news National mobile carrier Optus has released the pricing and started taking pre-orders for the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus handset to launch on its network in Australia, offering customers a launch discount of two months worth off their network access fees.

The phone is the first smartphone to run version 4.0 of Google’s Android platform, dubbed ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’, which features a number of improvements over the previous ‘Gingerbread’ version of the platform — ranging from an improved user interface to better multitasking, system and application notifications, to the ability to respond quickly by text message when an incoming call arrives, a voice recognition engine, better camera, voicemail and calendar handling and facial recognition features for unlocking the screen.

Optus will launch the Galaxy Nexus on $29, $49, $59 and $79 monthly ‘cap’ plans, with handset costs to be $16, $8, $5 and zero dollars per month respectively on a two year contract. The company’s plans range up to offerings with 3GB of monthly data. Optus will also offer the handset for no repayment cost on its $99 and $129 ‘Timeless Extreme’ plans.

Vodafone has also confirmed it will launch the Galaxy Nexus, while Telstra has not officially confirmed a launch as yet, but has released a promotional video strongly hinting it will launch the handset. Optus has not issued a statement on the matter, but its plans are available through its website. Samsung itself confirmed last week that it will officially launch its highly anticipated Galaxy Nexus handset in Australia on 14 December; although it did not give any details of carrier availability at that point.

The Galaxy Nexus features one of the largest touchscreens on the market — with a size of 4.65 inches, and it runs at a resolution of 1280×720. It features a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 1024MB of memory, a five megapixel rear camera which can shoot 1080p video and an in-built near field communications chip for mobile payments.

US gadget site The Verge, in its review of the Galaxy Nexus, hailed the phone as the best Android phone ever made and possibly the best smartphone ever; even giving Apple’s popular iPhone 4S handset a run for its money. “Ice Cream Sandwich easily gives iOS and Windows Phone a run for their money, and in many ways it’s a superior operating system than either of them,” the publication wrote in its review.

The Galaxy Nexus is the latest Google-branded Android handset in the ‘Nexus’ line which has also included the Nexus One and Nexus S handsets. The Nexus line sees manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC work closely with Google itself on what many have viewed as a ‘reference’ handset to set the standard for the next generation of Android phones.

Both of the previous Nexus handsets launched in Australia over the past several years, and the Galaxy Nexus has gone on sale in the UK, with launches planned for Canada, the US, Japan and India.
Independent online retailers Mobicity and Kogan have already started selling the handset, ahead of any planned Australian launch by Samsung itself or the mobile carrier partners. On its web site, Melbourne-based retailer Kogan has made an unlocked version of the Galaxy Nexus available for $799. The handset is compatible with all of Australia’s major mobile networks (including Telstra’s Next G network). It doesn’t come with a warranty from Samsung, as it has been imported from an international distributor, but it does come with a warranty from Kogan itself.

Mobicity is similarly selling the Galaxy Nexus for $799, marked down from what it said was an initial price of $999. The company noted that customers who pre-ordered the device will receive it first and new customers will be supplied on a first-come, first-served basis. Mobicity recently noted on its Twitter account that it expected to receive the first batch of Galaxy Nexus handsets on the 23rd of November this week and the second batch on the 29th of November.

Optus’s prices on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus:

Image credits: Samsung, Optus

Related posts:

1. Vodafone releases Galaxy Nexus pricing
2. Telstra releases Galaxy Nexus pricing
3. 14 Dec: Galaxy Nexus to launch in Australia
4. Telstra hints at Galaxy Nexus launch
5. Optus releases Galaxy Tab 10.1 pricing

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1. Anthony S
   Posted 12/12/2011 at 6:17 pm | Permalink | Reply

   Just a quick correction, seeing this is the second time I’ve seen this show up in an article written in December.

   The following line is what I have issue with:
   “Mobicity recently noted on its Twitter account that it expected to receive the first batch of Galaxy Nexus handsets on the 23rd of November this week and the second batch on the 29th of November.”

   Is this a direct quote, or is it a bad copy-paste of “this week”?

   Sorry, I can’t remember which article was the other offender, but obviously it was related to the Galaxy Nexus.

   • Renai LeMay
     Posted 12/12/2011 at 9:51 pm | Permalink | Reply

     You’re right Anthony, it’s a bad copy and paste. I’ve written so many goddamn articles about the Galaxy Nexus, I’ve gotten lazy ;) I’m tanked tonight after going to the gym but will fix it tomorrow morning. Cheers for keeping me honest!