Verizon to launch Samsung Droid Prime in Oct. with Android 4.0

Who needs Galaxy S II? Not Verizon Wireless. The carrier is reportedly planning a far bigger smartphone release from Samsung, the Droid Prime, for this October, according to the mobile news site Boy Genius Report.

Verizon will have exclusive dibs on the Droid Prime, which we’ve called the Nexus Prime in past reports. It will be the first phone to run Android 4.0, codenamed “Ice Cream Sandwich.” Judging from the report, it’s unclear if the Droid Prime will serve as this year’s Nexus phone from Google. Nexus phones are typically released at the end of the year to serve as the company’s flagship phones for the following year.

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A source tells BGR that “Verizon doesn’t think the Samsung Galaxy S II will be competitive with the iPhone 5 when it launches.” So it makes more sense for the carrier to forgo the Galaxy S II, which is launching this week, and focus on a more fetching exclusive. As I argued last week when we learned that Verizon wouldn’t be offering a Galaxy S II device, Verizon likely wants to enjoy the full fruits of a new iPhone release without distracting consumers with other choices.

The October release for the Droid Prime falls in line with a report from two weeks ago. The phone is expected to feature a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core CPU, a huge 4.5-inch screen, and a 720p (1280 by 768) resolution. Those are indeed some big numbers, which should make the Droid Prime the must-have device for Android aficionados this fall.

Taken together with the impending release of the iPhone 5 in late September/early October, and Windows Phone 7’s significant Mango update, it looks like the next few months will be all-out war in the mobile arena.