Wait for the iPhone 5 or go Google Android?(news.cnet.com) |
Wait for the iPhone 5 or go Google Android?(news.cnet.com) |
Full disclosure: I bought a used Galaxy Nexus a few weeks ago and after extensive use (including a week-long vacation with it in a city I've never been to before) I am not looking back.
I've been curious about the controversy around the pentile display, but I haven't physically seen one in my own hands to get my own evaluation of it.
Bona fides: I own an S1, S3, iPodTouch(2G), iPad3, GalaxyTab10.1 and Galaxy7. I work for a company that develops mobile apps and it's my job to know about these devices.
Pentile HD is gorgeous despite all the negative you might've heard. I thought I'd be really picky too and was even considering the HTC One X due to it's superior display... but as I squint closely at the details on the Nexus' screen, it almost looks like my home screen is printed on high quality photo-paper. The only time you might notice the pentile arrangement is if some app prominently featured single-pixel white lines all over the place. I've also heard somewhere that solid white colours aren't represented correctly and appear a little yellowish or something, but so far I haven't noticed or it just hasn't bothered me. What I did notice, however, is how rich and dark the colour black appears. I was watching Kung Fu Panda 2 on Netflix the other day with my nephew and I noticed that in certain dark scenes I couldn't tell where the screen ends and where the bevel begins.
These impressions might all be tinted with my sub-standard experience with the HTC Snap before this so take it with a grain of salt (Although I did use an iPad 2 for several weeks and also have experience with my brother's iPhone 4 and with both I felt very limited in what I could do and at certain points felt downright annoyed)
You can always "wait and see" on devices and you'll perpetually be waiting. Since the question was asked of someone who's on a 3GS and they want a new phone, "Wait 5 more months" isn't really a satisfying answer, in most cases.
Being able to view more is nice, but I am not yet convinced that it makes up for the significant decrease in usability. YMMV of course, but either way I think the increase in screen size is an interesting trend for an OS [0] spearheaded by someone affectionate toward one-handed use [1].
[0] Not that Google controls device dimensions for most devices, though I imagine they have some say in the Nexus phones.
[1] http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/08/andy-rubin-on-multitouch-...