Google event invites hint at new Nexus phone rollout on Oct. 29

Rumors that Google is planning to release a new Nexus smartphone in the near future were further fueled Wednesday evening, as the company sent out media invitations to an event in New York City at the end of the month.

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The event will be held at Basketball City, an indoor sports venue at Pier 36, on the East River in southern Manhattan, at 10 a.m. Google will also provide a live stream of the event at http://www.youtube.com/android.

While the invitation's use of the phrase "the playground is open" makes it sound like Google is planning to announce changes to its Play store, existing rumors had already hinted at an Oct. 29 release date for a prospective new Nexus phone made by South Korean manufacturer LG, to be known as the LG Nexus 4.

A leaked device was benchmarked and reviewed on a Russian website earlier this month. It apparently features a quad-core, 1.5GHz CPU, 2GB RAM and an Adreno 320 graphics processor, though the article stressed that the reviewed unit was merely a prototype.

Google's Nexus device line features smartphones and tablets running "vanilla" versions of the latest Android software. Most Android products have their software heavily customized by OEMs and service providers. The rumored Nexus 4 designation highlights that the device would represent the fourth generation of Nexus hardware.

This is the third major technology PR event scheduled for the end of October. Apple is believed to be launching a new iPad Mini on Oct. 23, while Microsoft will officially release Windows Phone 8 on Oct. 29.

Email Jon Gold at jgold@nww.com and follow him on Twitter at @NWWJonGold.

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