Sprint’s wireless customers can finally experience the yummy Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 operating system out-of-the-box, as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G has finally arrived on the Sprint 4G network. Sprint’s LTE network should be up and running by midyear, and the new Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus is LTE compatible, while also backwards compatible to 3G. Currently being offered at select retailers for $149 with a standard new two-year activation and data plan, the Sprint Galaxy Nexus is the same handset that debuted on the Verizon Wireless network late last year, with one important difference.
Buy the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Sprint starting at $149.
That Verizon device offers Near Frequency Communications (NFC) capabilities out-of-the-box, but not Google Wallet access. The Sprint Galaxy Nexus delivers the same NFC wireless communications technology, but the integrated Google Wallet application is present. NFC support also means that the Sprint Galaxy Nexus provides Android Beam access. Android Beam allows for wireless data and applications transfer between two similar Android NFC capable devices merely by lightly tapping them together.
This is the first time that the Ice Cream Sandwich OS has been available out-of-the-box for a Sprint device, and the same high-res display, 4G-best out-of-the-box storage, significant RAM memory allotment and speedy processor found on the Verizon Galaxy Nexus 4G are all present. The 4.65 inch Super AMOLED display is one of the largest in the entire smartphone marketplace, and the 316 pixels per inch pixel density, as well as 720 x 1280 pixel screen resolution, are both designations which place the Sprint Galaxy Nexus at the high end of the 4G smartphone spectrum. That display is rendered in more than 16 million colors, and a layer of treatment protects the screen against scratching.
In the hardware package on board the Sprint Galaxy Nexus, Texas Instruments has contributed their OMAP 4460 microchip package, including a 1.2 GHz dual core Cortex A9 central processing unit and graphics dedicated PowerVR SGX540 chip. A full 1.0 GB of RAM system memory is built into the handset, and the 4G-best 32 GB of storage mentioned above comes pre-installed out-of-the-box.
For the closet shutterbug, a 5.0 megapixel camcorder (rear) joins a 1.3 megapixel chat cam (front) in the Sprint Galaxy Nexus 4G camera combo. That rear device is equipped with an LED flash for low light camera operation, and provides video capture at 1080P HD resolution. The front facing chat cam can also be used for taking portrait snapshots, and provides video call support. Buy the Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus starting at $149.
