Ice Cream Sandwich and Samsung Galaxy Nexus Unveiled

By Gina E. Ryder, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Samsung and Google unveiled the Galaxy Nexus Smartphone and offered a sneak peak of the Android 4.0 operating system, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich on Tuesday night in Hong Kong.

The Galaxy Nexus will hit stores this November in Asia, Europe and the U.S. It will be the first device to run on Ice Cream Sandwich, a system that will eventually be available on tablets as well.

Users can expect a slick, sleek feel for the high-end smartphone, which for months was rumored under the name Nexus Prime, which insiders say was a codename developers have used for the phone in order to conceal Galaxy Nexus as its true name.

As reported by Engadget, we can expect Google’s latest smartphone to have an on-contract minimum advertised price (MAP) of $299 when launched, according to a leak by a Verizon Wireless tipster.

According to Droid-Life, their MAP period is pegged to start Nov. 10 but it may not be released immediately.

A previous leak of Verizon’s inventory detailed that the smartphone includes mobile web, Bluetooth, voice activation, voice memo and 4G capabilities, among other specs.

The phone however will not be a "global phone" supporting both GSM and CDMA networks.

Andy Rubin, Google's head of mobile, said "this weekend marks the third birthday of the G1, the first-ever Android phone. Nine releases later, more than 550,000 Android devices are activated daily."

The Nexus Prime features a 5-megapixel camera, 1080 video camera, reduced shutter delay facial recognition and other special photo effects. The Ice Cream Sandwich brings a slew of innovative features including “Face Unlock” which uses facial recognition to unlock the phone.