Nexus

Google just sent an email to customers who pre-ordered the Nexus Q to announce it will postpone the consumer launch of its media-streaming device.

The Nexus Q originally received a mid-July shipping time, but Google apparently decided to go back to the drawing board over “initial feedback from users.”

Google is apologizing to those who pre-ordered the $299 Nexus Q by sending them a free one. The U.S.-made device is akin to an Android- and Google services-compatible Apple TV, but it does not run apps.

Google’s email is below.

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As noted by the official Google Play account on Google+, the company started shipping out Nexus 7 tablets today for customers who pre-ordered the device. Google informed customers via an automated message on its help line that all pre-ordered devices are expected to ship within the next three business days. Customers will receive a tracking number and confirmation email once the device has shipped from Google. Pre-ordered devices from some retailers are also now ready for pick up. Phandroid reported today that GameStop started informing customers that pre-ordered Nexus 7s have now arrived and other retailers are expected to start doing the same.

The full statement from Google (via AndroidPolice) is below:

“We’re now shipping Nexus 7 pre-orders. The first wave of orders are going out today and all pre-orders are scheduled to ship within the next 3 business days. Once your order has shipped you will receive a confirmation email and tracking number. Though our agents are unable to provide a specific delivery date for individual pre-orders, please rest assured that our shipping team is working to fulfill all orders as quickly as possible.”

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Today, Patent Bolt covered a newly published Google patent application that details what appears to be a hybrid notebook/tablet design. We noted recently it would not be too shocking to see more Google-made hardware following the company jumping into end-to-end manufacturing of its new U.S.-made Nexus Q hardware. With that in mind, it is certainly interesting to see innovative notebook designs are at least being conceptualized at Google.

As noted in the report, aspects of the patent application cover a notebook device with virtual keyboard and trackpad in place of a traditional physical keyboard. While the patent covers a wide variety of possible configurations, some highlights include:

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It has been a couple of weeks since Google dropped its Asus-built Nexus 7, but the Jelly Bean-powered tablet is just now becoming available at a slew of third-party online retailers.

The 7-inch Android slate first debuted on the Google Play store, where the 16 GB version retails for $249, with a $25 credit. Folks can only pre-order at the moment, because shipping is still another two to three weeks out, but they can now place their orders for the Nexus 7 just about anywhere. GameStop, Staples, B&H, Adorama, Abt, and Canada’s FutureShop are just a few of the latest places to offer the world’s first Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet. Canada’s Best Buy reportedly started selling the Nexus 7 as well, but United States listings are currently not live on the retailer’s website.

Interestingly, Staples offers the Nexus 7 with free shipping. It also promises delivery between July 12 and July 17, if pre-ordered by July 10. B&H, Best Buy and Future Shop peg expected availability around mid-August, while Adorama does not even have the tablet in stock. Abt is vague about shipping with estimated delivery between “3-5 Business Days,” but the website also noted, “Estimated Arrival dates are based on in-stock items only.” GameStop features similar wording, too.

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iFixit is hardcore when it comes to breaking open our favorite electronics to see what’s inside, and the website did it again today with the refreshed Google-flagship, Asus-built Nexus 7 that unveiled at the Google I/O conference last week.

Teardown highlights:

What’s inside:

A gallery is below.

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With the rollout of Jelly Bean to a number of new devices just around the corner, Google updated its platform statistics today on the Android Developers website. After having been released for nine months, Ice Cream Sandwich was able to post an increase. However, it remains at just under 11 percent of total Android devices. That is an increase of approximately 3.8-percent for ICS 4.0 and 4.0.4, and it definitely highlights the fragmentation issues Android continues to face. Jelly Bean is not included in the platform stats, because it has not launched on any devices available to consumers.

Google also released updated information about the number of devices currently utilizing a particular screen configuration. The graph below shows the majority of Android devices are still running what Google classified as “Normal/hdpi,” which is a configuration that includes devices roughly 3.5-inches to 4.5-inches with at least 470dp-by-320dp:

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We all know Google I/O is just around the corner with yet another Nexus tablet leak today and news of some fresh Google TV products hitting the market soon. We will be on hand this week with live coverage of the event, and Google will make things even easier this year thanks to a new blogging tool it is unleashing specifically for the conference. As noted on Google’s developers website, you can now create your own embeddable Google I/O keynote live blogging gadget that will pull the event’s live video stream, and then it will post from your Google+ account:

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Gizmodo AU claimed this morning to have reviewed a training document related to Google’s upcoming tablet that is set to be unveiled at Google I/O this month. While we have had several leaks in the months leading up to the event, today’s report —if legitimate—provides us with some exact specs for the Nexus-branded, Asus-built slate. According to Gizmodo, the tablet will hit at least Australia in July and be the first to run Jelly Bean with the following specs:

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Display captures of press shots for the Google Nexus allegedly leaked online today, which show the Asus-manufactured tablet looking like a huge Galaxy Note and Galaxy S III cross.

PhoneArena posted the leaks of the highly anticipated 7-inch tablet. Google is long-rumored to launch the device with the latest version of Android for around $250 to directly compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

The images showcase a white front with three dots in the upper-right corner that closely resemble Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Meanwhile, the back sports a two-tone white and black color scheme. The device also carries a bevy of sensors with indications of a video-capable camera on the front and a second camera on the back. The tipster, who leaked the drafts, mentioned a quad-core Tegra 3 as the CPU with the possibility of 1GB of RAM for additional specs.

It is worth noting that the source denied rumors about the Google Nexus featuring Android 5.0 Jelly Bean for the operating system, and instead claimed an updated version of Ice Cream Sandwich, i.e., Android 4.1, would power the tablet. This information corroborates the RightWare benchmark test from last month that suggested a “Google Asus Nexus 7″ would boast Android 4.1 with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor.

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Google’s much-rumored 7-inch Asus tablet surfaced in a RightWare benchmark test recently and teased those eagerly awaiting a Mountain View, Calif.-branded slate.

The outing revealed a “Google Asus Nexus 7″ that boasts a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, runs Android 4.1, and carries a 768-by-1,280 resolution. The screenshots above and below detail the full specs. 

Mum’s the word for Google and Asus, but recent rumors suggest the 7-inch device will unveil at Google’s I/O Conference next month. It is worth mentioning, however, that past reports also indicated an April and May launch. One thing is for sure, with Asus on board for this project, many believe the Nexus 7 will look similar to other offerings by the Taiwanese manufacturer.

Google’s flagship Android-powered tablet is set to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 2, so a $200 to $250 price tag is in the radar.

In related news, a Federal Communications Commission filing for the Asus MeMo Pad 370T appeared this morning. This, as one might recall, is the $249 CES device that put the rumor mill into overdrive regarding a potential Google tablet, and now it causing the blogosophere to brim with reports about a 7-inch form factor on the I/O horizon.

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[tweet https://twitter.com/sprint/status/188003634016030720]

It looks like Google and Sprint finally got around to updating the NExus S 4G to Ice Cream Sandwich.  The update, certainly expected for awhile, is detailled below.

4/5 – Nexus S Software Update – IMM76D (Android 4.0 – Ice Cream Sandwich)

Nexus S Software Update – IMM76D  (Android 4.0 –  Ice Cream Sandwich)

Enhancements/Fixes:
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LG is lobbying Google to score a collaborating partnership on the next Nexus device.

“We’re having discussions,” said head of LG’s smartphone division Ramchan Woo to CNET in an interview. “We’re working on it.”

Garnering the honor would gain LG an ounce of prestige in the mobile industry, because the handset maker would have absolute access to Google’s offerings. Even if the financial benefits are on the low-end for LG, the company will inevitably surface with an impeccable reputation after working with the Mountain View, Calif.-based technology giant…

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Android 4.0.4 was leaked early for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, and —of course— in typical fashion, a user at the XDA-Developers Forums made a guide available to install the update. The update will presumably be rolling out over-the-air to the masses soon, but if you are up to the challenge, you can install it early with some trickery. Obviously, it is not for the feint-of-heart.

Android 4.0.4 brings many necessary updates, according to the unofficial change log posted on XDA. The update brings noticeably faster speeds, battery stats bug fixed, new radios, improved signal strength, a new power menu, faster boot time, increased volume, keyboard fixes, improved quick controls in the browser, updated News and Weather app, and much more. You can read the full unofficial change log after the break.

Update: One of our commenters (“Eddy”) gave us more insight into after the install.

I updated to 4.0.4 last night via CWM. I can confirm that, although root is initially broke after the update, you can use Wug’s GNexus Root Toolkit to re-root and flash CWM again.

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It seems with any smartphone announced these days, users are yearning for a white version of the device, and two prime examples are the iPhone and Galaxy S II. Of course, it is not any different when it comes to the newest flagship Ice Cream Sandwich handset out of Google and Samsung, the Galaxy Nexus. Italian publication HD Blog had the chance to photograph the white version of the Galaxy Nexus. As you can see in the gallery below, the back and sides are completely white, while the front keeps the black look. The previous flagship, the Nexus S, follows the same formula.

Specifications for the white version of the Galaxy Nexus will remain the same and still ship in both a 16GB and 32GB version, HD Blog said. The white version will land in Europe (GSM) sometime in the coming weeks. It is not clear if there will also be a white version on Verizon Wireless, but there is always a way to get it in the United States through other channels. Looks good, eh?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CdD8s0jFJYo]

Today is the day that UK customers can finally get their hands on the Galaxy Nexus, with Google updating the device’s page to include links to retailers and carriers including Phones4U, Three, Carphone Warehouse, Vodafone, and O2.

Earlier Samsung sent out a tweet of Alex Ioannou, the first customer to purchase the device this morning. However, it looks like Ioannou  might not have had the best of luck, as Engadget reports the man got home only to find a pre-release developer build of Android with a bunch of developer tools including “Report a WTF condition”. Needlessly to say, Ioannou has since replaced the device, which somehow must have slipped through the cracks without getting the final ICS treatment.

Google has also posted a bunch of videos to their Nexus YouTube account showing off some of the new ICS features of the Galaxy Nexus including multitasking, face unlock, camera and panorama, and Android Beam. One video, entitled “Getting Started (US)”, shows the US version of the device with “Verizon 4G” branding and all. You can check out a selection of the videos below.

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Slashgear did just that.  All of a sudden the 4.65 inch display of the Galaxy Nexus looks very svelte compared to the otherwise gargantuan 5.3 inch Galaxy Note.  The Note coes on sale in Europe next week while the Nexus hits on November 17th.

As for us in the States, we’re expecting an announcement shortly on both.

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Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system meant for both smartphones and tablets, will support the previous-generation Nexus S smartphone in addition to the forthcoming Galaxy Nexus device manufactured by Samsung for Google, the search giant confirmed. However, owners of the original Nexus One smartphone, which had been manufactured by Taiwan’s HTC Corporation as Google’s showcase Android phone in January 2010, will be left out in the cold because that device is not powerful enough to run the latest Android software, The Telegraph reported today.

Google’s Hugo Barra told the paper that Ice Cream Sandwich will drop as a free software update for the existing Nexus S handset “within weeks”, shortly after the latest Galaxy Nexus device lands on store shelves in November. Realistically, there are some limits as to which software can perform well in a satisfactory manner on older devices. MG Siegler pointed out that the iPhone 3GS is seven months older than the Nexus One and yet it runs the iOS 5 software. However, it should be points out that Apple is routinely leaving out older-generation devices with its mobile operating system revisions.

iOS 5, the latest version Apple released for public consumption earlier this month, does not run at all on the original iPhone or iPhone 3G. Even though it does run on iOS 5, it should be noted that some high-end features are not supported on that handset because the hardware is just not up to the task. Apple also intentionally limits some software features to the latest hardware for marketing purposes. Search assistant Siri, for example, is an iPhone 4S exclusive.

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A user on the XDAdevelopers forum has posted a somewhat stable ROM for Ice Cream Sandwich running on the Nexus S. This build shouldn’t be mistaken as complete though, seeing as it does have a number of bugs.Problems with this ROM include 3G connectivity (for some), data, NFC, panorama mode, and camera will force close with the first boot. If you’re just dying to checkout Ice Cream Sandwich this ROM is for you but shouldn’t be used day-today. Get the full details here.

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On the product page for the Galaxy Nexus that was released yesterday there is a signup form to get more information on the device before it is available in November. The signup form hints to seven new carriers that the Galaxy Nexus will be listed on.

We already know that Verizon will probably be the exclusive carrier of the Nexus, but also listed are AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, MetroPCS, Cellular South (C Spire), and U.S. Cellular. It is not clear which carriers will be available at first.

This is fantastic news, giving users more choice — especially with those pre-paid carriers. If you haven’t seen the Galaxy Nexus you’re sure to want to check it out.