Google Launches Nexus S Phone In UK and US

siliconbits writes "Google has made its second bid for a slice of the mobile phone market, with the launch of its Nexus S phone. The Samsung-built device comes less than 12 months after the launch of the firm's Nexus One, built by HTC, which failed to win over many consumers. The Nexus S will initially be launched in the UK and US, and will be available 'from the end of the month'."

The best part is...

[lowlymarine]

...it's just a re-badged Galaxy S. So those of us with GT-i9000s, Captivates, and Vibrants can basically expect every future version of Android within days of the source release. That's very good news, since last I heard Samsung had sold over 8 million Galaxy S devices so far.

Not for Consumers

[supernes]

The summary has it wrong, this phone isn't aimed at average consumers at all and is by no means a "bid for a slice of the market". It's reference hardware that will support the latest Google-branded builds of Android over the next year or so, so that developers can test their applications. The inclusion of technologies such as NFC and a gyroscope is what probably necessitates a hardware revision besides the usual software update (that's available for the N1 as well).

Oh, and it's basically a rebranding of a phone that Samsung will sell on their own, and is guaranteed to sell more than Google is going to move through its distribution channels. The difference is again that Samsung phones will be subject to the will of the carriers as to if and when they'll get the latest updates.http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/12/06/1629239/Google-Launches-Nexus-S-Phone-In-UK-and-US#

In reality, not a whole lot...

[rehtonAesoohC]

Maybe this is a Gingerbread gripe moreso than a Nexus S gripe, but there aren't that many great features added.

No phones have an NFC chip at all, so uh... thanks? Also, the Nexus S isn't geared towards gaining consumers, I think it's more geared towards developers. The big things that are great are:

1) Text Selection (FINALLY!)
2) VoIP and SIP stack (yeahhhhhh! Incoming video chat apps)
3) New dalvik improvements for speed.

Everything else is fluff.

Re:KEYBOARD

[sexconker]

For me, SlideIT has completely replaced the hard keyboard on my milestone. Try it, you won't go back.

Then you are a terrible person.
Physical keyboards are simply superior.
Hell, even if you claim you're as fast with a software keyboard as with a hardware keyboard (lies), the mere fact that a hardware keyboard doesn't cover have the screen is reason enough to use it.

(I'm talking about slide-out keyboards. Hardware keyboards that cover half of the face of the phone do screw you over by requiring a physically smaller screen, but you get the added benefit of one-handed use, providing you have an opposable thumb.)

Re:The best part is...

[Zebedeu]

...it's just a re-badged Galaxy S. So those of us with GT-i9000s, Captivates, and Vibrants can basically expect every future version of Android within days of the source release.

Ahah!
Oh, you were serious.

Look, it's Samsung. Don't expect any updates on time. In fact, don't expect any updates at all and you'll live happier.

That's very good news, since last I heard Samsung had sold over 8 million Galaxy S devices so far.

Yes, and they're already sold, meaning they already got your money and now they'd rather you buy the next one on the line.

I feel your pain. I bought the original Galaxy. It had one very late update to 1.6 when everyone else was upgrading to 2.1.
Your best bet is to either get a phone which somehow gathered community support around it, or get one of the Google supported "Nexus" devices.

I'm probably getting this one someday, it just pains me to be giving money to Samsung.