Samsung Galaxy Nexus review

You also don’t get a load of pre-installed apps chosen for you by a network operator or phone maker which you can’t uninstall – Android 4.0 adds the ability to remove these apps in any case. It’ll be interesting to see what software is bundled on future non-Google phones running Android 4.0 – HTC’s Sense and Motorola’s Motoblur add refinements such as automatic contact matching, for example. On the Nexus, you have to edit a contact and then choose the Join option to find duplicate contacts.

The camera is decent and you can access it directly from the lock screen

We liked the little touches that showed more of an awareness of user behaviour, like the fact that the clock stays on the screen once it’s locked, so that if you just want to check the time you don’t have to unlock the phone – you just have to press a button to turn the screen on. You can also unlock the phone straight into camera mode. The ability to drag apps onto each other to create folders will unclutter most Android home screens dramatically, and browser sync between the phone and Google Chrome on the desktop means you can take saved passwords and bookmarks with you.

The Galaxy Nexus is a superb and desirable handset, and Ice Cream Sandwich brings definite improvements. It’s the slickest Android experience yet, and only the slightly plasticky construction and fairly dim screen hold it back. If you’re after the best Android handset currently available, this is it, but you may want to see what the competition comes up with before you buy; the superb Motorola RAZR, for example, is rumoured to be getting the Android 4.0 upgrade early next year.