Verizon Wireless, Samsung and Google today announced immediate availability of the Galaxy Nexus. The Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) smartphone is available in Verizon Wireless stores and online for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
Galaxy Nexus is LTE-capable and features a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 4.65-inch HD Super Amoled touchscreen, HTML5 Web browser, near-field communications (NFC), 5-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording and playback. Additionally, the phone features 1 GB RAM and 32 GB on-board memory.
Verizon's LTE network is currently available in 190 markets, covering over 200 million people across the United States. The carrier says its LTE network offers download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps.
The Galaxy Nexus made headlines last week with news that Verizon's version of the phone would not come equipped with Google Wallet to accompany its NFC capabilities. Verizon said it had concerns about security of the Google Wallet, but the carrier is also a member of the ISIS joint venture, which aims to roll out a nationwide mobile payments network based on NFC.
The Galaxy Nexus was the first phone to showcase Google's latest iteration of the Android operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich. Android 4.0 features a completely revamped UI and is optimized for use on both tablets and smartphones.