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 :)
What are your battery performance/longevity tips?
Many of you have probably received advice over the years about how to make sure your battery is performing at it's peak and continues to do so for the longest period of time. Due to changes in battery technology, that advice may have changed or is no longer relevant.
Here's my list of battery performance/longevity tips that I use which seems to work for my devices:
1) Before turning it on for the first time, charge your gadget to full capacity
While your gadget will generally come with enough battery capacity to use it until you get home, I always find it best to charge the device to full capacity before turning it on for the first time. With older batteries it may have been suggested to let it charge overnight however I don't feel it is necessary to do so anymore.
2) Let the battery achieve full discharge on the first run before recharging
It's important to clarify a couple of things here. First, I define a full discharge as letting the battery get below 20% capacity. Second, modern day batteries may get damaged if you do a full discharge too often. As such, this is one of the few times I will actually discharge a battery completely.
3) Batteries won't start performing at optimal levels until after the 3-5th charge cycle
Battery life of your new gadget not quite what you were expecting? Don't worry yet. I find that most batteries have a break in period of between 3 - 5 charge cycles before they start to achieve maximum longevity.
4) Try and keep your batteries at 40-80% capacity
I only heard this one recently but it makes a lot of sense to me. While letting a battery get too low in capacity often may damage cells and reduce it's lifespan, keeping a battery charged at full/near full capacity too often can also have the same effect. If you keep a laptop plugged in the majority of the time and suddenly put it on battery power, you will find the charge will not last as long as when you first got the device.
5) If battery performance starts to decrease prematurely, perform a full discharge and a trickle recharge
This is the other situation where I will perform a full discharge. If a battery seems like it's not holding it's charge for as long as it should it might be worth doing a full discharge and a trickle recharge.
A trickle recharge is charging the battery at a slower rate than normal to let the cells develop a charge without the risk of overheating them. If your gadget can charge via a computers USB port this is ideal as a USB port can only produce 500 mAh of power, which is generally less that what a gadgets AC power adapter would generate.
6) If you plan to store a battery without using it for a long period of time (over 30 days), only charge it to 50-60% capacity
Again, advice I have only come across recently and something many of you won't need to think about. However if you do need to keep a battery in storage for more than 30 days, try and only charge it to 50-60% capacity.
That's my rules for keeping batteries performing at their peak and maintaining their lifespan for as long as possible. Anything you disagree with or any other rules you use to get the best out of your batteries?