Hasta La Gadget!

Thinking that the not-yet-announced Samsung GT-i9020T (a.k.a. Nexus S) might be delayed due to a last minute addition of a dual-core processor, as recently seen in the seemingly similar i9100? Well, it’s looking like that possibility just got a lot less likely — the GT-i9020T has now turned up yet again at the FCC, with the only changes being a pair of new Bluetooth / WiFi and GPS antennas. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be any more changes, but it does give us a bit more confidence that a GT-i9020T model will actually be released… sometime.

[Thanks, John M.]

Samsung Nexus S reappears at the FCC with a pair of new antennas originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Nov 2010 18:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That fine bastion of cellular modding prowess known as XDA-developers received some particularly savory snaps this fine Thanksgiving morn — spy shots of Samsung’s elusive Nexus S running an operating system that looks uncannily like Gingerbread, which it calls “Android version 2.3,” and sporting a new back cover that would look perfectly normal on the original Samsung Galaxy S, if not for the extra curves. XDA’s source also claims it has a 720p video camera, though other specs are still a little shaky. To be clear, this is most definitely the phone that Eric Schmidt showed us at the Web 2.0 Summit, though the rear cover looks much further along — assuming Samsung hasn’t scrapped it for a dual-core version, we wouldn’t be surprised if we saw it again in person quite soon. Hit up our source link for some shots of a green-and-black operating system running on that AMOLED screen.

[Thanks, Sid]

Nexus S poses for Mr. Blurrycam, flaunting those signature curves originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Nov 2010 01:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been fed some information by an established tipster today that paints an interesting picture of what sort of Android gear Sprint will — and won’t — be getting next. First, we’re told that the EVO Shift 4G trademark HTC recently filed for is the device known as the Knight, a downsized EVO 4G with a four-row sliding keyboard and a larger battery. Interestingly, as far as our tipster knows, the front-facing camera is off the table — but in light of all the buzz around video calling these days, we wouldn’t be surprised if it had been added back.

Perhaps more interesting, though, is some buzz around the display on the Nexus S. You might remember that we noticed it’s concave on the front during its brief reveal at the Web 2.0 summit yesterday, an extraordinarily unusual design element for a full-touch phone. Well, our tipster tells us Samsung’s been shopping this curved display technology to carriers for a while — as early as CES at the beginning of this year behind closed doors — claiming that its research showed such a design improved perceived usability over a perfectly flat display. Sprint bought the line and wanted to get a curved-display model on shelves in time for the holidays this year, but Sammy was apparently unable to deliver product in the volume it was asking for… so that’s where the Nexus S might come into play; seems the Google-branded model could be the first to ship with it. We’re unconvinced that it’d be any better, but our judgment is fully reserved until we’ve got a device in our hands — which hopefully happens sooner rather than later.

[Image via xda-developers]

Note: Commenters are pointing out that the Dell Venue Pro also has a curved display, but it’s a different situation — that’s longitudinally convex glass over a flat display. Here, it’s laterally concave — though we don’t know whether the underlying AMOLED component is curved or not.

Rumors: Samsung Nexus S using fancy curved display Sprint had to pass on, HTC EVO Shift 4G is the Knight? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google CEO Eric Schmidt showed the world the Nexus S from a distance just a little while ago, but we knew you’d want more, and so we managed to convince the man to show us the device in person just a few minutes ago. What should you know about the heir apparent to the Nexus One? Well, it’s exceptionally thin — we weren’t able to compare, but we’d say it’s at least comparable with an iPhone 4 if not slimmer still — and it’s thinner in the middle than at either end, giving it a mildly concave profile. There’s a glossy plastic bezel up front housing an AMOLED screen, a pair of discrete volume buttons on the left side, and a black plastic back (textured similarly to the BlackBerry Bold, though patchier) which seemed too roughly manufactured to be anything but a prototype. We saw the handset for all of three seconds and weren’t able to snap a single picture nor touch it for ourselves, but as Schmidt walked away he left us with one last lingering look at Gingerbread — the screen shutting off. When he pressed the power button, the image winked out like an old CRT TV, an animation which you’ll see a carbon copy of right after the break.

Continue reading The Nexus S: a closer look

The Nexus S: a closer look originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Nexus S — a Samsung-made, Gingerbread-powered, Google-branded smartphone — could be appearing at Best Buy as early as next week.

Here the clues so far, all of them leaked by Best Buy:

• A small text ad with a missing photo was posted and pulled from BestBuy.com. The text: “The Nexus S. Available only at Best Buy this holiday season.” Alt text for the image: “Nexus S for T Mobile.”
• Another briefly-seen BestBuy.com photo ad showed the Nexus S (see above) sporting the distinctive notification bar and icons of Gingerbread, the latest version of the Android operating system.
• An internal Best Buy memo showing plans for a Nexus S endcap display the week beginning November 14th.

Engadget has already managed to get photos of the device, which sports big Google and Samsung logos on the back.

Rumors about a new Samsung-made Google smartphone (called the “Nexus Two“) began circulating two weeks ago. Google stopped selling its HTC-made Nexus One in July.

Apparently the search giant is back in the smartphone game again, with a new OS, a new partner and a new retail strategy.

See Also:

• Is Samsung About to Unveil a Google Nexus Two?
• Google to Stop Selling Nexus One
• Nexus One Reaches Its End in Google Store
• Google Nexus One Sales Off to Slow Start
• Google Debuts Android-Powered Nexus One 'Superphone'
• Google Gives Searchers 'Instant Previews' of Result Pages …
• Everything You Wanted to Know About the Google Nexus One
• Android Devices Crave Google's Attention