First look at the Samsung Galaxy Nexus – Ice Cream Sandwich with the lot
Filed under: Android, consumer, gadgets and gizmos, mobile phone
Everyone remembers who came first.
If I were to ask you to name the second man on the moon, or which horse ran second in the 2011 Melbourne Cup, or who was the second person to climb Mt Everest, I would probably get a “who cares” response. As you know there can be a certain element of risk in being first – especially in unchartered spheres. But there is also glory. No one can ever take the title of “first”.
The guys at Samsung told me how excited they are about the launch of the Galaxy Nexus – the first mobile phone to be built for the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich platform.
The Google Experience
The Google Experience is a total package that includes Android Operating System, Gmail, Maps, Google +, Calendar, Android Marketplace and more. Basically, it’s aimed at providing you with all you need without going outside to enhance the product.
Brag Book
What good is it being first if you can’t brag about it right? Let’s take a closer look at the Galaxy Nexus.
- First device built for Android 4.0 – aka Ice Cream Sandwich. Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is a major Android release that will cover both smartphones and tablets. ICS is the 7th version of Android (Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich), and adds a new user interface, new communications and sharing capabilities, a refined menu structure, cloud services, improved browsing speed and face recognition (Face Unlock) to the already impressive Gingerbread features.
- Redesigned user interface with the end user in mind! Android 4.0 features a slicker, more modern user interface that lets you navigate with simple, intuitive gestures.
- Personalisation – now you can group your favourite apps and resize your widgets so your phone can reflect the true you. You control the size and position of these widgets to suit your needs.
- Recent Apps button gives you a thumbnail view of apps recently used and lets you jump instantly from one task to another. If you no longer want quick access to an app – a simple swipe of your finger will remove it.
- Enhanced camera functionality – Panoramic pics like never before. Simply point and shoot and pan – the Galaxy Nexus does the rest. Face detection, continuous focus and zero shutter lag also help in making sure you get the clear pics you want. And if you want to have some fun with your pics, try the photo editor to crop, rotate, resize or add effects – all on your camera.
- Your face is the key. Remember trying to unlock your phone with a finger print swipe? The Galaxy Nexus has upped the security stakes with Face Unlock – utilising state of the art facial recognition technology to unlock your phone. Not only is it secure, it’s fun to show your friends!
- Let your voice do the typing. Why type when you can dictate? The Galaxy Nexus has a built in speech to text that allows you to tell your phone what you want to write. I found it worked quite well in a semi noisy environment.
- Built in VPNs (providing access to L2TP and IPSec protocols), encryption and other handy business tools make the Galaxy Nexus a strong contender in the Business and Enterprise arenas.
- Head in the Cloud – Ice Cream Sandwich brings the cloud experience to the books you read, the music you listen to and the shows you watch – all optimised for the Galaxy Nexus’ HD screen.
- Near Field Communications (NFC) is another example of how the Galaxy Nexus “humanises” technology. We shake hands as a form of greeting exchange. Android Beam allows two NFC-enabled devices to “shake hands” and exchange contacts, YouTube videos, Android Market links and more. Google Wallets lets you make mobile payments through NFC. Welcome to the cashless society 2.0.
- Super AMOLED HD = an amazing viewing experience. The Galaxy Nexus screen has 1280 x 720 resolution with a total of 921,600 pixels (no, I didn’t count them!), and provides better power consumption than pervious AMOLED screens
- Accessorise, Accessorise, Accessorise. It’s great to see a strong range of accessories – both original and after market – available for the Galaxy Nexus – from Audio Docks to HDTV Adapters.
Wow…that certainly is a lot to brag about. There’s plenty more for you to explore, use and enjoy. In summary, from my three hours of playing, the main things I love about the Nexus are:
- Screen size and clarity
- Face Unlock
- Panoramic pics
- Speech recognition
Technical Stuff:
Key Phone Specifications:
- Network: UMTS: 850/2100/1900/900 MHz
- GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
- HSPA+: 21Mbps peak downlink rating
- Actual speeds are less (typical speeds 550kbps – 8Mbps)
- Dimensions: 135.5 x 67.94 x 8.94mm
- Weight: 135g
- Screen: Full Touch 4.65” (1280 x 720) 16m Colour HD Super AMOLED
- Talk Time: Up to 180 mins
- Standby Time: Up to 250 hours
Key Features:
- World’s first phone to use Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- Massive 4.65” High Definition display with vivid colours and stunning clarity
- 1.2 Ghz dual core processor for lightning fast web browsing, downloads and online streaming
- 5 megapixel camera with full HD Video Recording
first
Any idea when the 4.0.2 or 4.0.3 updates will be pushed OTA to Telstra Nexus owners?? i know that others overseas have already received the first update and the second is not far off?
I was initially excited because Telstra were releasing a standard un-modified Google handset – ordered one and have since discovered that the build of ICS is slightly modified from the Google standard device.
Michael, would you be able to explain to us all the differences between the yakju(Google Generic) and yakjudv(Telstra) variants of the firmware and how these variants will effect OTA device updates and will this cause any delay in update delivery of releases?
thanks
Brad
Hi Brad. Thanks for your question.
The team at Samsung advised me that Yakjudv is optimisation to 850/2100mhz which Telstra network infrastructure operates with no other firmware changes, whereas yakju(Google Generic) is default 900/2100mhz.
All GOTA (Google Over The Air) updates will work for Telstra as for any other operator.
As far as I know there is no modification The OTA updates will work for Telstra as for any other operator.
Thanks, Michael, so can you please have Samsung explain to us the exact differences between the generic Yakju build and the YakjuDV that Telstra use (optionally including the XW [?] and UX [Bell Canada]) versions?
Samsung’s own website states that there is a higher SAR on the Telstra variant (0.385mW/g vs 0.339mW/g) but it is not stated whether this is purely via the Baseband/radio installed, via a different antenna/backend configuration, or a combination of the two.
People have reported successfully loading the Telstra-optimised Baseband/radio firmware into generic Yakju phones.
I plan to use one on NextG, but before I decide which variant to buy (and at what price premium!) due diligence requires a straight answer to this question. It isn’t a small investment!
The page I’m referring to:
http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/mobile-phone/mobile-phone/smartphone/GT-I9250TSAOPS/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=specification
4.02 or 4.0.3 update please…Or just a solid ETA would do…Also…Why is the Nexus not up on the “Software update” page at Telstra.com???
When will google wallet be available in Australia? NFC is one of the features I was looking forward to but currently it is useless unless i tour the phone.
When will 4.0.3 be released OTA?
Currently the phone OS is marred by the lack of Facebook integration into the contacts (I hadn’t realised there’d be no working Facebook integration when I bought the phone). I’m hoping 4.0.3 will fix that.
It’s a great phone other than the non-working Facebook contacts though!
Give friend caster a try. Works pretty good
After a lot of research I have purchased the nexus. I have not had one problem with it or accessing any services through telstra. This phone has convinced me to drop any apple products for good.
Hi there,
Everyone in the world is getting the 4.0.2 updates since yesterday and why m i not getting it despite i have hit the “check updates” button like 10 -20 times?
Pls explain and ETA us when 4.0.2 will be rolled out?
Cheers
Had this phone for a month now and not happy with it at all,
- Randomly turns off and cannot get it back on for hours even when I remove the battery
- Phone calls drop out
- 3g signal is shocking, the other day couldnt get 3g for 2 hours straight
- Phone heats up whenever i use it (back of phone gets quite hot)
- Apps always randomly close down
Im certain I have a faulty battery but cannot see how this would effect the 3g signal or phone calls cutting out.
On top of this telstra just said to send it off for repairs, why would I want to repair a one month old phone!
Think its time for an iphone.
Call telstra complaints. Ask them about the ACCC warranty as the phone is ‘Not fit for purpose’. My nexus is doing the same thing and i have 3 batteries so it isn’t the battery. They should be able to cancel your contract. If they won’t tell them you are calling the ombudsman. Good luck.