Install Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich HTC Sense on Samsung Nexus S GSM

Samsung Nexus S users may just get a chance to try Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 4.0 on their displays, thanks to XDA Developers senior member swamp goblin. This ROM was ported from the latest HTC Endeavour RUU leak and was rebased from the Sensation port. For comparison, the HTC Endeavour is a quad-core Tegra 3 phone, with a 720p (HD) display, so the ROM may take some work before it can completely function on the Nexus S.

The ROM is still in its pre-alpha stage of development, as most parts of this ROM are not yet functional. Though the ROM may boot, and a few HTC apps may work, it's still far from being useful for daily use.

Despite this, it's possibly one of the first HTC Sense 4.0 ports ever, so don't let bugs discourage you from experiencing HTC Sense 4.0. Compared to its predecessor (HTC Sense 3.5) HTC Sense 4.0 is absolutely stunning and a whole lot less bloated. The developer is hard at work fixing the bugs, so we should see a lot of improvements in future releases. At the moment, the developer's main priorities are the radio, sound, and stopping random reboots and launcher problems.

Requirements

If you're curious to see how HTC Sense 4.0 looks and runs on your Nexus S, you'll need a few things:

Rooted Nexus S (GSM) with ClockworkMod Recovery installed. (See our guide on how to root your Samsung Nexus S.)
Make sure your Nexus S has a fully charged battery. This will prevent the phone from shutting off in the middle of the installation process.
Flashing this ROM may delete data on your phone, so make a backup of any important phone data.
Nexus Sense 4.0 dev preview ZIP (Nexus Sense 4.0 GSM developer preview.zip, 466.6 MB)

Instructions

Here are the steps for installing ICS 4.0.3 and HTC Sense 4.0 on your Samsung Nexus S:

Download the Nexus Sense 4.0 dev preview ROM package to your computer.
Copy the ROM package into /sdcard on your Nexus S.
Turn off your Nexus S.
Boot your Nexus S into Recovery Mode. You can do this by pressing and holding down both the Volume Up button and the Power button.
Once in Recovery, make a Nandroid Backup. This will allow you to revert to your previous ROM should something not work out with the ROM. Create the backup through Backup and restore > Backup.
Return to the main recovery menu.
Select “Wipe Data/Factory Reset” and confirm the operation on the next screen.
Select “Wipe Cache Partition” and confirm the operation on the next screen.
From the Advanced Menu, select “Wipe Dalvik Cache” and confirm the operation on the next screen.
Navigate to “Install Zip from SD Card” and choose the ROM package to begin flashing.
After flashing is complete, select “Go Back.”
Finally, select “Reboot System Now.”

Once your phone reboots, you'll now have Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 4.0 on your Samsung Nexus S. Congratulations and enjoy.

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Comments

gesfs

I actually welcome the ir port. Hopefully I’ll be able to control multiple devices (aircons, tvs, fans) with it.
stkiswr

Add a battery percentage and a larger battery. No sense in coming to the game shorthanded again
- MasterMuffin
  
  That’s the advantage that Samsung phones have!
MasterMuffin

If you’re a HTC lover and/or 5″ is too big for you and/or you just want to brag about the PPI, take this. If you want water (and other stuff) resistant cool phone with Sony’s Bravia engine and great sound, go for Xperia Z. If you are patient enough, wait for the next über cool Galaxy S with many nice Samsung add-ons, probably lots of memory and a big replacable battery and über cool 1080p SAMOLED screen. What’s your choice? :)
- Ivan Budiutama
  
  Motorola X phone? or pray to god that Sony will manufacture the next Nexus with many Xperia Z stuff? I would love to bring my Nexus to bath :D
  - MasterMuffin
    
    :D when I wrote that comment, the “x phone” was just a rumor so I didn’t include it in there but yea it would be really nice :)
    - Ivan Budiutama
      
      all just rumors :D but if realistically speaking, I would like to get XZ. How can you resist such a nice.. umm phone.
      
      http://sonyviet.vn/2013/02/xperia-sieu-sexy-trong-bo-hinh-moi/
      
      ok forget about that. If anything can offer you the best experience in music, I believe it would be Sony. I still keep my SE Walkman w980 phone and barely find one who can actually offer similar experience. I don’t know about Oppo Find 5 Dirac HD, might want to watch over that one too.
http://twitter.com/NoahSkye Noah Skye

Too be honest I really love Samsung devices. I am currently rocking the Galaxy Note 2 and I LOVE it. But the only problem with Samsung devices is that they are not the best build quality one could imagine. Let’s face it, yes it is handy that you can pop your back and put a new battery in and sd card, but too be honest I never do this at all. I already put my sd card in and my battery I don’t even do it anymore. Unless something is wrong with it. But then again if something was wrong with the battery I would not buy a new battery and pop it in now would I? I would send this baby right back to sammy and let them fix it. So my perfect phone would actually be a Samsung device with: 5 Inch screen, Full HD AMOLED, 16/32/64 GB available with SD card on the side. No removable battery. And I want HTC build quality. Also if it was available in a VERY dark black, that would look amazing with the deep dark blacks of AMOLED, Obviously the octo core of sammy and 3 GB of ram and 13 mp camera! That’s basically my perfect phone.
- Numbra
  
  Galaxy S3 feels so cheap in the hand. that’s why i love HTC phone because of Sense and the Build quality is premium. Plus i’m not a Huge fan of Super Amoled displays because the colors aren’t that accurate. I am more of a LCD fan.
  - http://www.facebook.com/georgealexiouvalentey George Av
    
    keep your washed out colors.
    - http://twitter.com/NoahSkye Noah Skye
      
      Don’t start a fight over an opinion tho….
      - http://www.facebook.com/georgealexiouvalentey George Av
        
        i’m not but anyone that has seen a iphone, s3, and one X would say that the one X is washed out!
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Mauricio-Paladines-Caicedo/601915356 Mauricio Paladines Caicedo
  
  some people like to use their phones all day and replace the battery with a fresh fully charged one (like me). so interchangeable batteries will always be needed and that is part of a reason that HTC fails so hard.
  - mrband
    
    Bingo! That and no microSD slot. Changing phone’s name again and again will not make crap smell better, do you know Shakespeare, HTC? :p
http://www.facebook.com/georgealexiouvalentey George Av

mehhhhhhhh, s4 pro is weak as hell now. even at 1.7ghz. T4, s800, exunos 5 octa is here, and they run rings around s4 pro.
Lara

LCD is much better than amoled/samoled. At least twice as better. iPhone 5′s screen much brighter and better color reproduction than s3. I should know, I have two s3′s and the screen ain’t that great, but it’s ok.
- vdcxz
  
  Pentile sucks. But the true rgb matrix with superamoled is amazing.
j.k. trowler

Use tegra 4! HTC where are you?!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mauricio-Paladines-Caicedo/601915356 Mauricio Paladines Caicedo

i smell another flop, no battery removal pppffffttttt!
NoOne

“the panel won’t be of the AMOLED variation we all love so much” Really? I am glad they did not use the AMOLED display. My galaxy note 2 is freaking hard to see when I am out side on the sunny day. And the brightness is so bad.