For the purists out there who want to experience Google’s Android operating system the way Google intended it to be, there’s only been one option out there on the market, and that’s the Nexus. The first Nexus, aptly called the Nexus One, was made by HTC, came with Android 2.1 when it shipped in January 2010, and featured a controversial AMOLED display that used PenTile technology which didn’t always accurately represent colors. The second Nexus, dubbed the Nexus S since it was a derivative of Samsung’s highly popular Galaxy S, didn’t really improve the Nexus One in many way except that it added support for near field communication (NFC), packed a larger (4 inch vs. 3.7 inch) screen, and a CPU made by Samsung versus one made by Qualcomm. It shipped with Android 2.3 in December 2010. Following that 11 month cadence, the next Nexus is due to come out sometime in November of this year, around the same time the next version of Android, called Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), is expected to ship.
According to Pocket Now, what you’re looking at above is the next Nexus. Unlike every other Android smartphone that has shipped before it, this next Nexus doesn’t feature any buttons on the front of the device. It’s only logical since Google said ICS merges the best of Honeycomb and the best of Gingerbread, and one of Honeycomb’s best features is the total lack of hardware buttons, except for the on/off switch of course. It has yet to be decided who is going to build the next Nexus, with sources saying that HTC and LG are being considered. If we had to pick a hardware vendor, we would go with HTC since they have experience and an already impressive portfolio of Android smartphones whereas LG is untested and while they’ve proven they can make decent hardware, their software leaves a lot to be desired.
No word on the specs, but it wouldn’t surprise us one bit to hear this thing has a dual core chip inside and NFC support.