yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
Grr :( Maybe I should mention 2.3.2 manual update from 2.3.1. Too scared to update to 2.3.3!

And I found while walking, sometimes the GPS wouldn't update, instead I would 'teleport' backwards about 30m and then appear to move forwards towards my current location. This would repeat a few times. I had GPS status running the whole time too.
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
Ok, I'm on v2.3.3 out of the box...don't know if that makes a difference either.
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
what's your model number? i9020 here
[Nexus S General] Matridom:
the i9020a was released in Canada a week or so ago, they are 2.3.3 out of box.

Out of curiosity, why are you afraid to update to 2.3.3?
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
Confirmed, I9020a here too.
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
i've heard of more gps problems, and loss of screen quality on the phone.

also, back to gps, the device can't settle. gps status shows that the mag.field that is 3 numbers, the first number of which changes when it's resting on a table - this alters the gps reading, and the compass on gps status rotates on its own - again wildly rotating 180+deg in some instances.

this really is bad. :(

i've also done some research, and it seems that there's an error reported to google showing that the ns has an error connecting to 'something'. the sgs had the issue that it couldn't connect to the site to update the agps database, and this totally screwed up gps readings. the only way is to use a third-party app to download the database - totally unacceptable imo.

likewise, interference and poor drivers on the sgs seem to have made their way onto the ns, which google are "looking into" which is a generic answer which translates to "we know and we don't give a shi*".

i dunno whether to get my money back...
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
if you're both on the same device, and report great gps, i'm tempted to guess that your phone features new drivers that address the gps issues. What's the kernel and baseband version on the i9020a for canada? i'm guessing the build number is GRH78C?
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
No GPS issues, and screen is good. I heard that some say the display has a yellow tint, but I've not seen that in direct comparisons with other phones.

Once the compass is calibrated using the standard figure-8 pattern, it's pretty stable for me. For a good compass, you need a triple-axis sensor like the one in my Garmin GPSMAP 62s which is very stable and does not react to vertical orientation changes. The compass in my Nexus S is very similar to the compass in the Desire and it works well enough, for what it does anyway.

If you're unsure, then return it and wait for something else. Personally I'm very happy with the phone. The only real issue I have is the sensitivity of the power and volume buttons is too high - they're too easy to depress. A gel case helps somewhat though. Oh, there is the issue with the battery not charging to 100%, but that seems to be a v2.3.3 firmware bug which I figure will be fixed so I'm not counting that one.

:D

Nope, it's GRI54. Kernel is 2.6.35.7 and baseband is I9020AUCKB2
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
Interesting, the build number is slightly higher than mine. I'm sure there's something in that :( new drivers maybe even new hardware.

My kernel is: 2.6.35.7-g7f1638a

android-build@apa28 #1

and baseband is i9020xxkl8

and considering that the gps.git hasn't been touched for 5 months kinda suggests there's nothing that can be done in android...

http://android.git.kernel.org/?p=platform/hardware/qcom/gps.git;a=summary

Of course, no official word will ever come from Google. They only have to fend off problems until Dec. or until the next Nexus phone comes out... This has really put a damper on the Nexus line for me. :(
[Nexus S General] Matridom:
The screen tint is something that affects the AMOLED screens only, yours is SLCD, so should be immune to the "Yellow tint"

As for the GPS, you are already considering it useless, does it matter if it get's broken more?

No Risk, No reward...

If i where you, i would do a nandroid backup of the phone, flash to 2.3.3, test the tides, if it's really bad, restore the backup.
[Nexus S General] fallenguru:
Did you really have to go and make another GPS-on-the-NS thread?

But yes, the GPS on (some / most of) the NS sucks. What's more interesting is that the 2.3.3 update seems to have shot the GPS of the N1 as well. And, wait for it, even people with newer SGS (who never had a problem with their GPS) are reporting that it's stopped working with the recent official 2.3 ROM.

My take is that Google accidentaly broke the way GPS works in 2.3.3. FWIW, I've returned my NS for now - I'm sitting this one out. :-)
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
two interesting threads

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=842694

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=881941

the explanation in the last one is what i think is happening too on the ns. there's already a bug filed on google - i can't find it - that points out the error of the gps trying to connect and failing. i'm assuming it's trying to dl the assisted data and failing. that'd explain why a google employee suggested you use gps status to download it...

reading inbetween the lines, the voice of google is (rightly) blaming samsung, and this deal was probably more about the money between the two companies than the phone.
[Nexus S General] umbrella42:
Google doesn't give a shi*: Issue rejected. :mad:

Hopefully all those things will get better after Eric Schmidt has left Google.

Meh want Ice Cream! Now! :p
[Nexus S General] fallenguru:
That's basically my reading, too. I think they just aren't equipped, prepared or even willing to deal with customers on the individual level. Most of their consumer products are "free" with a take it or leave it kind of support and I think it's the same attitude we're seeing here, even though the N1 and NS certainly aren't free.
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
If they didn't give a pooper-scooper, then they wouldn't have released any updates. Just because they're having trouble with a fix, or are reducing its importance relative to some users, doesn't mean they don't care.

I debated heavily over the Nexus S as I'm not a fan of Samsung phones and was not impressed with previous devices (Craptivate anyone?). This one changes that opinion, whether it's because Google pressed to get better hardware or Samsung woke up, I don't know but I'm happy with the phone. It's not perfect, what phone truly is? Just look at the Motorola Atrix - it's got some awesome hardware, but the software really sucks and ruins the phone. I had one but returned the Atrix and Multimedia dock as it was generally a very disappointing experience (store reported that ~50% of their sales were returned within a week!).

But the Nexus S does the job and I'll be keeping it.

:)
[Nexus S General] fallenguru:
That really doesn't follow, because having a semi-widely deployed platform to test these updates on is the whole point of the Nexus line from Google's point of view. Customer satisfaction is just not important to them, because they don't sell phones for a living. (Conversely, while every other phone manufacturer tries to leverage new versions of Android to sell new products, Google just doesn't have to.)

The NS is a fine piece of kit as long as you remember why Google's having it built and sold. They'll always focus on the new features, not the old ones. Nearly every Android phone has had GPS for ages, why bother with it?
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
i think it's fair to say that if google admitted the ns had faulty hardware / drivers, x% of NS owners would be seeking refunds / compensation. That is not good for company profilts. So the default fob-off "We're looking into it" is (by reading inbetween the lines) an admittal of "yes, the phone is faulty"

The updates to Android haven't been to fix faulty GPS, but to add NFC support amongst other things. Don't forget the community supports Android too, the community can fix bugs.

I've lost a LOT of respect for both Google and Samsung, and come to the conclusion the NS is nothing more than a GS in a different case, with less software on it, marketed by google and with a higher price tag. if htc were to make another 'pure Google' phone I'd buy it in a flash.

We're suckers anyone?
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
Hold on a second there, the name "google" has some buying power but it also attaches itself to the sale of the phone. Saying that they don't care about the phone or its sales is akin to saying BMW doesn't care if their name is sullied by marketing a failure of a motorcycle model (not suggesting anything) - the sales proportion is similar and to assume Google doesn't give a poop about Nexus users is very presumtuous. But you're welcome to your opinion of course, although I doubt Google agrees. I'm just saying...

:)

All Android phones have had cellular radio capabilities. Perhaps we should drop that feature and move on?

:rolleyes:

Please clarify why they're doing this? Why is Google making and selling a phone?
[Nexus S General] AllGamer:
GPS has been spot on since day 1 (mid December 2010)

it works regardless of the ROM installed

immediate lock outdoors under 5 sec

indoors it takes a little bit longer, needs to be near window
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
That's what I was thinking...GPS works fine on the Nexus S. I know the Galaxy S line had issues, but not my phone. Granted it's not as accurate nor as sensitive as my Garmin GPSMAP 62s handheld, but what consumer GPS device is? I've used some specialized locators and topo maps in the field, so I have a faint idea about accuracy, and for a consumer device I have to say I'm happy with it. It works about as good as the HTC Desire I used before the Nexus S. I also used the HTC Legend and again it's not as good as the Desire nor Nexus, but the antenna system is less advanced, so it doesn't perform as well. But it still gets a fairly accurate lock once it's there.

I can only guess that either these people have had defective units and are miffed about it, or they haven't actually used the device and just presume it's as bad as the Galaxy S. Whatever...
[Nexus S General] AllGamer:
back when i was using the SGS i9000 it was also working fine, truth it was not accurate down to 5m/10m

but it was very good with off line based GPS apps.

but in the SNS i9020 the GPS is so spot on it's in average on the 5m mark, and I dare to say i never used Google Maps / Navigation back on the I9000 because it was off

but on the i9020 Google Maps / Navigation is spot on, i've used it several times to go to areas / stores i've never been to and it was so easy to follow.

the only thing is you have to enable the option to keep the phone Always ON

i wonder why Google Map is so dumb, there's no option to keep phone ON all the time when it's in the GPS mode
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
I'm guessing it's because you could be walking or using the device without a power source so you don't want the display on all the time eating the battery. I tend to use Maps as a reference/lookup for info or general location, not for navigating to a destination.
[Nexus S General] AllGamer:
yes, that's understandable, but it should be an option

all the other GPS software i've used have this feature, and it's usually on by default
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
No argument there...it could be an option. More options are good!

:D
[Nexus S General] fallenguru:
Judging solely by the number of reviews on the local Amazon site and the advertising exposure it got around here (read: none) I'd guess that the NS's market share in its class is minuscle. (But that's Austria, don't know about the US.)

Add to that that not everyone is having GPS problems and the negative impact on the brand is going to be non-existent.

I didn't say we, I said Google. And no, I never got the impression that core phone functionality like cell reception, call quality etc. was particularly high on Google's priority list.

Google, for a variety of reasons, make Android. The NS, which, by the way, they neither make nor sell themselves but have designed and sold by Samsung, is just a way for them to

showcase the features of the newest Android release.

test the newest Android release in wide deployment.

provide app developers with a pure Android reference platform.

provide hardware vendors with a baseline feature profile.

I'm sure there's a few other items in that list but neither the N1 nor the NS are consumer-oriented phones.

I don't have a stand-alone GPS but I've tested the GPS of the Nexus S, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy Spica, HTC Desire S, HTC Legend, S and LG Optimus One side-by-side over the last few days.

The LG (stock 2.2) wins hands down, lock is pretty much instant (<3 s) with pinpoint accuracy (3 m). (Sometimes the GPS stops working until the next reboot, though.)

Second place goes to the Desire S (stock 2.3), which is a tad slower but just as accurate.

The Galaxy S (stock 2.2). Lock in < 10 s, accuracy 10-5 m. (The value is reported in steps of 5 m).

The Galaxy Spica (custom CM 6). Lock in < 10 s, accuracy isn't reported but seems to be ~ 10 m.

The Legend's (stock 2.2) handicapped by it's metal case, it usually sees less satellites than the other phones but under good conditions it's fast and accurate.

The Nexus S (stock 2.3) is by far the worst. Some of the time it doesn't lock at all, when it does lock the accuracy is terrible, even assuming it can keep the lock longer than a few seconds.
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
I was just playing with Google Earth and you're right, it's off by a good 30-50 meters. Using several other apps the GPS in the Nexus S is working just fine, but in Earth it's not accurate enough, and it bounces around a lot. Clearly the issue is with the software, not the hardware.

:(
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
Really? Because it's odd that the Nexus S has pretty decent call quality and RF performance. Perhaps they got lucky? Perhaps Samsung hit a home run by accident and didn't want the Nexus S to succeed? I don't know, I'm just a consumer...

Whoa...I don't remember having to wait for a Samsung representative to approve my purchase when I bought the phone from a Rogers retailer.

And I'm pretty sure Google provided the specs for the phone and did quality assurance tests during prototyping, assuring that Samsung made the phone to spec they way Google wanted. I could be wrong though...

C'mon, Samsung makes the hardware, but that's all they do. Google does the rest. HTC made the original Nexus phone, but they sure didn't have any hand in its development, marketing, or sales. It's like saying Whirlpool has complete control over the Kenmore line (Sears) of washers and controls how, where, and to whom the Kenmore line is sold to the masses.

:rolleyes:

Hmm...not consumer devices...if so then explain why so many consumers are buying the phone? Only a small percentage are developers and hackers. The rest are "consumers"...maybe you should point out to all these consumers that they shouldn't buy the phone?

:p

Seriously, I'm getting tired of this tangent...I don't exactly favour Samsung nor some of their devices, but this is getting silly. The Nexus S works fine for me and many others, so I'm done with this thread for now. If you don't like Google or the Nexus line, that's completely fine with me - return your device and buy whatever makes you full of joy. That's what I'd do...and come to think of it, I did do that - returned the Motorola Atrix because it didn't perform as I expected.

YMMV.

:)
[Nexus S General] fallenguru:
The NS is a tweaked / evolved SGS, not a new design. It's a Samsung design with customisations by Google.

At least round here the NS is sold as a "Samsung Google" phone, using Samsung's retail channels. Even the support is run by Samsung: http://www.google.com/nexus/help.html.

Are they really? Consumers buying the phone, I mean? And no, I really woundn't recommend the NS to someone who's not interested in hacking / tweaking / modding and generally messing around with their phone. For them, there's the SGS (25% cheaper for pretty much the same specs) or any HTC phone (much more polished / well-integrated UI and software features out of the box).

But yes, to each his own. I love Google and apart from the GPS (and the missing SD card slot) I like the NS as well, but I really don't think it's a consumer phone and people shouldn't expect it to be. They'll only get burned.
[Nexus S General] bfksc:
Ok, you managed to sucker me in to one more reply...under duress.

:rolleyes:

Magazine writers, bloggers, and other zealots do not a genius make.

While some of the hardware is similar, to say it's an SGS that's been tweaked is like saying the Ferrari F430 is a tweaked 308. You can "say" it all you want, but that doesn't make it true. The two have some similar features (Ferrari inspired), have similarly relative performance for its day, but are not the "same" nor "similar" in any vernacular.

Where is "round here"?

Round these parts, cowboys sell phones via retailers without Samsung involvement. Seriously, Samsung has a website to register for warranty service, but beyond that it's all about dealing with the retailer/carrier for service. Samsung is not even in the next pasture.

HUH? Tell that to my retailer who says my carrier handles support.

But maybe in your pasture Samsung is the Alpha and the Omega...I dunno...

WIFE, meet online person, person, mean WIFE.

Yes that's right, my wife thinks the Nexus S is cool and would like one for herself. And since I love her death, I'm probably going to have to get one for her. And get this, she's an HTC fan...that's right, although HTC has some great phones, she just loves the clean and simple UI on the Nexus S. Of course the fact that I have installed better versions of the HTC widgets on my phone don't matter - you WILL ignore this fact.

:D

Why would they get burned? My wife thinks it's a great phone and now wants one (my daughter is getting curious too, dang it) so she can customize it her way. Whole cows Batman, this is silly...I've seen several "average consumers" buying the Nexus S because it's like buying a house or car - you start with the basics and then make upgrades on your own. It's not like it's hard or difficult to figure out...even my little daughter created a GMail account on her own and sync'd it to her new phone without asking me a single thing.

I think it's time to get over the "nexus is only for geeks" mentality. When you could only get a Nexus directly from Google, sure. But with almost every carrier in Canada carrying the device, plus dozens of European, Asia, and US carriers too, it's hard to say "no".

:(

I fear my AmEx will see several more new charges for mobile devices in the near future. But at least this will help improve the economy!

:D
[Nexus S General] fallenguru:
This is probably mostly a cultural / market thing.

In Austria carriers do sell SIM-locked phones at "discounted" prices on contract, but they neither handle support nor customize them to the same extent. Basically they just order a custom logo silk-screened on them and a few custom apps installed, they don't have anything to say as far as design and features are concerned.

However, a lot of people buy unlocked phones, the carrier provides the SIM, that's it.

If your handset breaks, the place where you bought it has to handle repairs and such - they mostly just send it in to the manufacturer's -, but if you want support, as in soft- or firmware, manuals, questions answered, a fix for something that's not a material defect ... you basically have to go to the manufacturer.
[Nexus S General] Matridom:
I think the main issue here is the phone appeals to different people for different reasons. I got it because of "geekiness" if you will, I want to most recent updates, the clean, unbranded device and access to rather unique features

I would compare this line of thought to Digital camera's. Many people just want a simple point and shoot camera, for them a canon Elf or a Nikon Coolpix will be a perfect choice

For others, they want a camera that can point and shoot, but want to tweak the color balance, use a zoom lens sometimes, these people are going to the Canon Powershot, Nikon D90's , these are pro-consumers, they want more choice, but are not professionals.

To me, the Nexus line of phones is for the pro-consumer. Those people who want to customize everything from the ground up.

So going back to the GPS, i can honestly say "It works" and that i have no issues using it for navigation in my car. I can also get a lock on through the ceiling of my house (something my SGS never did). It is good enough to replace a TomTom and so far, i've had no regrets.
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
wow, this thread has become derailed!

ok, so humour me here. download gps status - it's free. now, it doesn't matter if you can get a lock where you are, but look at the three numbers that are labelled Mag. field(uT)/decl.

the last two numbers are completely stable for me, but the first number is alternating between say 49-54 wildly - sometimes twice a seconds, sometimes 3-4 times a second.

because of this, it reports that i'm moving - when the phone is resting on a table - and gives me a speed and constantly changes my location that reports me as being near to where i am and up to about 30-50m out from where i am. i've checked the coords on the internet, and it's certainly not accurate.

does anyone else have this first number going crazy or is it stable for you?
[Nexus S General] AllGamer:
this is very interesting, i'll have to try that someday, and see it happens to me.

i rarely use Google Earth in the phone, i use it quite often on the PC
[Nexus S General] Matridom:
It fluctuates within a 5 number range has yours.

On a side note, i have an HTC desire and a Motorola Milestone right next to it, and they have the exact same level of fluctuation.

To be honest, i don't think it's your issue. The problem you are experiencing is one i *have* seen before, however it was when i was using the wrong kernel on my Galaxy S, it would report about 30 meters of "drift" often putting me the next block over.

Just making sure.. you are on a stock kernel and modem for your phone?
[Nexus S General] MarkusPO:
it's reassuring to know that other devices fluctuate too!

Yep, straight out of the box and using wifi.

I went for a 30 min walk and used a sports tracker to track my journey and it overlayed the gps data with google maps, and though it was 'mostly' right within - say, 5m - there are portions that deviated about 25m from where i was actually going and showing i walked round curves when going in a straight line, as well as some parts being in the right-sort-of-direction but offset by about 2-3m, so i guess that part was due just to 'normal' error. granted, i didn't do this with my desire, but i had lock-ons of 1-3m.

i noticed the major errors were with 90deg turns - with it cutting the corner to a 45deg turn, esp when walking underneath or near to a few trees or next to some houses - the frequency at which gps samples were taken should have caught more of the turns though.

maybe (just maybe) things aren't as bad as initially thought. i'll go for another walk tomorrow and test using google maps and cache some data beforehand - if i figure out how!
[Nexus S General] Matridom:
Plan your route before heading out that will cache it. Also keep in mind that the gps is probably tuned more for driving and has a result makes a lot of error corrections based on streets and direction of travel. it may even use plotted routes to help. I saw that on my tomtom, missing an off ramp, it would fallow the expected route and take me off the highway untill the gps conflicted with then would jump me back to the current location

Sent from my Nexus S
[Xoom Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Oasisplayer311:
on all the games that require the xooms motion sensor, everything is messed up. like on Home Run Battle the controls are reversed. if I tilt my xoom right, the on screen indicator goes left/up.

any advice?
[Xoom Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Kcarpenter:
Sounds like they need to be calibrated, but I am not sure how to do that on the Xoom.
[Xoom Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Kcarpenter:
double post sorry.
[Xoom Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Oasisplayer311:
that's what I'm thinking. its really annoying lol