5 ms·
Why do I keep coming back to the Nexus S?
- rakkhi 15y agoWow 3 android phones and still not happy. Time to try something else?
- evangineer 15y agoThe problem isn't with Android per se as the Nexus S is clearly giving him a good user experience. It's just no longer a cutting edge device and the newer devices he's tried aren't delivering a usable whole product.
- rakkhi 15y agoMaybe.. I would have been tempted to try an iOS device or even a WP7 after the second Android before going back to out-dated technology though.
- nuclear_eclipse 15y agoMaybe some of us just really like the way the Android OS works, and can't stand the limitations of iOS and WP7...
- martythemaniak 15y agoYou're not supposed to say things like that around here...
- rakkhi 15y agoFair enough. Down voted for a legitimate suggestion. HN really going downhill fast.
- jsight 15y agoI believe that both of those choices would have been even more "out-dated", though.
- zalew 15y agohis problem isn't the system.
- evangineer 15y agoUser experience matters, first and foremost. Manufacturers and carriers are ignoring this at their peril. Shipping a technologically superior uberdevice with all sorts of bells and whistles, without proper fit and finish is a failure mode.
- fierarul 15y agoThe 'advice to manufacturers' list, seems to me the equivalent of 'be more like Apple': * Don’t launch a buzzword feature until it’s more than just a buzzword. * Don’t launch a product with obvious problems, even if you plan on fixing them down the road with a patch. * Keep it simple. Favor quality over functionality. * Don’t be fooled into believing that you can’t differentiate in meaningful ways through industrial design alone. (Ha!) * Trumpet your commitment to Google’s 18-month upgrade policy at every opportunity.
- mbesto 15y ago> If you’re launching a high-end smartphone, you’re going to get a rush of power users flocking to it right away — and if the browser freezes every few minutes or the battery is inexplicably charging at a glacial pace, that’s a problem. Those power users are going to talk to each other, and they’re going to talk to their less technically-inclined friends. I disagree a little bit about point 2 in regards to it being Apple-like. The first version of the iPhone (3G) is very slow and clunky. I was just on my sister's last weekend (and I own a iP4) and couldn't believe how long it took some screens to change (in seconds, not milliseconds). How about the issues with the antenna on the 4? or how bad the service was (has been?) in NYC/SF? This is actually what I find remarkable about Apple's iPhone success. How did they get people (including myself) to deal with all of this?
- rimantas 15y ago> The first version of the iPhone (3G) is very slow and clunky. Is compared to current models. Back in 2007 it was more than OK. > How about the issues with the antenna on the 4 That was media noises, not real issues. The issue with proximity sensor was more serious than antenna-gate. > how bad the service was (has been?) in NYC/SF That's AT&T, not iPhone. > This is actually what I find remarkable about Apple's iPhone success. It was an amazing product. Look at it in context, don't compare with current situation.
- drats 15y agoI can confirm the iPhone 3G jumped the gun by a long way. I got one of the early versions that had next to no reception. In the USA some people went into stores and got replacements. Outside the USA I got fobbed off on the support line and got to pay for an expensive data plan I couldn't use for two years. That's over 1000 euros for what amounted to an ipod touch: and I don't use iTunes. As you can imagine I researched this quite a lot and I'm quite aware of Apple's other iPhone problems, and the problems they've had with various laptop models. They are well behind a number of phone and PC manufacturers in terms of hardware quality.
- iqster 15y agoOwned both the Nexus One (totally hated) and the Nexus S (not a bad phone). I agree with the overall sentiment of the post - while the Nexus S doesn't shine with respect to features, it has good enough hardware and an excellent vanilla android experience. That said, I feel Android users are always behind the curve. Case in point - I've owned my Nexus S 3G for just over four months and now there is a 4G version (promising more cat videos!). Oh, and it lacks so many features of other Android phones (the cool controllers of the Sony Ericson phone, the 3D of the LG phone,...). If I was an iPhone user, life would be simpler ... to be on the cutting edge, I just need to get the new iPhone as soon as it comes out. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes fewer choices are good because they simplify things for consumers (a good book on the topic is "Paradox of Choice").
- w1ntermute 15y ago> an excellent vanilla android experience One of the central goals of Android is to level the playing field wrt software. And in fact, if your phone is supported by CM7, I don't see why this should be an issue at all.
- MatthewPhillips 15y agoBuying an iPhone is also a choice. Choice is unavoidable.
- iqster 15y agoAgreed. I hear you have two colors to choose from these days :-p
- Supermighty 15y agoNone of those phones are for him. He's a power user who can tell the tiniest difference in user experience between Android phones. Those phones aren't for him. They never were. They're for suits, soccer moms and kids with too much money to spend. That's why there are so many different Android phones out there. One for each of us. I know he wants the dual core because it's cool. I want it for the same reason. He shouldn't be ashamed of the Nexus S, he should be proud. Here is a phone that so meets his needs he's come back to it twice.
- unreal37 15y agoI stopped reading after "I’ve been unable to find a proper replacement for a phone that launched nearly half a year ago". Dude, if you've been through 5 phones in less than half a year, you have problems not the phone. Chill out. You like this phone? Keep it.
- vito 15y agoIf you had read just a little bit after that: And while I’m well aware that half a year isn’t very long at all for a normal smartphone-owning human being, I think we can all agree that I’m not normal. And frankly, I probably wouldn’t have the job that I do if I felt comfortable about owning the same phone for six months. He reviews phones/tech for a living, of course he'll expect to go through a bunch of them.
- vln 15y agoI'm still using my original Palm Pre because I find the other mobile OSes lacking. Sadly, I'll probably make the move to Android soon since the Palm hardware is falling apart.
- keltex 15y agoLooks like wifi calling is coming: http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/t-mobile-android-wifi-calling http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/t-mobile-android-wifi-...
- technomancy 15y agoI don't get what his complaint is; the Nexus S comes with Gingerbread, which has SIP calling built-in to the OS. I use it on my Nexus One without even having a voice plan. What's the point of wifi calling when you have that?
- nuclear_eclipse 15y agoI'd be interested to see a write-up on everything you had to do to set that up. Does that allow you to both send and receive calls to standard POTS lines, and can you still use the Google Voice service with your SIP connection to handle things like text messaging, voicemail, etc?
- technomancy 15y agoI just signed up for an account with sipgate.com and added it to my Google Voice account. It's pretty trivial and is orthogonal to text messaging and voicemail. You just have to be on Gingerbread.
- nuclear_eclipse 15y agoThanks, I'll check that out.
- linuxhansl 15y agoI have a Nexus S, and I agree with the author. It seems that it is the only phone (along with the Nexus One) that you actually own. Unlocking the boot loader is explicitly allowed, which allows for arbitrary customizations. Now, I don't need HD video recording, an SD slot, or 4G.
- tocomment 15y agoI'm a powere user and about to buy an android phone. Any advice? Is 4g useful? What are some must haves? The choices are overwhelming!