Walk through Google Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich)

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    Android 4.0 launched on the Galaxy Nexus and will eventually be coming to some existing devices. It is a much more consistent and attractive OS than previously seen on the Android platform.

    Check out my full ZDNet Smartphones & Cell Phones post with some thoughts on Ice Cream Sandwich and a video walkthrough of the new OS.

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    Home screen with widgets, software buttons, and more.

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    There is a Gmail widget available for Android 4.0.

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    Shortcuts, widgets, and the Google search bar

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    You can see all of your notifications in the drawer and then even slide them off individually to hide them.

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    The lock screen can be setup with a slider.

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    You can slide to unlock your phone and when a call comes in you can answer, hang-up, or send a text message.

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    The application launcher puts everything in alphabetical order with 20 apps on a page.

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    Google has a cool animation that "pulls up" the next page from deep to the front.

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    Widgets are part of the application launcher and can be accessed by swiping from left to right or by just tapping widgets.

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    There are several different sizes of widgets on the Galaxy Nexus.

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    It is easy to create folders on the home screen and after you create a folder then you can customize the name of the folder.

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    Here you can see the games folder with several games installed. Whatever shortcut you place in the top left will appear on the folder.

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    Most settings are consolidated in one area of the operating system.

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    There is a cool utility for monitoring your data usage.

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    There are several settings available for you to access.

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    Scrolling down the list of settings reveals a few more options.

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    There is a battery utility to help you monitor your battery usage.

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    Tapping the graph shows you more detail, including when I started charging it back up again.

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    The dialer is modern looking with large buttons.

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    Google search bar status shows lots of different results.

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    The task switcher uses cards, similar to webOS.

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    The Google folder is preloaded on the Galaxy Nexus.

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    You can add accounts to your Galaxy Nexus, including Twitter, Exchange, and Gmail. The Facebook account does NOT work at this time.

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    Exchange is supported out of the box in ICS.

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    You can compose email in Exchange with dynamic integration of the GAL

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    There are several account settings in Exchange on teh Galaxy Nexus.

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    Here you can see a sample of the text messaging app in ICS.

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    Gmail is obviously optimized on the Galaxy Nexus.

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    Gmail works well in landscape orientation too.

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    Menu options in Gmail

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    There are several general preferences within Gmail.

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    Favorites in the People utility look strange because they have different display resolution settings.

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    Google Maps is also understandably excellent in ICS.

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    Google Labs items can be added in Google Maps.

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    You can tap the right upper icon to change the view of your map.

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    The calendar utility lets you choose different calendars to use.

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    There is a downloads utility where you can see what you have downloaded through the browser.

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    Google + on ICS is a solid experience.

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    The Android Market that is loaded on the device is the latest client available.

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    The Gallery utility is slick and fast.

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    When you tap on a photo you will see thumbnails for other photos and the ability to share or access the menu in the upper right.

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    Here you can see the menu options for the Gallery.

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    There are several different effects settings in the photo editor.

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    A simple tap gives you access to different effects.

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    Some of the effects really make photos look great on Android devices.

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    In addition to color effects there are other editing tools available.

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    Pictures look great on the Galaxy Nexus.

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    The typical sharing tools you have come to expect are present.

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    Here you can see the basic camera software present in ICS.

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    There are some funny video effects present in ICS. While not particularly useful, then can be fun.

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    My daughter doesn't really have big eyes, but the software makes it appear this way.

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    There are also some background options, including this space one.

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    Time lapse intervals can be selected for this effect.

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    By default the Galaxy Nexus is set to 720p, but goes up to 1080p.

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    The Movie Maker app is present on ICS.

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    The bookmarks in the web browser have small thumbnails.

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    Browser history is shown here.

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    The web browser looks great on the large screen of the Galaxy Nexus.

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    There are several menu options in ICS.

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    There are several settings within the web browser.

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    These are the general settings in the browser.

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    There are several privacy & security settings available in the web browser.

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    Web browser accessibility options let you customize the readability.

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    There are advanced settings in the browser too.

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    You can use Face unlock to secure your device and this is the start screen.

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    Here I am setting up my device for Face unlock.

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    The keyboard is quick and easy to use.

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    The keyboard works well in landscape orientation too.

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    Ice Cream Sandwich gallery image 1

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    Ice Cream Sandwich gallery image 2

     

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The typical sharing tools you have come to expect are present.

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