It's here! The long-awaited Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Verizon Wireless has arrived at PCMag, running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It's on sale today for $299.99 with a two-year contract, and we're churning through the review process. For now, though, let's take a look at the box.
The Nexus line is all about simplicity. It's supposed to be pure Google Android, no additions or subtractions. Of course, we know that isn't true with this phone. Verizon subtracted Google Wallet, and seems to have added a few apps, including My Verizon Mobile.
But the box definitely goes for simplicity. It's white on white, with a nearly invisible Verizon Wireless logo embossed on the front. Open it up and it's Verizon red inside. Along with the phone, you get a power adapter, stereo headset, USB cable, and LTE SIM card.
The Galaxy Nexus is a very broad, slim phone, made of plastic with a huge 4.65-inch, 1280-by-720 Super AMOLED screen. As soon as I turned it on, it demanded to update its software. That's as far as I've gotten at the moment.
I did a review of the Ice Cream Sandwich OS running on the GSM version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and I was impressed. It adds dozens of features and changes, improves the interface, and makes much better use of the latest smartphone hardware. While it's missing Flash and strong Facebook support at the moment, it has a new, multilayered look, a faster Web browser, better Gmail app, and better options for gaming.
Obviously, I'll be taking a much closer look at the Galaxy Nexus as the day goes on. If you're curious about anything in particular, leave comments below, and I'll check those details as I review the phone.
But for now, check out the unboxing slideshow below.