Parked across multiple spots in the great Android parking lot, Ausdroid is reporting that Optus has internally confirmed the telco will be launching the Galaxy Nexus around December 20.
The Google handset will reportedly go for $0 up front on a $79 business cap plan, with the Ausdroid story expecting consumer plans to follow shortly after.
It seems like a rather… strange… time to be launching a premium handset like the Galaxy Nexus, so we’re holding off on believing this completely. Although if it’s true, it’s great to see it potentially become available across multiple carriers…
[Ausdroid]
BenDTU
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 2:34 PMI hope it gets better treatment over here than it does with Verizon in the States.
DROID DROID BUY THE DROID DROID DOES DROID RAZR DROID 4 OH MY GOD SO MANY DROIDS oh yeah we sell the nexus too DROID DROID DROID!
david
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 3:05 PMI want to buy a flagship android handset, but I am scared they are not secure. I would hate to have my banking compromised. Also is it possible to download apps? At the moment I would think it is not possible, as every app could potentially hold a harmfull exploit.
I am a current iPhone user and have been since the 3G. I think it’s time to update but my fears may send me to WM7.
Josh
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 3:14 PMHi David,
I just got my Galaxy Nexus shipped from the UK this morning and I haven’t stopped playing with it haha.
It is definitely secure as long as you use a pin code or maybe a pattern. A password unlock would probably be the best security, though.
You can download all the apps from the Android App Market and of all the apps I had on my HTC Sensation (around 150) I have only had a problem with one. It was Llama if you were wondering.
I’ve been with android for a long time now and have never had a virus or any harmful apps and I don’t use anti-virus software.
You’ll be fine.
Oh and this thing is lightening quick.
StevoTheDevo
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 3:51 PMOur friend david is probably referring to the issue of Goole’s Market not being so locked down and therefore increasing the potential for malware to be hidden in apps.
Ozoneocean
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 4:26 PMYes, of course they’re secure. Don’t believe the stupid alarmist press hype. There are 10s of thousands of trusted, secure apps from well known developers that are well reviewed and highly rated in the Android Marketplace.
Tips: look for apps that are well rated, that have LOTS of ratings and have good reviews. Also good developers (like Google for example) that produce well rated and well reviewed apps.
Also apps that are featured in the Android marketplace.
It’s harder than you think to get malware… But if you really want it you have to download the crappy porn apps with no ratings, or free versions of otherwise expensive apps that are made by a different publisher and have no ratings- that sort of thing, it’s pretty obvious stuff.
Jubbing
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 10:41 PMWtf is WM7? Are you calling it Windows Mobile 7? That’s blasphemous! Windows PHONE 7 btw.
alexeiw123
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 3:20 PM@ david, I can assure you, your security concerns can be moderated easily with a touch of common sense. android has a mammoth amount of apps on the market (yes you can download apps). a lot of these apps are brilliant, a very small number of them are not (as google does not screen incoming apps).
These insecure apps the media speaks of are /very/ rare, and also very unlikely to be installed by anyone with common sense.
when you install a new app from android market, firstly, there is a very detailed rating system, secondly, every app shows what level of permissions it will ask for on your phone, so if a game wants to access your secure data, and not many people have rated that app, you could easily try a different game.
If you are thinking of switching, and are concerned about apps, you mind find it useful that you don’t need an android phone to look at that android app market. You can do that from your PC web browser. – market.android.com
david
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 3:25 PMThanks for the info. Maybe it is not as bad as I thought. I will need to investigate further. Still another 12 months before my contract expires. I guess there will be a new flagship by then.
Unless of course I can sell my Iphone 4 on ebay and get a decent price for it.
grant
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 4:14 PMThe only problem with shelling out big $$ for a ‘flagship’ phone is that it doesn’t stay the ‘flagship’ phone for very long. I got a HTC Desire not long after release, before I knew it, the HD version was out, then the S, then the Sensation… There is no keeping up. Now my poor little Desire is stuck on v2.2 with no hope of upgrade.
Ozoneocean
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 4:32 PMThis is different. The HTC Desire was mainly a “flagship” for HTC. It was one of the most powerful phones at the time of release, but that’s often the case with new phones and they’re always superseded, as they’re supposed to be.
With the Google Nexus models they’re developer phones, so even when newer better devices come out these ones still get all the latest updates.
grant
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 9:34 PMSo you can confirm the HTC Google Nexus (dev phone) will get andoid v4. While HTC’s Desire will not? As far as hardware goes they are identical.
No matter what you get, it won’t be long before it looks like crap compared to the newest thing. Sure, Dev phones do get more support. But still, 2 years and it will be a relic.
I guess that is the price of progress though.
Also, don’t get me wrong, I am very excited to have a look at this phone. But I have a feeling I will skip this version and go with the upgraded version that will come a year later. Maybe 4x core? Who knows?
deadnotsleeping
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 11:09 AMit’s Samsung… I swear these are the dumbest comments I have ever read. Are you all trolling or something?
Peter
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 5:33 PMI have Cyanogenmod on my Telstra HTC Desire, which with the nightly builds has it at 2.3.7. Rooting the phone isn’t particularly hard and certainly has reinvigorated my love for the thing. More space for apps too.
grant
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 9:36 PMI am very tempted to do that Pete. My mate has an original Nexus, and once he put Cyan on it, it shit all over mine. Getting rid of Telstras crap would be great, and the improved storage space.
But I also quite like Sense UI,
Tough choice
ANONOMOOSE
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 6:08 PMIt’s true. I’ve seen the internal documents. If I remember correctly it starts on the 20th of December.
Steve
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 7:22 PMDayum $79/month plan. You’re better off just buying this outright for $700ish (will be less by the time this plan is offered on Optus) and putting it on a TPG BYO plan (that resells Optus) at $18/month, or $15 if you already have a TPG home plan. This way you’ll still come out on top and have a phone outright if you want to resell it to upgrade down the line to something like the Galaxy S III.
PAP
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 10:40 AMIts the 22nd…i work for them!!
craig
Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 12:33 AMoptus coverage is getting worse each day, i spend 200 a month on a blackberry and still cant recieve a early upgrade on my contract but someone spending 30 a month can get a upgrade after 12 months wtf optus look after ur business customers first before house wives
about the phone , been told its flimsy and smashes very easy.