Our own Google Nexus S review went live yesterday, and if you caught it, you’ll know we were duly impressed by the combination of cutting edge Samsung hardware and Google’s fresh Gingerbread software – so much so in fact that we crowned it our new best Android phone. But what did the rest of the blogosphere make of it? Nice or niche? Take a look in our Google Nexus S review roundup.
What Mobile actually came away slightly underwhelmed by the Google Nexus S, and was slightly disappointed that Android 2.3 proved to be a minor update on 2.2 (AKA Froyo) – although curiously, the reviewer made no mention of the heavily revamped onscreen keyboard, one of the best new features.With even better phones expected to launch at Mobile World Congress in February, “it gives the phone a relatively short shelf life and the clock is ticking.” Performance however wasn’t an issue, (“moving around the phone and using menus is as near to instant as you’re ever going to get “) but the 4-inch Super AMOLED’s colour reproduction was a sticking point: “Whites are anything but white on the Nexus S”.
Still, the site came to the same conclusion as other reviews: for Android purists, it’s perfect. “With no preinstalled apps that can’t be removed (without rooting) and no colour schemes and boot-up animations for your network, it’s a dream phone for people who want total freedom”.
Know Your Mobile‘s Robert Johnson meanwhile shared the slight disappointment with the Google Nexus S screen, (The “iPhone 4 has the higher pixel density and better colour reproduction”), but still had no qualms labeling it the “best phone on the market today” in terms of hardware, as well as “the best Android phone out there today…the phone simply doesn’t lag at all”.
Johnson was more critical of the inclusion of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology in the Google Nexus S, where other sites welcomed it as a nice feature to have, even if there’s no way to use it yet (Partner companies have to adopt the tech too). “I’m really not convinced we’re ready to go out and start pressing our phone next to NFC enabled posters and ‘smart’ tags to get information,” he wrote. Perhaps not, but we’re inclined to think we’ll be paying for goods with something we always keep on us sooner rather than later.
CNET‘s Flora Graham meanwhile gave the Google Nexus S 9/10 – the same score the site awarded both the iPhone 4 and HTC Desire HD, so high praise indeed. Like us, she was pleased to see a smartphone manufacturer leaving Google to do what it does best: software. “The software that Samsung added to phones like the Galaxy S did more harm than good in places, so it’s a pleasure to see pure Android running on the Nexus S…We’re happy to report that Android 2.3 Gingerbread is fabulously fast.”
CNET also got the chance to test out another new feature of Android 2.3, internet calling (SIP). It’s a nice idea in theory, but says Graham, not particular practical, yet anyway. “We tested SIP using Sipgate, which has the appealing quality of being free. Setting up this feature definitely isn’t intuitive, and we found we had to turn to Google’s retro PDF manual…The call quality was very poor, with plenty of delay, but you may not mind so much if you don’t pay for your data.”
“Nevertheless, the Nexus S is undeniably fast and powerful, and its hardware makes Android better than ever…if you’ve got deep pockets and a yen for a phone that’s smarter than you are, the Nexus S won’t disappoint.”
Every Google Nexus S review praised Samsung’s top notch smartphone hardware, and came to the conclusion that for at least hardcore Android addicts and geeks, it’s the best Android phone yet.
The point of conflict is on whether pure, unadulterated Android is something the mainstream should get to try. Whether consumers will take to it as readily as HTC Sense flavoured Android or iOS is still unclear, purely because it’s so difficult to buy a vanilla Android phone. here’s hoping the Google Nexus S at least gives more people the opportunity to find out.
