New 4G Google Nexus Prime runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

By Richi Jennings (@richi) - June 28, 2011.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is said to be launching new flagship 4G phone, running Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich. Rumors say it will be dubbed Nexus Prime, have a 1280x720 HD AMOLED screen, and be manufactured by Samsung. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers drool.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Swatch switch: what were they thinking?..

Jonathan S. Geller has been tapping his deep throats:

Google’s first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone ... [is] the world’s most anticipated Android phone. ... The handset nixes physical menu keys ... features a monster 720p-resolution display ... branded as “Super AMOLED HD” ... [which] confirms our suspicions that Samsung ... [is] the manufacturer. ... The processor in the upcoming device will be an OMAP4460.
...
[It] will not have any carrier preloads ... which goes without saying for a Nexus phone. ... The current codename is “Prime”. ... Google could be working with multiple carriers and ... OEMs on their own ... Ice Cream Sandwich halo devices ... that they may all launch around the same time.
...
The summer’s going to be hot, but it looks like the fall might get even hotter.  

 
Want more? Tom Krazit adds it:

The most interesting part ... buried underneath the obsession with hardware specifications ... Google may be preparing to launch Ice Cream Sandwich ... with multiple partners. ... A few months ago several Android partners ... complained about Google’s practice of picking a single ... launch partner for a new generation of technology.
...
It would be a notable change to how Android partners roll out new devices [and] would allow all the major vendors to have new products going into the ... holiday shopping season [not] just one lucky company.  

 
Trey Trawick takes to task the OEMs:

As usual with ... in-house devices, Google will keep carrier cruft from being installed. ... This has been a problem that gives Android a Windows-like ‘bloatware’ feel. ... Currently users are stuck with them unless they install homebrew ROMs.
...
4.0 ... will be a mix between Gingerbread and ... Honeycomb, which has a rather dramatic UI change. ... Nexus Prime and 4.0 are pegged for a Fall release.  

 
But Seth Weintraub doubts the veracity of the CPU rumor:

TI OMAP4460 really?! Not Dually Orion chip from Samsung?
...
How about devices with Qualcomm Gobi/LTE Chips that work on all four carriers in the US and across the globe?  

 
And Finally...
Swatch switch: what were they thinking?
 
 
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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's the creator and main author of Computerworld's IT Blogwatch -- for which he has won American Society of Business Publication Editors and Jesse H. Neal awards on behalf of Computerworld. He also writes The Long View for IDG Enterprise. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com. You can also read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.