What in the world is going on here? The story goes – and note we’re sort of reciting what Engadget’s got on their mind before I give you a whiff of what we’re thinking – that this Samsung GT-i9023 (keep that number in mind) which is passing the FCC with AWS 3G (T-Mobile’s band), is the same phone that a weirdo group of German homies BestBoyZ were holding in a video that was also running Android 2.4 Ice Cream Sandwich since the baseband version on the About screen is yes, you guessed it, i9023.

What does that mean? Maybe it means the new Android version is super close! But why would they release it so extremely nearby both 2.3 Gingerbread and 3.0 Honeycomb? Man I dunno.

Some more facts to toss in your bonnet:

This model number also recently recieved Wifi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG certification (both of these items being totally boring items of note.)

European retailers with the i9023 already supposedly in stock are listing this device as “Black Silver” Nexus S (which could just be a different case color, some sort of special edition, etc.)

The outline of the device in the FCC filing is essentially exactly the same as the Nexus S and the Nexus S has a very similar model number: GT-i9020.

The BestBoyZ video has the name Nexus S in the About screen, as well as Kernel-Version 2.6.35.7-gfed90c5 android-build@apa28 #1, Baseband Version I9023XXJL2, and Build Number soju-userdebug 2.4 GHR84 86467 test-keys.

NOTE: the userdebug note shows us that this phone is being run in, yes, User Debug mode, which is intended for engineering use (or, of course, hacker or developer use,) which could mean very many things – one of the first of which being this fellow could have popped a 4 after that Android version 2.x very easily. On the other hand, it could be an engineering thing – read: pre-release thing meaning this guy is either supposed to be testing this device in secret or has… you know… stolen it.

What you think?

[Via Engadget]

10 COMMENTS

  1. If its a Samsung its a dud. No updates unless google is there, either way not interested, cause its a Samsung device which spells useless.

    Does it double up as a laptop that can run Ubuntu or Mandriva, maybe Win 7? Maybe Fedora? If it can’t do any of the above, its old news and belongs with an iphone as a paper weight and old tech.

    On that note, hey look the iphone is just getting hot spot and Apple must pay for related patents. Its a trend now, iphone follows Android innovation, that feature is three years old on Android, pokee multitasking, gestures, next is swype, or maybe Atrix innovation, either way they follow Android leads.

  2. Okay one thing about this article is that it says Honeycomb is 2.4. I HIGHLY doubt this because Honeycomb is already said to be 3.0. Yest I know 3.0 is the tablet version but the mobile version might be 3.1 or 3.0.5 or something like that. I doubt Google would go backwards. And second of all this is the European version of the Nexus S. It had to go through the FCC because it has a S-LCD instead of a S-Amoled. There are MINOR differences but due to them it had to go through the FCC.

  3. if its the nexus s series you better believe those devs are going to have the latest and greatest updates regardless if its samsung or not.
    1.0 android
    1.1 b…
    1.5 cupcake
    1.6 dount
    2.1 eclair
    2.2 froyo
    2.3 gingerbread
    3.0 honeycomb
    2.4 ice cream sandwich

  4. Well, I think there are plenty of us that wish this was going to be a 4g version. The Nexus S is a sexy looking phone and is clearly a market leader simply because it will be updated asap through Google. I have to admit, even with the new Galaxy SII phones coming out. I am still considering the Nexus S as an option for my new phone. (Mainly because of its looks, considering its older and lacking in hardware) but it becoming a 4g phone, I would gladly take the single core over a new dual core, because the S2’s look bad. LOL
    .
    Realistically however… This is a load of hype being driven by shock jocks that would have us lining up and spamming forums in search of the new “Nexus S 4G”. (But trust me, I will still be spamming until I see proof 🙂
    .
    Hear are some facts to consider. The Galaxy S: gt-i9000, T-mobile gt-i9000T, ATT gt-i9000A, etc. And.. (drum roll please) The S-LCD version… gt-i9003, to be released in the Middle East and Asia markets.
    .
    The Nexus S is the gt-i9020. And, as stated, they will be making an ATT version. FCC model number gt-i9020A. (OMG!) shocking that there is also a gt-i9023. it seems to me that, this will also be an S-LCD for the Middle East and Asia markets. It would seem that the +3 to model number = the S-LCD versions. But this is just my theory.
    .
    Odd that its using T-mobile’s ban tho. However, I believe if it were to be used for t-mobile, it would appear as a gt-i9023t.

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