The size is extremely subjective to your needs. My dad is amazed with his galaxy note and thinks the galaxy nexus is tiny. They're all thin and weighs nothing, so after you're past the "it looks dorky" phase, they feel great in your pocket and are much easier to use than smaller phones. For visually impaired people like my dad, the bigger screen was sent from heavens. But if that's not a problem, then it's not as useful.

I came from a much smaller set of phones (iPhone 1, iPhone 3GS, Droid Incredible)... so I was also really skeptical.

For me, it's probably damn near perfect in terms of form factor. It took a day or two to get used to holding it, but after that it's been nothing but awesome. The extra real-estate is really appreciated. I'm a bit faster at thumb typing because the spacing is a bit more comfortable.

I dig it.

Before the GNexus I had the Nexus S and I think it was the perfect size for me. That said, the GNexus is big but don´t feel a monster because it is very light and thin. I have average sized hands and in the beginning I thought it was too big, but then I get used to it and I actually like it a lot when watching movies and playing games.

It is quite large, but I never have trouble fitting it in my pocket (no matter how skinny the jeans). I find it quite comfortable for one-handed texting, and ICS makes texting much easier than earlier releases. Personally I think ICS will make a larger positive impact on your user experience than size could make a negative one.

For one-handed text entry, it works pretty well. There's a reason the keyboard is on the bottom of the screen. But there are non-trivial regions of the screen in the upper corners that cannot be reached by my thumb. And it's occasionally annoying -- the browser tab controls aren't reachable when I hold the phone in my left hand, for example.

That said, the bigger screen is absolutely wonderful for browsing and reading in general; I much prefer Chrome on the GNex to my wife's iPhone 4S.

It's a taste and usage thing. I find for my needs it works very well. Someone who does a lot of one-handed work (while, er, driving maybe) is going to want a smaller phone.

I have one and prefer the size. The screen is unbelievably beautiful, and I love watching Netflix on it while at the gym.

The _only_ size related gripe I have is when I am using it one handed and need to reach the upper left corner with my thumb. That's kinda tough. That and it doesn't fit in my skinny jeans.

I've played with a 4.3" Galaxy S2 recently (I have a 3.2" phone right now), and I it didn't feel large at all to me. It seemed pretty normal. I could probably go for one that is a bit bigger than that.

Also the "theory" that everything above 3.5" is too big for one-handed actions is completely untrue. I have average hands, and I could easily use the GS2 with one hand, even up to the top.

is there anyway to take that default google search bar off the homescreens or does it just stay on all the time?

Try Apex Launcher. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anddoes.la...

It seems to be based on the standard launcher, but allows you to customize a lot of things, including the search widget.

It is nothing more than a widget and can be removed at will.

EDIT: Whoops misunderstood the question and gave a completely wrong answer. See replies.

No. You can remove (with a bit of fiddling) it but to my knowledge you can't reclaim the space it takes (even if you could it would present other issues since it is much smaller than a 1-height widget).

How to remove it (not without complications): http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/how-to-disable-hide-goog...

You can indeed reclaim the space with, for example, Nova Launcher. My home screen has 5 rows, as a result, and no spacing issues or anything.

Actually it is not, it is persistent and cannot be removed unless you use an alternate home screen replacement (like Nova Launcher). There is also a widget that you can place anywhere.

It's too large for me. The only way I can reach the top of the screen is to hold it on the side rather than with the corner of the phone in my palm. This makes me worried I will drop it.

I thought the Nexus S size was perfect, but the Galaxy S II is tolerable.

I find the phonearena.com size comparison tool really handy. http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Samsung-GALAXY-Nexus_id5595...

Yes, the Galaxy Nexus is gigantic.

I'm also pondering getting an HTC One S.

Was considering the One S, but I think the lack of NFC will be annoying in a year or so.

I seriously doubt NFC will matter anywhere other than US very much.

We have tons of NFC-enabled terminals in Italy, at least in the bigger cities. They're already used by Mastercard PayPass and Visa PayWave. If I could use my Italian credit card with Google Wallet (or even recharge the Google prepaid card) I would be doing half of my purchases via NFC.

Really? Very interesting.

It could matter if it was supported in software and ecosystem, which it more than likely won't :(. We have a lot of NFC terminals in Canada and I wouldn't mind ditching a few paypass/paywave cards from my pocket but it won't be that simple.

The Nexus name doesn't mean as much as it used to. Not all Nexus devices offer a pure Android experience - the Verizon version of Nexus will not have Google Wallet. In term of timely updates, the HTC Sensation received ICS update in March 2012 while the Sprint Nexus S 4G was not updated until early April.

So take that for what its worth. Don't be surprised if Google ends up allowing carriers and manufacturers to provide more customization with Nexus phones and be more lax with update timelines.

Of course, that is a reason to consider this unlocked, contract free phone that one is buying directly from Google.

I bought an unlocked, contract free Nexus One and still ended up with un-removable useless Amazon MP3 and Facebook and Google Play Books and Google Voice apps on my phone :(

The lack of Google Wallet on the VZW is not because of a carrier restriction. It's a hardware issue with the VZW CDMA model of the phone.

Source?