Print 29 comment(s) - last by ritualm.. on Sep 9 at 2:20 PM

Google video (accidentally?) outs upcoming device

Google Inc. (GOOG) pulled a video it had posted to YouTube of the KitKat launch, where it was installing the new KitKat-shaped Android statue on the lawn of it campus in Mountain View, Calif.

Employees are seen in the video taking pictures -- which seems like a recipe for leaks given Google's policy of "dogfooding" its upcoming Android products to its employees.  Sure enough, about 38 seconds in -- shows a mystery device emblazened with Nexus and LG Electronics, Inc. (KSC:066570) logos.  The device is believed to be the upcoming/rumored Nexus 5, which Google has reportedly handed to a few lucky team members for testing.

Copies of the video (see below) have since landed on Vimeo and other hosting sites.

It appears that the device a slightly larger screen that the 4.7-inch Nexus 4 (also manufactured by LG Electronics), which launched last November, making a 5-inch display seem probable.  The device has a slightly larger camera glass inset and has no back buttons (contradicting one rumor).

Nexus 5
Is this the Nexus 5? [Image Source: The Verge]

The device is rumored to have a hologram, so that landscape logo may "rotate" visually to be in portrait mode... when in portrait mode.  The phone appears to have the same matte finish as the new Nexus 7 tablet.

The new Nexus (5?) device could be the LG Megalodon device, which was rumored in leaks earlier this year.

So far Google's Nexus line has included the Nexus One (March 2010) by HTC Corp. (TPE:2498), the Nexus S (Dec. 2010) by Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KSC:005930), the Galaxy Nexus (Nov. 2011) (also Samsung), and the aforementioned Nexus 4 (Nov. 2012).

The device's appearance makes sense timing-wise as Google has launched a new Nexus device every holiday season since 2010.  Google also has timed some of these launches to coincide with operating system releases.

Don't expect the Nexus 5 to land immediately.  First, Google's subsidiary Motorola Mobility just launched its new flagship Moto X device.  Second, past launches in the holiday window have typically come in November or December (the last two were both in November).

Sources: Google via Vimeo, The Verge

Comments     Threshold


By Ammohunt on 9/4/2013 2:47:22 PM , Rating: 2
I refuse to buy Google products until they reject imperial units and release the Nexus 12.7 and the Nexus 25.4 so that the rest of the metric world can fully enjoy a device like this!

RE: Revolt
By Myrandex on 9/4/2013 3:38:58 PM , Rating: 2
Metric world users enjoy nice whole round numbers as well...

RE: Revolt
By retrospooty on 9/4/2013 3:47:22 PM , Rating: 1
Then you would only hear the complaints in metric... "Why do all these phone have to be so big... Why cant they make a Nexus 9"

RE: Revolt
By glenn8 on 9/4/2013 4:35:55 PM , Rating: 3
I don't get the joke. They didn't call it Nexus 4.7 either...

RE: Revolt
By Flunk on 9/4/2013 6:20:14 PM , Rating: 2
Start by convincing the US school system to start teaching the same system of measurement they teach on every other country on earth.

RE: Revolt
By Ammohunt on 9/4/2013 8:30:21 PM , Rating: 2
Not sure which school you went you but I learned both systems and frankly its trivial to use both.

RE: Revolt
By retrospooty on 9/5/2013 12:09:12 PM , Rating: 2
It is, but the english system is just retarded. Zero sense to it. 12 inches = 1 foot. 3 feet = 1 yard, 5280 feet = 1 mile. WTF?

RE: Revolt
By Ammohunt on 9/5/2013 1:39:05 PM , Rating: 2
I am kinda fond of the foot its very practical to have a measurement between inches and yards. No one uses Decimeters.

RE: Revolt
By Digimonkey on 9/6/2013 4:12:16 PM , Rating: 2
That's because the metric system is superior, so you don't need a bunch of arbitrary units to fill the gaps.

RE: Revolt
By ritualm on 9/9/2013 2:20:37 PM , Rating: 2

Yep, that is why nobody uses the english system in technology matters. How long is 19 nanometers in inches?


There is no such thing as a decimeter.

The english system makes me want to swipe an iPhone out of an Apple store and make an IED with it as its remote trigger. Its scaling makes no sense whatsoever.

RE: Revolt
By Reclaimer77 on 9/5/2013 4:11:04 PM , Rating: 3
I can't really fathom watching NFL and hearing the announcer going "He's down at the 12 point 3 meter line!!!" Oh hell no.

Our system is just fine the way it is :)

RE: Revolt
By BRB29 on 9/6/2013 12:33:14 PM , Rating: 2
I've never heard any announcer say He's down at the 12 yard and 3 inches line either.

Our system is only fine because we are used to it. That doesn't make it good by any stretch.

RE: Revolt
By cairbram on 9/5/2013 9:25:17 PM , Rating: 2
I find both systems revolting and think we should move to femto-lightyears which are about 9.46 meters and are inarguable the most logical because they are based on an observable constant.

RE: Revolt
By The Von Matrices on 9/5/2013 11:11:00 PM , Rating: 3
But then you have to define a year, which not only varies based upon the planet where the measure is used but also based on minute changes in the orbit of the planet.

RE: Revolt
By BRB29 on 9/6/2013 12:24:18 PM , Rating: 1
a year is not constant. There's plenty of evidence that time is not constant either. The earth's rotation is slowing down too so a day is not constant either. So while SOL may be constant. Lightyears are not due to the fact that what define year may change over time.

The metric system is good because it makes sense. Everything is 10x of each other instead of 12 inch, 3 feet, 16 oz BS that is confusing. I can easily maneuver with metric while I normally need a cheat sheet with this lousy system that was based on a dead king's foot.

We can actually redefined how long a meter is if we want to correlate it with a constant. But the whole point was that the metric SYSTEM makes sense in daily and scientific use.

RE: Revolt
By Captain Orgazmo on 9/7/2013 7:40:50 PM , Rating: 2
Meters are based on an observable constant: The distance traveled by light in a vacuum in exactly 1/299,792,458 of a second.

So nerdy engineer joke attempt is failure, sorry.

RE: Revolt
By cairbram on 9/8/2013 7:59:15 PM , Rating: 2
I see sarcasm is in fact lost on you. As for the idea that the year isn't constant, I'm pretty sure its defined as 2.8989884e+17 oscillations of a Cesium atom between two ground states, not by some guy using a stop watch in Greenwich.

RE: Revolt
By cairbram on 9/8/2013 8:05:42 PM , Rating: 2
Correction, it is in fact 2.900974e+17 Oscillations.

RE: Revolt
By Solandri on 9/6/2013 4:16:33 AM , Rating: 3

Divide a kilometer into thirds. 333.33333333333 meters.
Divide it into 1/12. 83.3333333 meters.
Divide it into 1/15. 66.6666666 meters.

Divide a mile into thirds. 1760 feet.
Divide it into 1/12. 440 feet.
Divide it into 1/15. 352 feet.

Metric is good if you've got precise measuring tools, a calculator, and are only going to subdivide things in base 2, 5, and 10.

Imperial is good if you need to measure things against each other, are writing down measurements on paper, and might subdivide in base 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, (sometimes 11), 12, 15, and many more. They're actually more practical than metric, it's just their unit conversions which are difficult.

An exception is that the Imperial volume measures are all base 2. The reason is, again, practicality. Say it's the 1700s and you run a tavern. You've bought a barrel of mead. Your only calibrated measuring tool is a gallon, and you need to serve your customers pints or cups. How do you do it?

You take the gallon and split it into two identical containers until their levels are equal. Each now contains 2 quarts. Take one container and repeat the split and each now contains a quart. Split it again and each contains a pint. And if you split it again, you have two cups.

Metric is better today because calibrated scales, rulers, and beakers are easy to get. In old days when you couldn't just drive to the nearest hardware store to get these things, Imperial units were better.

RE: Revolt
By BRB29 on 9/6/2013 12:30:09 PM , Rating: 2
Divide a kilometer by 1/4 and you get 250 meters
Divide a mile by 1/4 and most people would need a calculator.

Come on, get real. Most people can't even remember how many ounces is in a pint or gallon.

Don't nitpick specific situation where Imperial is better. Of course there are but in general metric is much better overall. There's a reason why pretty much all scientific measurements are done in metric now. There's really only 2 countries that use Imperial and one of them is moving away from it.

RE: Revolt
By Solandri on 9/6/2013 3:03:01 PM , Rating: 2
Don't be daft. 1/4th of a mile is a quarter mile. Imperial units are the result of centuries of cultural pressure towards intuitive organic measures. e.g. A field worker could till about an acre a day. A Roman legion could march 10 miles in a day.

It's only easy access to calibrated measuring tools and calculators which has made metric superior. The original assertion that Imperial units make no sense comes from having everything pre-measured for you. They make perfect sense - if you don't have measuring tools and need to "eyeball" measurements.

Here's a simple challenge. I give you a piece of string and tell you it's a decimeter long. If you have no measuring tools, figure out how to easily and accurately cut it into ten 1-cm segments. With Imperial measurements, it's easy. Fold a foot-long string into thirds (like you fold paper to put into an envelope) and cut. You now have three 4-inch segments. Fold each of those segments in half, then half again, and cut. And you have 12 inches.

RE: Revolt
By xdrol on 9/8/2013 7:36:42 AM , Rating: 2
1/4 of a km is a quarter kilometer as well..

RE: Revolt
By BillyBatson on 9/7/2013 10:55:46 AM , Rating: 2
I prefer the American system to metric.

RE: Revolt
By torpor on 9/7/2013 1:32:42 PM , Rating: 2
An inch is the distance between 2 knuckles.
Your foot is 3 fists long, which is 12 knuckles, aka 12 inches.
Your stride is about 3 of your feet long - when you're walking in an open place like a yard.
The rest scales up from there.

The idea of the old English system is that a worker didn't need measuring tools because his hands and feet were right there.

When they standardized it, they used the king's body dimensions. That's why it's called Imperial.

RE: Revolt
By jimbojimbo on 9/6/2013 10:44:43 AM , Rating: 2
I do like the metric system but anytime a Brit says they weigh something stones that confuses me. Why be all sensible with metric then use stones instead of kilograms?

RE: Revolt
By flatrock on 9/6/2013 12:48:52 PM , Rating: 2
I think they name it by weight as a percentage of a stone.

