Samsung - Nexus S Mobile Phone - Black (AT&T)

I've had several smart phones, and once I switched to iPhone and the iOS before it was really called iOS, I just never looked back. I don't want to make this a iPhone vs Droid review, but it may lead that way. Several family members have all decided they don't want to pay the premium for an Apple iPhone, so most of them have an Android device. I decided with the "Free" Nexus S offer that Best Buy had in August, it was a good time to try it out. Best Buy Mobile had my phone up and running in minutes, and so I was off on a week long vacation, trying out this alien operating system. I noticed the phone was quick in response, and had a nice animated background (stock with Nexus S). My device was activated on the AT&T network and as soon as it was powered on, had me sync to my Google Account. After entering my Google Account (in this case my Gmail) it began syncing my contacts, detected that I used Google Voice, asked if I wanted Voice to act as my Voicemail provider, walked me through setting it all up. I could even make calls using my Google Voice Account (after installing a free app). The phone seemed to make and receive calls with fewer drops than my iPhone and with great quality. However, the lack of memory really started to show itself. I consider myself a power user, and sadly this phone started to run slower and slower the more apps I installed. I had them all set to USB storage (the ones that could run from it) and always killed tasks that weren't being used. I also noticed from the start that the web browser (default) wasn't very quick. Pages loaded fairly nicely, but when scrolling, or navigating, the phone seemed to stutter in response. Zooming In and Zooming Out weren't fluid on sites. Overall, the phone has a wonderful design. It has a slight curve which really does fit well against ones face when talking on the phone. It doesn't stop or hinder the function of the phone in any way. The Google integration is a huge value in and of itself. Google Voice has the ability to act as your primary Voicemail, and you get all the beauty of having Voicemails transcribed, listen to them from any internet connected device that can access Google Voice or Gmail. The ability to make custom ringtones (with another app or on PC) is always a plus. The speaker was pretty loud compared to other smart phones, never had a problem hearing people on the ear piece or on speaker. I had issues syncing Bluetooth devices, but with some playing around I was able to have it pair with my Sync enabled vehicle and enjoyed handsfree calling. I would suggest this phone to any Android loving person, but it just wasn't as fluid in use as the iPhone. Being a long time user of iOS really made me want to switch back to my iPhone 4. This phone has an ability that other Carrier tied Android phones don't have, the ability to get updates from Google, and not waiting on Carrier specific updates that load up all the bloatware. It's a great device and I recommend it to any of those out there who want the true Android experience and perhaps want to jump from Apple devices into something new. Ultimately, I decided it wasn't the best phone for me. It wasn't as fast as I would have liked, and the memory wasn't expandable like other smart phones with Android. I did return the device, not because I'm not an Android fan, but because the phone just didn't live up to my expectations for more power. With other devices being released with dual core processors, and more memory, it was just not for me.

Oops, I lost my AT&T Nexus One. I started looking for a new phone and saw the Nexus S was finally available on AT&T. And I was ready for an AT&T upgrade! Almost a no-brainer. Getting the Nexus S at BestBuy was a great experience. After using the Nexus S for almost a month, I'm loving it. Only a few issues that I'll cover below. Of course, the Nexus part of the NS is good, but no new updates in the last month are going out to the base code, so no new Nexus S updates. However, NS is still on the leading edge of Gingerbread. And it's a pure Google Android. Pros vs Nexus One - No more "out of App memory". With the N1, I was constantly below 20 mb. NS has tons of memory. - Screen is very bright, very good resolution. - Phone feels good in my hand. - Phone seems a good bit faster. Can compare side by side though. - Still no slide out keyboard - Curved screen is nice effect - WiFi seems to work great - Headphone jack is next to the USB. Works well when you have both plugged in. - Power button is ON THE SIDE! Never gets turned on by accident in my pocket. Nexus S vs my perfect phone: - The curved screen slopes off on the sides. Makes it difficult to get a screen protector unless it doesn't go completely side to side and top to bottom - There is no notification LED? Really? Saved a couple of pennies maybe? - Loses connection to AT&T? Really? Even worse than the N1? How can that be? - Don't go to Samsung's site for troubleshooting info. Everything from their people tells you to "call in so we can help you". Why have a support forum? So I posted a comment about how to fix the USB connection to my PC issue. They didn't allow it because I was too snarky. Me? Ok, probably was snarky. But I never had a post on any of the Nexus Forums rejected :-). Cons vs a perfect phone Accessories - Got a Incipio Feather wrap around case that I like. I believe it will hold up well over time. Not very bump protecting, but it does protect from most scratch events. - Got some EZ-HD Clear Screen Protectors For Samsung Nexus. These didn't lay down on the edges of the screen. Needed to be trimmed. - Got some Seidio Ultimate Screen Guard - Crystal Clear. These are almost perfectly sized and easy to apply.

I've had an iPhone 3GS for a little over two years now. While I really can't complain much about my iPhone, I thought I'd try something different and go with an Android device. Overall, I really like the Android interface and market. I like them at least as well as I like their iOS equivalents. However, the Nexus S has hardware glitches with the version of Gingerbread that came installed on mine (2.3.4). In both cases, I found reports of similar problems from other users via Google. In both cases, the problem appears to be at least one point release of Gingerbread old (i.e., they were known issues at least as long ago as 2.3.3 and were not fixed in 2.3.4): 1) The compass does not work. There's not much more to say, it doesn't point north. :-) 2) Google voice search has a mind of its own. While in the middle of doing just about anything, even just holding the phone and staring at the home screen, the phone will begin to repeatedly vibrate as Google voice search rapidly opens and closes. There are supposedly workarounds available in the Android Market, but none of the ones I tried fixed the problem. I may try another Android device in the future, but for now I returned the Nexus and am sticking with my iPhone. I do wonder if this illustrates one benefit of Apple's control of both the hardware and software ... glitches with particular handsets like this are avoided. I'm no Apple fan boy, not by any stretch, but I do want a device that's going to just work. The geek in me hates the "closed garden" of Apple, and yearns for the ability to write my own software for my own device without having to pay for a developer license. The busy adult in me wants a device that's just going to work when I need it to. So, I'm torn ... and for now, this isn't the device for me.

After 4 years of iPhone I decided to leave my apple comfort zone and venture to Android. Much research found the Nexus S met my needs in flexibility and price. First; it gets much better reception than my iPhone. I no longer drop calls when moving away from a window. I can walk about my office and am no longer tethered. Second: The phone is very light weight. Adding a case and screen protector were good suggestions from my BB person. Third; Android Market is not the same as the App store. I've added a malware program to screen out the criminal types that probably would have been banned by Apple. Apparently a $25 fee allows you to sell on the Android Market and there are no approvals by Android. Four; this is pure Google/Android software without proprietary packing from a carrier. Samsung built the phone and I really like their quality in electronics. A great display, vivid color that even makes the boot screen entertaining. I'm detoxing from iPhone, adapting to Android and I think this will be a good match.

The Nexus S with a pure Android OS is a tremendous phone and the perfect size. Not to large or too small. The amoled screen is absolutely crystal clear and one of the best I have even seen. Even the smallest text is readable. The 1Ghz processor also makes it very fast. All applications run smoothly with virtually no delays in doing anything. The touch screen is also really amazing but did take a bit to get use to how fast and reactive it is. Now, switching apps, scrolling and sizing screens is virtually effortless and instantaneous. The Nexus also has 16GB of internal storage (about 13GB was free) which is far more than I would ever use. However, it does lack an SD card slot for additional storage which some may find useful if you want to store a large amount of music or videos. I had not used an Android phone before, and it literally took about 2 minutes to review what all the icons mean. That is all that is really needed to understand Android and navigate around the system and apps. Very simple and quick and could not be easier. Overall, I highly recommend the phone and very glad I waited for it.

I really like this phone and the android operating system. Because it is a "naked" Android operating system with no built in At&T features it doesn't have some things I would think it should. For example speed dial is not an option with this phone. You can add direct dial shortcuts on your home screen, but you can't assign a speed dial on your dial pad. Sometimes the phone acts sluggish when it hasn't been turned off and back on every week or so. Anytime it acts a little slow I restart it and its fine for a while. It also has a very poor wi-fi reception. My samsung tablet can sit right next to it and show 3 or 4 bars of wi-fi and the phone will show 1-2... If I am outside my house I can't use the wi-fi to stream anything yet my samsung tablet still gets two bars.. The battery life is good as long as you don't leave something on like wi-fi or bluetooth, or worse yet google maps.. That will kill your battery in a couple hours.. Somedays the phone seems to use barely 1/4 of the battery life and others its almost dead. Of course this is by use, but it seems to change more some days than others that I use it about the same amount. I also wish there was some way to calibrate the touch. It seems to be off around the edges just a touch.. All in all I really like this phone!

I owned this phone for 3 weeks after owning an iPhone 3GS. My issues were numerous and will hopefully help someone who is considering Android. Exchange support: nearly nonexistent. Couldn't sync more than 3 days out for email. Couldn't view mail folders, couldn't move message to other folders, couldn't view calendars other than the main calendar... Cut, Copy, Paste: uses different methods in different apps. Not sure why an OS wouldn't have consistent copy and paste methods even within the included apps (email, gmail, browser) Weight of Phone: can't explain this one, but something just felt off about the weight of the phone in my hand. didn't feel natural. Also, didn't feel sturdy to me. I often felt like the phone was one wrong move from slipping out of my hand. Google Apps: they all felt like they were in beta status. Example: Music app was clunky, slow, and buggy. Because I owned a 3GS, some people are going to immediately think that I hated this phone because I am an Apple fanboy. Not the case. I pick the best product for the job and this is not the best product. I was excited about dipping my toes in Android, but was very disappointed that my over two-year old phone outperformed this phone for me and my daily tasks.

I've gone through quite a few smartphones over the years, but never one as powerful and elegant as Samsung's Nexus S. Given, it does not posses the 4G capability of the Sprint model, but nonetheless, a powerful device indeed. Of course, the day i purchased it, i unlocked and rooted it, and installing a custom ROM was surprisingly easy. Once that was accomplished, i was able to safely overclock it to 1.4ghz, easily rivaling a mid-2000's computer's specs at that point. The 512mb of RAM make multitasking a breeze, and the GPU runs games like Nova and such at wonderful FPS rates. My only qualms with the phone: The default keyboard includes a dedicated smiley button, rather large, and in the place of the traditional line break Return key. It took me a while of tinkering to replace it with such. The battery life, as expected with such a powerful phone, is a bit dismal, but watching my data consumption saves more battery than not. All in all, i love this phone, and i bet it loves me ^_^