The much anticipated Google-Samsung Galaxy Nexus finally lands on US soil, as it begins selling in stores today.  Verizon is the official carrier partner of the Galaxy Nexus, though StarkInsider reported that it is also available in Costco today as well.  The device sells for $299.99 with a new, two-year agreement and costs $649.99 without a Verizon contract.

Galaxy Nexus

The Galaxy Nexus features an elegant and sophisticated design, slightly curved to better fit in the palm of your hands; comes with the Face Unlock feature that utilizes facial recognition to allow phone access; NFC capable; Android Beam to share contacts, apps, maps, videos, photos to people close by just tapping/touching two NFC-enabled devices together;  Voice typing; built-in Google+; boasts of a single-motion panoramic 5.0 megapixel camera with zero shutter-lag, automatic focus, top notch low-light performance and a simple, intuitive way to take panoramic pictures with no stitching needed; it has a 4.65″ high-definition Super AMOLED display; 1.2 GHZ dual-core processor; runs at 4G (LTE or HSPA+); and of course, it is the first and only device for now that runs the Android 4.0 a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich.

Android 4.0 a.k.a Ice Cream Sandwich

This new OS is kind of like the missing link between Google’s smartphone and tablet OS.  It features a new user interface, a System Bar that lets users quickly toggle between Back, Home, and Recent Apps, and an Action Bar, All Apps launcher, Home folders, Widgets, redesigned gallery and photo editing, cloud connected, etc. etc.

Verizon and Other Matters

The Galaxy Nexus was launched in the UK first, where it faced scrutiny from Brittons suffering from a volume bug when used in 2G.  Samsung promised that the volume bug fix will be coming soon though no official date was stated.

Aside from the volume bug, another issue surrounding the Galaxy Nexus is the fact that it doesn’t have Google Wallet, but instead uses Isis, the mobile payment from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.  It’s not really a problem, but since the device is powered by Google’s OS and is the debut phone for Android 4.0, it was expected to have the Google Wallet feature.  But since Google is sticking to the “Android is an open platform” motto, they can’t really impose that Verizon use Google Wallet instead of Isis.

Another thing, the Galaxy Nexus was expected to arrive either sometime early November, but Verizon kept pushing back the launch with some reporting an early December launch.  Whatever their reason may be it doesn’t matter now, the Galaxy Nexus is finally out!