Earlier this week Google announced their intent to purchase Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. During the conference call going into further details of the deal, Andy Rubin, the “father” of Android, explained how Google’s Nexus program works inside the company:
“What we do — around Christmas time of each year — is we select a manufacturer that we work very closely with to release a device in that timeframe. That includes also semiconductor companies and all the components that go into the device. Essentially teams huddle together in one building, they jointly work in these development efforts, they go on for 9 to 12 months, and ultimately at the holiday season or right before it, devices pop out that are based on this effort.” Considering the Nexus S became available in December, that means it’s time for a new Nexus to come out.
We’ve known for a few months now that the next Nexus will be called the “Nexus Prime”, but we’ve lacked any additional information about the device other than the fact that it’ll be the lead smartphone for Google’s latest version of Android, dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich. Reports from the South Korean publication ETNews not only tell us who is making the Nexus Prime, Samsung, but also provides additional specs: 4.5 inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, 1.5 GHz dual core processor, possibly the Texas Instruments OMAP4460, and … that’s all we’ve got for now, but it’s safe to say that there’s going to be NFC in there, along with some crazy fast HSPA+ modem that may very well deliver 42 Mbps on the downlink.
This beast is supposed to hit the market in October. The timing couldn’t be more important as that’s when Apple is scheduled to launch the iPhone 5 and Nokia is planning to show off their first Windows Phone. That being said, the Samsung Galaxy S II has yet to make it to American shores, but it’s expected to in September. Will it make sense to buy one at that point with the Nexus Prime coming out just one month later?