Nexus 10, Nexus 4, 3G Nexus 7 (32GB), Android 4.2 Jelly Bean – all to be announced by Google on October 29
Even
though it’s still the weekend in most regions of the world, it doesn’t
mean we’re short on Nexus- and Android 4.2-related rumors and reports.
Just yesterday we saw
potential new Android 4.2 features uncovered and now it’s time to look at some exciting Nexus news.
A
person familiar with the matter seems to have spilled all the beans on
Google’s agenda for its October 29 event. Apparently Google “has been
distributing a video recorded at one of its weekly all-hands “TGIF”
meetings on its internal network” to present the new products coming in
just over a week: the Samsung Nexus 4, LG Nexus 4, and the new Asus
Nexus 7 (32GB Wi-Fi version and 32GB 3G + Wi-Fi model), all running
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (that’s right, no Key Lime Pie yet.)
Nexus 10
We already know the rumors:
Google is building a 10-inch tablet with Samsung
that’s probably going to be sold as the Nexus 10, although the name has
not been confirmed yet. Most interestingly, it looks like the device is
going to be unveiled during the media event on October 29.
The Next Web also reveals that the Nexus 10 is indeed the Android 4.2-running Manta product that we’ve seen
in Google Analytics data and user agent profiles a few weeks ago,
and that the device will feature a 10-inch display with 2560 x 1600
resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio and 300 pixel per inch (PPI) density.
While back when the Manta first popped up in traffic logs we assumed
it’s going to be a Motorola device, Google made it pretty clear during
its recent earnings call
that it’ll be a while until such devices will hit stores.
More
details about the Nexus 10 aren’t available at this time, and we have
no idea what the product will cost or when it will hit stores. Let’s
just hope that Samsung does a better job when it comes to
build quality than it did with its previous flagship tablet,
the Galaxy Note 10.1.
Nexus 7
When
it comes to the Nexus 7 though, we have no real news to report. We’ve
seen it all before. The publication says that Google will unveil
the 32GB Nexus 7 during the event, and that the tablet will come in two versions, one offering just Wi-Fi connectivity and the other
featuring HSPA+ (3G) support. Pricing details for these models have not been mentioned though.
Source Could this be the new face of Nexus tablet franchise?
LG Nexus 4
Don’t expect any new information on the
LG Nexus 4 because we have apparently covered it all. According to
TNW, “earlier leaks have been 100 percent correct,” so there’s nothing new to see there:
This
means that Google will launch the LG Nexus 4, featuring a quad-core 1.5
GHz Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon processor, 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 display,
2GB RAM, 16GB storage, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera (and
1.3-megapixel front-facing snapper) and a 2100mAh battery.
The LG Nexus 4 will also be powered by Google’s new Android 4.2 software.
Android 4.2
As
you can see, these new devices will come with Android 4.2 on board, an
Android version that will be still branded as Jelly Bean – probably
Google doesn’t want to fuel more criticism regarding Android
fragmentation by releasing Key Lime Pie at a time when Jelly Bean
updates are hardly available for flagship devices.
That said, Android 4.2 will come with a new focus on content:
Speaking
of the OS itself, we have some details on that too. It has been
confirmed that as part of Android 4.2, Google will introduce ‘Content in
the center,’ which will allow users to access Play Store content from a
widget and ‘Tablet Sharing’ which will suit families and enterprise
users, providing them with a simple and easy to switch between several
users on a tablet, each with their own email and apps.
Think Windows user switching, but now on Android.
Our
source says that Android 4.2 will compete with Apple’s iOS 6, in that
the panoramic camera settings will be updated to support both horizontal
and vertical movement by default.
That last part about multi-user support seems to confirm something we have just covered this weekend.
What’s your take on all of this? Are you planning your next Nexus purchases yet?
While
this is far from an official confirmation from Google, it certainly
looks hopeful for those that don’t want to buy the phone on contract
from a carrier. Any Australian readers interested in the LG Nexus 4? If
so, will you look for it on-contract or would you prefer to buy it
directly from Google at full-price?
