As rumors circulated this week that Google's Oct. 29 event could debut a 10.1-inch Nexus 10 tablet, it seems we can at least confirm tworumor nows. Google will announce a new LG Nexus 4 smartphone running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and a 32GB version of its Nexus 7 tablet at its New York event, according to numerous reports.
Details for the new phone, which would be LG's first entry into Google's Nexus line, were apparently leaked by a U.K.-based smartphone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, which inadvertently listed the phone as available for preorders on its Website, The Verge reported.
"An entirely official-looking preorder page has been put up for the handset, whose display is said to measure 4.7 inches diagonally with a 1280 x 768 resolution," said The Verge. "Other salient features include Android 4.2, still called Jelly Bean, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, NFC and an 8-megapixel camera. Looking into the more detailed spec sheet, the Nexus 4 is listed as being 9.1mm thick and is offered with 8GB of on-board storage."
Google is also widely expected to debut and show-off Android Jelly Bean 4.2 at the media event. The new operating system is said to include a new feature called "Gesture Typing," which will allow users to input text by swiping across the screen and dragging a finger across the screen, letter to letter, according to report.
The new phone was reportedly priced at 390 British Pounds ($628 U.S.) in the Carphone Warehouse inventory system.
The "leaked" information for the Nexus 4 phone could eventually not be found on the Carphone Warehouse Website on Oct. 25, suggesting the listing was legitimate, and was posted by accident. LG Nexus 4 smartphones go on sale starting Oct. 30, the day after Google's press event, according to The Verge.
LG Nexus 4 smartphone specs
The LG Nexus 4 smartphone will have a quad-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a 4.7-in. display with 1280 x 768 resolution, The Next Web's report indicated. It will also have a 2100 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage and an 8-megapixel rear camera. It will run the Android 4.2 mobile operating system, also called Jelly Bean, rather than the next-generation Key Lime Pie which some tech websites have reported.
The Google New York product launch is expected to be an Android-centric event, which could also include a 32GB version of its Nexus 7 tablet, according to numerous reports. The event will kick off at 10 a.m. EDT at New York's Basketball City at Pier 36. The announcement will also be streamed live on YouTube, according to the press invite.
Google's event will be held on the same day as Microsoft's launch of Windows Phone 8, the next generation of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.
Google's Android has been gaining an impressive amount of ground in 2012. The company announced in September that Android device activations had hit the 500 million mark internationally, while adding about 1.3 million new activations a day.
Android will dominate the smartphone market through 2017, according to a May report from analysts at Ovum.
Ovum reported that it expects Android to hold 48 percent of the smartphone market by 2017, while growing at a slower pace than it is currently. In 2011, Android's share jumped to 44 percent, up from 2010's 17 percent. Apple is expected to control a 27 percent share in 2017, up from 2011's 23 percent share, with remaining smartphone competitors following far behind.
32GB Nexus 7 tablet
A premature listing of the ASUS and Google Nexus 7 32GB 3G model appeared on a Latvian website this week, possibly confirming the Oct. 29 debut of Google's new 32GB version of its popular Nexus 7 tablet.
Google is reported to finally be revealing the 32GB Nexus 7 Oct. 29, according to The Next web. In addition to the new standard model, the website also claims there will also be a HSPA+ (3G) model.
Several sites had previously reported that a cheaper Nexus 7 was planned for release in the U.K. and U.S. before Christmas, according to a retailer's ad.
TeckComesFirst reported that a U.K retailer, Argos, has advertised a 32GB version of the Nexus 7 in its holiday gift guide. The snippet from the purported holiday gift guide shows a 32GB ASUS-made Nexus 7 priced at £199.99 (about $323).
"In the US, several leaks have already suggested that the 32GB device will be available for around $250," reports ZDNet. "One US Staples Advantage promo was spotted by self-confessed 'Google/Android fanatic' Joe Sanchez, who managed to take a screenshot of retailer's online listing for the device before the page was removed."
According to a recent report from Android Central, it appears that the 32GB Nexus 7 will be available at a price of $249, and will most likely be launched on Oct. 29, the date on which Google has scheduled an event in New York.
"We all know there's a 32-gigabyte Nexus 7 coming down the pike -- very possibly at the Oct. 29 event in New York City. And the box of one apparently has made its way into our forums. We've got one member, KidCuda, saying it's ringing up at $249, which is the current price of the 16GB Nexus 7," reported the website.
Google Nexus 10 specs
Sources The Next Web spoke to confirm Google's been working with Samsung on a 10-inch tablet that's currently being called "Codename Manta," which could be ultimately be branded as the "Samsung 10," or "Nexus 10," according to numerous sources. The device runs Google's new Android 4.2 operating system "previously referred to as Key Lime Pie, but is set to retain the Jelly Bean branding," says the website.
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Google's tablet will sport a 10.1-inch screen, with a pixel density that is higher than Apple's iPad 3, said Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch.
The display will be 2,560x1,600 and will have a PPI of about 299, Shim added, confirming CNET's purported specs. If this is to be believed, Google have definitely made it a point to best the iPad's 264 PPI on Apple's 9.7-inch 2,048x1,536 Retina display.
The Google and Samsung Nexus 10, will have the highest pixel density of any tablet on the market, and will be released in the first half of 2013, according to CNET.
Many sources are reporting Google's Nexus 10 tablet will have a 2,560x1,600 pixel density, which CNET says will "push the display manufacturing tech envelope." That high of a pixel density would place the Nexus 10 at the top of the heap with a higher count than Amazon's 8.9-inch display Kindle Fire HD and Apple's 9.7-inch display iPad 3. It's also higher than the rumored screen specs we've been seeing for Microsoft's 10.1-inch Surface tablets.
"By stuffing that density into a 10-inch screen, the PPI jumps to just shy of 300," says CNET.
"The tablet will be more in line with the pricing of its other products, including the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Galaxy Note 10.1," added the website.
"It's going to be a high-end device," said Shim. A stark contrast to Google's other rumored, lower-end tablet, the $199 Nexus 7, and upcoming $99 tablet.