Review: Sprint Nexus S 4G
What do you get when mix up the best pure “Google” phone experience, best Google Voice carrier support and fast 4G? Well the Nexus S 4G on Sprint of course . The Nexus S 4G sports a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 4-inch, 800 x 480 curved Super AMOLED display (aka Contour Display), 16GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear and VGA front-facing camera, and NFC (near field communication) capabilities. Much like it’s 3G brethren the Nexus S showcases the current major revision of the Android , Gingerbread (version 2.3). Gingerbread comes with a host of new features alongside some UI improvements. The big show here though is the addition of a WiMax radio bringing 4G to the party. So is the Nexus S 4G worth the wait?
Hardware
Have you seen or used a Samsung Galaxy S device? If you have you are going to immediately feel a case of deja vu, as the Nexus S does not stray far from it’s relatives design aesthetic save for the obvious addition of the “Contour Display”. Another design element is the reverse “chin” off the back side’s lower half. It’s not enough to scream on mountain tops that this is an game changing design, however, it does differentiate it from the myriad of other Galaxy S devices. The front is all screen as is expected in the slate form factor . On the left side of the phone you’ve got a volume, on the right is the power button, and along the bottom is the Micro USB and headphone jack. Mixed feelings on the headphone jack on the bottom but not anything that we would describe as being a deal breaker, although it would be a limiting factor for mounting or accessories that block the bottom of the phone. Bottom line on the build? It’s plasticky but solid.
From Left To Right: iPhone 4, Motorola Atrix 4G, and Nexus S 4G
On The Inside
So it looks like a Galaxy S and with a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU is sure acts like one as well. The Hummingbird is no slouch and has kept pace just fine. In general use thing were very fluid and rarely did we experience any slowdown. The Nexus S has 16GB of storage which is good,but, it would be even better if it could be augmented by a microsd card, however, there is no slot so 16GB is all you get. Still, the method which Gingerbread utilizes the installed flash memory is excellent, and for those of you who can live with a finite amount of space, this won’t be an issue. Besides the storage and CPU, the device rocks a Super AMOLED display at 800 x 480 which looks great although it does seem to not be completely color accurate, but is definitely on par with any of the great AMOLED displays out now. The device a ton of connectovity packed in, including CDMA/EVDO (800, 1900MHz), and WiMax (2.5GHz), WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, A-GPS, and an NFC chip you’ll be remiss to really use anywhere…. yet. Other goodies packed in include a gyroscope, accelerometer, and digital compass. Unlike the orginal Nexus One no multi-color LED to give you notifications. The camera on the Nexus S 4G is somewhat a mixed bag. While stills are pretty nice some had a tendency to look a little washed out or grainy. It’s not a deal breaker but what may be is the lack of HD video. That’s right in some weird twist there’s no HD option. The highest quality setting you can shoot is 720 x 480. Not sure who thought that cut the mustard for a cutting edge device. The front-facing camera is your typical VGA experience nothing to write home about, although we are definitely happy it’s there. Good news is that with the recent update you can now video chat with GoogleTalk so there’s now a good use for the camera besides fixing your hair.
The back of the NS4G
Calls
So all the tech in the world packed in but can it make phone calls too? Why yes, yes it can. The Nexus S sounds great and utilizing Sprint’s great network we’ve have had no issues with dropped calls and Sprint’s Google Voice integration makes this a Google Voice users mountain top experience as it’s completely and truly seamless. WiMax was fast as expected and was a joy to have active when we were in a covered area. When we weren’t WiMax covered we still saw solid downloads but not anywhere close to the speeds we were experiencing when we were on WiMax. Another big plus is in 4G areas you can browse and talk at the same time, if you’re coming from a GSM carrier this is a piece of good news and if you are a current CDMA user this is a welcome change.
Battery Life
The Nexus S 4G’s 1500mAh batteryis the same found in the T-Mobile variant and the real question is how does the WiMax affect the battery life?In heavy use we were able to squeeze a full day (5 am until 11pm) of life before we were sporting a lifeless “S”. All in all not bad considering the EVO (another 4G phone on Sprint) is famous for having an abysmal battery life. Good news is that the battery is user replaceable so if you are known for your marathon sessions away from an outlet you can pickup a second battery.
Summing It Up
Unequivocally we can say that the Nexus S 4G is THE phone to get if you are on Sprint or heading to Sprint. It’s pure Gingerbread OS is a joy to use, it’s fast, has a great screen, great download speed (on a great network) and is receiving regular updates from Google. The shortcomings of having a single-core processor and no expandable storage are easily out-shined by the rest of of what the Nexus S 4G brings in a unlimited 4G connection to a great a Google experience.
Pros:
- 4G!
- Pure Gingerbread experience
- Talk/Browse at the same time (in 4G coverage areas)
Mehs
- 4G is not ubiquitous…. yet
- Plasticky build
- lack of SD expansion