14 DAY TRIAL // On June 29, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit blocked sales of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus due to an Apple patent infringement.
Although the smartphone was added by Google onto its Google Play store, the phone was banned from sale after a short time.
Fortunately, it only took Samsung and Google several days to fix this problem and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit temporarily suspended the ban on the Galaxy Nexus.
Starting today, Samsung Galaxy Nexus can be purchased via Google Play store again for only $349 USD outright. Keep in mind that the smartphone is unlocked and can be used with all GSM carriers. However, the Galaxy Nexus is not available in all countries.
It is also worth mentioning that Google states the Galaxy Nexus will ship in 1-2 weeks, which might be a major problem for some customers who want their devices to arrive in just a few days.
We’re not sure why Google decided to delay the smartphone for 1-2 weeks, but we assume Samsung will have to deliver a software update to Galaxy Nexus in order to avoid infringing on Apple's patent again.
There’s more to it as Apple is expected to respond to Samsung’s request for the ban lift, so there’s no telling how long it will stay on Google’s Play store this time.
The search giant also mentioned that the smartphone would be shipped with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean onboard, as well as a minor software update meant to settle the patent dispute.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus was the first to offer Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system out of the box, and now it will be the world’s first to come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
However, the Nexus 7 tablet powered by the same Jelly Bean platform is also expected to hit shelves in late July, so it might challenge Galaxy Nexus’s world’s first title.