Handsets

Just How Close Was the Nexus S to Being the Nexus Two?

42

google-nexus-two-firebug

We have all read the claim that Samsung didn’t want to be “number two,” and whether that is true or not the above image suggests the name was a lot closer to sticking than what Sammy would want us to believe. That’s a look at the official Nexus S YouTube page calling for a Nexus Two domain name. Maybe it was just a placeholder while designs and branding were finalized. Who knows, but in some universe the Nexus Two would have been a reality.

[via Engadget]

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42 Comments

  1. Who

    Cares

    about what its called?!

  2. I care more about why It isn’t dual core and more importantly HSPA+ ready

  3. FIRSTGASM

  4. I thought more info would be in here but eff the Nexus S.

  5. No SD card expandability means instaFAIL! No LED indicator..majorFAIL! Plain ol FAIL!

  6. Seems to me that although this is a nice phone there’s just too much missing considering the direction of where phones are going. Obviously lacking HSPA+, no SD card slot, I’ve find any HDMI connections, and although reliable a processor, but one that will be out dated within a few months. Why would anyone drop $500 on this? Only a 5 mega pixel camera to boot. I just struggle to find who really dropped the ball on what should have been such a premier phone.

  7. Frankly, the only thing going for it is the fact that it already has gingerbread. Aside from that there is nothing about this phone that draws my attention to it :(

  8. And when the rest of us get Gingerbread, this phone will be just another face in the crowd.

  9. and why Google went for such a shitty company with such a poor track record for quality when they could have gone with anyone else (ie HTC)

  10. While it’s not necessarily important as to the name Nexus S or Nexus 2, I am relatively glad that they at least reserved themselves a little from completely tainting the Nexus name. At least they added S to put themselves in the same anti-climactic boat.

    No dual-core or even compatibility for the most up to date network are two shinning examples of how far from the bar this phone has fallen, before it has even been released. Not to mention lack of expandable memory. Heck, so much for testing and debugging “app2sd” or apps running from the SD cards in programming for developers. You’d think they would at least set up a dev phone without tying their hands.

    Its a true shame that Google didn’t opt for another groundbreaking device to be the new face of the development circle. This is like putting sails on our Navy’s newest flagship.

  11. I guess I’ll have to wait another 11 months for another Nexus phone since this one is just not good enough to replace my N1. They forget that Nexus phone are for real tech users/developers. The segment of N1 owners are not going to be impressed by a shiny new display, we’re not iphone users.

  12. they should’ve called it the “Nexus Disaster”

  13. Probably will be fastest single core till dual core comes.

  14. Maybe the Nexus Two is reserved for HTC?

    -rt

  15. All the haters are crazy. Reviews so far state that the Nexus S is significantly faster than the N1 and brings us the no-lag Android experience we have been waiting for. The N1 is almost lag free but I think the Nexus S will be close to perfect. From the sound of it having a dual core won’t do much if the NS is already blazing fast, and who even knows if Android is optimized to utilize two cores at the same time. It’s hard to say until we see a tegra 2 phone but I think I would prefer a blazing fast hummingbird NS with vanilla Android that will get all the updates firt over some bloated tegra 2 phone crippled by some manufacturers UI skin. I will own a Nexus S on December 16th as it IS a significant upgrade over the N1 I’ve owned since January 6th of last year. No brainer for me.

  16. I’m seconding mark on comment 11

  17. Nexus S is a pretty decent phone, perhaps the best right now. It may not be a huge step away from Nexus 1, but it is a better phone. Even the screen alone is a huge improvement. Can you see your Nexus 1 out in the sun? And who constantly swaps SD cards everyday, or owns a 32GB SD card? Yes, lack of notification light is a downer, but hardly a deal breaker.

  18. the reason google went with samsung is because htc dropped the ball big time with the nexus one. im on my second (the first screen cracked while charging) and this one has touch screen issues, slow to change orientation, hard to type due to touch, charge sucks, gets overly hot when used……for all it could have been the n1 was close to fail. i like the froyo and would love gingerbread but im not wasting time on another nexus. android yes. nexus NO

  19. I believe samsung was a bad choice for a nexus phone. The name nexus is what is carrying it….super AMOLED? Who cares…down with samsung. Also if you use the “FAIL” at any point in your life, you belong with samsung

  20. Hugh, you’re retarded. This phone can’t even expand beyond 16GB and isn’t even 4G. Those are two major step backs. Hell, you can get both with the MyTouch 4G for Christ’s sake. Pathetic job by Google/Samsung.

  21. #18:

    Well, I’m been called an idiot a few times but …

    My Nexus One has a 16gb card and is less than half full, not an issue for me. I can stream music to my phone etc. I don’t have hspa+ coverage in my area (like most of the country) so that is also not an issue. If hspa+ ever does show up I’m still going to increase my download speed by about 7 times. Remember the N1 and NS is still capable of up to 7MB/s download but currently can only take advantage of 1MB/s in my area. If hspa+ comes to my area I can deal with a full 7MB/s download. I doubt even with hspa+ capability any phone would hit the theoretical 21MB/s speed. The Nexus S is the best phone on the market for me, a devout Android geek that has to have the latest and greatest offerings from Google in a pure android experience. Nexus S is going to be sick.

  22. For those of you who are pretending Super AMOLED isn’t a big deal, you just don’t understand. When you’re outside and you can read without terrible difficulty – then you realise your brightness is all the way down – you’ll understand. Crank your N1 up all the way outside, and it’s about as easy to read as the NS all the way down.

    I’ve had plenty of Apple-tards walk away with their tail between their legs when they pretend their Retina display is awesome. Comparing my Epic side-by-side with the iPhone 4 is brutal to say the least.

    Complain about the SD card situation, the HSPA+ situation, the improved yet still single core processor, or the manufacturer, but when a phone becomes usable outside when it wasn’t before that’s a pretty substantial upgrade. It matters when you’re using Google Navigation, or waiting for the bus killing time, or when you get a phone call while you’re walking somewhere and it’s easy to tell who it is.

    I’ll give it to you guys on the LED indicator, that’s a nice feature to have.

  23. The biggest problem is it is on T-Mobile only… not the name.

  24. +100000 to Nexus Disaster

  25. Isnt the nexus s just a galaxy s phone with google backing? Cuz the only difference in hardware from my i9000 is the curved screen..

  26. where is HDMI, sd slot?

  27. I’m pretty sure the people crying out for a ‘dual-Core’ Phone will be the first ones to crib and curse about Battery longevity.

    I salute the ignorace of most, with their incompetent Knowledge. Samsung have some of the best Hardware out there, although their Software is at the other end of the Spectrum. Samsung have a bad track record? Compare the number of Phones released by HTC and those by Samsung. HTC Phones dying out within 8 hours. When I buy a Smartphone, I want it to be smart in every way, and that includes Battery life. If you say – you get some, you lose some; then that holds true for every other Phone out there. The Nexus S, being a “Google-branded” Phone, will be under the control of Google and NOT Samsung. The only issues with the Galaxy S I9000 are Software-related. The GPS issues were not Hardware related, it is the Variants that carry the problem.

    If you are disappointed with this Phone, go for the Nexus One, or the HTC Desire HD. After all, doesn’t it have the specifications and isn’t it receiving Gingerbread as well? I’m pretty sure the “shiny screen” won’t make a difference, as someone commented.

    Have fun :)

  28. Maybe the “2nd Generation” will be called the Nexus 2, and they wont waste the naming.

  29. yes, the nexus s might be a disappointment to most of us. but still, its only a disappointment cause we all expected it to be amazing. gingerbread cant even utilize dual core phones yet, im pretty sure thats the reason why they didnt use the Samsung orion processor like in the Samsung tab. later in the year when honeycomb releases multiple cores will be utilized. right now i see no reason we need more than one core. yeah its nice and all but really… its a phone. but it would be awesome :D

  30. Just get the G2 released a couple months ago…it’s the Nexus 1.5

  31. eh, i still think the nexus s is the best android phone in the market…

  32. the ns suck donkey d**k stick with n1, with no sd slot does this mean its not rootable?

  33. Have you guys considered the fact that the Nexus S is that much faster is because of Gingerbread? Lets wait until the N1 gets Ginger and we’ll see how fast it is.

  34. Another +1 for Marks comment #11 – This is not enough of a leap to make me ditch my N1. I expect to get Gingerbread within 48 hours of the S launch in UK.

  35. Clearly, Google threw this together last minute. Only a retarded toddler could’ve even conceived of these specs, and only if they had no more than 27 seconds to do so. Im not saying Google is a retarded toddler, im not saying google is not a retarded toddler. What Im saying is there was clearly no thought put into this device.
    This phone actually makes me angry enough through disappointment that I want to hurt puppies in the name of Android. My stock Vibrant lags and freezes like its an emphasized feature of touchwiz; this Nexus S was basically all of us tmobile customers’ big hope. It doesnt need a dual core, the SGS is super fast in theory, given decent software (i.e. vanilla w/gingerbread), even TMobiles data speed is great without hspa+, I get 5down and 2 up (the problem isnt speed its that tmobile doesnt have any coverage unless youre outside in the middle of a huge city). Hell I figured worst case scenario the Nexus S would be a Vibrant with vanilla Android. How in the shit did they decide to remove capabilities? I mean this is the successor to the Nexus One, it comes nearly a year after it and it has the SAME FUCKING CAMCORDER RESOLUTION!!!!! I think Nexus “2” would’ve been appropriate on a couple different levels. Its 2nd in capabilities to the N1 and its a piece of shit.

  36. I should, in fairness, say that I do like my Vibrant a ton as far as specs, I even like touchwiz its just that it isnt going to ever get an official update past 2.1 and the phone’s software just doesnt work so i thought the Nexus S would just be a version that didnt freeze all the damn time. I dont take disappointment well, especially when its in such stupid, stupid, easily preventable manner. I was disappointed when i got my nexus one and it was only 480 recording (revolutionary hardware they said), so this nexus S failure is mind-blowing.

  37. Don’t underestimate the screen. I have a Vibrant and I can’t get another phone without this technology. It’s like I went to the doctor and he told me I have never been seeing my whole life and he gives me glasses. This screen makes you feel like you have never really seen a good screen before. I agree that no 4g is bad and no microSD is bad, but there are enough other REALLY GREAT things about this phone that the criticism is really far too harsh. I think that the rumors ran wild and people built up this impossible phone in their head. Thus, when this was released, no one sees how good it is, they only see how it doesn’t meet the specs of the fake phone in their head.

  38. SD card slot is important to some people. Especially when you want all your pics,music,apks,etc,etc from your prior Android device. Yes you can plug in both phones into a cpu and transfer the files but thats just plain cumbersome and annoying. A simple slip of your SD card into a slot is way easier and the most important part..expandability. Some people do use their phones as a usb drive just to store and carry data so expandability is important for many.

  39. Are all these haters telling me that if you could trade in your used N1 for a new Nexus S that you wouldn’t take the trade? Of course you would, or of course you should. It’s a better phone.

  40. I agree with the first comment, who cares what it’s called when it has no SD card slot, no HSPA+ support, and what in smartphone terms can only be called an obsolete processor?? The only thing it has that the N1 doesn’t is 2.3, which presumably will be rolled out very shortly for the N1 anyway (if the Google Phone thing really means anything). Google should have stuck with HTC.

  41. Will you folks wake up? Google cannot ever put out another “blow you away” phone. The OEM’s did not like the first time they did it. But it was needed because they were just putting out crap. Google doesn’t intend for these phones to be big sellers or to have the highest specs. They are intended to be developer phones mainly.

  42. i completely agree.

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