Android Tablet Update

More and more evidence is emerging that suggests an April release date for the Sprint branded Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Today’s leak comes from BGR, who received a screenshot from an internal Sprint system that states that the “Samsung Nexus” will go on sale on the 22nd.

We still don’t know how the Sprint variant will differ from the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, which we reviewed back in January. We’re hoping we see a few improvements in the Sprint variant, most notably a bigger battery and better camera. We do know that the Nexus will come with support for Sprint’s next-gen LTE network, which is starting to roll out to a handful of markets this quarter. Unfortunately, if you don’t live in an LTE location, you’ll be stuck on the sometimes frustratingly-slow 3G network.

Still, the Galaxy Nexus will easily become the must-have Android smartphone on Sprint whenever it launches, knocking the several-month-old Galaxy S II off its current pedestal. We know many of you Sprint customers are anxiously awaiting the Galaxy Nexus to land on the Now Network. Who out there is planning on picking one up later this month?

UPDATE: And we’ve gotten a tip from a Sprint employee who wishes to remain anonymous that the 22nd date is essentially set in stone in their internal system. Looks like it’s 10 short days for all you would-be Nexus owners.

Last week, a published then quickly pulled ad on Cnet’s site indicated that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus would be Sprint’s flagship LTE device. Since companies generally don’t create ads for products which don’t (or won’t) exist, we were pretty confident Sprint would be getting the Galaxy Nexus in coming months.

Today, Sprint has a new 4G LTE landing page up on its website that proudly features Sprint’s version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Sprint’s version will only feature 16GB of on-device storage rather than the 32GB model found on Verizon’s network. This move is likely to keep the device’s price below the $200 mark, a price point which Sprint has been reluctant to cross. Sprint also chose to include Google Wallet, a service Verizon has blocked from their variant.

LTE won’t be live in any markets until the middle of this year, so we have a hard time believing we’ll see the Galaxy Nexus launch on Sprint before the second quarter at the earliest. We’ve reached out to Sprint for comment, but haven’t heard back as of press time. Still, we’re excited that the best Android phone out there will make it to more than just Verizon’s network.

Are all you Sprint customers out there excited for the Galaxy Nexus to come to your network?

This rumor comes completely out of left field. A sidebar ad running on Cnet’s site suggests that not only will the Galaxy Nexus indeed come to Sprint (as had been previously rumored), it will serve as Sprint’s first 4G LTE device. What’s more, it seems to be an enhanced version of the Galaxy Nexus, with a 1.5 GHz processor.

Sprint is hard at work putting their LTE network together, with Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Atlanta all set to go live in the first half of 2012. We can think of no better phone than the Galaxy Nexus to lead the way for Sprint, as it is hands down the best Android phone on the market today.

We’ve reached out to Sprint for comment or confirmation, and will update this post when/if we hear back from Sprint. In the mean time, go ahead and speculate below how awesome this would be if it proved true.

Opps! Someone pushed this ad live a little early perhaps?