Wind Mobile and Mobilicity Release Samsung Nexus S - Wind Opens up WindTAB for Existing Customers!!!

The first great piece of news is that Wind Mobile and Mobilicity have released their first GOOD android phone. The official google developers phone (i.e. gets new releases of google android first, and no lengthy waits experienced by other phones) the Nexus S is now available for $500 from Mobilicity, and $525 from Wind. This news was pretty disappointing considering that Koodo Mobile (owned by Telus) is selling the exact same phone for $425 (different frequencies folks, so not compatible with Mobi/Wind).

http://shop.windmobile.ca/ProductCatalog/Handsets/HandsetDetails.aspx?id=Google+Nexus+S(WINDCA)&color=green

The Nexus S is a great phone that is sure to give you a stream-lined and problem-free vanilla android experience (no customizations or overlaps like HTC's sense UI), but some people are already looking to the new generation of dual core phones coming out. Unfortunately the hardware in the Nexus S is already dated (single core last generation CPU), making a lot of people hesitant to purchase.

One way that I could personally justify getting a Nexus S, in light of all of these new dual core phones coming out for the same price as the Nexus S ($525 or less), would be to get the phone on a WindTAB. Wind has just opened up it's WindTAB program to existing customers on credit approval, which means that you don't have to be a new customer to get this deal anymore. Now existing customers can upgrade their phone for $150 off, making the Nexus S $375. I'd really like to see Wind drop the Nexus S down to $500 and match Mobilicity, but the WindTab makes it bearable.

Rumour has it that the new WindTAB for existing customers will start May 1st, 2011.

Updates Coming Soon - Cyanogen Mod 7 (Android 2.3 Gingerbread) for LG Optimus Phones

Sorry for the lack of updates and responses to the blog/tutorials. I've had many comments on here and on youtube that have gone unanswered over the last couple of months. I am doing a PhD and have very little free time at the moment, and so i've been leaving it up to other people to answer most questions. Also, i'm really not an expert and the XDA developers forums where all of these ROMs are made is the best place for technical advice. I find the instructions given on the XDA forums are generally very brief and hard to understand/follow, and result in many hours of frustration and question asking. I thought it would be a good idea to combine all of the different resources needed for rooting and installing customs ROMs, and then write a comprehensive tutorial with a video so that people can more easily understand and follow. Having said that, these things are NOT for beginners and there are risks of 'breaking' your phone while doing it. I'm not an expert at phone hacking, but i'm a bit of a nerd and quite proficient with computers, and so after lots of reading and struggling I was able to work my way though it.

There have been many release candidates (RC, like beta versions) of android 2.3 gingerbread being released by the Cyanogenmod community, and i've been using android 2.3 gingerbread on my LG Optimus T for over a month now that incorporates the CM7 rom and tweaks it so that it works with the LG Optimus phone (CM is not releasing it specially for the Optimus phones). All this time the ROM i've been using has been in the beta stages, and now with the final release of CM7 there should be a 'final' release in the next couple of weeks. When this happens I will put up a new tutorial and video, and try to be more comprehensive and answer some of the lingering questions on youtube and on this blog. I may install a new recovery program as well, so I will show myself doing this from scratch so that people can see how it's done.

Till then, hit up the XDA developers forums if you have more specific problems!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=836