The Verizon Wireless release date of the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone has been delayed reportedly to Dec. 15, much to the chagrin of Android fans in the United States.

Galaxy Nexus is already available worldwide and on Thursday, the smartphone also became available in Canada, thanks to Virgin Mobile Canada and Bell, where one can grab it for only $160 (with a 3-year contract).

Recently, some rumors about the smartphone's release date were circulating on the Internet, claiming that the Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0)-powered smartphone will release on Friday (Dec. 9). The rumors sounded credible as they were based on a slew of leaked e-mails, ads, etc. reportedly from Verizon.

However, the rumors ended up as just rumors as Verizon did not release Galaxy Nexus on Friday. According to DroidDog, Verizon announced in its equipment guide earlier that Galaxy Nexus was set to launch to all channels on December 9. However, later it was changed to Launch date coming soon.

And now, the latest rumor is that Galaxy Nexus will hit stores on Dec. 15. This time it's Droid Life which has launched the cannonball by saying, Verizon is telling ALL employees, stores, managers, and indirects that December 15 is the new target. However, the release date of the smartphone is still unclear as Verizon hasn't confirmed anything.

The disappointed Android fans in the United States can't help but wonder why the Galaxy Nexus release is getting delayed. But wonder no more. Here's the top three reasons we believe Verizon has delayed the release of the Galaxy Nexus.

Must Read: Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus Releases Today - To Buy or Not to Buy?

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