This is probably the most exciting part of the year if you’re an Android fan. Which most of you are, that’s why you’re reading this. It’s Nexus Season! Now yes we did get a Nexus this summer, but that was a tablet, now we are looking ahead to a Nexus phone to replace the Galaxy Nexus, which just had it’s birthday this week. Not to say the Galaxy Nexus is a bad phone, in fact it’s one of the only phones that has official Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean on it (meaning not in custom ROM form).
So last week Google made it official, October 29th in New York City. The invitation simply said “The Playground is Open.” which has been used before. When Google advertised the Nexus 7 on their homepage, they used that tagline. Something else that was interesting was that the invite didn’t have any manufacturers on it. Why’s that interesting? Well last year the event for Android 4.0 – Ice Cream Sandwich had Samsung’s logo on it, since they were introducing the Galaxy Nexus. So maybe we are getting multiple Nexus devices.
Android 4.2
We know it’s coming. After the system dump earlier this week, and Android Police tearing it down looking for new features, we definitely know that it’s coming. The only real surprises would be the features it brings and what they’ll name it. We’ve heard rumors of it being Key Lime Pie, as well as Jelly Bean. And according to The Next Web, this is what we are looking at in Android 4.2:
Speaking of the OS itself, we have some details on that too. It has been confirmed that as part of Android 4.2, Google will introduce ‘Content in the center,’ which will allow users to access Play Store content from a widget and ‘Tablet Sharing’ which will suit families and enterprise users, providing them with a simple and easy to switch between several users on a tablet, each with their own email and apps.
Think Windows user switching, but now on Android.
Our source says that Android 4.2 will compete with Apple’s iOS 6, in that the panoramic camera settings will be updated to support both horizontal and vertical movement by default.
Nexus 7 32GB (3G)
I know that’s kind of confusing, but basically Google is looking at bringing a new member to the Nexus 7 family. It’ll be a 32GB storage option along with 3G connectivity. Now these we’ve seen leaked extensively over the past few weeks. The 32GB version more than the 3G version though. But perhaps the 3G version with 32GB of storage on board is that $99 Nexus 7 we have heard about? Probably tied to a 2-year contract though with the respective carriers.
Nexus 10
A few weeks ago, CNET was able to confirm that Google is working with Samsung on a Nexus tablet that is said to be 10″. The device is supposedly featuring a 2560×1600 resolution which is 16:10 and a ppi of 300. Which is a higher resolution than the new iPad. Which makes it seem like the Nexus 10 is going to be the flagship Nexus tablet for Google.
So far we don’t have many details on the Nexus 10, or even much leakage on the device. But I know many people are hoping to see this device next week in New York City so we’ll see.
LG Nexus 4
If you haven’t heard of the LG Nexus, where have you been for the last month? This phone has been talked about, leaked, and rumored more than anything else lately. The device is modeled after the LG Optimus G which is hitting Sprint and AT&T in November and has some rather odd specs in my opinion.
- 4.7″ display 1280×768 resolution
- 2GB of RAM
- 8GB, 16GB internal storage
- 1.5 GHz Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon processor
- 8MP rear-camera, and a 1.3MP front-camera
- Android 4.2 on board
We’ve even seen a full review of the device on a Russian blog a couple weeks ago. But many of us are still hoping LG isn’t our only choice for a Nexus this year, and that we have other options than 8GB and 16GB of space. Especially if there’s no SD card slot, which there shouldn’t be one on a Nexus device.
Conclusion
The headline in Google’s invite suggests we’ll have plenty of new toys for the holiday season, but we want to know what they are now! The 32GB Nexus 7 3G is a good guess to be revealed there along with the Nexus 4, but hopefully we see some other Nexus smartphones than just the LG Nexus 4. Many people have had a rough time with LG hardware and aren’t willing to go back. And what about Android 4.2? That’s the icing on the cake, especially since most Android devices haven’t even hit Jelly Bean yet.
What do you want to see Google unveil next week? Hit up the comments below and let us know.
Source:The Next Web