Samsung Google Nexus S: expectations and aims

So after quite a wait, the Samsung Nexus S is finally upon us. And, after any long wait, the responses tend to polarize between euphoria and disappointment. While there are enough reasons to be disappointed about the device – no dual core, no sd card, only 5 mp camera, no HDMI, no HSPA+ – it may just be interesting to assume Samsung and Google know what they’re doing. This raises, of course, the question of what exactly it is they are doing.
Let’s have a short glance at the Nexus S’ background. The Nexus One might seem now as a more revolutionary device at the time of its release than the Nexus S now. Yet, at the time of its release, many too were disappointed because the device wasn’t as groundbreaking as hoped for. So, where do these expectations come from then? Is it the association with Google that immediately conjures fantasies of cutting edge technologies? And even if the Nexus One was more cutting edge, Google has learned the lesson that that by itself apparently does not have enough power on today’s phone market that customers will come running.
In the turmoil of opinions, it is easy to overlook that the Samsung Google Nexus S still is a considerable step forward from, for example, the Galaxy S – in part thanks to the Android Gingerbread OS, in part thank to its hardware. An major part of the success of the Galaxy S is that it isn’t just a ‘geek phone’ (‘geek’ not meant in any offensive way, by the way): the device clearly appeals to the masses. The style of the promotional material of the Nexus S suggests this is what Samsung and Google are aiming for with the Nexus S: the common smartphone user. This seems in line with both considerations mentioned above.
First, the Nexus One did impress, but it did not appeal to the masses. The HTC Desire did, though. But what is the point of making two of the same phones, one with ‘geek appeal’ (as Google) and one with mass appeal (as the previously speculated HTC One V for example)? And if you’re going to scrap one of those two variations, it is not hard to decide which one.
Second, it is interesting to consider what to do, when faced with market fragmentation. Should the market be stretched even further, by adding a cutting edge device? Or could Google’s new Android rallying point be a slightly more mid-range device, setting standards that manufacturers can aspire to in the near future with their mid-range phones? Standards they can achieve without immediately having to resort to all the technologies that make a phone very expensive?
Of course, the fact of the matter is that the Nexus S is by no means a mid-range device. Not technologically, and not price wise. And though it is not out there, orbiting the far edges of the solar system, it pushes Android development one step further, without loosing sight of the bulk of smartphone users.
Perhaps the best argument for this, next to the style of advertising, is the ‘contour display’. Though Samsung claims it improves the user experience, it first and foremost seems to be a design feature. Not cutting edge ‘geek’ design, but rather just ‘design’. It looks cool, it makes the phone stand out and instantly recognizable to people without intimate knowledge of phones.
So, concluding, it seems that Samsung and Google are aiming to do the one thing the Nexus One did not: be commercially successful. And, as is the case with any grand aim, only time will tell if the Nexus S can fulfill that promise.