After what seemed like forever (but was really only a few months), the Verizon Galaxy Nexus will officially be available online and in stores for $299.99 with a new, two-year contract. While there has been a bit of a wait, the first Android Ice Cream Sandwich phone may be worth waiting for.
By now, you probably know the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus – go ahead and check out our full review of the international version – but it features a massive 4.65-inch screen, a dual-core processor, 5-megapixel camera and support for Verizon’s blazing-fast 4G LTE. That does make it a tad bit thicker than the international version and we’ll have to see how this impacts the battery life.
As expected, the handset will cost roughly $300 with a new contract or upgrade but we felt it was such a good device that it’s worth paying a little bit of a premium. The only real issue we have is that the 5-megapixel camera is not quite as good as devices like the iPhone 4S or the Amaze 4G but it’s still pretty solid. Users who purchase the Verizon Galaxy Nexus can also cash in on Verizon’s promotion for double the data – so you’re looking at paying about $30 a month for 4 GB of data.
What really makes the Galaxy Nexus shine is the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software and this includes a revamped user interface and more features. While Verizon will likely have a few apps on the device, this is about as pure of a Google experience as you can get in the United States. We know the Verizon version won’t initially support Google Wallet but there’s still a chance it may down the road.
So, it’s finally here. How many of you will be picking up Verizon Galaxy Nexus tomorrow? We’re getting a unit sent to us as we speak so be on the lookout for a ton of impressions very soon.