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Samsung brings the Google Anroid 4.0 operating system to Thailand with its Galaxy Nexus
Anew sleek smart phone with a large, high-definition screen and fast performance, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first smart phone in Asia to introduce Google Android 4.0 operating system, better known as the Ice Cream Sandwich.
Its 4.64-inch HD Super AMOLED screen with 1280 x720 pixel resolutions is very impressive. The screen displays pictures and video clips gorgeously and the large size makes it very convenient to read text, emails, web pages, social network feeds on the go.
The high-definition Super AMOLED display is beautiful. It makes text, photos, videos and games look impressively crisp, vibrant and rich.
Galaxy Nexus, which is co-developed with Google, is powered by 1.2 GHz dual core processor that allows the phone to play multimedia files and render web pages fast and smoothly.
It comes with 5 megapixel main camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera. The main camera is also capable of recording Full HD 1080p video.
Mostly, the snapshots have good quality for a mobile phone, especially outdoor shots. The video recording is also of reasonably good quality.
Galaxy Nexus looks elegant with thin profile and a contour design that's slightly curved. The bottom is designed to be a little thicker than the top so you’ll find the 3.5mm stereo jack and micro USB port at the bottom. The bottom is about 9.47mm thick while the top is about 8.84mm thick.
Galaxy Nexus supports both quad-band GSM network and 3G connection of HSPA+ with the maximum bandwidth of 21 Mbps. It LAO supports all 3G frequencies, including TrueMove H’s 850 MHz frequency.
I tested Galaxy Nexus on TrueMove H’s 3G+ network and was impressed at the speed of accessing web pages, YouTube clips, emails and Facebook and Twitter updates. I had no problems in syncing my Google contacts with Galaxy Nexus and TrueMove H.
The new Ice Cream Sandwich OS and the fast processor led to impressive performance of Galaxy Nexus. Video recording and playback were done smoothly during the test. Web and Facebook pages scrolled smoothly and fast and the screen and menus were fast responsive.
Android 4 has several new features to make the mobile life much easier. Among other things, its improved web browser lets you instantly sync and manage Google Chrome bookmarks and jump to your favourite web pages faster. You can also save a copy of web pages for offline reading.
The new OS also has improved email management to provide smarter auto-completion capabilities that help you find and add frequent contacts more quickly. Frequently used text and contacts from several email accounts have been integrated for better management.
Among the new features of the OS that enhance communication and sharing is Android Beam for NFC-based sharing and Wi-Fi Direct.
Android Beam lets you instantly exchange your favorite apps, contacts, music, videos – virtually anything in fact - by simply tapping two near field communication (NFC) devices together.
Wi-Fi Direct lets you connect directly to nearby peer devices over Wi-Fi for more reliable, higher-speed communication.
A new nice function of Android 4 is Face Unlock. That allows you to take a photo of your face to unlock your phone.
It also requires you to make a backup unlocking method by connecting dots on a screen pattern.
Among the improved features, Contact application is now called People app with a richer profile information.
It allows you to use a larger profile picture and input phone numbers, addresses, status updates, events and has one handy button for reading updates from integrated social networks. For example, People app syncs contacts from your Gmail,
Hotmail and Twitter accounts and shows their updates in the app’s status update window.
The new Android makes it faster to access five top features or applications, using the Home Screen Dock. One of them is the Applications menu and you can change the four other dock items to suit your usage.
And the new OS also has a useful voice text input. You can tap on the microphone icon from the virtual keyboard to enter text by voice, though you’ll probably need to practise before you’re satisfied with the result.
The new OS also Voice Actions functions. These allow you to search by voice and perform tasks like messaging, playing music, navigation, dialling, setting alarms, and more with minimal typing.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is in stores now and it’s yours for Bt19,900.
Key specs
_ OS: Android 4.0
_ Network: HSPA+ 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
_ Processor: 1.2 GHz dual core processor
_ Display: 4.65-inch (1280x720) HD Super AMOLED
_ Camera: 5 MP rear camera; 1.3 MP front camera; 1080p video recording
_ Storage: 16 GB onboard
_ Battery: 1,750 mAh Li-ion
_ Size: 67.94 x 135.5 x 8.84mm
_ Weight: 150g
