Note: Recently updated from Gingerbread 2.3 to Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.
Let me start by saying that the plasticky back and supposed inferior build quality that so many reviewers complained about when this phone was first released have not been real negative factors. I have dropped the Nexus S countless times and it has not gotten so much as a scratch. Maybe it feels like cheap material, but it's practical. Also, the contour display makes this phone curvaceous and frankly, pretty sexy.
The 4-inch screen is brilliant. It's standard AMOLED fare from Samsung; nothing super special like what is on the new Galaxy Nexus. However, coming from the tiny, low-res screen of the G1, it is downright jaw-dropping. Very bright, decent ppi, and very responsive.
The camera is the real knock to this phone's overall impression. It is slow to focus, slow to take a picture, has horrible low-light performance, and has bad overall quality due to a bad sensor, a fact that Samsung and Google tried to hide by advertising the 5 MP resolution (which isn't even very notable to begin with).
The reception/call quality is excellent, even on T-Mobile.
The performance and software go hand-in-hand on this phone. With Gingerbread, there were many areas where the performance was obviously lacking and at times was frustrating. The performance of the single core processor occasionally had me annoyed that I hadn't waited about a month for one of the new dual-core phones. However, with a recent update to ICS, the performance is zippy, scrolling is buttery-smooth, and all the animations are fluid. ICS has given new life into the phone. (Note: Before ICS update, "Performance" would have gotten a 7.)
Software and updates are important considerations when getting a new phone. One of the reasons I got this phone, even with dual-core phones on the horizon was because I knew it was a Nexus phone, a pure Google experience and that it would receive updates likely before any other phone. While my friend with a Droid Charge just got updated to Gingerbread and about 35% of phones are still running Froyo, I'm flying high with ICS. (Note: Before ICS update, "Software" would have gotten an 8.)
The battery holds a charge for a normal day of medium-to-heavy use.
The Android app ecosystem improves every day, but never feels great like iOS's does. Back when I used my 1st gen iPod touch all the time, I was amazed week in and week out by the new apps flooding into the App Store. With the Android Market, even now, I feel like I find an app worth downloading an average of every other week. Developers know, after all, that the App Store is still where the big bucks are to be made. As long as the App Store offers more economic benefit, it'll be number one.
The Breakdown
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Design
7
-
Display
8
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Camera(s)
6
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Reception / call quality
8
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Performance
8
-
Software
9
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Battery life
8
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Ecosystem
7
