Nexus S: What the early reviews are saying

The Nexus S is probably the most talked about Android device in the world right now and for good reason. The Nexus One changed the game for Android and paved the way for the domination that open source mobile platform is enjoying today.

In many ways the Nexus One is a legendary device and like all legends, its successor has all the work cut out to at the very least live up to the name. Does the Nexus S cut the mustard? Well for us it’s too early to tell but here are some of the early reviews from those who have received seeding units of the Nexus S compiled by the people from Android and Me.

As you’ll see, just like the Nexus one, the Nexus S is getting a mixed bag of opinions from the reviewers and that’s expected. The thing that’s left to known is if the Nexus S will change the game as much as the Nexus One did before it. That is a question that only time can answer.

In the meantime, head on over to after the jump for the review roundup.

The Good
Gizmodo: “It’s so fast. This is largely thanks to the software—after all, the processing guts are basically identical to the millions of Galaxy S phone already out there. It’s the first time Android’s felt as fast as the iPhone on modern hardware. There is no stuttering, no lag—just pure, nimble response, whether it’s popping open an app or reacting to a touch.”

Engadget: “It seems like every couple of weeks we’re saying something along the lines of “x is the best Android smartphone on the market right now.” We’d like to tell you differently when it comes to the Nexus S, but the truth is, it really is the best Android device available right now.”

TechCrunch: “The bottom line is this. If you are an iPhone user this isn’t going to make you switch. If you’re an Android user you will want this phone more than any other. If you’re currently neither, we recommend that you go with the Nexus S. It is better than the iPhone in most ways.”

PCMag: “Running the Neocore and Softweg benchmarks on the phone, I found that Gingerbread doesn’t improve raw CPU or graphics performance the way 2.2 did. But the phone scored faster than Samsung Froyo devices on the memory and file-management tasks, which is intriguing and could lead to the phone feeling faster.”

Slashgear: “Android 2.3 Gingerbread automatically pulled in our previously-downloaded apps and even restored our wallpaper when we logged in with our regular Google credentials, and we were quickly up and running. The smartphone feels speedy, certainly faster than a Galaxy S family device despite running on the same 1GHz Hummingbird processor.”

The not so good
CNET: “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.”

TechRadar: ”Don’t be fooled by all the hype though, as the Nexus S is pretty much a hopped-up Galaxy S. Sure, it’s got the fancy screen and NFC chip inside, but once the Samsung model gets beefed up to Android 2.3, there won’t be a huge amount to choose between the two.”

Phonedog: “Points off for not being an HSPA+ device. Given T-Mobile’s expansive 4G marketing campaign, one would think that Google and Samsung would want to take advantage of it. Still, the HSPA connectivity has been good thus far, with download speeds in the 2-3.5 Mbps range.”

Telegraph: “The much-touted “Near field communication”, so far, is a let down however. That’s because few people – in the UK at least – are yet using it. But as with so many Google features it could, in due course, be revolutionary: payments, transport tickets and more could – and should – all soon be based on this technology. For now, however, it’s simply a way of taking people to websites quickly.”

IntoMobile: “The Nexus One revolutionized Android phones, and while it may not be fair to expect the Nexus S to be just as revolutionary, we feel cheated that it isn’t any more exciting than the NFC feature and the new Android OS version.”

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