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.
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