Nexus S Revealed: This is the Android Phone You’ve Been Waiting For

The rumored “Nexus S,” also once referred to as the “Nexus 2,” has now been officially confirmed by Google. This flagship Android device is the successor to the original “Nexus One,” the ground-breaking smartphone which featured a clean installation of the Android operating system. Like the first Nexus phone, the new Nexus S will also offer a fresh installation of Android – OS 2.3, code-named “Gingerbread” – without the accompanying software skins and pre-loaded applications carriers and OEM handset manufacturers tend to include when selling Android devices.

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However, unlike the Nexus One, Google didn’t have the phone built from scratch, but co-developed the product with Samsung, the OEM whose Galaxy S phones are among the most popular Android handsets, recently reaching 7 million shipments worldwide since their July launch.

Here Comes Gingerbread

According to the post on the official Google blog, the new version of the Android operating system, Gingerbread, has now been released alongside the Nexus S’s launch.

As reported earlier, Gingerbread delivers a number of improvements, most notably, says Google, “user interface refinements, NFC support, a new keyboard and text selection tool, Internet (VoIP/SIP) calling, improved copy/paste functionality and gyroscope sensor report.

You can see Gingerbread in action in this video.

Nexus S: The Specs

Nexus S.png The product page for the Nexus S smartphone has been launched, too, where you can learn more about the device, its features, its technical specifications and view photos and videos.

According to this page, the phone features the following:

Connectivity

Quad-band GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
Tri-band HSPA: 900, 2100, 1700
HSPA type: HSDPA (7.2Mbps) HSUPA (5.76Mbps)
Wi-Fi 802.11 n/b/g
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
Near Field Communication (NFC)
Assisted GPS (A-GPS)
microUSB 2.0

Display

4.0″ WVGA (480×800)
Contour Display with curved glass screen
Super AMOLED
235 ppi
Capacitive touch sensor
Anti-fingerprint display coating

Size and weight

63mm x 123.9mm x 10.88mm
129g

Hardware

Haptic feedback vibration
Three-axis gyroscope
Accelerometer
Digital compass
Proximity sensor
Light sensor

Processor and memory

1GHz Cortex A8 (Hummingbird) processor
16GB iNAND flash memory

Cameras and multimedia

Back-facing: 5 megapixels (2560×1920)
720 x 480 video resolution
H.264, H.263 MPEG4 video recording
Auto focus
Flash
Front-facing: VGA (640×480)
3.5mm, 4-conductor headset jack
(stereo audio plus microphone)
Earpiece and microphone
Software noise-cancellation

Battery

Talk time up to 6.7 hours on 3G
(14 hours on 2G)
Standby time up to 17.8 days on 3G
(29.7 days on 2G)
1500 mAH Lithum Ion

Software

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Android Market
Calendar
Gmail
Google Earth
Google Maps with Navigation
Google Search
Google Talk
Google Voice
Voice Actions
YouTube

How to Get It

You’ll be able to purchase the Nexus S online or at Best Buy stores/Best Buy Mobile Stores in the U.S or at the Carphone Warehouse or Best Buy retail stores in the U.K after December 16th. The phone will be available either unlocked or with a T-Mobile service plan.