UK smartphone retailer Phones4u has the Galaxy Nexus up for order through Orange. The phone isn’t available yet, but the site has delivery of the device pegged as November 16th. No official announcements have been made regarding availability of the new Google flagship device, but all sign point towards early to mid-Novemeber, lining up perfectly with the date we are seeing here.
[via Phones4u | thanks, Dan!]
Corning has updated everyone via Twitter in regards to claims that the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung would be using their Gorilla Glass product. In the official press release we received just before the Hong Kong unveiling, Samsung didn’t mention anything regarding Corning’s product.
The rumor came from a flyer that listed the device as having it. We’re not sure where the confusion came from but we’ll be reaching out to Samsung for comment. In the meantime, do you think the Galaxy Nexus has any other sort of strong glass to protect it from scratches and light falls? [source, Thanks Jordan!]
A pair of Samsung OEM accessories for the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus (i515) appeared for sale online. Well, almost appeared seeing how there are no actual images of the accessories. The Samsung multimedia dock ($69) and vehicle mount ($50) are both up for pre-order with an “expected” release date of November 21st. This gives us another clue on when to expect the actual device to launch on Verizon seeing how the dock is specifically made for the slightly thicker i515.
The dock accessory was actually spotted for a brief moment during the joint Google/Samsung Nexus event and connects via the 3 connector pins found on the side of the device. The MSRP on both these accessories sound a bit steep for a man of my means but as you can see, retailers will most likely be offering them at varying discounts.
[Via WirelessGoodness]
After Google purchased Motorola Mobility everyone suspected that the Moto device will have priority when the software updates will be released for handsets and tablets. Now, we learn that the Droid RAZR will get Android Ice Cream Sandwich in 2012, while Motorola Xoom will be the first tablet to get the new flavor of Android.
The Xoom was also the first tablet with Honeycomb, so it would be a pity to spoil tradition. No info about release date for now and if you want the info for other tablets, know that HTC will probably offer the Flyer such an update sometime next year, if I were to speculate. They promised to be very open about the update and bring it to their products as soon as possible.
Galaxy Nexus is the absolute first with Android 4.0, followed by confirmations for update of the 2011 Xperia lineup at Sony Ericsson and the Droid RAZR. LG and Samsung are strangely quiet about this, so there must be some math to be done here, since they have a lot of Android models and Samsung quite a bunch of tablets.
With Android Honeycomb we saw the introduction of USB hosting, allowing for connectivity with device like a USB hard drive or USB gamepad (like the Xbox 360 controller) on a tablet for use with games or emulators. In case there was any doubt that this would also be a feature in Ice Cream Sandwich, Romain Guy reminded everyone via Twitter today, that USB gamepads will be fully functional in ICS as well. Couple that with HDMI output and this would essentially turn your Galaxy Nexus into a full fledged portable gaming console (with the right emulators of course).
Cruising around Reddit I found this screenshot of exactly what can be found in the Android SDK in regards to game controllers. You can see it’s a sort of tutorial from Google on setting up a game controller for Android 4.0. Of course, when testing out this function don’t forget — it always helps to imagine you are a lone space cowboy in hot pursuit of the aliens who kidnapped your favorite llama on their way back to Andromeda. Pshh, duh… Who’s ready for some serious Android gaming on your smartphone?
Thanks, Ankit!
Though some out there were intent on spreading false rumors to the contrary, Verizon Wireless has officially announced that they will carry the Samsung Galaxy Nexus There isn’t much more to add; the phone has been run through the ringer this week as it is. But find the truth in the press release below, which sadly still lack a release date and pricing.
VERIZON WIRELESS INTRODUCES THE GALAXY NEXUS BY SAMSUNG
Features the Latest Version of Android and America’s Fastest and Most Reliable 4G Network
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Verizon Wireless today announced that the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung, the world’s first smartphone running on Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich is coming to Verizon Wireless. The Galaxy Nexus will be available later this year in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com.
Ice Cream Sandwich brings a redesigned user interface with enhanced multitasking, notifications, full Web browsing experience and more. Customers will also be able to enjoy the innovative new features that Ice Cream Sandwich offers, such as Face Unlock which uses facial recognition to unlock the Galaxy Nexus. Customers can take advantage of the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network to access more than 300,000 apps and games from Android Market™ or rent movies and stream them instantly on the 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED™ display.
Additional features:
· 4G LTE - customers can expect fast download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G LTE mobile broadband coverage areas
· Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
· First smartphone to feature a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED™ display (1280 x 720)
· 1.2 GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM
· 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, zero shutter lag and 1080p full HD video capture
· 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting
· Near Field Communications (NFC) enabled
· Android Beam allows customers to quickly share Web pages, apps and YouTube™ videos with friends by simply tapping compatible phones together
· Support for Google™ mobile services - Android Market, Gmail™, Google Maps™ 5.0 with 3D maps, Google Earth™, Movie Studio, YouTube™, syncing with Google Calendar™ and a redesigned Google＋ appCustomers that purchase the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung smartphone will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 for monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data. For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
Verizon is pretty much a lock for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and it’s a safe bet that AT&T and T-Mobile could also receive the handset. But what about Sprint? With no WiMAX version announced and Sprint’s LTE plans not quite ironed out, most though the carrier had a slim chance of getting a piece of the next Nexus. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, according to a purchase order handed over to our pals at BriefMobile. This lines up with what we have heard from our own Sprint insiders stating that the Galaxy Nexus is already entered into their computer systems.
Details are absent on when the Galaxy Nexus (here still listed as the Nexus Prime) will land on Sprint and how much it will cost, but the same goes for all US carriers. It is also unclear exactly which version of the handset the Now Network will receive. Does this change any plans for folks ready to jump the Sprint ship for a chance to get a cool serving of Ice Cream Sandwich?
[via BriefMobile]
We’ve gotten about as many emails as we can take at this point regarding the display on the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung. It is a 4.65 inch Super AMOLED HD display at 720p resolution using pentile matrix technology. Immediately people got their fear-mongering machines out and took to the internet regarding why the Galaxy Nexus was doomed.
Clearly, we felt people were overreacting. We didn’t hear enough reports out of the Galaxy Nexus event to suggest this would be a problem. As critical as our own Rob Jackson was about all that was announced that day, he didn’t mention any real negatives regarding the screen and that’s probably because there probably weren’t any. And the fact that we already knew the Galaxy Nexus would be using pentile matrix a while before the event took place made me even more less inclined to post the story.
While I don’t claim to have extensive knowledge on display technology, there are many out there who do. To gather an idea of how the Galaxy Nexus might stack up to other phones when it launches, PhoneArena compared the Samsung Galaxy Note (which has a 5.3 inch display and a slightly higher resolution than the Galaxy Nexus at 1280×800) to the iPhone 4S, the HTC Titan and the Samsung Galaxy S II.
Their conclusion in a nutshell? Unless you were looking at these displays with a microscope, clarity and color aren’t any more issues than anything else on the phone (and from what we hear, there are very few). Images aren’t much less clear and text isn’t much less crisp than the next phone.
In short, everyone’s blowing the issue way out of proportion because the “disadvantages” of using pentile matrix with Super AMOLED HD are really only visible in these testing situations. For the average user and even for you tech buffs, this should be a non-issue in everyday usage. Hit the link to PhoneArena above for a more detailed breakdown of their findings along with some samples.
I’ll admit, I was one of those nay-sayers quick to point out the over-kill of equipping our smartphones and tablets with overly powerful beefy GPU’s — I mean, it’s not going to make Angry Birds look any better, right? Well, consider me wrong. Mobile gaming is about to get real serious, real soon. Look no further than Shadowgun and Bladeslinger which we took a look at awhile back. Well, if those titles failed to impress or perhaps weren’t really your style, check out Race of Champions coming soon to Android (and iOS).
The game is being developed by a Invictus and is coinciding with the real life Race of Champions event being held in Germany. As you can tell by some of the screenshots, Race of Champions is more of a simulation racing game (no turtle shells or mushrooms here, folks) and features both circuit and off-road racing. They’ve even thrown cross platform multi-player into the mix meaning Android users will be able to challenge iOS users and use their skills to decide which OS is truly “better.”
Can you imagine how great these visuals will look on the Galaxy Nexus’s 720p Super AMOLED display? Anyone else drooling over these screenshots? Race of Champions is expected to drop sometime in early November and we’ll keep you posted.
[Via AndroidPolice]
While this week’s slate of news may have been gobbled up by the DROID RAZR, Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich, we still like to highlight applications that run on all these cool phones. After all, they wouldn’t be smartphone if they couldn’t do the many things that they can. We’ve only got a couple of apps for you today so take a look – we think you’ll really enjoy them.
Sweeper 3D – While I’ve never been a huge Minesweeper guy, I can’t deny a good looking game when I see it. Sweeper 3D takes that concept and puts it into multiple dimensions, giving players an entirely new dynamic to work with. As the name suggests, you’re dealing with a 3D board on which to sweep for mines. The goals are the same but you’ll have to keep in mind the unique situation that a 3D map creates before you can be successful with this game. Not a bad puzzler for free. [Market]
Mobile Mouse – Mobile mouse allows you to control your PC using nothing but your phone. It works by sending commands over your WiFi signal as a server on your PC receives them and carries out whatever you want done. It was created with HTPCs in mind so if your media server is fed through that, you’ll want this (that’s if you don’t already have an elaborate remote to use). It’s compatible with the Mac and PC and costs just $3 in the market. [Market]
