Alleged but likely Google Nexus Prime specs leaked

The unveiling of Google’s third Android flagship phone is expected to take place at next week’s CTIA trade event, but leaked specifications were reported Thursday. The Boy Genius Report notes that the Google Nexus Prime made by Samsung will be a Verizon exclusive in the U.S. and will show case a large, high resolution touchscreen display with curved glass.

Here’s a listing of the phone’s alleged features, most of which sound likely to me:

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
4.65-inch 1280 x 720-pixel Super AMOLED HD with curved glass
TI OMAP 4460 dual-core Cortex A9 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz
1 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage
5 megapixel rear camera with 1080p video capture, 1.3 megapixel front facing camera
LTE / HSPA mobile broadband
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, NFC support

Google typically partners with a hardware manufacturer to design the Nexus phone as a cutting-edge device or reference design; it did so first with the Nexus One and later the Nexus S. The Nexus line illustrates the platform’s potential for other phone makers and often receives Android updates prior to other phones. As a result, the reported hardware specifications generally seem plausible to me, although it seems odd that Samsung would use a Texas Instruments chip to power the phone.

Although we haven’t seen a phone with this high of a screen resolution, the highlight of the phone may not be hardware. Google intends to unify the its phone and tablet platforms with a new version of Android, called Ice Cream Sandwich. That will allow developers to build apps for both Android tablets and smartphones while also bringing similar user interface features between the two device types.

Samsung is holding a launch event on Oct. 11, saying “something BIG is coming.” Given that Google planned to introduced it’s new version of Android around this time, it’s likely the launch will include both the new Nexus and the Ice Cream Sandwich software.

There’s also the outside chance of a new Samsung tablet, but I suspect the next Nexus will be in the spotlight. And if these specifications pan out, it appears that the Nexus Prime is the reason why Verizon opted not to carry Samsung’s Galaxy S II smartphone, which lacked LTE support.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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