Having a Hurricane start off your week, especially when it's a tech news week is very difficult to deal with, so hopefully everyone out there is safe and we can get back in to covering everything we love. Hurricane Sandy derailed Google's plans for a large press event on Monday but that did not stop the official launch of three new devices and an update to Android.
Google quietly unveiled a new lineup of devices on Monday even without the help of a large press event. They did so via blogs and news releases and even a few promotional videos to help get as much news about the devices and software as possible. The new devices will be sold via Google Play (along with some carrier partners) which means that they are pure Google and all updates will be controlled by Google.
Nexus 4
The much hyped and anticipated follow-up to last years Galaxy Nexus by Samsung, the LG Nexus 4 improves upon everything that last years Nexus was and sets the base line for the next run of Android powered smartphones that are coming on the market. The Nexus 4 sports a 4.7" IPS display with 1280 x 768 resolution (or 320 PPI). The processor has been updated from a TI OMAP chipset to the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 line, this is the Pro version with a quad-core CPU. The RAM has been updated from 1GB to 2GB, and the camera has been pushed from 5MP to 8MP (rear). The other staples are in place NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi (no clarification if it is dual band or single band), and newly added wireless charging (along with standard micro-usb charging). The battery on the Nexus 4 is 21oo mAh which should ease some of the pain that Galaxy Nexus users had with their battery life.
The major drawback for some would be purchasers is the lack of LTE on the device as it only supports up to HSPA+ (42) which is a step backward from the previous versions of the Galaxy Nexus which was available with LTE radios. It will be interesting to see if this sways buyers, but it will also have a noticeable effect on battery life because it won't have to power two radio sets in order to operate.
The Nexus 4 will be available in two models, 8GB and 16GB through the Google store at $299 and $349 respectively starting on Tuesday November 13th.
Nexus 7 (Updated)
We've covered the Nexus 7 and done an in-depth review of the device so we won't re-hash everything. Google has updated the storage options on the device from 8GB and 16Gb to 16Gb and 32GB. They've also introduced a new device a 3rd device option with cellular data connectivity instead of the standard WiFi.
Pricing of the devices starts at $199 for the 16GB WiFi model, then $249 for the 32GB WiFi model, and lastly $299 for the 32GB Cellular model.
Nexus 10
The last device that Google introduced on Monday is the Nexus 10, a 10" tablet built-in partnership with Samsung. This tablet is a doozy of a device, starting with a first of a kind screen with 2560 x 1600 resolution (300 PPI) that matches print resolution. That is over 4-million pixels which means literally everything displayed on the screen looks better than anything you've seen before (yes even the new iPads retina display). The tablet is powered by a Dual-core A15 Samsung Exynos5 processor, it is the first device to be powered by this processor, and the graphics are powered by the new Mali T604 chip.
The tablet also features 2 cameras the rear-facing is 5MP, and the front-facing is 1.9MP. It includes the standard wireless options including WiFi (MIMO+HT40), Bluetooth, and NFC. Interestingly the Nexus 10 does not include wireless charging which since Google included in the Nexus 4 you would have though might have been a standard moving forward but apparently not for Nexus tablets.
There are two modules of the Nexus 10 available 16GB and 32GB priced at $399 and $499 respectively. The Nexus 10 will also be available for purchase through the Google Play Store starting on November 13th.
Source: Google
Ryan Carroll is a technology enthusiast interested who shares his opinions and insights of technology through his blog http://www.techstify.com. He founded his blog after seeing other technology blogs and feeling that they did not provide the insight that he was looking for when it came to technology, video games and phones.
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