Samsung Galaxy Nexus review

Samsung and Google have come together again in the battle for smartphone top spot. They've come up with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which brings with it Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The glossy black front of the Galaxy Nexus is extremely minimalist, with just the screen, speaker and front-facing camera visible. There is a multicoloured notification light below the screen but you won't even know it's there until it comes on for the first time.

The sides and rear are a silvery grey colour and the removable back is similar to the one on the Samsung Galaxy S II. It's made from flimsy textured plastic and covers up the battery and SIM card slot.

A microUSB port and headphone jack are located at the bottom of the phone, while a small volume rocker is on the left-hand side and the power button is on the right. Also on the right are three metal contacts for use with accessories like a docking station.

The handset is big but comfortable to hold thanks to its contoured shape. Being quite large it's heavier than some rival devices at 135g but this didn't bother us. The phone is 8.94mm at its thinnest point at the top but gets chunkier at the bottom.

The screen is by far the Nexus' best hardware feature. It's larger than most smartphones at 4.65in and uses the same Super AMOLED technology found on the Samsung Galaxy S II. It's nice, bright and the contrast is excellent. Like the Nexus S, the screen has a barely noticeable curve.

The screen is only slightly smaller than the HTC Titan's but somehow the phone doesn't seem as big and cumbersome as the Titan.

It has a stunning high-definition 720x1280 resolution that gives a pixel density of 316ppi. This puts it right up there with the iPhone 4S, which is only slightly higher at 326ppi, and means that images look impressively crisp and clear.

The rest of the hardware is pretty impressive, too. For example, the handset features the Texas Instruments 1.2GHz dual-core processor – the same speed as the one found in the Samsung Galaxy S II – which provides plenty of grunt.