Google announced the Nexus S, complete with Android 2.3, and TechRadar managed to bag some quality time with new handset everyone is talking about.
The sample we saw wasn't quite finished on the hardware or software front - the camera failed to boot for instance - but nearly everything else was up and running for us to put together our in depth preview of the Google Nexus S.
Google Nexus S: Overview
The Nexus S is more than a handset - it's a state of mind (if you believe the way Google is describing it).
It's being called 'Pure Google', which is a way for the search giant to distance itself from the kerfuffle surrounding the delays perceived by network-issued updates.
But in reality, the second you pick up the phone you realise it's leaning very heavily on the design aesthetic from the Samsung Galaxy S.
Only a shade heavier at 129g, the Google Nexus S feels light in the hand and with that lacks the 'premium' feel the iPhone 4 and HTC Desire HD both bring through their metallic chassis.
The curved nature of the frame is nice though - not only does it sit well in the hand (with the small lip at the bottom helping it fit correctly, the same as on the Galaxy S) but the curved front screen felt nice when pressed to the face.
We're not going to claim it's earth shattering or anything - it's still clearly more of a marketing USP than a desperately needed feature, but it does look different.
The headphone socket is at the bottom of the phone, rather than the top, next to the microUSB slot - we're not big fans of that, as it feels weird taking it out of the pocket that way. But some people love it, and there seems to be a definite trend of phones moving towards that design (the HTC Desire HD for example).
The touch sensitive keys at the bottom of the four inch screen have some nicely strong haptics underneath them - a brief touch will be met with a solid confirmation buzz.
But as you can see, they can become ever so slightly scratched - we hope this is corrected for the final release hardware.
One thing we're very disappointed with Samsung and Google about on the Nexus S - no external microSD expansion. Yes, 16GB of internal storage is good, but we want to be able to transfer stuff across without using a PC, or add in extra video storage space as and when we want it.
As we've already heard about 27,000 times, the Google Nexus S is rocking Gingerbread (or Android 2.3). What does this mean in terms of an update? Not that much, if we're honest.
It's especially true when it comes to the Nexus S, which is more ready for future technology than anything else.
We'll deal with the headline technologies first - the near field communication (NFC) technology was demonstrated to us at Google HQ using a sticker with information built right in.
It worked instantly, taking us to information on a landmark in London, and in the future can be used to stream trailers, pictures and text. It's all very theoretical at the moment as it requires others to get on board - and we're miles away from being able to use our phone as an Oyster Card.
Google told us that the Nexus S can't write information via NFC yet, meaning it will only be useful for reading info from smart-enabled objects, and that's not as exciting when you realise a QR code can do pretty much the same thing.
Wi-Fi calling has also been added through the SIP protocol - don't worry, we had to look it up as well.
It's designed to allow VoIP calling from your phone, but it seems that you'll have to sign up with a relatively unknown brand to enable this feature, as the likes of Skype don't support the standard.
This is more annoying when you realise the Maemo-powered Nokia N900 managed the same feat last year, allowing easy VoIP calling - so perhaps this is something that may be fixed in future updates.
Another feature of the new Android 2.3 operating system is an improved efficiency around power management. This is achieved by Android keeping an eye on which applications are running in the background and shutting them down if they step out of line.
Obviously we couldn't test whether this had any noticeable effect on battery life, but one thing that was in evidence was the slick processing speeds. Given the Google Nexus S is also rocking a Samsung 1GHz Hummingbird processor in the background (which offers up some fantastic speeds) we weren't surprised to see a lack of judder in this early sample.
Other than the new improvements, there's not a lot more to talk about in the new Android OS.
The user interface has been tweaked slightly - things like a black and green notifications bar are a nice touch, as are menus that 'bleed' into the main display - but overall it's nothing special.
We're still treated to the cool 3D scrolling menus, which the dedicated GPU handles with veritable aplomb, and five home screens aren't that much to write home about.
Sadly we weren't privy to seeing how the contacts menu worked, as there were no buddies loaded up in our test unit - however, we're told it's not too dissimilar to that from Android 2.2.
This could be something that the Nexus S falls down on, as the like of HTC have managed to create a really compelling social network contact integration solution while the standard Android offering is a bit, well, standard.
However, it will allow VoIP calling as standard for enabled accounts, so that will be a decent upgrade, and the traditional Facebook, Exchange, Google etc integration will still be on offer.
Messaging - in particular the upgraded keyboard - was more impressive, and certainly does allow for better and more responsive typing.
Some reviews have put the new Android keyboard far behind the iPhone's in terms of overall accuracy, but we reckon it's on a par, despite the deceptively small keys.
We managed around 95%+ accuracy at full typing speed from the off, and we don't reckon that it would take too much longer to be as good as the iPhone typists within a couple of days' use.
One little tweak we liked: holding down the symbol key opened up the numbers on the top to tap - releasing it jumped back to the letters. This is a really good use of multi-touch, and one we're impressed with.
One thing we didn't like though - there's still no comma on the main keyboard, meaning you have to go through the symbols menu to open it up. Why, we don't know, but it's an essential symbol and the omission is noticeable.
Copy and paste now comes with easier to grab start and end points, but all this is a little moot when you consider HTC has managed to implement an excellent keyboard and well-worked copy and paste for ages now.
So with Gingerbread, it seems Android is finally catching up with Android, and that can only be a good thing.
We had a thorough play around with internet browser on the Google Nexus S, and it clocked in the same impressive performance as most of the other top-level Android handsets out there at the moment.
However, there was still an element of juddering in scrolling around a loading page, and even when the text and images had fully loaded, it was still a little laggy at times. Ever so slightly, but the iPhone manages to be smooth nearly all the time, and that's where we want Android to get to.
The same can be said for text reflow (where the words re-jig to fit the screen). This is in effect on the Nexus S, but you need to tap the screen once zoomed in to make it work.
And sometimes you only need to tap once; other times you have to hit it a few times. It's probably something that's going to be ironed out, but it's eerily reminiscent of the same system on the Galaxy S, so it could be an unwanted guest in the Nexus S internet browser.
Flash video seemed to load quickly enough, although we didn't manage to run through our usual hard hitting list of websites to check it completely - although full-screen Flash video worked.
Similarly, HTML5 YouTube was in effect, although this jumped out to the (admittedly full-featured) YouTube application every time a video was started.
Google Nexus S: Battery
As we mentioned, the Google Nexus S we played with wasn't in our hands nearly long enough to draw any conclusions on battery life - plus it was on charge anyway as optimisation wasn't complete yet (although FYI - the battery meter has turned 90 degrees to be resting on its base, rather than sideways on. We know. Earthshattering).
Google is quoting talk time of up to 6.7 hours on 3G connections (14 hours on 2G) and nearly 18 days of standby time in 3G mode, which moves up to nearly a month on 2G signal.
We're going to go out on a limb and say that you won't be getting that long from your phone in normal use, despite the 1500mAh battery... although we're willing to be proved wrong.
Google Nexus S: Maps
Good news everybody! The Google Nexus S is compatible with the newest version of Google Maps thanks to the integrated GPU.
This means vector graphics and 3D imaging to make you really feel like you're in the picture. This will mean 3D versions of 300 cities and gesture controls that allow you to swipe or move the phone to reposition the map.
There will also be offline mode - although a connection will be needed to re-jig your planned journey.
Car mode is also included with the now-normal line up of Google Maps Navigation, so the large four inch screen will be decent for using the Google Nexus S as a dedicated sat-nav.
Google Nexus S: Apps
The Google Nexus S comes complete with a wide range of applications out of the box, including an enhanced download centre, Google Earth and the aforementioned Google Maps Navigation.
Google Earth simply sped along with the integrated GPU, and found our location and resized the images very quickly indeed, even indoors (although it had the Wi-Fi connection to fix onto in order to locate our position).
Spinning through the application was easy as well, and really feels like a next-generation piece of kit when doing so - it will be something to show off to your friends down the pub, assuming they haven't already seen the same thing on the iPhone, of course.
The Tags application was cool too, as it kept a history of everything you've scanned on the NFC chip and also let you bookmark your favourites. So if a tequila model comes past and offers to let you scan their T-Shirt for a voucher, you won't have to keep doing it multiple times if you lose it... wait, that doesn't sound like an advantage.
Google has also included a menu option to help you manage applications from the home screen, where you can click in and see what's running, what's installed and whether there's some boring application you want to jettison.
This is in addition to the Android 2.3 upgrade that sees closer application monitoring, so we should see a more sleek app system coming to our phones in the future.
Google Nexus S: UK release date
If you're looking at this launch and thinking that it will be aeons until you can get your hands on this new super phone, we have good news.
Google has given the Nexus S a 'pre-Christmas' UK release date through The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy UK, so you'll be able to get your hands on one from 20 December according to Samsung - best get your Mum to take back that Commodore 64 or Raleigh Chopper (that's what today's kids like, right?) you asked for and pick up this instead.
Google Nexus S: UK pricing
The Google Nexus S doesn't look like it's going to be a cheap device, though ? we're looking at a 16GB unit costing �549.95 SIM free.
It will be a slightly less wallet-destroying �35 per month (with a free phone), but that will on a two year deal, so make sure you've had a decent play (and waited for our full Google Nexus S review) before you think about a purchase.
But the price should be put into context next to some of the other high-cost phones on the market: the iPhone 4 costs roughly the same SIM Free for the same storage (around �50 cheaper) but will still cost you �119 when buying on contract, showing how much more Apple's devices hit your pocket.
We've always been impressed by the trajectory of Android, and with each passing iteration it's got closer to being a bit less for the hackers and more for the mainstream (although its open source ethos has remained).
The Google Nexus S is designed to be the device that showcases the power of Android 2.3 and comes without the constraints of network upgrade delays - if Google updates something, the Nexus S community will be the first to know.
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.
We liked
The Google Nexus S looks like it will be among the best Android phones on the market, and that's certainly a theory supported by the super slick operation under the finger.
The NFC operation looks cool, and while it's mostly there for show at the moment, we can see it being a really useful feature. If the Nexus S helps fuel the popularity of the tech, then that's definitely a good thing.
The keyboard has definitely been upgraded, with the accuracy much higher, and the copy and paste tab improvements are welcome.
The Super AMOLED screen is back and in full effect once more - it's crisp, clear and offers some stunning contrast ratios.
We disliked
The lack of a comma on the keyboard might sound like a little issue, but to us, it's massive and could quickly get annoying.
The text wrapping on the internet browser was hard to get right too (although that could be simply due to the early software build, so we'll wait for judgement on that).
The price is ridiculously high for the average gadget lover - sure, it has come neat features but we reckon that slightly curved display added a few quid to the cost of manufacture, and had it been flat the world would have simultaneously wept.
Early verdict
We didn't have a chance to play with all the features on the Google Nexus S, so it's impossible to give any kind of indication on whether this will be a phone we would recommend or not.
Things like the noise cancelling microphone, the voice control, the music and video player, the 5MP camera (thankfully with a single LED flash) were all unavailable for test, and could be big benefits or hindrances to the Google Nexus S.
However, if you're into Android and looking for a new phone, there's very little to find fault with here. The UI is quick to understand and slick under the finger, and while it lacks the simplicity of the iPhone 4, it is very much its equal with things like upgraded widgets on offer.
We'll be bringing you our full Google Nexus S review in the next week or two once we've tested it for a good few days - if we can get over the price tag (and that's something iPhone users manage to do without batting an eyelid) then we're very excited about the launch of the Nexus S.
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