Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Sprint Review

Interface and Functionality:

Call it a long time coming, but Sprint customers finally have a device that comes out of the box with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. Honestly, there’s nothing really new in this department, as the vanilla Android experience on Sprint’s version is identical to the one that Verizon customers have been relishing on for the past 5 months. Overall, it sports a cleaner looking UI combined with some additional new features that make it very enjoyable and different from other Sprint devices.


Providing us with enough real-estate to work with, thanks to its large 4.65” display, our fingers are able to quickly and carefully compose messages with no difficulty whatsoever. On top of the spacious layout of the stock ICS keyboard, we dig the accompanied responsiveness of it – so we’re able to crank out messages at a reasonable rate.


Setting up and operating with email (and Gmail) is a trouble-free process. Strangely, you can pinch-to-zoom in the Email app for a better view of the content of an email, but you can't do that in Gmail, which can make viewing of certain messages (some picture-rich newsletters, for example) a bit cumbersome.


Hardcore Android users will surely appreciate it the most, as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus isn’t bogged down by any bloatware whatsoever, which is hardly a surprise considering this is the pure Android experience. Of course, Google’s presence is established tremendously on the phone with apps like Gmail, Google Maps, Google+, Google Latitude, Google Shopper, Google Talk, Google Wallet, and YouTube.


Processor and Memory:

For what it’s worth, the 1.2GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4460 processor of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus executes most things with enough responsiveness. However, considering this is undoubtedly the flagship Google device, it’s a bit of a shame that its performance is sometimes hampered by some light evidence of choppiness. Specifically, it’s evident when attempting to navigate across the homescreen with some kind of graphically intensive live wallpaper. Luckily, it’s not enough to make the handset unusable, but rather, it simply softens its processing power. Below, we’re kind enough to share its benchmark scores.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
Samsung Galaxy Nexus Sprint	2023	6191	24,8
HTC One X AT&T	4958	6863	57,7
Samsung Galaxy S II	3113	6076	51
Sony Xperia S	3206	6595	37,5

Without a microSD slot in sight, users are still required to be conscious about what they keep on the phone – though, some will be content with the 28.13GB of free storage available out of the box.


Internet and Connectivity:

In order to prove itself as a future proof device, Sprint’s version of the Galaxy Nexus is also packing support for 4G LTE connectivity. But as we’ve come to realize, the lack of an actual up and running LTE network essentially limits this phone to 3G EV-DO speeds for now. Somewhat of a surprise, the web browsing experience is tarnished by some choppy navigational controls, which looks to be caused by Flash content. Turning it off, the level of responsiveness jumps up tremendously, as it exhibits a tighter response with every action.


Lacking the vital component of having a robust 4G LTE infrastructure right now, Sprint’s version is essentially rendered to surf the web on last-generation 3G EV-DO connections. Along for the ride, it also packs other connectivity options like aGPS, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and mobile hotspot connectivity.