Apple is obviously targeting Android itself with these patent wars, although the Cupertino-based company has not sued directly Google yet. The legal conflict with Samsung is of particular interest, as both companies are suing each other in 10 countries, with various courts having to decide in over 30 distinct lawsuits. Apple decided to hit Samsung with one more lawsuit in the USA, this time targeting the Galaxy Nexus, Google’s latest Android flagship device.

Apple wants a preliminary injunction against Galaxy Nexus sales in the USA invoking various patent infringements, and unlike in previous attacks in which it target the iPhone- and iPad-inspired design of various Samsung mobile devices, this time it’s all about features, Ice Cream Sandwich features to be more precise:

• US Patent No. 5,946,647 – this patent was filed in 1996 (issued 1999) and covers detecting data, such as a phone number, in an email or web page, creating a link to that data, and initiating an action like calling the phone number when the user selects the link. The data could also include addresses, dates, etc.
• US Patent No. 8,086,604 – this patent claims priority back to 2000 (issued Dec. 2011) and covers searching multiple sources of information (on device and elsewhere) through a single search interface, such as Siri. Apple specifically touts Siri in its injunction request, but also argues that a unified text search is covered by the patent as well.
• US Patent No. 8,046,721 – this patent claims priority back to 2005 (issued Oct. 2011) and covers Apple’s signature slide-to-unlock feature. While Apple already has patent coverage on an image unlock feature, this newest patent is obviously intended to be a bit broader — likely addressing potential workarounds implemented by Google and OEMs over the last couple of years.
• US Patent No. 8,074,172 – this patent was filed in 2007 (issued Dec. 2011) and covers providing word suggestions while the user types on a touchscreen keyboard, where the suggestions can be accepted or rejected by the user.

The first patent quoted above, #5,946,647, has already proven victorious for Apple, as the ITC has recently granted a sales ban against HTC devices based on that particular patent and it will be interesting to see whether the Galaxy Nexus will also be affected. At the same time, HTC did announce that it conceived a workaround to avoid using Apple’s technology and thus continue to sell its smartphones in the region.

From a different point of view, in the Apple vs Samsung and Samsung vs Apple conflicts, Apple has usually been the winner so far, although Samsung scored a few victories of its own, so we’re definitely going to follow closely this new lawsuit that targets such an important Android device.

The Galaxy Nexus has been launched in mid-December last year by Verizon, costing $299.99 with new two-year contracts. Amazon has started selling the Galaxy Nexus recently for just $99.99 with new two-year contracts to new Verizon subscribers, but if you’re not interested in choosing Verizon as your Galaxy Nexus carrier then Sprint seems to be the only way to go, at least for now.

Google has already put up a sign-up page for the Sprint Galaxy Nexus (see above), although the search giant is not revealing any launch dates or prices for the device yet. Since Sprint is going to turn on its 4G LTE network in various markets in the first half of the year, without specific launch dates, the carrier will probably launch the device only once the first Sprint markets get LTE support and not before.

What’s also important to know is that the Sprint Galaxy Nexus will come with slightly improved specs and features as the device will sport a more powerful 1.5GHz dual core processor and offer Google Wallet NFT payment support right out of the box, unlike Verizon’s model.

T-Mobile is also rumored to launch the Galaxy Nexus at some point in the future, which sounds more than plausible considering the mobile operator has also carried the previous two Nexus-branded devices. At the same time, the current GSM Galaxy Nexus selling in Europe and other international markets is also compatible with AT&T, although the nation’s second largest carrier has not confirmed yet any interest in the new Nexus device.

Anyone interested in the Galaxy Nexus from Sprint?

A few weeks ago, thanks to a leak, we learned that Sprint will launch the Galaxy Nexus later this year as its first LTE-ready handset, and the carrier confirmed everything a few days later during its CES event. Just as we suspected a long time ago. And the Galaxy Nexus could hit a third American carrier, T-Mobile, according to a new report.

CellPhoneSignal dug up a document that mentions a Samsung SGH-T999 device that would offer a touchscreen display with 1,280 x 720 resolution, although that’s not really confirmation that the Galaxy Nexus will hit T-Mobile in the near future. But it’s certainly an indication that this could happen since models that start with T and end in 9 are apparently made for T-Mobile. And that sort of a screen size does suggest we could be looking at T-Mobile’s next Nexus handset.

The original Nexus was made by HTC and launched by Google and T-Mobile in early 2010. The device was sort of a flop since it came with a few unexpected, and unfixable 3G bugs, with HTC, Google and T-Mobile not really taking responsibility for what has happened. Nevertheless, the Nexus was quite a popular device. Then T-Mobile launched the second-generation Nexus handset, the Samsung Nexus S, so it’s only logical to see the carrier sell the Galaxy Nexus at some point in the future, especially since Apple is yet to bring its iPhone to the nation’s fourth largest mobile operator.

While we’re at it, we’re certainly interested to hear more details about the Galaxy Nexus’ sales performance. We know Apple sold quite a few million iPhone units last quarter, but how many Galaxy Nexuses have been sold during the same period?

According to FOSS Patents, the same Mannheim Regional Court held a hearing today in an Apple utility model case against Samsung. Utility models are not patents, but they still have some power of their own:

Today’s hearing relate to a Gebrauchsmuster (“utility model”), which is an intellectual property right that could be vaguely described as a fast-track patent that comes with various limitations. Companies are free to file for patents and utility models on the same invention (or on closely related inventions), and that’s what Apple did with its ever-more-famous slide-to-unlock image invention. Stemming from the same original application, two manifestations of this intellectual property right exist in parallel in the German market: a patent (EP1964022 as well as a German utility model (DE212006000081).

This particular utility patent refers to Apple’s slide-to-unlock feature that’s found on all its iOS devices and which is allegedly infringed by various Samsung devices, including the Galaxy Nexus, which has been just mentioned in the case given that the device has just been launched. Apple also holds a patent on its slide-to-unlock feature, but the court “deemed it appropriate to sever the utility model-related claims from the patent case given the complexity and unique characteristics of both sets of issues.”

However a final verdict has not been issued and we’ll have to wait until mid-March to see a ruling from the court. In the mean time the Apple vs Samsung intellectual property battle is still being actively fought in at least 10 countries over four continents.

Have you chosen your favorite yet?

Previous leaks were confirmed by a leaked Sprint Galaxy Nexus ad a few days ago, and now everything is official, the carrier will get the Galaxy Nexus at some point later this year and on top of 4G LTE speeds it will also offer full NFC Google Wallet support. In case you forgot what the Galaxy Nexus is all about, here are the main specs and features of the device:

• 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display
• rumored 1.5GHz dual-core processor
• 16GB Internal memory
• front-facing and rear-facing cameras
• NFC and Google Wallet
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Assuming that the Galaxy Nexus will retail anywhere from $199.99 to $299.99 with new two year contracts, it’s probably safe to see the LG Viper, also a 4G LTE device that’s going to hit Sprint this year, as the cheaper alternative for consumers. Here’s what this model will have to offer:

• Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 4.0″ WVGA touchscreen
• 1.2 GHz dual-core processor
• Dual cameras: primary 5.0 MP and front-facing VGA
• Near Field Communication and Google Wallet

Finally, Sprint also unveiled a new Mobile Hotspot feature, the Sierra Wireless Tri-Network Hotspot that will deliver the following features:

• Access to 3G, 4G or 4G LTE networks plus Wi-Fi
• Supports 8 simultaneous users
• Outdoor range of up to 150′
• Indoor range of up to 115′
• 32GB of shared storage

Unfortunately we don’t have any release dates for any of the three devices mentioned above and there are no pricing details for them either. The first customers to get 4G LTE coverage will be those of you that live in Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and San Antonio, but this initial rollout will be completed in the first half of 2012.

Anyone interested in a 4G LTE device from Sprint?

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents reports that Judge Marina Tavassi of the Tribunale di Milano ruled against Samsung, which means the iPhone 4S sales in the region will continue as previously scheduled. Apple has again beaten the South Korean company in their legal patent-based conflict that’s being fought in over 30 cases spread across 10 countries in four continents.

While Samsung failed to obtain any injunctions against Apple, the lawyers of the latter were more successful at obtaining injunctions against Samsung products in various markets including The Netherlands, Germany and Australia (now overturned). But the fight is not over as preliminary injunctions can be lifted in the near future:

Apple’s own requests for preliminary injunctions have been slightly more successful so far, but only slightly so — and Apple may soon owe Samsung significant damages for improperly-granted preliminary injunctions in Germany, Australia and the Netherlands if the courts in those jurisdictions ultimately find that the relevant injunctions shouldn’t have been ordered in the first place.

Why are both companies insisting on preliminary injunctions instead of waiting for a full trial? Mueller further explains:

Both Apple and Samsung were trying to rush things in order to score some quick wins of rulings with a profound disruptive impact on each other’s business. This didn’t work. They’re both going to have to focus on regular, full-blown proceedings rather than the fast-track proceedings triggered by requests for preliminary injunctions.

By the time we see final rulings in these “full-blown proceedings,” the devices that are currently fought over may not be relevant for the mobile market anymore, as both Apple and Samsung will launch new smartphones and tablets this year, with both companies probably making sure the new devices can’t be attacked in courts.

In the mean time the iPhone 4S will continue to bring in plenty of cash for Apple in all the markets it’s currently selling. Samsung on the other hand, while expected to report great mobile sales for the fourth quarter of 2011, still lacks a flagship device capable of facing the iPhone 4S, with the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S II not capable of selling in as many units as Apple’s smartphone.

The Galaxy Nexus is supposed to be the main rival of the iPhone 4S, which was launched in mid-October in the USA and six other markets, with Apple releasing the smartphone in more and more countries since then. But Apple confirmed sales numbers for the iPhone 4S after the launch weekend, bragging with over 4 million units sold in less than three days.

The Galaxy Nexus has not reached such milestones yet, in fact it hasn’t even sold in 1 million units so far, at least according to an unofficial guesstimate. Using Google’s recently released statistics for the Android ecosystem, The Verge concluded that only over 700,000 Galaxy Nexus units have been sold to date:

Google announced in November that 200 million Android devices had been activated to date, and using Andy Rubin’s 700,000 per day activation average and his holiday weekend sales figures, we arrive at approximately 236 million activated Android devices. With versions 4.0 through 4.0.2 of the OS available only on the Galaxy Nexus, we have a rough estimate of 707,700 units of the new device sold thus far.

Android 4.0 and Android 4.0.2 amounts to 0.3% of the total number of Android devices out there, with Android 4.0.3 installed on an additional 0.3% of smartphones (GSM Nexus S units). Therefore Ice Cream Sandwich is currently installed on 0.6% of all Android devices out there, and most of them will never get Google’s latest OS. So far we’ve seen ICS upgrade plans from HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson, but only selected devices will receive the ICS update. And that will happen only at some point later this year.

Have you purchased a Galaxy Nexus smartphone yet? Planning on getting one?

What did Apple do when it became obvious that the iPhone 4 has a signal issue? First it said that it’s the fault of the users and the way they hold the device, then it updated the phone so it would better display signal bars and then it scheduled a special press event to tell the world that all phones suffer from signal attenuation problems and to issue free iPhone 4 bumpers to users affected by the matter.

What did Verizon do? Apparently the carrier is saying that it’s not its fault that the handset “appears” to be dropping the signal, it’s rather the users that see it as a problem as the phone shows no signal. Or better said it’s the phone. What happens is that the Galaxy Nexus measures signal strength differently than other LTE devices, so much so that it really shows you when you’re not getting a proper connection. Apparently other LTE phones also drop their signal in a similar fashion, but the handsets themselves do not acknowledge the signal drop as they still display some bars in the upper right corner. So therefore the Galaxy Nexus does not have a problem, as the device is otherwise fully functional.

In case you own a GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus then you’re probably not going to experience similar problems. But is this one of the reasons Samsung delayed the launch of the Galaxy Nexus? That’s what certain reports claimed a few weeks ago.

The solution? Release an update to correct the overly accurate signal bars in order for the phone to show more bars even when the signal is weaker. The update is expected to hit in January according to Computer World. And customers are supposed to go along with that, although it will be interesting to see whether that trick will do it.

In Apple’s case, the iPhone 4 became the best-selling smartphone built by the company with the device registering record sales all through 2011, and the handset is still selling strong in various markets almost 18 months after having been released. Will the Galaxy Nexus have a similar life? I highly doubt it, not because the signal issue, but because that’s now what happens with flagship handsets in the Android ecosystem. But we’re certainly interested to see how this Galaxy Nexus signal issue will play out in the end. Because this baby does not support bumpers, does it?

First of, we have Apple’s brand new iPhone 4S TV Ad entitled simply “Santa.” In case you’ve been following Apple’s latest iPhone 4S commercials then you know the company decided to insist on one particular iPhone 4S feature in them, the voice-based Siri virtual assistant. Naturally Santa does Siri too, and considering what he asks his companion in just over 30 seconds of footage, we can’t but wonder how he managed to visit over 3.7 billion people in the past without having such a feature to rely on, especially since he needs from 3 to 5 minutes for every visit.

The new iPhone 4S ad goes head to head against the new Verizon Galaxy Nexus commercial. Entitled “Blades of Glory,” the ad is reminding everyone that Big Red has 4G LTE phones in store this holiday season with particular emphasis on the Galaxy Nexus and, unexpectedly,the Samsung Stratosphere. We appreciate all the skating, but we prefer the previous Galaxy Nexus ads we’ve seen earlier this week since they show actual features of the phone. Not to mention they’re a lot funnier.

The new Kindle Fire commercial is somehow related to Christmas, considering the content that’s shown on the device, although Amazon seems more interested in showing the device is made for the entire family – considering the ad is called “Dad and daughter” – at an affordable price.

Finally we have an Angry Birds cinematic, that’s more than just a short TV clip. The “Wreck the Halls” animation shows us how the pigs go about stealing those eggs Christmas presents and how simple birds become angry when they find out. Out of the 5-minute clip you have about three minutes of action, and if you want to take part in that revenge you could always download the special Angry Birds Season Wreck the Halls update on your iOS or Android device. Angry Birds can be downloaded on all the devices showed above, and many others, so in case you’re buying a smartphone or a tablet for a special someone you could consider preloading Angry Birds on it.

Are you placing any of these devices under a Christmas tree this year?

Google announced earlier today a new ICS update, version 4.0.3, which represents “an incremental release of the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) platform.” The new update will offer a bunch of optimizations and bug fixes for Android devices and new APIs for developers. Here are some of them:

• Social stream API in Contacts provider: Applications that use social stream data such as status updates and check-ins can now sync that data with each of the user’s contacts, providing items in a stream along with photos for each. This new API lets apps show users what the people they know are doing or saying, in addition to their photos and contact information.
• Calendar provider enhancements. Apps can now add color to events, for easier tracking, and new attendee types and states are now available.
• New camera capabilities. Apps can now check and manage video stabilization and use QVGA resolution profiles where needed.
• Accessibility refinements. Improved content access for screen readers and new status and error reporting for text-to-speech engines.
• Incremental improvements in graphics, database, spell-checking, Bluetooth, and more.

Android 4.0.3 appears to be a pretty important update for the ICS environment as Google announced it will become “the base version” of ICS. That means the devices that are going to be updated to ICS, or that will launch with ICS on board, will have Android 4.0.3 (or later) installed.

Google did not mention when the Galaxy Nexus will receive version 4.0.3, but we can only imagine the update will take place in the near future. As for other supported devices – except for the Nexus S, which is currently being upgraded to ICS – we have no idea when manufacturers and carriers will be ready to roll out Android 4.0.3 updates for existing Android devices.

While some of the flagship Android devices of 2011 (and older) will have to wait a while for their specific ICS build to be available, Nexus S users should be happy to hear that Google is ready to roll out the upgrade. The move is a bit surprising, albeit we knew the Nexus S, Google’s second Nexus-branded smartphone, will be the first to run ICS build given that the device is also a “pure” Android smartphone.

The ICS update for the Nexus S will be rolled out gradually to various users and it looks like T-Mobile Nexus S owners can already upgrade their devices, with Sprint Nexus S 4G owners still having to wait for their Android 4.0 build. Google announced officially, via Google+, that the GSM/UMTS Nexus S will get ICS over the next month:

We’re rolling out Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, to GSM/UMTS Nexus S devices over the coming month, starting today. Enjoy the tasty update! Once you get the update, check out some tips and shortcuts for getting started at the Android 4.0 Help Center: http://goo.gl/5C0wM

The company has put up an official Nexus S help page, available at the source link below, in which it’s offering various tips and tricks to make the transition from Android 2.3 Gingerbread to Android 4.0 as smooth as possible. In case you didn’t receive an update notification yet, you could try to do it manually by getting the package from this link, although, as always, we advise you to back up everything and remind you that it’s your responsibility and yours alone in case something goes wrong.

With that in mind, let’s hear it from T-Mobile Nexus S owners – and worldwide GSM Nexus S users – have you installed Android 4.0 on your smartphone yet?

And while some retailers are trying to differentiate based on price (notably Let’sTalk who has the handset available for $154.99), Best Buy is taking a different approach — offering free goodies. Of course, while the free goodies are nice, the price of the Galaxy Nexus with Best Buy is the same as direct with Verizon, $299.99 on a two-year agreement.

Anyway, in terms of the Best Buy offer, the details break down as follows — buy a Galaxy Nexus between December 15th and December 17th and get a free stocking stuffer. As to that stocking stuffer, those come in the form of headphones. And nicely done, those who make the purchase will be able to choose from “any one of the six different pairs and colors of the iFrogz headphones, including the iFrogz EarPollution Luxe Headphones and Microphone.”

For those wondering, those previously mentioned headphones are priced at $26.99. That being said, while we commend Best Buy for brining this deal forward and making the attempt — we cannot help but feel that you can get more bang for your buck with other retailers. You know, with Let’s Talk. Or for that matter, online retailer Wirefly has the handset available for as low as $219.99, which is not as low-priced as Let’s Talk, but still much better than with Best Buy and/or Verizon Wireless.

Of course, in the end, we suspect that most will end up shopping where the feel most comfortable. And that being the case, we suspect that despite being able to save some serious cash, many will end up direct with Verizon or with some of the more known names such as Best Buy.

Before you commit to paying $299.99 to Verizon, you should know that there’s at least one better price for you out there. Lets Talk is offering a sweet deal on the Galaxy Nexus: $154.99 for new customers or $174.99 for existing Verizon subscribers. Both prices are available when signing a new two-year contract and after applying a special promotional code, $75VZN, that can be obtained from Lets Talk’s official Facebook page. Even without applying the code you’d still get a better price than buying the handset from Verizon: $229.99 for new customers and $249.99 for existing ones.

The offer will be available starting at 00:01 PST on December 15, so you’ll have to wait a couple of hours to take advantage of it. Chances are that other retailers will hurry to offer you special deals for the Galaxy Nexus, one of the most wanted handsets this holiday season. In fact, even Verizon may offer certain customers $100 off the advertised price, at least according to recent reports.

Earlier today when going through Verizon’s official press release detailing the Galaxy Nexus launch we showed you again the main specs and features of the device, and now new information has come forward about the Ice Cream Sandwich version the phone will run. Apparently the Nexus has been updated to Android 4.0.2, an ICS version we haven’t seen so far. The update is rolling out now to anyone that already owns the phone – as some Verizon and Best Buy stores sold some Galaxy Nexus units earlier than supposed to – and it’s likely that all of Verizon’s Nexus units will come with the new ICS version on board.

We have no idea at this time what Android 4.0.2 brings to the table other than the expected bug fixes and stability improvements, so do let us know if you have more information on this new ICS update.

In fact, the carrier has issued a short statement to confirm that the phone is launching this year and that it will be preceded by an actual press release:

The Galaxy Nexus is still on track to launch this year. We will definitely send a press release to announce availability. Feel free to visit www.verizonwireless.com/galaxynexus to sign up for email alerts to be one of the first to know.

The timing for such a statement is strange at best considering all the rumors out there that claim Verizon and its partners will finally launch the device tomorrow, December 15. Why would a mobile operator issue such a statement unless the phone was going to be delayed again?

At the same time, word on the street is that Verizon stores are getting more Galaxy Nexus shipments, which seems to backup the carrier’s statement. The phone is indeed coming this year; only they’re not willing to offer an actual release date. What’s certain is that Verizon will have a new phone in stores tomorrow, the white Motorola Droid RAZR, also a brand new Android device that was made official just about a month ago, but one that does not run Ice Cream Sandwich yet.

The Galaxy Nexus is turning out to be a disappointment for Google as the device is still unavailable, with customers not actually given a choice to buy it in the USA yet. And while we’re witnessing these Galaxy Nexus launch problems, the iPhone 4S is selling like hot cakes in the U.S. and international markets.

Are you buying a Galaxy Nexus no matter what happens tomorrow or will you purchase a different Android handset instead this Christmas?

That potential release date appears to have changed to December 15, a date that’s not publicly confirmed by Verizon. But it looks like Verizon is telling “ALL employees, stores, managers, and indirects that December 15 is the new target just like they did with December 9,” at least according to Droid-Life.

In case the date is correct, then the Galaxy Nexus will finally start selling with just ten days to go until Christmas, much later than we would have anticipated. Verizon is expected to price the phone at $299.99 on contract, although the carrier is offering certain subscribers $100 off discounts on all 4G LTE devices, including the Galaxy Nexus.

The phone, originally announced on October 19, shortly after the iPhone 4S started selling, is available in certain international markets, including Canada and the UK, but has failed to actually compete against the fifth-generation iPhone when it comes to worldwide reach this Christmas season.

In case you’re not sure whether the device is worth the prolonged wait, here’s a complete list of specs and features to help you make a more informed buying decision:

• curved 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display
• 720p resolution – 1,280 x 720
• 1.2GHz dual-core processor
• 5-megapixel camera with HD video recording, auto-focus and LED flash
• 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera
• 1GB of RAM
• 16GB or 32GB of memory
• GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n
• 3G, HSPA and LTE support
• Mobile Hotspot support
• weight: 135G
• 1,750 mAh battery
• 8.9mm profile
• sensors: accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, light and proximity sensors and barometer
• NFC support and Android Beam
• Software Navigation Buttons – no hardware buttons as they are incorporated in the home screen
• Zero shutter lag technology for the camera
• Face Unlock – new unlocking method
• Google Talk – video recording and video chat
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Are you buying the new Nexus?

Today’s episode unfolds in France, where the first-instance court Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris sided with Apple in a case initiated by Samsung which was seeking to ban iPhone 4S sales in the region. The court decided to let Apple continue its iPhone 4S sales and, on top of that, ordered Samsung to pay Apple the €100,000 reimbursement in legal fees.

Florian Mueller from Foss Patents points out the fact that the iPhone 4S may be home free and safe from any future sales ban following similar Samsung patent cases. Samsung is apparently trying to convince courts that Apple is in violation of various 3G patents the South Korean manufacturer owns. But the iPhone 4S uses a Qualcomm baseband chip, the one that gives the device dual-mode CDMA/GSM powers. And the chip maker already has a licensing relationship with Samsung, under ETSI rules, one that Samsung failed to contest, or prove it has expired. Simply put, other courts will probably follow the same reasoning of the French first-instance patent court, which means the iPhone 4S may not be harmed in the near future, at least not by the 3G patents Samsung is currently using as its main weapon against Apple:

The court furthermore held that Samsung’s request for an injunction was “disproportionate” and stated that this fact was apparent, without citing particular reasons for this finding. The court just made a general reference to the facts it discussed in its ruling.

FRAND licensing obligations were part of what the court discussed, but it appears that the patent exhaustion issue was so straightforward and clear to the court that there was no need to elaborate too much on Apple’s other defenses. Also, the court denied Apple’s request to hold that Samsung violated its FRAND licensing obligations simply because that kind of request for a declaratory judgment can and must be brought in a regular proceeding, not in a fast-track proceeding concerning a preliminary injunction motion. But the judge “underscores” in the bottommost paragraph on page 14 Samsung’s FRAND obligations and that a holder of standards-essential patents is not allowed to capitalize on his “necessarily dominant position” in abusive ways against competitors.

The next legal match between the two corporation will be played on Italian soil, where courts will also have to decide whether on a potential iPhone 4S ban in the country – a decision that could be similar to the one we saw today in France.

While the companies are fighting over turf in courts, the iPhone 4S is selling like hot cakes in various international markets. By comparison, with just a couple of weeks to go until Christmas, the main iPhone 4S rival made by Samsung, the Galaxy Nexus, is yet to start selling in the USA and its available in just a handful of international markets including the UK and Canada.

CNET notes:

“Android is ahead of the iPhone now,” Schmidt declared to an audience of techies and aspiring entrepreneurs at the LeWeb conference here.

He made his statement to a room bursting at the seams with iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and the audience met his words with a moment of silence that implied some skepticism. So Schmidt elaborated on how he was measuring: “unit volume, Ice Cream Sandwich, the price is lower, there are more vendors.”

Eric Schmidt is certainly a smart man, and in my opinion he is the voice of Google, at least for now, but that doesn’t mean that he is right all the time. In fact he is famous for quite a few strange quotes, which we won’t dwell on today since we have this nice new statement.

Will Android beat the iPhone next year? Yes and no, depending on how you look at it. While Android will beat the iPhone, in overall volumes, no single smartphone will be able to compete against iPhone 4S sales, and that’s probably a certainty. Will developers start choosing Android over iOS when it comes to making new mobile apps, as Schmidt suggested earlier today? I don’t think so. Why? Because of the existing fragmentation in the Android ecosystem which won’t be corrected by the Ice Cream Sandwich update, especially since nobody knows how long it will take until ICS is deployed and, more importantly, how many devices will get it. Because Google does not control, in any way, the ICS roll-out on Android devices. Schmidt said:

“Ultimately, application vendors are driven by volume, and volume is favored by the open approach Google is taking. There are so many manufacturers working to deliver Android phones globally,” Schmidt said. “Whether you like Android or not, you will support that platform, and maybe you’ll even deliver it first.”

But when you look at the iOS 5 vs Ice Cream Sandwich competition, well that’s hardly a contest, when it comes to actual deployment and usage. iOS 5 was announced in June and released in October when iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 3G and iPod touch 4G, therefore 2009, 2010 and 2011 devices were already ready to be upgraded. By comparison, Ice Cream Sandwich was unveiled in October, and the Galaxy Nexus, the first and only Android device to run it, is not even out yet in the U.S. and in most international markets. In fact, it was delayed one more time.

By the time ICS devices get launched, not to mention carriers rolling out upgrades for the existing Android devices – and we have no idea exactly how many Android devices will be updated to Android 4.0 – we’ll see Apple announcing the features of iOS 6. That’s not how Android will beat the iPhone, is it?

In other words, despite what Schmidt says, I happen to believe that developers will focus first on iOS apps, which will bring them instant cash, instead of going Android first, and having to tweak the apps to work on various Android devices in order to actually make money off their hard work. I’m not saying devs will not develop apps for Android, or that the OS is a bad choice for consumers because it isn’t. I just think 2012 won’t be the year of the Android, just like 2011 wasn’t Google’s year either.

And while Schmidt will argue that Android was in the works ahead of the iPhone, he won’t explain why Android has been playing catch-up and not the way around. Not to mention that the first Android devices looked nothing like the current ones, and you surely remember their BlackBerry-like features, don’t you?

While not official, there is a reason that would explain the delay. Word on the street is that there are certain 4G LTE issues with the handset, and considering that’s one of the main selling points for the device – which will be priced at $299.99 on contract exactly because it can connect to 4G LTE networks – it’s definitely best for Verizon to postpone the launch until it can iron out whatever problems affect the phone’s performance.

However, the longer customers wait for the Galaxy Nexus to arrive, the clearer it is that the handset will miss out on being the iPhone 4S rival this year. Apple is selling plenty of new iPhones, while Google and Samsung have to witness Verizon’s continuous delays. Sure, the fault can probably be split among the three companies, although we’ll never know what caused all the U.S. launch delays. In other words, Google will probably have to wait one more year to experience a glorious Nexus-branded handset launch, and by that time we may see a Motorola-made one hit stores, preferably on time and in time to fight the future sixth-generation iPhone.

Droid-Life points out that there’s no release date in sight at this time, with plenty of reports coming in confirming that the handset will not be launched through all channels on December 9. That means we’ll see even more rumors offering release dates for the handset, so stay close, as we learn more about the phone’s launch in the USA.

While no official pricing has yet been released by the carriers, the Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon will be launching the Samsung Galaxy Nexus at $299.99, just a penny shy of 300 bucks. There’s no word, though, on whether this will be the 16GB or 32GB variant, or whether Verizon will carry either or both.

What’s interesting at this point is that $300 sets a new benchmark for the pricing of flagship Android devices. Carriers offer the entry-level iPhone 4S at $199.99 with a two-year contract, while the mid-range and higher-capacity iPhone 4S models are sold at contract for $299.99 and $399.99, respectively.

Earlier leaks have indicated a $199.99 starting price, which is aimed directly at the entry-level iPhone 4S, although it seems the carriers — at least Verizon — are putting a premium on these Android smartphones.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus specs include a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, curved 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display, 5-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 1 GB RAM, 16 or 32 GB of storage, among other highlights. The smartphone also supports 3G, HSPA and LTE support. Other selling points are the zero shutter lag camera, face unlock, Google Talk video chat, and mobile hotspot support.

The report does not cite a confirmed release date, although we earlier cited sources to say that Verizon will be releasing the Galaxy Nexus on December 9, along with other Android devices from Motorola by mid-December.

The Galaxy Nexus is said (again) to start selling on December 9, or next Friday, and the notice comes from sources at Verizon, according to Droid Life. There’s even more evidence that stores may be getting ready for launching the handset later this week:

We should also point out that stores are picking their SME (subject matter expert) for the Galaxy Nexus. This is essentially the designated rep in the store that will get the device a few days prior to launch to become the expert on it. It usually takes about a week for this to happen, which would put us right about the 9th.

The Motorola Droid 4, a handset that was initially rumored to hit stores on December 8, now has a much later launch date. The device is now said to arrive on December 22, with Verizon and Motorola yet to officially confirm the handset.

The white Motorola Droid RAZR is expected in mid-December. It’s the same Motorola Droid RAZR we kept talking about for more than a month now, but it comes in a different color.

The Motorola Droid XYBoards may sound strange to those of you that haven’t followed tech news closely but they’re just a couple of Android tablets. Some people know them as the Xoom 2 and Xoom 2 Media Edition, the Xoom’s successors that have already started selling in other markets. I’d be curious to hear why they’re going to be rebranded as the XYBoards, isn’t Motorola interested in keeping the Xoom brand alive? Is it absolutely necessary to see them included in the Droid family of Android devices? But that’s what Verizon will call them and the carrier is expected to start selling them on December 12.

Apart from the white Droid RAZR, which will cost $299.99 on contract just like the black version, we don’t have any official pricing details for any of the other Android devices.

Google+ is abuzz with leaked posts from a few Google employees who report receiving the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update over the air on their company-issued Nexus S smartphones. While these posts have already been deleted, news has circulated quickly enough, and the Google+ updates have been re-posted and captured on screenshots. A few excited updates, to wit:

Just got Ice-cream Sandwich update on my Nexus S & it’s looking great :)

And another one:

Yeah an OTA, but it’s an early one for Google employees so we test if further so it’s even more awesome when you guys get it. So sadly I can’t comment on it more at this time…

This doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone else is getting their OTA updates. Commercial Nexus S releases will still have to wait for an official update after Google finishes with the so-called “dogfooding” process within its ranks. By this, we of course mean that a company “eats its own dogfood,” or in software/hardware development parlance, they get to use their own stuff before declaring to everyone else how great it is.

Given Google’s historical update process for its major releases, it’s likely that Android 4.0 ICS will take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. But of course, Nexus S users can always just install unofficial builds of Android 4.0 ICS if curious about how it will work on smartphones other than the Galaxy Nexus.

While this is the GSM/HSPA+ version, the device is very similar to the CDMA/LTE model that’s going to be launched in the USA, albeit thinner. We’ll probably see iFixit it dismantle that version too when the time comes but until then let’s check out the insides of the European Galaxy Nexus.

Before we move to the interesting tidbits found inside of the device I’ll have to warn you (spoiler alert) that there are no traces of actual Ice Cream found inside the handset. But we’ll get serious and right to the point, here are some notes worthy of your attention on the Galaxy Nexus’s internal components, followed by a gallery of teardown images:

• Not only does the 3.7 V, 1750 mAh battery power the phone, but the user manual states that it also doubles as the NFC antenna. Of course, we had to see this one for ourselves, so we peeled apart the battery. Lo and behold, there’s a sweet antenna hiding underneath the battery’s shiny wrapper.
• If you ever want to buy a replacement battery (and keep NFC functional), ensure that the battery has the antenna. Our battery says “Near Field Communication” on it, so that might be a good indicator if it will function as an NFC antenna.
• The primary internals of the Galaxy Nexus are contained on two L-shaped boards that are held together by soldered wires from the vibrator motor. We found the following chips:
• Texas Instruments TWL6040 8-Channel High Quality Low-Power Audio Codec
• Texas Instruments TWL6030 Fully Integrated Power Management with Switch Mode Charger
• Invensense MPU-3050 Motion Processing Unit
• Intel XG626 Baseband Modem
• RFMD RF6260 Quad-band Multimode Power Amplifier Module
• Samsung K3PE7E700M 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM
• Samsung KMVYL000LM Multichip Memory Package, which we believe to house an additional 512 MB of RAM in addition to the main processor.
• Samsung SWB-B42 BT 4.0 Dual Band Wlan FM Tx/Rx. Chipworks says the module is actually manufactured by Murata, and houses a Broadcom BCM4330 die inside.
• NXP 65N00 Smart Card IC. According to Chipworks, this two-die package houses an MCU and a PN544 NFC controller.

While that sort of tech breakdown of a new handset gets us all excited we’re mostly interested in the NFC capabilities of the handset at this point, especially since neither Google nor its carrier partners seem to be focusing on that particular feature, which is pretty strange considering how Google is making a pretty big deal out of its Google Wallet service.

The ad slipped out as part of Verizon’s Holiday Deals program, showing us, as pictured above, the price of the Verizon Galaxy Nexus selling at $199.99. It reportedly starting showing up just last night on Android websites, complete with the requirement that you pick up a two year contract for this one as well as a nice showing for 4G LTE capability.

Now, here’s the kicker: despite the fact that the advertisement showed up, especially during the prime holiday shopping season, there’s no way to actually buy the phone. We’re still roughly two weeks out from the official launch date, oddly enough, so this could be an unintended leak, an accident caused by someone who wanted to get home to their family on Thanksgiving night, or the like. Some have even suggested that this is merely a display ad that would have gone up had the Nexus launched earlier.

However, with this ad’s existence now well confirmed, there are possibilities here. This could be the right price…with a special promotional discount to come later. Since we know Verizon’s other big names–the Droid RAZR and HTC Rezound–are selling at $299.99, it makes sense to think the Galaxy Nexus would sell at the same price. But with a $100 rebate or other discount, as isn’t unheard of during the holiday shopping rush, you’d have that advertised price of $199.99.

So what is the final price? No way to tell just yet. But this ad gives us at least pause for thought, and a decent possibility that this one will land at a nice price indeed when it makes its appearance. But what do you guys think here? Figure we’ll see the Galaxy Nexus for this price after all? Or is this a tragic mistake from Verizon? No matter what you think, we definitely want to hear from you, so head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think about the Galaxy Nexus pricing strategy!

But Motorola isn’t yet ready to give up on this specific product line, one that helped Android stand out in the USA as a worthy iOS alternative a couple of years ago. We shouldn’t be surprised to hear a Motorola Droid 4 is in the works, but we didn’t really expect to see this handset in stores this year. And now we have a leaked image of the handset for you and more details about its hardware features.

A new report suggests that the Droid 4 may be scheduled for launch on December 8, a date we thought that was already booked by the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Is Verizon really going to launch this handset on the same date the next Google Nexus phone is expected to be introduced? That’s what the leaked document below seems to suggest. Pricing details are not available at this time, but since the handset comes with 4G LTE support we may see it sport a regular, on-contract, $299.99 price tag.

On top of 4G connectivity, we also have a bunch of other rumored specs and features for this Motorola Droid 4 Android handset:

• 4″ Super AMOLED Advanced display
• Full 5-row “illuminated” keyboard
• RAZR styling
• 4G LTE
• Non-removable battery (maybe)
• Android 2.3.5
• 1080p video recording (assuming 8MP)
• Front camera
• HDMI out
• MotoACTV syncing

Does the Motorola Droid 4 sound like the Android smartphone to have this holiday Christmas? Will you choose a Droid 4 over the Droid RAZR, HTC Rezound, or Galaxy Nexus?

The Korea Times reports that Apple might not be doing well in the country, amid earlier reports that the iPhone has been getting record numbers in terms of pre-orders. In a country known for having one of the fastest mobile broadband speeds in the world, consumers are opting to skip the iPhone 4S in favor of handsets that support 4G or LTE in the country.

Apple’s authorized iPhone carriers in the country — SK Telecom and KT — are reporting order cancellations. Meanwhile, the earlier cited pre-order figures of 300,000 units when the iPhone 4S launched has been adjusted to 150,000. The pre-order sales figures had actually been bloated due to carrier policy of limiting the number of iPhone 4S units a subscriber can purchase per network, which resulted in pre-orders from multiple carriers per person. “The actual sales were below 150,000. As people made pre-orders with both SK Telecom and KT, as well as a certain local carrier’s policy to allow one customer to order a maximum three of the iPhone 4S, the numbers were out of control,” a representative said.

Both companies will start retail sales of the iPhone 4S this weekend ahead of earlier schedules, in an effort to meet Apple-stipulated sales targets. However, consumers are fazed with worldwide reports of the iPhone 4S not meeting expectations, particularly with bugs relating to battery life, security and even Siri itself.

Still, Apple is not a net loser here. Some users are reportedly holding out on purchasing the iPhone 4S and saving up for an iPhone 5, which is rumored to be out by 2012. This is the sentiment among existing iPhone 4 users, who don’t see any major upgrade, except for Siri, which doesn’t support the Korean language anyway. Consumers in the region are likely to be on the lookout for a major upgrade rather than incremental feature additions.

The drama continues when it comes to the Verizon Galaxy Nexus launch as the carrier is still unable to start selling the device, and we have no idea why that is. Verizon has confirmed back in October that it will carry the handset, and since then we got various alleged release dates with the mobile operator yet to confirm any of them.

A few days ago we heard the phone may be launched on December 8 in the USA, which is when Bell and Virgin Mobile will release the handset in Canada too, and it now looks like Samsung is ready to confirm such a rumor, even though the smartphone maker has not specified whether the date is correct or not. Business Insider reports:

We just got confirmation from Samsung that the Galaxy Nexus will launch on Verizon in December instead. Still no word on pricing or an exact release date.

In an earlier TV intervention on Fox, Samsung was unable to mention release dates and pricing for the Galaxy Nexus, suggesting that it’s Verizon’s phone and that the device will hopefully be launched soon. It appears Samsung is still not allowed to mention launch details but for some reason it has confirmed the phone will be launched in December only.

Yesterday we saw a Best Buy leaked ad that was advertising the Galaxy Nexus as the Nexus Prime. The phone was priced at $299.99 with new two-year contracts, which is exactly what we expect it to cost, not because it’s Google’s next flagship handset, but because that’s what a high-end Verizon 4G LTE handset costs nowadays.

So, what do you think, future Galaxy Nexus buyers, will you get a different handset instead?

According to AnandTech, Google has done a lot of optimization when it comes to browser speed, and that’s apparently clear in the “usual browser benchmarks.” The Galaxy Nexus manages to beat the iPhone 4S when it comes to browser tests as seen in the screenshots below.

But the processor on the Galaxy Nexus isn’t able to beat the competition, being ranked only fourth after the iPad 2, the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S II. The same thing is valid for GPU performance where the Galaxy Nexus is surpassed by the same three devices, as shown in the following screenshots. It’s interesting to notice that Samsung didn’t necessarily try to beat its own products, when it comes to hardware. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung decided against turning the Galaxy Nexus – which is also a Google product – into its flagship device with a few months before the Galaxy S III will be announced.

The publication further mentions overall Galaxy Nexus performance:

Performance is pretty much as expected in both areas: Google really pushed the performance of its software further with Ice Cream Sandwich, while GPU performance is limited by the SGX 540. The good news is that there’s more than enough hardware at ICS’ disposal to deliver a smooth experience.

Apparently the thing to remember here is that Samsung’s smartphone does not rely on hardware to offer a great mobile performance. Instead it’s the software’s job to help customers make the most of it. Ice Cream Sandwich is what makes the new Nexus deliver better results in those browser benchmarks, and it will be interesting to see how other devices will test once the Ice Cream Sandwich will be available to them.

Apple already proved with its recent devices that it’s not all about the hardware in new products, as software is also a very important component when assessing their performance. When the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S came out they were not the best devices when it comes to hardware features alone, but it was Apple’s iOS ecosystem, software and apps, that turned them into best sellers.

But that’s only in theory as the Verizon Galaxy Nexus will not respect these two conditions. While the device will offer a pure Ice Cream Sandwich build, it will also pack some Verizon-made apps, or bloatware, which we wouldn’t have expected to find preloaded on the device.

The official Galaxy Nexus videos have been uploaded on YouTube, and one of them, embedded below and entitled “Make Yourself at Home” reveals the home screens of the device, and all the apps that are preloaded on it. Among them we can easily spot two Android apps made by Verizon, My Verizon Mobile and Verizon Backup Assistant.

Sure, you’ll say, it’s not that bad, and they can be removed after rooting the device, but what’s important to note here is that Google still can’t really dictate terms to its carrier partners when it comes to the apps mobile operators can install on Android devices. Unlike Apple, which controls the whole iPhone experience and does not allow carriers to install apps on the iOS devices they sell, Google is not able to enjoy similar powers.

And Google would surely fail to prevent bloatware installation on all Android devices out there. But you’d at least expect the carrier to make sure its Nexus-branded handsets wouldn’t pack such apps in the first place.

What’s more annoying though is that Verizon is yet to announce launch dates and pricing for the Galaxy Nexus, and while we have no idea why Big Red is taking so long to launch the handset we’ll remark, again, that Google doesn’t seem to have a say in this particular matter either. Of course, we may never find out why the Galaxy Nexus has not been launched in the U.S. yet, but it sure looks like it’s not up to Google to decide when the phone will hit stores.

But what do you say, Galaxy Nexus buyers, will you be bothered by the preloaded Verizon bloatware, however insignificant?

Earlier today we heard that Big Red may launch the handset next Monday, on November 21, as previously rumored. But an earlier rumor does suggest Verizon could release the handset only in December. Today we have a specific date for you, December 8.

Apparently there are a couple of new screenshot in the wild that clearly show this new release date. Here’s what the image above reads:

Thursday 12/8:
Samsung Nexus (SCHI515MSV):
The Samsung Nexus is now scheduled to launch in all locations on Thursday, 12/8. Devices and demo units will be sent to stores prior to launch. Accessories have begun to ship to stores this week in regular weekly accessory orders.

And here’s the second screenshot that reveals the same December 8 launch date:

But not everyone has to wait three more weeks for the handset to hit stores, if these leaked documents are to be believed. In case you are in Europe then you can already order yours from certain UK carriers and retailers.

In case you’re in the U.S. and you happen to be one of Apple’s co-founders, but currently not involved with the company anymore, then you’ll get yours today. That’s right, Steve Wozniak walked into a Google building today and came out with a shiny new toy, his own Samsung Galaxy Nexus. He even took a picture in front of building 44 at Google’s headquarters with a bunch of employees probably super-excited to see an iconic figure like Wozniak be that interested in Google’s next-gen flagship device.

Sure, he doesn’t work for Apple anymore, but it’s still a great PR hit for Google, having Wozniak use, no matter how briefly, a brand new Galaxy Nexus handset.

But let’s get back to the real world, folks! Are you going to wait three more weeks for the Galaxy Nexus or are you buying something else?

AT&T is apparently interested to hear whether its subscribers would want to purchase a Galaxy Nexus with GSM powers and has decided to measure their interest via the company’s official Google+ page. Sure, this doesn’t necessarily mean that an AT&T Galaxy Nexus phone is coming soon, but at least it’s good to hear that other U.S. carriers are considering stocking the handset.

A few weeks ago we heard that Sprint may also want to launch the handset, but that rumor was not backed up by any official press release from the nation’s third largest carrier. T-Mobile has also been rumored to carry the Galaxy Nexus, but the mobile operator did not announce such plans. While the carrier did show up at Google’s special Google Music event yesterday, its presence was in no way related to the Galaxy Nexus one. Instead the carrier announced carrier billing support for Google’s Android Market music store.

But how would AT&T handle a Google Nexus release? Would it launch the GSM/HSPA+ handset that’s currently selling in the UK and will hit other international markets soon or will it order a special GSM/HSPA+/LTE handset from Samsung? In case you didn’t know, the Galaxy Nexus is not a world phone like the iPhone 4S for example, and the GSM version does not have LTE support. The manufacturer will have two versions in stores, a CDMA/LTE model that’s heading to Verizon, and a GSM/HSPA+ version that will hit all other markets.

Let’s hear it from potential Galaxy Nexus buyers, what U.S. carriers would you rather buy the handset from?

Future Shop made everything official today, but it failed to mention pricing details for Galaxy Nexus pre-orders:

(Burnaby, BC) November 16, 2011 – On Monday, November 21, 2011, enthusiasts awaiting the landing of the Galaxy Nexus from Google can take one step closer to scooping up the device, when Future Shop, Canada’s largest retailer and etailer of consumer electronics, offers the device for pre-order at all 150 stores across the country.

Available in early December, the Galaxy Nexus smartphone is dubbed one of the hottest devices of the season packed with the cool, new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, impressive 4.65” HD Super AMOLED screen, facial recognition, and much more. The Galaxy Nexus is available at launch through all Future Shop stores on the Bell and Virgin networks. Customers can expect a variety of the latest accessories for the device to be available in-store and online at www.futureshop.ca. Pricing is to be announced.

As you can see, clear release dates aren’t available at this time either and we’ll have to settle for “early December” again. Bell and Virgin are expected to launch the device next month, with Rogers and Telus to follow suit in January.

Earlier today we heard that Amazon UK will ship the handset only on December 2, and a few days ago a new rumor suggested that Verizon could also release the device only next month. But Verizon is yet to officially announce any actual launch plans for the Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone so we’ll keep you updated on new rumors and speculations in the mean time, as a new Galaxy Nexus rumor or speculation emerges almost daily.

Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus is now said to launch only at some point in December, or well after Black Friday – the phone was expected to hit stores in the week of November 21 according to certain leaked documents. We’ve seen this sort of scenario happen before with Verizon LTE handsets this year: delays after delays without any clear explanations as to what caused them. It happened first with the HTC Thunderbolt, the first LTE Android handset in the world. Then the Droid Bionic followed suit, although in this instance the handset has been postponed by Motorola as the manufacturer wanted to further improve it. But, again, the company did not explain why it chose to delay the Bionic.

According to Droid-Life, the Galaxy Nexus may need further testing, as Verizon would like to see some of the bugs that come with the device to be dealt with ahead of an official launch. This could be all an unfounded rumor, although there’s hardly any smoke without some kind of fire. So while we’re taking this one with a huge grain of salt, chances are that the rumor is based on real issues.

But what about European Galaxy Nexus handsets that are about to be launched? Don’t they have the same bugs? Not necessarily! The American and European devices are very similar but they’re still different. The first one is a CDMA/LTE handset while the second one is a GSM/HSPA+ smartphone. In other words the underlying problem may be with the phone’s LTE performance, which would explain why Verizon may want to postpone the launch.

These are all speculations at this time, but you should still be aware of any potential Galaxy Nexus delays. We’ll be back with more details as soon as we have them, so stick around for more Galaxy Nexus news, folks!

Verizon is yet to announce its own launch schedule for the Galaxy Nexus, and Canadian carriers are also not able to reveal such details about a handset that’s supposed to be the main iPhone 4S rival this Christmas. Word on the street is that no less than four Canadian mobile operators are going to carry the handset in the near future, and we have a projected launch date for at least three of them, but we still lack clear details

The carriers in question are Bell, Virgin Mobile, Telus and Rogers, with only the last two able to provide an expected release window. Rogers confirmed via Twitter that it will sell the Galaxy Nexus in the January and that it will take reservations starting tomorrow:

We’ll be adding the #Samsung Galaxy Nexus to our lineup this January! Reserve yours on our Reservation System tomorrow. ^mm

Telus is also expected to launch the handset at some point in January, while Virgin Mobile will have the handset in stores in early December.

That’s certainly a lot more than Verizon is willing to tell us about one of the most expected Android smartphones to hit stores this holiday season. Verizon has just launched the Droid RAZR and the HTC Rezound, so it’s probably still interested in making the most of these two brand new LTE handsets. The most recent rumor regarding the launch date of the Galaxy Nexus suggested the phone would be coming out on November 21, or around that date, but the carrier is still keeping awfully quiet regarding the Galaxy Nexus.

Earlier today we heard that Three UK will also start selling the Galaxy Nexus in the UK alongside O2, and we know that phone will cost around $800, off contract and that it will ship starting with November 18, just a few days from now.

We’ll be back with more Galaxy Nexus launch details the minute we have them, so keep us bookmarked!

Update: Post updated to reflect the fact that Telus will also launch the Galaxy Nexus in Canada, and to add the release period for Virgin Mobile

After announcing its plans to attempt the block way back in September, and following what is reported to be debate up until the last minute, Samsung has decided not to pursue the block in South Korea after all, says South Korean daily The Chosun Ilbo. The device only started selling there last Friday, but now, Samsung will let it go.

What’s behind the sudden change of plans? One Samsung executive, reportedly talking to Chosun Ilbo, put it this way:

We concluded that we should engage in legal battles with Apple only in the global market, but not in order to gain more market share in Korea.

And this makes some sense. More likely than not, Samsung should have hometown favorites advantage over Apple, though Apple will likely do brisk business on the Korean peninsula. And Samsung attempting to block Apple’s sales in South Korea may have had negative effects of its own, as Samsung would in effect appear so weak that they’d require a court order to be competitive in their own country of origin. Admittedly that’s an image question, so not everyone would see it that way, but it does look like Samsung might have thought that a strong enough possibility. That and there’s the issue of resources–Samsung’s likely going to need its lawyers, and its cash, front and center elsewhere to take on the very well funded Apple machine.

So what do you guys think of all this? Is Samsung just standing up for its own patents and its right to exist in the market? Or are they using a complicated strategy of legal chicanery in a bid to fend off a much stronger competitor? No matter what side of the legal debate you’re on, we welcome your thoughts down in the comments section below!

Today however we learned that the handset may indeed be launched on November 21 as rumored before, or at some point during that week, which also happens to be this year’s Thanksgiving and Black Friday week. So let’s review all the signs!

First of all, word on the street is that Verizon is finally training its employees for the imminent launch of the Galaxy Nexus handset. That means the carrier is getting ready to release the device and that could happen in the following weeks.

Secondly, Google is apparently awarding ten free Galaxy Nexus handsets per day starting tomorrow through November 21. Interestingly enough the competition ends on the day the phone is rumored to be released. Coincidence? I think not, but at the same time we’ve seen other LTE handsets pushed back previously so we wouldn’t be surprised if that happened again.

What’s also interesting is that the rules of Google’s Galaxy Nexus competition suggest that the phone will cost $500 off-contract, which will be quite an interesting surprise for Android fans. A high-end Android handset running Google’s Android 4.0 and sporting LTE connectivity that’s priced at $500 full price would be a great deal for plenty of smartphone buyers.

Speaking about deals and buyers, I’ll list my third argument that the Galaxy Nexus is coming by (or on) Black Friday: it will sell like hot cakes during the Black Friday days, especially if priced lower than the competition. Can Verizon really afford to have potential customers wandering the streets with plenty of cash in their hands on Black Friday and choosing other devices, possibly from other carriers simply because the Nexus failed to hit stores?

What do you think, Android fans, will the Galaxy Nexus hit stores by November 25?

Earlier this month, Apple has suffered a string of losses in the legal arena, with its dispute against Motorola Mobility and Samsung. Just recently, Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents discusses a court hearing in the very same German court where Apple lost in a default judgement. The case relates to Samsung’s claim that Apple has infringed on three technology patents used in 3G communications:

• EP1005726 - “turbo encoding/decoding device and method for processing frame data according to QoS”
• EP1114528 - “apparatus and method for controlling a demultiplexer and a multiplexer used for rate matching in a mobile communication system”
• EP1188269 - “apparatus for encoding a transformat format combination indicator for a communication system”

With these patent infringement claims, Samsung’s request is for the court to order a permanent injunction against the sale and distribution of Apple’s 3G-enabled products, recall from retail channels, and even destruction of said 3G-capable products like the iPhone and iPad. Samsung also wants Apple to pay damages relating to past sales of these products.

Mueller says it is likely that the German courts will side with Samsung on at least one of these patent-related claims. Apple’s defense was mostly in the scope and technical aspects of the Samsung-owned patents. This includes previous technology licensing deals by Samsung with chipmakers Intel and Infineon in the U.S., where Apple acquired its iPhone baseband chips. However, from the proceedings, it was apparent that Apple might be willing to work things out with Samsung, especially in the face of possibly losing this case, and the serious repercussions it will have on Apple’s business in Germany.

Still, another question will be enforceability, which will involve a separate court discussion and ruling. This means that if Samsung wins this court case in Germany, it will not necessarily mean that Samsung will get its way with the ban, recall and destruction of Apple core products like the iPhone and iPad in the country. What is in question in this regard is whether any ruling will be enforceable against the iPhone 4S, which was launched after the present litigation began.

A few days ago we told you that the handset may be launched by Verizon on November 17, just over a week ahead of Black Friday, and on the same day the European Galaxy Nexus will go on sale, but Big Red is yet to make it official.

The phone also happens to be a high-end 4G LTE smartphone, which means that just like the recently announced Motorola Droid RAZR and HTC Rezound, it is also likely to sell for $299.99 when purchased with a new two-year contract. To prove that starting price we have a leak from Costco for you today.

According to the screenshot above, Costco will sell the handset for $289.99, most likely on contract, and as you can very well see, we’re only looking at the Verizon Galaxy Nexus version, the LTE-enabled one.

When it officially announced the handset a few weeks ago, Samsung made it clear that the Galaxy Nexus will come with HSPA+ and LTE capabilities, but unfortunately phones will sport either HSPA or LTE connectivity, not both. In other words, we’re not looking at a world phone here, which only begs the question, will the GSM/HSPA+ version also launched in the USA?

While it initially suggested it is the exclusive Galaxy Nexus carrier in the USA via a banner posted on its website, Verizon then quickly replaced any visual hints at its purported exclusive agreement to sell the phone. But since then, we haven’t seen any other U.S. carrier step up to the plate and announce the handset. Sprint was rumored at one point to carry the handset although that report is yet to be confirmed.

Right now there are five new 4G LTE devices that you could consider buying instead of the “old” Droid Bionic: the HTC Vivid and Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket from AT&T and the Motorola Droid RAZR, the HTC Rezound and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus from Verizon. These handsets are priced from $199.99 to $299.99 with two-year contracts, and they will be available in the following weeks:

• November 6: Galaxy S II Skyrocket ($249.99) and HTC Vivid ($199.99)
• November 11: Droid RAZR ($299.99)
• November 14: Rezound ($299.99)
• November 17: Galaxy Nexus

Therefore, we’re not surprised to see Amazon significantly discount the Droid Bionic, which is now available for $119.99 when purchased with a new two-year contract. The smartphone is still worthy of your attention, even if you don’t see it star in the news cycle as often as you used to a few months ago. In case you’re wondering about Ice Cream Sandwich updates, you’ll have to know that the Droid Bionic has been confirmed to receive the Android 4.0 upgrade at some point in 2012.

Sure, the price is not as sweet as Amazon’s usual $0.01 smartphone offerings, so in case you don’t want to buy any of the five new Android handsets listed above, you may want to wait a couple of more weeks to see whether the retailer is willing to drop the price of the Bionic even more, especially as we’re getting closer and closer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, not to mention the Christmas holiday shopping season.

Anyone up for a cheaper Droid Bionic or are you buying something else instead?

Modaco claims the root he’s come up with is very easier. He says,

No need to flash any partitions, no need to mess around with ADB, no messing with the contents of your data partition, no overwriting the shipped ROM on your device, just boot the boot image using the instructions below and you’re done!

All you need to do is download the image he’s provided, boot it, and you’re good to go. Which would be super duper convenient if not for the fact that most of the populace doesn’t actually have the Galaxy Nexus yet.

Nevertheless, I’m sure this will thrill you rooting junkies out there, and I’m sure different ways to root the Galaxy Nexus will come out as soon the phone launches. For now, this could mean a port of the Ice Cream Sandwich with sdk ports that are actually working (unlike the first ports that are understandably very buggy) is possible!

There’s a new leaked document in town that seems to suggest Verizon will indeed launch the handset a week after the Motorola Droid RAZR hits stores. The RAZR is already available for pre-order and will be launched on November 10.

The document shown in the image below is apparently a “work in progress” which will be sent out to Verizon stores next week. According to it, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus “will be available online and in your […] November 17, 2011,” while “the promotional items are not to be used until Tuesday, November 15th.”

Verizon is yet to confirm the launch date and the carrier is probably more interested in selling as many Droid RAZR units as possible before the Galaxy Nexus hits stores. Furthermore, later today HTC and Verizon will announce the Rezound, also a flagship Android 4G LTE smartphone expected to be launched in the following weeks. Once we have a set launch date for the Rezound, we can reconsider the rumored dates for the Galaxy Nexus. After all, Verizon will probably want to launch these devices at least a few days apart.

Like I said before, the uncertainty that surrounds the release of the Galaxy Nexus is very similar to what happened with the HTC Thunderbolt and the Motorola Droid Bionic, which were also delayed a bunch of times. And it’s very annoying, especially for those people that actually want to buy the device. For what it’s worth, Europeans will be able to buy the Galaxy Nexus starting with November 17, so if you’re in the neighborhood you can always pick up a GSM/HSPA+ version instead of waiting for Verizon to launch it.

We’ll be back with more news regarding the launch of the Galaxy Nexus once we have it, so keep following our updates.