Samsung Nexus Review

The good: The Samsung Nexus S has a sleek design with a brilliant display. It offers a number of usability improvements from the Gingerbread OS, and its straight Google experience will appeal to Android purists. It's a good performer, too.

The bad: The Samsung Nexus S feels rather fragile, and it lacks a memory card slot, HSPA+ support, and LED notifications. Also, we were hoping for more new features over the Nexus One.

The bottom line: The Samsung Nexus S gets points for its slick design, satisfying performance, and authentic Android user interface. But outside of the new Gingerbread OS and a faster processor, it doesn't offer as many new features as we had hoped.

It was almost a year ago that Google unveiled the HTC Nexus One to great fanfare and high expectations. As the much-anticipated "Google phone," the Nexus One took the OS in a new direction by offering a straight Android experience, a new version of Eclair (2.1), and a unique sales model that required customers to buy the phone from Google. Though it delivered on the first two promises, it was that sales model that ultimately sunk an otherwise satisfying device just six months after its birth.

At the time we weren't sure if Google would try the concept again, but Monday's release of the rumored Nexus S shows that the company is back for more. Samsung made the hardware this time around, but the similarities between the Nexus S and its predecessor go to the core of the phone. Instead of a manufacturer's custom interface, you'll find direct access to the full set of Google features--don't even think of looking for a Bing search--with no carrier-installed apps to get in the way. As we said with the Nexus One, this is a handset for Android purists.

Behind the fairly standard candy-bar design--there are few differences that we'll discuss below-- the feature set is interesting without being exciting. On the upside, the Nexus S is the first handset with Gingerbread (Android 2.3), and it offers a few improvements like a second camera, an NFC chip, and a three-axis gyroscope. Performance is promising as well, and we can't help but admire its shiny looks. Yet, even in these early days we're not completely in love. It doesn't offer that many upgrades over its predecessor, and we lament its lack of a memory card slot and support for T-Mobile's HSPA+ network.

The Nexus S is available December 16 for $529 without a contract or $199 if you're willing to stick with T-Mobile for two years. As with the Nexus One, both versions are identical and sold unlocked. And as before, the Nexus S is compatible only with T-Mobile's 3G network. Luckily, Google is pursuing a smarter, yet still limited, sales strategy. You can't buy it through T-Mobile, but the Nexus S will be sold in Best Buy stores and online.

Design

The Nexus S' candy-bar design takes many cues from its Galaxy S siblings, which puts it worlds apart from the Nexus One. It's larger (4.88 inches long by 2.48 inches wide by 0.43 inch deep) and lighter (4.55 ounces) than its ancestor, and it sports an all-black plastic skin with a very faint design on the rear face. We're a bit divided on the result, however. It's shiny and pretty, and it has a more polished profile, but the Nexus S feels fragile in the hand. The Nexus One, on the other hand, had some metal parts, which gave it a sturdier build. We're not saying the Nexus S' construction is cheap, but we'd be wary of dropping it even once on a hard surface. Also, despite a promised "antifingerprint display coating," the plastic skin and the display attract smudges like crazy.

Below the display are the four Android touch controls (menu, search, back, and home); all offer vibrating feedback when touched. Unlike with the Nexus One, you don't get a navigation trackball. Yes, the Nexus S is in good company in that regard--most of the Galaxy S series dispensed with the trackball as well--but we missed it just the same. The protruding lens on the Nexus One always made us a bit nervous, so we were glad to see that the Nexus S' lens is almost flush. It sits on the rear face next to the bright flash. The second camera lens is on the front side just above the bright display. Other exterior features consist of a thin volume rocker on the left spine and a power control on the right spine. The 3.5mm headset jack and Micro-USB port rest on the phone's bottom end. Though it's not a huge deal, we'd prefer those ports to be up top.

Display and interface

The Nexus S' display supports 16.7 million colors and 800x480 pixels. Though that's the same resolution as the Nexus One, Samsung's display offers a few advantages thanks to its Super AMOLED status (HTC's display was just AMOLED). We noticed straight away that it's distinctly sharper, with richer colors, deeper and better graphics, and a wider view angle. It's also just a bit bigger (4 inches versus 3.7 inches), and it's more visible in direct sunlight. Like the Galaxy S handsets, it holds up well in initial comparisons with the iPhone 4's ballyhooed Retina Display. We'll send it to CNET Labs for a deeper comparison over the next few days. You can adjust the brightness and the backlight time, and a proximity sensor will shut the display off when you raise it next to your ear for a conversation.

The capacitive touch interface was pleasantly responsive. As with most Android phones, you can't change the display sensitivity, but it took only a slight touch to register our commands. When using the display, haptic feedback isn't available for all commands, though you'll find it when using the numeric keypad. Five home screens are available for customization with widgets, app shortcuts, and folders. Seven home screens would be nice, but it's not a big deal. On the other hand, we suspect more users will miss the ability for LED notifications. We certainly did.

The pop-up menu on the home screen offers the usual shortcuts for wallpaper, the settings menu, display customization, search, and notifications. Gingerbread, however, adds a couple of welcome tweaks like an all-black background and a shortcut for managing apps. Along the bottom of the display you'll also find three touch controls for accessing the dial pad, the main menu, and the Web browser. And over on the far left home screen are the convenient shortcuts for activating feature like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The phone dialer features spacious keys with large numbers, though the text is a bit small.