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Leak: Next Nexus phone doesn’t have your typical Android buttons

Categories: Android, HTC, LG
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, May 30th, 2011 at 1:27 AM
nexus3

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.

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • Anonymous

    If it a Nexsus phone LG are not allow to add there own software on it, it just a pure form of Android, in this case most likely to be Android 4 code name Ice Cream sandwich. Which is the purpose of the Nexus devices.  All the software on this phone will be written by google. 

  • Anonymous

    Ok, what is going on? Even if there aren’t buttons, how would you tell? You can’t really see the Nexus S’s buttons when they’re OFF! What if they are haptic LED lit buttons? YOU CAN’T REALLY TELL. And why are all the sites that cover this stuff automatically assuming that THIS IS IT? IS THIS IT? Maybe, maybe not, who knows.

    I just hate that everyone is jumping the gun on predicting this thing, when there’s not really any evidence to show that this is in fact, the Next Nexus. (And even if it is, I REALLY doubt that this is the finished, complete phone, I mean look at the grayish-iPod-1st-gen-y-looking display)(Personally looking forward to 4″ screen (qHD, and I hope they make it concave again), 8mp camera, front facing camera, dual core, and running Ice Cream Sandwich, naturally.)

  • Mat

    Hopefully the next Nexus phone is ahead of its time and not behind like the Nexux S was at launch.  The next one should pack a great screen and hopefully quad core.  They can’t keep releasing phones built with yesterday’s tech and expect people to buy it just for stock android !!!