Nexus 4: First impressions
So first impressions after a few days use with the Nexus 4:
Build quality is actually very good at the price point I was expecting it to be fragile based on the reviews but it reminds me a lot of the iPhone 4/4S (I can see a lot of references to this in my full review). There's a heft to the phone that's reassuring instead of cumbersome, something Apple fanbois used to mention as an advantage before they decided lightness equaled quality with the iPhone 5.Don’t get the wrong idea though, it still feels like that glass back is going to break at the slightest bump. That’s just from experience of seeing so many iPhone 4/4S with broken back glass panels. The fact that Google has an issue with stock levels and local repairers probably not having replacements at this stage means I’ve been extra careful with it when it’s not in it’s case.
Battery sucks I’m not going to go through my battery figures yet cause I haven’t stopped experimenting with different settings but it’s currently no better than my One XL, which wasn’t great in the first place yet has a 300mAh smaller battery.Maybe there’s some conditioning to come which will improve battery performance in the coming weeks but I suspect it’s not going to get much better than it is now.
I’m not too worried about this cause I’m always have charging options nearby however it would be nice to have better performance in case charging the phone is somehow not an option.
Camera is surprisingly good and usable
While not up to the low light performance of the One XL or the general clarity of the Galaxy S3, the sensor on the Nexus 4 is very good in most situations. The HDR mode on the new 4.2 software is particularly good and getting excellent detail and colour, as long as you have a steady hand.
3G performance is strong Again not quite to the standard of the One XL with it’s Telstra optimised radio however the Nexus 4 with it’s 42mbps HSPA+ chip handles the CDB congestion pretty well, remaining usable throughout the day never dropping below 1mbps download speeds.
Call volume and clarity a strong point If you actually have to make calls on this, it really shines. Calls are louder and clearer than the HD Voice enabled One XL. The only issue (if you can call it an issue) is that turning the in-call volume to maximum results in slight speaker vibration from the air pushing through it. Drop it down one level though and it’s perfectly fine and more than loud enough.
The same vibration issue occurs with the loudspeaker at full volume with certain sounds/music. Still quite loud and clear at 75% though. Unlike others, I’ve had no issues with muffling of sound when placing the phone on a flat surface.
So, some good and some bad but much more to come in the full review :)