Samsung Galaxy Nexus still one of the best Android smartphones around

In the smartphone scene particularly in the Android platform, Google developer devices like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus always get first dibs on the latest updates that Google releases. This simply means that the handset will always get a taste of the latest Android version ahead of the smartphone pack. When you look back at the timeline of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the handset was released late last year to coincide with the release of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the handset was used to showcase what back then was the latest iteration of the Android mobile operating system.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Sprint is on sale now starting at $19.99.

Almost a year later, the handset is still strutting its stuff as one of the best Android-powered devices around. And with the release of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean a little over a month ago, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has already gotten the luxury of getting a taste of the Android 4.1 refresh ahead of the others. This is due to the fact that the handset runs a fully stock version of the Android and does not have to contend with overlaid user interfaces just like what we’ve seen on HTC’s Sense UI and Samsung’s TouchWIZ.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus was announced in October of 2011 and it made its debut in the shelves in November. For a time, the handset was the only Android smartphone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and for this reason alone, a lot of our smartphone-crazed brethren considered it as the best handset in the Android ecosystem despite the fact that several components in its specs sheet are mediocre at best for a Google flagship smartphone.

The Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus is your typical Android smartphone with a design aesthetic of looking like an ugly slab of black plastic. It has a slightly curved form factor that is designed to hug your cheeks when using the handset to make or receive calls. It exhibits an excellent build quality and its dimensions come up to 135.5 x 67.9 x 8.9 mm making it average-sized for a smartphone with a 4.65-inch display. It is also relatively light for its size at its catch weight of 135 grams. With its curved form factor, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a joy to hold in the hand even for extensive periods of time.

Under the hood, the handset relies on its Texas Instruments OMAP4460 chipset to power its operations while the computing power it requires for a snappy performance is courtesy of its dual-core 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor and 1 GB of RAM. It also has a PowerVR SGX540 graphics chip on board designed to handle messy graphical situations. In terms of storage, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus comes with an internal storage of 32GB while its SuperAMOLED display follows the contours of its curved chassis and has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The common complaint about the handset is its mediocre camera department because the Samsung Galaxy Nexus only has a 5MP shooter at its back panel while its front bezel is home to its 1.3MP snapper.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Sprint now starting at $19.99.