I recently updated the Nexus S to Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.3). Vodafone was taking their time rolling out the update, so I just manually updated. As you can see, the phone is now more blue than green. See my earlier post if you’d like to know more about the home screen.
On the left you see my home screen from August. On the right you see the updated September home screen. Both are using GO Launcher EX, Beautiful Widgets and SwitchPro. I added Minimalistic Text for September.
While the September update is much cleaner and simpler, it still shows all of the information from the former screen with the exception of the weather, which is accessible by tapping on the time or date.
Thinking of moving from iOS to Android? As promised, here are some observations from a long-time iOS user:
Google Android
| What's to Like | What's Not |
|---|---|
| Highly Customizable: custom launchers (LauncherPro, Go Launcher EX), widgets (Beautiful Widgets) | Web Browsing: the included web browser is slow and difficult to use- Safari on iOS is far superior |
| Fast UI: not quite as 'snappy' as iOS, but very nice | Folders: ugly and simplistic, iOS has a far better implementation |
| Notifications: very well executed, in stark contrast to the terrible notifications in iOS | No Screenshots: yes, the SDK has this ability, but it isn't exactly convenient |
| Market/App Store: Android Market works well, and along with OTA installs it makes the Apple App Store look clumsy |
Since we’re on the subject, here are my thoughts on the Nexus S. Also, if you look closely at the above photo (aka Android screenshot), you’ll see a Rearth Ringke case. This is a great case, and I can highly recommend it. The case is well made with a nice texture, accurate cut-outs and fits snuggly on the phone.
Google Nexus S
| What's to Like | What's Not |
|---|---|
| Screen: clear, bright and responsive | Screen: scratches very easily (more on this later...) |
| Audio: good call quality and speakerphone | Size: too big (larger than iPhone) |
| Speed: overall, the Nexus S feels fast and never seems underpowered | WiFi: weak WiFi reception |
| Cameras: the still and video quality is nice, for a phone | Battery: poor battery life- it generally lasts a day, a few more days would be preferable |
| Powering Off: neat screen effect- think old CRT TV | Indicator LED: this is perhaps the only feature I miss from the Blackberry |
| Buttons: power and volume buttons poorly placed |
