Galaxy Nexus Release Date: Smartphone Not Launching for Major US Networks Until December
Major U.S. networks may not have the Samsung Galaxy Nexus available until December.
The recently leaked Verizon schedule leads industry insiders to believe that the carrier will not launch the smartphone until after Black Friday. Verizon will have exclusive rights to the handset for a short period a time.
This means that other major carriers, such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, probably cannot launch the Nexus until sometime in December, because Verizon will release it at the end of November.
The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus is expected to be released in the United States just after Black Friday.
Droid Life, a technology website, has determined from the Verizon Wireless "Roadmap" advertisement schedule that the network will be heavily marketing its "Samsung Holiday Portfolio" directly after Black Friday weekend.
According to the Verizon Roadmap, the Galaxy Nexus is the premier device of the Samsung Holiday Portfolio. With the Roadmap as a reference, the Galaxy Nexus should be slated for release around Nov. 28.
Droid Life noted that marketing periods for the other phones on the Roadmap begin just after they are expected to release.
The Motorola Droid Razr became available for pre-order on Oct. 27 and is currently marketed through Nov. 28. The HTC Rezound is expected to release between Nov. 10 and Nov. 14; its marketing period begins on Nov. 14.
At its Oct. 19 unveiling, Samsung and Google representatives announced that the Galaxy Nexus would release in November, but did not reveal a definitive date.
Verizon then announced in a statement that the Galaxy Nexus would release "later this year," but also has not confirmed an exact date. The only confirmed release date for the Galaxy Nexus is Nov. 17 in the United Kingdom.