On the face of it, the Nexus S is simply a Samsung Galaxy S with one or two modifications. The phone is made by Samsung, and it shares almost all the features of the Galaxy S. So, it's an Android smartphone with access to 100,000 apps. It's powered by a superfast 1GHz Hummingbird processor plus a dedicated GPU and 16GB of built-in memory. It has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and 720 x 480 pixels at 30fps video recording. It has GPS with Google Maps. It has a superfast internet connection with download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps. It shares all these things with the Galaxy S. But in addition it has the latest release of Android (Gingerbread). The main camera has a flash too. So it's correct to say that the Nexus S and Galaxy S are very similar phones.
But it's also correct to say that the Nexus S is probably the best mobile phone ever released. Why? Because we described the Galaxy S as quite possibly the best phone on the market today, and that if it had a flash on its camera it would be perfect. And so we're prepared to stick our neck out and say that the Google Nexus S is (very, very nearly) the perfect phone.
Let's take a look at the operating system first. The Nexus S is the first phone to carry Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Android was already a mature OS, but Gingerbread pushes the limits of what a smartphone can be, and takes us neatly into the world of the future, i.e. 2011. Android 2.3 is faster than previous releases (most operations have no visible lag whatsoever), and the user interface has been refreshed. There's an improved keyboard with multi-touch support, making typing faster, easier and more reliable. At mobile-phones-uk we're big fans of physical keyboards, but the functionality available here might even convert us! Copying and pasting is improved, with a new text selection tool. Other new features include enhanced VoIP communication, Wi-Fi hotspot support for up to six portable devices and Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC is an emerging technology that lets your phone read data from objects with NFC chips embedded in them.
Have we mentioned that the Nexus S is fast? Let's say it again, because it really is. Gingerbread is noticeably lag-free when using the user interface, and the combination of a superfast 1GHz Hummingbird processor plus a dedicated GPU and 16GB of built-in memory makes everything run super-smoothly. This is a phone that is genuinely capable of multi-tasking, as well as seamless playback of videos, rendering of graphics-hungry web pages and game playing. In itself, this smoothness is a good reason to buy the phone. Let's also mention the battery life, because with a 1500mAh lithium ion battery, this is the best performance you can reasonably expect from a smartphone. It may not last as long as your circa-2000 Nokia, but it will easily power the phone for a heavy day's use.
One of the outstanding features that the Nexus S has in common with the Galaxy S is its Super AMOLED display. At 4 inches across and with 480 x 800 pixels, this is a brilliant screen for a smartphone. It isn't quite the biggest (see the HTC Desire HD), but the amazing clarity and brightness of Super AMOLED easily makes up for this. Tell your iPhone-brandishing friends that its screen is 30% bigger than theirs, and brighter too!
The Galaxy S has one glaring omission, and that was a flash on the camera. The Nexus S has a 5 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, plus 720 x 480 pixels video recording. It also has an additional front-facing camera that can take stills or shoot video in VGA resolution.
Other features of the Nexus S include a digital music player, assisted GPS with Google Maps 5.0 with Navigation and web browsing. The device comes pre-installed with Google apps such as Google Search, Google Maps 5.0 with Navigation (free turn-by-turn GPS voice guidance), Places (info about restaurants, places of interest, etc), Latitude, Mobile Instant, Gmail and Google Earth. Being a Google phone, the Nexus S will automatically update software over the air as it becomes available. Web browsing is fantastic and there's a YouTube app for watching videos. Facebook and Twitter are there of course, and integrate nicely with your Contacts. Just remember that this is a pure Android phone, lacking the refinements that manufacturers like Samsung and HTC layer on top of the raw operating system. But again, for many this could be its unique selling point, offering a purist experience without any baggage. You can always download an app for anything that's missing.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with enhanced data rate, micro USB and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Hey - did we mention that the Nexus S looks stunning? We were so busy being impressed by what it does, we forgot to tell you about its drop-dead looks! Whereas the first Google phone (the Nexus One) was a bit of a dog, the Nexus S is a supermodel by comparison. It has a gorgeously smooth glossy surface, with hardly any surface blemishes and a specially designed Contour Display with curved glass. The Contour Display is a gimmick for sure, but it adds to the smooth looks and tactile finish of the phone. Yes, we want to touch it, hold it, caress it. In fact we just want it, and you probably will too.
Is it the perfect phone? Well, it's not as nice in build as the iPhone 4, being slightly plasticky at the back, and it lacks a microSD card slot. But 16GB is surely enough memory? You can always find something to be picky about. The bottom line is that no phone is ever 100% perfect, but the Nexus S is so close that it deserves to be called the best.
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