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Samsung's next Android phone looks a lot swoopier

A curvaceous design makes an appearance for a Samsung launch event teaser video, likely the Nexus Prime smartphone with the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android.

stephenshankland.jpg
stephenshankland.jpg
Stephen Shankland principal writer
Stephen Shankland has been a reporter at CNET since 1998 and writes about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science Credentials
  • I've been covering the technology industry for 24 years and was a science writer for five years before that. I've got deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and other dee
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Stephen Shankland
2 min read
Samsung's next Android phone looks very curvy.
Samsung's next Android phone looks very curvy. screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET

Samsung has posted a teaser video for the new Android phone it plans to debut next week, likely the Nexus Prime. And its design makes the the curved face of the Nexus S look positively flat.

The video for the Samsung Unpacked event on October 11 in San Diego states, "Another perfect combination is just around the corner."

It closes with a side view of the curved phone and the words, "Something big is coming"--perhaps an indication of the phone's screen size.

The video popped up right after Apple debuted its iPhone 4S yesterday. That upgraded model with a faster processor and better camera may have disappointed some hoping for something more dramatic, but it'll still sell like hotcakes and be top competition for Samsung's top-end Android line.

The Nexus Prime could be the launch vehicle for Google's newest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, which Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said will arrive in October or November. Google typically picks top partners that get a period of exclusivity with new OS versions. HTC was favored early on with Android's debut models and the Nexus One; Samsung was in the catbird seat with its Nexus S; and Motorola was the first out with Honeycomb, the tablet version of Android.

Ice Cream Sandwich takes Honeycomb features and interfaces and adapts them for smartphones, too.

A Purported Nexus Prime photo shows buttons with the Honeycomb styling, such as the somewhat squashed looking house icon for the home button. It also shows evidence of a high-resolution 1,280x720-pixel screen.