Sprint and Google today confirmed the existence of the Nexus S 4G as well as a special collaboration on Google Voice. The phone still has an unaltered Android 2.3 that promises speedy updates but adds faster WiMAX. Google Voice also now effectively takes over, Google said: users can run their actual Sprint phone number as a Google Voice number to reach multiple phones at once, and any calls or text messages sent from Gmail on the web will show the Sprint number.
Phones like the Nexus S 4G that use Google Voice also use its system instead of Sprint’s usual voicemail. The approach keeps audio but offers rough text transcription. Personalized voicemail messages, call recording and call blocking come along with Google Voice itself.
International calls also potentially get much cheaper, since they now pass through Google Voice’s VoIP system for most of the trip and should use Google’s existing rates.
The Nexus S 4G, sans the 4G, look to be the same with its signature curved, four-inch Super AMOLED screen, 1GHz Hummingbird chip, 16GB of internal storage, dual cameras, and NFC short-range wireless. As an official phone, its bootloader is unlocked and allows custom firmware without having to bypass encryption locks.
Sprint plans to sell the Nexus S 4G for $200 on a contract. Sprint will not give a exact launch date, only committing to a spring time frame.
