After Christmas Sale 2011: Free Samsung Nexus S vs LG G2x from Best Buy

LG's G2x is $100 on contract from T-Mobile, but Best Buy is selling the device for free as part of their Christmas sale this year. All of the major U.S. carriers offer phone deals through Best Buy, but both the LG G2x and the Nexus S are available now for free. Neither device is all that new, but they are solid choices and especially for that price.

The G2x is a super sturdy device and a totally unheralded smartphone in every sense. It's got a four inch touchscreen, eight megapixel camera on the back and mini HDMI port for connecting to an HDTV. It can shoot video in 1080p resolution and LG has even announced its international variant, the Optimus 2x, will get the Android 4.0 update in the middle of next year. That's important because the only difference between the 2x and the G2x is T-Mobile sells the G2x in the U.S. It means the device is technologically capable of running Android 4.0, but that T-Mobile likely hasn't signed off on the update yet.

Nexus S, on the other hand, is getting the update right now. Nexus S owners have been getting the over the air update and will continue to do so over the next month. The reason for that is the Nexus S is a Google branded phone, the second in the line of three, and the most recent until the Galaxy Nexus debuted in December from Verizon. Based on this alone it would be easy to recommend the Nexus S. It's got the same size screen as the G2x, a five megapixel rear-facing camera, 16 gigabytes of internal storage and a near field communication chip for instant sharing of data. Both phones are free right now from Best Buy, so now's the time to upgrade from your feature phone or try out Android for the first time. Tell us in the comments if you've bought a smartphone through companies like Best Buy instead of right from the carrier.