For a phone that’s already been out for five months, the Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus has been doing a great job at keeping up a high profile. Granted, a lot of that has to do with its status as the flagship Android 4.0 handset, but there’s a lot more to it; slow-to-arrive ICS updates for other devices have helped extend the phone’s time in the sun, and Sprint’s introduction of the model as one of its first LTE devices is helping to give it another shot in the arm. Recently, we’ve been seeing pricing on the Galaxy Nexus reach new subsidized lows. Today it’s the unlocked HSPA+ version’s turn to show-off a new sticker price, with Google starting to sell the smartphone for just $400 off-contract.

That’s quite the low off-contract price when you consider that at Verizon, just last week, the fully-subsidized GNex was still fetching a cool $300. Sure, the new $200 price makes this seem like less of a deal, but when you factor in the flexibility you’d get over carrier and plan choice, another couple hundred dollars still doesn’t feel like that high of a premium. We might think twice about buying off-contract phones running $600 and up, but $400 is close enough to regular subsidized pricing that it might just attract the interest of users who never before thought about an off-contract option.

Google’s now returning to direct phone sales, offering this newly-discounted Galaxy Nexus through the Google Play store. This is the first phone, let alone physical item we’ve seen sold through the revamped market, and we’ve got a feeling it won’t be the last.

The unlocked HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus supports 3G with both T-Mobile and AT&T in the US.

Source: Google

Via: MobileBurn