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. 

Y’all remember a while back I was keen on getting an Incredible S this summer (I change my phone every year, no matter what my contract length is), but I was actually pretty pissed about the build quality of the device. It wasn’t what I expect from HTC; by no means was it bad, it was just a mass of plastic, and felt very light, almost verging on flimsy. Enter the Desire S, similar to the Incredible S but with a slightly ‘worse’ camera (5MP as opposed to the Incredible’s 8). Specifications between the two devices remain as-near-as-makes-no-difference similar. The Desire S is also quite a compact device, something that I always admire, and it feels lovely in the hand.

Everything is here: 1Ghz CPU, 1.1GB of RAM, 720p HD video capture, Android 2.3 with the latest version of HTC Sense, and a front-facing camera for video chat (a huge win for me, as I use Skype a lot). I’m supposed to be keeping my HTC Legend for another year (24 month contract), but my early exit fee this June will only be £240, and the Desire S will come free on the same Vodafone contract. I can’t think of anything better to splash out on, apart from alcohol and food of course.