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The Sprint Nexus S 4G should be getting its first taste of Ice Cream Sandwich sooner than some may have expected. If an employee leak is to be considered credible, we can expect the Android 4.0 update for this device today, February 16.
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Android Developer Steven Lin might have your answer; Lin has developed/ported the Gingerbread Keyboard, Launcher, and Live Wallpaper and they are all available for download on the Android Market for free.
The Keyboard (Android 2.2 and up) is a simple multitouch keyboard with support for user dictionary, built-in dictionary, Auto correction, and speech to text. He also has downloads on the Market to download more language packs for the keyboard. The default key sizes are perfect for typing on a small phone when you don’t feel like using swipe, or just feel like browsing the internet. The developer also offers a paid version of the keyboard with custom vibration, custom key height, custom row gaps, and options to hide period and comma keys. You can get the free version here, and the paid version for $.99 here on the Android Market.
The Gingerbread Launcher(Android 2.1-2.3) is designed after the stock Gingerbread one and includes a 2D/3D app drawer, a high quality Nexus S wallpaper, and eclair 2.1 backwards compatibility (which is currently in testing). Along with the launcher you can grab the Gingerbread Live Wallpaper to complete the Gingerbread theme on your phone. The paid version on the market does not add a lot of features but really is a “donate” option so to say. You can get the free version here, and the paid version here for $.99 on the Market.
The release of the Nexus S was a big deal to the smartphone industry in the 2010 Q4 with it being the first Gingerbread device on-sale and with its fancy contoured Super Amoled display plus its NFC ability, making it a breakthrough device. Its breaking out of the mold again with the release of the white Nexus S on Vodafone in the UK. Details are still in the air but its definitely confirmed to be “coming soon” and Vodafone will be the only carrier to have the device in white.
As with most popular new devices, there’s always the desire to get the latest and greatest in a different color than the rest. The story isn’t any different for the Samsung Nexus S. This exclusive seems to come with a white battery door, while the front bezel remains the original black. Maybe a bit tacky if you ask me, but to each their own. There’s no word on if this will be only offered through a specific provider or retail store, but we can’t imagine why you wouldn’t be able to purchase the white battery door from Sammy without all the hassle of an exclusive purchase, right? More pictures below.
For those of you who haven’t had the chance to experience the Samsung Nexus S’s speed and responsiveness first hand, take my word for it when I say, “it’s fast”. Although Morfic over at XDA-Developers has taken matters into his own hands and released a kernel which allows the Nexus S to push another 200 million clock cycles bringing it up to 1.2GHz from its original 1GHz Hummingbird processor. Everything works great except that it disables the Bluetooth capabilities on the device, which is in the process of getting fixed. If you don’t mind sacrificing your Bluetooth functions and want to give it a go, then click this link to head over to XDA’s website to grab the file.
We’d be completely fibbing if we said that the launch of the Samsung Nexus S through Best Buy was an easy come, easy go process. There have been numerous reports of people not being able to activate new lines through with T-Mobile with Best Buy, and in turn not getting the contract price of the device. Having to fork out full price for the Nexus S is making customers pretty upset, and rightly so. We’re not sure why the issue exists, but some are noting that since Verizon has an exclusive deal with Best Buy, the store isn’t allowed to do new contracts for TMO customers. Others seem to have had no problems in the past until the Nexus S launch. Hopefully things get resolved for anyone having an issue, for Best Buy’s sake.
Well that didn’t take long. The new Samsung Nexus S is receiving it’s first OTA update only nearly a week after its release. The update from Google contains important bug fixes plus the latest version of Google Maps. With the upgrade being a whole whopping 1.9MB, this surely isn’t anything too spectacular. Keep an eye out for your OTA to roll through if you’re lucky enough to be using this device with 4G service.
Some grim news came to those in the UK yesterday as it was announced that the Samsung Nexus S wouldn’t be hitting stores until December 22nd. The date was pushed back due do limited supplies of the device, and now it’s even being noted that it will only be available in key stores. Some are suggesting that the device be purchased online to ensure instant shipping. Whatever route you choose, you’re still looking at a price of £430 unlocked.
If you were feeling safe about tossing your brand new Samsung Nexus S in your pocket with your car keys and spare change, you may want to think again. Samsung’s recently tweeted that the Nexus S does not have Gorilla Glass, despite previous speculations. We’re not exactly sure why Samsung didn’t roll with the brute touchscreen, but it may have something to do with requested quantities, or even an inability to manufacture the rounded design of the Nexus S’s screen. At any rate, just be sure you don’t try and show off your new Nexus S to your friends by running your keys over the screen.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB7oUptHnPc&feature=player_embedded[/video]
At first, the newly released Samsung Nexus S was the only device to sport the new Android 2.3 OS otherwise known as Gingerbread. Now thanks to supercurio over at XDA-Developers, the Samsung Galaxy S has now seen Gingerbread and seems to be running it rather smoothly. Unfortunately some functions like GPS, WiFi and Voice aren’t fully functional yet- it’s still pretty sweet to see 2.3 in action on the Galaxy S. Check out the short clip above to see it yourself.
