Galaxy Nexus
Encyclopedia
The Galaxy Nexus is a touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...

 slate Android smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

 developed by a partnership between Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

 and Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

. The phone and operating system were developed collaboratively by engineers from both companies. It is the third generation successor to Google’s previous flagship phones, the Nexus One
Nexus One
The Nexus One was Google's flagship smartphone manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation. It became available on January 5, 2010 and uses the Android open source mobile operating system...

 and Nexus S
Nexus S
The Nexus S is a smartphone co-developed by Google and Samsung and manufactured by Samsung Electronics. It was the first smartphone to use the Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" operating system, and the first Android device to support Near Field Communication in both hardware and software...

. It has a curved HD (1280×720 pixels) Super AMOLED
Super AMOLED
Super Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode or Super AMOLED is a display technology mainly for use in mobile devices such as mobile phones...

 display, an improved camera system, and Google’s new version of its Android operating system, version 4.0, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. The name is the result of co-branding
Co-branding
Co-branding refers to several different marketing arrangements:Co-branding, also called brand partnership, is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy...

 between the Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus
Google Nexus
The Nexus is a series of Android smartphones produced by Google in co-operation with selected hardware companies. The purpose of the Nexus phones is to offer a "pure Android experience", in which the phones come free of carrier or manufacturer modifications and with an unlockable bootloader to...

brands of Android smartphones.

The Galaxy Nexus was unveiled at Google and Samsung's Ice Cream Sandwich event on 19 October, 2011 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. It was released on November 17, 2011.

History

Google's plans to continue the Nexus brand
Google Nexus
The Nexus is a series of Android smartphones produced by Google in co-operation with selected hardware companies. The purpose of the Nexus phones is to offer a "pure Android experience", in which the phones come free of carrier or manufacturer modifications and with an unlockable bootloader to...

 and bring a third-generation Nexus to market were confirmed by Google's senior vice president of mobile platforms Andy Rubin
Andy Rubin
Andrew Rubin is a technology pioneer, co-founder and former CEO of both Danger Inc., and Android Inc. He is currently Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, where he oversees development of Android, an open-source operating system for smartphones...

 in May 2011.

Samsung mobile
Samsung Telecommunications
Samsung Telecommunications is one of five business units within Samsung Electronics, belonging to the Samsung Group, and consists of the Mobile Communications Division, Telecommunication Systems Division, Computer Division, MP3 Business Team, Mobile Solution Centre and Telecommunication R&D Centre...

  put out a teaser video for its "Google Episode" of Unpacked on October 11th but later postponed (to the 19th of October) the product announcement out of respect, following the death of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...

.

Before the official announcement, it was also referred to as the Google Nexus Prime among Android enthusiasts and the media.

Before the unveiling, there had been repeated leaks of various details on the upcoming new Google phone. Specifications on the phone varied including information about the processor and the camera.
After the official unveiling some started to worry about the 5 megapixel camera but most of the fears were put to rest when photo and video samples were shown. The phone was announced on 19 October, 2011 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, revealing the official name as "Galaxy Nexus".

Hardware

The Galaxy Nexus features a 4.65-inch 1280×720-pixel HD Super AMOLED
Super AMOLED
Super Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode or Super AMOLED is a display technology mainly for use in mobile devices such as mobile phones...

 PenTile curved glass display, a dual-core 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4460 processor (ARM Cortex-A9) with an accompanying PowerVR
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and Direct X, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL acceleration....

 SGX540, 1 GB of RAM. The processor can run from 1.2–1.5 GHz, but is underclocked at 1.2 GHz for smooth performance. However, it can easily run at 1.5 GHz once rooted (see Texas Instruments OMAP). Additionally, a 1,750 mAh
Ampere-hour
An ampere-hour or amp-hour is a unit of electric charge, with sub-units milliampere-hour and milliampere second...

 battery, 1.3 MP front camera and 5 MP rear camera (with zero shutter lag) capable of 1080p
1080p
1080p is the shorthand identification for a set of HDTV high-definition video modes that are characterized by 1080 horizontal lines of resolution and progressive scan, meaning the image is not interlaced as is the case with the 1080i display standard....

 video, 4G
4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...

, Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

, GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...

, barometer
Barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...

, and NFC
Near Field Communication
Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States...

 and it has 16 or 32 GB of internal memory.

The Galaxy Nexus also hosts support for MHL
Mobile High-definition Link
Mobile High-Definition Link is a proposed industry standard for a mobile audio/video interface for directly connecting mobile phones and other portable consumer electronics devices to high-definition televisions and displays...

 through the use of its Micro USB 2.0 port.
This means that the Galaxy Nexus has the ability to output up to 1080p
1080p
1080p is the shorthand identification for a set of HDTV high-definition video modes that are characterized by 1080 horizontal lines of resolution and progressive scan, meaning the image is not interlaced as is the case with the 1080i display standard....

 audio-visual
Audio-visual
The term Audio-Visual may refer to works with both a sound and a visual component, the production or use of such works, or to equipment used to create and present such works...

 content (through HDMI
HDMI
HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...

) to any supported external display such as HD Television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...

.

The Galaxy Nexus has no physical buttons on the front, but instead features on-screen soft key
Soft key
A soft key is a button flexibly programmable to invoke any of a number of functions rather than being associated with a single fixed function or a fixed set of functions. A soft key is often located alongside a display device of a portable device such as a cellular phone, where the button invokes a...

s embedded into the system software (part of Android 4.0). Beneath the soft keys, a multicolored notification LED
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...

 is featured, a feature missing from the Nexus S
Nexus S
The Nexus S is a smartphone co-developed by Google and Samsung and manufactured by Samsung Electronics. It was the first smartphone to use the Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" operating system, and the first Android device to support Near Field Communication in both hardware and software...

.

The 3.5 mm
TRS connector
A TRS connector is a common family of connector typically used for analog signals including audio. It is cylindrical in shape, typically with three contacts, although sometimes with two or four . It is also called an audio jack, phone jack, phone plug, and jack plug...

 headphone jack
Jack (connector)
In electronics and electrical assemblies, the term jack commonly refers to a surface-mounted connector, often, but not always, with the female electrical contact or socket, and is the "more fixed" connector of a connector pair...

 is located on the bottom of the phone, and the camera is located in the center of the rear side. The phone will have 16/32 GB internal storage depending on model.

Software

Galaxy Nexus is the first device to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, introducing a large number of new features and improvements including, but not limited to, Face Unlock, voice typing, Android Beam (using NFC
Near Field Communication
Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States...

), Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct is a standard that allows Wi-Fi devices to talk to each other without the need for wireless access points .-Basic Wi-Fi:...

 among others.

Availability

The phone is sold SIM-unlocked
SIM lock
A SIM lock, simlock, network lock or subsidy lock is a capability built into GSM phones by mobile phone manufacturers. Network providers use this capability to restrict the use of these phones to specific countries and network providers...

 and hardware-unlocked (unlocked bootloader, allowing root access
Rooting (Android OS)
Rooting is a process that allows users of mobile phones and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control within Android's Linux subsystem with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and manufacturers put on some devices...

), following the tradition of the Nexus phones: Nexus One
Nexus One
The Nexus One was Google's flagship smartphone manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation. It became available on January 5, 2010 and uses the Android open source mobile operating system...

 and Nexus S
Nexus S
The Nexus S is a smartphone co-developed by Google and Samsung and manufactured by Samsung Electronics. It was the first smartphone to use the Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" operating system, and the first Android device to support Near Field Communication in both hardware and software...

.

Europe

In the UK, the Galaxy Nexus was made available on O2 and Three
Hutchison 3G
3 is a brand name under which several UMTS-based mobile phone networks and Broadband Internet Providers are operated in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom...

 on November 17, 2011 at a price of £499.99 and up. The version sold is the HSPA+
Evolved HSPA
HSPA+, or Evolved High-Speed Packet Access, is a technical standard for wireless, broadband telecommunication. HSPA+ was first defined in the technical standard 3GPP release 7....

 version.
Only the 16GB version of the phone will be available in the UK. The phone is expected to launch in 20 other European countries on November 17, 2011.

North America

In Canada, Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility is a CDMA and HSPA+ based wireless network and the division of Bell Canada which sells wireless services in Canada...

 and Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a brand used by many mobile phone service providers across the globe; its headquarters are based in the United Kingdom. Virgin Mobile has local operations in Australia, Canada, France, India, South Africa, Greece, United Kingdom and the United States. It briefly also had operations...

 will launch the device December 8th, and Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless is a wireless telecommunications provider offering mobile phone and data services throughout Canada using Global System for Mobile Communications and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications...

 and Telus
TELUS
Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...

 have announced a January 2012 release.

In the US, Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....

 has announced that they will carry the LTE version of Galaxy Nexus, and it will be available by the end of 2011.

Asia-Pacific

The phone will be supported by the carrier NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...

 in Japan, where the variant sold there will be known as the SC-04D within the docomo NEXT series of smartphone devices.

In India, the Galaxy Nexus is expected to launch by the end of 2011. It is expected to be priced at around 35,000.

Volume bug

A few days after the UK release, some users started noticing a glitch with the volume rocker, where the phone would lower the volume seemingly at random. Cnet UK
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...

 also reported that the phone in their review "dropped the volume when we were using 2G
2G
2G is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja in 1991...

. This means it was almost impossible to make calls over 2G. We missed calls and texts due to not hearing alerts." As a consequence, they could not recommend buying the phone at the time of the review.
On the 22 November 2011, the UK retailer Handtec temporarily stopped Galaxy Nexus shipments after confirming that there was a problem with its stock of devices.
Soon after, on November 23, both Google and Samsung confirmed the issue, saying they already had a fix and the phones would be updated "as soon as possible". On November 28th, what apparently is the fix produced by Google leaked on the internet.. On the 29, November, Handtec resumed shipping of the Galaxy Nexus. On the 30, November, Google started updating devices, stating "We're currently rolling out a fix for the volume issue which will reach everyone in the coming week."

Reception

The Galaxy Nexus is a highly anticipated phone, even regarded as the most anticipated Android device of 2011, gathering very positive reviews.

According to Engadget
Engadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...

 editor Darren Murph, the Galaxy Nexus was "smooth as ever. Without question, this is easily the slickest, most polished version of Android yet" and that "The entire experience just felt polished. In a way, it's as if Android's growing a bit and maturing before our eyes", concluding with "Overall, we're thrilled with how the first ICS handset has turned out. It's understated, sleek, beautiful and packs a display that's destined to drop jaws."
In their official review of the Galaxy Nexus (HSPA+ variant) Engadget editor Myriam Joire concluded that "The Galaxy Nexus is definitely the best Android phone available today -- it's possibly even the best phone available today, period", praising it for its speed, feel, display and battery life. However, she did note that the camera was "underwhelming" and that the build quality was average.

In a T3 review Thomas Tamblyn noted the camera was "quicker than many digital cameras" and concluded saying "the whole experience is very fluid. Even in its current form [a pre-release version] It feels like a version of Android that is already very polished."

The GSMArena review concludes stating "The Galaxy Nexus is an impressive device on its own."

Mobilesyrup's review indicates "From our time with the device, we can safely say there is no going back. Every piece of Android hardware from this day on will be judged not on the speed of its processor or its pixel density but on whether it is running Ice Cream Sandwich. The Galaxy Nexus has a market lead so vast as to be a chasm; the experience is just that much better. [...] Samsung has wisely taken the best design aspects of the Nexus S and Galaxy S II variants and created the first best Android device ever."

Charlie White, at Mashable
Mashable
Mashable is an American news website and Internet news blog founded by Pete Cashmore. The website's primary focus is social media news, but also covers news and developments in mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology, memes and gadgets...

, described the screen as "gorgeous", offering "an exquisitely sharp view", and describing the hardware design as "a spectacular success", concluding "The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is by far the best Android phone I’ve seen yet."

Joshua Topolsky from The Verge stated "It's one of the best smartphones ever made, and with a couple of minor tweaks (particularly to the camera), it could be the best smartphone ever produced."

Vincent Nguyen, from SlashGear
SlashGear
SlashGear is a weblog devoted to consumer electronics and technology published by R3 Media LLC. The site was launched in December 2005 and grew quickly in popularity reaching Technorati Top 100 blog ....

 noted the fast performance of Android 4.0.1, the tight integration between the operating system and the hardware and concluded that "this is the best Android phone around today".

JR Raphael, from Computerworld
Computerworld
Computerworld is an IT magazine that provides information for senior IT leaders. It is published in many countries around the world under the same or similar names. Its publisher is International Data Group. Computerworld serves the needs of IT management via print and online...

, stated "The Galaxy Nexus [...] is an exceptional phone, arguably the finest Android handset to date.", concluding "The Galaxy Nexus is sleek and attractive, with a thin, light body and a beautiful HD display. It's screamingly fast, too, delivering what may be the best overall performance of any mobile device available."

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK