Ice Cream Sandwich To Compete With Apple

By: Pat Prescott
10/19/2011 02:00 PM ET

Ice Cream Sandwich to compete with Apple’s IOS 5 and iPhone 4s. Google introduced the Android 4.0 ICS on Wednesday running on the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus in Hong Kong. ICS includes a host of new features including improved voice commands, an improved browser, facial recognition, photo enhancements and changes to core apps such as Gmail and Calendar.

Google announced that ICS on the Galaxy Nexus will launch in November, pricing was not announced. Android Head of Engineering, Mike Claren, called it the company’s “most ambitious release to date

Powering the Galaxy Nexus is a 1.2GHz dual-core TI OMAP4 processor and 1GB of RAM. The device features a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front camera. Samsung will release two different models, one with HSPA+ connectivity and another with LTE connectivity, depending on region and carriers.

Other connection capabilities include Wi-Fi (dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 3.0. The Galaxy Nexus will also have NFC mobile wallet technology built in.

Other updates included in Ice Cream Sandwich are a redesigned Gmail client, which includes easier functionality on a smartphone-sized device; a new People application, which shows images of your Google+ contacts; and improved speed with the camera app.

Google also added a minor, but interesting, security feature that lets you unlock your phone with facial recognition. And ignoring phone calls gets easier with a new set of canned responses that lets you text a caller to let them know why you didn’t answer your phone.

Source: