Google's Nexus S, the successor to last year's Nexus One, is now available for purchase in Singapore and Malaysia. Samsung Asia and Malaysia's Maxis Communications made the announcements earlier today separately in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Irene Ng, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Samsung Asia said in a statement, "Samsung is pleased to deliver the best Android smartphone experience for consumers. The Nexus S is a smartphone that combines superior functionality and a stunning user-experience that will appeal to the increasingly connected Singapore consumers and meet their demand for entertainment and functionality on the go."
At a separate Google event in Jakarta earlier this week, Google PR Therese Lim explained that the Nexus S is Samsung's device and therefore Google does not control its distribution. Google is taking a very different approach for the Nexus S to that of the Nexus One which was made available in very limited markets.
For some reason, the Southeast Asian Nexus S does not feature Super AMOLED screens, instead, it uses Super LCD screens. Additionally, despite what the brochures said at the Maxis launch, the press release from Samsung made no mention of Near Field Communication (NFC), the technology that allows device owners to for example, make payments directly from their mobile devices at retail outlets. This technology is present in the US edition of the phone.
Outright price for the Gingerbread powered Nexus S in Singapore is S$ 828 while in Malaysia it's RM 2499 or RM 1499 with 24 month contract.
The Samsung press release from Hardware Zone for Singapore after the break
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