I'm pretty sure that you've already got the gyst of CES 2011, and if you haven't, there was pretty much the complete coverage on engadget (side-note: Android Community archive of CES posts here). And if you're not going to check it, it was basically this: Tablets, tablets, and a few dual core/4G phones. And More Tablets. Did we mention Tablets?
Okay so maybe it's unnecesary for me to repeat tablets over and over, and that about two or three of 'em are on par with the iPad. But anyway, that's not related to this. What I'm talking about here are those few dual core phones, or to be more specific, the LG Optimus 2X, Motorola Droid Bionic, and Motorola Atriv 4G (side-note: The Droid Bionic does support Verizon 4G).
If you didn't get bought by the rumor mills, then you weren't suprised when it turned out that the Nexus S didn't have dual-core CPUs, and it was bound to be another forgotten phone. Here in January of 2011, we can hardly remember the Nexus S due to the amount of just simply more interesting phones that we've seen at CES, and will see at MWC (oh and the Verizon iPhone)
There were several shortcommings of the Nexus S, but first of all, it wasn't the technology setter like its older brother was. If you remember the Nexus One, you'll remember it wasn't that succesful because of the product availability, but that aside, it did set some major milestones. Right before it, we had the Motorola Droid with a 528 MHz, then the Nexus One had a 1 GHz CPU, but the next big thing after it was the HTC Desire (actually a modified Nexus One) with, you guessed it, a 1 GHz CPU. And since then, the 1 GHz CPU has become comanplace, and standard, in fact so standard, it's on the Nexus S, 11 and a half months later.
Initial dissapointment aside, it still is a fun phone to play with. Android 2.3 had some cool features, and the lack of availability for it is the only thing keeping the Nexus S alive today. But it missed out on other key marks, the 1 GHz CPU came only weeks before Dual-Core Nvidia Tegra2 chips, and the Nexus S also lacks support for T-Mobile's 4G Network, which actually makes it on the same level as the G2. Nothing personal.
Now on to what CES means. At CES, we say a barrage of unnecesary devices, most with claims of 4G, better displays, and Dual-Core CPUs. While in the case of the Nexus One (ironically at CES 2010), you could say all the MWC gadgets took from it, but the same doesn't apply here. These devices take advantage of what the Nexus S LACKS. It doesn't lead the way, but rather is a unnecesary hindrance.
So what do these new phones mean? They mean we'll forget about the Nexus S, if we haven't already. The fact you only get it at Best Buy STILL makes me feel like Google hasn't learned from their lesson, and my ability to walk into an AT&T store two months now and check out the Atrix will ultimately have influence over my decision to buy it or not.
We saw a couple of Galaxy S devices at CES. Now if you remember, the Nexus S (i9020) was meant to be the succesor of the Galaxy S (i9000). But the latest devices on the Galaxy S line are actually better. Super AMOLED Plus displays, better cameras, 4G (HSPA+ for Infuse, LTE for LTE Phone), and regrettably, still no dual core and no Android 2.3. But still, these devices will be much more accesbile, and somehow much more rememberable.
As much as the Nexus One failed, it is a device to remember. It's up there with the G1 in the Android Vault. It simply changed the way we saw our Android phones almost as much as the G1 did by being the first. But the Nexus S? It failed to take that one step ahead of its games, and I'm not so sure it will be remembered so well.
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