So I finally handled a Nexus S. This is a step up from the Nexus One, where you got to put your hand up to a Flash animation. But any Best Buy should be able to show you the S, even if the alarm cable goes off EVERY TIME YOU TOUCH IT. It’s not bad – the curve of the Contour Display is barely perceptible and Android 2.3 is the most refined and responsive version yet. The build feel is a little cheap, but that seems to be the case with almost any plastic phone these days; the iPhones and Nexus One and certain Droids have ruined me for any phone that doesn’t have some heft to it.
What struck me, though, was that you have to download and install Fring or something similar to facilitate video calling on the Nexus S – it has a front facing camera but no native video calling support. And I thought about FaceTime, and it clicked for me – Android is well engineered, but iOS is well designed, and the difference is significant. I can’t imagine Apple shipping a product with hardware in it that would require a third-party install to use at all (and don’t say Bluetooth – maybe you can’t sync over it, but Bluetooth support exists for headphones and keyboards). All in all, I think I’d still rather have the Nexus One.
But…supposedly there will be a Samsung media player at CES that is essentially the long awaited “Android Touch” – a real iPod Touch competitor, not a 7-inch tablet with 800×480 resolution or a 5-inch phone. And that would tempt me; after a couple of days in airplane mode I find it easier than ever to get by without needing the 3G data. (Being lucky enough to live in Silly Con Valley, with pervasive Wi-Fi everywhere, makes it simpler.) In fact, Google Voice is perilously close to becoming the free SMS replacement that Blackberry users fulfill with BBM, now that there’s a native GV app for the iPhone. And hell, Skype is now doing video calling on iPhone over 3G…which will make things interesting.
Meanwhile, the Kindle is doing work. It’s my sole source for the New Yorker, and all my upcoming pre-orders for books have been changed to Kindle editions instead of paper. The browser is surprisingly capable for stuff like Google Reader or Wikipedia (hint: load the mobile version of the site and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the speed) and the free 3G data is going to make this a handy thing to have. I even bought the Ocean’s 11 soundtrack from Amazon in MP3 format and dragged it onto the Kindle for nice ambient listening music. Now I just have to take “Clare de Lune” off repeat…