Google resumes hardware sales with GSM Galaxy Nexus for only $399

[Brendan Hugo]

Google has been hard at work re-branding itself, with the most notable update of recent memory being the Android Market reinvention into Google Play. That transition took what was previously an Android appstore and renovated it as a well-rounded competitor to the likes of iTunes/Appstore, and even Kindle. Another one of the promised 'big changes' has now come to light, with the addition of a device sales portion of the Google Play store, with the GSM Galaxy Nexus as its first offering.

For those of you who remember back to the failed first attempt, hopefully this time around Google will do things right. To that end, Google has promised proper support channels, staving off the problems that doomed its last hardware sales channel. We'll see.

So far this seems to be an update in progress, as the Play page itself has not changed. While Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content at Google—say that three times fast!—calls it “a new Devices section in the Google Play web store “ in his blog post, no such tab or section is to be found on the Play homepage.

Pointing your browser to play.google.com/store/devices will only redirect you to the Nexus sales page, unlike /apps, /books, /movies, and /music, all of which take you to the respective storefronts. I expect this will change once Google is done with its 'soft opening' and decides to go big or go home. Most likely this will happen alongside the launch of a Nexus tablet, which should be coming soon if rumors are to be believed.

As to the question of the phone itself, it's the HSPA+/GSM Galaxy model, and it is unlocked. This puts Verizon out of the question, but you could get some AT&T non-LTE 4G goodness sans contract and still save $38.91 over Amazon. All of that 4.65-inch 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED goodness can be yours now, with no contract, with ICS, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and with HSPA+ 21, for only $399. That's a bare $100 more than Verizon and AT&T's top tier subsidized phones. Don't even try telling me that's not tempting.

Is anyone going to take the bait and be part of this Google revolution? Part of me wants to, the other part thinks I should be terrified about the sheer scale of today's big tech companies. As Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google continue becoming all-in-one offerings, having done away with all competitors, I'm sure they'll treat us consumers right, respecting our privacy and our pocketbooks...right? What do you think of this consumer twist on the industrial revolution?

[Google | Google Play via AndroidAuthority]

[CrowdAds]

[The DarkSide]

For the price it's being sold at it's a damn great deal IMO.

[WalkGood]

I'm not a phone guy but I like

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

For the price it's being sold at it's a damn great deal IMO.

Yeah, its almost cheap enough that it makes sense to get over various android media players. Then just use it as a (absolutely amazing) dumb phone + media player on AT&T or Tmobile.

[Syndrome]

To bad all the cellular companies in the area suck llama nuts,

[nathan]

Expansys Canada is selling that phone for that price too.