best cool pics: Sprint readies Nexus S 4G update with improved WiMAX performance, we go hands-on (video)

Friday, July 22, 2011

Sprint readies Nexus S 4G update with improved WiMAX performance, we go hands-on (video)

How would you feel about a little Android 2.3.5 (!) action on that Nexus S 4G of yours? What about some WiMAX performance improvements? You should be getting all that plus WiFi connectivity and speakerphone quality tweaks, along with TTY support on Monday July 25th, which is when Sprint is expected to begin rolling out an OTA update for Samsung's pure Gingerbread handset. We were given an exclusive first look at the new software, and while it's still being finalized, we tested it side-by-side with the original, and our results show a welcome increase in 4G speeds across the board. As you may remember, we observed repeatable WiMAX performance issues with the old software, so this update is excellent news indeed. The amount of improvement will likely depend on your locale, but even in signal-challenged San Francisco and New York we noticed the difference right away -- so kudos to Google, Samsung, and Sprint for addressing this. We also experienced performance in-line with our Epic 4G -- the benchmark device used for our initial testing with the previous firmware version. Take a look at our gallery below, and peek at our hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: Sprint Nexus S 4G update