Seen as the consolidation of the Android platform, Google Android 4.0 – also known as Ice Cream Sandwich or ICS – brings aspects of both the smartphone and tablet editions of Android together, making them into one operating system.
There’s the look of the OS, reminding us of Google for tablets – Honeycomb – in a heart beat. Much like the tablets released this year, there are no real buttons on the front of the handset, going instead with software buttons that stay in the same place but can change based on what app you’re running at the time.
These buttons also fade away when not in use, stopping your eye from look away from the screen.
The menu layout has changed too, with apps and widgets now found in the same screen and an easy to use left-to-right swipe making everything work so well.
From our brief hands-on, it’s easily one of the better navigation experiences we’ve had on the Android platform, and we’ve tried ’em all.
Android’s camera has changed too, moving to a system that has literally no shutter lag. Simply hit the shutter button in the camera app and the shot is fired, the 5 megapixel image saved. Just like that.
A panorama feature has been added too, with a simple panning motion all that’s required to get an ultra-wide image of your surroundings. You can’t do this quickly, though, so it’s something to be aware of.
One feature is sure to impress at parties, though, and that’s face unlocking. Anyone with a smartphone knows what it’s like to swipe their finger across the screen to unlock or type in a code, and that’s still here. But now you can just look at your phone and it will unlock if it recognises your face. We haven’t done much playing with this, but when we saw this in action today, it was speedy and quite impressive.
While we obviously need more time with the Galaxy Nexus, it certainly brings together some very interesting technologies in a nice package. We’ll be keen to review it shortly, as we’re not sure how long the battery will last for, among other things. Overall, though, it’s an impressive experience, one that could easily make the smartphone game a lot more interesting.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is available in stores this week for $799 RRP outright, and available on a multitude of plans from Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone.
