April 26, 2011 at 11:54 AM ET
The Nexus S, the first Android phone that will use Near Field Communication, a chip that enables mobile payments for things like tickets, will be available from Sprint starting May 8. The phone costs $199.99 with a two-year service contract.
(Program note: It appears the phone is also available from Best Buy for $99.99, with a two-year contract on T-Mobile.)
The phone, made by both Google and Samsung, will run on Sprint's 4G Wi-Max network, and uses the latest version of Google's mobile operating system, Android 2.3, also known as Gingerbread.
While Near Field Communication isn't yet a household word, it may become more familiar to consumers as businesses in the U.S., especially banks and ticketing agencies, adopt its usage.
Sprint says with the phone's 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability, it can support up to six Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously.
The Nexus S requires activation on one of Sprint’s Everything Data plans, plus a required $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones.
Here's some stats on the phone:
- It uses a 1GHZ Samsung processor
- Has a 4-inch, touchscreen Super AMOLED display
- 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and camcorder
- Front-facing VGA camera
- 16GB Internal Memory (ROM)/512MB (RAM)
- Wi-Fi® – 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR
Related stories:
- What does NFC mean for mobile payments?
- Nexus S can make payments at retailers
- Gingerbread makes Nexus S a smart cookie
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