When the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G smartphone arrived on December 15 of last year, that handset ushered in the latest and greatest version of the Android operating systems, Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) 4.0. That handset immediately became a best seller for Verizon, and was exclusive to their 4G LTE network until last month. That is when Sprint came to contractual agreements with Samsung, and began selling the same Galaxy Nexus 4G smartphone for use on their wireless network.
Sprint began an aggressive price battle with Verizon, and their most recent price reduction has that handset retailing for $49 on contract at select retailers. Verizon recently trumped that retail price by offering the identical handset on their 4G LTE system for only $0.01 with a standard two-year activation and data plan. And Verizon can offer a couple of points where their network delivers better performance than Sprint’s does with the same Galaxy Nexus smartphone.
Independent wireless systems reviewer RootMetrics tested the US AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint networks for upload speeds, download speeds and consistency, and Verizon came away the clear winner. RootMetrics released data showing Verizon to offer true 4G LTE speeds, and offering them on a much more consistent basis than the competition. Also, the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus 4G runs on a true 4G LTE network, and the Sprint Galaxy Nexus currently runs at 3G speeds until Sprint finishes developing their LTE wireless system, slated to be complete mid summer this year.
Aside from that the handsets are identical in technical specs, both delivering ICS 4.0 and Near Field Communications (NFC) out-of-the-box. The 4.65 Super AMOLED display is one of the largest found on any mobile handset, and with a pixel density of 316 pixels per inch and overall screen resolution of 720 x 1.280 pixels, the Galaxy Nexus delivers one of the highest resolutions in the entire smartphone marketplace. Visuals are rendered in more than 16 million unique colors, and light and proximity sensors conserve battery life.
Battery performance is at a maximum, a full 50% better than the 8.0 hour 4G average, and 100% better than the 6.0 hours the Sprint Galaxy Nexus provides. With 12.0 hours of talk time from a single charge of the 1,850 mA battery on board, one of the best overall 4G battery performances is delivered. The handset also leads the 4G field in out-of-the-box, built-in storage, at 32 GB. High resolution video capture is provided at 1,080P HD by the rear mounted 5.0 megapixel camcorder, and a front facing 1.3 megapixel chat cam is also on board.
