galaxy nexus - 13/16 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Dec

Samsung's Galaxy Nexus Stops By The FCC Again, Appears To Be Headed To AT&T [Update: It May Actually Be Headed For Canada]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in AT&T, Galaxy Nexus, News

Our elusive friend the Galaxy Nexus has made yet another appearance at the FCC, gaining approval for GSM 850/1900 and WCDMA II/IV bands, indicating an impending AT&T release.

Update: A tipster has informed us that the GT-I9250T's 'T' suffix may indicate that the phone is not actually headed for the US, but for either Telcel in Mexico, or Telus in Canada. This speculation seems conceivable, given that previous Galaxy models with a T suffix went to one of the two carriers listed above. Again, this is merely (informed) speculation – since neither AT&T nor Telus have said a word about the Galaxy Nexus, anything is possible.

Dec

Verizon Hates Us, Posts Galaxy Nexus Visual Voicemail App In The Android Market, Your Grandkids Will Love It

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Applications, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Verizon Wireless

The endless teasing continues.

Verizon has posted the Galaxy Nexus version of their hideous visual voice mail app, despite having no way to, you know, actually use it. You can pay $2.99 a month for the privilege of using ...this:

Why was this even made? Ice Cream Sandwich has APIs for integrated visual voicemail, carrier crapware like this is no longer needed. Get with the program, Verizon.

I'm sure those with cash to burn and a blind spot for aesthetics will appreciate this when it is finally able to be used, which right now is looking like sometime around 2054.

Dec

Bring Your GSM Galaxy Nexus Back From The Dead With This Official Image

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Have you modded your Galaxy Nexus a little too much? Do you have the boot loop blues? Google is here to help with an official Galaxy Nexus image.

Flashing the image will wipe out your Nexus and return it to it's original, stock state. You can get your factory fresh copy of Android 4.0.1 right here. The archive contains the bootloader, baseband, and the system files.

Install instructions are the usual ADB shenanigans, full details from JBQ himself can be found here.

Good luck! Oh, and if you can't get your Nexus working, I'll be glad to take it off your hands for you.

Nov

Verizon Specifically Marks The Galaxy Nexus As Having "No OEM Customization," 32GB Internal Storage

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Verizon Wireless

In a recent "Competitive Comparison" graphic, Verizon has labeled Samsung's Galaxy Nexus as having "No OEM Customization," ostensibly as a selling point against the competition.

It's interesting that Verizon would go so far in labeling the Nexus' UI as such, but it may hint that VZW is at least vaguely aware that some consumers prefer a stock experience, and consider it a strong enough selling point that it should be included in a comparison chart. It's also likely that Verizon simply wanted to accurately describe each device's UI, but I find it odd that they included "Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich" twice in the same column, just to make clear that there are no custom overlays to be found on the Nexus.

Nov

Mysterious Verizon Holiday Ad Appears Across The Web, Shows Galaxy Nexus For $199.99

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy Nexus, News, Rumors, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Nobody is really sure what it means at the moment, but we definitely know the ad showing the Verizon Galaxy Nexus for $199.99 is real. As in, It's not fake since it's showing up on Android sites across the web (we've spotted it here at AP, at Phandroid, and DroidForums to name a few). These ads are run by NetShelter, which is a premium advertising network that deals directly with carriers and manufacturers and does not mess around - we know them all too well.

Clicking Learn More goes to this page that doesn't list the Galaxy Nexus, so either someone pressed the Launch button a bit too early or the ad was scheduled ahead of time and someone forgot to postpone it due to all the recent delays.

Nov

[Update x2: Dan Morrill Confirms Software Fix With Sensible Explanation] Google: Galaxy Nexus Volume Bug Is Fixable In Software - Fix Already On The Way

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Galaxy Nexus, News

There's been quite a stir caused in the past few days about a mysterious volume bug which surfaced on the Galaxy Nexus. The bug began drawing attention over at XDA's forums, where several users reported ostensibly random muting, and erratic response from the Nexus' volume rocker.

It was quickly discovered that the issue seemed to have something to do with the use of 2G signal, specifically the use of a 900 MHz frequency used by many European carriers. The bug could also be replicated using other phones situated near the Galaxy Nexus, leading to concerns that perhaps the bug was hardware-related.

Nov

Unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus Now On Sale At Expansys.com... For $750

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy Nexus, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Samsung

Not in the mood to wait around for Verizon to finally decide to put a firm release date on the Galaxy Nexus' head? Tied to one of the other carriers? If your answer to either of those questions was affirmative (and if you have three-quarters of a grand lying around), you'll be delighted to know that Expansys just put up a page from which customers can purchase the I9250 GSM variant of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

At $750, it won't come cheap, but as this is an "intermational" handset (Expansys' "be first" motto apparently means it doesn't dedicate much time to proofreading), you'll be able to use it on both AT&T and T-Mobile.

Nov

MoDaCo's Paul O'Brien Releases Patch For Galaxy Nexus Softkeys With Menu And/Or Search Key Reinstatement

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Development, Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

One of the most prominent new features on the Galaxy Nexus, and Ice Cream Sandwich, is that the soft-keys are displayed right on the screen. While the notion is a sound one, there will always be those who miss some of the legacy features left behind. In this case, those would be the Menu and Search keys, stalwarts of Android's interface paradigm since its release with the G1. What was once four buttons - Home, Menu, Back, Search* - has been whittled down to just Home and Back, along with the introduction of the new multitasking-purposed App Switcher button. This combination was seen previously in Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but is about to encounter widespread use on upcoming phones**.

Nov

[Updated] Galaxy Nexus Owners Experiencing Strange Volume/Muting Bug

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Galaxy Nexus, News

Update: Things have gone from "Looks like a weird software bug" to "Damn, this could well be a serious hardware issue". As some users had been suggesting, the problem does indeed link to use of 2G. However, it turns out that the issue can be replicated by the use of 2G even on another, proximate phone. As you can see in the video demonstration by kongzs7 below, the volume rocker keys' sensors are set off even when the phone is only at the bootloader.

This absolves Android 4.0 from blame, and suggests either an issue with the internal hardware, or possibly the firmware of the device, both significantly more problematic to sort out.

Nov

Impromptu Q&A Session With Android Engineer Dan Morrill Brings To Light Reasons Behind Galaxy Nexus' Lack Of USB Mass Storage

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy Nexus, News

So, it turns out that the Galaxy Nexus doesn't support USB mass storage (UMS), which happened to come as a shock to many users. Anyone who owns a XOOM, Nexus S, Galaxy Tab 10.1, or any device lacking a SD Card slot is familiar this setup, though, as all of the aforementioned device work similarly to the Galaxy Nexus - using MTP instead of UMS.

When one Redditor pointed out the fact that the GN doesn't support UMS, Android Engineer Dan Morrill was quick to jump in and explain the details. What resulted was an impromptu Q&A session with Mr. Morrill, who was cool enough to hang out and answer several questions about the GN, UMS, and why Google chose to do things this way.