Samsung, Google unveil Galaxy Nexus

New Android-powered phone to compete with Apple’s iPhone 4S


HONG KONG ― Samsung Electronics and Google Inc. unveiled the first smartphone running on the Android’s latest mobile operating system at a global launch event in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

“We’re very excited to be introducing our next-generation Nexus phone,” said Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google. “We measure it ourselves by three defining terms ― simplicity, beauty and going beyond smart.”

The Galaxy Nexus, running on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich platform, features a 4.65-inch high definition Super AMOLED display screen and a 1.2 gigahertz dual core processor that upgrades speed.

The collaboration effort, put together by the two global tech giants to grab a bigger share in the global smartphone industry, comes with a unique curved design and offers Long Term Evolution or Evolved High-Speed Packet Access connectivity.

With a thickness of 8.94 millimeters, it has a redesigned user interface with improved multi-tasking, notifications and near-field communications functions, as well as a full web browsing experience.

It also introduced innovative features such as face unlock, which uses facial recognition to unlock the phone and the Android beam, based on the NFC technology, that allows the quick sharing of web pages, apps and videos by tapping the back of phones together.

“It’s a powerful example of us in joint commitment to take giant steps to always stay ahead of the curve,” said Shin Jong-kyun, head of mobile communications business at Samsung Electronics.

The global launch of the Galaxy Nexus will kick off next month in many countries, including the U.S., Europe and Asia.

The Galaxy Nexus is the second Nexus phone jointly built by Samsung and Google, following the Nexus S smartphone. The Nexus phone serves as a reference device for other Android partners and developers, meaning it gives them a look into Google’s new mobile platform.

The Ice Cream Sandwich platform is Google’s first joint platform for both smartphones and tablet PCs.

Google’s Android mobile software has already become the world’s most-used smartphone platform, powering up to 190 million devices.

Growing with the Android OS is Samsung, named the No. 1 seller of Android-powered mobile phones. The company is projected to overtake Apple’s mobile sales figure from the third quarter as it aims to sell over 300 million units by the end of this year.

Apple third quarter mobile sales figure announced in the U.S. on Tuesday failed to meet the market expectations of 20 million units, recording 17.07 million units.

By Cho Ji-hyun, Korea Herald correspondent
(sharon@heraldcorp.com)