04:41
Aru2012
ever ones to be left behind when it comes to whipping up some
tech-infused excitement, Google, the creators of that little green
robot-inspired platform, have been cooking up something special recently
in the form of the eagerly anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich Android
update. Even more eagerly anticipated than the new platform itself is
the device on which it’ll make its début, the Samsung-produced Galaxy Nexus,
the blower specifically chosen by Google to showcase Ice Cream Sandwich
in its full glory. So what exactly has this new Ice Cream Sandwich
business bought to the table? Let’s have a loosky…
Design
The Galaxy Nexus is quite a lot of
smartphone to squeeze into your flesh-mitt as it features a whopping
4.6-inch HD Super AMOLED display that dominates the front fascia (bar a
couple of little bits of space above and below it). The reason that the
screen looks as though it should be measured in acres is the notable
absence of any kind of navigation buttons, usually found residing at the
foot of the display. Now, don’t be too alarmed – the builders hadn’t
forgotten to include them, it’s just that in the case of the Galaxy
Nexus the nav keys are actually part of the screen itself. No,
not incorporated into the screen like those touch sensitive ones we saw
on other Galaxy blowers, they’re actually on the screen and only show up
when you’re using it.
Don’t be put off by its apparent
gargantuan size though for the makers have managed to cram its
considerable techy bits into a streamlined and slick-looking outer shell
that, rather astoundingly, comes in at just 8.5mm thick. To add further
to the already pleasing aesthetics the Galaxy Nexus rocks some curvy
bits, most notably at its edges and towards the bottom of the rear of
the handset. Speaking of the back panel, its worth pointing out that
it’s really quite nice to touch, and that’s probably down to the
inclusion of what its creators refer to as a ‘Hyperskin’, something
which they claim “improves the ergonomic feel and makes the phone slip
resistant”. We didn’t use it in the shower (and wouldn’t advise you to
either), but these sentiments are definitely ones which we’d agree with.
Positioned top-centre and nestling in a
little cut-out bit of that rubberised nobbly cover (sorry, Hyperskin)
there’s a 5MP with an LED flash standing loyally by its side, and just
below that there’s a bit of Google branding, but other than that, there
isn’t really that much to distinguish it from other Galaxy devices in
the range, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There was one
little thing that irked us about its design and that was how the3.5mm
audio jack has been placed on the bottom edge of the device, meaning
that when you’re using it to listen to your tunes and shove it back into
your pocket, you have to swivel the thing around so that the wire/jack
is at the top. Not a massive hindrance in the grand scheme of things,
but it is quite annoying when your phone is upside down when you remove
it from your trousers.
Operating System
If you’ve been keeping an eye on mobile
goings on this past couple of months you’ll know that the latest
iteration of Google’s lovely Android OS is called Ice Cream Sandwich
(they’re sticking with the dessert-themed titles then) and that it is
said to bring with it all manner of enhancements. Industry types and
bloggers alike got themselves in a tizz about when it’d show up and on
which device but the wait is now over with this here Galaxy Nexus being
the first handset to feature the new platform. And what a treat it is.
You see, the Nexus series of smartphones are what Android creator Google
like to use to showcase their platform in its purest form, meaning none
of that user interface business that makers of other Android kit like
to splash over the top (ever seen HTC Sense or Samsung’s TouchWiz?).
Upon cracking the phone open (not
literally, that’d break it), you’re greeted with the familiar sight of
swishable homescreens with widgets pined to them, only this time round,
the ability to long press the home screen to bring up that widget and
app organiser bit you get on Android blowers is not an option and you
have to go directly to the app menu, press, hold and manoeuvre from
there.
Any of you thinking that this plain
Google approach is a bit boring, then think again because this Ice Cream
Sandwich malarkey brings some cool stuff to the table. Stuff like
Android Beam, a cool little bit of functionality that uses NFC
technology to allow you to wirelessly share stuff you’ve got stored on
your phone with other Ice Cream Sandwich-toting devices just by bumping
them together. Nice. Being as its a Google phone, the Galaxy Nexus is
fully integrated with that new Google+ social site and the people app
syncs up all your contacts with their Google+ accounts so you can see
all of their updates and whatnot in one place. Web perusal is looked
after by an easy-to-use browser and that 5 megapixel camera can not only
capture video at 1080p HD, but there’s also a panoramic shoot mode
that’ll let you take one massive picture in one go. Quite a lot to pack
in we think you’ll agree, but you needn’t worry about it all slowing
down as there’s a 1.2GHz processor lurking inside, so there’s no danger
of multitasking falling flat on its face.
The Final Word
Ice Cream Sandwich certainly caught the
imagination of the mobile fraternity and the blather and bluster its
arrival generated was certainly justified judging by the performance
offered by the Galaxy Nexus. Yes it might be a touch on the large size
(aren’t most high-end smartphones these days?) but the stripped down,
uncomplicated Android experience, combined with that awesome screen and
cool multimedia moves make the Galaxy Nexus a smartphone force to be
reckoned with.
Read more http://community.phones4u.co.uk/galaxy-nexus-android-taken-to-the-nexus-level/
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