung's flagship is built on a fairly fast dual-core processor, which allows it not only to watch video in a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, but also to record the same, and even at a frequency of 30 frames per second. There is also a front camera for video calls with a resolution of 1.3 MP.

However, of much greater interest to us is the updated interface for working with the camera. Let's say right away that the impressions from it were not the best, although this is most likely due to the beta version of the firmware, which we will discuss in more detail below.

All controls are located on the bottom (or on the right if the orientation is horizontal). In this regard, the interface is no different from “bare” Android 2.3. But the elements were clearly redrawn in the style of Android 4.0, adding “minimalism” to all its elements. All additional camera parameters are displayed directly in the background of the camera image. They are not outlined in any way, making them invisible if the background becomes too light.

Standard options are available for adjusting white balance, shooting mode, and you can also specify frame resolution and exposure. All this is displayed in a slightly transparent “window”, which is not large enough to display full name points. In general, the final version will probably be improved.

As for example pictures, please, here they are:

The quality is quite mediocre, especially in low light. Noise is visible, there are clearly problems with white balance, and the picture is not very clear. On the street during the day the situation improves somewhat, but not dramatically.

And a couple of shots from front camera:

Compared to many front cameras we've seen on other smartphones, the quality of the Galaxy Nexus is very good.

Characteristics

Strangely enough, it is possible to find an analogue of the Galaxy Nexus. This is the Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE. You shouldn't be surprised that this is a device from Samsung - no one makes phones with such screens yet.

The Galaxy Nexus's specs are impressive. In fact, it is the most advanced smartphone on the market. The most advanced mass-produced smartphone, the Galaxy S II HD LTE, is currently only available in the South Korean market and will very likely remain there, which is a pity.

As for computing power, in this parameter the new product does not differ from the “summer leaders in smartphone manufacturing,” and in particular the “original” Samsung Galaxy S II, also equipped with a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, although manufactured by Samsung itself, and not by Texas Instruments.

The PowerVR SGX 540 graphics chip is not one of the fastest solutions on the market, although it will be more than enough for modern mobile games. But it’s worth considering that the more advanced PowerVR SGX 543 and PowerVR SGX 543MP2 are already available. And GPUs of the Adreno and Mali families may be faster in some cases.

Communication capabilities The device, of course, is the best in its class. The HSDPA standard supports data reception at a speed of 21 Mbit/s, Wi-Fi is compatible with the fastest 802.11n, Bluetooth is also the fastest version 3.0, and at the same time LTE support has been added. The latter is apparently necessary to keep the iPhone from “relaxing.” However, LTE will be supported only in some devices intended for a particular region.

The RAM is okay - according to the 2011 trend, it is installed at 1 GB. 16 GB is available to the user, or there are also versions of the Galaxy Nexus with twice as much capacity. But you won’t be able to expand it - just like the Nexus S, the branded Google device does not have a slot for a memory card.

We have already told you everything about the camera and screen above, so all that remains is the weight. 135 grams is a very good figure for such a bulky phone. And its thickness is not great - only 9 mm.

As for competitors of the Galaxy Nexus, there are none yet. Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE was released only for one country, so it cannot be considered. And even it does not have firmware with Android 4.0 OS - in this parameter, the new Samsung product differs from all smartphones in the world. But before we look at new system Let's see what the hardware of the device is capable of.

Performance testing

Measuring the speed of a pre-sale phone is not the smartest thing to do, since the final version will very likely be faster. Nevertheless, the results obtained are quite interesting, especially considering the similarity of the devices being compared. We paired the Galaxy Nexus with the Galaxy S II.

In tests that measure overall performance, the Galaxy Nexus was noticeably behind. This is especially evident in the Quadrant benchmark. The new product doesn't shine in Smartbench 2011 either. But in AnTutu System Review we unexpectedly received almost complete parity with the Galaxy S II. So this is clearly a matter of optimizing the phone's firmware.

The Linpack test, which measures the “pure” computing power of the processor, behaved very unexpectedly. In single-threaded mode, the Galaxy Nexus was twice as slow as its rival, and in multi-threaded mode it even slightly outperformed it. Presumably, Android 4.0 is much better optimized for multi-threaded workloads.

In browser tests, we see the Galaxy Nexus outperforming. Not very significant, but it is there. Apparently the Android 4.0 browser has been noticeably improved.

We can attribute the Galaxy S II's superiority in the game electopia to both the faster GPU in the S II and the unfinished Galaxy Nexus firmware. When switching to the phone's native screen resolution (1280x720), the result became twice as bad. However, 18 FPS for a mobile phone in a very resource-intensive 3D game is a very good indicator.

In total, the Galaxy Nexus can easily compete with any modern mobile phone, especially with the final firmware version. Its testing is a matter of the near future.

BY

As we said above, the Galaxy Nexus came to us with a preliminary version of the firmware, which in its final version looks different. The final version has changed icons, some interface elements, and there are clearly more applications. Nevertheless, general principles We were able to evaluate the work with the Android 4.0 interface, which we will discuss further.

So, the most important and noticeable difference between Android 4.0 and Android 2.x and earlier is a panel with three soft buttons: “Back”, “Home” and a list of recently opened applications. They migrated here from Android 3.x and served as a reason to completely abandon hardware buttons, as mentioned above.

Above the control buttons is another panel with five icons. By default, there is a numeric keypad for making a call, contacts, a list of all applications, a messaging program, and a browser. In “bare” Android 2.3, in this place there are only three icons for calling the numeric keypad, the list of applications and the browser.

Another significant change in the Android 4.0 interface is that horizontal orientation is supported almost everywhere. In version 2.x, the desktop and application list always remained vertical. Now everything is optimized for two options. The bottom panel with three buttons remains in place, but the buttons are rotated to ensure their appearance remains correct. The same thing happens with the panel with five application icons. All this is done so that canceling the hardware buttons does not cause discomfort - after all, when you turn the device, they do not “jump” down for obvious reasons.

Due to the impressive resolution Galaxy screen Nexus fits 21 application icons on it. Unfortunately, we were unable to evaluate their complete list, which is relevant for the final version 4.0, and therefore we will not list the installed programs. Let's just say that an additional panel has appeared on top, allowing you to switch between applications and widgets.

The lock screen clearly came from Android 3.x. There you also need to pull the lock icon. The phone shutdown menu has not changed either.

The redesign is also noticeable in the status bar, traditionally located at the top. It is still the same black, but the icons in it are already made using not green, but blue. If you pull it, you can see all the notifications, also designed in the new style. In our opinion, they have become more visible, and there is more space for them. But it became larger due to missing elements for disabling certain adapters such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS.

Another innovative addition to Android 4.0, also carried over directly from version 3.x, is the list of recently opened applications. Depending on the orientation of the device, it is displayed vertically or horizontally in the form of screenshots of programs. The most amazing thing is that due to the high screen resolution, you can sometimes make out quite small text in these screenshots.

There are few widgets in the preliminary version of the firmware and they are displayed in the list either as icons or thumbnail screenshots. Any of them can be placed on your desktop.

The set of standard wallpapers has remained almost unchanged compared to Android 2.x. But, very likely, this is a feature of our firmware.

The app for making calls and storing contacts has undergone a major redesign. Now it resembles a mixture of Android 3.x and Windows Phone 7. All interface elements are rectangular, “angular” and generally very ascetic.

The on-screen keyboard remains the same. In principle, it is quite convenient, although phones modified by manufacturers are usually better. But the way to switch layouts has become completely useless. By holding down the space bar, a menu for selecting an input method appears, among which you still need to look for the desired layout. But we believe this has been corrected in the final version.

The browser is one of the key applications in a modern smartphone, on which the success of a particular operating system largely depends. The standard Android browser generally suits many, but Google does not stand still, and therefore in the fourth version we received an updated surfing tool. It is made in the same ascetic style, clearly borrowed from Android 3.x. However, there are no tabs like in the tablet version of the OS, even despite the huge screen resolution. This is understandable - the inscriptions on them would turn out to be very small.

Tabs are called up with a special button from the top bar of the browser. All pages are displayed sequentially from left to right or top to bottom in a vertical orientation. A preview is shown for each, and the page title is displayed in the tab header.

The additional menu is called up by a button with four segments located on the right side of the toolbar. This, by the way, is also a feature of the Android 4.0 interface - a similar button is present in many applications. Browser settings are quite varied and include specifying the home page, managing the cache, page scaling, and so on.

From others standard applications You can check the calendar, email client and calculator. We did not find any fundamental changes in them, except for cosmetic modifications to the interface.

The music player in our firmware has not changed at all. It also allows you to filter songs by artists, albums, and playlists. During playback, an illustration of the album, if any, and the necessary controls are displayed.

Surprisingly, the system revealed a built-in video player, which agreed to open the file offered to it without question. Of course, it won’t recognize the MKV container, but it will cope with AVI without any problems, unless there is a video stream inside encoded with some tricky codec.

The settings interface has changed noticeably. Its style is also taken from Android 3.x, and in addition some elements have been renamed. Moreover, all settings were divided into two groups: “Wireless networks” and “Device”. Moreover, for the first group, not all items are displayed, but there is only a promising inscription “More”.

In wireless networks, you can configure Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, specify mobile network parameters, enable NFC chip, and also view the graph of mobile data connection usage. The latter is done very clearly. Here you can specify the data period for which you want to view statistics, and you can also set the Internet to be turned off if the specified limit is exceeded.

The remaining settings are not much different from previous versions of the system, except perhaps the interface. Although the internal memory distribution graph looks quite interesting, where color indicators show different types data.

The information about the phone says that we are dealing with Android IceCreamSandwich. Well, this is actually a preliminary version. Currently, as far as we know, version 4.0.1 has already been released with bugs fixed.

Conclusion

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the most advanced smartphone available today. It offers a unique combination of an excellent 4.65-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, made using SuperAMOLED HD technology, and the Android 4.0 operating system. There are no analogues to it on the market and, apparently, will not appear until the beginning of next year.

Otherwise the phone doesn't make a very strong impression. There is no “wow” effect, and in general it is difficult to perceive it as something advanced until you look at the screen and its capabilities. It's all about the unpresentable appearance of the device. It looks too “plastic” - the gray color was not chosen very well; in almost any lighting it is clear what it is made of. Even the rubberized back cover, which is pleasant to the touch, does not improve the situation - the tactile sensations after the device are the most favorable, but the visual ones are not.

Therefore, the Galaxy Nexus is unlikely to become a popular product. It was released in conjunction with the operating system, and not to “blow up the market.” The latter will be done by subsequent smartphones, which will only have to wait a couple of months. Then we will finish our acquaintance with Android 4.0, which will obviously also receive proprietary shells from manufacturers. In its “naked” form, and even in the pre-beta version, it looks rather unsightly, although it is convenient to use. But still, we don’t consider giving up hardware buttons a good solution. Let's hope that Google comes to their senses and returns them to their place.

Galaxy Nexus phone provided by Samsung

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

HDMI

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a digital audio/video interface that replaces older analog audio/video standards.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

Contents of delivery:

• Telephone
• Battery
• Charger
• USB cable
• Wired stereo headset

Positioning

At the end of 2010, Google Corporation and the South Korean company Samsung released a joint product - Nexus S (i9020). This was the first device to receive the new Android firmware version 2.3 (Gingerbread). Later the Nexus S i9023 model appeared. It began to use a Super-LCD screen matrix, unlike the i9020 - with SuperAMOLED.

Design, dimensions, control elements

The Nexus S smartphone certainly cannot be called small; its dimensions are 123.9 x 63 mm, and the thickness at the thinnest point is 2 mm greater than its predecessor, the Samsung i9000 (10.9 versus 8.9 mm). The weight of the i9023 is 129 grams, which is 10 grams more than the Galaxy S. The body is made of black glossy plastic (it gets dirty, abrasions may appear at the bottom and top), and the screen is protected by glass, which is difficult to scratch with sharp objects. The device became the first smartphone made using Contour Display technology - a special curved design (in the shape of a boat), which improves the ergonomics of touch interface control and ensures a more comfortable fit of the cell phone to the ear. Offhand I can’t name a single phone with such an ergonomic design. Taking it in your hands, you feel the integrity of the body. This feeling is in many ways similar to a regular telephone receiver, i.e. despite relatively big sizes and weight, pleasant to hold and talk.

The assembly of the device is good: the back cover is tightly held by 12 fasteners. There is also no creaking or pressing in the center of the rear surface. The only note: when you hold the phone near your ear and bend over, it’s as if something inside is rolling from side to side. I saw something similar on Sony Ericsson Play, but there I suspected play in the two halves.

On the completely black front panel, the front camera eye and two sensors – lighting and proximity – are barely visible. They react quickly and clearly. Nearby is a speaker. I liked its quality: it produces a clear and very pleasant sound timbre. It's a pleasure to listen to your interlocutor. Below the screen there are four touch buttons (“home”, “search”, “menu” and “back”), which are not visible without backlight. It is dim, but visible during the day, and at night it does not blind the eyes.

On the right side there is a button to turn the device on/off (also lock). It is practically recessed into the body and has a small but soft stroke. On the right is a thin volume rocker key. There are no connectors on the top end, and on the bottom there is a standard 3.5 mm audio output, microphone and microUSB, not covered by a plug (the Samsung i9000 has one).

The speaker, main camera and LED flash are on the back surface. There are also the names of two brands “Samsung” and “Google”.

Appearance of Samsung Nexus S (left) and Samsung i9000:

Appearance of Samsung Nexus S (left) and HTC Radar:

Appearance of Samsung Nexus S (left) and Nokia E7:

Display

The diagonal is 4″ (physical size 86x53 mm), the standard resolution for most Android smartphones is 480x800 pixels (density 233 pixels per inch), the screen matrix is ​​Super-LCD-TFT, displays 16 million shades of color, the sensor is capacitive, with support for multi-touch (“multi-touch”) and five simultaneous touches. Sensitivity is high, comparable to Samsung Galaxy S.

The viewing angles of the display are large; when tilted, the brightness drops slightly. Unlike SuperAMOLED (in the Nexus S i9020 and Samsung Galaxy i9000), the black depth is very small: instead of natural black, the display glows purple. This is very noticeable both in the photographs and on the menu. I don’t want to get into a holivar, but I’m closer to the SA matrix, even if it’s made using PenTile technology (a special construction of pixels). Below is a comparison under the microscope of S-LCD and SA:

Based on the image, we can conclude that the S-LCD matrix displays text more smoothly.

The backlight brightness is high and can be adjusted manually or automatically using a light sensor. Color rendition is not bad. When comparing the displays below, the screen of the Google Nexus i9023 leads to yellow shades. It practically does not fade in the sun.

Display of Samsung i9000 (left), Nexus S, HTC Radar and HTC Mozart (right):

Battery

The device uses a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery with a capacity of 1500 mAh. Model – AB653850CU. According to the manufacturer, full charge The battery should last up to 13 hours of talk time and up to 650 hours (27 days) of standby time.

During testing, the following figures were obtained: the smartphone worked in standby mode for about three weeks, up to 15 hours when playing music at maximum volume (in headphones) and up to seven hours when playing video with automatic backlight brightness.

On average, the device worked for about two days: 15-20 minutes of talking per day, sending 20 text messages, 3 hours of surfing the Internet (Wi-Fi connection) and about the same amount of listening to music, as well as an hour and a half of video. With more intense use, the device held its charge until the end of the day.

To fully charge the battery from the mains it will take about two hours, and from USB - about three.

Communication capabilities

The phone operates in 2G (850/900/1800/1900) and 3G (900/1700/2100) cellular networks. Speed ​​HSDPA – up to 7.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA – up to 5.76 Mbit/s. Bluetooth version 2.1 available (with A2DP, EDR stereo profile) for file and voice transfer. There were no problems connecting the headsets: it connected quickly, speech was transmitted clearly.

There is a wireless connection Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. The device can be used as an access point (Wi-Fi Hotspot). In the “settings” there is a special item “modem mode”:

• USB modem
• Wi-Fi hotspot
• Access point settings

During operation, the network did not “fall”.

USB 2.0 is used for file transfer and data synchronization. When you connect the Nexus to a PC, it is detected as a USB Flash device or USB modem.

The device is also equipped with NFC (“Near Field Communication”). This is a short-range, high-frequency wireless technology that allows data exchange between devices located at a distance of about 10 centimeters.

Memory and memory card

Nexus has 512 MB of RAM, which is enough for most tasks. For installing applications, photos, music and videos, 16 GB of Flash memory (about 13 GB free) and 1 GB (0.8 GB free) of internal memory are allocated. Unfortunately, this model does not have a slot for a micrSD card.

The writing speed to internal memory is about 3 MB/s.

Camera

The Samsung Nexus S i9023 has two camera modules: 5 megapixel (with autofocus) and 0.3 megapixel (front, without autofocus, for video calls). There is a single-section LED flash. The quality of the photos is not bad: natural reproduction of colors, not a lot of color noise, even in frames taken at night. Video recording is carried out in a resolution of 720x480 without autofocus and touch focus at 30 frames per second. Why they reduced the video resolution remains a mystery to me. After all, the Galaxy S writes 1280x720 pixels, and it came out before the Nexus S.

There is no separate “photo” button in the device, so the camera is activated by clicking on the corresponding icon on the screen. The camera takes pictures quickly, there is no visible delay between pressing the screen and taking the frame.

The interface is standard for Android 2.2-2.3: on the right – switch to the “gallery”, photo-video camera mode, activate the shutter.

Photo mode settings:

• Exposure (+2 to -2)
• Shooting mode (auto, landscape, portrait, night, etc.)
• Photo size (5 MP, 3, 2, VGA)
• Photo quality (normal, good, excellent)
• Focus mode (auto, infinity, macro)
• Factory settings
• Location recording (on, off)
• Flash operating mode (auto, forced on, off)
• Switching from the main camera to the front camera and back

Video mode settings:

• Color effects (none, monochrome, sepia, negative)
• White balance (auto, incandescent, daylight, fluorescent, cloudy)
• Video quality: high (up to 30 minutes), low (up to 30 minutes), MMS, YouTube.

Video file characteristics:

• Format: 3GP
• Codec: AVC, 3200 Kbps
• Resolution: 720 x 480, 30 fps
• Sound: AAC, 96 Kbps
• Channels: 1 channel, 16 KHz

You can get a little EXIF ​​information from a photo:

Gallery:

Sample photos (main camera):

Example photo (front):

Performance

The smartphone runs on the Hummingbird chipset (translated from English as “hummingbird”). It was on it that the first serial “Android” was released - Samsung Galaxy S. The Nexus S also uses an ARM Cortex-A8 processor with a clock frequency of 1000 MHz, 45 nm process technology, ARMv7-A architecture, a 1 MB second-level cache and a PowerVR SGX540 graphics accelerator.

Google Nexus is as fast as modern smartphones: applications launch quickly and the interface switches smoothly.

Technical information :

Navigation

The device has GPS. For navigation, “Maps” (Google Maps), “Locator” and “Navigator” are used. The search for satellites is carried out in a “cold” start in 30-40 seconds, in a “hot” start - less than five seconds.

Software platform

At the end of October 2011, the Nexus S i9023 installed the Google Android operating system version 2.3.6. Software version – i9023xxkf1, kernel version – 2.6.35.7-gf563ef, build number – GRK39F. There are no details on the new firmware version, but it seems that a number of “bugs” have been fixed and the security system has been improved.

Let me remind you that this particular phone model always receives new software updates the fastest.

Shell and menu

The Nexus does not have the proprietary shell from Samsung - TouchWIZ, the design is “naked” Android 2.3. I think that describing it is familiar to everyone appearance desktops and menus don’t make sense, so I’ll limit myself to screenshots.

Challenges

To call the dialer, you need to click on the corresponding icon at the bottom of the screen. The dialer is large and easy to dial. Unfortunately, in this particular device there was a slight delay between pressing the button and displaying the number on the screen.

The “calls” tab displays caller names, call type (incoming/outgoing/missed), phone number and number of calls. To dial the numbers displayed on the display, click on the handset picture on the right. By clicking on one of the contacts, a menu will open from which you can send an SMS to the number or add it to your “address book”. Information about the call time and date is also available.

Individual parameters are located in “settings” - “calls”.

Messages

They are presented in the form of a chat. The standard Android keyboard serves as a keyboard for entering text. Naturally, you can install any other one from the Market.