Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Android Ice Cream Sandwich
The Galaxy Nexus first landed weeks ago in Europe, where there were widespread reports of problems with volume control and other bugs. In the interim, Canada and other countries received the phone while the U.S. continued to wait. The Galaxy Nexus dropped in Australia on Tuesday, and the American release was announced shortly thereafter.
Verizon Wireless - the CDMA carrier with a deal to offer the Galaxy Nexus exclusively in the U.S., at least for a little while - says the Google Phone will be available online and in Verizon stores starting Wednesday.
Some shoppers were able to get a hold of the phones in the U.S. at Best Buy stores early, after the stores apparently stocked them ahead of time by mistake. This would seem to indicate that retail locations already have the phones on hand and are likely to start selling them as well.
In addition to carrying some clout as the first official Ice Cream Sandwich phone, the Galaxy Nexus is also among the few Android phones carrying an NFC chip, which can communicate with PayPass and other payment stations that use Near Field Communication.
Screen
The Galaxy Nexus has one of the biggest and brightest screens, a whopping 4.65 inch Super HD AMOLED touchscreen display with 1280×720 resolution in 16:9 ratio.
Design
The design has slight curves, contoured display that is rounded, slicker, and slimmer (slim as in 8.94mm) than any other Nexus device. Samsung made the device screen near bezel measuring only 4.29mm, so the display is wider without being bigger in the hand. It feels light and weightless, even the materials are elegant with hyper skin backing for slip resistance. The Galaxy Nexus does not have any physical buttons, yet Android 4.0 supports total operation without it.
Unfortunately Samsung chose to put a 5 megapixel camera (versus 8mp), though capable of 1080p HD video with front facing camera. New to the smartphone is a barometer which will bring new app development opportunities and of course NFC yielded innovations with mobile payment options or contacts sharing.
OS
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) brings beauty, simplicity and power to Android in a harmonious way. All of the core apps are update: Gmail, Maps, Google+, YouTube, etc. Other key improvements are with the keyboard, notifications, lock screen, Browser, Photos, Gallery, Videos, and Contacts (now called People App).
The first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone will soon be available in its country of origin on Wednesday. Technically the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is made in Asia, but the latest Google phone carrying the anticipated Android upgrade traces its software roots to California. Fans there and in the rest of the United States have eagerly been awaiting its arrival while watching the device's global rollout pass them by.
The Galaxy Nexus first landed weeks ago in Europe, where there were widespread reports of problems with volume control and other bugs. In the interim, Canada and other countries received the phone while the U.S. continued to wait. The Galaxy Nexus dropped in Australia on Tuesday, and the American release was announced shortly thereafter.
Verizon Wireless - the CDMA carrier with a deal to offer the Galaxy Nexus exclusively in the U.S., at least for a little while - says the Google Phone will be available online and in Verizon stores starting Wednesday.
Some shoppers were able to get a hold of the phones in the U.S. at Best Buy stores early, after the stores apparently stocked them ahead of time by mistake. This would seem to indicate that retail locations already have the phones on hand and are likely to start selling them as well.
In addition to carrying some clout as the first official Ice Cream Sandwich phone, the Galaxy Nexus is also among the few Android phones carrying an NFC chip, which can communicate with PayPass and other payment stations that use Near Field Communication.
Features and Specifications
Speed
It is of course capable of 4G high speed mobile broadband internet speeds in both LTE and HSPA+favors globally. It will zip in blazing speeds touting a 1.2 GHz dual core processor, married to Google new Ice Cream Sandwich software.Screen
The Galaxy Nexus has one of the biggest and brightest screens, a whopping 4.65 inch Super HD AMOLED touchscreen display with 1280×720 resolution in 16:9 ratio.
Design
The design has slight curves, contoured display that is rounded, slicker, and slimmer (slim as in 8.94mm) than any other Nexus device. Samsung made the device screen near bezel measuring only 4.29mm, so the display is wider without being bigger in the hand. It feels light and weightless, even the materials are elegant with hyper skin backing for slip resistance. The Galaxy Nexus does not have any physical buttons, yet Android 4.0 supports total operation without it.
Unfortunately Samsung chose to put a 5 megapixel camera (versus 8mp), though capable of 1080p HD video with front facing camera. New to the smartphone is a barometer which will bring new app development opportunities and of course NFC yielded innovations with mobile payment options or contacts sharing.
OS
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) brings beauty, simplicity and power to Android in a harmonious way. All of the core apps are update: Gmail, Maps, Google+, YouTube, etc. Other key improvements are with the keyboard, notifications, lock screen, Browser, Photos, Gallery, Videos, and Contacts (now called People App).
