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Samsung Google Nexus S (2011) has been discontinued. See the Best Mobile Phones.
3Samsung Google Nexus S

Samsung Google Nexus S (2011)

 Verified
3Samsung Google Nexus S
4.0

13 reviews

Positive vs Negative
70%15%15%
13 reviews
John
John
 

the worst mobile I ever had – the battery doesn't work more than 5 hours, always the screen locked and I can't answer the calls, the apps running very slow (I have no more than 80 apps and no games), the power and volume bottons don't work propely, so in resume... it is everything don't work right....

Suezis
Suezis2 posts
 

Love my phone! – Samsung products have also been my favourite to use as they are easy, straight forward and reliable and the Smartphones are no different. It takes excellent photos, so much so that I don't use my SLR digital camera anywhere near as much as I used to and the videos are great quality and sound. Downloading Apps is easy and there are thousands to choose from. Can't complain about anything to do with this model of phone. Reliable and easy to use

Milord
MilordACT384 posts
  Selected Review

I hate it – I've been a long advocate of smart phones since 2004 and as such when I changed over to Vodafone's release of this product from its merger with the mobile carrier "3". I was at first hesitant, but in doing so the features and the capabilities of this phone at the time was the apparent choice. There are however some issues as I have had this since… Read more

day one. I am generally a person who likes to have one device that does it all rather than buying several bits of electronic [censored word removed] having to do only one function; therefore when I bought this, I wanted GPS and having to have owned a Samsung Omnia previously; I have had issues with software. I bought a GPS program, Sygic and it is the only piece of software that works with the Android O/S especially on Samsung phones. The software plays up and the phone starts to overheat due to prolonged use. I had similar GPS software on my Dopod D810 and it never overheated, worked flawlessly despite being slow compared to today's standards.

I keep my Nexus S in relatively good condition, no scratches, cracks or damage to the phone itself; the phone lacks a micro storage slot for expandable storage even though there is only 16GB of storage to play with. The battery life as I have noticed starts from bad to really really [censored word removed]- due to the updates from Android including operating system upgrades, the software updates for any application you have installed; and the result from all of this; not just a significant decrease of battery life; but also the phone plays up as I have not been able to figure out why the hell the screen comes on without me touching it. It intermittently does this on a very regular basis.

I for one would not recommend this phone to any one with Smartphone experiences including those who want functionality, performance and high expectations. If you are upgrading from a non-smartphone to something like this, then I might recommend it. However, this phone has been out for more than a year or so; and I would expect to find that there are alternatives with probably better features and stability/robustness in mind.

The collaboration with Google and Samsung has allowed various websites while accessing them on the phone directly to load substantially faster than non-google friendly phones. I use many Samsung and Google products; but none with a mixture of both.

I watch to downloaded videos such as movie an tv trailers as well as watching via the Youtube Android application; its ok depending on the application itself for performance and features. GPS, Multitude of software applications, High build quality & design Battery Life, No Expandable Storage, Slow, average features, Intuitive keyboard is rubbish; not good for sport (touch screen is useless when it is wet from perspiration)

zedlives
zedlivesNSW25 posts
 

Big screen Android with Ice Cream Sandwich update – Many relatives have iPhone 4 & this competes head on at a much lower price. Reliable, fast & cool once you have optimised it with Apps & fine tuned the settings. Tough to get familiar with out of the box if you've never had a Samsung or Android phone before. Has Siri predecessor - Google Voice which can send messages, make calls, search for info… Read more

on the web. Also there's a free app EverFriends that does more - like read news, weather, horoscopes, tell jokes etc.

Some games are awesome & look better than same on iPhone. Fast. Big bright screen (4"). Very customisable. Not locked to specific software (like iTunes). Flexible. Amazing array of apps. Android gaining lots of support from all the big companies which makes it highly useful. A few annoying design issues - Power button to wake up/sleep is sometimes pressed when you are trying to adjust volume as it is on opposite side of phone. Charger is slow - I now use a Nokia charger to speed up charging. Not simple out of the box - needs apps & configuration. Loudspeaker is not that loud so navigation is difficult to hear.

caleb1783
caleb17833 posts
 

True Smartphone experience – This is what a smartphone should be like. Its got speed, functions and much more. Email on the go... Docs on the go... Games on the go... Its a dream come true.... fast, affordable, true android experience

Rainbowc
Rainbowc6 posts
 

Perfect Smartphone – It's light, fast and simple to use for a smart phone. Calls are clear and sharp and messaging is easy. I get 4 days out of the battery if I dont use the wifi, otherwise a full day. It's quick to charge. The basics are all there, bluetooth,google maps, email, camera, calendar, music player, facebook etc and then you can add on so many aps. I… Read more

have found that if my son has it on the iphone, I can almost always get it on android. Even some apps he can't get. I love it's simplicity and the ease with which you can navigate around anywhere and find whatever you are after. I found it much simpler than the Samsung Galaxy SII.

I do wish there was a zoom on the camera though. However, the camera takes great photos. It's inexpensive, lightweight, durable, fast, there are a lot of apps avaliable, very simple to use. the camera has no zoom.... Not a such a big deal really as I have a good digital camera for that purpose.

Jess3
Jess32 posts
  Selected Review

Average phone. Better than nothing, but I wouldn't recommend it – I have had the Nexus S for about 5 months now and I regret choosing it. The keyboard is too small, (even for my girly fingers, let alone my boyfriend's) and very temperamental - constantly typing the wrong letters with the text selector very clunky, lagging a lot and then skipping past too many letters to catch up with itself, making it really… Read more

difficult to move back to edit a word. The predictive text is also infuriatingly bad with what it assumes you are trying to write. The software is dodgy, with the phone constantly freezing and doing strange things like when I have finished a phone-call, lock the phone and then place it on the table, I notice it automatically trying to call someone (often not even the person I spoke to most recently!) and I can't cancel the call or even turn the phone off - it just has a mind of its own, which is really annoying!

but just okay at night with a flash. The camera is pretty good in natural light, The video quality is average, but the sound quality in videos is awful! Camera is okay in daylight. Charger is relatively handy with a usb cord that plugs into both the socket adapter as well as a computer. With a cover and screen protector, it seems relatively durable Pretty heavy and large, compared to similar phones. Keypad is very difficult to use (i was told at the shop that you 'quickly get the hang of it', but this hasn't been the case for me and I've always been able to get used to using new phones' keypads). Software is pretty average with endless glitches requiring me to regularly reboot in order for it to work.

LaissezFaire
LaissezFaire   

Download swiftkey from the appstore. Will get rid of all your problems in regards to the keypad. Predicts everything and learns from your mistakes!

Catherinemay
Catherinemay4 posts
 

Excellent! Great value for money! – Working in telecommunications I have the Nexus as my personal phone & find it great, great screen size, brilliant android, clear camera - All the features of a high end phone with out the steep price! value for money, reliable

nikks
nikks5 posts
 

Absolutely love it – I have had my Nexus S for a few months now and i love it! It does all the things i need it to do but didnt cost me an arm and a leg to get it. Im really impressed how durable it is too, even after my 2 year old threw it it kept on going without an issue. Definitely the best phone ive had. Fantastic value for money, durable , reliable and has a… Read more

wonderfully bright screen If i could pick anything it would be the battery life, although not enough of a concern to rate it down any.

torotoro
torotoro2 posts
 

Great android phone – Nexus S is my first android phone. Nexus S is pure Google phone which running on Gingerbread 2.3.4. What I like about Nexus S I can send and receive an email almost instantly. I also can watch videos through browser and can send text message with Voice Actions feature. The negative part about Nexus S is battery - the battery drain too fast and… Read more

it takes about 3-4 hours for full charge. Beautiful display, fasT CPU, afforable price It takes too long to charge the battery

crcheng_87
crcheng_877 posts
 

I still prefer my Galaxy SII – Look, it's not the best phone around. It's not even in the top ten! But seriously, simplicity + functionality = Good enough. Satisfies most of your needs in a phone, but not all your wants. I've practically owned it for 6 months before i got rid of it. Great second hand value btw. Currently owns a Samsung Galaxy SII, nothing can beat… Read more

that.

But if you want a less pricey phone, but useful, simpler, with great functions, this is a phone for u. Simplicity and Functionality Not fancy enough

niko87
niko87   

You cannot really compare the Galaxy 2 with the Nexus. Galaxy 2 costs $700 outright while the nexus… Read more (+1 reply)

Elmar Shar
Elmar SharNSW65 posts
  Selected Review

Good smart phone, no bloatware – I purchased my Nexus S in US before it came out in Australia. So it was almost as if I was testing it out. In the beginning it had a few software issues. The issue were fairly quickly resolved, software updates (and bug fixes) happen fast as it's a pure Android without any manufacturer addons. The screen of the phone is clear and responsive, no… Read more

issues here. It's not too large (I personally don't like the massive HTC Desire HD screen). Brightness is adjustable to preserve batter life.

As a phone for calling purposes it's fairly solid, I haven't had many dropouts. The sound is loud and clear. I think the hands free could be louder but it does the job.

Battery life at first was poor, it would barely last me a day. Although I was syncing three emails accounts.. it should last longer. It has improved a lot with the last few software updates. With 2 email syncs, WiFi and low brightness it lasts me around 30 hours.

I like the simplicity of the UI. Google Search, phone settings (GPS, Wifi, Email Sync) that can be tweaked on and off to preserve battery life, 5 screen slide interface and a phonebook/browser tab that follows you on every screen.

Native Google apps such as Gmail, Gmaps, GPlaces, Google Navigation (free GPS system) are a big win for this phone. Each and one of them seems fine tuned. This is one of the main reasons for the purchase.

The stock Android keyboard is disappointing, the buttons are long and narrow - it just doesn't match the experience of an iPhone however you can get other keyboards such as Swype (which is one of the best keyboards I've used).

The camera/video on the phone is fairly crisp however there is no zoom. Also viewing your photos takes a while to load, you need to wait at least a couple of seconds for the first picture to load in the gallery. Never used the front-face camera, seems useless.

Using it as a music player is fairly good again it's loud and clear (I don't listen to music), although i quickly got rid of Samsung stock earphones.

Some people complain about the plastic feel of the phone. I personally like it over the iPhone 4 which seems to me too rigid. The phone is light and again the size is a good balance between a mobile phone and an internet/media device. Clear phone calls, integrated Google apps, fast OS updates, screen, lots of apps. Initial software bugs, stock Android keyboard, photo loading.

rickymik
rickymik3 posts
 

Samsung Google Nexus S is Perfect – Just got this phone and it's really cool, very fast reception is also good nice function. Wifi works great too, need to get used to the navigation though. i'll give it an 8 out of 10... good look

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