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Give it the beans! Google has let slip that the next version of Android will indeed be called Jelly Bean — and that it will make its first appearance on the new Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ phone. Even better, the Big G has gone and revealed the price of the new Nexus.
A listing for the Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ showed up briefly on the Android app market, Google Play, before Google got wise and took it down — but not before Droid-Life grabbed a screenshot. According to the one-line update, the Nexus phone with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software on board will cost $400 in the US — that’s £255 in real money.
Whether that price will be the same in the UK is unconfirmed. As always, expect the price to be closer to the dollar sign swapped for a pound sign, or thereabouts.
It’s been listed in the app, game and movie emporium because Google reportedly plans to sell the new Nexus directly from its online store. That was the plan for the first Nexus flagship phone, the Google Nexus One, wayyyy back in 2010. It didn’t quite work. Now, though, Android is much more established, and as the flagship Android phone the new Galaxy Nexus is sure to demand attention.
The phone is listed as the Galaxy Nexus HSPA+, which tells us it will have data connection speeds a cut above 3G. There’s no mention of 4G, though, which is good news for us, as 4G phones don’t tend to make it across the pond.
A blurry photo of the Nexus also reveals a new coloured background of soft pink, yellow and green shapes, and a translucent search bar at the top of the screen. Beyond that, nothing’s been given away about Jelly Bean, except that it’s version 4.1 and not version 5 as expected.
The Galaxy Nexus and Jelly Bean are expected to be officially unveiled at Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, in San Francisco next week. We’re also expecting a new tablet, the Google Nexus 7 built by Asus. There may be other Nexus devices too, all packing Jelly Bean untainted by manufacturer- or network-added bits and bobs.
We’ll be all over the new phone and new software, so keep it CNET for all the up-to-the-minute news, previews and first impressions.
How much would you pay for the Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ — and how much do you think it’ll really cost? Will Jelly Bean trump iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8? Can the new Nexus devices top the iPhone, HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3, or the iPad and the Microsoft Surface? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
