If you watched Google’s recent Ice Cream Sandwich event in which the company unveiled the highly anticipated Galaxy Nexus smartphone, you may have noticed that Google chose not to reveal if the device will be exclusive to one carrier in the US, or release on multiple carriers.
Due to previous leaks on the device, it is almost a certainty that Verizon will be picking up the device first, but since Google didn’t make a big deal about Verizon at their event, it may be a possible outcome that the device lands on other US carriers as well, with no exclusive carrier deal this time around.
A promo video released by Google confirms that Verizon will be one of the carriers as well – this was a video that wasn’t shown at the event, so it has been seen as a sort of secret announcement that Verizon will definitely be getting the device – which now makes things very interesting from a consumer point of view.
This is because Verizon will also be adding the new Motorola Droid RAZR to their existing lineup of Droid smartphones, meaning that consumers now have a difficult decision on which handset to pick up. There are a few key factors which separate the two, and one of the biggest without a doubt is the obvious fact that the Motorola Droid RAZR will ship with Gingerbread 2.3.5, while the Galaxy Nexus will be the first Android handset in the world to ship with Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.
Both handsets are similar in the fact that they’ll both ship with a dual-core 1.2Ghz TI processor, but the chip featured on the RAZR differs slightly in the fact that it’s a OMAP 4430, compared to the Galaxy Nexus which will come with a OMAP 4460. Other differences include an 8 megapixel camera on the RAZR and just a 5 megapixel camera on the Galaxy Nexus. Both are 4G LTE compatible, and both will have 1080p HD video recording capabilities.
One big disadvantage for the new Galaxy Nexus though, is the fact that it will NOT come with a MicroSD slot for expandable memory, instead consumers will have to make do with either 16 or 32GB of memory. The Droid RAZR will come with support for MicroSD though, so if memory means a lot to you, the RAZR may be the better choice for you.
It’s a difficult decision for sure, but after weighing up the pros and cons of each device, which one suits you best? Don’t forget that the Droid RAZR is likely to get an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich as well, at some point after release.
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