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Verizon's Galaxy Nexus To Launch Tomorrow
zacharye writes "Verizon Wireless on Wednesday finally announced the upcoming launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The world's first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone with 4G LTE support will become available beginning tomorrow for $299.99 with a new two-year service agreement. "
I've been hearing for a while now about the upcoming release of ICS.
About damn time.
That's all you want to know, right ?? No way, ot's Android !!
For a brand new smart phone, its not that unreasonable. If don't like that price, wait a year or 2 and it will be 99. Then wait another and it might be free.
Don't like waiting? Then pony up the cost of admission for being first in line and deal with it. Stop acting like a baby.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Posting from a galaxy nexus, just buy it separately. Or do the usaian plans not work that way? The phone is really great.
Btw what's wrong with the marketing department of Samsung/Google? There is a Nexus, a Nexus S, a Galaxy S and now a Galaxy Nexus. Pretty confusing if you ask me.
-- The Internet is a too slow way of doing things, you'd never do without it.
at 2:55 PST, when I go to
www.verizonwireless.com/galaxynexus
which is at the end of their press release, it simply redirects to a mostly-empty page.
Also, if you simply look for the Nexus in the phones, it's not there either...
0- Eamonman Proud member of DNRC
Its not a phone, its a nano-tablet with a 3G chip that lets you make phone calls on a cellular network.
Surely their dastardly plot to turn Android fans into WP7 ones had *some* effect? Or is the WP7 market share still at the level the telecoms experts class as BD?
(BD = Ballmers Dick: Tiny and shrinking daily).
Same as an iPhone 4S with an equal amount of storage. I wouldn't be surprised if they use the Apple devices as a price benchmark.
I wonder if there will be a 16gb model that could go for $200 to match the 16gb iPhone option. That seems to be the upper boundary on my comfort zone for fancy new widgets.
So if I don't want the extra $60/mo phone bill, where do I get a nano-tablet that runs Android (and Market apps) without a 3G chip? Apple has one called iPod touch but that runs iOS, and Archos has the Archos 43 Internet Tablet but that's stuck on FroYo (Android 2.2) and doesn't have the Market.
No, you really are being screwed for mobile phone prices in the US. I got a Galaxy S2 on an 18 month contract for 10GBP up front, and 25GBP per month. That's about $710 for phone plus 18 months service (3GB data, 200 outbound minutes, unlimited inbound minutes, unlimited texts per month)
This "deal" is $299, plus $69.99 a month for 2 years, a total of $1978.76. For that you get 450 minutes per month, 2GB data, no texts.
The Galaxy S2 isn't quite the newest hottest phone, but the difference in SIM-free prices is only 100GBP / $154. So that's $1000 of pure profit for Verizon per customer over 2 years
Buy a no-contract cell phone or a used one on ebay, and just don't sign up for any carrier. The reason no one sells it is the market for such a device is tiny and shrinking.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
carrier un-detectable tethering
If your user agent is that of a desktop browser, you will be detected. And even if you use HTTPS for everything, a carrier's tether detector can still see your DNS requests. If you connect to popular PC operating systems' update servers, you will be detected. If you view a lot of popular web sites that have a mobile version without getting redirected to the mobile version, you will be detected. If you visit popular Flash sites (e.g. Newgrounds, Kongregate, Weebl's Stuff, FarmVille) without having bought a phone that supports Flash from the carrier, you will be detected.
http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/consumer/mobile/mp3-players/mid/YP-G70CW/XSH/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail
In the United States, only T-Mobile itemizes the cost of the device and the service on the bill, and once your 2-year contract expires, the line item for the phone loan drops off the bill. The January 2012 issue of Consumer Reports applauded T-Mobile for its transparency in this respect (p. 36). The other GSM carrier (AT&T) charges the same per month whether you take the subsidized phone or bring your own phone that was bought separately, and an AT&T representative appeared genuinely surprised that T-Mobile would even offer a discount for bringing one's own phone. But I have trouble wholeheartedly recommending T-Mobile for three reasons: its coverage isn't as wide, its 3G data uses a band that most phones bought separately don't support, and AT&T still hasn't fully abandoned plans to acquire T-Mobile USA.
Been looking forward to this device. I'm hoping that ICS devices reign in some of the crud and fragmentation that's kept me away from the platform. It's not there aren't good androids, but not enough for me to stray from the iphone.
I've had an iphone since the original. Loved it. Loved my 3G and I love my 4. I've used plenty of android devices and think they're a fine choice if you need a cheaper device, or a premium device with different features than what the iphone brings.
Here's Andriod's problem, from my experience. I've been doing the smartphone thing for a while, so I've had the following conversation a lot:
Friend/co worker/etc: Hey. Cool phone. That thing you are doing on the phone is awesome and I want to do that too.
Me: It's an iphone! They're kinda pricy, but worth it if you use it a lot. You can get an andriod that does all the same stuff and more, or if you don't like apple.
Friend: Cool, so how do I get an iphone?
Me: Go to ATT and get one, sign up for plan. They're all the same and they cost the same everywhere. Or you can go to an apple store and get great customer service and fell smug and wear a turtle neck. Can't go wrong whatever you do.
Friend:Ok, Andriod?
Me:Since we're in America your best bet is to get a device from your phone provider. In the case of Verizon you have no choice but to buy a Verizon device from verizon. Same with sprint. A GSM provider will work with a carrier unlocked phone. As for what phone to get, you need to do a bit of research to see what devices have the features you want and to make sure that they're current and updated. Also check forums to make sure the device doesn't have any really bad issues. You also need to make sure some sales guy isn't pawning off an old model on you since you want all the new toys in the new OS.
Friend:.. Just say get an iphone.
Me: *sigh* Get an iphone.
Friend: Thanks! I'm off to att/apple store
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/14/financial/f150316S91.DTL
"[...] the Galaxy Nexus can record high-definition videos in 1080p — the best resolution you can get on a consumer camera. I had some fun taking sunset videos with a time-lapse feature, and there are some goofy filming effects to play around with, too."
"Generally, though, the Galaxy Nexus is a well-rounded smartphone that serves up a noticeably freshened-up version of Android with sleek hardware. Delicious, indeed."
I tried "find a dealer", but all the dealers were in Hong Kong. Then I realized I was on Samsung's Hong Kong site. I clicked over to Samsung's United States site, searched for the same product name (galaxy s wi-fi 5.0), and got a bunch of 7", 9", and 10" Galaxy Tab models. Did Apple's patent lawyers strike again?
Stop acting like a baby.
Yeah! This is 'Merica dammit! You'll consume the garbage you're fed or go without. Because in 'Merica, you only get two choices. If you don't like either, you're an unpatriotic sissy. Maybe even a commie and a socialist! Most definitely a "baby".
Suck it up, nancy boy!
No sig for you!!
The pros and cons, at least as far as i've heard.
Pros:
It's got ICS, ahead of everything else.
It's a Nexus device, which means it won't have any carrier skins or pre-installed crap (including CarrierIQ) and it will be updated in a timely manner with each new release of Android that it's capable of running.
It's got a high end chip with a dual core, putting it in a small class of mobile phones.
It's got a very large screen.
Cons:
It's got a very large screen. I'm not sure if the phone will actually fit in my pocket.
It's got ICS, which is great overall but i'm unsure about the lack of a global Menu button.
It's made out of plastic rather than a nice metal case like my Nexus One has. Some people have reported it feels kind of flimsy because of that.
It has no expandable memory, you're stuck with the 16/32 GB you start with.
It doesn't have Google Wallet (in the US.) I'm not sure if i want to use Google Wallet to pay for my groceries or whatever, but i'm not sure that i _won't_ want to do that in the future either.
Unknowns:
It is (so far) exclusive to Verizon in the US. I'm currently on T-Mobile and don't want to switch... unless the T-Mobile/AT&T deal goes through that is...
I'm not sure if it's possible to get an unlocked version, unless you're willing to import it from Europe. Which might let me use it on T-Mobile depending on the frequencies but certainly doesn't help with the price.
It only has a 5 MP camera. I don't actually care about the MP per se (it's already greater than the resolution of an HD screen after all) but they don't really give you any other specs to go by so i don't know how else to judge it.
Of course the biggest pro in my personal book is that my Nexus One is getting a little long in the tooth (in particular it has no space left for new apps) and i'm not sure how long i'm willing to wait for the next Nexus device. It's either that or get another high end phone that i can root and install Cyanogen on.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
$299 is the new $199 :(
You could get one of Samsung's Galaxy Android players (http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/mp3-players/YP-G1CWY/XAA or http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/mp3-players/YP-G70CWY/XAA). It has the market, no 3G chip, a capacitive touch screen (instead of the Archos's resistive touch screen), and is currently on Gingerbread 2.3.5.
"To prevent this day from getting any worse, I'll just read ERROR as GOOD THING" 1GJU8xLuDKDxEs4KLf8fAGyptoDsqvEsBT
It's not pure profit. England has the third highest population density for major counties in the world. The US has lower density overall, and a lot more rural areas. People expect coverage in those areas because Americans travel more than people in most other countries (vehicle miles traveled per capita is nearly twice that of the UK). We also have four major cell phone networks with different technologies and frequencies. So it is a lot more expensive to run a cell phone company in America than in England, although none of the extra expense actually helps consumers.
DNS requests do not carry user agent info,
Most don't, but some do. Why would an Android phone be visiting update.microsoft.com or whatever Microsoft is calling the command and control servers for Windows Update nowadays?
Have you seen the price of some VWs lately?
It has nothing to do with America. This is a commercial entity offering a newly introduced product at a premium price ( accepted standard practice if you haven't noticed ).
They can charge whatever they want. You are free to either take it and pay the extra, or leave it and choose a competitor. No one is forcing you to buy it and bitching about it makes one a whiner.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Exactly. These are easy to come by these days.
Everyone who rushed out and bought the latest smartphones has a couple of these off-contract wifi capable phones
laying around. Yank the sim, hoop up to your wifi and you are in business. Chances are most people know someone who has one of these they will sell you or give you, since they moved on to bigger faster better phones.
You can even make and receive phone calls with them via CSipSimple in the Google Market.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Also, this has a 5Mp camera. What is this, a BlackBerry?!
Bow before me, for I am root.
While I agree with everything you said, it still doesn't negate the GP's contention that we pay way too much for phones (handsets) in the US.
He just gave you an example of the EXACT same phone costing less in the UK. The Galaky S2 on T-Mobile costs around $179 up front and $79/mo. On top of that we pay for our calls (in minutes) for both outbound and inbound.
The price per month and amount of minutes takes into account the cost of networking a large country vs a small one. That might explain his $39/mo cost vs the US $79/mo cost. I say, MIGHT.
So why is the phone cost him ONLY $15 dollars up front and costs you and I $179, over 10 times as much?
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Compared to the original Nexus, the new one has no physical keyboard, no hardware buttons along the bottom, no 4-directional controller, and no SD card slot--just like the iPhone. Now, can people quit whining about how Apple stole Android's notification system?
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
After the horrific problems with Samsung's Fascinate, I'm going to pass. I don't buy phones from companies who take the fire-and-forget approach with phone launches.
Megapixels don't matter, it's about the lens, the aperture, the--wait! Doesn't the iPhone have an 8MP camera?
Oh, this thing completely sucks, then. :^D
Those are service costs, and they charge the same whether you bring your own or take the contract and discount. I don't so much mind that American cellular service is more expensive than European - it covers a vastly larger area without roaming charges - but I object to the handset pricing.
My wife is still on her parents' AT&T account. Her Blackberry bit the dust the night after the iPhone 4S launch (talk about bad timing). We ordered a 4S and bought a phone with keyboard from their GoPhone line (a Pantech something-or-other) to tide her over the few weeks until the 4S arrived and to have a spare GSM phone. The Pantech Crapbox was $60: no contract, no subsidy, just a phone. It had good battery life, fairly good call quality, and awful software that seemed designed to make you wish you'd bought an AT&T phone under contract... but the keyboard is actually just as easy to use as a Blackberry's. Conclusion? The "phone" part of a smartphone isn't that hard, nor that expensive. They're just raping us because they can.
American carriers definitely overcharge, my point is that their costs would still be higher even if they didn't. You can't look at service and hardware as separate costs. The phones are locked to a single carrier based on which radio is installed, so when you buy the phone the carrier knows you're stuck with their service. So they price phones arbitrarily. It's essentially a down payment for the two year service contract. Right now, you could find many comparable smartphones for $0.01 on Amazon (holiday special I presume).
True they do tend to have built in infrastructure lockins. But this is falling by the wayside with penta-band handsets.
A GSM Google Nexus purchased from Canada or the UK will work anywhere in Europe North America on a couple different carriers.
We are still stuck with two large CDMA carriers, and we will probably be stuck with them till LTE is nearly everywhere. Without those, it would be much easier for people to switch carriers at will, and prices would come down.
The sooner we abolish CDMA the better. Our use of CDMA was a historical accident, (the result of being one of the first deployments of cellular technology. As with all first deployments, you end up being stuck with things you'd rather not have. Europe, where cellular technology lagged the US by at least 8 years, is now years ahead, having never dug themselves into the CDMA hole in the first place.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
It's not pure profit. England has the third highest population density for major counties in the world. The US has lower density overall, and a lot more rural areas.
Australia has a population density of 2.8/km square, the us has a population density of 33.7/km square.
Australia's most expensive telco, is selling it for A$0 on a two year A$79 contract (A$1896 in total).
So you were saying something about population densities.
The reasons why the US version is more expensive are
1. Telco's put in artificial barriers to competition.
2. Verizon is a CDMA carrier, thus requires a special version manufactured just for them.
3. The coverage of US carriers is crap. None of them can guarantee nation wide coverage.
4. There is no consumer protection agencies in the US, so telco's can have their wicked way with their customers.
Besides this, ultra dense areas actually need more cellular transmitters as well as more backhaul otherwise they get too congested to be used. central London would be as bad as central New York and the UK has more of "central London" type areas.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
If you pay 299 for a phone, you're a sucker plain and simple.
I paid $149.95(+taxes) with no contract agreement for my Samsung Galaxy Gio (S5660M). Decent phone for the price.
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Some parts of Eastern Europe deploy CDMA2000, but their handsets use SIM for authentication. And the CDMA SIMs they use have GDM authentication capabilities for GSM roaming.
Whatever happened to the bargaining part of the free market?
I don't know if I can afford Galaxy Nexus, but I am looking forward to get ICS firmware update for my Nexus S.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Customers who don't bargain happened.
S2 for 50 GBP up front, 25 GBP a month, 750 minutes, 500mb data, 5,000 SMS , from Tesco (O2 carrier in truth). Well happy with it after 4 days of playing.
T-Mobile acually offer it for 0GBP up front, 20 GBP a month. Downside is 250 minutes, but unlimted everything else.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
Back when the Galaxy S first came out I got one for free on a 2 year £30/month contract, and it was not a carrier branded model either. It seems like the US is really, really expensive.
On top of that we pay for our calls (in minutes) for both outbound and inbound.
I am really shocked. We would never stand for that in the UK. Plus it would be impossible for companies to call anyone because people would simply not answer if they didn't recognise the number.
Normally Britain is the biggest rip-off in the developed world but I think you have us beat on that one.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Probably because Verizon are selling the 32GB version, whereas only the 16GB version is available in the UK
That is because people here are barely aware of bargaining ever having been an option.
CDMA is also a flagship of the US. IIRC, when the US invaded Iraq, they planned in the middle of the reconstruction ordeal to build a new cell network. Guess which standard they would choose? CDMA. In some ways it makes sense, since the leading CDMA provider and owner of most of it's patents is Qualcomm.
Democracy: Crowdsourcing a country near you
I've been enjoying my Galaxy Nexus in the U.S. for a week now on the T-Mobile network. I ordered it from the UK and got it in 48 hours. Tethering works without issues. So good to be contract-free. It's a great phone, big minus is the lack of SD card slot but everything else is pretty near perfect.
Ceci n'est pas une sig.
My solution to this was a used Motorola Droid from ebay - $30 including a 16GB MicroSD card. I'm pretty happy with it. I was waiting & waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0, but just gave up & got the used phone. Then of course they actually started selling it in the US. $240 is about the cost of an ipod touch, & I'd rather have the Samsung personally. The touch is great, my kids both have them, but I like to be able to tweak my stuff & the bigger screen is easier for my old eyes, plus GPS & radio is a bonus. It's on 2.3, I don't know if it'll get ICS.
I am really shocked. We would never stand for that in the UK.
We don't stand for it in the US either. Well, OK, I guess being bent over is sort of standing.
You left one part out:
Using both T-Mobile's standard 3G and speedier HSPA+ networks, at least, I got about three hours and 15 minutes out of the Galaxy Nexus for surfing the Web, streaming a movie, sending instant messages, chatting on the phone and other activities. The phone got quite warm with all this use. Over Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network, it's possible that the phone's battery would drain even faster if you're doing a lot of downloading.
-- Never hit a man with glasses. Hit him with a baseball bat.
What does bitching about people bitching about it make one?
No sig for you!!
Free market = Their right to charge what the want and your choice to go elsewhere if you don't like it.
Restrict either, its no longer a free market.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
...with free overnight delivery, if anyone is interested. I want to go play with one before I make a final decision, but for the impatient ones that can't get to a store, there ya go.