Sprint Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper hands-on during private CES event

Sprint Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper hands-on during private CES event

As you may or may not have heard over at CES, Sprint announced that it is going to carry the Galaxy Nexus and the LG Viper NFC smartphones. Well, photographs and details have been very thin on the ground. This is especially true of the LG Viper, which wasn’t even present at the LG booth at CES. What many people didn’t know is that Sprint held a private event over at CES and we were invited. The Galaxy Nexus and the LG Viper were there for some hands-on time and we had the opportunity to play a little.

The big news from Sprint is that they intend to offer Google Wallet on every NFC capable Android smartphone from here on out and the LG Viper will be no exception. Because the event was at night and we didn’t know both NFC smartphones would be around, we didn’t bring out professional cameras. So, you will have to make do with some shots we took with our phones.

Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus Specifications and first impressions

Okay, we have an admission to make. We have known this phone would head to Sprint from back in October and had been sworn to silence. We knew it featured a bigger battery and better processor than its Verizon stablemate and we knew Google Wallet would of course come along for the ride. At the Sprint party last week, the firm didn’t want anyone taking photographs of the back of the device so that it shows the Sprint logo. We did see the Sprint logo sitting on the back of the Galaxy Nexus and you will just have to take our word for it.

The Galaxy Nexus was, of course, responsive with all the Ice Cream Sandwich sweetness we have come to expect. We asked to see Google Wallet running on the Sprint Galaxy Nexus and were pleased to see the product manager whip out his Galaxy Nexus and show us straight away. Powered by a speedier 1.5GHz OMAP 4 we didn’t notice any performance boost over the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, but really what can you tell until you start multitasking and have filled your device with widgets and apps?

The device is ready for the LTE network that Sprint intends to launch this year and execs at Sprint gave us the hint that the Galaxy Nexus would be launching sooner rather than later and this would be at the same time as the firms first LTE cities. No Wimax support is on boards. So, yep – this is an all LTE and 3G affair. Other than that, all other specifications remain the same as its Verizon counter-part. To us its worth getting the Sprint version over Verizon because you will have access to an open NFC marketplace where you can use whichever services you would like to. You may just have to wait for LTE to come to your city.

Sprint LG Viper NFC smartphone

Another NFC smartphone in the market is never a bad thing. For us that have been waiting for NFC smartphones to see a couple from one carrier being announced at once is great. However the LG Viper is a mid-range device and for those of you who live on the bleeding edge it probably won’t get you excited. The LG Viper is a $50 on contract NFC smartphone running Android 2.3. Sprint tells us that an Ice Cream Sandwich update is in the works, but straight out of the box you get a skinned version of Gingerbread. It also rocks LTE, so it makes a great upgrade option for Optimus owners. The LG Viper has also been known as the LG LS840 and features a 4-inch WVGA display that has a 480×800 pixel resolution.

The LG Viper has a very respectable dual-core processor that was clocked at 1.2 GHz, however, we are yet to learn what type of processor sits at its core.  A 5MP shooter is included, which can also record 720p HD video. Plus there is a front facing camera that works for video chatting. The LG Viper NFC smartphone supports CDMA and LTE, as well as data speeds via EV-DO Rev A and LTE.  The device comes loaded with a 1700 mAh battery, which should get you around 7 hours of talk time. Although on the device we saw there was no Google Wallet, Sprint confirmed that it would appear on the LG Viper in short order.

Last year, this NFC smartphone would have been a hero device, but this year it slips back down into the mid-range sector. Other specs including Bluetooth and WiFi are not available at this time although we expect they will be on board and we expect somewhere around 1 GB of RAM. Again, a release date is dependent on Sprint’s first LTE markets opening up. You won’t have to wait long from what we are hearing.

Sprint is lining up some great NFC smartphones. The Galaxy Nexus is obviously their first hero phone for their brand spanking new LTE network. Interestingly, Sprint has elected to also release the mid-range LG Viper device from the get go, which is probably a really great idea to get consumers using LTE instead of just leaving the service to early adopters. Sprint is late to the LTE party but not by long, with AT&T only recently getting their first LTE markets lit up.

Either way you look at it Sprint just gave the American market another two LTE NFC smartphones. Now we just need our LG Viper and Galaxy Nexus review units to put these new crop of devices through their paces.