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Trying to resist the allure of the Galaxy Nexus

Ever since I heard the first rumor earlier this year of the Nexus Prime (which morphed into what is today the Galaxy Nexus), I've been drooling. When the device was officially rolled out several weeks back, I decided I was going to buy the unlocked pentaband version as soon as possible.
Now I find myself trying to get those thoughts out of my head. For one, the phone still isn't available in the US, and buying one from overseas runs around $700 minimum, including all costs (the Nexus S at Best Buy last December, by comparison, was only $550 IIRC). Secondly, I'm pretty disgusted by what I view as a botched rollout of the device. It was announced a month ago, and there's still no official information on pricing, availability, or carriers. Compare that to an Apple rollout (a company whose products I greatly dislike, BTW), where the official rollout tells you pretty much everything you'd want to know in order to make a buying decision. Finally, despite some of the awesome specs of the Galaxy Nexus (most notably 720p resolution), I think the main draw is still ICS, which I'm hopeful will come to the Nexus S in an official and working form very shortly.
So, I think if I can get my hands on a bug-free ICS by the end of the year, I'll be satisfied to keep the Nexus S for at least another six months. I really like the Nexus S, and it still can comfortably handle anything I throw at it.

I am in the same boat. Very disappointed in the galaxy nexus. Hardware is so-so and the roll out is pathetic. No news of a tmo version and it's been announced a while ago. If this doesn't sell for under $600 I will just keep my nexus s and hope they get the next nexus right this time. I'm slowly losing faith in the nexus line. Google allowed verizon to molest it a little and I find it just plain less appealing now. I loved the idea of having a somewhat special Android when I owned the nexus one and now nexus s. But I feel google is slowly merging the nexus into the melting pot of android phones. I wanted something that really stands out and always stands out.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

Another gripe is that I personally have never met or seen anybody with a nexus phone. After the galaxy nexus I feel I may start bumping into people who own one. And to make matters worse, it will probably be someone who has no idea what it is. And will call it their "Droid" phone. Maybe I loved the nexus line a little too much. : (
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperICS Nexus S using xda premium

NicholasQ said:
Another gripe is that I personally have never met or seen anybody with a nexus phone. After the galaxy nexus I feel I may start bumping into people who own one. And to make matters worse, it will probably be someone who has no idea what it is. And will call it their "Droid" phone. Maybe I loved the nexus line a little too much. : (
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperICS Nexus S using xda premium
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Never saw another nexus one in person until I lived in Singapore, I saw two the first month I lived there! When the nexus s came out I ordered that bastard immediately and had it shipped to my mom and she shipped it to me. I wanted to be alone in owning a Nexus phone again.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

NicholasQ said:
I am in the same boat. Very disappointed in the galaxy nexus. Hardware is so-so and the roll out is pathetic. No news of a tmo version and it's been announced a while ago. If this doesn't sell for under $600 I will just keep my nexus s and hope they get the next nexus right this time. I'm slowly losing faith in the nexus line. Google allowed verizon to molest it a little and I find it just plain less appealing now. I loved the idea of having a somewhat special Android when I owned the nexus one and now nexus s. But I feel google is slowly merging the nexus into the melting pot of android phones. I wanted something that really stands out and always stands out.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
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Verizon didn't do anything to the device. I don't understand why your disappointed, this is one hell of a device.

NicholasQ said:
I am in the same boat. Very disappointed in the galaxy nexus. Hardware is so-so and the roll out is pathetic. No news of a tmo version and it's been announced a while ago. If this doesn't sell for under $600 I will just keep my nexus s and hope they get the next nexus right this time. I'm slowly losing faith in the nexus line. Google allowed verizon to molest it a little and I find it just plain less appealing now. I loved the idea of having a somewhat special Android when I owned the nexus one and now nexus s. But I feel google is slowly merging the nexus into the melting pot of android phones. I wanted something that really stands out and always stands out.
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All good points, and I fully agree. Maybe Verizon is giving Google some too-hard-to-resist incentives? Otherwise, I can't imagine why Google would have abandoned the "buy-an-unlocked-GSM-phone" concept.
NicholasQ said:
Another gripe is that I personally have never met or seen anybody with a nexus phone. After the galaxy nexus I feel I may start bumping into people who own one. And to make matters worse, it will probably be someone who has no idea what it is. And will call it their "Droid" phone. Maybe I loved the nexus line a little too much. : (
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Now that you mention it, in the 11 months I've had my Nexus S, I've never seen anybody with a Nexus phone, either. I have, though, been asked several times when people see my phone, "What kind of iPhone is that?"
splmonster said:
Verizon didn't do anything to the device. I don't understand why your disappointed, this is one hell of a device.
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I was under the impression that Verizon has installed a bunch of proprietary Verizon apps (bloatware) on the Galaxy Nexus. Is this not true? Also, isn't the phone adorned with Verizon badging?
- DDB

I was in the same line of thinking as the OP. I was going to alternate years: this year tablet; next year phone. I had to go in to Three to renew my contract and there the GN was on display so naturally I play with it. I couldn't resist. I had a free upgrade so I said GN please. Now I have a NS that's not being used anymore. Maybe I'll give it to the wife? Damn why did Three need to have it on display? Now I'm in a two year contract instead of sum only all you can eat data. Though I do have all you can eat for the GN.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I have to force myself to be satisfied with a two-year phone replacement cycle. Getting the new iPhone every year when I was with AT&T spoiled me; now I feel like my phone is out-of-date in three months (and with the hardware cycle the way it is now, it probably is!).
I am going to try to hold on to my Nexus S until the next gen Nexus is released (after Nexus Galaxy).

opinions on Nexus S GTI9020T

I just saw that my local best buy is offering the nexus s for free with 2 year contract renewal. I love my aria the size is perfect and it's a great phone but with what appears to be the end of the road for cm7 and a lot of uncertainty about cm9 for the aria I was wondering what some of your opinions are about the nexus s. Things that stand out to me are that even though it has a 480x800 the phone still seems to be quite small in comparison to some of the other monsters out there the phone seems to be well supported here on xda. I know it only has 16gb of internal memory with no external sd card but that's not a deal breaker for me I have 16gb card now and am no where close to running out of space. I know the phone is older and does not have a duel processor or 4g but free is very tempting. Any ways I respect the opinion of many of you here so wanted some of your opinions.

Honestly, I wouldn't get it for the fear that it would become an obsolete device one year into your 2 year contract.
Sent from my Liberty using XDA Premium App

It is a very good phone, but you would be better off waiting or getting something like the atrix 2 for 50-100 bucks. Get something dual core so you know it has a future. The nexus s would feel more like the aria in terms of performance because of the extra resolution. Not to mention, it's almost obsolete now, with the galaxy nexus taking it's place. Just my 2 cents. I would honestly get the s2 or vivid if you can get the extra money.... S2 is where I'm headed in a month.

I switched to the A2 two months ago and even stock I love it. Development has been slow with the locked bootloader but is picking up now that we have a way to dual boot. Currently all Motorola owners are banding together petitioning and media bombing the carriers and Motorola to unlock our bootloaders. It worked with HTC so I don't think it will be long.All in all it's an awesome device with a great future ahead.

Yes...it took a while for HTC to get there head out of there a$$.

Thanks for the opinions the sg2 does look like a nice phone it's just the size overall that bothers me but that seems to be the direction all the manufacturers are heading. Still undecided on what to do. I bought my aria off contract from Craigslist so if I did go with the nexus I could always sell it some point and do something like that again.
Sent from wherever I am?

I was actually undecided between the SGS2 and the Nexus S. The SGS2 just seemed huge, and the pixels seemed cartoon big. I ended up getting the SGS2 and one month later, I'm used to the size. Still fits in the hand or pocket, and the bigger screen is nice. I probably squint less looking at the screen too. Overall, I still think the Nexus has the nicer form factor.
But you're right, selling the Nexus when you're ready to upgrade again is a solid plan. What'd you end up doing?

stone_ship said:
I was actually undecided between the SGS2 and the Nexus S. The SGS2 just seemed huge, and the pixels seemed cartoon big. I ended up getting the SGS2 and one month later, I'm used to the size. Still fits in the hand or pocket, and the bigger screen is nice. I probably squint less looking at the screen too. Overall, I still think the Nexus has the nicer form factor.
But you're right, selling the Nexus when you're ready to upgrade again is a solid plan. What'd you end up doing?
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Decided to hold out a little longer and see what comes out in the next couple of months. But glad to hear you adjusted to the size.
Sent from wherever I am?

well i guess it is really worth to wait for the sgs 3

Nexus S: Still worth getting?

HTC Thunderbolt user here. I have an upgrade with Verizon in the coming month, but I'm considering leaving my line on the family plan to a sibling and getting a GSM phone with tmobile bands. Would you guys say a used Nexus S is still a good buy, or should I just jumo to the Galaxy Nexus? Can't convince myself that both extending my contract and getting the gimped VZW GNex right now though. Anyway, if you could share your opinions, I'd appriciate it. Thank you.

armada786 said:
HTC Thunderbolt user here. I have an upgrade with Verizon in the coming month, but I'm considering leaving my line on the family plan to a sibling and getting a GSM phone with tmobile bands. Would you guys say a used Nexus S is still a good buy, or should I just jumo to the Galaxy Nexus? Can't convince myself that both extending my contract and getting the gimped VZW GNex right now though. Anyway, if you could share your opinions, I'd appriciate it. Thank you.
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Wait til October when Google releases the new Nexus Devices.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

Exit_Only said:
Wait til October when Google releases the new Nexus Devices.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
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I thought it was November?

Exit_Only said:
Wait til October when Google releases the new Nexus Devices.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
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Unless Google offers it at $350 also, probably priced out of what I can really afford. Though maybe it'd bring the GNex price down. Good advice. Oct/Nov is when my upgrade is anyway so I can decide then.

My 2 cents
The Nexus S is a fine phone, depending what you planning on doing with it. I would not recommend purchasing on a contract, but as an interim phone it should work great.
I personally found that I rarely used my phone as, you know, a phone and began resenting paying a high price for talk time I was barely using (Sprint). So I purchased a Nexus S off of ebay and use it strictly as a voip sourced phone using VOX over wifi.
To fill my need for a larger screen I picked up a Galaxy Tab (only $50) and use a 2 gig data plan with Verizon for $30/mo for when wifi not available as it comes with built in tethering. Though as an after thought I am wishing I went with the T Mobile 100/min and 5gig for $30/mo. The size of the Nexus S works in my particular case and easily upgrades to even JB so I am a happy flasher.
The Nexus S works great for a phone to have some fun while waiting for that next great thing, but might disappoint over the long haul against some of the current and upcoming monster phones.

If you're buying 2nd hand, I'd say GN is worth the extra 100$(€) difference.

Hi,
I had a Nexus S for years and, this phone ils absolutely perfect except two things.
No MHL compatibility: You can't put your screen phone on a TV or anything else..
No notification LED: I couldn't live without it after switching from x10 mini pro to Nexus S.
Last advice, if you get Nexus S, try installing SlimICS + Holo Launcher HD for a 2/3 day battery life by enabling the phone to only receive calls when the screen is off. (You can add things like sync every hours or such).
If you also want MHL, check for Samqung Galaxy S II.

It all depends on what you want. I like the size of the Nexus S. Its bigger than an iPhone, but way more portable than a Galaxy S3. The hardware is still decent. It runs JB just fine. Battery life is very good too.
Sent from my aokp_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2

Tmobile has been cheap and a definite carrier upgrade to ATT in my area.
I want real carrier and phone upgrades instead of incremental ones.
In your situation I'd wait for the Oct/Nov release to make the switch.
My Nexus S has been a 99.99% solid companion since it's release in 2010.
I've had power button issues randomly for the past week but the JRO03L update seems to have fixed it.
I've enjoyed carrier and handset stability that's noticeable compared to my friends.
I've watched my Verizon buddies complain about "normal" use killing charge ad nauseum.
I've listened to my Sprint buddies complain about absent ROM support for phones that drove them nuts.
My ATT buddies, well the service still seems to have the same call quality issues I had years ago.
Hopefully my next upgrade will serve me as long and as well until the next jump in carrier bandwidth becomes a must-have.

Mine is a champ. No plan to upgrade when my contract is up.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app

Nexus S is still great phone and I will keep mine for long time. I will rather buy tablet then new phone.

xAyla said:
Hi,
I had a Nexus S for years and, this phone ils absolutely perfect except two things.
No MHL compatibility: You can't put your screen phone on a TV or anything else..
No notification LED: I couldn't live without it after switching from x10 mini pro to Nexus S.
Last advice, if you get Nexus S, try installing SlimICS + Holo Launcher HD for a 2/3 day battery life by enabling the phone to only receive calls when the screen is off. (You can add things like sync every hours or such).
If you also want MHL, check for Samqung Galaxy S II.
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Click to collapse
Not my plan to derail the thread, but you can use BLN technology to make the softkeys at the bottom flash or light up whenever you get a notification. Acts pretty much the same as a notification LED. Been available for over a year too.

It's okay unless you play vidya a lot on your phone.

No it's not worth getting now. It's a 2 year old phone and as good as it has been it's showing its age. It's struggling with the latest roms, very laggy and slow and battery performance isn't good. I'm rooted, running a nightly cache cleaner and occasional wipes and its still slow. Contract is up this week and its a toss up between the sgs3 and hox. Favoring the sgs3 on performance but the hox it's 5 quid cheaper every month. Not considering the nexus as I frankly find the nexus line boring.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

nexus s is still nice to use. almost roms are support galaxy nexus and nexus s basically
Sent from my SHV-E210L using xda app-developers app

wait a bit
I'm in the same boat as you and advise waiting a bit till this winter or spring to see how all the new hardware and prices shake out. quad core is the ideal android environment.

No. Ex-Nexus S user here. Just broke my phone a month ago and switched to a 2nd hand Galaxy Nexus. GNex is so much better, and it's not expensive either

Same here.. been using Nexus S.. and still going strong.. I just don't find it economical to change my phone every year or two.. Since I've bought my Nexus S.. it has been a good experience.. plus with all this mods.. I feel like my phone runs faster and smoother.. So I think still good for another year or so.. So if you can get Nexus S cheap.. get it! hehe

I would get a newer phone. The nexus s is outdated man; and plus google is going to release a new phone soon. We're going to be waay behind and things are just gonna get slower for us I think. No matter how many roms we flash to see if we can speed stuff up; its gonna get slower and slower. That's just how technology is; it gets faster and faster and if the older stuff cant keep up, it dies out

If you can find one under $100 get it now jelly bean really makes it fly
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Sent from my Jelly Bean powered Nexus Snarf 4G

In this case is the upgrade worth it? (from sgs3?)

I have always been the type of user that gets all the flagship phones right out of the gate, I currently have my white s3 which is in mint condition and I am just curious as to whether the upgrade is worth it under this condition:
first of all, my family has around 6 lines (business, mine, and 4 other family members) and me and my mom are usually the only two who ever get an upgrade (mom is always getting the brand new iphone while the rest of the family just has the hand-me-down iphones) and I am always getting the new galaxy (started with the galaxy s2.) so we always have a line ready for an upgrade at one time.
I can easily sell my galaxy s3 with all of the accessories i have for it for ~$400-450
buy the new s4 for (I'm assuming) $200
what is your take on this plan? go ahead and buy it right out of the gate as usual or wait for it and risk the price on the s3 dropping after the release?

u've just answered ur own question.

Why wait? I will have one the day it.hits.the stores.in.canada. Why sell your s3 though,im.keeping mine to.have as another backup. I bought my s3 outright though and will be doing the same with the s4, contracts suck
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda premium

force70 said:
Why wait? I will have one the day it.hits.the stores.in.canada. Why sell your s3 though,im.keeping mine to.have as another backup. I bought my s3 outright though and will be doing the same with the s4, contracts suck
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda premium
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I'm selling the s3 because I'm a broke 17 year old who doesn't have money to blow on the new s4
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Bummer. I do think it is a worthwhile upgrade though,latest software and hardware,bigger screen yet smaller overall, better camera and bigger battery....kinda hard to go wrong lol
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda premium

If you are tight on money it isn't worth the upgrade unless you can net positive in some way, it's not that big of an upgrade from the gs3! Save your cash for a bit and wait for the phone that really is worth it.

Linksbro said:
If you are tight on money it isn't worth the upgrade unless you can net positive in some way, it's not that big of an upgrade from the gs3! Save your cash for a bit and wait for the phone that really is worth it.
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I think you need to read the op again. I would be turning a profit
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Ghstudent said:
I think you need to read the op again. I would be turning a profit
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
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If there's always an upgrade path available with that many lines, then the quicker you sell the GS3, the more money you'll make. Although you'll likely have some time, as GS4 adoption might not be as quick as GS3 was.
But really, in your shoes, there's nothing stopping you from doing the upgrade, and the GS4 is a superior phone (at least specs wise). I'd do it, in your shoes.

There's absolutely no reason to keep the S3. Zero....
If you can afford it....it's a no brainer....Go S4!

Ghstudent said:
I'm selling the s3 because I'm a broke 17 year old who doesn't have money to blow on the new s4
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
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I'm in the exact same position as you man. Broke. 17. white s3. exact same haha. Except the fact that im still on unlimited data with no upgrade. I feel like most of the features advertised in the s4 are software (besides cpu, battery, camera, scren, better gorilla glass) and most are just minimal improvements considering how snappy the s3 is, how clear the camera is, how well my battery performs, and how clear the screen density in everyday use. If any of those bother you, then since you can make an a profit I would upgrade. I like them all, so i'll wait for roms that have the s4's software improvements.
Sometimes the profit isn't worth the period of having to sell and wait, because if you wait too long you'll have not as much profit. Good luck though

Jklaz said:
I'm in the exact same position as you man. Broke. 17. white s3. exact same haha. Except the fact that im still on unlimited data with no upgrade. I feel like most of the features advertised in the s4 are software (besides cpu, battery, camera, scren, better gorilla glass) and most are just minimal improvements considering how snappy the s3 is, how clear the camera is, how well my battery performs, and how clear the screen density in everyday use. If any of those bother you, then since you can make an a profit I would upgrade. I like them all, so i'll wait for roms that have the s4's software improvements.
Sometimes the profit isn't worth the period of having to sell and wait, because if you wait too long you'll have not as much profit. Good luck though
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Well see, the thing is that I can switch to an iPhone for while until the s4 is released, as much as it will kill me
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Is the N4 worth buying at this time?

Hey all, been rocking a Galaxy Note for about six months or so after unloading an iphone. Very pleased with my Note...love the screen size...but have to admit it's large size can be a bit of a hindrance at times. Have been seriously considering switching to a Nexus 4 which is what I originally wanted but was back ordered for too long. Problem is I'm torn on picking up what I believe is a great phone versus waiting another 6 months for the Nexus 5. I know the SG4 and HTC One are coming soon, but I have to admit, I really want stock Android without all the extra features which I find useless. Basically, is the N4 still worth purchasing? Or is it a foolish move this late in the cycle?
Thanks!

Htc One, not a major inovation.
Galaxy S4- they ran out of ideas.
I think the Nexus is still worth it, especially now, when its price went down a bit.

I was actually in a close situation about 2 weeks ago. I was basically up to get a new phone and was looking around for what to get. I wanted the Nexus 4 since launch, but my impressions of AT&T (the only provider in my area that is GSM) weren't good and I wanted to stick with Verizon. After months of waiting, I finally narrowed it down to waiting for the Galaxy S4 and signing a contract with the (again, opinion) superior service provider Verizon or switching to AT&T and staying off-contract with the cheaper phone with comparable specs. There was also the possibility of waiting for the next Nexus to come out (Nexus 5?) when it does.
Well, I decided on the Nexus 4 on AT&T and haven't looked back. I couldn't be happier. As far as Nexus 4 vs Galaxy S4 and HTC One is concerned, I am more than happy with my decision. The hardware is amazing, but the main reasons I'm so happy is the vanilla Android and the community. I love how Google really doesn't care about rooting and modding (it's like 1 or 2 commands in a command window to unlock the bootloader, that's awesome). Then there are forums like this that help you with stuff. Yeah, there are Galaxy S3 sections and they are helpful, but I just feel that the Nexus 4 forums are....I dunno...more friendly? more helpful? I don't know how to put it, but I just like the community better.
Now on the debate of getting a Nexus 4 now or waiting for the next one to come out. I actually liked being 6 months into the release. That way, you avoid back-order issues, and everyone has had time to develop and fix issues with ROMs and whatnot. 6 months in, all you have to do is read a "Nexus 4 101" sticky thread and they have step by step instructions for completely customizing/flashing/etc. it. I will probably continue waiting 6 months after release to buy a new Nexus phone for those two reasons.
Well there's my two cents. Feel free to consider it.

Thanks guys. Appreciate the insights.
Johmama, sounds like we're in very similar situations. After giving up on the N4 and going with the Note a few months ago, I made the switch from Verizon to Straight Talk. While it's not perfect service, it's 1/3 the monthly bill which allows me to forgive the occasional issue. That also is why I'm strictly debating N4 vs. N5 now. The purchase price of the Nexus line makes it very affordable compared to $650+ for the other options. Basically, by the time I unload my Note and accessories, it should be a pretty even swap, so cost isn't an issue. Just wanted to know if the device is still considered a smart buy. Seems like most are more than happy with it, so I think I'll make the jump.
Again, thanks for the help.

I came from the DNA, and was planning on just keeping this till ONE is released, but I'm keeping it. Sure I miss the screen size a bit, but I love this phone and am thinking I'm only gonna be a Nexus guy from now on. Its worth it. Also having good dev support is way cool
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

big70tom said:
I came from the DNA, and was planning on just keeping this till ONE is released, but I'm keeping it. Sure I miss the screen size a bit, but I love this phone and am thinking I'm only gonna be a Nexus guy from now on. Its worth it. Also having good dev support is way cool
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
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Same for me! This phone is simply awesome! I have it for 6 weeks now and I really love it! Screen size, resolution, amazing hardware, amazing software, no bloatware,... Nexus is the way to go!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

I just got my phone couple weeks ago cause I got a fabulous day on Craigslist. Full well knowing the HTC One is coming out I could easily sell this for a profit but decided this phone is not $300 less of a phone then the HTC One.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Get it while its still hot! but be careful when you hold it!