Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime

Oct

Samsung Decides Galaxy Nexus Was Not Actually Designed To Avoid Apple Patents, "Doesn't Know" How That Rumor Got Started, Nothing To See Here

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Legal, News, Samsung

Uh-oh. Sounds like Samsung's lawyers heard about Samsung Mobile President Shin Jong-kyun's little statement that the Galaxy Nexus was designed such that no "known" Apple patents were used or infringed on by the phone. This was probably, to be frank, a very stupid thing to say. Aside from basically challenging Apple to take a closer look at the Galaxy Nexus, there's also the fact that, if Jong-kyun's statement was actually correct and Samsung did design the Galaxy Nexus to avoid Apple patents, that Apple's lawyers would love to quote it at various patent infringement trials around the world.

This could be introduced to a jury as evidence that Samsung had reason to believe, at the point the Galaxy Nexus was designed, that their other products could be infringing on Apple patents.

Oct

Dan Morrill Reveals The Real Reason Behind The Galaxy Nexus' Barometer

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Since last night's announcement, there has been a lot of speculation surrounding the Galaxy Nexus. One of the most mysterious features of Samsung's latest Nexus device is its onboard barometer. Many have been questioning why Samsung would include a barometer in the Nexus' sleek chassis, citing possibilities from more accurate weather prediction to simple altitude detection (which is partially true).

In a Google+ post today, Android Engineer Dan Morrill gave us the scoop on what the barometer is actually for, and it's more interesting than you might think.

Morrill explains that the barometer is actually intended to speed up GPS location, because "locking onto a GPS involves numerically solving a 4-dimensional set of linear equations - 3 dimensions in space, and time."

That sounds a bit complicated, doesn't it?

Oct

Android Engineer: Ice Cream Sandwich AOSP Source Code Will Be Released, But Not Before Galaxy Nexus Goes On Sale

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Since I'm seeing questions inquiring about Android 4.0's source code drop every 5 minutes here and there, I thought it would be a good idea to point out this blurb in a recent post by an Android engineer Dan Morrill, aka morrildl:

To reiterate, these servers contain only the ‘gingerbread’ and ‘master’ branches from the old AOSP servers. We plan to release the source for the recently-announced Ice Cream Sandwich soon, once it’s available on devices.

Since the Galaxy Nexus is the first ICS device, rumored to go on sale sometime in the beginning to mid November, we shouldn't expect the source code to be publicized until about that time either.

Oct

Samsung's Mobile President: The Galaxy Nexus Was Designed With Patents In Mind

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung

It seems that these days, Samsung must constantly be on alert for new entries in the ever-growing list of patent disputes with Apple. Sensing this, Samsung's Mobile President, Shin Jong-kyun (who we heard from at last night's presentation) took a moment to stress the fact that the Galaxy Nexus was designed with patents in mind - specifically, it was designed to avoid trouble with Apple. While it is a rectangular device with a touch screen, not much else seems to put it in danger.

What's interesting is that Shin decided to speak to the subject at all. Gizmodo reports that Samsung's Mobile President "claims that no 'known' Apple patent was used in the Galaxy Nexus."

I find it somewhat curious that Shin would specify this regarding the Galaxy Nexus - does this suggest that patents were knowingly violated in the past?

Oct

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Coming To The UK On Three's HSPA+ Network

Posted by John Thompson in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Three UK

Are you worried about your ice cream melting before it reaches the UK? According to a press release from Three UK this morning, it should arrive on your doorstep still tasting nice and fresh in the shape of Samsung's newly announced Galaxy Nexus.

Although no specific dates have been given by the network, it's certainly encouraging to see an announcement so shortly after the phone's unveiling in Hong Kong.

During the unveiling, Samsung said that the phone will hit the market "in November" and see a worldwide distribution, so there is a good chance that the phone could come to the UK as soon as next month.

Oct

[Updated] Re-Watch The Ice Cream Sandwich / Galaxy Nexus Event [1 Hour Recording]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung, Videos

While I was tapping away on my laptop trying to keep up with the Ice Cream Sandwich event earlier today, the desktop machine was happily recording it for future reference. This should hold us over until Google posts the official HD version - the video is about 1 hours long, but almost every minute of it is totally worth it (at least once you get to the juicy ICS bits):

Update: The official HD video has now been posted:

Oct

The Galaxy Nexus' System Apps Have Been Dumped

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0

Last Updated: November 5th, 2011

Can't get enough of the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich? P3droid has released a dump of the Galaxy Nexus' system apps. Most apps from the dump are only going to work on ICS devices, but you can probably load most of them up in the ICS Android emulator right now. On that note, hopefully developers can pick the apps apart and get some Ice Cream Sandwich crumbs working on current devices. If you'd like to take a shot yourself, hit up the source link and get to work. Just let us know about any secrets you uncover, ok?

The app list is as follows:

ApplicationsProvider.apk
BackupRestoreConfirmation.apk
BIP.apk
Bluetooth.apk
BooksTablet.apk
BrowserGoogle.apk
Calculator.apk
CalendarGoogle.apk
CalendarProvider.apk
CameraGoogle.apk
CertInstaller.apk
ChromeBookmarksSyncAdapter.apk
Contacts.apk
ContactsProvider.apk
DefaultContainerService.apk
DeskClockGoogle.apk
DownloadProvider.apk
DownloadProviderUi.apk
DrmProvider.apk
EmailGoogle.apk
ExchangeGoogle.apk
FaceLock.apk
Galaxy4.apk
GalleryGoogle.apk
GenieWidget.apk
Gmail.apk
GoogleBackupTransport.apk
GoogleContactsSyncAdapter.apk
GoogleEarth.apk
GoogleFeedback.apk
GoogleLoginService.apk
GooglePackageVerifier.apk
GooglePartnerSetup.apk
GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk
GoogleServicesFramework.apk
GoogleTTS.apk
HoloSpiralWallpaper.apk
HTMLViewer.apk
IMSFramework.apk
KeyChain.apk
LatinImeDictionaryPack.apk
LatinImeGoogle.apk
Launcher2.apk
LiveWallpapers.apk
LiveWallpapersPicker.apk
Maps.apk
MarketUpdater.apk
MediaProvider.apk
MediaUploader.apk
Microbes.apk
Mms.apk
Music2.apk
MusicFX.apk
NetworkLocation.apk
NfcGoogle.apk
NoiseField.apk
OneTimeInitializer.apk
PackageInstaller.apk
PhaseBeam.apk
Phone.apk
Phonesky.apk
PlusOne.apk
SDM.apk
Settings.apk
SettingsProvider.apk
SetupWizard.apk
SoundRecorder.apk
Stk.apk
Street.apk
SyncMLSvc.apk
SystemUI.apk
TagGoogle.apk
Talk.apk
talkback.apk
TelephonyProvider.apk
Thinkfree.apk
UserDictionaryProvider.apk
VideoEditorGoogle.apk
Videos.apk
VisualizationWallpapers.apk
VoiceDialer.apk
VoiceSearch.apk
VpnDialogs.apk
VZWAPNLib.apk
VZWAPNService.apk
YouTube.apk

Source: MyDroidWorld

Oct

First Official Galaxy Nexus / Ice Cream Sandwich Promo Video With Feature Highlights Galore Goes Live

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung, Videos

Anticipating the fact that some folks prefer information presented to them visually, Google just dropped the first official promo video for the new Galaxy Nexus, powered by Ice Cream Sandwich. Tron-style racing and a rundown of new ICS features are practically begging you to click that Play button below:

In the words of the top YouTube comment: "Shut up and take my money, Google!"

Oct

Device Frame Generator Updated For Galaxy Nexus - Your Screenshots Just Got Prettier

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Dev, Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, News

Late last week, Device Frame Generator made its debut in the Android Asset Studio, thanks to Roman Nurik. Mere moments after the unveiling of the Galaxy Prime at an event held by Google and Samsung, DFG has been updated to include a Galaxy Nexus template.

Developers can now create stunning, high-res images for their apps in mere seconds, framing their screenshots with the latest and greatest Android hardware. If you can't wait to check out how your app looks on a Galaxy Nexus, head over to the Asset Studio and give it a whirl!

Oct

Official Galaxy Nexus Site Goes Live, Highlights Ice Cream Sandwich And Galaxy Nexus Features

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung

Wow, what a heated hour we've just experienced, eh? Typing away and posting to our live blog, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter, while taking snapshots almost made me cross-eyed, but it's not time to stop right now. The official Galaxy Nexus site, which updates every time Google releases a new Nexus device, now has the freshly announced Galaxy Nexus plastered front and center:

If you click the blue dots, you can check out some of the major new features included in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the Galaxy Nexus. We'll have a post with the details soon - in the meantime, I'll let the pictures do the talking: