nexus s - 4/9 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

[Deal Alert] Unlocked Samsung Nexus S i9020T For $350 From Daily Steals

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

In a world of dual-core superphones, there is still one single-core device that manages to stand its ground: the Samsung Nexus S. Thanks to its stock Android nature, the Nexus S is still one of the best Android phones on the market, and if you're looking to pick one up off-contract, then here's the deal for you. You can grab an unlocked version of the NS for a mere $350 -- that's fifty-percent off the retail price.

Here's what $350 worth of pure Google device gets you:

4 Inch 480*800 Super AMOLED display
1GHz Hummingbird processor
512 RAM
16GB on-board storage
5MP rear camera, VGA 'round front
Stock Android 2.3.5

To avoid any confusion, it's worth mentioning that this is an unlocked GSM version of the phone that runs on T-Mobile's network, not Sprint's 4G version.

Jul

Still Waiting For The OTA? Don't Be - Update Your Sprint Nexus S 4G To Official Android 2.3.5 Manually (Build GRJ90)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), Samsung, Sprint

After 2 weeks of delays, the much anticipated Nexus S 4G update (Sprint only for now, sorry AT&T/T-Mo) to Android 2.3.5 (GRJ90) started rolling out earlier today. If you haven't gotten yours yet but want to apply it immediately to enjoy that nice boost to 4G speeds, among other things, then proceed to our instructions below - you'll be rocking the official 2.3.5 build in no time.

Instructions

Note: Make sure you're running stock Android 2.3.4, build GRJ22 (the update will likely fail if you're rooted).

Download the update file GRJ90-from-GRJ22 and rename it to update.zip (make sure it's named update.zip and not update.zip.zip if you're using Windows and have it set to hide file extensions).

Jul

Nexus S 4G Android 2.3.5 Update With WiMAX Speed Improvements Rolling Out July 25

Posted by David Ruddock in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), Sprint

Last Updated: July 26th, 2011

After a delay, Sprint has unveiled the much-awaited Android 2.3.5 update for the Nexus S 4G, and it will start rolling out Monday, July 25th. The update brings a much needed fix for bogged-down 4G speeds on the handset, which have plagued users since the phone's release.

Additionally, some Wi-Fi bugs have been exterminated, the speakerphone should sound better, and TTY support for deaf users has been added. You'll also ~~get a 4G toggle widget~~ (update: maybe not), and NFC will officially be enabled. Here's Sprint's statement on the update:

Nexus S™ 4G is getting a software update designed to improve 4G data speeds for users and provide several other updates.

Jul

PayPal Hopes To One-Up Google Wallet, Offers Smartphone-To-Smartphone Transfers Using NFC

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g)

It's been a while since the Nexus S hit the Android scene, bringing two noteworthy new features with it: Gingerbread and NFC. While the former has seen relatively wide adoption, the latter hasn't gotten much action as of yet - the closest we've come to witnessing a useful example of the technology is Google Wallet, and we have yet to find out when that will be available for public consumption.

But it appears El Goog will be far from alone in its NFC ventures, as PayPal today unveiled an NFC-enabled Android widget which will allow Nexus S users to exchange payments by simply tapping their phones together.

Jul

Psst: Google+ Android App Features NFC

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g)

While NFC has yet to be widely adopted in smartphones, that didn't stop Google from sneaking it in to the Google+ app. This mean that, when using an NFC-enabled device (read: the Nexus S/4G), you'll be able to read tags and share the contents via Google+. The functionality is quite limited right now, but this could bring big things in the future: automatically check in at a restaurant and share it with your Circles, scan tags to join a Huddle, easily find location-based relevant Sparks... the list goes on and on.

Unfortunately, the only way you can utilize this functionality is if you have a Nexus S and are part of the Google+ field trial.

Jul

Help Build Your Own Nexus S By Bouncing Balls Of Google Apps In Nexus Contraptions

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g)

We just stumbled across a new game by Google to promote the Nexus S called Nexus Contraptions - on YouTube of all places. In this game, it's your job to navigate bouncing balls of Google Apps around various obstacles and into a funnel that ultimately leads into a Nexus S.

^{Hmmm, I wonder what you win if you get the fastest time?}

I'll admit, I only played around with it for a few minutes, so I didn't get very far - but I can already tell that the levels actually get quite difficult and require some planning to successfully complete! Take a look at this screenshot from one of the earlier levels of the game:

As you may be able to tell, you control the yellow robot arm (it's stationary) and you have to use the various provided "tools" to bounce the ball around the room and land it in the red funnel in the lower right corner.

Jun

CyanogenMod 7.1 Release Candidate 1 Available Now For Most Supported Devices

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Development, Gingerbread 2.3, Tips & Tutorials

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

Rooting Explained + Top 5 Benefits Of Rooting
Top Android Apps Every Rooted User Should Know About: Part 1 (Apps 1-8),Part 2 (Apps 9-16), Part 3 (Apps 17-25)
Custom ROMs Explained And Why You Want Them
How To Flash A Custom ROM To Your Android Phone With ROM Manager + Full Backup & Restore
So You Want To Know About Bootloaders, Encryption, Signing, And Locking?

The latest version of Android's most popular custom ROM, CyanogenMod, is now available for most of the officially supported Android phones on the CyanogenMod device list.

Jun

Fring For Android Updated, Finally Supports Nexus S (2.3.4), Thunderbolt, DROID Charge, Galaxy S II, G2X

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Charge (i510), Flyer, G2x (p999), Galaxy S II, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Tips & Tutorials

So, you bought that fancy new Nexus S/DROID Charge/Galaxy S II/G2X/Flyer with a front-facing camera, and you were excited to make video calls. Then you noticed there isn't any native video chat client for Android (yet - Talk will have this integrated soon). Then you heard about fring, which is pretty cool. Then you tried to install it, only to discover it didn't work. Then you probably had a sad.

Well, frown no more - fring has been updated to support all sorts of front-facing camera-having devices (like the ones in the title, plus the HTC Flyer). The update has also included general bugfixes and improvements to audio quality, so head on over to the Market and check it out!

May

Sprint, Best Buy Now Selling Samsung Nexus S 4G - WiMAX Customers, Get Ready To Experience Stock Gingerbread

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), Samsung, Sprint

Sprint customers hungry for vanilla Gingerbread can stop holding their breaths now - the Nexus S 4G just went on sale. Sprint will charge you $199.99 for the Samsung-made device, but if you're looking for the best bargain in town, you'll want to visit Best Buy - they're selling it for just $149.99 with a new two-year contract. BB's upgrade price is still $199.99, but at least free shipping is offered by both retailers (ETA: 5/11-5/14 at Best Buy; 2-5 business days at Sprint).

As a reminder, this stock Android machine comes loaded with:

4-inch Super AMOLED Contour display with a WVGA (800x480) resolution
WiMAX connectivity
1GHz Hummingbird processor
512MB of RAM
16GB of internal memory

All in all, the handset isn't exactly a spring chicken in terms of specs, but the software is what really matters - and just like T-Mobile's version of the phone, the NS 4G delivers on that front with stock Android 2.3 and Google Voice integration.

May

[Updated 5/4/11] Don't Wait For The OTA - Update Your Nexus S To Android 2.3.4 Manually (GRI40 Or GRI54 -> GRJ22)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

Last Updated: July 26th, 2011

Wow, this didn't take long at all - the Android 2.3.4 update for the Samsung Nexus S that we were afraid would take a couple of weeks to surface, has already shown up and is ready to be flashed to your Nexus S running 2.3.3 (GRI40 or GRI54).

Just like before, manual update instructions couldn't be simpler, so why wait for your device to be updated OTA (who knows when that will happen) when you can do it all by yourself and get that Google Talk video and voice chat right here and now?

Note: If you don't have GRI40 (2.3.3) or GRI54 (also 2.3.3) and instead have GRH78 (2.3.1) or GRH78C (2.3.2), then head over here and install GRI40 first, then proceed below.