Google wanted to get its first Android 2.3-powered smartphone out to customers in time for the holiday shopping season to show off its new design, improved user interface and an intriguing NFC chip.
Mission accomplished.
But as Enterprise Mobile Today reports, at least one prominent analyst thinks Google may have burnt some bridges in the process by co-developing the Nexus S with Samsung and bypassing wireless carriers in favor of a couple of retailers.
Nexus S will be available in the U.S. at Best Buy on Dec. 16. The unlocked version can be had for $529. Customers willing to ink a two-year service contract with T-Mobile can get their hands on it for $199. UK customers will have to wait until Dec. 20 to pick it up at their local Carphone Warehouse outlets.
The updated Android 2.3 mobile OS features an improved keyboard with multitouch support, support for NFC, a more intuitive user interface and VoIP/SIP support.
Google and Samsung’s Nexus S smartphone will be available for purchase next week, giving consumers their first look at the much-anticipated Android 2.3, aka Gingerbread, mobile operating system.
And while the next-gen smartphone will include a number of new features, at least one analyst is wondering aloud whether Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) strategy of bypassing major wireless carriers.
