Android Ice Cream Sandwich introduced by Samsung

GlobalPost

Move over iPhone 4S, there’s a new ‘cool’ new smartphone on the market.

Samsung introduced the latest smartphone in Hong Kong-- the Galaxy Nexus device running Google’s latest Android 4.0 software, the “Ice Cream Sandwich,” the Guardian reports.

The latest flagship Google phone shows the growing influences of Androids as the company shifts slowly from basic phones to smartphones, CBS News reports. Android has recently been successful with the latest Galaxy line of Android phones, the Galaxy S II phones and its latest upgrade of the Nexus with the Nexus S, CBS News reports.

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"This weekend marks the third birthday of the G1, the first-ever Android phone. Nine releases later, more than 550,000 Android devices are activated daily,” said Andy Rubin, Google’s head of mobile, the Guardian reports.

Of the many new features the Galaxy Nexus contains, its unlocking mechanism based on facial recognition has been long awaited and could allow users to do away with passcodes, the Washington Post reports. In Google’s introduction video it warns the consumer the facial recognition is “low security, experimental,” and it failed to work at Google’s on-stage demonstration, Washington Post reports. At the demonstration the phone did fail to unlock when it saw a stranger’s face, but also didn’t unlock for its owner.

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The phone’s other features include voice typing, baked-in Google+ integration with hangouts and Messenger and the ability to take a panoramic photo with a single motion, Washington Post reports.

The Galaxy Nexus will launch in the United States in November but there is no word on pricing or carriers, PC World reports.

According to PC World, the Ice Cream Sandwich will revamp the Android’s operating system completely; other than speech-to-text software and face recognition it will include folder creation, recent apps and improved notifications. It will also provide updates for Gmail, the calendar app and the browser.

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