Nexus S Launches Dec. 16 At Best Buy

Best Buy scored itself a nice holiday exclusive in the Google Nexus S, which it will begin selling at all Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores starting at 8 AM on Thursday, December 16. The phone will cost $199 with a new two-year T-Mobile contract, but can also be purchased contract-free and unlocked for the full retail price of $529. The Nexus S can be added as an additional line to an existing plan for $249.

Best Buy said that it will sell the Nexus S on a first-come, first-served basis, and customers will be able to purchase a maximum of two devices. Best Buy stores will have demo phones on hand so customers can test it out before making a purchase.

Best Buy recommends that users check their upgrade eligibility before heading to Best Buy stores. It offers an online upgrade checker at BestBuy.com.

Last, Best Buy is offering its free "Walk Out Working" set-up and activation service to interested customers. Best Buy Mobile employees will set the customer's Nexus S up, sync email accounts, transfer contacts and provide other services so that the customer leaves with their phone fully functional. Best Buy has also set up a special help line dedicated to the Nexus S at (866) 813-2021.

The Nexus S, made by Samsung, is the first Android to run Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. Android 2.3 brings a bevy of new features to the platform, including support for NFC (near-field communication) mobile payments, a redesigned user interface, and an improved keyboard that supports multi-touch gestures, and VoIP-based internet calling.

It's similar to Samsung's Galaxy S line of Android devices, and offers a 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, 4-inch AMOLED display, 16GB of built-in storage, and Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth radios.