Samsung’s Nexus Prime specs will satisfy the iPhone 5 hopeful

If you were expecting more from Apple this week than just the iPhone 4S, Samsung’s upcoming Nexus Prime should satisfy your gadget lust.

The next entry in Google’s flagship Nexus series of Android phones, the Nexus Prime will sport a massive 4.65-inch display with curved glass, a 1.2-gigahertz dual core CPU, and LTE 4G connectivity, according to the mobile site Boy Genius Report. Google and Samsung will unveil the phone officially at the CTIA conference in San Diego next week.

The phone is expected to be a Verizon Wireless exclusive for now. Given its specs, it now makes sense that Verizon decided not to offer one of Samsung’s Galaxy S II models.

The Nexus Prime will be the first phone to run the Android 4.0 operating system, which goes by the codename “Ice Cream Sandwich.” The phone’s massive display will run at a sharp 1280 by 720 pixel resolution, or the equivalent to a 720p high-definition screen. That should address fidelity concerns that many have with larger-screened phones. The 9 millimeter thin phone will pack 1 gigabyte of RAM, 32 GB of built-in storage, and near-field communication (NFC) support.

The phone will have a 5-megapixel rear camera (Apple’s iPhone 4S has an upgraded 8MP camera), and a 1.2 MP front camera. It can record video at up to 1080p HD resolution.

The Prime, like the Nexus devices before it, will serve as the model Android phone for other manufacturers to follow for the next year. While the recently announced iPhone 4S is no slouch when it comes to hardware — Apple upgraded its processor to the speedy dual-core A5 — it’s possible that Apple’s reliance on the iPhone 4’s design, in particular the smaller 3.5-inch screen, could make it seem less compelling compared to larger-screened Android phones.