Samsung Galaxy Nexus

A Look At The Superb Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the latest Google Nexus smartphone, and the second to be manufactured by Samsung. Generally released as a showcase for the latest versions of Google's Android operating system, the Nexus series has enjoyed a decent level of popularity since the first instalment, the Nexus One.
In this article I will provide an overview of its key features, so you can decide if it is the right smartphone for you.

Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus provides pretty much the best available technology in every aspect of its hardware. The screen is advanced, with Super AMOLED capacitive technology providing a responsive and intuitive means of navigating the interface and applications. It is also quite a large screen, measuring up at 4.65 inches, so it outdoes many competing handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the HTC Sensation. But the most noteworthy feature of the screen has to be its resolution; at 720x 1280, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first phone to improve upon Apple's "retina display" found on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. This is of course great news for those who like to view photos, watch videos, play games and surf the web on their phone.

There is plenty of available storage for files such as these, with both 16 GB and 32 GB version available. The handset does lack a microSD slot, but this should not prove problematic for most users as the internal storage is likely to prove ample. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a competent camera phone. Although it only has 5 megapixels (2592x 1944 resolution) it still has all the features you need to take good quality still images and even 1080p HD video. Autofocus and LED flash are included along with face detection and a front facing (1.3 MP) camera for video calls and self portrait photos. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus has the specs to provide very fast internet browsing. 3G coverage allows users to stream data at up to 21 Mbps, putting it on the same level as the Samsung Galaxy S2, which is generally seen as the benchmark smartphone in this respect. It also offers Wi-Fi connectivity, and even a Wi-Fi hotspot feature which allows users to utilise the handset to provide Wi-Fi to other devices like tablets or laptops.

Software

As mentioned, one of the main roles of Google Nexus smartphones is to showcase the new versions of Android and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is no different. The eagerly anticipated version 4, known as Ice Cream Sandwich makes its debut on the handset. Although not much is known about it as yet, it will undoubtedly include the same level of versatility and customisation as well as the opportunity to browse thousands of apps for download, which we have seen in previous versions. Of course, the full list of social networking integration, web browsing, GPS, multimedia player and many more applications are all included as standard, so it is a functional device right out of the box, as are most Android powered smartphones.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus in, in my opinion, the closest thing to the perfect smartphone yet. Features like its screen resolution really set it apart, and with the new software, there are likely to be many more who share this opinion. Many will be surprised by the 5 megapixel, where the standard for new smartphone seems to be 8 megapixels nowadays, but one can't argue with its 1080p HD video capture.
If you are looking for an alternative to the iPhone 4S, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus would be my recommendation.