The Top Seven Strangest Moments Of The Samsung Galaxy Nexus Show

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We put a whole lot of coverage up for the Samsung-Google co-production that was the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and there was plenty of exciting stuff coming out of that that needed covering indeed. But there wasn’t just normal stuff to cover, oh no–there was also plenty of full-on strangeness. And, as is generally the case on Fridays, I sifted through the liveblogs and the recaps and of course our coverage, and I made a little list, covering the Top Seven Strangest Moments Of  The Samsung Galaxy Nexus Show.

7. Little Note Of Google Wallet

A minor bit of strangeness, but strange nonetheless. With Android Beam set to use near field communications technology to allow you to send documents of every stripe and description, it was especially strange that one of the most immediate uses of near field communications, Google Wallet, didn’t get a mention at the show. It only gets weirder when you consider the relative dearth of devices that are able to use this technology. This would have been a great time for Google and Samsung to put out some announcements of more devices to use the technology or something like that, and yet, not much was made of it in general.

6. The “Soul Of Android”

I knew things were starting to go off the rails vis-a-vis the Galaxy Nexus intro right about the time Matias Duarte started talking about “the soul of Android”. This was strange enough, but the conclusion they reached was even more so, a tripartite conclusion about design principles that stuck with Android developers. Those three principles: “Enchant me, simplify my life, and make me awesome”. And when I heard that, I couldn’t help but be taken aback. We were just talking about a cell phone here, right? And all of this is something of a tall order for one device to provide.

5. Face Unlock Flub

When Matias Duarte took the stage–and there will be much more about Matias, who seems to be the source of about half the show’s supply of weird–he filled us in on the Face Unlock system of the Galaxy Nexus. Or he would have, if he could have gotten it to recognize his face. He laughed it off with a clever remark about his makeup, but handing things off to his helper provided no relief as Face Unlock wouldn’t accept the helper’s face either. It’s never a good thing when a demo fails–they happen, of course, but it just adds to the weirdness of this already puzzling show.

4. Matias Duarte’s Wonderful Vanilla Ice Cream Suit

Back in 1998, there was a movie called The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, which revolved around a summer suit of such brilliant whiteness that it resembled vanilla ice cream, which five men with identical body types purchased and decided to wear in shifts. While they wear the suit, they have a series of unusual adventures. And the second I saw Matias Duarte hit the stage in that bizarre white suit, that was all I could think of. Of course, my able cohort J. Angelo Racoma promptly suggested that he had in fact dressed as an ice cream sandwich for the event, though in retrospect, he probably should have been wearing black on white to do that, not white on blue.

3. Andy Rubin’s Steve Jobs Look

And the sartorial strangeness carried right on through the show as Andy Rubin took the stage, dressed remarkably like Steve Jobs. And I wasn’t the only one to catch on to this particular point, either–more than a few commenters wondered why Rubin was sporting at least an approximation of the classic Jobs look. Maybe it was in silent tribute to a fallen competitor. Maybe it was strictly subconscious. Maybe he just digs the casual look. But either way, between the closeness of the mimicry and the timing in which it landed, it only added to the strangeness afoot at this show.

2. Roboto

It’s a very, very bad sign when you start talking about a user interface in terms of how it can make your life more awesome. And watching Matias Duarte talk about it using phrases like “something relevant, emotional” and being inspired by “the latest trends in graphic design”, it only gets weirder. It’s a user interface, Matias, and you’re off talking about it like it’s a cult. I kept looking for you to start talking about DC-10s or my Thetan levels or something. Yes, it’s a nice looking typeface and all, and I’m sure the user interface has some nifty new angles, but the way you’re talking about it just seems wildly overblown for what we’re actually talking about here. It’s not going to make me a sandwich. It’s not going to pay my bills. Nothing about it is as awesome as you’re making it sound.

1. Nexus Launch That Wasn’t

It’s a bad sign when most everybody has already seen your new phone before the show actually begins. It’s even worse when you’ve got JK Shin and Andy Rubin cracking jokes about it. Basically, the issue here was that the Galaxy Nexus was set to get its launch at this show, but the information, even up to the pictures, had already been leaked out well in advance. Everything that should have gone into a launch was already out, and that made the “launch” portion of the show just a bit awkward.

And there you have it, a list of the top seven things that were just plain old bizarre about the Galaxy Nexus launch. From bizarre fashion choices to complete demo fails to a launch that had already happened before the countdown began, there was all sorts of strangeness to be had here. But what did you guys think? Was the Galaxy Nexus S a perfectly normal show for you? Or did you think there was more than a little out of the ordinary going on here? Did something strike you as odd that I missed completely? Whatever you think about this one, just head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think!

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