Google's Nexus S coming to Canada through Telus, most others
updated 05:35 pm EST, Tue March 8, 2011
Telus to get Nexus S in March
Telus continued a string of high-profile device launches on Tuesday by confirming plans to sell the Nexus S. It would be the first Canadian carrier with the Google-blessed Android 2.3 device and should have it available by late March or early April. Prices haven't been given so far.
The Nexus S' hardware maker, Samsung, added in a conversation with the Financial Post that it should also reach virtually all other carriers in the country. Newer carriers such as Mobilicity, Videotron and Wind Mobile, as well as incumbents Bell and Rogers, should get the phone by the first week of April. Canada will follow a strategy similar to the US and sell the phone through Best Buy and its Canadian sibling Future Shop, presumably including an unlocked, carrier-independent model.
The Nexus S is crucial as the official Google phone and the only one to run a completely stock version of Android 2.3. Unlike the very closely related Galaxy S, users don't wait months for updates and get the latest features and apps for Android as soon as they're available. It also has an unlocked bootloader and will take custom firmware with no circumvention necessary.
Nexus S owners were the first Android users to get official support for a front camera and the first anywhere to get built-in NFC for wireless payments and Google Places tags.
