The wait is (very nearly) over. Yesterday we reported that new speculation was pointing toward a December 15 launch for the long-awaited Samsung Galaxy S—at least for Costco members–and now it appears that Verizon has officially announced its latest Android device.
9to5Google says the carrier gave official word that the Galaxy Nexus will launch tomorrow for $299 with a two year Verizon contract. The pricing is to be expected for a 4G Verizon phone, which has been incredibly in demand since its initial announcement. On that note, you might have to weather the lines at Verizon stores tomorrow, or wake up at 1 a.m. EST to buy the device online.
If the anticipation over the launch has started to overshadow the phone’s specs, here’s a quick review: the 4G device features a mammoth 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display with 1280×720 resolution, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, an impressively-thin 9.47mm body, and runs a 1.2GHz processor. It also gets rid of buttons entirely, depending completely on its touchscreen. But it’s most talked-about feature is, of course, its Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
And better than an announcement is a hint as to what the hold-up was about. 9to5Google says the 4.0.2 update was the culprit, an ICS fix that was issued earlier. We’ve been waiting on the bug patch to be pushed through before the Galaxy Nexus could make its debut.
Check out the press release below.
GALAXY™ NEXUS™ BY SAMSUNG NOW AVAILABLE ON
THE VERIZON WIRELESS 4G LTE NETWORK
First Smartphone to Combine Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the
Power of America’s Fastest, Most Reliable 4G Network
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless, Samsung Telecommunications America
(Samsung Mobile) and Google™ announced Galaxy™ Nexus™ is available starting today in
Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $299.99
with a new two-year customer agreement.
Customers can browse the Web, stream music and more at blazing speeds using the
Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network. Galaxy Nexus customers can enjoy access to the 4G LTE
network in 190 markets covering over 200 million people across the United States, and fly
through the Web with fast download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload
speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps within the 4G LTE Mobile Broadband coverage area.
Galaxy Nexus runs Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, which brings an entirely new
look and feel to Android. Galaxy Nexus offers customers a redesigned user experience with
improved multi-tasking, notifications, Near Field Communications (NFC) sharing with Android
Beam™ and a full Web-browsing experience. The lock screen, home screen, phone app and
everything in between have been rethought and redesigned to make Android simple, beautiful
and useful. Galaxy Nexus also features an ultra-thin 9.47mm design with a 4.65-inch HD Super
AMOLED™ Contour Display to watch movies, view pictures and play games that come to life in
720p (1280×720) resolution.
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) features:
• Redesigned user interface – software navigation buttons, a first for Android smartphones,
and a dedicated recent apps button to make multi-tasking easy
• Face Unlock – use state-of-the-art facial recognition to unlock Galaxy Nexus
• Android Beam™ – quickly share Web pages, apps, contacts and YouTube™ videos with
friends by simply tapping two compatible phones together
• Redesigned Camera – introduces panorama mode, 1080p video capture, zero-shutter lag
for instant photo capturing, and effects such as silly faces and background replacement
• People Application – browse friends, family and coworkers, see their photos in high-
resolution and check their latest status updates from Google+ and other social networks
• Cloud Services – keep email, contacts, photos, music, browser bookmarks and other data
synced to the cloud, available across multiple devices so customers never lose important
data
• Google Music – upload up to 20,000 songs to the cloud, discover and buy new music
from Android Market™, and stream it instantly on Galaxy Nexus and from the Web for
free
• Google+ – Create a Google+ account right from the phone and check status updates,
manage circles, quickly share updates and photos, video chat with up to ten friends with
Mobile Hangouts, and chat with groups of friends with Google+ Messenger
• Support for Google Mobile™ Services – Gmail™, Google Maps™ with 3D maps and free
turn-by-turn navigation, Google Earth™, Movie Studio, YouTube, syncing with Google
Calendar™, a redesigned Google+ app and access to more than 300,000 apps, millions of
eBooks, thousands of movies to rent, and millions of songs available to download from
Android Market
Additional features:
• Dual-core 1.2 GHz application processor and HTML5 Web browser – optimized dual-
core processing with Android 4.0 combined with lightning fast 4G LTE connectivity for
fast downloading of graphics, applications processing and Web browsing
• Mobile Hotspot capability – share 4G LTE or 3G connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled
devices
• 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with zero-shutter lag for instant photo capturing,
autofocus and LED flash with full 1080p recording
• Front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat
• Textured soft-touch back cover – enhances the ergonomic feel and makes the phone slip-
resistant
• Bluetooth® 3.0 technology – support for headset, hands-free, stereo, phonebook access,
human interface device (HID) and object push for vCard and vCalendar
1 GB RAM and 32 GB on-board memory (actual formatted capacity will be less)
Pricing and data packages:
• Galaxy Nexus is available now in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at
www.verizonwireless.com for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
• Customers that purchase a Galaxy Nexus by Samsung will need to subscribe to a Verizon
Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 monthly access and a smartphone
data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data.
Customers can visit www.verizonwireless.com/galaxynexus for more information
on the Galaxy Nexus. For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and
services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to
www.verizonwireless.com.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Media can access high-resolution images of the Galaxy™ Nexus™
by Samsung in the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/
multimedia.)
###
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable
3G network. The company serves 107.7 million total wireless connections, including
90.7 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with nearly 83,000
employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications
(NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit
www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-
resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia
Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
About Samsung Telecommunications Amer ica
Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics
Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets and telecommunications products
throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.samsungwireless.com.
Google, Nexus, Android, YouTube, Google, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Earth, Google
Calendar, and Android Market are trademarks of Google, Inc.
