The Galaxy Nexus, the first of many phones bearing Google’s latest Android 4.0 operating system, will hit the shelves in Singapore in January 2012, to the delight of Android fans who have waited a long time for a new Google-branded device.
Though it won’t make it in time for the holiday season, the Samsung-made gizmo will come with all the goodies on the “Ice Cream Sandwich” OS that were unveiled in Hong Kong about three weeks ago. Among these: a face recognition feature that unlocks the phone by detecting a user’s face, and updated Gmail features.
However, all the bells and whistles will come at a cool S$948, said Samsung at a regional media event.
Many Android fans, you’d suspect, are already sold. What’s the big deal about a Google-branded phone? Starting with the original Nexus One almost two years ago and later the Nexus S, these phones are always the first to get updated to Google’s latest OSes. They also offer what’s known as a “pure” Google experience, which suits geeks who prefer their phones without any software add-ons.
Besides the software, the Galaxy Nexus is also a contender with its hardware. From the 1.2GHz dual-core processor to the 4.65-inch XL-sized screen, this is one gizmo packed with the latest gear.
The only thing it loses out to Samsung’s main flagship device – the Galaxy S II – is that this new phone has “only” got a Super AMOLED screen, instead of the ultra-bright Super AMOLED plus on the Galaxy S II.
But the S II has a smaller 4.3-inch screen. And more importantly, the Galaxy S II won’t have Ice Cream Sandwich for a while until the Galaxy Nexus ships, so if you want Android’s latest enhancements, the Galaxy Nexus is your ticket to Android geekdom.
The new phone will also be appealing to folks still using the venerable Nexus One – a phone that has received updates all the way from Android 2.0 to 2.3 and has kept pace with many a rival device launched later – because the Nexus One won’t be receiving an update for Ice Cream Sandwich.
Check out Techgoondu’s quick hands-on experience with the Galaxy Nexus.
still thinking whether to get this or the s2. i’m always watching movies on my current phone, galaxy s1. But i heard the galaxy nexus doesn’t support some format. Most of my files are either avi/mkv. Anyone knows about this?
Good point there. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried that out. You might need to get a separate Android player to play those formats. Rock Player plays quite a lot of formats, I understand.
you can always download 3rd party app to support the codec that you require(example rock player which is FREE). watching movie on galaxy nexus should be superb as the resolution of the G-Nex is HD resolution which is 1280×720 and it has the ratio of 16:9 which is most widely used ratio.
How bout prices with plans? (singtel, starhub, m1)
So far, no news yet, as we are still awaiting the shipment. We’ll update on the site once we hear something!
thanks
This shipment information runs counter to Cnet’s information which says Samsung’s statement
“All markets in Southeast Asia–Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines–are expected to launch the Galaxy
Nexus in Q4 2011.”
Hi Iron56,
I was with Aloysius of CNet at the Galaxy Nexus event in Jarkarta. The release date, according to the press release given to us initially was Jan 2012 for Singapore.
I believe Aloysius later checked again with the Samsung folks – after this story was written – and they might have told him the ship date would be earlier. As we didn’t receive the statement from Samsung that CNet has, we haven’t posted that information here.We trust CNet’s reporting – and as Galaxy Nexus fans ourselves, certainly hope that Samsung can bring it here before Christmas!
It is way too long. Can’t they just released it early!! Damn it I hv to wait for january.It is wayyy to longgggg………..
thats what she said
By the way, how do you know the Nexus is coming out in January? Where can I find the source?
Samsung announced this at a press event in Jakarta just now.
no source. samsung’s press release haha
January?! I’ve been waiting since October to recontract, get rid of my 3GS and get a new phone. January is far too long a wait, no matter how awesome the Galaxy Nexus may be.
I shall go ahead and buy the Galaxy S2 next week.
Likewise for me, it’s too long a wait… Same situation….
Galaxy S2 is not a bad choice at all since it has better hardware and you can already upgrade to ICS with mod.
i know right….just cause singapore’s business model is to sell old stock during holiday season… -.-