The Kidigi desktop dock is a simple desktop charging and USB sync cradle for the Samsung Google Nexus S. Although the product is made from plastic, it actually feels very high quality and has a good weight to it - this means that it provides a solid base for your phone to sit on, and it’s unlikely that you’ll knock it over when it’s sat on your desk. The dock is designed so that it angles your device upward toward your face; in practise, I found that the angle was absolutely perfect for me and that I could actually easily operate my device with a forefinger or a thumb even when it was placed in the dock.

At the front of the dock, there is a small blue LED that lights up to indicate whether your device is charging or not. Sometimes it’s easy to just place your phone onto the dock without checking whether mains power is on or not, so this is a nice little addition. Of course, there is a Micro USB connector at the front, and your Nexus S would simply slide into the dock and charge immediately. Another nice feature is the small foam tab toward the top of the dock, which prevents your device from being scratched when it is being removed/replaced - again, a very nice touch and shows that the designers paid attention to detail. 

I’d say the main downside of this dock is the fact that those who use cases on their Nexus S will have to remove it before docking, as the size and shape of the cradle section simply doesn’t make allowance for cases. However, those who use full body protectors such as the ones from Invisibleshield should be fine with this dock. It’s also worth noting that the dock can not only charge but also connect to a computer using the provided USB cable, so you can sync data between your computer and phone right from the dock, exactly as you would use a standard USB cable. 

The Kidigi is an excellent dock. It’s well built, good value, and works flawlessly. They even provide a Micro USB sync/charge cable as well as a USB mains adapter, which is always handy. It’s also available for a variety of different devices, and I’d highly recommend it. 

A big thanks to the folks over at Mobilefun.co.uk for sending this product out to me for review. Mobilefun stock a huge range of mobile phone holders as well as a ton of other accessories for your smartphone - go check them out! 

Well here we go, folks; it’s that time again when I’m looking for yet another phone. This time, it’s more of a ‘political’ thing rather than me specifically needing a Nexus S. After all, it will most certainly be a downgrade from my current phone (HTC’s Incredible S) in terms of specs. So why am I selling a high-end HTC for a one-year-old, rather cheap-feeling Samsung? 

The main reason I’m pretty sure I’m going to the Nexus S is software updates. I am sick of HTC cutting their customers off after eight months. My phone was released earlier this year and it won’t get an update to Ice Cream Sandwich. To me, that’s outrageous. One of the main problems with Android is the fact that manufacturers like to install custom UIs, which slows down the update process for certain devices, and in some cases prevents an update from being available. 

The logical choice of Android phone in this situation would be the Galaxy Nexus, but as I’m a broke student, the Nexus S will have to do. I can’t sell my Incredible S for much, so the cost of me selling it will cover the cost of a brand new Nexus S off Amazon perfectly. The Nexus S will get ICS within the next few months, and it’ll probably get the next release of Android after that (most likely another eighteen months away); this makes it the only future-proof phone that I can realistically consider buying. The only real issue I originally saw with the Nexus S replacing my current device was the lack of HD video capture on its five megapixel camera, but the amount of phone photography I do is minimal, and for decent shots I’ll just use my Fujifilm S1600. 

I’m also fed up of HTC Sense slowing my phone down; something that was previously aesthetically-pleasing for me has just turned into a CPU hog/graphical nightmare of a UI. Stock Android is so much faster, and the Nexus S also has some pretty powerful graphics processing power. 

So at the end of the day, I’m happy to slightly downgrade my device for something that I feel will last me longer, and that will give me less grief. My current phone is like a Ferrari - powerful, but has a lot of flaws; the Nexus S is more of an Audi R8 - a sensible, slick, and reliable alternative. As a daily driver, I’ll happily take the R8 over a Ferrari. 

Look out for my final decision on Twitter over the next few weeks.