Galaxy Nexus has the build quality of a Samsung TV Remote

Posted by jaywontdart on May 18, 2012 10:41 pm 90

The Galaxy Nexus has long been known for having a "cheap" feel, but have you ever compared it directly to a TV remote?

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The Galaxy Nexus lives in the shadow of another Samsung product, their television remotes. Seams all around in the plastic, its dreadful, and THIS is meant to be a high end device, previously selling for around a thousand US dollars off contract?
In the USA, Google will now sell the Galaxy Nexus unlocked for just $399 USD
Mine cost $474 USD, plus shipping from a parallel importer, the Nexus is not sold in New Zealand. While its far cheaper than an iPhone, which sells for around 790 USD off contract direct from Apple, it shows in the build quality, one is built like stainless steel and glass jewelry, the other is a Samsung television remote.
Since most people are buying these high end devices on a plan, price is not an issue, it costs you as much to have a well made device as it would to have a poorly made device.

The Galaxy Nexus is covered in seams, such as on the corners, there are "horizontal lines" from the plastic moulding proces. They're rather an eyesore, and reinforce not only the structural corners of the casing material, but also the impression that this thing is built like a Samsung television remote. You can see one of the offending seams right in the corner, in the front part of the "glued together plastic sandwich". They feature in all four corners, and look like a straight line, as though the phone is sent to you pre-scratched in each corner:

See fullsize photo of the shadowed seam

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Samsung flaunting its high end design, the snappily named "BN59-01012A" television remote which came with my 22 inch el cheapo Samsung television, which I use just for my PS3.

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The same exact remote apparently comes even with Samsungs most expensive television sets, they really like to standardise on products, and build quality throughout all price ranges, and it aint good.
Now *this* is how you build a device, no seams, no joins, straight, smooth stainless steel

"We can't overstate how high-end the design of the iPhone 4 is. The 3GS now feels cheap and chubby by comparison, and even a phone like the HTC Droid Incredible -- which just came out -- seems last-generation."

Joshua Topolsky's Engadget review of the iPhone 4

If you're not going to go with the iPhone, and are dead set on Android, skip the Galaxy TV Remote with its pentile, "fuzzy blur" screen and terrible camera, ignore the lackluster Galaxy S III and try out an HTC One X:

"The One X adopts a curved profile reminiscent of the Galaxy Nexus — hold it sideways and you'll notice how the top and bottom edges very gently curve up. The majority of the case is a seamless matte plastic that feels glossier (that is, more slippery) than it looks, but not enough to raise any particular concern about dropping it."

The Verge HTC One X review

Put stock Android on the HTC One X and you have an allround better phone than Samsungs latest efforts.

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Lets stop giving Samsung (and all phone makers) a pass for crap build quality, on both their TV remotes AND "high end" phones.