The launch of a hot new Google smartphone was delayed on Friday

The launch of a hot new Google smartphone was delayed on Friday as the world mourned the loss of legendary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and sales began of the latest iPhone.

Samsung and Google put out word they have postponed a “Mobile Unpacked” press event planned for next week at an international wireless telecommunications industry conference in Southern California.

“We will announce a new date and venue in due course,” the South Korean consumer electronics titan promised.

Samsung was expected to unveil a Galaxy Nexus smartphone powered by a yet-to-be released version of Google-backed Android software and designed to challenge market-leading iPhone.

Postponing the launch was seen as a temporary truce of sorts in honor of Jobs, who died Wednesday at the age of 56 after battling cancer.

Apple began taking online pre-orders for an updated iPhone 4S that is to be available on October 14 in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Britain.

Source AP