Scoop! It's the Ice Cream Sandwich

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the curtain-raiser device for Google's latest version of its Android smartphone operating system

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

October 19, 2011

1 Min Read
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Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: SEC) unveiled the latest version of the Android mobile operating system on the flagship Galaxy Nexus smartphone at an event early Wednesday morning in Hong Kong.

Google first previewed the latest "Ice Cream Sandwich" update of its Android OS back in September. Google and Samsung cancelled the original launch event, planned for CTIA last week. (See OS Watch: RIM Buys Up a Cloud Vendor.) Updates to the OS include:

  • A faster browser.

  • Near-field communications (NFC) capabilities with "Android Beam", which allows users to touch phones to swap apps, maps and videos.

  • Software "buttons" replace nearly all hardware buttons.

  • A better "soft" keyboard.

    Read the blog from Google SVP of mobile, Andy Rubin, on the updates.

    The lead device using Android 4.0 is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Features include a 4.65-inch contour display and a dual-core 1.2GHz processor over either 4G LTE or HSPA+ 3G wireless.

    You can view the entire launch presentation below:



    The Galaxy Nexus will launch in November. The Samsung phone follows hard on the heels of other top-flight smartphones such as the iPhone 4S and the DROID RAZR 4G. (See Photos: Moto Gets Skinny With 4G RAZR and Photos: Apple iPhone 4S Launch Day.)

    — Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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