Galaxy Nexus

With Android 4.4 KitKat finally officially announced, many users now begin the agonizing process of waiting for their device to receive the update. As we are all well aware off, it can take a long time for Android updates to make their way to the majority of users. Things have started to improve recently, however, and with the release of Android 4.4, several manufacturers have already announced their upgrade plans. Here’s a running list of devices already confirmed to get the udpate along with release dates: Expand
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Honestly, when I heard the Nexus 4, the long-rumored LG entrant into the Google-phone legacy, was going to come sans LTE, I almost threw in the towel. After all, the last version, the Galaxy Nexus, is equipped with LTE in its Verizon and Sprint incarnations. Is this a step back?

In my experience, not at all. This is the best Android phone ever made. And, for many purposes, it is the best phone I’ve ever used. It is almost a no-brainer to hit the buy button once you add that it only costs $299 for 8GB or $349 for 16GB.

But, before you do, let’s talk hardware:

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Google released an over-the-air update for the international version of the Galaxy Nexus late this afternoon, bringing the latest Android version 4.2.1 to users. We first got word of Android 4.1.2 when it was released to the Nexus 7 on the Android Open Source Project last week. The update is pretty minor, as it only offers the ability to open notifications with one finger and bug fixes. Additionally, the update was released for the Nexus S and Xoom Wi-Fi this afternoon.

For those who purchased the Galaxy Nexus on Google Play, do not worry. The folks in Mountain View are probably close to pushing out the update in the next few days. At any rate, if you are feeling adventurous, you can hop in this XDA Developers thread to install the update manually. [Phandroid]

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U.S. Judge Lucy Koh granted Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone in June, and the decision resulted in the temporary removal of the device from Google Play pending a software fix with Android 4.1. Today, Reuters reported that Apple’s U.S. injunction on the Galaxy Nexus has been reversed. 

TheNextWeb got its hands on the official order. Samsung argued that its product would “sell almost as well without incorporating the patented feature” :

Samsung argued, somewhat humiliatingly, that the sales of the Galaxy Nexus were so poor that they didn’t pose a threat to Apple’s iPhone and that the unified search feature was not essential to the success of its device. The appeals court apparently agrees, as it states in its official order:

…it may very well be that the accused product would sell almost as well without incorporating the patented feature. And in that case, even if the competitive injury that results from selling the accused device is substantial, the harm that flows from the alleged infringement (the only harm that should count) is not.

According to Reuters, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled the court “abused its discretion in entering an injunction” and will send the case back to the California court for consideration.
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Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is the first smartphone at Verizon to get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, announced the leading 4G LTE carrier today, with the software upgrade rolling out over Wi-Fi now.

Those interested in getting the latest, buttery-smooth version of Android can go to System Updates under the “About Phone” Setting’s menu. As noted, a Wi-Fi network is required to complete the download. The update comes to Verizon more than three months after Jelly Bean was released on the GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus.

“The interface on Jelly Bean is also the most responsive Android OS to date,” said Verizon in its announcement. “Customers can interact with messages, photos, emails and event details from the notification screen, allowing them to directly access important information without navigating their phone.

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The blogosphere recently swelled with speculation as to why Samsung removed Google’s universal search function from its premiere Galaxy SIII smartphone, but a new report today revealed the ousting was simply “inadvertent.”

AndroidCentral first revealed the problem: 

• There’s a new over-the-air update rolling out for the international Samsung Galaxy S III (aka Galaxy S3 GT-i9300) this evening. The OTA message identifies it as a “stability update,” but what it also does is remove local (on-device) search functionality in the phone’s built-in Google Search app. The new version — XXBLG6 — is a relatively recent build, having been cooked just a few days ago on Jul. 20. A new baseband version, XXLG6, is also included, but we haven’t noticed any other changes thus far.
• Following legal action by Apple, which temporarily resulted in the Galaxy Nexus being banned in the U.S., Samsung has taken to pre-emptively disabling the ability to search within on-device data (like contacts and applications) on some U.S. Galaxy S3’s. However, the decision to kill local search on the unlocked international model — which isn’t sold in the U.S. — is a little perplexing, not least because Apple has yet to challenge Sammy over local search in the EU or UK, where the GT-i9300 is sold.

Samsung just confirmed to TechRadar, however, that the removal of search functionality on the U.K. version of the Galaxy S III had nothing to do with a legal action by Apple. The mysterious occurrence, which stopped the ability to search for files, contacts, and apps through the built-in Google Search widget, was apparently unintentional.

According to Samsung:

“The most recent software upgrade for the Galaxy S III in the UK included the inadvertent removal of the universal search function. Samsung will provide the correct software upgrade within the next few days.”

A new update will roll out over the next few days to fix the problem.

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The Google Play store abruptly removed the Galaxy Nexus earlier this week for unknown reasons, but Google just confirmed that it pulled the device from the Android marketplace due to Judge Lucy Koh’s recent decision to not lift the injunction against the smartphone.

The device will continue sales on Google Play next week, according to ABC News, with Jelly Bean preloaded as the operating system to solve the contending issues within the dispute:

The Galaxy Nexus is currently listed on Google Play as “coming soon,” and visitors have the option to receive an email notification for when the smartphone becomes available.

Update: As The Verge reports, this afternoon the Court of Appeals has suspended the ban on the Galaxy Nexus until a formal response is given from Apple. From there, the Court will decide if the ban should go in effect or not.

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DroidLife just posted the above screenshot that confirms “Jelly Bean,” otherwise known as Android 4.1, as the next candy-flavored version of Google’s mobile operating system.

The website first spotted the news in the XDA Developers forum, where a user posted a similar image for the unlocked Galaxy Nexus available on Google Play. One cannot help but wonder if Jelly Bean will unveil at the Google I/O conference that is just around the corner.

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Verizon is now offering the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for $199.99 on a two-year contract— a $100 discount.

The carrier’s internal MAP documents from last week suggested a new asking price was coming sooner rather than later, and it seems Verizon was quick to match Sprint’s newly announced price tag for the device. The attractive savings also levels the flagship Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone with Verizon’s other high-end handsets such as the Droid 4 and LG Spectrum. However, Verizon’s off-contract price for the Galaxy Nexus is still fixed at $649.99.

For those unaware, the LTE-capable Galaxy Nexus also packs a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED contoured display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB Ram, and a 5-megapixel camera coupled with a 1.3-megapixel front shooter.

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Many of us are excited for the first real LTE device set to launch on the Now Network. According to recent leaks, the launch date looks to be coming soon. There have been a good amount of leaks already pointing to an April 22 launch date, and now we have two more leaks from two different publications. BGR posted a leaked memo from a store that indicates April 22 for the launch date. Android Police also posted a leaked memo from a Best Buy store that suggests an April 22 launch date. The LG Viper 4G is set to launch on Sprint April 22, so it makes sense for the network to launch two LTE devices on the same day. I’d bank on it coming this month. Check out both leaks below. Expand
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We know everything there is to know about the Sprint Galaxy Nexus LTE, except for its launch date. According to Phandroid, the launch could be soon, because many Sprint retail stores received sign material to post around their stores. As you can see after the break, the signage is going to be posted in stores this Sunday, April 15.

From the looks of it, the launch of the Sprint Galaxy Nexus cannot be too far off. For those unfamiliar, the Sprint Galaxy Nexus packs two exclusive features: a faster 1.5GHz processor and Google Wallet compatibility. In January, we exclusively brought news that Wallet was left out of the Verizon version at Verizon’s request. This was attributed to Verizon working on its own mobile payment platform.

At any rate, Sprint customers will be able to take advantage of that “Everything Data Plan” for the Galaxy Nexus soon.

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If you are considering picking up the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon anytime soon, Samsung is giving you a decent incentive to do so directly through its website. For a limited time, the company is offering a free Galaxy Nexus i515 Battery Bundle Kit with the purchase of a Galaxy Nexus on the usual two-year Verizon contract. The kit, usually worth $50 through Samsung, provides a back casing compatible with the included 21 mAh extended battery. Unfortunately, many report the battery only provides approximately 10 percent extra battery life, but it is definitely worth getting it free before the promotion ends on May 10.

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Skatter Tech’s Sahas Katta wrote a blog post yesterday about his Windows Phone challenge experience and explained how he beat the contest using a Galaxy Nexus, but Microsoft employees withheld his prize “just because.”

Katta claimed he beat a “Get Smoked” Windows Phone challenge at the Santa Clara Microsoft Store yesterday. The assigned quest was to “bring up the weather of two different cities” faster than a competing Windows Phone user. Katta cold booted his smartphone as instructed, accessed his unlocked screen, and quickly viewed two separate weather widgets for San Jose and Berkeley that were luckily running on the device’s home screen.

Despite executing the task first, Katta was immediately told the Windows Phone “smoked” him:

I excitedly thought I won out of pure luck. However, I was quickly told that I lost. I asked for a reason and was told Windows Phone won because “it displays the weather right there.” That was rather unclear. I showed her my device which also was showing off the same information with two side-by-side weather widgets on the center home screen. After pressing for a better reason, I was told that Windows Phone won “just because.”

After trying to push for a real answer since I clearly won the contest by their rules, another Microsoft Store employee (possibly a manager) came by after noticing me asking more questions. Thinking on his feet, he quickly gave a ridiculous out-of-thin-air reason that I need to display the weather of different cities in different states and that “my phone could not do that”.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7bcWle-UA-M]

Social check-in network Foursquare updated its Android app to encompass Android Beam and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich support.

NFC support on Android products, dubbed the “Android Beam” P2P service, allows devices to exchange data through a small tap/wave gesture over short distances. Foursquare’s upgrade subsequently gives users with Android 4 smartphones the ability to share social discovery information by tapping any two NFC-enabled devices together, and the app embraces NFC tag-reading capabilities for check in’s. NFC is available on Foursquare’s Venue, Lists and Me pages.

“The user experience is great. You just hold your phone against the tap [point]. The check-in screen automatically pops up with the right venue. You’re basically shaving very valuable seconds off the check-in process,” said Foursquare’s Vice President of Mobile International Holger Luedorf during a recent Untether.tv audio interview…

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The white version of the GSM Galaxy Nexus will ship Feb. 13 from retailer Negri Electronics for $659, according to Android and Me. Specs for the white version remain the same. The front of the white Galaxy Nexus feature some black, as we showed you in January, which is depicted in the gallery below. Just as comparison: Amazon offers the black version for $629.99.

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Android 4.0.4 was leaked early for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, and —of course— in typical fashion, a user at the XDA-Developers Forums made a guide available to install the update. The update will presumably be rolling out over-the-air to the masses soon, but if you are up to the challenge, you can install it early with some trickery. Obviously, it is not for the feint-of-heart.

Android 4.0.4 brings many necessary updates, according to the unofficial change log posted on XDA. The update brings noticeably faster speeds, battery stats bug fixed, new radios, improved signal strength, a new power menu, faster boot time, increased volume, keyboard fixes, improved quick controls in the browser, updated News and Weather app, and much more. You can read the full unofficial change log after the break.

Update: One of our commenters (“Eddy”) gave us more insight into after the install.

I updated to 4.0.4 last night via CWM. I can confirm that, although root is initially broke after the update, you can use Wug’s GNexus Root Toolkit to re-root and flash CWM again.

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It seems with any smartphone announced these days, users are yearning for a white version of the device, and two prime examples are the iPhone and Galaxy S II. Of course, it is not any different when it comes to the newest flagship Ice Cream Sandwich handset out of Google and Samsung, the Galaxy Nexus. Italian publication HD Blog had the chance to photograph the white version of the Galaxy Nexus. As you can see in the gallery below, the back and sides are completely white, while the front keeps the black look. The previous flagship, the Nexus S, follows the same formula.

Specifications for the white version of the Galaxy Nexus will remain the same and still ship in both a 16GB and 32GB version, HD Blog said. The white version will land in Europe (GSM) sometime in the coming weeks. It is not clear if there will also be a white version on Verizon Wireless, but there is always a way to get it in the United States through other channels. Looks good, eh?

An advertisement for the Galaxy Nexus popped up on Cnet (via Engadget) showing off the Galaxy Nexus, which was rumored to launch on Sprint for months. The ad shows off the Galaxy Nexus as having LTE, which Sprint debuted today. The ad also revealed that the Sprint version would boast a 1.5 GHz processor, rather than the 1.2 GHz processor that the HSPA+ version currently sports. Sprint will be holding a press event at CES Monday, Jan. 9.

A listing for the Sprint Galaxy Nexus appeared on Ebay yesterday. We posted it, but quickly retracted it —thinking that it was most likely a mistake. With today’s developments, however, that listing could have certainly held some truth.

We will probably hear more official news from Sprint next week.

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A new application available on the Android Market called “ICS Browser Plus” adds a bit more functionality to the Galaxy Nexus’ stock browser. ICS Browser Plus is currently available in beta on the Market and includes two main features. The first feature, as you can see above, adds a quick launcher to the side of the screen where you can reload the page, open a new tab, stop the page from loading, and add the page as a bookmark, and more. For those of you who have used Honeycomb, this will feel very familiar.

The second feature will allow you to change the user agent of the browser. In other words, you can tell a website you are loading the page from an iPad, rather than a Galaxy Nexus.

ICS Browser Plus is currently only available on the Galaxy Nexus and other devices that support Ice Cream Sandwich. The developer hopes to continue adding more features, but in the mean time you can download the free app.

PhanDroid wrote an interesting report this evening, claiming the roll out of the Sprint Galaxy Nexus might be a reality and that it could be coming soon. The information comes from several Sprint customer representatives (seen after the break) who confirm that the Galaxy Nexus can be activated on the Sprint network and that it was given the green light.

When it comes to the radio bands that the Galaxy Nexus supports (CDMA 800/1900, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO), PhanDroid pointed out how both Verizon and Sprint are supported under the current hardware. Sadly, Sprint would not be able to use the 4G side of things with its WiMAX network, but things could always change for the company. (See: Samsung’s Epic line.)

We gave the Galaxy Nexus a good score during our testing, and reviewed it as the best Android phone on the market. Let us hope the phone will see a few other United States carriers in its day. Current rumors point to a 60-day exclusivity for Verizon, though, if today’s news is true, you can theoretically buy a Verizon GN and take it over to Sprint to be Flashed. Moreover, you can buy an international GSM version that works on both T-Mobile and AT&T’s network.

You might remember the ninja unboxing videos for Nexus devices in the past (here and here), but the video for the Galaxy Nexus is something entirely new. When visiting the ninjaunboxing3 YouTube page, you will be greeted with what appears to be a promotional video for the Galaxy Nexus, but it quickly switches into a classic 8-bit style beat ’em up allowing the viewer to punch and kick through the “Clash of the Nexus Ninjas” game.

The video/game was uploaded by Canadian filmmaker Patrick Boivin and was created by Berzerk Studio, Broniac, Monsieur Monsieur Boivin, and Technologies Lab3.ca. There might be a few surprises, so head over to www.youtube.com/ninjaunboxing and check it out now. You can also download a complimentary, full version of the game on Android from the Market.

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Google staffers, also known as Googlers, claim their free Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

Google knows how to take care of its employees. According to a Google Plus post by Edu Pereda, a software engineer at Google’s Swiss offices, the company is treating each employee with a customized Galaxy Nexus smartphone for Christmas. 9to5Google learned the United States versions are going to be Verizon.

The Next Web’s Matt Brian explained that the search giant teamed with Samsung to outfit the Galaxy Nexus with a customized back cover depicting many Google Plus and Android icons (see the image below). Hardware specifications remain unchanged, though.

Apparently Google’s London and Zurich operations were both confirmed to have handed out free devices to employees, requiring staff to line up and claim the handsets, as shown in the above photograph.

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[slideshow]

After all the wait, we’ve finally gotten definitive word from Verizon: The LTE Galaxy Nexus, which will be the first ICS phone sold in the US, will go on sale tomorrow for $299 with a two year service plan from Verizon.

Furthermore, the hold up was in fact the 4.0.2 update which we told you about hours ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdD8s0jFJYo&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

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Verizon hasn’t been saying much about the release date of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. There seems like there has been too many rumored dates to count, and as time ticks by we’re starting to think the Galaxy Nexus launch in the US is going to happen next year — but luckily that’s not the case. In an official statement, Verizon confirmed with Android and Me that the Galaxy Nexus is still on track to launch this year.

The Galaxy Nexus is still on track to launch this year. We will definitely send a press release to announce availability. Feel free to visit www.verizonwireless.com/galaxynexus to sign up for email alerts to be one of the first to know.

Also adding more fuel to the fire, a mysterious package from Verizon is on the way to our reviewer and will arrive Friday. They won’t say what it is, but you obviously know what we’re hoping for. We’ll keep you posted on the latest.

Previously available on Amazon and a few other retailers, Samsung has made the Galaxy Nexus available on NewEgg for $700. Don’t get your hopes up however, this isn’t the Verizon Wireless version — rather the GSM version that works with a T-mobile or AT&T SIM card. NewEgg’s price cuts Amazon’s by more than $50.

We know the Galaxy Nexus will be launching in the US in the coming weeks exclusively on Verizon, and it’s not clear which carrier will get it (if ever) after Verizon. If you’re not ready to switch to Verizon and want the Galaxy Nexus — here’s your chance.

European readers, how are you liking ICS?

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The folks over at iFixit have torn-down the Galaxy Nexus, per usual, exposing what’s underneath. While they didn’t find anything we didn’t already know in terms of hardware, the team found that it’s fairly easy to get into the device — unlike the Droid RAZR — requiring only a few screws and a guitar pick. For replacing the 1750mAh battery users shouldn’t have any problem. The iFixit team does worn however that the screen is fairly hard to replace. They’re still working to identify a few power amplifiers and motion processing units , but we’ll let you know when iFixit finds them.

Don’t forget, we’re still waiting on the launch of the Galaxy Nexus in the United States. The Ice Cream Sandwich device has been available in the U.K. for a little over two weeks now, and has seen positive reviews. It shouldn’t be too long until we see Verizon’s LTE in the mix. iFixit gave the device a 6/10 on the repairability scale:

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Repairability Score: 6 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).

• Battery replacement is incredibly simple thanks to the removable rear panel.
• Minimal adhesive makes removal of the motherboard and other components a snap.
• Headphone jack and speaker assembly are not soldered to the motherboard, so replacement is easy.
• The only soldered components are the volume switch and vibrator motor.
• Removing the rear case to access the motherboard and other internals requires a lotof careful prying and guitar-picking.
• The glass is fused to both the display and the display frame. So don’t crack the glass unless you’re good with a heat gun, or you’re fond of replacing the glass, display, and frame together ($$$).

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Two months ago, Adobe unveiled Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 for Android devices. As you know, the company changed its mind and said recently it will halt Flash development on mobile after Ice Cream Sandwich. Even though they pledged to continuously support mobile platforms with critical bugs and security flaws, users have gotten confused as to whether or not Adobe will release Flash Player 11.1 and AIR 3.1 for the Galaxy Nexus devices.

The company took to the official blog to explain that some support is in fact in the cards:

We will provide a minor update to the runtimes to support the Galaxy Nexus in December.

However, Adobe reminded users that it’s always been phone vendors’ and carriers’ responsibility to deploy Flash and AIR updates to their customers:

To be clear, the Galaxy Nexus does not initially support Adobe Flash Player 11.1 and AIR 3.1. As we previously communicated in a blog post, devices and software updates from our partners which introduce new technologies are being developed on varied schedules that are different from our own, which means that the Adobe runtimes may not always be optimized or supported on devices until a subsequent release.

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An issue with the volume control on the Galaxy Nexus handset spontaneously going to zero plaguing some UK users have been addressed and fixed, Google said in an official statement to The Verge:

We are aware of the volume issue and have developed a fix. We will update devices as soon as possible.

This is good news for owners who feared the volume bug was actually a hardware flaw with the device whereas it was actually a software thing. Google will likely squash this bug with a next point Ice Cream Sandwich update delivered over the air. A video clip, included below, outlines the bug which manifests itself as another phone is put near a Galaxy Nexus device, causing it to cycle through the menu in bootloader mode, activated by the volume rocker.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/?v=y_mO_K7OYR0]

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The Galaxy Nexus hit Europe last week and has even been reviewed, but believe it or not Verizon — the official carrier — has yet to announce an official date. Well apparently, Business Insider has said this evening that they’ve gotten official word from Verizon that the Galaxy Nexus is landing in December. Google originally made comment that the Galaxy Nexus would land sometime in November, but with only around a week left and with no official announcement from Verizon, November is running out. December seems most likely, and previous rumors are saying December 8th.

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Steve Wozniak, one of the confounders at Apple, is one of the first customers in the United States to get their hands on the Galaxy Nexus. The Galaxy Nexus already landed in the UK this week and is launching on Verizon’s LTE network sometime in the next few weeks. Interestingly, Google engineer Kirill Grouchnikov has posted pictures of Woz — a self proclaimed Android fan — posing with the Android team receiving his Galaxy Nexus. All it took was a tweet by Woz saying he was looking for a Galaxy Nexus at Best Buy. He sure looks eager to get home and try it out! Check out another image after the break. (via TechCrunch)

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The first Ice Cream Sandwich handset, the Galaxy Nexus, hit the UK this week (US launch coming soon) and AnandTech has benchmarked the ICS/Galaxy Nexus combo vs. the iPhone 4S/iOS 5 combo.  The Galaxy Nexus processor/GPU isn’t groundbreaking by any means, but the new software inside is certainly packing a punch beating iOS in a few key areas. As seen in the graph to the right, the Galaxy Nexus has a slightly faster tested browser than the iPhone 4S — a crucial day-to-day necessity for users.

The Galaxy Nexus also comes up with the win in JavaScript loading, bringing faster load times than the Droid RAZR and iPhone 4S. Don’t think the Galaxy Nexus is going to come away with everything, however. Both Apple’s iPhone 4S and iPad 2 outperform the Galaxy Nexus in GPU loading — which is limited by its slower SGX 540 underneath.  That’s an important consideration for gaming.

The Galaxy Nexus’s hardware has been dubbed very smooth compared to older versions of Android. Google is activating 550,000 Android devices a day and is still behind iOS in total Activations at 200 million total.   Head after the break for more graphs.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4HImSqR1k&start=850]

Following a lengthy interview in October where he gave us insight into the future of Android and Google’s view on iOS and Windows, Android’s head of user experience Matias Duarte sat down with The Verge to discuss his work on Android and more specifically, Ice Cream Sandwich. During the interview Duarte elaborated on his competitor’s design choices, where he says iOS looks cartoonish and explains if it were “put on a website or magazine, you’d laugh at it, it would look childish”. Host Joshua Topolsky also calls him out for saying Windows Phone looks like “bathroom signage in an airport”, to which he didn’t comment.

Matias gave a few demos using a Galaxy Nexus, including one of live video chat effects like blurs and warps that alter your face in real-time. He also explained his view on photography features calling traditional features of point and shoot cameras such as white balance “crap”, saying “if it’s not immediately obvious, it’s something the machine should be taking care of for you”.

Duarte also defended Google’s choice to create the new Roboto font for ICS, which he also recently explained in a blog post, as well as addressed the controversy of ICS’s Face Unlock feature (which was recently tricked using a photo).
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PhanDroid has posted the side-by-side chart above to compare Verizon’s three new Android offerings: the Motorola Droid RAZR, HTC Rezound, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus. As you can see, all three phones are almost dead alike when it comes to specs. The Galaxy Nexus boasts a slightly bigger screen than the Rezound or RAZR, while the Rezound has the speed in-lock with its 1.5 GHz dual core processor. Ugh, the decision is just so hard..

The Galaxy Nexus is lacking when it comes to camera, having a 5-megapixel camera while the other two have 8-megapixel cameras. All three phones do pack Verizon Wireless’s blazing 4G LTE, so network speed won’t make a difference. So which device is for you?

The question is really up in the air right now. We’re currently playing with the RAZR (which lands tomorrow) and Rezound, and will be getting the Galaxy Nexus soon. You can expect our reviews of all three to be up in the coming weeks. At any rate, it really looks like Verizon is dominating as a carrier right now. The carrier is boasting all three of the cutting edge Android phones, along with the iPhone 4S. You definitely know where to shop this holiday.

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Verizon has about the sickest lineup of phones we’ve ever seen for the holidays. While it is carrying the iPhone like almost everyone else, it has not one, not two, but three *incredible* flagship Android devices that are all incredible in their own way. We’ve already seen the Droid RAZR and we just got a close look at the Droid Rezound. We know, and Verizon verifies above, that the buttonless Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be showing up before the holidays.

We talked to Verizon at the Rezound event and they told us there wouldn’t be an event for the Galaxy Nexus, at least from Verizon. They said Google would he handing them out to reviewers shortly. From the paperwork above, it looks like Verizon will be the only carrier doling out Nexi for the holidays with the others following in the new year.  The new Android comparison matrix below (via TheDroidGuy):

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The Galaxy Nexus could launch the week after Black Friday if a timeline leaked by Droid Life stands to be true. Our first look at Ice Cream Sandwich will reportedly launch with Samsung’s Holiday Portfolio after Black Friday, which is the busiest shopping day of the year. Samsung’s Holiday Portfolio most likely includes the Galaxy S II and various other devices.

Verizon’s holiday lineup is sure to be packed with Samsung’s offerings and Motorola’s new Droid RAZR and Motorola’s portfolio. Oh yeah, there’s the iPhone 4S too!

Slashgear did just that.  All of a sudden the 4.65 inch display of the Galaxy Nexus looks very svelte compared to the otherwise gargantuan 5.3 inch Galaxy Note.  The Note coes on sale in Europe next week while the Nexus hits on November 17th.

As for us in the States, we’re expecting an announcement shortly on both.

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Matt Cutts has been using ICS on his Nexus S for awhile and recently used the panoramic photo feature to take these pictures.

Now that Ice Cream Sandwich (the newest version of Android) has been revealed, I can tell you that I’ve been testing ICS on my Nexus S.

One feature I love is the panorama mode. I recently did a multi-day hike in Yosemite, and here are a couple panoramic pictures I took with my Nexus S. I can’t wait for the Galaxy Nexus to come out.

I guess it goes without saying that Android 4.0 will work on older Android phones – with buttons- though it isn’t exactly clear how that will work or which phones will make the cut. Expand
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Today, we have found a few pictures taken by the upcoming Galaxy Nexus on Picasa. We’ve matched the EXIF data of both images with each other, and then with past leaks which seem to indicate that this is the Galaxy Nexus. The Galaxy Nexus’ camera has a resolution of 1944×2592 pixels, and matches the photos leaked a couple weeks ago of an Apple Store. Note, that the EXIF data of both images called this device the Galaxy Nexus, not the Nexus Prime.

The first image, as seen after the break, was posted by Picasa user Sammy Fte (Samsung FTE?). The EXIF data of the image matched perfectly and actually looks like a nice picture if you ask us. The resolution was only 1944×2595, only sizing in at about 5MP, a low megapixel camera in comparison to the 8MP camera seen in Samsung’s Galaxy S II and there may be a reason for this. A previous photo found with Galaxy Nexus EXIF data on Picasa had the same 5MP quality and it led us to believe that the camera is the same.  We believe that this certain Picasa user is an employee of Samsung thanks to the name and other photos posted on the account.

As you can see after the break..
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We’re but a day away from Google’s and Samsung’s major Hong Kong event meant to serve as a launchpad for the Nexus Prime, the first handset to feature Android 4.0 nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich. Guardian reports that the handset is “expected to be released in the UK within the next four weeks, in time for Christmas”, without naming a source for their claim. Meanwhile, Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo wrote on Twitter that the Nexus Prime will land in Japan around November, boasting about it being “among the fastest” devices on the market.

An unlocked version of the phone is already showing up at third-party resellers, priced at about $750. The features allegedly include a powerful 1.2GHz dual-core processor, native 720p display, eight-megapixel camera on the back with 1080p video capture, support for NFC and more.

Google pushed back the Nexus Prime launch originally scheduled for Monday last week out of respect for Steve Jobs. Coincidentally, the new October 19 date collides with a celebration of Steve Jobs’ life due tomorrow in the outdoor amphitheater of Apple’s Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino. Apple will even close its brick-and-mortar stores for an hour so employees can watch the ceremony.

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