I9250 Galaxy Nexus (Unlocked) Phone

Samsung I9250 Galaxy Nexus (Unlocked): Nice Phone but Not a Tablet Replacement

I have been looking for a new tablet and was surprised to see that a phone made the search engine query and I wanted to know what this phone had that made it good enough to be considered equal to a tablet. While I didn’t think that I wanted to replace my phone, I was out to investigate so it was worth at least looking into more.   

What I discovered was this phone can be used in many different ways than other phones can. For example, it can be hooked up to a monitor with a USB convertor, which is really cool.  It can also be connected to a Bluetooth keyboard as well for typing emails or texting.  This is something I have never seen in a phone before this brand and it does stand out for me.  Though, I need a tablet to work on when I’m out and about with the kids so I don’t think carrying around a monitor and keyboard would make my life more portable but I wanted to see what else it would do just for curiosity’s sake.

Product Details

• Unlocked Phone
• Carrier – AT&T
•  4.6 inch Screen
• Dual Core Processor
• 16GB of Onboard Storage

I figured reviewing this item would do no harm and then I realized the price tag on this phone and had to look twice because I could not believe it.  This phone sells for $450 which is quite high for a phone, even a smart phone. If you want a phone that could do it all, then this is a good model from what I can tell but I just don’t see how it could accurately take the place of a tablet.

Why This Phone Would be Good

This phone would be good for the person who does not want to carry around a phone and tablet or laptop.  For the working person who is out of the office a great deal on sales calls or for other reasons, this is a pretty groovy phone.  You can write with the stylus and input all of the information you need then go home and hook it up to a keyboard and monitor to edit the information or send off an email.  This phone can literally be your workhorse that also allows you to text and make calls without switching components.  It has a nice bright screen with a large display which is something I know I would like in my next phone.  The dual core processor is also something that is great about this phone because that means that it will run faster than other similar phones.

There is Always a Down Side

The downside to this phone is that it is an unlocked phone and is considered an international phone, not a phone that was made specifically for the United States.  You take a risk when buying a phone such as this because if something goes wrong, you have no warranty or guarantee that it will be replaced or repaired.  Of course you can always purchase your own insurance but for an unlocked phone you may pay a higher premium or they may not insure it all.  You cannot use this phone with just any phone carrier.  The only carrier that this phone can be used for is AT&T and not everyone is a fan of their service. What Others are Saying

Keith says, “Incredibly sexy: thin but not too thin, slightly contoured, more rigid than other Samsung Android devices thanks to the internal metal frame.”

Gabriel added, “Dropped the phone last week and the screen cracked.
Samsung won't do any repair for it in the US telling me to send it to Canada.
The guy said they only repair Verizon phones and GSM phone bought directly from google play store.
Called the Canadian office and was told replacing the screen will cost anywhere from $100-$300 (they won't give any estimate)”

Conclusion

I always worry about purchasing an unlocked phone because you do not know what could be wrong or could go wrong with it.  The price tag for this phone is much too high when there are other electronics that I would prefer, like a tablet, that are in the same price range.  It is a cool phone that has some great advantages but it is not a phone I will purchase myself. If you are sold on this Samsung model, I would recommend not getting the unlocked version since there are many risks involved and you have no real guarantee that anything could be fixed or warrantied.