Nexus S 4G from Google

The Nexus S 4G is a pure Android smartphone.

What cell phone compares to this model? The T-Mobile G2x, which also offers a pure Android experience.

Why should I get this phone? You want a pocket-friendly pure Android 2.3 cell phone that can be used with Google Wallet and Google Talk.

In a nutshell: The Nexus S 4G for Sprint is a straightforward Android 2.3 phone that’s fast, pocket-friendly, and works with Sprint’s 4G network.

The Nexus S 4G is a standard looking Android smartphone with a 4-inch display. Although, this is a bit larger than other mid-tier smartphones it doesn’t feel too big in the hand and fits comfortably in a pocket. The touchscreen is crisp and can be viewed in some sunlight. The phone has an onboard QWERTY keyboard with predictive text, but lacks SWYPE. Still, even those with larger fingers should be able to use the keyboard with ease. We rarely suffered any mistypes or misdials.

At the base of the phone are the Android navigation keys (Back, Menu, Search, and Home). The only other buttons you’ll find on the cell phone are a power button on the right side, 3.5mm headset jack and microUSB port on the bottom, and volume keys on the left side. On the back of the phone is a 5-megapixel camera with flash. The cell phone is encased with black plastic, but it doesn’t feel like a toy in the hand.

The order of the navigation keys are a bit different than those found on other Android phones.

Testing the Nexus S 4G

Making Calls: During calls we could hear callers pretty clearly and callers said they had a similar experience on their end. Regardless of how close you hold the smartphone to your face, the “End Call” button never seems to get “accidentally” hit.

• Volume Adjustment: You can use the side buttons to adjust the volume, but we rarely needed to use them.
• Speakerphone: Call quality is decent when using this feature, however, callers could tell when we used the speakerphone.

Operating System: The smartphone comes loaded with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and sports a 1GHz processor, which makes for a fairly fast user experience. The smartphone has 16GB of internal memory so you’ll be able to store files, music, and photos out-of-the-box. That will have to be enough memory since the phone lacks that ability to add a microSD card. This is a pure Android phone, which means there are no overlays or skins to put on top of the user interface. Additionally, it only has five home screens. Many Android 2.3 phones that have additional overlays typically have seven screens. Overall, the user interface is fairly straightforward and icon friendly. At the base of the screen are three quick launch buttons for Phone, Apps, and Web. We should also note that this cell phone works with corporate e-mail accounts and corporate sync. Our only real complaint was with the GPS feature, which would randomly freeze.

• Web Navigation: Surfing the web is actually pretty fast on this cell phone via the 4G connection and over WiFi. It also shows the full web site in a single view. You can set bookmarks, and manage multiple windows. Although there is a zoom feature it didn’t always work the way we wanted.
• Social Media: The smartphone doesn’t come loaded with any particular social networking apps, but you can easily add accounts during setup or download the mobile version of apps such as Facebook and Twitter from the Android Market.

The rear-facing 5-megapixel camera takes solid pictures.

• Shutter Speed: We found the shutter speed to be acceptable and were able to capture many action shots.
• Picture Quality: We found colors to be true and details sharp.
• Photo Settings: You can control the flash, focus, white balance, set the exposure, pick the scene (Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Sunset, Party, and Candlelight), choose the resolution, and add geo tags.
• Video Features: The quality of video recorded with this Android cell phone is acceptable.

Photo taken at the camera's highest setting.

• Formats Supported: We were able to play MP3 and unprotected AAC (Apple’s audio format) music files.
• Features: Repeat, Shuffle, Playlists (create playlists on the cell phone) or create a party shuffle. You can save tunes stored in the cell phone as a ringtone.

Connectivity: The Nexus S 4G with Google works with Sprint’s 3G and 4G networks, but you can do a lot on this cell phone over a WiFi connection.

• Bluetooth: The cell phone worked seamlessly with the Motorola Roadster. Callers didn’t know we were using a Bluetooth connection. We were also able to connect the phone with a MacBook Pro and transfer contacts, pictures, and music.
• WiFi: It has 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (that’s pretty secure) and we were able to log onto available WiFi networks to surf the Web and send/receive e-mail. It just takes moments to set up if you know he WiFi network you want to use and password if needed. You can also use the phone’s 3G/4G data connection to connect your computer to the Internet.

Battery Life: We found battery life on the Nexus S 4G to be a bit better than some other Android smartphones currently available. The phone lasted about two days before needing a recharge when we used it to check e-mail, surf the web, and snap a few pictures. If you are a heavy data user you’ll likely need to charge it nightly. Additionally, battery life will vary based on the apps that are installed and running. The good news is that the phone charges fairly quickly.

The Nexus S 4G may not be the sleekest or largest Android smartphone currently available. However, it does have a few noteworthy and unique features such as the ability to use it seamlessly with a Google Talk phone number and as a virtual wallet via Google Wallet.

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