The Nexus name has come under some serious fire lately; and I can’t deny playing my part in that. Thanks to botched updates, carrier control and an absolutely horrendous initial rollout, Google’s Nexus line just ain’t what it used to be. So why then, did I just recently purchase a Galaxy Nexus as my [...]]]>

The Nexus name has come under some serious fire lately; and I can’t deny playing my part in that. Thanks to botched updates, carrier control and an absolutely horrendous initial rollout, Google’s Nexus line just ain’t what it used to be. So why then, did I just recently purchase a Galaxy Nexus as my next personal device? In a nutshell: everyone deserves a second chance.

When the Galaxy Nexus was announced, before the device was actually released, was when the problems first started. We knew the device would launch on Verizon here in the US, but it ended up taking much longer than initially expected. As for those of us not on Verizon, despite a GSM version of the device, compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile HSPA, being detailed alongside the Verizon LTE version, there was no news of that version of the Galaxy Nexus coming to the US at all. In fact, even a Sprint version of the Nexus was detailed before a US GSM variant was.

After that, between the release of the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon in December and this April, a lot of crazy stuff went on. The CDMA version of the Nexus was labeled “fake” since Verizon practically has complete control of it, different versions of the international GSM Nexus were facing update problems as it was discovered carriers and Samsung also had control of those devices. And that’s just the Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus S is still facing update issues, and the Nexus One has been left for dead. But there was still hope for the Nexus name, and it came in the form of the Google Play store.

When Google first announced they’d be selling the GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus direct to consumers out of the Google Play store, I was ecstatic. The “Pure Google. No Contract. No Commitment.” slogan on the banner for the Nexus’ sale page had me excited. The software information page for the Play version of the Galaxy Nexus is what had me sold.

“A Galaxy Nexus purchased on Google Play is a Pure Google device and is among the first to receive the latest software updates from Google. We are pushing out updates to Nexus devices as quickly as possible and we will continue to provide the latest updates to these devices going forward. For devices purchased on Google Play, you can expect software updates to come directly from Google, rather than your mobile service provider.”

Could this finally be it? The Nexus I’ve been waiting for? It certainly seems like it. I know Google has messed up in the past, and I know it still has a huge PenTile display (which is what originally deterred me from wanting the Galaxy Nexus). But if Google were to, say, announce and release Jelly Bean at I/O this year, this would have to be the device to get it first. Seeing a new version of Android being released and not being able to use it right away is some strange from of torture I wouldn’t wish on even the most obnoxious of Android enthusiasts.

And to top it all off, a totally unlocked PentaBand device that is guaranteed to get updates directly from Google surely must cost at least $600. Right? The fact that Google is able to get the Galaxy Nexus directly to consumers for just $400 is nothing short of a miracle. Even with tax and shipping, I only paid $435. That is incredibly cheap in terms of brand new unlocked phones. Plus I was able to pass my Nexus S down to a budding Android enthusiast at a steep discount to knock some money off that $435 as well.

Looking past the price and updates, more than anything, I want the Nexus name to succeed. Not in the way that analysts and carrier CEOs do. In the way the developers and die-hard fans do. I know I’ve badmouthed the Nexus name recently, but it’s only because I felt personally betrayed. Not many companies can do that to me, which really says something about the place Google holds in my life.

So I ordered a Galaxy Nexus from the Google Play store. And I’m really hoping for the best. Google, please don’t let me down again.

Time, and time, and time again, I’ve been known to sing the praises of Google’s Nexus series devices, because they are updated directly by Google. Which should mean fast, consistent updates to the latest version of software Google is working on (or at the very least, a fully functioning device). Right? As a large group [...]]]>

Time, and time, and time again, I’ve been known to sing the praises of Google’s Nexus series devices, because they are updated directly by Google. Which should mean fast, consistent updates to the latest version of software Google is working on (or at the very least, a fully functioning device). Right? As a large group of Reddit users have been discussing for the past day, wrong.

Back in October of 2011, Nexus One owners were given quite the shock when it was revealed that the first Pure Google Experience device would not be updated to Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. Less than two years after it had been released, it was already being abandoned by Google. Consumers were being abandoned by Google.

Fast forward to now, and Nexus S owners are facing a similar problem. An update to Android 4.0 was being rolled out for the T-Mobile (i9020-T) Nexus S, until some battery life issues prompted Google to put the update on hold. That was in December of 2011. Anyone who received the update could be faced with any number of bugs. Anyone who didn’t receive the update is likely wondering what the hell is going on. Google has not issued any comments on the situation.

Despite being advertised as the phone for “Android-powered players who want the latest Google Apps and OS updates as soon as humanly possible,” Sprint’s Nexus S 4G, and AT&T’s Nexus S for that matter, have not received any information about Android 4.0 at all.

I use a T-Mobile Nexus S, and I thought I was one of the lucky ones to receive the update shortly after it was announced. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After a good couple weeks of use, my phone had reached the point of being unusable. Ice Cream Sandwich was a disaster. Nine hours of battery life on low to moderate usage, when I used to get over 24 (!!!) on Android 2.3, Gingerbread. A ton of apps didn’t work. I was constantly getting storage error messages. And probably the thing that infuriated me the most, the camera data had been corrupted. To this day, even after rooting my device and trying both MIUI and CyanogenMod 9, my camera doesn’t work. It worked fine before my phone was updated to Android 4.0.

Unfortunately, Google’s actions toward the issues and problems surrounding the update to Android 4.0 aren’t new. Many users, like our own Taylor, experienced issues with their Nexus S randomly rebooting on Android 2.3. It took nearly two months for Google to release an update that remedied the problem. Which means that for two months, a good portion of Nexus S users found their device practically unusable. And there was nothing they could do about it.

At this point, I find myself wondering, would Samsung have fixed an issue like this sooner on a TouchWiz device? Would HTC come to my rescue and fix my broken camera if my phone was running some Sense slathered version of Android? The Galaxy S II is already being updated before the Nexus S (there goes the whole ‘Nexus devices get updates before anyone else’ thing), so maybe they would have.

Instead of seeing my device updated with the latest version of Android and enjoying a bug-less build of vanilla Android the way it was meant to be, much like thousands of other Nexus S owners in the world out there, I’m left feeling abandoned and thrown away. Why should I buy another Nexus device again? There’s other ways to use a stock Android device. And besides, maybe third-party skins aren’t so bad. I’m going to have to go with Reddit on this one, “FUCK YOU GOOGLE.” I won’t be buying a Nexus device again.

It seems the trusty Nexus One has made it into the legacy column. Google has confirmed what we have long suspected; the beloved Nexus One, Google’s original Nexus device, is too old to be fully and officially upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich.

Fortunately, many people who purchased the Nexus One were individuals who wanted to [...]]]>

It seems the trusty Nexus One has made it into the legacy column. Google has confirmed what we have long suspected; the beloved Nexus One, Google’s original Nexus device, is too old to be fully and officially upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich.

Fortunately, many people who purchased the Nexus One were individuals who wanted to root their devices. Though Ice Cream Sandwich will not be officially brought to the Nexus One, we’re quite confident that Nexus One owners will see an unofficial version of Ice Cream Sandwich come to their devices.

Who out there is still using the Nexus One as your daily driver? Are you disappointed that Google couldn’t find a way to make it work, or did you largely expect this move? Any developers out there planning to port Ice Cream Sandwich to the Nexus One? Sound off below.

When Google released [...]]]> Most people who own a Nexus One assumed they would have Android 2.3 running on their phone by now. Google employees began tweeting back in December that an over-the-air(OTA) update should arrive in the coming weeks and the official @GoogleNexus account also tweeted that message as recent as January 4th.

When Google released the source code for Android 2.2, an OTA update for the Nexus One was available just six days later. The source code for Android 2.3 was released on December 17th and now a month later people are still patiently waiting.

Now JR Raphael of Computerwold reports that a Google representative told him “there have been no unexpected hurdles and that the rollout should be starting soon.” I just checked our vault and this is the fourth story we have run that says the Nexus One 2.3 update is “coming soon” so I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting.

Even though Google claims there have been no unexpected hurdles, I have to wonder if the random reboot bug found in the Nexus S could be the source of the delay. The Nexus S is the only device that is currently shipping with Android 2.3 and comments from Google suggest that the bug is software based and will be fixed with a future OTA update.

Hopefully Nexus One owners should not have to wait that much longer. There are quite a few custom Android 2.3 ROMs already available, but I know many people just want the stock build from Google.

How much longer do you think it will be before Google pushes out the official 2.3 update?

Translated from [...]]]> The “Nexus Two” might have been delayed, but there is still a possibility that some lucky users might receive Android 2.3 this week. Our friends from Android Police spotted a tweet from an Open Handset Alliance member that suggest Google could release the next version of Android soon.

Translated from Spanish – the tweet from Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez reads, “Prepare your Nexus One (Developer version) for Android OTA update 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the next few days :-D.”

We last expected Samsung’s Nexus phone to be the first device with Gingerbread, but we heard that Google has Android 2.3 builds for most of the stock Android phones (Droid 1, Nexus One, myTouch, etc.) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they went ahead and released it without waiting on Samsung.

Over the weekend I contacted Google to see if there were any Android-related press events this week and their response was that nothing is planned. Google normally holds some type of gathering to tout their new Android features, so either this is a silent launch or the above tweeter got a little anxious and spilled the beans early.

Phil Nickinson from Android Central also posted over the weekend that Adobe has scheduled an update to Flash Player 10.1 for November 9th to ensure it works with “future OS updates”. We recently found that Google Maps was also updated to work with Gingerbread, so clearly the actual release is looming.

What do you think Google will do? Will they wait on Samsung and the “Nexus Two” to launch Android 2.3? Or will they go ahead and push it out to existing devices this week?