Verizon has dropped the price of the Galaxy Nexus to just $99 with a new two-year contract, down from $299 when it launched on the carrier in December.
Traditionally, cell phone manufacturers and carriers put their own software on top of the Android operating system before shipping phones out to consumers. The Galaxy Nexus is currently the only phone on the market running pure Android, a feature that allows it to get updates faster than other Android smartphones.
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Spec-wise, the phone has a 4.65” HD Super AMOLED display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor, and 1GB of RAM. The phone is also the first to be able to run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean; however, the newest version of Android has currently only rolled out to GSM versions of the handset (Verizon is a CDMA network).
Google currently sells the GSM version of the handset unlocked –- meaning you can use it with any GSM carrier (AT&T or T-Mobile in the U.S.) –- on Google Play for $349.
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Often thought of as the best Android phone on the market, much of the attention once placed on the Galaxy Nexus has gone to the Galaxy SIII in recent months. Samsung recently announced it has sold over 10 million of the handsets since the device first launched in Europe in mid May. The phone first became available in the U.S. in late June, and finally made its way to all U.S. carriers in early July.
The Galaxy SIII could be pulling sales away from the Galaxy Nexus so much so that Verizon dropped the price of the phone in order to continue selling the handset.
Samsung also recently sent out Save the Date notes for an event in which it plans to unveil the “newest Galaxy” device. Some rumors speculate that event might be for the next version of the Nexus handset, while others suggest that it may be for the next-generation of Samsung’s phone-tablet hybrid, the Galaxy Note.
The sudden price drop may be because there's a new Nexus on the horizon.
What do you make of the Galaxy Nexus’ new $99 price tag? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable here.