Sprint makes Galaxy Nexus' April 22 launch official
updated 10:30 am EDT, Mon April 16, 2012
Samsung Galaxy Nexus at last gets Sprint date
Sprint ended one of the longer waits for one of its phones in recent memory by taking pre-orders for its version of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus. The device will ship to its second American LTE carrier on April 22, with some advance order makers possibly getting theirs as soon as April 20. Pricing will be much more aggressive than at Verizon, at $200 on a contract with unlimited on-device data compared to Verizon's $300 and data caps.
Despite rumors, it will keep the 1.2GHz processor rather than bump up to 1.5GHz. However, it will also be the first carrier-locked US phone to officially support Google Wallet for NFC-based mobile payments. Those who put an unlocked HSPA+ version on AT&T can use the app, but Verizon blocks access in spite of claims to the contrary. Sprint's model will initially run on 3G, however, as the LTE network won't formally switch on until later.
The Android 4.0 phone arrives the same day as the LG Viper 4G LTE and helps partly catch Sprint up to AT&T and Verizon, both of whom have had LTE phones for several months or more. Current LTE networks have only a light load and could see the Galaxy Nexus and Viper both get several times the speed of Sprint's outgoing WiMAX network.
