The Samsung Galaxy Nexus at one time was considered to be the best handset in the Android ecosystem because it was the first handset to give users a fully stock, Vanilla-based version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Looking back, the handset was released late last year to coincide with the unveiling of ICS which was back then the latest iteration of the Google mobile operating system. Though this may be the case, a lot of the smartphone-buying population will tend to disagree because some of the components of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus are mediocre at best and the only advantage it has over the other ultra high-end devices at that time is the fact that it already runs Ice Cream Sandwich for its operating system.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is currently available starting at just one penny at select retailers.
Despite this, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus still became popular among the Android fanboys and this popularity of the handset was the reason why it came under the prying eyes of Apple’s patent lawyers. For those unfamiliar with the case, the handset is at the center of the legal patent battle between Apple and Samsung because the Cupertino-based company accused Samsung of infringing on its ‘604 patent which is now infamously known as the Siri patent.
During the preliminaries of the case, Apple scored a minor victory when the US Federal Judge hearing the case found probable cause and slapped an injunction on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. This caused the ban of the handset in US shores and for a time, the handset was taken off of the virtual shelves of the Google Play Store. Samsung however was able to work around this issue by subsequently releasing an update for the handset that removed the offending code from its firmware. Samsung even went too far and did a preemptive course of action by sending updates that removed the local search function on the AT&T and Sprint versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Going back to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, with the local search functionality no longer part of its bag of tricks, a stay on the previous injunction lifted the ban on the handset and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was allowed to go back to the shelves for mass consumption.
And now that the patent trial between Apple and Samsung is already in full bloom, an extension of the temporary stay of the preliminary injunction slapped on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was given which simply means that the handset can still be purchased off of the shelves while Apple and Samsung duke it out with each other in the courtroom.
Hopefully, this patent war between Apple and Samsung can still be settled amicably because nothing good ever comes out of this kind of situations. We hate to see smartphones getting dumber everyday just to ensure that they stay on the shelves because some big-shot lawyer found an excuse to get it banned. Buy the Samsung Galaxy Nexus starting at just one penny.
