Actually looks a lot better than the digital renders!
Just watched the video presentation for the Galaxy Nexus (Previously Nexus Prime) and the launch of the new Android 4.0 interface. One thing's clear, Apple still rocks a presentation, Google's felt a little like a classroom project presentation.
That aside, the Galaxy Nexus looks a lot better than the digital renders, in fact, it looks pretty cool! Fully specced out like any other high end phone so nothing special there, but comes with a 5mp camera which might be a bummer to some. It also comes with a barometer for...for what? =\ Might as well include a EMF meter for would-be ghost hunters. ;)
EDIT: Just got a video clip taken by the phone off engadget, wow that is some seriously trippy rolling shutter...=\
Specs as follows:
Overall - Nice Phone.
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Hardware aside, a quick look at some of the features on Android 4.0, which has been taking pointers from it's handset manufacturers who have previously put such functions exclusively for their custom skins, root users (aka Jailbroken Android phones), as well as Apple, which has always been great ar making software look beautiful.
Folders - Just like how Apple took pointers from Android, Samsung's touchwiz had folders but it wasn't pretty, other downloadable launchers have nice folders, but Android's made folders a standard feature now, and it actually looks the same way Apple's interface does it.
Web Browsing - Option to allow loading of desktop browsing rather than mobile browsing, and offline browsing capabilities for limited data plan users.
Better Multitasking - Known for being the first to implement Multitask, Android's stepped up with an improved multitask format that takes the form of Honeycomb. See something running in the background and want to close it? Swipe to the left or right and it closes.
People Contacts - Facelift of Google Contacts, more aesthetics really...
Gmail Facelift - Suppose to be more user friendly...how much so? Can't tell just by looking at the image.
Calendar - Now allows you to pinch and zoom into your calendars if you need to quick read a particular appointment instead of just tapping on it and being brought to the appointment page.
Screenshot - iPhones have had this feature for ages now, and so did Samsung with their Touchwiz interface for Android, now it's finally a standard in the new Android 4.0 interface...well done!
Zero Lag Shutter - Just like the iPhone 4S, the camera app opens almost instantly and is ready to take a snap right away...no mention on how fast it's continuous photo taking is though (Read somewhere it's rather snappy), as iPhone 4S demonstrates itself to be quick shooter: http://youtu.be/LtDi9gzx6SQ
Data Usage - Allows you to track your data, as well as set limitations such as warnings and turning off data once limit is reached. Not much use for a lot of locals but seems to be something ideal for people in the States who not all have huge data plans.
Notifications Bar - Google's cleaned up it's Notifications bar a bit, where you get to "clear all" with the "X" button on top, or swipe the different notifications to the left or right to close them if they are unimportant.
Camera button from Lock Screen - First implemented on HTC's Android Skin, then to the iOS 5, now a stock standard on Android 4.0 (As you can see, Notifications bar also accessible from the lock menu)
Continuous Focusing, Time Lapse, Photo while videoing, Photo Editing etc - Other juicy stuff the avid phone photographer may like...sorry no image stabilizer for video like the iPhone 4S...probably will be something Hardware manufacturers have to implement? Also note that taking photos while videoing will only be in the same resolution the video is being recorded in.
Am surprised there was no mention of solving fragmentation or how ICS will roll out though...does Google have anything to hide?
Overall, a lot of the changes in 4.0 are more towards aesthetics, which was (sorta) admitted by Google, personally the original pure Android interface wasn't one to excel in the "pretty" department the way Apple does with iOS, can't say 4.0 looks a lot nicer...but they are slowly trying.
4.0 is said to possibly work on most phones running Gingerbread although considering the SGS I have is old tech, I'm not keeping my hopes up nor do I expect it to run properly given the hardware specs.
Android 4.0 looks good, and if you like what Android has to offer, perhaps whatever comes next (other phones adopting 4.0 with their own skins) will be a lot nicer. =)
Images taken from Engadget, Gizmodo, and Android Developer's site.
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