I am one of the many people waiting to switch to Verizon for the Galaxy Nexus. If you’ve not been following the story, the timeline is roughly something like this:

  • Oct 19th – Announced by Google/Samsung
  • Nov 17th – Released in Europe
  • Dec 8th – Released in Canada
  • Dec ?? – Released in USA on Verizon
You may notice the phone has not yet been released in the USA. Most news outlets are suggesting that this is because Verizon just released the Motorola DRIOD RAZR and the HTC Rezound and doesn’t want to compete with them. I’d like to offer an alternative theory. Before I do this however, I should mention that I have no inside knowledge whatsoever. This is entirely speculation on my part from publicly released news.

My theory is that the Galaxy Nexus was originally scheduled for a launch simultaneous with/close to Canada on the 8th as a Verizon exclusive and Verizon, for whatever reason, lost the exclusivity contract. Perhaps Google stipulated the exclusive release on Google Wallet functionality or no carrier apps; to be clear, these are just guesses. However, if Verizon lost the exclusivity for the Galaxy Nexus in late October/early November, Verizon may not be permitted to release the phone until at least one additional carrier is ready. This would mean that in spite of the fact that Verizon has the phones sitting in stock, they cannot sell them until another carrier is ready. This theory is based upon this timeline:
If my theory is correct, Verizon may not be to blame for the delay at all and we could be facing delays up to the end of the year due to Verizon’s two week head start with the FCC and the devices arriving in stock this week. Anyway, that’s my guess. Take it or leave it.