Reports of a hardware bug plaguing Google’s highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus are beginning to surface, debunking some of the hype surrounding what was shaping to be a game changing smartphone.
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Cnet has noted XDA Developer forums are lighting up with Nexus users who are experiencing a specific hardware glitch.
The flaw itself is a rapid loss in volume and has been dubbed ‘SAV Ghost’ or ‘Volume Bug’. It occurs when the Galaxy Nexus is next to another phone that is in the middle of a call on the 900MHz GSM band. It’s believed the problem is a result of inadequate shielding, with the interference triggering the volume down button, mainly during phone calls.
The range of lowered volume also depends on available signal.
“It is very common for the device to lower its volume during phone calls on 2G network or when using 2G data,” reads the XDA developers post.
“While it does not only happen during data connection, one can detect phone itself causing interference when the phone itself is using 2G data by the icon E (for Edge) or G (for GPRS) and volume rapidly changes while that happens.
“[The] problem is worse when the phone is on low-signal area and thus uses the radio more frequently to find or hold on to the signal,” it said.
There are ways to navigate around the problem, such as forcing the smartphone to operate on a 3G network only, but the quick fix will limit a user’s range of reception. Also, what’s the point of having a cutting-edge phone if it fails to do the basics, like hold a quality signal?
There are users who are not noticing the problem, suggesting it could be limited to a large batch of phones, but in the meantime Samsung has begun investigating the issue.
Read: Nexus Prime Official: Android 4.0 + Market Leading Specs
Fingers crossed the issue doesn’t make its way to the phones hitting shelves anytime soon, since the Galaxy Nexus is intended to slay Apple’s iPhone. It’ll do just that with its 720 HD screen, dual core 1.2GB processor, 1GB of RAM and the first taste of Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich.
