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Verizon's Galaxy Nexus updated to Android 4.1.0, finally ready to dance?
A lucky human known as "Bradgog" posted the above screenshot to a thread on My Droid World last night, ostensibly heralding the arrival of Android 4.1 on Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Nexus. As you can see in the image (purportedly taken on Verizon's 3G network), the firmware update appears to bring a new baseband radio to the handset, which, in turn, may explain the delay in bringing the device to Big Red's stable. It's hard to say for sure, though we should have a clearer idea any day now.
Verizon-branded Galaxy Nexus runs impressive 4G LTE speed test on two bars (video)
How fast can the Samsung Galaxy Nexus run on Verizon's 4G network? Pretty darn fast, according to a freshly leaked video. Originally spotted by the folks over at Phandroid, the clip shows a Verizon-branded Galaxy Nexus performing rather admirably on a speed trial from Speedtest.net, reaching download speeds of 8.5Mbps, and upstream rates of 2Mbps -- all on just two bars of signal. It's worth noting that the clip hasn't received Verizon's official blessing, though it should certainly whet some appetites ahead of the handset's apparently imminent release. Check it out for yourself, after the break.
Galaxy Nexus goes on sale early in Germany, makes itself Handy
Ein Handy to rule them all? If you're living in the Googleverse, then yes. The Galaxy Nexus has already offered itself up for rabid consumption throughout the UK and now, it's sending das Deutsche Volk into a tizzy. Various reports have the handset leapfrogging its German release date by a week and landing on shelves at consumer electronics chain, Media Markt, although prices seem to be all over the place -- ranging from €629 (about $847) to €529 (about $713). It doesn't appear all local outlets have the devices in stock, but don't let that hold you back from trying your luck anyway. Now, if only us statesiders could get a firm launch date for Rubin's frosty treat.
Verizon Galaxy Nexus landing in Best Buy on December 11th?
The release dates we've been hearing for the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus have been all over the map. The latest rumors had it pegged for December 8th, and that still may be true for official Big Red shops, but now a source inside Best Buy is telling us the big box electronics retailer won't have them in stock until the 11th. The image above, supposedly taken from a Best Buy inventory system, lists the SCH-i515 as hitting the stock room on December 11th of 2011. What it doesn't list, however, is a street date. The phones could go on sale that day, or the next or a week later -- it's really all just guesswork without an official announcement. While the photos certainly seem legit, there are a few discrepancies that give us pause. Particularly, the lighter weight and thinner profile than what is listed on the Google specs page -- 9.34mm versus 9.47mm and 140g instead of 150. But, we're not writing this off as a fake just yet. [Thanks, anonymous]
Galaxy Nexus OTA update quietly rolls out, addresses volume bug
Google, as promised, has begun rolling out an OTA update for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, in response to a curious volume bug affecting many European users. According to Android Central, "several" Nexus users have reported receiving the update, bundled in a package that weighs a little less than 1MB. Early reports indicate that the refresh only addresses the volume issue, though it appears to be rolling out on a piecemeal basis. If you've already updated, let us know how it's treating you in the comments, below. [Thanks, Shaun]
Google: Galaxy Nexus volume fix to roll out next week
Hey, remember those volume issues that European Galaxy Nexus users were complaining about? While a software fix may have already floated around the internet ether last week, Google has informed us that it'll be officially distributing the retweak very soon. Or, in its words: "We're currently rolling out a fix for the volume issue which will reach everyone in the coming week."
Samsung Galaxy Nexus torn down, Ice Cream Sandwich gets everywhere
What sorts of mysteries does the Samsung Galaxy Nexus hold? Only the folks at iFixit and their trusty screwdrivers know for sure. Thankfully, the site is willing to share. Check out a teardown of one of the year's most eagerly anticipated smartphones. Thrill to the 1.2GHz dual-core processor, marvel to the five megapixel rear-facing camera and be astonished by the NFC antenna in the source link below.
Galaxy Nexus volume bug fix gets early release, official testing continues
Google had promised it was incoming, and now the guys over at MoDaCo have been kind enough to offer up a software fix for the erratic volume antics seen on Europe-based Galaxy Nexii. Paul O'Brien notes that the ROMs he's uploaded -- while based on the official release -- are still in the midst of internal testing, and that flashing your device will wipe its contents -- so fair warning. For those brave, brave early adopters, you can grab both the files and instructions at the source below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Verizon's LTE-enabled Galaxy Nexus priced at $200?
We're still not sure when the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will arrive on Verizon, but a new flash ad may have just revealed its price. Spotted by Smart Keitai, the above ad has reportedly been making the rounds on sites like Android Police, Phandroid and Droid Forums, offering an LTE-enabled version of Sammy's new handset at a price of $200 on a two-year contract -- notably lower than previously rumored, and well below Verizon's price points for its other high-end devices. At the time of this writing, the page's "Learn More" link isn't activated, but its URL appears to include an inexplicable November 29th dateline, suggesting that the ad, if indeed legit, may have leaked earlier than intended. We'll obviously have to wait a bit longer before we know whether this rumored pricing holds up, but we'll be sure to keep you abreast of the latest. [Thanks, Eagon]
Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ review
Every now and then a device comes along that we really look forward to getting our hands on. Google's line of Nexus smartphones falls into this category, setting the new standard for Android each year.
Galaxy Nexus LTE casts slightly larger silhouette
Getting giddy of the thought of an LTE-powered Galaxy Nexus? Well, Google, has just unveiled a full 360-degree view of the Verizon-bound smartphone, and it's packing a bigger caboose. Around 0.6mm thicker than the HSPA+ version available now in the UK, the 4G-stuffed version loses, at least visually, some of its curved charm and the chin's become more prominent too. Fortunately, as the tech specs confirm, the slightly bigger body does cram in an extra 100mAh of battery juice, presumably to feed that LTE radio. Will it feel any different in the hand? It looks like we'll have to wait until Verizon decides to furnish us with one -- whenever that is.
Galaxy Nexus shipping now in America: unlocked for $750 through Expansys
Pre-order, pre-schmorder. Americans more anxious to blow $750 on the planet's first Ice Cream Sandwich handset than anything on Black Friday can do so right now, as Samsung's Galaxy Nexus is shipping from the warehouses at Expansys. We've received independent confirmation that orders placed today are shipping out, with the aforesaid tally nabbing you an unlocked 16GB GSM (HSPA+) build that plays nice with T-Mobile and AT&T's 3G bands. What it won't nab you, however, is a pack of nabs. Can't win 'em all, right? [Thanks, Dan]
Galaxy Nexus volume fix in the works, Google confirms
Google has heard your Galaxy Nexus complaints loud and clear, and it's already working on a fix. That's just about all the company had to say today, in response to widespread gripes over a strange volume bug on Samsung's new flagship handset. "We are aware of the volume issue and have developed a fix," Google said in a statement. "We will update devices as soon as possible." It appears, then, that the problem lies not in the phone's hardware, but in its software, meaning that a simple OTA update may just do the trick. No word yet on when we can expect to see the fix, but we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we find out.
Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: smartphones
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. Jack Frost nipping at your phone and you need a new one? We know it can be difficult to decide on a smartphone to add to your holiday wish list, but if you're going to be hitting up all of the New Year's Eve parties, you don't want to be using something that's too embarrassing to take out of your pocket. This season offers a lot of tempting options: Ice Cream Sandwich, Windows Phone Mango and iPhone 4S are all worth drinking a lot of eggnog over. Unfortunately, there are so many tantalizing possibilities that we aren't able to include every single handset, but we've whittled it down to a mere nine devices that we think even Old Man Winter would enjoy. Join us after the break to help ring in the holiday cheer.Note: Prices are subject to change. Amazon, for instance, is holding a week-long holiday sale (from November 21st to 28th) in which almost every smartphone is a penny.
Ice Cream Sandwich supports USB mass storage after all, Galaxy Nexus does not
When we gave our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, we were a bit taken aback by the fact that USB mass storage wasn't supported on the device, leading us to believe that it was a flaw in Android 4.0. Android engineer Dan Morrill took to the 'net to sort out the confusion, explaining that Ice Cream Sandwich does indeed support the feature, but only on devices that offer removable storage cards -- which explains why we weren't able to use it on the Nexus. Here's why, according to Dan: It isn't physically possible to support UMS on devices that don't have a dedicated partition for storage (like a removable SD card, or a separate partition like Nexus S.) This is because UMS is a block-level protocol that gives the host PC direct access to the physical blocks on the storage, so that Android cannot have it mounted at the same time. With the unified storage model we introduced in Honeycomb, we share your full 32GB (or 16GB or whatever) between app data and media data. That is, no more staring sadly at your 5GB free on Nexus S when your internal app data partition has filled up -- it's all one big happy volume. However the cost is that Android can no longer ever yield up the storage for the host PC to molest directly over USB. Instead we use MTP. On Windows (which the majority of users use), it has built-in MTP support in Explorer that makes it look exactly like a disk. On Linux and Mac it's sadly not as easy, but I have confidence that we'll see some work to make this better. Mystery solved. To check out the full transcript of his comments, you can head over to the More Coverage link, where Android Police has done a nifty job of putting it together into an easy-to-read format.
Galaxy Nexus coming to Bell and Virgin Mobile Canada December 8th, pre-orders begin today
Time to start whoopin' and hollerin', Canada -- not only do you have a date with the Galaxy Nexus on December 8th, you can begin pre-ordering it on Bell and Virgin Mobile today. Getting your phone ordered early ensures that you can have the $160 handset (after a three-year commitment, of course) shipped out "as soon as it's available," but it doesn't necessarily guarantee your brand new treasure will show up on launch day. Bell's got a promo going on that we don't recall having seen before: a Twitter line-up. The idea is to sign up on the site on December 1st between 10am and 11am (EST), claim a spot in the virtual line and you'll be given a message to send on Twitter. Then, return to the site once an hour until 10pm and tweet out the latest message. If you remain in the top 100 when all is said and done, your Galaxy Nexus will be guaranteed to arrive on the 8th. 'Course, given the amount of interest circulating around the phone, it's probably best if you're on the site ready to get your Tweet at 9:59am. Check out the press release for the deets.
European Galaxy Nexus owners complain of erratic volume issue (video)
Samsung's new flagship smartphone isn't having the smoothest of beginnings. The strange ROM that cropped up a few days ago turned out to be an isolated incident, but now the forums are abuzz with an audio issue that looks a lot more serious. Essentially, the handset's volume control appears to have a mind of its own, flitting randomly between mute, full blast and everything in between. The problem has so far only been observed on European phones using the GSM 900MHz band, and it's exacerbated by the cellular modem either boosting itself in a low reception area or switching between 2G and 3G connections. A user poll over at the XDA Developers forum suggests around 60 percent of owners have experienced the fault. There's a video after the break, complete with a disappointed kid in the background bugging his dad for answers.
Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ first impressions (video)
Wow... The Galaxy Nexus. It's finally here, in our eager little hands, and it's delicious -- just like Ice Cream Sandwich, in fact. Our review unit is the same unlocked HSPA+ version we briefly played with in Hong Kong and is running Android 4.0.1. We've only spent about a day with Google's newest superphone and we're already hard at work on a full review, but we wanted to share some raw, immediate, first impressions -- after the break. %Gallery-139724%
Google confirms Verizon's LTE Galaxy Nexus dimensions and specifications
Four zillion new Galaxy Nexus promo videos not enough to sate your appetite for superphones? We hear ya. Google's specifications portal just went live for Verizon's looming LTE version of the world's first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone, and as expected, it's a wee bit bigger than the HSPA+ version. We heard back in Hong Kong that the LTE model would be slightly beefier -- presumably to house a larger battery to counter that energy-sucking LTE module -- and it seems that said scenario is indeed proving true. The HSPA+ build checks in at 135.5mm (h) x 67.94mm (w) x 8.94mm (d) thick, while the LTE model measures 135.5mm (h) x 67.94mm (w) x 9.47mm (d). That's right around half a millimeter thicker for those needing specifics, and it's likely due to the 1,850mAh battery within; if you'll recall, the HSPA+ variant has a 1,750mAh battery. Finally, the LTE model is gaining 15 grams of weight, tipping the scales at 150g (LTE model) instead of 135g (HSPA+ model). Everything else looks to be identical, but you can hit the source link to satisfy any lingering curiosity.[Thanks, Matt]
Verizon-branded, LTE-enabled Galaxy Nexus confirmed in official Google video
Say, what's this? A 4G LTE-enabled Galaxy Nexus with a Verizon Wireless logo on the back? Certainly is, and it's being discovered this morning in a series of overview / getting started videos hosted up on Google's own YouTube channel. There's still no word on when this guy's hitting store shelves, but at least the whole "maybe it's vaporware!" thing is now firmly in the past. As if it were ever in the present. Head on past the break to get yourself worked into an even zanier lather.Update: In case these promo videos weren't enough, the official specifications list for the LTE Galaxy Nexus has been published![Thanks, Matt]
