Google Nexus 5 Smartphone Taking Shape

Apple might be introducing the iPhone 5S and 5C on Sept. 10, but Android watchers are looking forward to the arrival of another smartphone in the not-too-distant future: the Google Nexus 5. Google is expected to reveal its next-generation Nexus smartphone in the next six to eight weeks, and the company might have already given us some big clues.

Earlier this week, Google announced that Android 4.4 would be known as KitKat. Google refers to each successive version of Android by the name of a dessert, and has been naming them in alphabetical order. Android 4.1-4.3 are Jelly Bean, Android 4.0 is Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 3.0-3.1 are Honeycomb, Android 2.3 is Gingerbread, and so on.

Part of the KitKat announcement included pictures of Google staffers installing an Android-shaped KitKat bar at its campus in Mountain View. Google has a whole series of Android-based desserts decorating its front lawn. In some of the photos posted this week photos, eagle-eyed bloggers spotted Nexus-branded devices in the hands of those Google staffers that resemble -- but definitely are not -- the Nexus 4. The mystery Nexus devices have the same glass-backed sparkle pattern that the Nexus 4 has. The mystery device has a much larger camera, and it looks decidedly bigger than the Nexus 4.

[ Check out Google's latest tablet and its TV media streaming device. Read Google Nexus 7, Chromecast: Visual Tour. ]

This alone fueled speculation in the tech blogger community and had some frothing at the mouth. More fuel was added to the fire Friday.

One of the duties of the Federal Communications Commission is to test every device entering the country for radio waves. The tests are performed to assure that the devices are safe for use by people. The FCC tests all sorts of things, ranging from Bluetooth accessories to wireless car key fobs to smartphones. Documents recently hit the FCC website that match up with the mystery Nexus device seen in the photos earlier this week.

The material outed by the FCC is legit, if incomplete. It shows the NFC radio assembly and where that assembly attaches to the rear panel of the Nexus 5. The photo of the rear panel show a hole that matches the one seen in the video earlier this week. Further, the device supports seven different LTE bands, which means it should work on most U.S. networks, and the device supports Qi wireless charging. Last, the device has a five-inch screen, and a Snapdragon 800 processor on board.

Beyond these snippets of data, not much else is know about the Nexus 5 just yet. Google is expected to debut the phone, along with Android 4.4 KitKat, by the end of October.

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