Galaxy Nexus Features Unveiled For New Android Smartphone By Google, Samsung (VIDEO)

At a joint event in Hong Kong, Samsung and Google announced the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the latest flagship phone in Google's Nexus line and the first smartphone to operate using the new Android 4.0 operating system, dubbed "Ice Cream Sandwich."

The third phone in the Nexus family, after the HTC Nexus One and The Samsung Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus is the latest Android smartphone to be developer in tandem with Google engineers. The Galaxy Nexus will have a big 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED Screen (with a wow-inducing 1280 x 720 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio), a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and capability for both 4G LTE and 3G HSPA+, depending upon availability and location; it'll also be packing 1GB RAM, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera ,1080p video recording and NFC capability for mobile payments and "bump" sharing with other phones. It will also be rocking that curved glass design of the Samsung Nexus S; unlike the Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus will not have any physical hardware buttons, instead opting for touch buttons on the display screen.

TechCrunch praises some of the new features the device brings to the table, including its "ability to take screenshots by holding down the power and volume down buttons" and the "novel 'face unlock' feature that (what else?) allows users to gain access to their handsets just by flashing their pearly whites."

The Galaxy Nexus will be available starting in November in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The device will launch on Verizon in the U.S., according to VentureBeat.

Feast your eyes on the video (below) to get a first look at the handset.

WATCH:

For a look at Google's big update to the Android platform, check out the slideshow (below).

Comments

[Candy Gao]

02:31 AM on 12/14/2011

iPhone's newest android phone suppliers, including TPK, Wintek and CMI, have delivered their components in advance for the new iPhone's and best android tablet assembly. To demand the anticipated need, these suppliers will benefit from the smartphone's mass production and sales. Anyway, this is still a good news for the flash market.

[suki556]

12:00 AM on 12/02/2011

Mobile Fusion RIM's service makes a "comes with a mobile device" (bring your own device) trend, this trend is the business of show. More and more corporate IT departments began to allow employees to use their newest android phone [ http://www.2r-trade.com/Wholesale-Discount-cell-phones_c4.html] devices, many companies have been bring into this trend.

[empress trudy]

04:59 PM on 11/28/2011

It's a chick phone. Why you say? Because it's too damn big to carried around in anything less than a pocketbook.

[StinkyPete0279]

01:52 PM on 10/20/2011

Truly and amazing device*

* - until 6 months from now, in true Samsung fashion, all support and updates are unceremoniously dropped.

[jena132]

01:01 PM on 10/20/2011

I'm looking at a new phone, and don't know a lot about them....right now between the Samsung Stratosphere and the Android iPhone. Any thoughts?

[RattleCat]

11:05 AM on 10/20/2011

Beast is an understatement.  Its like carrying a PSP around all day.

[KarateKid]

08:54 AM on 10/20/2011

Hey ! It looks just like an iPhone !!

Just kidding, Fandroids, relax, chill out and don't be so full of h8red.

[2crudedudes]

02:33 PM on 10/20/2011

No it doesn't

[nowpolitics]

05:28 PM on 10/19/2011

When will it be available (specific dates, please)?

[JasonMcl]

08:03 PM on 10/19/2011

The leaked data indicates November 10th.

[nowpolitics]

01:59 PM on 10/20/2011

Thanks. I really hope so.

[JasonMcl]

04:56 PM on 10/19/2011

Here is a blow by blow of the 4S vs the Galaxy Nexus.

Form: Thinner and lighter than the iPhone4S with a slight curve to the body. The display is also slightly concave to allow a bit more viewing area.

Connectivity: The Galaxy Nexus has true 4G LTE and NFC technology. The 4S will run only 3G on verizon and HSPA+ on GSM networks.

Screen:
The iPad (not iPhone) has a resolution of 1024x768, for a total of 786,432 pixels.
The Galaxy Nexus has a slightly concave display with 1280x720 resolution for a total of 921,600 pixels.
The iPhone4S, like the iPhone4 has only a 960 x 640 resolution displaying 614,400 pixels. So essentially the Galaxy Nexus can actually display 1.5 times the visual information on the screen. (which also happens to be 1.3 times larger than the 4S).

Camera: The rear facing camera has less resolution than the iPhone4S, the front has a greater resolution.

Some things still have to be determined: Stock battery life, ICS web browsing benchmarks and app compatibility from 2.3. Those will be what makes or breaks the Galaxy Nexus, though I think ICS is going to be an overall plus for all phones.

[KarateKid]

08:56 AM on 10/20/2011

What makes or breaks it for me is battery life. Until that improves, I won't buy one. And, unfortunately, there are no battery/case combos for Android phones like Mophie, and I don't want to carry around spare batteries.

[politicalgenius]

10:27 AM on 10/20/2011

don't forget the viruses and malware for Android.

[JasonMcl]

06:27 PM on 10/20/2011

Because Android batteries are removable, there are four kinds of battery solutions available for Android:

1. Extended batteries - A regular extended battery that is the exact same size and shape as your original battery. Will typically add around 50% extra charge and allows you to use any existing case for the phone, including the otterbox.

2. Large Extended batteries with custom rear covers - I use a Mugen Power 3600 mAh battery with a custom rear case. This gives my xperia play 20 hours of battery life (gaming, videos, Gps, etc). I attached some small rubber strips

3. Case with external battery. I believe this is what you were referring to when you said a Mophie: http://www.power-skin.com/ These cases all have very large external batteries which feed directly to the USB port. The battery can be turned on and off at the user's discretion.

4. External Battery - One that isn't directly attached via a case, but can be possibly attached to the device via velcro or some other goofy means. Obviously a last resort.

So there you go.

[mairs]

04:46 PM on 10/19/2011

I'd really like to see this phone. I ordered an iPhone as my contract just ended, but I've been waiting to see this one. I wish it was out right now.

[xcuzemebut]

02:04 PM on 10/19/2011

Apple doesn't feel it yet, but today it has been dealt a crushing blow. Google/Samsung released Galaxy Nexus with Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) OS on board. While the phone itself is not an iPhone killer, ICS is the first polished OS from Google, and soon it will find its way onto many different Android devices. iOS had an edge over all previous iterations of Android OS, and manufacturers like Samsung, HTC and Motorola had to beautify their phones with custom UIs (Sense, TouchWIZ, MotoBlur) but today iOS domination has come to an end. ICS is cool, beautiful, fast and exciting. Apple should get used to disappointing financial quarters.

[dmsdzinr]

03:26 PM on 10/19/2011

Do you assume that Apple will be stagnant in its design and tech for the forseeable future? GET REAL!

[JasonMcl]

04:17 PM on 10/19/2011

Apple may not be stagnant but they are certainly complacent at this point.

New smartphone users continue to chose android 2 to 1 over iOS and one of the main reasons they steer away from the iPhone is the small screen size. Given that information, why would Apple release a 4S instead of an iPhone5 with a larger screen?

The answer is that the 4S was released because Apple fans will buy it no matter what it is, what its new features are or how much of an upgrade it happens to actually be. And they can keep doing this to the same few million people every couple of years.

The problem with this strategy is although it makes a ton of money in the short run, the new phones you release become increasingly irrelevant in the broader spectrum of devices and you will not gain new customers at a rate necessary to maintain your market share.

[J5K]

06:58 PM on 11/28/2011

Why not, their last release was...

[EvasDaddy]

01:14 PM on 10/19/2011

56 comments? Is that right? All day?

Guess all the Hemoroids are on Apple articles, bashing that monster, iPhone4S.

[edenooch]

11:17 AM on 10/19/2011

i would still take a DROID RAZR over this

[Doc Sam]

11:13 AM on 10/19/2011

I purchased a Samsung GalaxyS 1 year ago. Based on my experience over the past 12 months I would not purchase another Samsung product. The product is poorly constructed. Nothing to do with the operating system on it, just a crappy and expensive purchase that has disappointed me. Even though my I still have a year left on the contract, I will be trying to find a non-Samsung phone to replace my glitch filled GalaxyS which I do not expect to be much of a problem.

[renniz]

01:15 PM on 10/19/2011

I've also had nothing but problems. It freezes, is slow to respond, or crashes out of an application often. I've had to hard reset many times. I also hate not having a physical button for calling or hanging up. They need to remember that these are smart phones and not PDA's!
Hears looking to the new OS!

[Sally J Hanks]

02:13 PM on 10/19/2011

I also had so many problems with my Samsung phone that I would probably never buy another. The main problem with mine was that half of the touchscreen stopped working, and that basically rendered the phone unusable. I am interested to see how this phone with only touchscreen controls holds up over time.

[AllenFromAtlanta]

11:02 AM on 10/19/2011

HHmmmmmm, it may be time to retire my HTC Incredible and look at getting the Galaxy Nexus. I've never had a Samsung phone though; are they well built?

[Doc Sam]

11:21 AM on 10/19/2011

After 1 year with my GalaxyS hangs up on people spontaneously, even when it is set to speakerphone and I am not touching it - happens daily. Touch screen fails to respond and have to manually shut phone down and reboot to get touch screen functions back -- happens 3 or 4 times per week. The screen is beautiful, the phone is light and when new it worked very well. After 6 months things started to go downhill and now I am ready to get something, anything, else and I won't be buying Samsung after this experience.

[AllenFromAtlanta]

11:53 AM on 10/19/2011

Thanks Sam, I may have to wait until HTC comes out with a new phone.