Google's Nexus S, A Look At Gingerbread

MojoKid writes "Google's Nexus S smartphone has a lot of interesting features, but the one that attracts the most attention is the fact that it ships with the latest version of the Android smartphone operating system, version 2.3. Otherwise known as Gingerbread, this OS is said to be the fastest version of Android yet. In addition to Gingerbread, the Nexus S touts a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, and 16GB of internal memory. Its network performance numbers turned out to be relatively impressive as well."

Comments

Really?

[Drathus]

The phone has been out for almost three months now.

Way to be current.

Re:Really?

[Drathus]

Oh, and I've had Gingerbread (2.3.2 currently) on my first gen Droid for about a month now thanks to the folks at CyanogenMod. So even if this were a piece about the OS alone it's still horribly old news.

Re:Really?

[larry bagina]

in all fairness, they're more up-to-date than HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, and everyone else still shipping older OS versions. Hell, many will never release an OS update.

Re:Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice Slashvertisement - note the user's profile link, and the site both in-article links point to.

Re:Really?

[Drathus]

No, it hasn't.

It's been out for the Nexus One for about a week. The summary clearly says the Nexus S. Which has had Gingerbread since it launched in December.

And as I noted in my reply to my own post up there, I've been running Gingerbread on my first-gen Droid thanks to 3rd party ROM makers for about a month. So even if it's Gingerbread only, it's still not news.

Re:Really?

[Drathus]

It runs wonderfully.

Gingerbread is mostly FroYo with a few UI tweaks and some general performance tuning. Battery life on a nightly test build of CM7 is better than stable FroYo was.

The new additions to the Android codebase that came in with it (NFC, etc) aren't of use to most devices, but the rest of the changes are worth it.

Ice Cream Sandwich will be a fun one to see when that comes out.

Doesn't look fastest to me...

[Desler]

Otherwise known as Gingerbread, this OS is said to be the fastest version of Android yet.

Based on what? If 2.3 is the fastest android yet, why does the Nexus S fare as the 2nd worst in Javascript performance, fare worse than 2 Android 2.2 phones on Linpack and only narrowly edges out Android 2.1 phones in FPS on An3dBench. So unless the Nexus S is causing all these performance issues, these numbers don't anywhere at all show 2.3 to be faster in any sort of definitive way.

Crappy Colors in Gingerbread

[jmd]

I got the update last night on the nexus one. I was p*issed when it rebooted and the theme was totally different. I am not fond of a bright green LED colors on a black background. give me back my silver and gray. These colors do not work well with natural scenes in wallpaper like the golden gate bridge shot.

Re:Crappy Colors in Gingerbread

[amRadioHed]

I don't have an opinion on the green icons, I can give or take them, but the black notification bar is great. When using my phone at night I didn't like being blinded by the unnecessary white.

Re:Crappy Colors in Gingerbread

[geekoid]

Yeah, someone changing the back ground is worth getting pissed about. Sheesh, spoiled much?

Sure it's frustrating, maybe inconvenient, but pissed? please.

Re:Crappy Colors in Gingerbread

[GweeDo]

They didn't change the background, they changed the color temperatures of the AMOLED display.

How do I deprogram myself?

[Sovetskysoyuz]

I'm appalled at myself. The first thing I noticed in the summary was 'That should be "its", not "it's".

Re:How do I deprogram myself?

[ScentCone]

Why be appalled? Attention to detail and the desire to parse a writer's actual meaning aren't bad things. It means you actually understand the distinction, and that you give a damn about clear thinking and clear communication. You don't want to get rid of that.

Progress

[gTsiros]

A machine with twice the firepower of my first computer but which can't do even half of what the computer did.

yay.

Re:Progress

[Drathus]

I'm pretty sure a USB controller has more firepower than my first computer did.

Even if you limit me to my first IBM compatible my Droid still blows that out of the water, both in terms of firepower /and/ functionality.

Re:Progress

[gTsiros]

I could transcode video, compile a kernel, had an office suite, write code, etcetcet on 433MHz celeron with 128MB.

the functionality-to-specifications ratio is abysmal.

and don't get me started on what people pay for, today. A tea timer is an "app" ? I *pay* for that? For what i can do with my calculator and two lines of code? Or what my featurephone does on its own?

It's a fucking joke.

Re:Progress

[gTsiros]

And how can you differentiate between a "general purpose computer" that has an intel architecture, ram, a screen and a keyboard and a "phone" that has a more powerful cpu, more ram, a screen and a keyboard? It certainly has the horsepower, what does it do with it? ... nothing.

Re:Progress

[MozeeToby]

No one pays for simple apps. At least no one with any intelligence levels to speak of. Searching the marketplace for 'egg timer' returns dozens of free timer applications. I'm perfectly willing to admit that not having a simple timer as one of the basic apps that come with the phone seems like an oversight, but it's one that, thanks to the ability to download and instal new (and generally free) software, is easily remedied.

I'm confused why you would want to write code, edit office documents, or compile a kernel on your phone but if you insist on being able to do those things there are all kinds of apps available. DocumentsToGo lets you view, edit, and create documents right on your phone for $15, appears to have good reviews, and was found with 10s of searching the marketplace. Touchqode similarly lets you view, edit, and compile code (Java, c++, Ruby, PHP, etc) and is even free or if you want a full experience you can unlock root and simply use VI or Emacs. Why on earth you'd want to do those things with a tiny screen and touch keyboard is beyond me but they are there. I'd be shocked if there aren't apps to transcode video as well, but I think I've made my point.

Re:Progress

[gTsiros]

Phones can do everything your first computer could.

Can they, now? i mentioned 4 things i could do on my first computer that i couldn't do on my milestone. I could make a bigger list, but it would be all for naught since you're not even reading.

Re:Progress

[gotpoetry]

They play hi definition movies, take high def movies, stream live tv, give you real time driving directions beamed with coordinates down from outer fucking space, allow you to talk to people from across the world or in outer space, receive messages in text from anywhere (even outer space) when you are almost anywhere (even space), transcribe the voice messages people leave you into text you can sort of read if they speak clearly, translate spoken words and phrases into and from languages you don't speak, store 32 GB of data on a swappable chip the size of your pinky nail, identify any constellation in the heavens just by pointing the fricking thing at the star up in the sky, identify any song you are currently hearing just by letting your phone listen too... or in other words, nothing.

FFS, you read like a Neo Luddite and you need to stop.

Just. Stop.

N1a better deal

[steveblue]

While a good phone, I would suggest bang for buck - a better "best android experience" option is to buy a used Nexus One on ebay. I did so, great price; HTC honors the warranty if still time applicable ( I dropped my phone one week after getting it and they immediately sent me a new one). There is not a big spec difference with the Nexus1 and the NexusS - and if anything HTC is know for better build quality and customer service. This "cheap" solution gives you the latest and best android experience ( I have 2.3.3) that you own and can use anywhere ( no carrier crapware, wait for updates) for a good price -- you might even save money if you sell your current phone.

Still horrid for audio

[sunking2]

45ms "low latency" audio compared to the iWhichever's 10ms. Decent guitar apps are impossible with any Android. Say what you want, Apple seems to do a better job from the get go.

Re:Still horrid for audio

[GooberToo]

According to this thread, the new hardware specifications provides 10ms "low latency." The "45ms" number is the number bring thrown around to get people upset without actually knowing what that number means.

Basically, 45ms allows for the audio pipeline to already be filled, and remains filled, and perhaps (likely even) by other applications. That's hardly unreasonable. The 10ms number, AS PROVIDED BY LATEST HARDWARE SPECS, means the pipeline is available for immediate use. For dedicated applications, which largely covers the low latency audio demands of current developers, the 10ms number is what everyone actually wants, and seemingly is provided.

Meaning, existing hardware may or may not be able to satisfy real "low latency" demands, but, new hardware will.

It appears Gingerbread really does address low latency demands, however, it also appears existing hardware (drivers) are not capable of doing better. Looks like things are looking up for next gen hardware and low latency audio requirements.

To summarize, android hardware requirements define two audio latency numbers which pertain to your complaint. One is continuous audio. The second is warm audio. The first is for a continuously filled audio pipeline; seemingly from any source. The second is for an empty pipeline. The former requires 45ms. The later requires 10ms.

Re:Why installing Android 2.3? Has anyone rooted i

[AndrewNeo]

If you have a custom bootloader it's always possible to root (because it can take modified upgrade packages)

"Memory" is not Flash

[markdavis]

>"...16GB of internal memory."

No, it has 16GB of internal flash storage, not "memory". I believe it has 512MB of memory, like most high-end Android phones (Evo, DroidX, etc).