Samsung i9250 Galaxy Nexus

WidgetCity has listed the Samsung i9250 Galaxy Nexus in their mobile phone offerings. 

Multitasking on Android 4.0

The Galaxy Nexus is the template for next generation Android phones. It introduces a new operating system, which fully takes advantage of multi-core processor technology and merges the Android phone operating system with the tablet operating system. It does this mainly by providing for a scalable interface that can be configured to work on smaller phone screens, mid-sized tablets and the larger 10.1-inch tablets.

Hardware wise, it also officially introduced a new format for Android phone displays moving from the 16:10 to 16:9 aspect ratio used for most Android tablets. Several previous Android phones have already moved to the 16:9 aspect ratio like the Motorola Atrix and HTC Sensation. In addition to the new ratio, the Nexus line moves from the 480 x 800 screens they have been using for the past two years to a higher resolution 720 x 1280 screen.

Another change is the absence of physical buttons. Instead of having physical buttons, the controls are now all on the screen. A larger 4.65-inch display is used to accommodate the buttons. 

Other than those changes it is not really all that different from the Samsung Galaxy S II released six months ago. Like the Galaxy S II, it has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The Galaxy Nexus is powered by dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 with PowerVR SGX540 graphics on a TI OMAP 4460 chipset which is not really more powerful than the dual-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9  and Mali-400MP combo on the Orion chipset found in the Galaxy S II.

Like the Galaxy S II, the Galaxy Nexus supports the HSDPA+ 21.1 Mbps standard. This still is notable since its primary competitors, the Apple iPhone 4S and HTC Sensation XE still use the older HSDPA 14.4 Mbps standard. Since both Globe Telecom and Smart Communications are rolling out HSDPA+ 21.1 Mbps networks, this is something to consider.

Unlike the Galaxy S II, the Galaxy Nexus does not come with an SD Card slot, so storage is limited to 16GB while the Galaxy S II can be expanded to up to 48GB. The camera on the Galaxy Nexus is a 5MP unit rather than the 8MP unit found in the Galaxy S II.

Why all the comparisons with the Galaxy S II? Well it is because you can get a Galaxy S II for Php26,500 with an official Samsung Warranty, while the Galaxy Nexus is being sold at Php34,500 with a service warranty. If you want to be an early adopter, it is going to cost you a bit. There really is no reason for this phone to cost more than the Php31,000 Samsung Galaxy Note with its 5.3-inch 800 x 1280 screen.

It is an amazing phone, but I do expect to see it south of Php30,000 with an official warranty in a month or  two.