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Hands-on with the Nexus S running Ice Cream Sandwich (Video)

By on December 24, 2011 at 10:35am in Mobile News

We took you on a blast from the past with our Revisited: Nexus S article last weekend, and now we’re looking to the future. Hours after writing that article, the official build of Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich was released for the eponymous Nexus device, and we promptly loaded it up on our demo device.

Compared to early CyanogenMOD9 Alpha builds, which were ported from the Android 4.0.1 image for the Galaxy Nexus, we’re in a whole new world. While there are the occasional hiccups and slowdowns, we have had nothing but smooth sailing, both in brand new Google apps and existing third-party apps. We’ll admit to missing the sharp HD display and permanent multitasking buttons from the GNex, but the 4-inch form factor still wins us over every time.

A quick note: the official release is currently only being seeded to AWS variants of the Nexus S. While the software itself is compatible with UMTS devices for Rogers, Bell and Telus the radio has not yet been optimized. As a result, we are using the latest compatible Gingerbread radio with no apparent issues. We are also using a custom kernel that is optimized for this particular device. Everything else is stock Ice Cream Sandwich. And though the rollout of the update has temporarily ceased, we experienced none of the battery life problems described by some other users.

Related posts:

  1. Revisited: Nexus S running Ice Cream Sandwich
  2. (Mostly) working Ice Cream Sandwich port available for Nexus S
  3. Nexus One not getting Ice Cream Sandwich update, Nexus S coming “within weeks”
  4. Google employees with Nexus S start receiving Ice Cream Sandwich update

Discussion

32 comments for “Hands-on with the Nexus S running Ice Cream Sandwich (Video)”

  1. Good xmas present! Happy holidays everyone!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Whitney Young | December 24, 2011, 10:57 am
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  2. Hey I’m running CM9 Alfa 17…could you give us point us to the step by step guide to get this on a Rogers Nexus S? (where to get the right radio etc etc)

    Thanks

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Pitrick | December 24, 2011, 11:16 am
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  3. I just got 4.0.3 on my galaxy s, it’s pretty sweet. now i need a port for the S2

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1

    Posted by Graison Swaan | December 24, 2011, 11:21 am
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  4. Good video. I am very much considering porting over to WIND to get this device for $0 on their WINDtab+ and the amazing Holiday Miracle Plan, even if it means a $120 buyout from Rogers.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Milpool | December 24, 2011, 12:17 pm
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  5. Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 69

    Posted by techq | December 24, 2011, 12:25 pm
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  6. Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 35

    Posted by DRL | December 24, 2011, 12:47 pm
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  7. @techq the Nexus S is available on Wind. The Galaxy Nexus is only available on Bell and Virgin (for the remainder of 2011.)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 30 Thumb down 0

    Posted by hello | December 24, 2011, 12:49 pm
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  8. Are you sure there’s no battery problem because even tho my phone is off (Not phone but screen), the ICS OS drain my battery like crazy.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 8

    Posted by Jim | December 24, 2011, 1:28 pm
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  9. It is nice to read this, but i got this phone for official updates and no carrier/company bloatware, and i was getting tired of wiping/flashing/re-downloading all the time with my milestone, even before it died. Hopefully the official release has the bugs worked out before they release it for the i9020a. Otherwise i can wait as gingerbread 2.3.6 has worked wonderfully so far :-) .

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0

    Posted by monsterduc1000 | December 24, 2011, 2:03 pm
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    • Agreed. ICS seem really nice, and a good OS but gingerbread is still pretty good. And i must admit that i will miss the gigner bread App menu ( the up and down scrolling cube i love the look of it) and the working MENU button, personaly i thing it one the the big mistake of google to scrap it, it was so easy to acces option and menu of the OS and app. But ICS is still pack with better feature and tweak.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0

      Posted by Fred | December 24, 2011, 3:33 pm

  10. I am with fido and I want ICS badly can you please tell me how can I get it.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 7

    Posted by Moe | December 24, 2011, 2:08 pm
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    • Ooh… Kaay… I’ll bite… you’re with Fido… and want ICS installed on your phone… which phone do you have?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1

      Posted by KnightFire | December 24, 2011, 3:41 pm

  11. @Jim, I’m getting well over 1 day of battery life now with moderate use. Heavy usage easily lasts a day and has about 30% left over.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Anthony E. | December 24, 2011, 2:29 pm
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  12. “While there are the occasional hiccups and slowdowns, we have had nothing but smooth sailing”

    Isn’t that a contradiction? I’m confused.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 2

    Posted by Geeforson | December 24, 2011, 2:58 pm
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  13. I updated the aws version of the nexus s(on wind) and I have not had any battery drain issues at all. The battery life is very comparable to gingerbread, for me at least.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1

    Posted by salem | December 24, 2011, 3:20 pm
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  14. I’m hoping launcherpro or go launcher keep that app drawer :-)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0

    Posted by monsterduc1000 | December 24, 2011, 3:36 pm
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  15. i know im going to get negative responses from this….but im using the nexus S and i tried a galaxy nexus at future shop…and while the hardware admittedly is exceptional, i found the new OS to be a complete mess, I mean it looks all stylish and modern, but its a total mess to navigate. On the contrary I tried my friends Playbook, which everyone seems to be bashing on here…but it was fantastic, simple to navigate but powerful….anyways if it has android compatibility which my friend has said is coming in february….I think Im going to switch to the new BBX(or Blackberry 10) whenever that comes out and of course if its as good as what theyve put on the playbook. Really getting tired of android, and apples s**t is for i****s. anyways its my personal opinion, and I hope its taken with a grain of salt on here, cheers and have a happy holidays!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 5

    Posted by jim | December 24, 2011, 3:53 pm
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    • i agree with you sir about the playbook.

      i have it and i love it.

      completely satisfied with that purchase.

      native email is not a problem for me cause i dont have a BB and dont mind using the browser to check my emails.

      kudos to the playbook.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 1

      Posted by sp | December 24, 2011, 4:17 pm

  16. Running CM9 alpha 18 on mine :D released yesterday. Buttery smooth and worthy ROM for daily use. Tiny bit of app drawer lag but not very noticeable, and my MMS messages sometimes take a bit long to send. Other than that it runs great. (i9020a)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by hfx_nick | December 24, 2011, 4:47 pm
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  17. Look. Stop with the scrolling and actually review the phone.
    90% of reviews out there are done by people with a scroll fetish.
    Any lag will be evident by you performing the day to day operations you should be demonstrating….and don’t just look at the calendar. Book an appointment, because every android calendar is different. Some don’t have the ability to add guests for example and that’s a deal breaker for me.

    That would be a proper review of some use to me.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Martin Lake | December 24, 2011, 7:37 pm
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  18. @Anthony E. I have tested ICS, CM9 (don’t remember which Alpha number) and MIUI 4.0 (ICS) of course they all use ICS OS but I find battery drain a issue but love the ICS stock better than Ginger bread. So maybe I might try the I believe updated CM9 Alpha.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Jim | December 24, 2011, 9:12 pm
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  19. @hfx_nick Where’s the CM9 Alpha 18 download link located?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Jim | December 24, 2011, 9:17 pm
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  20. I got to agree with whats been said by some on here earlier…after trying the playbook…i could not believe the negativity on it…as a girl i can say it a better size, and runs better then my ipad. I have tried the ICS but honestly i found it kind of disorganized…anyways ill probably wait for the bb10 cause that playbook rocks.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 2

    Posted by melanie | December 24, 2011, 9:48 pm
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  21. Another Android fragmentation story, boo hoo :D

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 3

    Posted by Manderville Juice | December 25, 2011, 3:29 am
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  22. scrolling in browser is slow in ICS. any workarounds for that?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2

    Posted by Merc | December 25, 2011, 11:39 am
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  23. Surprised to see you go all the way in to trying to run face unlock but you didn’t create a panoramic picture or do a screen capture which are very nice editions to the OS.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    Posted by MER1978 | December 25, 2011, 3:56 pm
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  24. Just wanna say thank you to Daniel for all the effort.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Wia | December 25, 2011, 11:45 pm
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  25. That widget looks so out of place.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Jesse | December 26, 2011, 4:47 pm
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  26. I just got my new Nexus and this is my first Android. So I need a lil help from someone, I want to put some movies from my laptop onto the Nexus, but I cant put a MP4 movie onto it, someone help me out.
    Thanks

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Mark | January 1, 2012, 1:54 am
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  27. I have a Nexus S with Fido and went through the procedure of manually upgrading from gingerbread to ice cream sandwich about 5 days ago. I gotta say, I’m so glad I did it. The phone performs superbly. I love the new look and feel, and the extra features too. I have yet to run into any glitches or bugs, other than the face unlock being disabled. Also, I have had no battery issues. The battery seems to last just as long as it did before, if not better. I used the 160MB download for TMobile, and then flashed a new radio. This involves unlocking your bootloader, and flashing a new recovery. Anyways, just thought I would let you all know ;)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by headholio | January 26, 2012, 2:23 pm
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    • Can you tell me how you unlocked the bootloader and flash a new recovery ?

      Thanks!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

      Posted by ed4life | February 1, 2012, 12:28 pm

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