Google unveils Ice Cream Sandwich and new handset

A WEEK after Apple unveiled its new operating system, iOS5, and latest iPhone model, Google has followed suit, launching the latest version of its Android system, nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, and its new phone, the Galaxy Nexus, which will be manufactured by Samsung.
 
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which follows in the footsteps of other Androids named Honeycomb and Gingerbread, is the first to run on both phones and tablet devices and boasts a host of new features. Google has even designed an entirely new font, called Roboto, for the displays, and it can run without the need for any physical buttons.
 
Face recognition technology allows users to unlock their phones simply by looking into the camera and it also includes a feature called Android Beam that uses near field communications technology to transfer information between phones by knocking them together. There are other new features such as an improved copy and paste function and a feature that allows users to reply to incoming calls with set text responses, for example: "Can't talk - in a meeting."
 
The phone it will initially run on before being made available on other devices is the Galaxy Nexus, which comes out in November. The handset will have no actual buttons and a slightly larger screen than previous Nexus models. Like the last version, it will boast a curved screen.
 
Reviews of the handset and the new OS were broadly positive. Chris Velazco of Tech Crunch said he had been "drooling over the Galaxy Nexus" but added "Ice Cream Sandwich proves that the software powering the device is just as impressive (if not a little more so)."
 
However Tech Radar predicted that there could be issues when Google rolls out Ice Cream Sandwich to a wider audience using other handsets. "The biggest problem phone manufacturers face is in customising the new Android operating system with their custom overlays, such as HTC's Sense and Sony Ericsson's TimeScape."
 
Other review sites point out that with the iPhone 4S and new Motorola Razr also launching this autumn the the smartphone market is becoming increasingly cut-throat. ·