The Nexus One smartphone, released in January 2010 and touted as a "superphone", won't be super for much longer after Google confirmed it won't be receiving Ice Cream Sandwich. Owners of the newer handset, the Nexus S, will be able to receive Android 4.0 when it goes public, though those who bought into Google's superphone will be unable to receive any official versions of the newer mobile OS.
Electronista reports that Android Product Management lead Hugo Barra confirmed the denial when responding to a comment made by Steve Ballmer. The Nexus One hardware is apparently too old to run Android 4.0 satisfactorily. The Nexus One was produced by HTC, and came with Android 2.1 as standard. It was supported up to Android 2.3, also known as Gingerbread. The update block has prompted technology journalists to question whether other Android phones running on the 'first-generation' 1GHz Snapdragon processor will also be left behind with Android 4.0's release.
Since Android phones are supported for 18 months after release, and the Nexus One is older than this point, it could be considered acceptable enough to end the updates made available for the device. On the other hand, though, it is surprising after Gabe Cohen, of Google, stated in Engadget that it is theoretically possible for any device running Gingerbread to be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich.
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