Google Launches Android 2.3, Nexus S

[lomatopo]

http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-20024702-251.html

http://d.android.com/sdk/android-2.3-highlights.html

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/hello-nexus-s/10615

[lomatopo]

Here's a brief comparison between the Nexus S and the Galaxy S.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/37148/samsung-nexus-s-vs-samsung-galaxy-s

[nikster]

Anyone seen a Nexus S in Thailand? I am intrigued by the price point at $525, and the looks aren't too shabby either. Concave screen is a bad idea though...

[lomatopo]

http://www.google.com/phone/detail/nexus-s

Availability

T-Mobile (United States)

T-Mobile (United Kingdom)

Vodafone (United Kingdom)

Orange (United Kingdom)

3 (United Kingdom)

O2 (United Kingdom)

Make sure it has the 3G frequencies you need.

Nexus S on eBay

[nikster]

I was asking about availability in Thailand...

[lomatopo]

I was asking about availability in Thailand...

I think anyone with a TV brain could have figured that out? I just posted what the current availability was, so any units here would be grey-market. The 3G radio might have limited appeal for True subscribers?

[nikster]

I was asking about availability in Thailand...

I think anyone with a TV brain could have figured that out? I just posted what the current availability was, so any units here would be grey-market. The 3G radio might have limited appeal for True subscribers?

Hmm... I suppose that means I don't have a "TV brain" - whatever that may be...

I guess you misunderstood, so let me quote my original question from post #3: Anyone seen a Nexus S in Thailand?

I am capable of Googling and searching ebay, I was just wondering if anyone had seen one in Thailand, in a store, where I could actually go and check it out.

[lomatopo]

I do not believe this phone is available yet. It is supposed to be shipping before the end of this month. I'm not sure there will be any gray-market product in Thailand until well into Q1, unless someone "self-imports" a few. T-Mobile in the U.S. is supposed to offer this model ($199/2 year contract), but nothing on their website yet. Best Buy will sell a version w/o contract for $525, but I am pretty sure they do not have any in stock yet. I'll be back in the U.S. twice in Jan., and T-Mo/Best Buy's are plentiful in my area so will stop in to look at this model.

There are some decent un-boxing/hands-on videos available.

[mezzoninny]

If someone bought a Nexus One early in the year or a Galaxy S mid-year, there's probably no reason to switch to this phone, I guess? A little too incremental for an update...and the display panel doesn't appear to be actually curved either. If you know how to root/install custom ROMs then the official updates may not be terribly exciting either. And the NFC thing is read-only... why?

I just expected more is all, I like the hardware.

[NanLaew]

They are now on officially on sale today Friday in the US through Best Buy in the US.

I just ordered mine and hope that it will arrive in time for my buddy to bring over here next week.

[NanLaew]

They are now on officially on sale today Friday in the US through Best Buy in the US.

I just ordered mine and hope that it will arrive in time for my buddy to bring over here next week.

Bought, shipped and already in the Houston office so I will have a new toy for Christmas after all!

I will post on how it feels, works and compares with the Nexus One that has been flawless to-date in Thailand and other SE Asian networks. The wife already has her eyes on it!

Edited December 20, 2010 by NanLaew

[lomatopo]

They are now on officially on sale today Friday in the US through Best Buy in the US.

I just ordered mine and hope that it will arrive in time for my buddy to bring over here next week.

Bought, shipped and already in the Houston office so I will have a new toy for Christmas after all!

I will post on how it feels, works and compares with the Nexus One that has been flawless to-date in Thailand and other SE Asian networks. The wife already has her eyes on it!

Which network do you use for data in Thailand? This phone will not work with True's 3G network here in Thailand (no 850 MHz radio, but you have a Nexus One so you probably already know this), but it will work with TOT's 3G network (2100 MHz), and AIS's and of course all the 2G networks. And when you go back to the U.S. it will work on T-Mobile's 3G network.

Other than Android 2.3, which most phones can be upgraded to, this seems like a slightly less capable Galaxy S (no microSD card, but it does have a camera flash). The slightly lower price point is obviously an advantage over the Galaxy S.

[NanLaew]

They are now on officially on sale today Friday in the US through Best Buy in the US.

I just ordered mine and hope that it will arrive in time for my buddy to bring over here next week.

Bought, shipped and already in the Houston office so I will have a new toy for Christmas after all!

I will post on how it feels, works and compares with the Nexus One that has been flawless to-date in Thailand and other SE Asian networks. The wife already has her eyes on it!

Which network do you use for data in Thailand? This phone will not work with True's 3G network here in Thailand (no 850 MHz radio, but you have a Nexus One so you probably already know this), but it will work with TOT's 3G network (2100 MHz), and AIS's and of course all the 2G networks. And when you go back to the U.S. it will work on T-Mobile's 3G network.

Other than Android 2.3, which most phones can be upgraded to, this seems like a slightly less capable Galaxy S (no microSD card, but it does have a camera flash). The slightly lower price point is obviously an advantage over the Galaxy S.

AIS prepaid with the 699 baht/month unlimited internet. Yes, only 2G but more than adequate in Nakhon Nowhere. Handily jumps on the 3G networks in Vietnam and Malaysia... so I know that works and it is fast!

Google's release timing probably has more to do with the current Christmas shopper than any great technological or operational improvements. Notably this sales pitch gets the phone's in the customers hands at Best Buy's stores versus the rather strange mail order only option when they brought out the Nexus. I must admit, I have never bought online with Best Buy before but they were very fast. That means I either was one of the front of the queue, or they are geared up for the rush... or of course it could mean nobody gives a sh!t!

[lomatopo]

or of course it could mean nobody gives a sh!t!

Yes, Google did cut down a tree and nobody really heard it fall, really just a platform of Gingerbread, AFAICT. I am certain, however, that you will love the display, if the ~ 4 million Galaxy S customers are to be believed. If I were a T-Mo user resident in the U.S. I might stick with the Vibrant? In Thailand, maybe a Galaxy S or Captivate.

[NanLaew]

or of course it could mean nobody gives a sh!t!

Yes, Google did cut down a tree and nobody really heard it fall, really just a platform of Gingerbread, AFAICT. I am certain, however, that you will love the display, if the ~ 4 million Galaxy S customers are to be believed. If I were a T-Mo user resident in the U.S. I might stick with the Vibrant? In Thailand, maybe a Galaxy S or Captivate.

Yup... the display looks snazzy and as far as I can tell, things like logging on to wi-fi and the hot-spot tethering run a tad faster.

Although I bought it unlocked, it came with a US T-Mobile SIM in the box and powering on without a SIM, it gave the android boot screen and 'locked' status. But inserted my AIS SIM and after configuring the APN's, it's running fine.

Comes with a universal charger which has a single USB-style cable that can be used for direct USB connection with such devices. There's no nifty travel pouch/protector though which was a freebie with the Nexus One.

I have dropped my Nexus One a couple of times on hard surfaces and it never failed or even shows damage. Just wondering how the shiny plastic case on the Nexus-S will stand up to my next klutz attack!

[Puccini]

I wonder why Google did't call it Nexus Two, which whould have seemed the obvious choice of a name for it.

[Puccini]

Anyone seen a Nexus S in Thailand? ...

I don't know if anyone has seen a Nexus S in Thailand but I, for one, have not.

[lomatopo]

I wonder why Google did't call it Nexus Two, which whould have seemed the obvious choice of a name for it.

My best guess: it is made by Samsung and is a variant of the Galaxy S, hence the Nexus S. The Nexus One was manufactured by HTC.

[NanLaew]

Having a front-facing second camera on the Nexus-S is a nice addition.

The charging takes longer on the Nexus-S.

Ring tones are louder than on the Nexus One.

Noticed that is goes off-network at least once a day; cycle power and it finds the service again. The Nexus One never had that issue.

I like the way the display collapses to a white line and disappears when you kill the display; just like the old 405-line black & white TV sets when your turned them off! Nostalgia!

Oh yes, they have changed the power on button action so it's more like Nokia and others where you have to press and hold for a few seconds before it turns on. The Nexus One power button was a pain in the arse as it just needed the shortest of pushes to turn on which meant it would get turned back on as you stuck it back in your pocket after doing what the nice air hostess asked you to do!

Edited December 28, 2010 by NanLaew

[nikster]

I wonder why Google did't call it Nexus Two, which whould have seemed the obvious choice of a name for it.

Maybe because Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that there "never will be a Nexus 2"?

I think they don't want to raise expectations that they're now seriously into making hardware. If they made a Nexus 2, then people would expect a Nexus 3 next year etc. They'd compare it to the iPhone release schedule with one release every year.

To me it seems the Nexus series is meant to be a reference platform for Android - one of their own, that they can sell, even make some money on, but hardware-side not a serious business for Google. Their business is the software, and the software's purpose, in turn, is to display the Google search box **. The hardware is more of a "let's show everyone how an Android phone should look like" kind of thing.

** - actually - not just the search box - I think google will be looking to profit on the entire wealth of data they can gather from the users of their phones. It's the main reason I am not too excited about their "open" platform - it's just a vehicle for them to get at my data. Which is OK if they're open about it - as with Google search, and GMail, where you know upfront the price for using this "free" service is that they use my data to tailor ads.

Edited December 30, 2010 by nikster

[Crushdepth]

Apparently Samsung didn't want to be "number 2".

I think google will be looking to profit on the entire wealth of data they can gather from the users of their phones. It's the main reason I am not too excited about their "open" platform - it's just a vehicle for them to get at my data.

They weren't the first to think of that:

Apple sued over apps privacy issues, Google may be next.

I'm more concerned about what is going to happen when governments start demanding access to such data. With more stuff ending up in the cloud or passing through your phone there is endless potential for bastardry.

[NanLaew]

Oh yes, the amoled display on the Samsung Nexus is a lot brighter than the HTC Nexus.

No AIS network drops since I moved to Isaan so may have been a local phenomena. Getting better battery life if I leave wifi off and let it hand on the GPRS/EDGE whatever. On the older one, only Bluetooth ate the battery up (like most phones) but the battery is physically smaller and the charger has a lower current rating on the new one.

Reading on how the major handset makers are close to agreeing on a 'universal' charger that will fit all phones. It appears that the sub-miniature USB connector is going to be the standard hardware. However, different phones have different batteries with different charge limits so I think the new charger will be a bit more expensive if it needs additional automatic current/load sensing hardware built in.

[raro]

can we have a price tag for this phone?