Samsung Galaxy Nexus: An Awesomely Futuristic Smartphone [PHOTOS]

Google and Samsung have finally released the Samsung Galaxy Nexus - the world's first smartphone to carry the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

The details are nothing short of delicious.

Samsung and Google have closely collaborated to push the mobile experience forward. We are pleased to deliver the best Android smartphone experience for customers with GALAXY Nexus. We will continue to move forward with Android to provide the compelling consumer experience in mobile world, said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business, according to the press release posted by Street Insider.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus was unveiled in Hong Kong on Oct. 19 at 10:00 a.m. or on Oct. 18 at 10:00 p.m. EST.

Almost 619,000 people viewed the launch live on Google Android's YouTube channel.

Will this phone change the way we live life in an Apple world?

Google and Samsung have united to create a quite attractive product, both physically appealing and technologically innovative.

The Ice Cream Sandwich brings a completely new look and feel to the Android.

The redesigned interface has improved multi-tasking, such as software navigation buttons, offline capabilities, and the ease of swipe movements.

There is a better notification system, Wi-Fi hotspot, and NFC support. There is an improved camera that has an editing feature, facial detection, panorama shots, and continuous autofocus.

The new People App allows you to see your friends in a completely new way. All contacts are displayed in a grid. Behind each name is a contact card that connects to his or her social network profiles, such as on Google+, so you can browse status updates and photos with ease.

You can even check your email from the past 30 days offline.

Since it is Google's phone it will, of course, included the latest and greatest Google apps including: Android Market, Gmail, Google Maps 5.0 (with 3D maps), Google Earth, Google+, YouTube, and Google Calendar sync capabilities.

Everything is connected to the cloud, allowing for sync across devices.

To top it all off, two of the coolest additives are the face unlock feature and the Android Beam. The face unlock feature is uses facial recognition technology so only you can open your phone.

The Android Beam uses NFC technology to beam your friends web pages, apps, YouTube videos, and more by simply taping your phones together.

Pretty cool, huh?