UPDATE: if you missed the live stream of the Galaxy Nexus / Android 4.0 announcement, you can watch it here.
Samsung and Google finally announced the device Android fans have been waiting for, the Galaxy Nexus. While we’ve been posting leaked details about the device all day, we’re glad it’s official now.
The Galaxy Nexus, codenamed Nexus Prime, is the first smartphone to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The latest mobile OS update from Google offers a completely revamped UI, improved multitasking, notifications, and a better browsing experience. It also features facial recognition, called Face Unlock, to unlock your phone – the future is here, folks. Hopefully it will work better than it did during Google’s live demo.
On the hardware side, the Galaxy Nexus has a 4.65-inch 720p HD Super AMOLED display, 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4460 processor, 1GB of RAM, on-screen navigation buttons (instead of capacitive or physical buttons), 5 megapixel rear camera with full 1080p video capture and “zero” shutter lag, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, NFC, and a curved body design. It’s also relatively thin at just 8.94mm thick (4.29mm bezel) and supports 4G LTE, as well as HSPA+ connectivity. While we knew this phone was coming to Verizon Wireless, the HSPA+ support semi-confirms that it could land on US GSM networks too.
Look for the Galaxy Nexus in the US, Europe and Asia this November, before it’s rolled out to more regions. Full specs and promo video posted below.
GALAXY Nexus Product Specifications:
- 1.2 GHz Dual Core Processor
- 4.65” 1280X720 HD Super AMOLED display
- Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
- Rear Camera: 5 MP AF with LED Flash with zero shutter lag and fast shot2shot
- Front-facing Camera: 1.3MP for Video Call
- Video Playback : 1080p@ 30fps
- Video Recording : 1080p Full HD Video@ 30fps
- Audio Codec : MP3/AAC/AAC＋/eAAC＋
- 3.5mm Ear Jack
- Android Market™, Gmail™, Google Earth™, YouTube™, Movie Studio
- Google Maps™ 5.0 with 3D maps and turn-by-turn navigation
- Syncing with Google Calendar™, Google＋ app
- Bluetooth® technology v 3.0
- USB 2.0
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz/ 5GHz)
- NFC (Near Field Communication)
- Accelerometer, Compass, Gyro, Light, Proximity, Barometer
- 1GB(RAM) ＋ 16GB/ 32GB Internal memory
- 135.5 x 67.94 x 8.94mm, 135g
- Standard battery, Li-on 1,750 mAh
- HSPA＋ 21Mbps/HSUPA 5.76Mbps 850/900/1900/1700/2100
- EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
- LTE version will be available depending on the region.
Press Release:
World’s First Smartphone to feature Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a HD Super AMOLED display
Hong Kong – October 19, 2011 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a leading mobile device provider, and Google, today announced GALAXY Nexus™, the world’s first smartphone running Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest release of the Android platform. GALAXY Nexus features a 4.65” HD Super AMOLED display technology at 720p resolution and a 1.2GHz dual core processor.
“Samsung and Google have closely collaborated to push the mobile experience forward. We are pleased to deliver the best Android smartphone experience for customers with GALAXY Nexus. We will continue to move forward with Android to provide the compelling consumer experience in mobile world,” said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business.
“Ice Cream Sandwich demonstrates the Android platform’s continued innovation with one release that works on phones and tablets and everything in between. Features like Android Beam and Face Unlock show the innovative work our team is doing, and GALAXY Nexus showcases the power behind Ice Cream Sandwich,” said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile for Google.
The first smartphone to feature Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
Ice Cream Sandwich brings an entirely new look and feel to Android. It has a redesigned user interface with improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support and a full web browsing experience. GALAXY Nexus features software navigation buttons, a first for Android smartphones. The lock screen, home screen, phone app, and everything in between has been rethought and redesigned to make Android simple, beautiful, and useful.
Ice Cream Sandwich also features a new People app, which lets you, browse friends, family, and coworkers, see their photos in high-resolution, and check their latest status updates from Google＋ and other social networks. GALAXY Nexus features a redesigned camera which introduces panorama mode, 1080p video capture, zero-shutter lag, and effects like silly faces and background replacement.
GALAXY Nexus is also connected to the cloud, keeping your email, contacts, and all other data synced across your devices. You have access to more than 300,000 apps and games from Android Market™, or, in certain countries, you can buy and read books, or rent movies and stream them instantly from your phone. In the U.S., you can also upload your music to the cloud with Music Beta by Google and listen anywhere, even when offline.
Ice Cream Sandwich introduces innovations such as Face Unlock which uses facial recognition to unlock your phone. Using NFC technology, Android Beam allows you to quickly share web pages, apps, and YouTube™ videos with your friends by simply tapping your phones together. You can even use fun effects while shooting video or video chatting with Google Talk™.
Google Experience
GALAXY Nexus is designed to provide a “pure Google,” experience, and with it, you will be the first to receive software upgrades and new applications as they become available.
It also features a number of Google Mobile services, including: Android Market, Gmail™, Google Maps™ 5.0 with 3D maps and turn-by-turn navigation, Google Earth™, Movie Studio, YouTube™, syncing with Google Calendar™, and a redesigned Google＋ app.
Best-in-class hardware meets the most advanced software
GALAXY Nexus is the first smartphone to feature a 4.65’’ display with a market-leading resolution of 720p (1280×720), ensuring you can enjoy GALAXY Nexus’ immersive entertainment capabilities and fast web browsing in superior clarity.
Succeeding the original Contour Display of Nexus S, GALAXY Nexus comes with a rounded shape that fits perfectly within your palm or to your face for phone calling. Hyper-skin backing on the battery cover improves the ergonomic feel of the device and makes the phone slip-resistant. At just 8.94mm thick, with a minimal 4.29mm bezel, GALAXY Nexus provides superb portability alongside an expansive screen.
GALAXY Nexus also features an ultra-fast 1.2GHz dual core processor, providing superior power and speed, ensuring you can take full advantage of GALAXY Nexus’ enhanced multitasking capabilities with ease, or enjoy the large, vivid display to its full capacity with high-definition gaming or video streaming. LTE or HSPA＋ connectivity combined with a dual core processor delivers high-speed web browsing which ensures you always have the web at your fingertips, wherever you are.
GALAXY Nexus will be available in the U.S., Europe, and Asia beginning in November and gradually rolled out to other global markets.
