Reader benjamin pointed out that the Nexus S was launched in Singapore on the same day as Malaysia and if anything the Singapore launch of the Nexus S proves that Malaysians are paying far too much for the Google phone.

As we’ve mentioned earlier the Malaysian pricing for the Nexus S is perplexing considering the roughly similarly spec-ed HTC Incredible S which was also launched on the same day is priced RM500 cheaper at RM1,999 without contract.

Now with the Nexus S available in Singapore we have a pricing reference that’s closer to home which further strengthens our argument that the Malaysian Nexus S is expensive.

The Nexus S retails for SG$828 outright with GST (+7%). At today’s exchange rates that equates to about RM1,990 — the same price as the HTC Incredible S. If you take into account that tourist get the GST refunded back to them when the leave the country then you realise that the Nexus S is even cheaper. Typically, gadgets in Singapore are slightly cheaper, to the tune of RM200 to RM300 cheaper on average, this means that whichever way you look at it someone, somewhere is trying to capitalise on the Nexus S being a Google phone.

Here’s the thing, Android has always been about the mass adoption of smart phones. If it is possible to price a Google phone competitively we’re sure that the Google way would have made it certain that the device will be priced competitively.

At RM2,499 the Nexus S — no matter how good or how pure of a Google experience it brings — is way too much money for our liking.

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Update: We’ve added a few pictures and some videos on our first impressions of the Nexus S right after the jump. Also available after jump, a press release from Maxis announcing the Nexus S.

Maxis today has finally announced its full availability of the awaited Google device – The Nexus S. It is interesting to note that HTC too has announced the HTC Incredible S today which will be bundled by DiGi.

As announced earlier, the Nexus S is priced at RM2499 outright and bundled price at RM1499 with a 24 months data contract on Maxis. Such pricing is pretty expensive considering it is based on a Samsung Galaxy S and still runs on single core 1GHz processor.

However there’s something different with the Nexus S available in Malaysia. Instead of the Super AMOLED screen, we are actually getting the SuperLCD version. The recently announced Samsung Galaxy SL by Celcom is also using Super LCD. You can check out the full specs of the Nexus S here.

If you want to check it out first hand, you can visit their roadshow at Pavilion KL from 18-20 March 2011. More details on the offer at Maxis Android page.

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Maxis has announced that the Nexus S will hit local stores this Friday with a retail price of RM2,499 outright without contract. Immediately we got comments in response to out earlier post saying that the retail price for the Nexus S here is Malaysia is exorbitant.

Consider the math. You can get an unlocked Nexus S from Best Buy in the US for about US$530 which translates to about RM1620 at today’s exchange rates. This is of course, excluding taxes and what not. But even if you factor in all the taxes and shipping costs, a privately purchased — meaning one single unit bought — shouldn’t cost the savvy internet shopper anything more that RM2k tops.

In fact, bulk orders and shipments should yield even more savings.

So our question is why is Maxis and Samsung asking for a close to RM900 margin on top of the US retail price for the Nexus S? If anything, the Malaysian RRP for the Nexus S should be very close to the US price. What justifies the 54% jump in price?

Could it be that because the Nexus S is a fairly decent spec-ed device infused with the strong desirability of the Google branding Maxis and Samsung feel that they can capitalise on the hype and make some money from the huge margins?

We have no idea and we can only speculate at the moment but what is certain is that we don’t think that this should be the case and we hope Maxis and Samsung can give us answer.

What do you think of the price of the Nexus S here in Malaysia

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Click for larger image

Those who’ve indicated their interest for the Nexus S with Maxis last week would have gotten an email from the operator today indicating the price of the device, and would’ve known by now the full pricing details and launch date of new Google phone.

For those who didn’t registered your interest, do worry, we got your back because we’ve registered our interest in the device as well. Here are the details of the upcoming Nexus S from Maxis.

The Nexus S is available from Maxis from March 18 onwards and will retail for RM2,499 outright. The launch is this Friday, the same day as the HTC Incredible S launch. We speculated earlier that it is very likely for the Incredible S be launched with a telco partner and we named Maxis as the likely partner. With the telco now launching the Nexus S on Friday, could this mean that the HTC Incredible S will be launched with DiGi instead?

We have no confirmation on either. All that we know is that Friday will be a very busy day for the local gadget junkies.

While you wait for Friday to come, click the link to see what reviewers are saying about the Nexus S

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The Nexus S device will be officially available in Malaysia soon via Maxis, as hinted earlier via twitter. Looks like the anticipated device will be made available anytime now.

The Nexus S is Google’s successor to the original Google Nexus One which is based on Samsung Galaxy S. While it still runs on a single core A8 1GHz processor, the Nexus S features a 4″ Super AMOLED display and runs on the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread. You can check out the full specs at Nexus S site.

To be the first to know, sign up your interest over at Maxis’s Nexus S ROI page.

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