Nexus Prime rumours: what you need to know

In techradar

Google's third Nexus Android phone, officially announced back in May, is expected to be manufactured by Samsung, with many, many recent rumours claiming a model known as the "Nexus Prime" - or the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, also known as the Samsung GT-I9250, as some outlets have speculated - will be the new flagship Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone.

Samsung itself has already confirmed that a phone under the name "Nexus Prime" exists, thanks to a list of settings discovered on its own site - but the odd mixture of specifications it contained led some to believe it was simply a placeholder.

And whether it'll actually launch under the name Nexus Prime is still debatable (the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is gaining traction as the likely name), but the Nexus Prime UK release date will be late October or early November 2011. On 11 October it was rumoured that the Nexus Prime UK release date is 3 November.

As for an announcement, Samsung pulled its Unpacked event from an 11 October slot at CTIA, said to be due to the death of Steve Jobs though other rumours are suggesting that a patent dispute over Android 4.0 could be to blame with other rumours now pointing toward a Nexus Prime announcement on 18 October, along with Google's latest Android operating system, known as Ice Cream Sandwich.

Here's what else we know about the Nexus Prime handset itself.

Will the Nexus Prime be the Samsung Galaxy Nexus?

With the impending launch of Google's Ice Cream Sandwich Android OS seemingly confirming that the new phone will be launched too, some are starting to believe the name will actually be the Galaxy Nexus rather than the Nexus Prime.

Boy Genius Reports is... reporting that the phone will be announced as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, complete with the undoctored Google OS, despite the Samsung moniker.

Like the way the Motorola Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 both were seen as the flagship models for Android Honeycomb, it's therefore possible Google is looking to ditch its name from the phone in order to make it appeal more to the mass market.

Nexus Prime specs

It's no surprise to learn the Nexus Prime will offer a decent leap above current Android phone specs. We're expecting it to be the first to arrive with a 720p resolution display (unless LG beats everyone to it with its HD LU6200).