18 replies to this topic

[kuri]

I don't see any mentions of this phone.  Did anyone get one and have first impressions to share?

 

I need a new phone as my wife's just died and I gave her my old Lumia.  I'm using a backup dumbphone at the moment.  The price point of the off-contract Nexus 4 is really attractive.  The only worry I have is the battery life.  Some reviews say it's good (lasting more than a day), some say it's bad (only 10-15 hours per charge), so I've no idea what to expect.  I just want the phone to not need a charge from roughly 6am to 11pm at night.

 

If anyone has first hand experience, please do share and let me know.

 

Reviews I've checked include:

http://www.anandtech...-nexus-4-review

http://www.androidce...-nexus-4-review

http://www.gsmarena....-review-860.php

http://mobilesyrup.c...4-review-video/

[LuckyDeath]

If you need that kind of battery life you have a couple options- 

 

1) Turn off sync (push email, etc.) and when browsing internet/streaming use Wi-Fi instead of 3G, and no GPS/Bluetooth. If you have the screen on for less than 2 hours total, you can expect at least 12 hours a charge running stock Jellybean OS.

 

2) You can help your battery life out quite a bit by rooting it and running a custom ROM (such as CM10, LiquidSmooth, etc). Its super easy to do (plenty of guides/programs that will do it with the click of a mouse). I was able to increase my battery life by about 2 hours with 3G/4G enabled on my Galaxy Nexus. My phone will last for days with the screen off and no data connection turned on.

 

3) Buy a second battery. Don't do anything I mentioned previously. When phone dies, put in new battery. Enjoy!

[kuri]

Thanks for the reply.  I'm hoping I can leave push email and messaging on to last through the day.  Even on my wife's Nokia Lumia 710 (known to have bad batter life), with email push enabled for Gmail+Outlook+Yahoo, Whatsapp and WeChat running in the background, and 1-2 hours of on-screen time with maybe 1 hr of internet browsing on 3G,  I can easily last through the day until I go to bed and recharge the phone.  That's my normal usage so I'm hoping the same usage gets me through the day on the Nexus 4.

[aaron6581230]

If you can get through a day with the Lumia 710 (I've personally used it), then you can easily get through at least a day on the Nexus 4. It has a pretty large battery (non-removable). I have a Galaxy Nexus, which has a similar-sized screen and smaller battery, and I only use 70% going from 7am to 2am. That's with wifi, push email (4 accounts), some web browsing, music, etc.

 

Granted, I do have a custom ROM on it. If you get a Nexus, you should be rooting the thing anyway (modding is what it's really meant for).

[Gremlin]

Agree I have the Samsung Galaxy Nexus that came out last year... Its rooted and running Liquid Smooth ROM and battery life is good compared to the last ROM i use. I have wifi enabled I go except for driving.. Leave the house with 97% or so and when I charge it is at 40%... Use FB, email and gmail. 

[kuri]

Thanks all!  I'll definitely look into the custom ROM route.  It sounds like you guys all recommend Liquid Smooth?  I thought CM was the big one.

[aaron6581230]

I use CM10. You just need to experiment with different ROMs. Not sure if Liquid Smooth would even be on the Nexus 4. Try out CM10.1 first and then go from there.

 

Some other good ones are ParanoidAndroid and MIUI (for customization).

 

Then there are ones that simply take the stock experience and modify the code a bit to add some extra basic features and optimize performance.

[Gremlin]

Rule of thumb.. 

 

1) Foremost install ROM that is made for your phone meaning GSM or LTE... DO not MIX!!!!

2) Second choose ROM that is for the model of your phone..

3) Install try the ROM and see how you like it..

 

 

#1 is the most important.. People have mixed the roms and you can back out but sometimes you can't..It is PIA

Edited by Gremlin, 18 December 2012 - 09:51 AM.

[kuri]

Thanks for the tips.  As far as I know there's only one version of the Nexus 4?  So I *should* be okay, and yes I had placed a pre-order.  It's just the grueling wait now...

[ccokeman]

What kernel are you using to pull that much more battery life?

 

 

Using Bamf Paradigm 2.2 with a Bamf kernel. 

 

 

 

 

 

[aaron6581230]

What kernel are you using to pull that much more battery life?

 

 

Using Bamf Paradigm 2.2 with a Bamf kernel. 

 

Stock CM10 kernel

[Gremlin]

 

Nexus 4 new commercial.. 

Edited by Gremlin, 19 December 2012 - 12:45 PM.