Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus looks like a great phone and now that we’ve got our hands on the anticipated device we can tell you what we make of this latest collaboration between Samsung and Google. There is some interesting hardware here, although obviously the biggest highlight of this phone is the new Ice Cream Sandwich update for Android.
The Galaxy Nexus starts off well and the slim body and curved edges mix the familiar feel of Samsung phones with Google branding. The phone is very like the earlier Nexus S with its rounded edges, whereas the device is only 0.3mm thicker than the Galaxy S2 making it a very slim phone. This is good news, because one of the things you will first notice about the Galaxy Nexus is its size, coming as it does with a 4.65 inch screen.
As well as having a large screen the Galaxy Nexus adopts the same curved screen design that was found on the Nexus S. This is supposed to fit to the contours of your face better than a flat screen, but may be a little bizarre for some people on first use. The phone is also quite sturdy considering it is made of plastic. We figured it to be of little problem fitting into our pockets and found it an attractive phone.
The device also comes with the same processor as the Galaxy SII – the dual core chip is more than capable of powering the phone and really manages to work well with the new operating system to prevent lag in the phone. This same processor actually produces a smoother experience on the Galaxy Nexus as it is using a stock version of Android rather than coming bundled with TouchWiz.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich is obviously one of the huge selling points of this device and it certainly should be. The Android OS is a really pretty and very functional operating system and Ice Cream Sandwich comes with a great number of improvements on Gingerbread. The advent of face recognition, the inclusion of NFC features like Android Beam, some changes to the menu as well as tweaks in the text used and in a number of other areas make the whole experience a lot better.
One of the other areas where Android comes into play is with its camera. It may not sound so spectacular with just 5 megapixels to play around with – but it still manages to produce a finer image than many 8 megapixel cameras found on phones. The Galaxy Nexus’ camera is also one of the new breed of zero shutter lag cameras, meaning that photos are taken the moment you press the button. Improvements to the lens offer amazing images and colours and just really look excellent when compared to the others in its class.
The phone also comes with Android Beam technology as well as NFC for paying for your goods on the go – another excellent Google introduction. Android Beam allows you to transfer music, videos, documents and contact details – or in fact anything else from your phone – to another Ice Cream Sandwich device by simply tapping the two phones together. This is a new era for phone connectivity that will probably have a greater impact than the overhyped cloud computing.
Overall the Nexus Galaxy is an exciting prospect and one we are eager to use. The nice looking, feeling and attractive phone is one which most Android fans will be drooling at the mouth for. Features of special interest here are Android Beam and the face unlock system.
