Samsung and Google unveil new phone Galaxy Nexus

Samsung Electronics and Google on Wednesday jointly unveiled a new smart phone they developed together running on a new version of the Android operating system as the South Korean company pushes out new models in its attempt to gain more ground in the highly competitive and litigious smart phone market.

The launch of the Galaxy Nexus smart phone comes just days after Apple unveiled its new iPhone 4S in several markets across Europe, the US and Asia. Samsung and Google originally planned to launch the device in San Diego but the event was rescheduled due to the death of Apple founder and former Chief Executive Steve Jobs earlier this month.

Galaxy Nexus is a project that Samsung and Google have been both working on since the beginning of this year, said Shin, president of Samsung‘s mobile communications business. It uses Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich platform, which is mobile software than can run on both tablet computers and smart phones.

Samsung declined to disclose the price of the new handset, but a person familiar with the situation said that it would be priced similarly to Samsung‘s Android-based Galaxy S line of smart phones that is already on the market. In South Korea, the Galaxy S II, the second-generation version of the Android smart phone, retails for more than $700.

(아주경제 앤드류 이 기자)

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com