OK, I've listened to the podcast and I'll address some of the host's points from my perspective living with the phone for a week or so.

He likes the Galaxy S II hardware better than the Galaxy Nexus
Generally speaking, I agree. I like the squared-off look of SGS2 better and I do like having the physical home button. I also prefer the SGS2 camera to the Galaxy Nexus. However, that's where it ends. I don't get the complaint about not being able to orient the phone right side up when pulling it out of your pocket. This has never been a problem for me. There is a hump at the bottom of the Nexus that helps with orientation in the dark. This issue has never crossed my mind.

The screen of the Galaxy Nexus is better than the SGS2 in my opinion. It's not a tough conclusion to come to. The Nexus is bright and extremely high-res. I will agree that the auto-brightness settings are too aggressive with power saving. But, if that's due to faulty programming, that can be easily fixed. If it's intentionally too dim, then I can just continue keeping the phone on "medium" brightness on the power widget. If find that medium works well in most indoor situations.

The host said he missed being able to bring up a settings button from the home screen. I guess he was hitting the menu key that doesn't exist anymore on the Nexus. Honestly, I know that's a feature of most phones/launchers, but I never use it. I usually have a settings icon on the first home screen. ICS puts a settings icon in the notification drawer anyway. Just pull it down and press that thing that looks like an audio mixer. I've actually put the settings icon on one of the secondary home screens because of this.



Ice Cream Sandwich is "confusing" for non-geeks
The host mentioned that he has bought six SGS2s. Has he ever tried to make a folder in TouchWiz? That is probably the most maddening UI design I've ever seen. On the other hand, ICS works exactly like iOS which, as much as Android fans might disagree, is the proper way.

Maybe he just sticks Launcher Pro on the SGS2 right away. OK, I don't disagree with that too much. I don't find TouchWiz as offensive as Sense, but anything closer to stock is a step in the right direction in my view. But, Samsung's mark is still left on the OS when just replacing the launcher. You still don't have the color-changing signal indicators that inform you when the connection is broken between you and the Google mothership. You still have those cartoonish icons in the settings app. And, perhaps worst of all, you have the Apple-patented snap effect when you over-scroll in lists. Needless to say, I put CM7 on my SGS2 as soon as a public release was available. That, combined with ADWLauncher EX, basically gave me a Nexus S with improved hardware.

As far as Android goes, I've had a G1, HTC Aria, LG Optimus, Dell Venue, Nexus S, Galaxy S II, and now the Galaxy Nexus. In my opinion, the only way to go is Nexus. I don't want to dick around with custom ROMs anymore to get rid of the manufacturer and carrier customizations. I want to have the same device the Google developers hack on. I want the pure Android experience. Those are the main advantages of the Galaxy Nexus to me. That trumps physical home keys and better cameras. I don't doubt that the Galaxy S 3 will be a scorcher in comparison to the Galaxy Nexus. But, ICS was built with the Nexus hardware in mind. I'll be just fine until the next Nexus comes around.

Widgets and the App drawer
Not being able to add widgets to the home screen by holding down a blank area of the wallpaper is a strange omission. It could obviously be there as it has in the past, but the app drawer holds widgets now. It's not a big deal to change your behavior, and an Android newcomer might not even be aware they can add widgets by doing it the old way. Now that they're in the app drawer, widgets are more visible. Being that widgets are a big advantage of Android, this was a good move. Having a preview of what the widget actually looks like before you place it is also a plus of this new design.

The host made a comment about scrolling through the pages of apps in the app drawer to get to the widgets. Then, you scroll through 7 pages of widgets and decide you want to see your apps again and then having to scroll back 7 or 8 pages. Does he not realize you can tap the Apps or Widgets tab to jump straight to those things inside the app drawer?



If you didn't notice that, I don't think you gave ICS much of a chance.

App incompatibility with Ice Cream Sandwich
I haven't run into much of this. The only things that didn't work for me initially were Wolfram Alpha and Tumblr. In the week I've spent with the phone, both apps have been updated.

Early US users wanting to like Galaxy Nexus because they paid full-price
I think there is some truth to that, but I can only speak from my experience. After using ICS, there is no going back to Gingerbread. Like it or not, Galaxy Nexus is the only official way to get ICS at this time. In my view, ICS makes up for the (few) shortcomings of the Galaxy Nexus hardware.

I make full use of Google Voice. I couldn't even tell you what the prefix of my T-Mobile phone number is. I have never given it out, I will never give it out. While this makes almost no difference to the European market, the pentaband radio in the Galaxy Nexus is probably the most important feature of the phone to me. I can finally be carrier-independent without switching hardware when I switch service. AT&T, T-Mobile US, h2o, Simple Mobile, etc all work equally well in this phone.

The Galaxy Nexus is the best all-around phone I've handled to date. I think the iPhone 4S is great, I think the SGS2 is great. For my use and taste, the Galaxy Nexus just blows those two away. The only disappointment so far is the camera being a downgrade from the SGS2. But, most Nexus buyers probably won't be faced with that reality having never owned a SGS2 (in the US, anyway). That's just down to the 2-year upgrade cycle most Americans live by. If you blew your upgrade on a SGS2, you're not likely to be presented with the opportunity to buy a (cheap) Galaxy Nexus. But, the Nexus camera is probably better than what upgraders are coming from, so it will be good enough.

All that said, I respect the host's preference for the SGS2. It's a fantastic phone and likely a better bargain at this point in time. The nice thing about all the Android fragmentation is that you have a bunch of choices that suit your tastes while keeping your investment in a single app ecosystem. I know there are people that love Sense or TouchWiz. It's their right just like it's my right to want the vanilla experience. Right now, Galaxy Nexus is the best tool for the job. I'm very pleased with it and can recommend it over the SGS2 to anyone on the fence.