After using the stock Google Android software on my Galaxy Nexus for two months, I’m getting antsy. Tuesday’s release of the Chrome beta for Android scratched my itch for something new, because it’s a great browser. And I’m having fun using Google Wallet to pay for purchases too. But now it’s time for a custom ROM to reinvigorate the Nexus experience!

This is one of the appeals of Android that people often overlook: total customization of an Android phone for the user interface, software functions, notifications and more. If you’re an iPhone user, the concept is similar to jailbreaking your handset and getting the iPhone to work the way you want it to. Tonight, I’ll be flashing my Galaxy Nexus with the latest custom ROM from Modaco; an enthusiast community run by Paul O’Brien.

I’ve used Paul’s ROMs on my Nexus One and Galaxy Nexus Tab 7 tablet dozens of times and while there’s no guarantee that everything works smoothly, Paul is always amenable to making fixes and improvements. So why would I want to do this to my Galaxy Nexus? There’s a number of examples of what I’ll be gaining on my smartphone:

• The leaked update of Android 4.0.4 which hasn’t been pushed out yet to devices from Google but is reported to bring faster booting and an overall speed increase.
• Improvements to the device’s auto-brightness function.
• Faster device auto-rotation; good because it’s not as fast as I’d expect, given the hardware inside the Galaxy Nexus
• Facebook contact sync support; a feature that Google from Android pulled in early 2011.
• Eight different custom configurations for the Android button bar, which removed the Search button from phones with Android 4.0

These are just a few of the customized options or additions I’ll be gaining. Obviously, I like the phone as is; it’s the best Android handset I’ve used yet and Android 4.0 alone made it worth the purchase price. But I can make it better and more importantly, I can make it work the way I want to. And after a custom ROM, my personalized handset often runs faster and longer on a single charge.

It’s a win-win situation from my standpoint. And if it doesn’t work out, Google has the stock images handy for a quick way to revert back.

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After spending a full week with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 I purchased from an importer, I’m thoroughly impressed with the small slate. U.S. consumers will see a version with LTE for Verizon’s LTE network in the near future, but my hope is that the Wi-Fi version I bought follows soon; it would be priced less than an full-cost LTE version and wouldn’t require a lengthy data contract.

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is Samsung’s first tablet to use its Super AMOLED Plus technology, bringing vivid colors, deep blacks and super-wide viewing angles. It doesn’t hurt that the 7.7-inch screen has a higher resolution than most 720p HDTV sets either: the 1280 x 800 resolution is a treat for the eyes; especially when watching high-def videos.

Of course, the outside of a tablet is only as good as what’s inside. In this case, its Samsung’s Exynos dual-core processor running at 1.4 GHz. And this chip keeps the Galaxy Tab 7.7 humming along quickly.

I ran many benchmarks between this new tablet and several others, including the quad-core Transformer Prime, and found that the new Tab tests just as fast, if not faster.

The Prime is better for gaming, thanks to 12 graphics cores, but for most tasks the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is currently comparable. This may change in the future as more apps become optimized for quad-core chips, however.

A cheaper Android tablet option appeared this week as well. Sprint is selling the ZTE Optik for $ 99 with a 2-year 3G data contract or $ 349 without a commitment. This 7-inch slate runs Android 3.2, not Android 4.0, but has a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, two cameras, GPS radio and 1280 x 800 resolution display.

ZTE, a Chinese hardware maker, is starting to make a big push in the U.S. tablet and smartphone market; if it can build quality devices with these low price points, it should do well against the current competition.

Late in the week, some confusion arose around the Galaxy Nexus, Google’s flagship developer phone. Verizon currently sells the Galaxy Nexus LTE in the U.S. while an unlocked GSM version — the one I have — is sold overseas. On Google’s website for the Galaxy Nexus stock software, the Verizon version is now archived. It appeared at first glance that Verizon was taking over control of the Galaxy Nexus software for phones on its network.

Google later provided an explanation that suggests it will still provide the updates for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, saying certain software signatures on CDMA phones aren’t compatible with the Android Open Source Platform builds of Android. The situation is odd because the Sprint Nexus S, available since December of 2010, is a CDMA Nexus phone and this issue never cropped up. I suspect there’s more to this story, so I’ll be researching and watching for further developments.

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Updated. The Verizon Galaxy Nexus LTE handset is reportedly no longer a Google-supported developer phone, which could have software update implications. Droid-Life has some screen shots indicating that the CDMA Galaxy Nexus — and as well as Sprint’s Nexus S — no longer appear on Google’s page showing how to get devices into fastboot mode. This mode is used to lock down the phone’s software.

I hit up some web pages that I recently bookmarked to help me flash images on my GSM Galaxy Nexus and I can validate what Droid-Life is seeing. The CDMA stock images for the Galaxy Nexus, for example now show a status of “archived, for reference only.”

I’m reaching out to sources to see what this means, because it could imply nothing more than the removal of developer options in the Settings screen of the CDMA Galaxy Nexus. But if not, I wonder if this is Verizon’s effort to gain complete control over the software on its Galaxy Nexus. It’s worth recalling that Verizon was expected to get the original Nexus One, but that never happened and no explanation was ever provided. It’s not a stretch to think that a control issue at that time entered into the situation.

The other possibility here is that this is related to Google Wallet and Verizon’s push for its own mobile payment solution in Isis. A Google statement provided to The Verge indicates this to be the case. If Verizon does have ownership over the Galaxy Nexus software, the handsets could lose a key advantage: Gaining the most recent software updates before other phones. That attribute is a key selling point of the Galaxy Nexus and if this does happen, I’m sure current owners of the smartphone will be upset.

Update: On a Google Groups page for Android Contributors, the following clarification was written after this post:

For various technical reasons, recent CDMA Android devices implement core telephony functionality in .apk files provided in binary form by the carriers. To function correctly, these .apk files must be signed by the so-called “platform” key. However, when an individual creates a custom build from the AOSP source code, they don’t use the same signing key as these CDMA flies were signed with.

The result is that these files don’t work properly, and pure AOSP builds running on these devices can’t place calls, access mobile data, and so on. Because we aim to make sure that we are as clear as possible about the degree of support that devices have, we updated the docs over atsource.android.com to reflect this reality.

We will still make available as many as possible of the closed-source binaries for these devices, and Nexus devices will continue to have unlockable bootloaders. And, of course, GSM/HSPA+ devices are still supported, as are any other devices we’re able to support. We’ve simply updated the documentation to be clearer about the current extent of CDMA support.

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The Galaxy Nexus will finally get Google Wallet, though it will have to wait until mid-year when Sprint launches its LTE service. When Sprint unveiled its future LTE device portfolio on Monday at CES, it revealed that its version of the Galaxy Nexus will come with the near field communications mobile software embedded.

The revelation comes as little surprise as Sprint is the only major U.S. operator to eschew the carrier-driven Isis mobile payment initiative and get fully behind Google’s NFC platform. Wallet made its debut on the Nexus S on Sprint’s network, but it has since proliferated to other parts of the world on the new Galaxy Nexus. The big exception, though, was Verizon Wireless, which asked Google to leave the capability off its device. Google complied, raising questions as to whether Verizon was flouting the open-access requirements on its LTE spectrum and whether Google should press the issue.

The only Galaxy Nexus users in the U.S. with Wallet are the ones that have bought European versions of the device. Google may plan to launch the new Nexus with T-Mobile or AT&T in the interim, but that seems unlikely they will support Wallet since both operator are founding Isis members along with Verizon. Sprint will probably be the first U.S. operator to support the full complement of Google services on Google’s showcase device.

The Nexus will probably have the same specs as the Verizon version, but it won’t be the same device. Sprint is launching its LTE network over its PCS bands, shared by its current CDMA network, meaning it will need a special radio chip. And the initial availability of the Nexus may be limited depending on whether Sprint decides to launch the device nationwide or over just in its initial 10 LTE launch markets, which include Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

At CES, Sprint announced two other devices with LTE connectivity for its coming launch: The LG Viper 4G, and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) phone with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 4-inch screen, and the Sierra Wireless Tri-Network Hotspot, a Wi-Fi modem which connects to Sprint’s WiMAX, LTE and 3G networks. Sprint said it is on track to launch 15 LTE devices this year.

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Following one of my own seven mobile mantras, I spent $ 40 on Samsung’s spare battery charging station for my Galaxy Nexus. The kit includes a power cord, spare battery and a charger that doubles as a stand. It’s definitely not what I’d call a dock, but rather a stand because this kit was actually made for the Samsung Galaxy S; another Google Android phone. It just happens to work with the Nexus, as you can see in the following video.

The spare battery is a duplicate of the one that comes with the handset; same 1850 mAh capacity and Near Field Communications support. Overall, I’m happy just to have the second battery, although most days I don’t need it. However, I do wish the stand were more like a dock. Out of the box, you can’t charge both the spare battery and the phone. Instead, an optional adapter is required. And the phone isn’t secure in the stand, especially in portrait mode.

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The Galaxy Nexus is the first device to run Android 4.0 ICS. Its large display is a dream to look at and the new version of Google’s mobile OS gives users something new and interesting to work with. Read more…

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One of the biggest draws of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone is the 4.65-inch high-definition screen. It’s literally a 720p HDTV display that can be carried in your pocket. The only problem is: Most mobile video services catered to lower resolution displays since a 480p stream scaled to 800 x 480 or 960 x 540 — two common resolutions for other Android phones — is good enough. Netflix is one of those services where a true HD stream would benefit the Galaxy Nexus, as well as future phones with high-resolution capabilities.

Once again, gadget enthusiasts have come to the rescue: Droid Life found a build of Netflix on the XDA Developers site that brings higher quality video to the Galaxy Nexus. I uninstalled the official Netflix app and replaced it with the one found on XDA and can already see a positive difference. There is one downside though: This tweaked version of the Netflix software doesn’t properly display in full-screen, meaning the software buttons on the Nexus take up some precious pixels.

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To illustrate the difference, I captured screenshots of two movies, Iron Man 2 and Star Trek, in nearly the exact same spot in the films. You should see more detail in the HD screen caps as a result. The difference is more noticeable when watching the video; I quizzed my wife by swapping between the two versions and showing her the same video sequences and she felt the quality difference was dramatic. And it should: Scaling 480p video up to a 720p screen isn’t ideal. An optimal experience would be to start with high-quality source video and scale it down for a display.

Ideally, Netflix should bring higher quality video to its official app and as more phones launch with HD displays in 2012, I assume it will. Google already streams high-definition video through the Android Market to HD-capable phones, so it actually has an advantage here. On the flip-side, streaming higher quality video means using more bandwidth, and since unlimited data plans are going away in most cases, this solution may be better left to Wi-Fi networks. Either that or use a mobile broadband data monitor tool such as Onavo, which we highlighted last week.

While one could argue that watching HD video on a small screened device is overkill, I noted earlier this year that the smartphone is becoming the set-top box. With a simple adapter, I can watch Netflix in high-definition on my HDTV via my phone with this version of the app.

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