By 
Last week we lamented on Verizon’s lack of a Nexus device, and it appears their streak might just continue. A source has told BGR that VZW will launch the Samsung Droid Prime in October, the device we have heard rumored as the Nexus Prime. The handset is still planned as the flagship device for the launch of Ice Cream Sandwich (much like the Motorola Droid was for Eclair), but for Verizon’s release the Nexus tag looks to be dropped. The launch of the Prime is the reason why Verizon chose to skip over the Samsung Galaxy S II, deciding that the Ice Cream Sandwich handset would be more competitive with the upcoming iPhone 5.
Whether or not the Prime makes it to other carriers carrying the Nexus name or if we will see a Nexus device unique from the Prime is not known. But if it ships with a stock version of the latest update to Android and features specs that best the Galaxy S II, it might just be the phone to have this holiday season.
[via BGR]
[Update]: Just a minor update – the name “DROID Prime” seems to be premature. Whatever it’s called, we’re almost sure “Nexus” will be in the name and “DROID” won’t. [Droid-Life]
This cuts off a lot of developers. I can’t see google doing this-yes there are a lot of Android Phones on Verizon but the percentage of developers compared to every other carrier can’t be that great. The unlocked gsm phones also can be used by people outside the US which I doubt this can. This goes against the Nexus philosophy. This better be a fucking joke.
Exclusive for VZW (FOR A TIME PERIOD) most likely
I agree. Most exclusivity agreements aren’t indefinite. My guess their will be an actual Nexus device at the end of the year. It makes sense for Verizon to sub the Nexus name with the DROID name as it has better brand recognition especially among current subscribers.
That’s what I’m hoping for. TMO or Sprint
If it behaves like a nexus, I am 100% in. If not, I’ll skip it.
Have you ever seen the iPhone commercial where they say “If it’s not an iPhone then it’s not an iPhone”, well same thing with Nexus phones.
The OG Droid ‘behaved’ like a Nexus. It was a while ago, but there is a precedent.
It is called the ‘Droid Prime’, not ‘Nexus Prime’- Whew, just noticed that. Crisis averted everyone, this is probably just a VZW variant. The ‘Droid’ moniker is limited to verizon and the ‘Nexus’ one would be on the other variants.
It means that in some way or another they are in control.
Exactly :(
the original Droid, vanilla, no bloatware, unlocked bootloader, awsome phone, all on Verizon.
I like Nexus Prime as a name, but Droid Prime isnt awful either. All I ask is that everything that makes a Nexus phone special make it into this phone
In the end the Droid became a Ninjablur phone though.
Droid Prime doesn’t have the same ring to it as Nexus and it doesn’t readily mean its stock android ics.
I know if Moto made a Droid they should have called it Prime but this was suppose to be a google phone so they should have called it Nexus
You know, there are global CDMA phones, and you should also consider the fact that some Verizon users want a Nexus device. Why should we be left out, just because we don’t want shitty TMO or ATT service?
It all sounds great… but with the issues of firmware updating Samsung has had in the past. The issues that were reported with the Nexus II out of the gate… I think that I would still rather get the HCT Vigor and wait for the ICS update. Unless that is that the Prime has just nutty specs…
1. Samsung doesn’t control Nexus S updates but they might on a “Droid” phone.
2. What issues did the Nexus S have?
X2, would like to know what the issues were?
These days I have no idea if the NS has any issues, but on release it had some horrific bugs. Force reboots, SMS/MMS send/receive bugs, voice calling bugs, GPS issues, etc..
Yes now I remember the Force Reboots were bad for some but I only saw about 2 of them, I think that 2.3.3 fixed it.
The SMS/MMS bug was a Android problem that was first fixed on the Nexus S and has yet to be fixed on the mass majority of Android phones because they don’t have the update, it was brought to light because someone pointed out that 2.3 still had this previously known issue.
The voice calling I’m not sure about.
The GPS is a Samsung thing because issues were first reported when with the first Galaxy S phones and the Nexus S runs most of the same hardware so it not unique to this phone only.
Other phones have problems but only the Nexus has a really good chance of getting them resolved. Then there are many like me who only see one of these problems a couple of times in 9 months of owning the devices. Now my Nexus One and it’s hardware problems are a whole different and frustrating story.
Thanks for the reminder, it was all I needed to remember the dates and details of the problems and no I didn’t use Google even once but feel free to confirm my answers.
There were no Gps issues for the NS. Actually I never had either of the issues you listed.
Samsung has been rather prompt with updates in the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II lines. Their initial foray into Android wasn’t very good, but I feel like they’ve really turned around. Also they are THE phone for developers and enthusiasts with the unlocked bootloader and world wide presence. My only reasons for considering the Bionic over this is the accessories / webtop, and to support Google. I may get this for my wife and the Bionic for myself to have the best of both worlds.
purposeful VZW leak so people don’t jump ship to the others? Will this be the Celox device running 4.0 instead of 2.3 (that will be shown at IFA?)
Well at least I know it is not the new Nexus, my wait continues…….
New Nexus to T-mobile and Sprint. Sorry Kevin.
the only people sorry are those stuck on t-mobile haha
Im not unhappy. I have nothing but great things to say about TMo
me too
Everyone rags on tmobile, but honestly I haven’t had a real problem with it. Ever. That being said, I do live in a bigger city so that’s why coverage is perfect. Anyways, FU Verizon I want my Nexus Prime NOW!
Owning a phone that isn’t controlled by your carrier or the manufacturer is now considered a sucker, LMFAO.
Let me guess you tell people that your phone runs the “droid” OS and not Android.
There is no such thing as stuck when being with t-mobile. we all simply choose t-mobile because they are better over all.
Its a little early for an april fools joke right?! Remove the Nexus name? That’s just crazy!! FU Verizon…
“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself”
Whats in a name? I will tell you, the Nexus name guarantees google control, latest android updates, developer device, stock android, sold only at google approved locations, unlocked for global use and so much more.
Here is the problem. If it is not a Nexus phone, VZW will infect it with all of their shitty apps. And then it’s not so concrete that I will buy this phone.
This….branding it as a droid rather than a nexus removes pretty much all the advantages of a nexus device. I bet Google won’t be doing the updates on this device, it will come preloaded with crapware and it will never sound as cool as a Nexus!
If Ice cream sandwich doesn’t come first on a NEXUS device, then I’ll just wait till the next Nexus device hits and in the meantime install a Ice cream sandwich rom on my Nexus1.
Why can’t it be similar to how the iphone is on vzw? Apple still runs the updates, etc. for its iphone…im sure it it is the NP, that they might (notice might) let google run updates/no bloat.
root it and remove the apps. simple as that. or install a custom rom.
Pretty sure VZW is against development to begin with. Doesn’t help the cause since Nexus phones are supposed to be developer phones first.
I brick my htc Droid Inc through rooting and i can get a free replacement.
What does bricking your phone and Verizon not supporting development have to do with eachother? There’s a reason that all of their recent model phones have had locked bootloaders. Some of which still haven’t been cracked.
Being that VZW voids the warranty for rooted devices, I will not root until the warranty is over. I had to replace my Fascinate under warranty 3 times. It’s quite the gamble to root and just hope your phone doesn’t crap out.
DROID… not the jr or the III… The original DROID was everything the Nexus One was. Unlocked, bloat free, updated vanilla Android. Same thing for this???
One can hope.
I’m hoping along with ya.
BGR and Kevin Krause… That’s all I’m sayin’…
+1
Perfect timing!!! I just cracked my Incredible this weekend. Was looking at the Vigor, but was going to hold off on fully getting ramped up for that for news about the Prime. If this is true, Prime will be mine since it will have some great specs and Google not Samsung updating it.
I’m joining the Telebots. Screw the Decepticons!!!
As great as this phone sounds, I don’t think I’m going to wait; waaaay too much uncertainty around it.
Release date: Early October? (Yes) Late October? (Skip) Possible delays?
Nexus Status: Is it a Nexus phone? Locked? (Skip) Unlocked? (Yes) Touchwiz?
Specs: OMAP? (Yes!!) Snapdragon? (Skip)
I think I’m just going to get the Bionic and be done. Good OMAP 4 processor and LTE are pretty much all I need right now and the only things that would make me wait are if all of the conditions I listed are met. If the Prime does meet some of the conditions above I’ll just sell the Bionic and buy the Prime off-contract anyway.
You need to take into consideration that BGR as been posting many exclusives and then retractions a few days later. They are trying to scoop everyone without verifying. In a few days I’m sure we’ll see a post that says. Nexus “Prime-like” device exclusive to Verizon.
As long as it’s vanilla ICS with great battery life and killer specs, I’m cool with the name change. They can name it the “Droid Homo” for all I care.
the “Droid Suck Me Off” and I’d still buy it. Get me out of Motorola hell please.
http://crazyassvideos.blogspot.com
It probably wont’ be vanilla if I had to take a guess. Never been on Verizon, but from what I hear they are pretty bad about loading bloatware on their devices and probably wouldn’t want to go along with an untarnished handset. Just speculation though.
Verizon would run vanilla on their network before Google would allow a carrier not to run vanilla on a Nexus device.
I totally agree with you there which is why I think that is why it has been re-branded as a droid device and not a true Nexus device. Or this could just be a completely different phone, I am definitely curious to see how it plays out though.
But they said in the article update that it may not be a Droid branded device. Either way I’m happy to say a “Google Experience” phone come to VZW if all this pans out. Even if it’s called a Droid. Then name doesn’t make the phone after all.
Right. Either way I am interested to see the new tech hitting the market this fall.
You’ve got a point there, if they make any changes to the software it WON’T be called ‘Nexus’.
I’m waiting for the “Pedobear Prime.”
after all…look at how many people bought the iPad, the mytouch and other devices that sound like feminine hygiene products.
Verizon is the only one to get it right…
Hard to say, 3 different carriers got the Nexus S.
This would be fantastic. Thank God we’ll finally get a nexus on a network that’s worth it/deserves it.
Really a Nexus?
Technically not a nexus, just another droid
Yeah I wouldn’t count on that if it is a Droid, it took the OG Droid 3 months to get 2.1 and when it did it had some of the main features taken out.
As long as it’s vanilla Android, I’m still in. Can’t fault Verizon for wanting to maintain the Droid branding, just don’t fill it with a bunch of useless crap, like TouchWiz and VZ Navigator.
If they’re calling it the “droid” prime, it’s not a nexus. Thankfully, the only 2 carriers I will ever use are TMo and Sprint, I’ll take the NP on either one kthanks. Soon please.
Phone just seems to keep gettin better and better for me. I’m looking for that increased screen size for the amount of communicating I do. Can’t wait for this to drop. And its sure to make whatever Apple has over in their corner of the store look silly.
… because the current screen size isn’t enough to communicate properly? lol you android fanboys only care about bigger screens and faster chips that haven’t added anything noticeable to the user experience except terrible battery life.
And you iFanboys get the same exact shit piece of hardware and software once a year with a some enhancements that could have been added to the first iphone.
just like you guys with not having a hardware acceleration in your browser? lol what a pitiful experience Android browsing is. My iPhone 2g has a smoother browser than my Nexus S. Copy and paste isn’t even uniform in Android yet. Hilarious how you call Apple users “sheep”. Youll suck down anything Google throws at you.
oh the irony lol…Apple users calling others sheep! roflmao
Yes because only Apple users are sheep while Android users arent?
What kind of shitty logic is that? All I’ve seen is Android users in general seem to be dumber than average and poorer also. Enjoy your dumb and poor life.
LOL you have never used android have you? hahaha Copy and paste not uniform? nice try guy every android has copy and paste. Its WP7 you are thinking of in that regard. What version of android does your Nexus S run? give me the full specs without google but you can’t because you are an iTard and troll
Ive posted this before, but you low life, uneducated idiots cannot seem to get this through your empty brains. Heres my nexus S, you troll.
Riiight im the troll because im the fan of iOs on a Phandroid site oh yeah my mistake my mistake. Also idiotic is owning a device that you don’t like.
Also not hard to edit photos is it?
sorry state for you icrap fanboys..sorry as your phones
hopefully its early october im tired of waiting for a new phone
No Nexus name? Exclusive to Verizon? What is going on here. Our Android culture is being chopped up too fast! First, Verizon postpones the launch of the Bionic to COMPETE with the iFail5. WTF is going on with these inter-Android politics?
They delayed the bionic because it had a ton of issues. relax put your tin foil hat away.
I cant beleive so many people are crying about a name change! WOW!!!
it’s not the name but what the name entails. Nexus = Pure Android. first to get updates straight from google. first to be on the cutting edge of new features. Droid = Verizon android badging. might be skinned. might have bloatware. updates not controlled by google.
it’s more than just a name.
also, the model number doesn’t reflect nexus-like phones.
Yeah i guess if you put it that way it is a very valid point, but we dont know if its gonna be loaded with bloatware yet. my OG Droid didnt have any bloatware loaded onto it..
That makes sense for the OG Droid not to have bloatware — not that much of it had been created yet. Now, however, it is an established line and carriers are ‘selling off’ space to various companies…
How do you know it won’t be stock? Atleast wait til it is out to bitch and moan about it.
thats the problem! we don’t knowww because its not defined a Nexus! its defined a Droid and that also means google might not be in control of the device. It would be as much as a Nexus as a G2x or the G2 sure it would run stock android but its still isn’t a noted google experience device without Nexus branding.
People are so stupid these day. Root it and remove those apps or wait for ice cream roms.
People are, so why not make a phone that has the latest update and does not come with bloatware??????
Oh wait
If you have to do that then you don’t have a Nexus you moron!
I don’t think it’s really the name change, but the idea that droid means verizon apps and exclusivity. And let’s be honest, no one really wants either.
I hope they don’t make this OS some exclusive BS for Prime users for 3 months and then release to us Nexus S users. I’ll never buy an Android product again if they treat us like they treated N1 users for updating to Gingerbread.
So, if they did it to N1 users, what makes you think they won’t do it to NS users?
Because this is supposed to be the OS on one device. That’s what the Android fanboys, blogs, and Google will tell you
Knowing GOogle, it will be buggy and another beta product. They’ll take 3 months to release it to NS users and blame it on the fact that it wasn’t developed on them like they said when people asked them about GB on N1. Still not sure what exactly they developed on if they didnt use the n1 for GB.
If all the rumors and news are true, then ICS would need a new device to be developed on since it is doing away with the “buttons” at the base of the screen.
Even if it takes another 2 or 3 months for ICS to come to the Nexus S, that’ll still just be about a year, which is as quick as any major iPhone update has ever come.
I waited for the N1 Gingerbread update, and it was no big deal. You just need to, you know, focus on the other things in your life and rest assured that it’ll come.
Um Apple gets a major OS update every year, and they have updates in between. And they have supported devices 2+ years. Everyone gets it the same day.
Android doesn’t.
That’s a huge weakness. Admit it. You can still be a fan of the platform either way.
Ya but guess how they push it? They use itune. When you upgrade your OS on the iphone you have to back it up because you will lose all your memory. You need to be at a computer to get it. Some time you need to update your itune too. So ya I guess that us a huge weakness for apple. The firmware file are huge.
Um…wasn’t the OG Droid exclusive to VZW? Wasn’t it first to Android 2.0? Wasn’t it stock Android?
didn’t it only get updated to froyo? (officially)
It wasn’t a dev device or a nexus, its not only about first or pure stock there is so much more to it.
Is it going to have a hardware keyboard?
YEEEESSSS OMGOMGOMGOMGOGMGOOGGM IM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PUMPED LESSSS GOOOOOOOOO SCREW THE GSII YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BUDDY
Sorry I will never do that again lmfao.
O My God the world is going to End!!!!! They are gonna name it Droid instead of Nexus!! AHHHHH, run for your nuclear fallout shelter!
Come on people, get over it.
Gah, have to wait until late December for my plan to upgrade to a new phone >.<
This Nexus or whatever they wanna call it can suck it. I’m still kinda pissed about missing out on the SGSII.
Come on verizon. Let’s hope this pans out.
First an earthquake then a hurricane and now this unbelievable news, the world really is coming to an end.
Super excited to say the least if this is true.
Wait, something from BGR and Kevin Krause turns out to be inaccurate? Shocker!!
I just can’t believe they would make it a Verizon exclusive. No way. They can sell a heckuvalot more GSM versions than they can CDMA. (Or even CDMA world versions as someone else tried to put it. Let’s face it, CDMA world versions of phones only exist so that Verizon and Sprint users can get raped by their carriers when they go overseas.)
Nexus is never exclusive
Just remember, when VZW announces a flagship phone release, you can count on it being about 3 to 4 months late. (remember the T-Bolt and Bionic?)
There goes my hopes and dreams of owning the newest nexus device. Stupid verizon.
It maybe 720p Amoled but it is still pentile and RGB is so much better.
to who?
I love how people force themselves to be angry about this crap. “Full of bloatware” and all that stuff. It didn’t hurt the Droid X, so who cares? Stop making things into a bigger deal than they are.
force themselves to be mad at a nexus with bloatware… you obviously don’t get it. There is a reason people prefer nexus.
Wakkoman…my Samsung Captivate has a hardware accelerated browser courtesy of Watsa’s Apex 9.2 rom, and does anything else your lil ifone can AND plays flash. Anything else?
Because it would be impossible for ICS to not draw buttons on screen if a phone has physical ones?
Wakkotrollboy
What a surprise. Your complaining and calling everybody idiots
I don’t care I will still a android phone over iPhone so I’m good with Droid