Nexus 5 Release Date: Unlocked Model Will Run On Sprint Network

The recently released Nexus 5 is already a hot commodity with its 16GB black model having already sold out within hours of availability (it now appears to be back in stock). The Nexus 5 will be powered by Sprint and T-Mobile, but currently only Sprint is revealing information about its Nexus 5 model.

Tech website Android Central has confirmed from Sprint that the carrier will power unlocked Nexus 5 models sold at the Google Play Store. This is especially good news for those lovers of the vanilla Android experience, which includes speedy rollouts of new Android operating systems.

Recently, the Sprint model of the Galaxy Nexus updated to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, while the vanilla Android version of the Galaxy Nexus updated to Android 4.3 in July. The Nexus 5 runs the new Android 4.4 KitKat operating system, which will soon roll out onto other Google-branded devices such as the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. However, it appears that even the vanilla Galaxy Nexus will no longer update after Android 4.3 as the handset is not scheduled to update to Android 4.4. According to Google, the Galaxy Nexus includes a chip manufactured by Texas Instruments. Since the company no longer manufactures smartphone chips, The Verge suspects that Google may have trouble getting Android 4.4 to be compatible with the Galaxy Nexus.

Sprint will have the Nexus 5 available Nov. 8, starting at $150 with a two-year contract and $449 off-contract. The unlocked Nexus 5 will sell for $349 for the 16GB model and the $399 for the 32GB model at the Google Play Store. While most Nexus 5 models purchased from the Google Play Store will ship on Nov. 8, some customers report their handsets have already begun to ship.

The unlocked Nexus 5 model should also be compatibile with T-Mobile's GSM network.

The Nexus 5 includes such features as a 4.95-inch 1920x1080 full HD IPS display protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3, a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset with a Krait 400 processor and Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB RAM and 16GB or 32GB internal storage options.

The Nexus 5 also features 8-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), autofocus and LED flash, and a 1.3-megapixel front camera, as well as connectivity including NFC, A-GPS, GLONASS, microUSB, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and support on LTE, 3G and GSM networks.

In addition to being powered by a 2300 mAh non-removable battery with wireless charging capability, the Nexus 5 runs the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.

Are you glad the unlocked Nexus 5 will be able to run on the Sprint network? Let us know in the comments below.

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