Author: Mehdi Rais, M.D.
I recently upgraded my phone to a Nexus S 4g. I was a little hesitant to write a review without really diving into the inner workings and capabilities of this phone. Among the points that really attracted me to this phone included:
- 4g speeds on one of the fastest operating Android phones (1GHz Hummingbird processor with 16gb internal memory.)
- The ability to pair Sprint and my Google Voice accounts.
- A phone that is rated as the fastest on the market to receive updates in Android OS and one of the few phones that currently runs on the latest Android offering preloaded: Gingerbread 2.3
- The Voice Actions platform allows me to do everything I need on the phone without a keyboard, but rather voice commands.
- And finally the least advertised but most anticipated function on my end: the phone is one of the first mobile devices to incorporate Near Field Communication (NFC) into the OS.
Here are my initial thoughts:
1. The 4g speeds while spotty are extremely functional. I know Sprint has one of the largest 4g networks in the country. When I am either grinding away at my office or at home (90% of the places I normally am physically located), I flip on the WiFi and it works like a dream. This does come at a price with battery life, which I am still trying to balance.
The speed of the phone is an enormous leap ahead of the iPhone 3gs. I did not have the iPhone 4 to put through all the tests, but in a series of short tests with a friend's phone we both found the Nexus S is appreciably 'snappier' than the iPhone 4. We took a quick comparison in boot up times, app navigation, and program start up.
2. Sprint + Google Voice is a fantastic idea in theory. I love the ability to get all my voice messages transcribed and e-mailed or text to me, have different voicemails for different groups of people, be able to check and respond to any text messages or voice messages while online anywhere in the world, and the ability to filter out advertisers or spam callers much like I would filter my e-mail with spam messages.
While this is all awesome in theory, there is a lot of work to be done on this product by my friends at Google and Sprint. I found calls often didn’t get routed my way and went straight to voicemail. Text messages took hours to days to receive and send. Having said this, I am confident Google does have the resources to make this work and am confident that the bugs will get worked out. As with any new technology, I have become accustomed to expect these sort of bugs. I will utilize this service only when placing international calls (much cheaper rates through Google Voice than my service provider) or when I am located outside of the country for the time being.
If you haven't heard of Google Voice and Sprint connection, check the following video:
3. As of this writing only three phones have Android 2.3: Nexus S (the first to receive the OS), Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo, and Samsung Galaxy S2 (a phone that I am absoluting salivating to get my hands on.) Because the Nexus phone line is so intimately built under the watchful eye of Google and is one of the only Android phones without the bloat ware that comes standard with cell phone providers, it makes logical sense that the Nexus S will continue to get updated first.
4. Voice Actions is nothing short of AWESOME. It is a simple and elegant way to speak certain specific commands to get all the functionality out of your phone that you would have to do previously by typing. This is a massive leap ahead of anything Blackberry or iPhone currently offers.
- “Navigate to Post Office” brings up the navigation software and guidance to the nearest post office.
- “Text (or e-mail or call) Joe Kim” brings up my messaging application and the ability to speak that message rather than type it and send it.
- ”Google MedicineandTechnology.com” brings up my web browser and my favorite site in the search results.
I have found the speech recognition software to be remarkably accurate despite being in noisy environments. It is ideal for people on the go or those just tired of typing in on a cell phone keyboard.
5. While I have not tested Near Field Communication capabilities (NFC tags are on order through Ebay), the possibilities really make my head spin. For a given tag, I can set parameters on my phone to start or stop working. For example, I plan on putting a tag in my car and forcing my phone into “car mode” where the keyboard is disabled and all use is done through voice actions. When entering my home or work office, I will automate turning on WiFi. All of this occurs without any significant power resources as NFC does not require an immense powerload and automatically. Here is a simple instructional on setting up and using NFC for any phone device.
NFC appears to take center stage in the coming months and years in phone functionality. Just today, Google announced a new payment platform utilizing Near Field Communication coined Google Wallet. Google believes this app will make your phone your wallet through using NFC capabilities. After linking your Google Wallet to a Citi Mastercard or Google Prepaid Card, you simply tap your phone near the NFC tag at a given register and you will have automatically paid for the item(s) or service(s). I will speak more about Google Wallet soon, but for now I am giddy in anticipation of this product.
Overall, despite the shortcomings of several of its “futuristic” offerings, the phone is solid in the hand, incredibly fluid user interface, and a pleasure to deal with. I encourage you to head over to a Sprint store to give it a try.
About the author:
Mehdi Rais is a physician, medical lecturer, medical writer, and self-proclaimed “tech nerd.” When Dr. Rais isn’t honing in on his trades, he spends his time scouring publications and the web for the latest trends in technology in the medical field, new applications in Health Information Technology, and emerging legislative & regulatory changes in medicine.
Dr. Rais' interests are greatly focused in the realm of mobile computing and the use of cell phone technologies in the clinical setting. He received his Medical Doctorate from St. Christopher’s College of Medicine after spending his undergraduate years at the University of Texas at Dallas.
