The Android operating system is constantly extending its dominance over the smartphone market, but to find out which phone reigns supreme, you’ll have to search for the newest one available. That is where the Samsung Nexus S comes in. This is a review of the new Nexus S Android smartphone, one thing to note is that this phone is made by Samsung and not HTC like the Nexus One. The Nexus S comes with the newest version of Android 2.3 called Gingerbread, which is the fastest version available at the moment. It is also equipped with a 1 GHZ Hummingbird processor, 16 GB internal storage, 512 MB RAM, 5-megapixel rear camera and VGA front camera for video or image sharing. I should also point out that the Nexus S doesn’t come with an SD slot like other models.
After turning it on and using it, I can already tell that it is much smoother than previous Android phones. All applications, including web browsing and menu tabs, are very responsive with virtually no lag. It’s as close as you can get to the responsiveness of the iPhone. They also made big improvements to the user interface and tweaked the menu a bit along with refinements to the QWERTY keyboard interface, making it easier to type, copy, and paste messages. After using the Nexus S for a while, battery life did pretty well with heavy app use, lasting almost an entire day without charging.
The case is made from a high-gloss black plastic coating and feels quite light and sleek. Samsung seems to continue using the lightweight plastic to make its phones. Nearly the entire front of the phone makes up the display and it is reportedly the first phone to feature a contour display, which is a curved glass screen that fits comfortably in the hands and on the side of the face. It’s a slight curve, so you won’t be able to tell too much of a difference.
The 4″ Super AMOLED screen is pretty impressive, you can really feel the colors coming off the screen as you use it. Aside from its faster processor and Gingerbread OS, the Nexus S doesn’t offer too many new features, but it’s a phone solid overall because it’s hands down one of the best Android phones available right now.