Samsung Galaxy Nexus in Australia — The Roundup #1

Welcome to the first roundup of Samsung Galaxy Nexus in Australia news. Here we’ll be setting out what we know is happening with the Galaxy Nexus in Australia, such as rumours, solid news, release dates, prices etc.. all that good stuff! So let’s just jump into the first roundup shall we.

Telstra..

We’ve confirmed from two solid sources that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is in Telstra’s computer system (Siebel). This is happens when a device is being tested on the network or is going to be sold on the network. That leaves us guessing which of the two it will be. Seeing as though the Galaxy Nexus will be coming to all networks in the UK, I don’t see why Telstra wouldn’t get it and it’s looking very promising very early.

Vodafone..

Having spoken to Vodafone directly they confirmed when the Nexus S launched on their network that they would be stocking all of Google’s Nexus devices as long as their global carrier agreement was still in place. Vodafone is still a part of the OHA (Open Handset Alliance) so we’re assuming that agreement is still firmly in place — this is confirmed by the Galaxy Nexus launching exclusively in the US on Verizon, a partner of Vodafone. I’ve also spoken to sources who say they’re very confident the Galaxy Nexus will be launching on Vodafone.

Further evidence leading us to believe Vodafone are going to announce something re. Galaxy Nexus very soon is that they’ve been pointing users on Twitter to their blog each time they’re asked about the Galaxy Nexus. You can see that for yourself below when a fellow writer for Ausdroid, Phil, asked them.

Optus..

We’d heard from sources inside of Optus that they’re looking to get their hands onto the Galaxy Nexus as quickly as possible. Today we can announce exclusively that we’ve heard word from sources that Optus are in discussions to try to get the Galaxy Nexus as a short-term exclusive. Our source(s) also said that Optus were aiming for a late December launch date. For anyone asking “What would give Optus the edge over other carriers to get the exclusive?” Optus were the first Australian carrier to launch an Android device, so they’ll use the long-term support of the OS in their favour. It’s an interesting concept having a launch exclusive on a Nexus device here in Australia, however, we have to remember Samsung and Google are taking a different approach with this launch, they’re going to push this device to every carrier they can to try to saturate the market.

On Twitter, Optus haven’t been giving too much away, they’re far more closed-lip about it than Vodafone. You can check out what they had to say below.

Online retailers..

MobiCity met with their UK suppliers last night, I believe, and said today on Twitter that they had nothing new to announce re. a release date for them selling the Galaxy Nexus, meaning that the release date is still up in the air with an expected batch to arrive around the 17^th of this month, even though massive online retailers in the UK such as Expansys and Amazon pushed the release back to December 2^nd.

If you’re looking to buy your device outright from an online retailer, we’ve put together a nice table of where you’re better off getting the Galaxy Nexus from. Check it out!