Android Ice Cream Sandwich: eBay User Gets His Hands on New Operating System?

An eBay shopper who ordered a new Samsung Nexus S reportedly received a phone loaded with Android's new operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). However, Android will not be releasing its 4.0 operating system until at least late October.

The shopper took videos and photos of the device to show how the system works and what it looks like. The materials leaked onto the Internet after being published by tech website Engadget, which provides a purported exclusive sneak peak preview of the product to people across the globe.

A two-minute video shows an array of features of this highly anticipated Android update – more than impatient fans could have expected.

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Engadget reported that the lucky shopper ordered a Samsung Nexus S from an eBay seller and received a phone which looked quite different than what he expected. After brief research on About.com, the lucky buyer realized that the device was operated by the precious ICS system.

The tech blog reports that the firmware appears to be operating on the same baseband as the screenshots leaked a few weeks ago, but that it runson an updated build (IRK48) and kernel (3.0.1).

Engadget also reports that after they publishing the story, the anonymous tipster's new phone was "remotely locked and wiped."

Android’s ICS OS was originally scheduled to be released in late October or early November. It is supposed to debut with the Samsung Nexus Prime smartphone.

Later, a rumor spread that Samsung’s latest smartphone will be released on November 3 on the Verizon network and will run on the new OS.

Google has confirmed on its official blog that the Nexus Prime will feature a holographic user interface, more multitasking, a new launcher and richer widgets.

"Our goal with Ice Cream Sandwich is to deliver one operating system that works everywhere, regardless of device. Ice Cream Sandwich will bring everything you love about Honeycomb on your tablet to your phone," Google stated on its official blog in May.