Google Android event postponed due to Hurricane Sandy

The Google Android event slated for today, October 29, in New York, has been cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. There is no information yet about the revised date of the event. Google is not willing to take any chances as Hurricane Sandy is a category-1 hurricane that is expected to bring life-threatening floods to the US' mid-Atlantic coast and hurricane-force winds from Virginia to Massachusetts, from Monday evening to Tuesday.

In light of Hurricane Sandy, Google has also put up a Crisis Map for those on the East Coast, which can help users track the storm. This will help users to follow public alerts as well as the ability to find shelters nearest to them. The Crisis Map is a handy tool that includes notifications to areas that are being evacuated and weather service alerts. More information here.

Playgroud is closed for the day (Image Credit)

At today's event, Google was expected to take the wraps off its latest Googlephone co-manufactured with LG, which is currently being branded under the moniker Nexus 4; a high-end Android tablet dubbed the Nexus 10; and its latest mobile operating system, Android v4.2 believed to stay under the Jelly Bean name.

Now, any manufacturer will be able to release a smartphone under the Nexus banner, but will have to adhere to some strict rules set by Google. According to the rules, manufacturers must use stock Android, and provide 64MB of secure memory for media streaming. Custom user interface (UI) skins such as HTC’s Sense UI or Samsung’s TouchWiz will be allowed in the new Customization Center. Also, some hardware requirements must be met so that the devices will be able to run Android v5.0, scheduled to arrive by fall 2013 in the US. So there is a minute possibility that we may witness the launch of more than one flagship smartphone from Google at the event, which is expected to take place in a few days.

Going by images leaked earlier, the face of the Nexus 4 handset is similar in design to last year’s hugely popular Galaxy Nexus manufactured by Samsung. The major difference between them can be seen at the back of the device, where the Nexus 4 has a crystal-like design.

The LG-manufactured Nexus currently goes by the codename E960 Mako. A range of specifications about the handset have leaked online. The E960 Mako or the Nexus 4 will be powered by Qualcomm’s 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro with an Adreno 320 GPU, and will feature a 2GB RAM. There will be a 1280 x 768 True-High Definition IPS display, an 8-megapixel camera, and a non-removable battery. It will also have no microSD slot, and from 8GB to 16GB of internal storage.

Stay tuned to know when Google will reset the stage for the Android event.