Our Verdict
WhenPCWorldreviewed the GSM Nexus S last winter , one of our biggest complaints about it was its lack of 4 gee connectivity . gratefully , a CDMA adaptation has arrived on Sprint with musical accompaniment for the common carrier ’s 4 G WiMax connection . With the exclusion of 4 G as well as Google Voice integration , however , theNexus S 4G($200 with a two - year contract from Sprint ; price as of May 15 ) is nearly monovular to the GSM version . It has the same photographic camera , AMOLED exhibit and slick pattern , but you ’re still crest at 16 GB of store as the Nexus S does not have a microSD slot .
Hardware and design
The Nexus S is n’t exactly bounce and bounds ahead of the Nexus One in its ironware . Like the Nexus One , it has a 5 - megapixel camera and is power by a 1GHz processor . It has a few key differences , however . For one , the Nexus S has an NFC chip built into it . Essentially , NFC chips can turn your phone into a form of credit card . Ideally , when you beckon your phone in front of a retail merchant ’s sensor , your purchase will immediately be placed on your news report . For a elaborated account of all that NFC can do , check outthis fuzee .
The Nexus S ’s design emphatically yield the Samsung aesthetic as much as the Nexus One does HTC ’s . That is both sound and bad . In appearance , we cerebrate the glossy , all - black Nexus S is a lot more attractive than the Nexus One . In structure , it feels a fortune flimsier and more plasticky than its HTC counterpart . Measuring 4.9 - by-2.5 - by-0.43 in thick , the speech sound is a bite larger than the Nexus One . Weighing 4.5 ounces , the Nexus S is light than its sibling .
Like the Samsung Galaxy phones ( theVibrantor theEpic 4 G ) , the Nexus S sports a 4 - in Super AMOLED video display . The display is also curve ( what Google and Samsung are calling a “ Contour Display ” ) so as to fit more well next to your face . The curvature is subtle , however .
Android 2.3, aka ‘Gingerbread’
you could ascertain in aseparate articlean encompassing discussion of Gingerbread ’s new features and updates . While the update is n’t a huge inspection and repair of the user interface , it has some very useful enhancement . Some of the most famous feature film admit the improved software package keyboard ( though we still opt Swype ) , NFC support , support for multiple cameras in the camera UI , and an overall hike in performance . Some subtle tweak throughout the interface make Android look more refined . More blacks in the menu make icons pop , and animation make the UI more accessible and playful .
Like the GSM Nexus S , the Sprint interpretation is free of carrier - added apps and bloatware — which is always nice .
Google Talk integration
Google Voice integration is limited . It simply allows Nexus S 4 GiB users to use their existing cadre number as their Google Voice number . Google Voice comes preloaded on the phone , but the preloaded translation offers no additional functions or feature than the app that any Android user can download from the Android Market .
Traditionally , when you signal up for Google Voice , you are assigned a “ Google Voice phone number ” that can be assort with any of your phones — your electric cell speech sound , your office staff phone , your home earpiece , whatever . When someone calls your Google Voice turn , the call ring on any or all of those phone .
Normally , when Google Voice users resolve they need to use their exist cell telephone set act as their Google Voice bit , they much pay a $ 20 porting fee and then establish a novel write up with a new figure for their prison cell phone . But Sprint Nexus S 4 G owners — in fact owners of any Sprint phone — can expend their subsist electric cell number as their Google Voice number . No telephone number porting - their Sprint number and their Google Voice number are the same .
Camera
The Nexus S has a 5 - megapixel photographic camera with a flash and the same resolution as the rest of the Galaxy S large number . As we ’ve mention in other Galaxy reviews , the camera quality is good , but not superb . The Nexus One also had a right , but not mind - burn out photographic camera . Colors in my indoor pellet look a scrap weakened , and mostly , photograph were more or less grainy . One feature of speech Samsung and Google overlooked is a dedicated shutter samara on the phone ’s spikelet . It is a lowly detail , but it really makes a difference when rupture photos .
The tv camera ’s substance abuser interface has a dainty variety of options that you may fine-tune to your liking . It has autofocus , macro instruction and infinity modes , four resolutions to choose from , nine scene context , three people of color modes , three quality mood , and exposure metering .
Like the Samsung Epic 4 K on Sprint , the Nexus S sports a front - confront VGA tv camera for making video telephone call or taking self - portrait . As mentioned above , Gingerbread ’s camera interface tot up support for multiple cameras .
you may shoot video recording as high as 720 - by-480 - pixels at 30 frames per second . A video we spud outdoors looked jolly good , if a bite jittery when a tight - moving object went by .
Wireless speeds
The throughput speeding performance of the sound was ordered with the speed we ’ve appraise using other Sprint 4 G ( WiMAX ) phones this twelvemonth - not terribly slow but not as fast as 4 G should be .
We take the Nexus S 4 gee to three localisation in San Francisco , and valuate the upload and download speeds of the phone each one . We measured at Church and Market , at Moscone Center and at our offices at 2ndand Bryant Street . At each location we measured connexion speeds inside the construction , and standing just outside .
For our inner measurements , the earphone clocked an average download speed of 1.4 megabits per 2nd ( mbps ) and an average upload swiftness of .3 mbps . For our external measurements , the Nexus average 2.5 mbps for download speeds and .85 mbps for upload speeds .
Bottom line
The Nexus S is a solid Android telephone made even well with Sprint ’s 4 gram data upper . With the added bonuses of Android Gingerbread , NFC supporting and a gyroscope , the Nexus S is certainly one of the best phone to get on Sprint as well . We still ca n’t aid but criticize it for its lack of expandable remembering , though . If you design on using your phone as a music player or want to take a lot of pictures with it , expandable computer storage decidedly come in ready to hand .
[ Ginny Mies is an associate editor in chief for PCWorld . Mark Sullivan is a elderly associate editor at PCWorld . ]
