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Don't wait for OTA, upgrade your Nexus S now

When @googlenexus tweeted that Nexus S GSM phones will be given the ICS upgrade, I immediately went to Settings -> About Phone -> System Updates and found the dreaded: "Your system is currently up to date." message.

Fortunately, Android Central posted a timely article on how to upgrade manually. The update file appeared to be coming from google's server and the comments didn't mention anybody bricking their phone so I proceeded to download the 130MB file and followed the instructions. So 10 minutes later, my Nexus S was running ICS. If you got your Nexus S from Globe Telecom Philippines (Nexus S i9023 GSM), then the manual upgrade procedure from Android Central should work seamlessly. All your apps and data will remain intact.

So, is the upgrade worth it? DEFINITELY! If you have a Nexus S, by all means, do the upgrade right now. With the new fonts and default apps, you'll feel like you have a new phone. The SMS and email apps really make composing and replying a pleasant experience.

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One thing I noticed after the upgrade was that the battery was draining faster than usual. It turned out that the upgrade switched the mobile network settings to 3G (mine had been set to 2G to conserve battery). The email settings defaulted to sync the last 30 days. In Gingerbread, the email default sync was 4 days. After doing all the changes, battery life went back to normal (maybe a little bit worse).

In the People (Contacts) app, you may notice that new contacts are appearing there. Those are probably from your Google+ circles. To switch back to the Gingerbread default which shows only people from "My Contacts," go to Menu -> Contacts to Display -> Customize and check only the My Contacts option. Other tips: To take a screenshot from the phone, hold power and volume down button.

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